November 10, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Loving Because We’re Loved

Loving Because We’re Loved

Deuteronomy 10:12-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

¹⁴ To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. ¹⁵ Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. ¹⁶ Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ¹⁸ He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. ²⁰ Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 

Who is asking Israel to do these things: fear the Lord, walk in obedience, love the Lord, serve the Lord “with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees” (verses 12 and 13)?

Why were the “commands and decrees” given to the people of Israel (verse 13)?

What punctuation does the sentence that makes up verses 12 and 13 end with?

Who do the “the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” belong to (verse 14)?

How did the Lord feel about the ancestors of the Israelites (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why does Moses include the instructions to “circumcise your hearts” and to “not be stiff-necked any longer” in the same short sentence?  How are they related (verse 16)?

Who is “mighty and awesome” (verse 17)?

Who does the Lord defend (verse 18)?

Who are the Israelites to love (verse 19)?

Who are the Israelites to “hold fast to” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about loving others?

Matthew 4:23-25 - New International Version (NIV)

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Where did Jesus teach (verse 23)?

What did Jesus proclaim (verse 23)?

How many diseases and sicknesses did Jeus heal (verse 23)?

Where did the news of Jesus spread to (verse 24)?

Who was brought to Jesus (verse 24)?

What did Jesus do (verse 24)?

Who followed Jesus (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about loving others?

In your opinion, how do Jesus’s actions in Matthew 4:23-25 show His obedience to the instructions Moses gave the Israelite people in Deuteronomy 10:12-20?

1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

13 ¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

What is each Christian a part of (verse 27)?

Who has placed apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healing, helping, guidance and tongues in the church (verse 28)?

Do all Christians have all the gifts (verses 29 and 30)?

What is Paul going to show (verse 31)?

What is missing if Paul could speak in “the tongues of men or of angels” but was only “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (verse 1)?

When would Paul be nothing even if he had “the gift of prophecy” and could “fathom all mysteries and all knowledge” and had “a faith that can move mountains” (verse 2)?

What would Paul gain if he gave everything to the poor and his body to hardship, but did not love (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about loving others?

In your opinion, how can 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3 be thought of as the Christian’s version of Moses’s instruction to the Israelite people to “Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer” from Deuteronomy 10:12-20?

In your opinion, how does seeing what Jesus did in Matthew 4:23-25 help us understand what Paul wants Christians, as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3, to be motivated to do today? 

1 Thessalonians 5:14-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Who are Christians to warn (verse 14)?

Who are Christians to be patient with (verse 14)?

What should Christians “always strive to do” (verse 15)?

When should Christians “rejoice” (verse 16)?

When should Christians “pray” (verse 17)?

Why should Christians “give thanks in all circumstances” (verse 18)?

Who should Christians “not quench” (verse 19)?

What should Christians test (verses 20 and 21)?

How should Christians treat evil (verse 22)?

What does Paul pray that “the God of peace” will do for each Christian (verse 23)?

What does the “one who calls” do (verses 23 and 24)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about loving others?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s prayer in 1 Thessalonians 5:14-24 “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” help Christians deal with the impossibility of perfectly obeying the Deuteronomy 10:12-20 commands to “fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul”?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in Matthew 4:23-25 model for us what Paul means when he instructs Christians to encourage, help, be patient, and rejoice in 1 Thessalonians 5:14-24?

In your opinion, how does 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3 teach us about how to more successfully follow the instructions in 1 Thessalonians 5:14-24?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Thessalonians teach us about why having a circumcised heart is vital in our relationship with God?  What does it mean in our relationship with others?

In your opinion, how does knowing we can trust “the God of peace” help us when we feel too “stiff-necked” to do our part in the “body of Christ” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 11, 2023 – John’s Writings – Complex Love

Complex Love

Deuteronomy 10:12-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you. ¹¹ “Go,” the Lord said to me, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

¹² And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

¹⁴ To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. ¹⁵ Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. ¹⁶ Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ¹⁸ He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. ²⁰ Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.

How long did Moses stay on the mountain (verse 10)?

What was not the Lord’s will (verse 10)?

Why was Moses to “Go” and “lead the people on their way” (verse 11)?

What does the Lord ask of Israel (verses 12 and 13)?

Who does “the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” belong to (verse 14)?

How did the Lord feel about Israel’s ancestors (verse 15)?

In your opinion, how does circumcising their hearts help the Israelites not to “be stiff-necked any longer” (verse 16)?

Who is “God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” (verse 17)?

Who does the Lord love (verse 18)?

Who are the Israelites to love (verse 19)?

Who are the Israelites to fear (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how to move from being “stiff-necked” to accepting and acknowledging Jesus?

John 13:12-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

¹⁸ “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’

¹⁹ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

What do “those who have had a bath” need to wash (verse 10)?

Were all of those with Jesus clean (verse 10)?

What did Jesus know (verse 11)?

Who said “do you understand what I have done for you” (verse 12)?

What is Jesus (verse 13)?

What is Jesus’s command (verse 14)?

Who set the example (verse 15)?

Who is not greater than the master (verse 16)?

When will the disciples, and us, be blessed (verse 17)?

What does Jesus know (verse 18)?

Why was Jesus telling them “now before it happens” (verse 19)?

Who accepts Jesus (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how to move from being “stiff-necked” to accepting and acknowledging Jesus?

In your opinion, how do the words and actions of Jesus in John 13:12-20 teach us about living God’s command in Deuteronomy 10:12-20 to “fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees”?

2 John 4-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

⁷ I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. ⁹ Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. ¹¹ Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

What has given John “great joy” (verse 4)?

When was the commandment John is going to write given (verse 5)?

What is the commandment (verse 5)?

What is love (verse 6)?

How does John describe the many deceivers (verse 7)?

Where have the many deceivers gone (verse 7)?

What are believers to “watch out” for (verse 8)?

Who does not have God (verse 9)?

Who has “both the Father and the Son” (verse 9)?

How should believers respond to anyone who “comes to you and does not bring this teaching” (verse 10)?

Who “shares in their wicked work” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how to move from being “stiff-necked” to accepting and acknowledging Jesus?

In your opinion, why is the command that John shared in 2 John 4-11 simpler than the command that Moses gave in Deuteronomy 10:12-20?  Does simpler mean easier?

In your opinion, how would refusing to acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh, as the deceivers do in 2 John 4-11, undermine the power of John 13:12-20’s message?

Revelation 19:11-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of lords.

What was “standing open” (verse 11)?

Who is the rider of the white horse (verse 11)?

How does He judge and wage war (verse 11)?

What are His eyes like (verse 12)?

What is His name (verse 13)?

Who was following Him (verse 14)?

What will He do with the sharp sword coming out of His mouth (verse 15)?

What does He tread (verse 15)?

Where is “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” written (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how to move from being “stiff-necked” to accepting and acknowledging Jesus?

In your opinion, how do you explain the difference in the actions of God who in Deuteronomy 10:12-20 did not want to destroy but who in Revelation 19:11-16 “judges and wages war”?

In your opinion, how do you explain the difference in the actions of Jesus who in John 13:12-20 washed everyone’s feet but who in Revelation 19:11-16 “judges and wages war”?

In your opinion, how does the prophecy of Revelation 19:11-16 that Jesus will strike down nations and rule with an iron scepter make 2 John 4-11’s instruction to “watch out” for deceivers more powerful? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, John, 2 John and Revelation teach us the about the complex love of God?

In your opinion, how does the command to love transform those who Jesus has chosen?  How does the command to love transform the world?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)