January 31, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Longing for the Day

Longing for the Day

Psalm 38:9-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
    my sighing is not hidden from you.
¹⁰ My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
    even the light has gone from my eyes.
¹¹ My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
    my neighbors stay far away.
¹² Those who want to kill me set their traps,
    those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
    all day long they scheme and lie.

¹³ I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
    like the mute, who cannot speak;
¹⁴ I have become like one who does not hear,
    whose mouth can offer no reply.
¹⁵ Lord, I wait for you;
    you will answer, Lord my God.

Who does the Psalmist “longings lie open before” (verse 9)?

What has happened to the light of the Psalmist’s eyes (verse 10)?

Why do “friends and companions” avoid the Psalmist (verse 11)?

When do people “scheme and lie” against the Psalmist (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would the Psalmist say he is like the mute (verse 13)?

What can the Psalmist mouth not do (verse 14)?

Who will the Psalmist wait on (verse 15)?

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

Mark 9:14-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

¹⁶ “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹ “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰ So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹ He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Who was arguing with “the other disciples” (verse 14)?

What happened to the people when they saw Jesus (verse 15)?

Who had been brought to Jesus (verse 17)?

What could the disciples not do (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “you unbelieving generation” (verse 19)?

How did the boy react when the spirit saw Jesus (verse 20)?

How long had the boy been like this (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why did the father say “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (verse 22)?

What is possible for “one who believes” (verse 23)?

How did the boy’s father respond to Jesus” (verse 24)?

What did Jesus command the impure spirit to do (verse 25)?

Why did people say that the boy was dead (verse 26)?

When did the boy stand up (verse 27)?

What did the disciples ask Jesus privately (verse 28)?

How did Jesus answer them (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Psalmist of Psalms 38:9-15 similar to the boy of Mark 9:14-29?

Acts 14:8-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed ¹⁰ and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

¹¹ When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ¹² Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. ¹⁶ In the past, he let all nations go their own way. ¹⁷ Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” ¹⁸ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹ Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

Why was the man from Lystra sitting (verse 8)?

What did Paul see when he looked at the man (verse 9)?

When did the man jump up and begin to walk (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why did the crowd shout “the gods have come down to us in human form” (verse 11)?

Why did they call Paul “Hermes” (verse 12)?

Why did the priest of Zeus bring bulls and wreaths to the city gates (verse 13)?

When did Barnabas and Paul tear their clothes (verse 14)?

What did Barnabas and Paul want the people to turn “from these worthless things” to (verse 15)?

What has God’s testimony to the people been (verse 17)?

When did the crowd stone Paul and drag him out of the city (verse 19)?

When did Paul get up and go back into the city (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how is Paul in Acts 14:8-20 like the Psalmist of Psalms 38:9-15?

In your opinion, why is it significant that in the midst of the “unbelieving generation” of Mark 9:14-29 the impure spirit was cast out of the boy; and in the midst of the people who worshiped Zeus in Acts 14:8-20 the lame man was given the ability to jump up and walk?

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

¹ As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ² For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,
    and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

What is Paul urging the Corinthian Christians not to do (verse 1)?

When did the Lord hear (verse 2)?

When did the Lord help (verse 2)?

What time is it (verse 2)?

What day is it (verse 2)?

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

In your opinion, how are the longings the Psalmist of Psalms 38:9-15 was waiting for the Lord to answer different from the favor that God is giving through grace in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2?    

In your opinion, how might the words of the father in Mark 9:14-29, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”, have been appropriate for the Corinthians who are being told in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 that, “now is the day of salvation” but aren’t seeing the things that they might desire?

In your opinion, how do the people of Lystra, who in Acts 14:8-20 saw a miracle and wanted to worship Barnabas and Paul but soon changed to stoning Paul, demonstrate one of the reasons it may be hard for the people in Corinth to accept God’s favor on “the day of salvation”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Mark, Acts and 2 Corinthians teach us about the difference between driven by our longings and receiving the favor that God longs to give us?

In your opinion, how can we learn from the father said “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” so that we can celebrate the day of our salvation?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 24, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Transformed to Greatness

Transformed to Greatness

Joshua 22:21-31 - New International Version (NIV)            

²¹ Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: ²² “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. ²³ If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.

²⁴ “No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.

²⁶ “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ ²⁷ On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’

²⁸ “And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’

²⁹ “Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle.”

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. ³¹ And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s hand.”

Who did Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh reply to (verse 21)?

Who knew that this had not been a “rebellion or disobedience” (verse 22)?

What did Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh ask the Lord to do if they built their alter “to turn away from the Lord” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, did the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have a reason to fear that they would someday be told they had “no share in the Lord” (verses 24 and 25)?

What was the alter not built for (verse 26)?

What did they build the alter for (verses 27 and 28)?

In your opinion, why did they consider building an alter for “burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifies, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle” to be rebellion against God (verse 29)?

How did Phinehas and the leaders of the community feel about what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh said (verse 30)?

Who said “today we know that the Lord is with us” (verse 31)?

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

Mark 10:35-45 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

³⁸ “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰ 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.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Who ask Jesus to do “for us whatever we ask” (verse 35)?

How did Jesus respond (verse 36)?

What did they want (verse 37)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “you don’t know what you are asking” (verse 38)?

What did Jesus tell them they would drink (verse 39)?

Who do the places at Jesus right and left belong to when He comes into glory (verse 40)?

How did the other ten disciples react when they heard about the request of James and John (verse 41)?

What do those “who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles” do (verse 42)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He tells the disciples that “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (verse 43)?

What does the one who wants to be first have to be (verse 44)?

What did the “Son of Man” come to do (verse 45)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh’s decision to build the alter in Joshua 22:21-31 and the request of James and John to be seated at the right and the left of Jesus when He came into glory in Mark 10:35-45?

Acts 14:8-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed ¹⁰ and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

¹¹ When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ¹² Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. ¹⁶ In the past, he let all nations go their own way. ¹⁷ Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” ¹⁸ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹ Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

What is distinctive about the man sitting in Lystra (verse 8)?

What did Paul see about him (verse 9)?

How did the man react to Paul’s command to “stand up on your feet” (verse 10)?

Who shouted “the gods have come down to us in human form” (verse 11)?

Why did they call Paul Hermes (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why did the priest of Zeus and the crowd want to offer sacrificies to them (verse 13)?

When did Barnabas and Paul tear their clothes and rush into the crowd (verse 14)?

What did Paul and Barnabas want the crowd to turn to “from these worthless things” (verse 15)?

What had God let the nations do in the past (verse 16)?

How had God testified to the nations in the past (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did they have difficulty “keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them” (verse 18)?

What did the crowd do when the Jews from Antioch and Iconium won them over (verse 19)?

Where did Paul and Barnabas go (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, why are the members of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Joshua 22:21-31 different in their relationship to God than the crowd at Lystra in Acts 14:8-20?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s explanation about the difference between Gentiles and Christians in Mark 10:35-45 begin to help us understand why the crowd that was going to offer sacrificies to Paul and Barnabas suddenly turn on them and stoned Paul in Acts 14:8-20?

Romans 12:1-2 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “in view of God’s mercy” (verse 1)?

What does Paul say that we should offer as a “holy and pleasing” living sacrifice to God (verse 1)?

What are we not to “conform to” (verse 2)?

How should we be transformed (verse 2)?

If we are transformed what will we be able to “test and approve” (verse 2)?

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

In your opinion, how are “Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites” in Joshua 22:21-31 an example of what Paul might mean in Romans 12:1-2 by the way the transformed Christian may be able to “test and approve what God’s will is”?

In your opinion, how does the fact that Jesus became the servant of the disciples and even died for those who sought to be the greatest (Gentile definition) in Mark 10:35-45 help us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds as Paul instructs in Romans 12:1-2?

In your opinion, what three things do Paul and Barnabas do in Lystra according to Acts 14:8-20 that would indicate that they had been “transformed by the renewing of your mind” as Paul instructs in Romans 12:1-2?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Romans show us about the difference between conforming “to the pattern of this world” and being “transformed by the renewing of your mind”?

In your opinion, what can we do today to be great in the Jesus’s eyes?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)