Isaiah 64:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)
1 Oh, that
you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to our sins.
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to our sins.
8 Yet you, Lord,
are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.
What does Isaiah wish God would “rend the heavens” and
do (verse 1)?
Who does Isaiah
want God to “make your name known to” (verse 2)?
In your
opinion, why does Isaiah say that God did “awesome things that we did not
expect” (verse 3)?
Of whom does
Isaiah say “no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen” (verse 4)?
How does
Isaiah say that God reacted when Israel continued to sin against His ways (verse
5)?
In your
opinion, what does Isaiah mean when he says “all our righteous acts are like
filthy rags” (verse 6)?
What has God “given
us over to” (verse 7)?
Who is the “work
of your hand” (verse 8)?
How long does
Isaiah pray that the Lord will not remember our sins (verse 9)?
Mark 1:9-13 - New International Version (NIV)
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized
by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of
the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like
a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom
I love; with you I am well pleased.”
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and
he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was
with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Who baptized
Jesus in the Jordan (verse 9)?
When did Jesus
see “heaven being torn open” (verse 10)?
How did the
Spirit descend on Jesus (verse 10)?
In your
opinion, who said “you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”
(verse 11)?
Where did the
Spirit send Jesus (verse 12)?
How long was
Jesus in the wilderness (verse 13)?
Who tempted
Jesus (verse 13)?
In your opinion, how was the request of Isaiah
in Isaiah 64:1-9 fulfilled in Mark 1:9-13?
How is the request of Isaiah still incomplete?
51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still
uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy
Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not
persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous
One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who
have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious
and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the
Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing
at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven
open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their
voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city
and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet
of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive
my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord,
do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Who does Stephen say that the Sanhedrin always
resists (verse 51)?
Who does Stephen say
that the Sanhedrin “betrayed and murdered” (verse 52)?
What does Stephen say that the Sanhedrin has not obeyed (verse
53)?
How did the Sanhedrin react to what Stephen said (verse 54)?
Where did Stephen look to see the “glory of God, and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (verse 55)?
In your opinion, why did Stephen say “I see heaven open
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (verse 56)?
What did the Sanhedrin do before the rushed at Stephen (verse
57)?
Where did they take Stephen (verse 58)?
What did Stephen pray while they were stoning him (verse
59)?
When did Stephen “fall asleep” (verse 60)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, why is the prayer of Isaiah that God not “remember
our sins forever” in Isaiah 64:1-9 much different than the prayer of
Stephen to “not hold this sin against them” in Acts 7:51-60?
Ephesians 1:3-10 – New International Version (NIV)
3 Praise be
to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of
the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to
sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and
will— 6 to the praise of
his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God’s grace 8 that he
lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,
9 he made known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when
the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on
earth under Christ.
Who has blessed Christians “in the heavenly realms” (verse
3)?
How are
Christians blessed (verse 3)?
When were
Christians chosen to “be holy and blameless in his sight” (verse 4)?
In your
opinion, what is “adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ” (verse 5)?
What has God “freely
given us in the One he loves” (verse 6)?
What do Christians
have “through his blood” (verse 7)?
What did God
lavish on Christians (verses 7 and 8)?
In your
opinion, what is the “mystery of his will” that He has made known to us (verse
9)?
What will be
brought to “all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (verse 10)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, how is Isaiah’s request in Isaiah 64:1-10 that God “rend the
heavens and come down” much different than the “mystery of his will” that
Paul revealed in Ephesians 1:3-10? How
might the rending of the heavens still be accomplished within the “mystery
of his will”?
In your
opinion, what does Paul in Ephesians 1:3-10 reveal that Christians today have
in common with Stephen who was stoned in Acts 7:51-60?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and Ephesians help us understand
how God answered Isaiah’s question “how then can we be
saved”?
In your
opinion, how can we be a part of the unexpected and awesome thing that God is
doing today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
