The Worship Challenge
Daniel 3:8-18 - New International
Version (NIV)
8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the
Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king
live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a
decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre,
harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of
gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship
will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are
some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of
Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your
Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have
set up.”
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and
Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that
you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set
up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute,
zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down
and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will
be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able
to rescue you from my hand?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King
Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this
matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the
God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will
deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even
if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your
gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
What did the astrologers do (verse 8)?
What did they tell King Nebuchadnezzar (verse 9)?
Who was supposed to “fall down and worship
the image of gold” when they heard the “sound of
the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music” (verse
10)?
What is to happen to those who don’t “fall
down and worship the image of gold” (verse 11)?
Who paid no attention to the king or served his
gods or worshipped the image (verse 12)?
How did the king feel when he found out there
were people who paid no attention to him (verse 13)?
What choice was given to Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego (verse 15)?
In your opinion, how would King Nebuchadnezzar
have answered this question “then what god will be able to rescue you” (verse
15)?
What did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego not
need to do (verse 16)?
What did they think would happen if they were
thrown into the furnace (verse 17)?
What did they want King Nebuchadnezzar to know (verse
18)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is the battle of the world
against God shown in this passage?
John
8:39-47 - New
International Version (NIV)
39 “Abraham is our father,”
they answered.
“If
you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do
what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way
to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from
God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing
the works of your own father.”
“We
are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God
himself.”
42 Jesus said to
them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come
here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why
is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I
say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you
want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of
lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not
believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I
am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever
belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you
do not belong to God.”
Who did the Jews opposing Jesus say their father was (verse
39)?
In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when He replied “If
you were Abraham’s children then you would do what Abraham did” (verse 39)?
What had Jesus told them (verse 40)?
Whose works did Jesus say they were doing (verse 41)?
Where did Jesus come from (verse 42)?
Why is Jesus’s language not clear to them (verse 43)?
What was the devil from the beginning (verse 44)?
What is the devil’s native language (verse 44)?
Why don’t they believe Jesus (verse 45)?
In your opinion, why don’t the listeners believe
Jesus (verse 46)?
Who hears what God says (verse 47)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, how is
the battle of the world against God shown in this passage?
In
your opinion, how do the passages, from Daniel 3:8-18 and John 8:39-47,
demonstrate that our actions are products of our beliefs?
3 John 5-12 – New International Version (NIV)
5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the
brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They
have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a
manner that honors God. 7 It was for the sake of the
Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We
ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together
for the truth.
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will
not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call
attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not
satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also
stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is
good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what
is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of
by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you
know that our testimony is true.
Why
does John commend Gaius, who 3 John is written to (verse 5)?
How
is Gaius supposed to send the “brothers and sisters” on their way (verse
6)?
Why
had the “brothers and sisters” gone out (verse 7)?
Why
should we “show hospitality to such people” (verse 8)?
What
did Diotrephes love (verse 9)?
What are the things that Diotrephes did (verse 10)?
What is John’s friend,
Gaius, to imitate (verse 11)?
Who if from God (verse 11)?
How is Demetrius spoken
of (verse 12)?
In your opinion, what
is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is the battle of the world
against God shown in this passage?
In your opinion, who in
3 John 5-12 reacts to the people of God in a manner similar to Nebuchadnezzar
in Daniel 5:8-18? Why would someone
associating with Christians respond to them in that way?
In
your opinion, how does what is loved influence actions in John 8:39-47 and in 3
John 5-12?
Revelation 13:11-18 – New International
Version (NIV)
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had
two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It
exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and
made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal
wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great
signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in
full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it
was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the
inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of
the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The
second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so
that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image
to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and
small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right
hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy
or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the
number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight
calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That
number is 666.
Where did the second beast come from (verse 11)?
In
your opinion, why did it have “horns like a lamb” but speak “like a
dragon” (verse 11)?
Whose
authority did it exercise (verse 12)?
What
did it make “the earth and its inhabitants” do (verse 12)?
What
did the second beast perform (verse 13)?
Who
was deceived (verse 14)?
What
would happen to all who refused to worship the image of the first beast (verse
15)?
Who
was forced to receive a mark on “their right hands or on their foreheads” (verse
16)?
What
did they need the mark to do (verse 17)?
What
is “the number of the beast” the number of (verse 18)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is the battle of
the world against God shown in this passage?
In your opinion, how is the golden image
of Daniel 5:8-18 similar to the image in Revelation 13:11-18? How is the result of not worshipping
similar? How might the words of, and the
outcome for, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego encourage believers facing the
Revelation challenge?
In your opinion, how can Jesus’s
statement that “whoever belongs to God hears what God says” in John
8:39-47 comfort us as we are concerned about our ability to discern the truth if
we find ourselves in a Revelation 13:11-18 situation? Do you think we can find ourselves in this
situation today (even if it is not the end of time)?
In your opinion, how does Diotrephes, in
attempting to control what Christians around him did in 3 John 5-12, model the
behavior of the second beast in Revelation 13:11-18? How can Demetrius be our model for today’s
challenges?
In
your opinion, what do these passages from Daniel, John, 3 John and Revelation show
us the difference between worshipping self or world instead of worshipping God?
In
your opinion, how do these four very different passages help us determine our
actions today “for the sake of the Name”?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
