Enduring to Serve
1 Samuel 1:10-17 – New International Version (NIV)
10 In her deep
anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And
she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty,
if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not
forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever
be used on his head.”
12 As she kept on praying to
the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah
was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.
Eli thought she was drunk 14 and
said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah
replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking
wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do
not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my
great anguish and grief.”
17 Eli answered, “Go in
peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
What was Hannah doing as she “prayed to the Lord” (verse 10)?
What did she promise to do if the Lord gave her a son (verse 11)?
Who “observed her mouth” (verse 12)?
Why did he think “she was drunk” (verse 13)?
What did he want her to “put away” (verse 14)?
What did Hannah say she had been doing (verse 15)?
What was Hannah praying “out of” (verse 16)?
How was Hannah to go (verse 17)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, what does this passage teach us about suffering and serving?
Matthew 20:17-28 - New International
Version (NIV)
17 Now
Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said
to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the
Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of
the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand
him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On
the third day he will be raised to life!”
20 Then the
mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling
down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is
it you want?” he asked.
She
said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the
other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You
don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink
the cup I am going to drink?”
“We
can,” they answered.
23 Jesus
said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my
right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom
they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the
ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus
called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not
so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your
slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Who did Jesus
take aside (verse 17)?
What would “the chief priests and the teachers of the law” do to
the Son of Man (verse 18)?
When would the Son of
Man be raised to life (verse 19)?
Who knelt down and ask a favor of
Jesus (verse 20)?
What did she
want (verse 21)?
What did the
two sons claim they could do (verse 22)?
Who will sit
at Jesus’s right and left (verse 23)?
How did the other disciples react (verse 24)?
What do the “rulers of the Gentiles” do (verses 25)?
What does the disciple who wants to be great need to do (verse 26)?
Who must “be your slave” (verse 27)?
What did the Son of Man come to do (verse 28)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, what does this passage teach us about suffering and serving?
In your
opinion, how is Hannah’s request in 1 Samuel 1:10-17 different from Zebedee’s
wife’s (James and John’s mother) request in Matthew 20:17-28?
Acts 12:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)
1 It was
about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church,
intending to persecute them. 2 He
had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the
Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival
of Unleavened Bread. 4 After
arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four
squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial
after the Passover.
Why did King Herod arrest “some who belonged to the church” (verse
1)?
What happened to “James, the brother of John” (verse
2)?
How did the Jews react (verse 3)?
What happened to Peter (verse 3)?
When did it happen (verse 3)?
How was Peter guarded (verse 4)?
What was Herod’s plan (verse 4)?
In your opinion,
what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about
suffering and serving?
In your opinion, could the anguish and grief of Hannah who
was praying for a son in 1 Samuel 1:10-17 be similar to the anguish and grief
of those who lost James as a family member or a Christian family member in Acts
12:1-4?
In your opinion, what does Acts 12:1-4 show about the
transformation of James after the events in Matthew 20:17-28?
2 Timothy 2:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)
1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the
presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be
qualified to teach others. 3 Join
with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in
civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does
not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to
receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect
on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the
dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for
which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a
criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10 Therefore
I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may
obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
What does Paul call Timothy (verse 1)?
Who is Timothy to entrust the things he has heard Paul say
to (verse 2)?
Where is Timothy to join Paul (verse 3)?
Who does a soldier try to please (verse 4)?
How does an athlete have to compete to receive “the victor’s
crown” (verse 5)?
Who should receive the first “share of the crops”
(verse 6)?
What will happen if Timothy reflects on what Paul is saying
(verse 7)?
Who is Timothy to remember (verse 8)?
What is not chained (verse 9)?
Why does Paul “endure everything” (verse 10)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about
suffering and serving?
In your opinion, how
is the life that Hannah said her son would live in her prayers in 1 Samuel
1:10-17 similar to the life that Paul was asking Timothy to live in 2 Timothy
2:1-10?
In your opinion, how similar would the feelings of Jesus
for the disciples in Matthew 20:17-28 been to the feelings of Paul for Timothy
in 2 Timothy 2:1-10?
In your opinion, how is James in Acts 12:1-4 an example of
the confidence that Paul had in 2 Timothy 2:1-10 that “God’s word is not
chained”?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from 1 Samuel, Matthew, Acts, and 2 Timothy
teach us about where human ambition fits into God’s kingdom?
In
your opinion, how can we endure today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
