October 14, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Leaving a Meaningless World Through the Narrow Gate

Leaving a Meaningless World Through the Narrow Gate

Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. ² All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.

³ This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. ⁴ Anyone who is among the living has hope even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

⁵ For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
    and even their name is forgotten.
⁶ Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.

⁷ Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. ⁸ Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. ⁹ Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

In whose hands are “the righteous and the wise” (verse 1)?

What do “the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not” share (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does the Teacher think the fact that the “same destiny overtakes all” is “the evil in everything that happens under the sun” (verse 3)?

Who “has hope” (verse 4)?

What do the living know (verse 5)?

Who does the Teacher say “never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun” (verses 5 and 6)?

Why does the Teacher say to “eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by “always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil” (verse 8)?

How does the Teacher say we should live “all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun” (verse 9)?

What should we “do with all your might” (verse 10)?

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

Matthew 7:13-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

What are we to do “through the narrow gate” (verse 13)?

How does Jesus describe the gate that “leads to destruction” (verse 13)?

What do “many” do (verse 13)?

What “leads to life” (verse 14)?

How many find “life” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, which part of the choice Jesus presents in Matthew 7:13-14 does the Teacher describe in Ecclesiastes 9:1-10?

Acts 4:8-14 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

What filled Peter (verse 8)?

How does Peter describe the act that they are “being called to account today for” (verse 9)?

How does the man stand “before you healed” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean by “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone” (verse 11)?

What is found in no one other than Jesus (verse 12)?

Why were the rulers and elders of the people astonished (verse 13)?

Why was there nothing the rulers and elders of the people could say (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what did Peter and John, as unschooled, ordinary men, know in Acts 4:8-14 that the Teacher of Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 did not know?

In your opinion, how is Matthew 7:13-14 explained by Peter in Acts 4:8-14?

1 Timothy 2:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

Who does Paul urge Timothy to make “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving” for (verse 1)?

Why does Paul urge Timothy topray for “kings and all those in authority” (verse 2)?

What does “God our Savior” want (verses 3 and 4)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “come to a knowledge of the truth” (verse 4)?

Who is the “mediator between God and mankind” (verse 5)?

What did the “mediator” do (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 add hope to the despair the Teacher had in Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 when he said “the hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead”?

In your opinion, how does Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 lead us to the “narrow gate” that Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:13-14?

In your opinion, how do we reconcile the fact that Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit” confronted the rulers and elders in Acts 4:8-14 and Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 urges “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving” be made to “all those in authority”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Acts and 1 Timothy help us understand about the difference “meaningless days” and “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”?

In your opinion, what can we do to continue the witness to “Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people” and lead others to through the narrow gate?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 25, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Speaking, Saving and Spreading

-            The

Speaking, Saving and Spreading

Joshua 6:15-21 - New International Version (NIV)              

¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

²⁰ When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. ²¹ They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

How many times did the Israelites march around Jericho on the seventh day (verse 15)?

When did Joshua command the army to “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that everything within the city is “to be devoted to the Lord” (verse 17)?

Why are Rahab and those in her house to be spared (verse 17)?

What would people bring about if they took some of the devoted things (verse 18)?

Where are the articles of bronze and iron to go (verse 19)?

What happened “at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout” (verse 20)?

What happed to every living thing in the city (verse 21)?

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

Mark 2:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

What did people hear when “Jesus again entered Capernaum” (verse 1)?

Why was there “no room left, not even outside the door” (verse 2)?

Who did the four men carry to Jesus (verse 3)?

How did they get the man to Jesus (verse 4)?

Whose faith did Jesus see (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus tell the man “your sins are forgiven” (verse 5)?

Who was thinking to themselves “Why does this fellow talk like that?  He’s blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (verses 6 & 7)?

What did Jesus immediately know (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’” (verse 9)?

What did Jesus want the to know (verse 10)?

What did Jesus tell the man (verse 11)?

What did the man do (verse 12)?

Who praised God and said “we have never seen anything like this” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Israelite army confronting the might of the city of Jericho in Joshua 6:15-21 similar to Jesus confronting authority of the teachers of the law in Mark 2:1-12?

Acts 4:8-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. ¹⁵ So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ¹⁶ “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! ²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

What filled Peter (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why would Peter start his statement to the rulers and elders of the people by saying “if we are being called to account today for an act of kindness” (verse 9)?

How did Peter say that the lame man “stands before you healed” (verse 10)?

What has become the cornerstone (verse 11)?

What “is found in no one else” (verse 12)?

Why were the rulers and elders of the people astonished (verse 13)?

Why did they have nothing to say (verse 14)?

What did they do after ordering Peter and John to “withdraw from the Sanhedrin” (verse 15)?

What did “everyone living in Jerusalem” know (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why did the rulers and elders of the people want to “stop this thing from spreading any further among the people” (verse 17)?

What command did they give to Peter and John (verse 18)?

How did Peter and John reply (verse 19)?

What can Peter and John not “help speaking about” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how is the confrontation of the Israelite people with the established might of Jericho after entering the Promised Land in Joshua 6:15-21 similar to Peter and John’s confrontation with the Sanhedrin after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 4:8-20?

In your opinion, how does Jesus proving that He has the authority to forgive sins by telling the lame man “take up your mat and go home” in Mark 2:1-12 similar to Peter and John proving that salvation is found in Jesus Christ through the lame man standing in front of the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:8-20?

1 Timothy 2:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

Who does Paul instruct Timothy “that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for” (verse 1)?

Why should the “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving” be made “for kings and all those in authority” (verse 2)?

Who wants “all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (verses 3 and 4)?

Who is the “mediator between God and mankind” (verse 5)?

What has “now been witnessed to at the proper time” (verses 5 and 6)?

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

In your opinion, how is “Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house” being spared in Joshua 6:15-21 an example of Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 that God our Savior “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”?

In your opinion, what role does Jesus’s authority to forgive sins, proven by causing the lame man to walk after first forgiving his sins in Mark 2:1-12, play in establishing the truth of Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 that the is “one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people”?

In your opinion, how do Paul’s instruction in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 that “first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people” and Peter and John’s statement to the Sanhedrin that they “cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” in Acts 4:8-20 provide a foundation for Christians when dealing with people or establishments who have not accepted “the cornerstone”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Timothy teach us about Jesus Christ desires for all people?

In your opinion, how should Christians respond today to a world that rejects Christ and seeks to stop Christianity “from spreading any further among the people”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)