September 1, 2019 – Festivals and Foundations – Heeding the Call

Heeding the Call


Leviticus 23:23-25 - New International Version (NIV)

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. ²⁵ Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’”

Who told Moses to “say to the Israelites” (verses 23 & 24)?

When are they to have “a day of sabbath rest” (verse 24)?

How is the sacred assembly to be commemorated (verse 24)?

What is to be presented “to the Lord” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Ezekial 33:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)    

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, ⁴ then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. ⁵ Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. ⁹ But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

What came to Ezekial (verse 1)?

Who chooses the watchman (verse 2)?

How does the watchman warn the people that the “sword is coming against the land” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that “if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning . . . their blood will be on their own head” (verse 4)?

What would happen if “they had heeded the warning” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why, if the person’s “life will be taken because of their sin” will the Lord hold the watchman accountable (verse 6)?

Who made Ezekial “watchman for the people of Israel” (verse 7)?

When will Ezekial be held “accountable for the blood” of a wicked person (verse 8)?

How can Ezekial be saved even when the wicked person dies for their sin (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the trumpet call of Leviticus 23:23-25 different from the trumpet call of Ezekial 33:1-9?

Matthew 24:23-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Who is not be be believed (verse 23)?

What will the “false messiahs and false prophets” perform (verse 24)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus tell this “ahead of time” (verse 25)?

What is not to be believed (verse 26)?

How visible will the “coming of the Son of Man” be (verse 27)?

Where do vultures gather (verse 28)?

When will the sun “be darkened” and the moon not give its light (verse 29)?

What will then appear (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why will “all the peoples of the earth” mourn when “they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (verse 30)?

What will the Lord use to “send his angels” (verse 31)?

What will the angels do (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the trumpet call of Leviticus 23:23-25 similar to the trumpet call of Matthew 24:23-31?

In your opinion, do your think that the peoples of the earth that mourn with the coming of the Lord in Matthew 24:23-31 received a trumpet call of warning by a watchman like Ezekiel was charged to be in Exekiel 33:1-9?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

What does Paul not want the Thessalonians to be uninformed about (verse 13)?

Who has “no hope” (verse 13)?

Who do “we believe” God will bring with Jesus (verse 14)?

What will those “who are still alive” not do (verse 15)?

What will happen when the Lord comes “down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (verse 16)?

Where will all Christians, those who had been dead and those who are still alive, meet the Lord (verse 17)?

How long will Christians be with the Lord (verse 17)?

What does Paul want Christians to do with this information (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the actions of the people of Israel after the trumpet call in Leviticus 23:23-25 similar to the actions of Christians after the trumpet call of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18?

In your opinion, how do people’s responses to the trumpet call of the watchmen like Ezekiel in Ezekiel 33:1-9 determine their response to “the trumpet call of God” of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18?

In your opinion, what do Paul and Jesus understand that causes Paul to say in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 that “the rest of mankind, who have no hope” and Jesus to say in Matthew 24:23-31 that “all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven”?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Leviticus, Ezekiel, Matthew and 1 Thessalonians teach us about how God uses a trumpet call?

In your opinion, are Christians today to be watchmen?  How should our message be similar to Ezekiel’s?  How should our message be different?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 3, 2017 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Salvations and Transformations

Salvations and Transformations

Exodus 14:21-31 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. ²⁵ He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

²⁹ But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹ And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

What did the Lord do when Moses “stretched out his hand over the sea” (verse 21)?

Where did the Israelites go (verse 22)?

In your opinion, how would the individual Egyptian soldier have felt about pursuing the Israelites through the sea (verse 23)?

Who threw the Egyptian army into confusion (verse 24)?

How did the Lord make it difficult for the Egyptian chariots (verse 25)?

What did the Lord tell Moses to do to cause the waters flow back over “the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen” (verse 26)?

When did the sea go “back to its place” (verse 27)?

How many of the Egyptian army survived (verse 28)?

What was the sea like when the Israelites went through (verse 29)?

Who saved Israel from the Egyptians (verse 30)?

How did the Israelites react to the Lord (verse 31)?

How did the Israelites react to Moses (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Luke 7:11-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Who went to Nain (verse 11)?

What was happening when they approached the town gate (verse 12)?

How did Jesus react to the widow (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why would Jesus tell the widow “don’t cry” (verse 13)?

What did Jesus touch (verse 14)?

What did Jesus tell the dead man (verse 14)?

What did the dead man do (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus give the dead man back to his mother (verse 15)?

Who did the people think had come (verse 16)?

What spread “throughout Judea and the surrounding country” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is God jamming the wheels of the chariots and then destroying them in Exodus 14:21-31 similar to Jesus confronting the death of the young man from Nain and then restoring him to his mother in Luke 7:11-17?

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

What “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 50)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says the perishable does not “inherit the imperishable” (verse 50)?

Who will “be changed” (verse 51)?

When will the dead be raised imperishable (verse 52)?

What must the mortal clothe itself with (verse 53)?

What saying will come true when “the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable” (verse 54)?

In your opinion, where is death’s victory (verse 55)?

What is the power of sin (verse 56)?

How does God give us the victory (verse 57)?

How should “brothers and sisters” stand (verse 58)?

Why should we always give ourselves “fully to the work of the Lord” (verse 58)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Jesus victory over the death of the young man in Luke 7:11-17 differ from the victory through Jesus over death that Paul proclaims in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58?

In your opinion, how is God saving the people of Israel by parting the sea and bringing them through on dry land in Exodus 14:21-31 a foreshadowing of what will happen when the trumpet sounds and “the dead will be raised imperishable” as proclaimed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Why does Paul not want the Thessalonians to “be uninformed about those who sleep in death” (verse 13)?

What do we believe about Jesus (verse 14)?

Who will God bring with Jesus (verse 14)?

What will those who are still alive at the “coming of the Lord” not do (verse 15)?

When will the dead in Christ rise (verse 16)?

Who will be caught up together (verse 17)?

What should Christians do “with these words” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 teach us about what happens for Christians after the trumpet sounds and the Lord comes down?

In your opinion, how do Paul’s instructions in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 allow Christians to react differently to the death of a loved one than the widow from Nain who had lost her only son in Luke 7:11-17?

In your opinion, how will the power that the Lord displayed in saving the Israelites from the Egyptians in Exodus 14:21-31 compare to the power that will be displayed when the trumpet sounds and Christians are called to meet the Lord in the air as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Thessalonians demonstrate about the Lord’s ability to save?

In your opinion, how should understanding salvation, the future transformation, and ascension of Christians change our attitudes today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 9, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Mourning and Confidence

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Mourning and Confidence

Matthew 24:26-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

What should you do if someone tells you “there he is, out in the wilderness” (verse 26)?

How should you react if some tells you “here he is, in the inner rooms” (verse 26)?

How will the “coming of the Son of Man” be (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by “wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather” (verse 28)?

When will the sun be darkened, the moon not give its light, the stars fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies be shaken (verse 29)?

Where will “the sign of the Son of Man” appear (verse 30)?

How will “all the peoples of the earth” react when the see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (verse 30)?

What will He send his angels “with a loud trumpet call” to do (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Isaiah 34:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Come near, you nations, and listen;
    pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes out of it!
² The Lord is angry with all nations;
    his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
    he will give them over to slaughter.
³ Their slain will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies will stink;
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
⁴ All the stars in the sky will be dissolved
    and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
    like withered leaves from the vine,
    like shriveled figs from the fig tree.”

Who is supposed to “come near” and “listen” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why does Isaiah say “let the earth hear, and all that is in it” (verse 1)?

How does the Lord feel about the nations and the armies (verse 2)?

What will the Lord do to the nations and the armies (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah want to point out when he says “their dead bodies will stink” (verse 3)?

What will “be soaked with their blood” (verse 3)?

What will happen to the “stars in the sky” (verse 4)?

How will the heavens be treated (verse 4)?

How will the “starry host” fall (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does reading Isaiah 34:1-4, the passage that Jesus quotes from in Matthew 24:26-31, help us to understand more about why the people of the earth will “mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory”?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Why does Paul not want his “brothers and sisters” to be “uninformed about those who sleep in death” (verse 13)?

What does Paul say “we believe” about Jesus (verse 14)?

What does Paul say “we believe” about those “who have fallen asleep in him” (verse 14)?

Who will not precede those who have fallen asleep (verse 15)?

Where will “the Lord himself” come from (verse 16)?

What will happen first after the “loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (verse 16)?

What will happen “after that” (verse 17)?

Where will the meeting with the Lord take place (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how can we use “these words” to “encourage one another” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the fact that “Jesus died and rose again” that Paul points to in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 alter the grim prophecy of Isaiah 34:1-4 that the Lord’s anger with and destruction of the nations?

In your opinion, how can the mourning of “all the peoples of the earth” that Jesus predicts in Matthew 24:26-31 and the encouragement that Paul offers in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 both be about the same event?

1 John 4:7-18 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Why are we to “love each other” (verse 7)?

What does John say about “everyone who loves” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how can John say that “whoever does not love does not know God” (verse 8)?

How did God show His love among us (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does John say “this is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (verse 10)?

Why should we love each other (verse 11)?

What happens “if we love one another” (verse 12)?

How do we “know that we live in him and he in us” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how does love being complete among us allow us to “have confidence on the day of judgment” (verse 17)?

Why does perfect love drive out fear (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the information that Paul gives in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to help Christians not grieve but have hope and Johns discussion in 1 John 4:7-18 of love and about how “love that is made complete among us” so that we can “have confidence on the day of judgment” give Christians a reason to anticipate instead of fear that day?

In your opinion, how is the fear and intimidation that is created by Isaiah 34:1-4 altered by the love that John explains in 1 John 4:7-18?

In your opinion, how does your understanding of Jesus’s statement that “all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” in Matthew 24:26-31 change any when you consider John’s discussion in 1 John 4:7-18 about love and the statement that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.”?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Isaiah, 1 Thessalonians and 1 John show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:32 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)