February 23, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – A Continuing Debt

A Continuing Debt

Exodus 20:13-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

Who “shall not murder” (verse 13)?

Who “shall not commit adultery” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

Matthew 5:21-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

When was it said “you shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment” (verse 21)?

Who else does Jesus say “will be subject to judgment” (verse 22)?

What should the one offering their “gift on the altar” do when they remember a brother or sister has something against them (verses 23 and 24)?

How should you settle with the adversary taking you to court (verse 25)?

What has been said (verse 27)?

Who does Jesus say has committed adultery (verse 28)?

What is better “than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (verses 29 and 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in Matthew 5:21-30 modify two of the ten commandments found in Exodus 20:13-20?

Ephesians 2:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

How were the readers of Ephesians, and us, “dead” (verse 1)?

Who is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” at work in (verse 2)?

What were “all of us” by nature deserving of (verse 3)?

Why has God “made us alive” (verses 4 and 5)?

How have Christians been saved (verse 5)?

Where are Christians seated (verse 6)?

When is God going to express the incomparable riches of His grace (verse 7)?

Where does faith come from (verse 8)?

Who can boast (verse 9)?

What has God “prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

In your opinion, what does Ephesians 2:1-10 help us understand about our ability to successfully obey the two commandments in Exodus 20:13-14 as well as the other eight?

In your opinion, how is the command to remove the body part that leads to sinning in Matthew 5:21-30 addressed by Paul’s message in Ephesians 2:1-10?

Romans 13:8-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

What debt should remain outstanding (verse 8)?

How are the commandments ““You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be” summed up (verse 9)?

What “is the fulfillment of the law” (verse 10)?

Why has the hour already come “for you to wake up from your slumber” (verse 11)?

What should we put aside (verse 12)?

What should we put on (verse 12)?

How should we behave (verse 13)?

How should we clothe ourselves (verse 14)

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

In your opinion, how does Romans 13:8-14 help us understand how to fulfill the law established in Exodus 20:13-14?

In your opinion, how is removing the body part that causes sin in Matthew 5:21-30 complemented by Romans 13:8-14 statement that “love is the fulfillment of the law”?

In your opinion, how does God’s love for us described in Ephesians 2:1-10 make it possible for us to love our neighbor as instructed in Romans 13:8-14?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Exodus, Matthew, Ephesians, and Romans teach us about how the God of love and mercy transforms the “you shall not” of the commandments to “a continuing debt to love”?

In your opinion, how do we repay the “continuing debt to love”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 25, 2018 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – From Judgment to Mercy

-            The

From Judgment to Mercy

Jeremiah 25:4-14 - New International Version (NIV)          

⁴ And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. ⁵ They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁶ Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

⁷ “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”

⁸ Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹ I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. ¹⁰ I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

¹² “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. ¹³ I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. ¹⁴ They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

Who had the people “not listened or paid any attention” to (verse 4)?

What did the people have to do to “stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does God mean by the instruction “do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made” (verse 6)?

How did the people bring “harm to yourselves” (verse 7)?

Who will the Lord Almighty summon “against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations” (verses 8 and 9)?

What will the Lord banish from the lands (verse 10)?

How long will the country be a “desolate wasteland” (verse 11)?

What will happen “when the seventy years are fulfilled” (verse 12)?

How will the Babylonians be repaid (verse 14)?

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

Zechariah 1:7-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.

⁸ During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.

⁹ I asked, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”

¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.”

¹¹ And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”

¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” ¹³ So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

¹⁴ Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, ¹⁵ and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’

¹⁶ “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

¹⁷ “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

What happened “on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius” (verse 7)?

Where was the “man mounted on a red horse” that Zechariah saw in the vision (verse 8)?

Who answered Zechariah’s question “What are these” by saying “I will show you what they are” (verse 9)?

Who explaind “they are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth” (verse 10)?

What did they report about the world (verse 11)?

How long had the Lord Almighty been angry with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah (verse 12)?

How did the Lord speak to the angel who was talking to Jeremiah (verse 13)?

What was Zechariah to say about how the Lord Almighty felt about Jerusalem and Zion (verse 14)?

Why was the Lord Almighty angry with “the nations that feel secure” (verse 15)?

How will the Lord Almighty “return to Jerusalem” (verse 16)?

What does the Lord Almighty say will overflow in “my towns” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what has happened to the prophcy of Jeremiah 25:4-14 by the time Zechariah receives the prophcy of Zechariah 1:7-14?

John 12:31-36 – New International Version (NIV)

³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

What time does Jesus say it is (verse 31)?

Who will be driven out (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (verse 32)?

Why did He say this (verse 33)?

What had the crowd “heard from the Law” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when He instructed “You are going to have the light just a little while longer.  Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.” (verse 35)?

What happens if we “believe in the light while you have the light” (verse 36)?

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

In your opinion, how is the judgment of the Lord Almighty in Jeremiah 25:4-14 different from the judgment Jesus declares in John 12:31-36?

In your opinion, how does the fact that Zechariah had a vision in the night, or dark, in Zechariah 1:7-14 help us understand about the statement that Jesus makes “walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you” in John 12:31-36?

Ephesians 2:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What state were the Ephesian Christians in (verse 1)?

In your opinion, who is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (verse 2)?

What were we all “deserving of” (verse 3)?

What is God rich in (verse 4)?

How did God make us alive “when we were dead in transgressions” (verse 5)?

How did God raise us up (verse 6)?

What did God show through “his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (verse 7)?

How are we saved (verse 8)?

Why can no one boast (verse 9)?

What are we created to do (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does Ephesians 2:1-10 reveal about the Ephesian Christians (and Christians of today) that is in common with the people who Jeremiah said God was angry with in Jeremiah 24:4-14?

In your opinion, what does Zechariah’s predicted return of the Lord to Jerusalem in Zechariah 1:7-14 have in common with explanation that Paul gives in Ephesians 2:1-10 about why God “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead with transgressions”?

In your opinion, what does Paul reveal in Ephesians 2:1-10 about how Jesus, who said in John 12:31-36 that “now is the time for judgment on this world” makes people into “children of light”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Zechariah, John and Ephesians teach us about the relationship of anger and judgment to mercy and grace?

In your opinion, what has God prepared for you to do?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 10, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – Goodness and Mercy

-            The

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” KJV Psalm 23:6a

Psalm 28 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ To you, Lord, I call;
    you are my Rock,
    do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
    I will be like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear my cry for mercy
    as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
    toward your Most Holy Place.

³ Do not drag me away with the wicked,
    with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
    but harbor malice in their hearts.
⁴ Repay them for their deeds
    and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
    and bring back on them what they deserve.

⁵ Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord
    and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
    and never build them up again.

⁶ Praise be to the Lord,
    for he has heard my cry for mercy.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people,
    a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance;
    be their shepherd and carry them forever.

How does David describe the Lord (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what does David mean when he says he “will be like those who go down to the pit” if the Lord remains silent (verse 1)?

What does David cry for (verse 2)?

What word does David use to describe those “who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, how can David cry to the Lord for mercy in verse 2 but to ask for those he called evil to be repaid “for their deeds and for their evil work” (verse 4)?

What do those who David called evil have for the “deeds of the Lord” (verse 5)?

Why is David praising the Lord (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does David mean when he says the Lord is “my strength and my shield” (verse 7)?

How does David’s heart react to the Lord (verse 7)?

What is the Lord “for his anointed one” (verse 8)?

What does David ask the Lord to do for His people as their shepherd (verse 9)?

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

Luke 6:43-45 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

What can a good tree not bear (verse 43)?

What can a bad tree not bear (verse 43)?

How is each tree recognized (verse 44)?

Where does a good man bring good things from (verse 45)?

Where does an evil man bring evil things from (verse 45)?

What does the mouth speak (verse 45)?

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

In your opinion, what does Jesus’ statement that “no good tree bears bad fruit” in Luke 6:43-45 reveal about David crying for mercy in Psalm 28?

Ephesians 2:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Where does Paul say the Ephesians were (verse 1)?

Who had the Ephesians followed (verse 2)?

What did “all of us” gratify at one time (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “we were by nature deserving of wrath” (verse 3)?

What is God rich in (verse 4)?

How have we been saved (verse 5)?

Where has God seated us (verse 6)?

How are the “incomparable riches of his grace” expressed (verse 7)?

Where is the grace that saves by faith from (verse 8)?

What are we (verse 10)?

What has God “prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, when Jesus says “a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart” in Luke 6:43-45 and Paul says that we are were dead in our transgressions and sins in Ephesians 2:1-10 then how can he also be right when he says that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works”?

In your opinion, how does David’s discussion of those who “have no regard for the deeds of the Lord” in Psalm 28 help us understand what limits the mercy that Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-10 God is “rich in”?

James 2:8-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

What law found in the Scripture must you keep to do right (verse 8)?

What happens if you show favoritism (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does James mean when he says that whoever “stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all” of the law (verse 10)?

What do you become if you “do not commit adultery but do commit murder” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom” (verse 12)?

Who will be shown “judgment without mercy” (verse 13)?

What “triumphs over judgment” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how is Paul’s statement that all were “dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-10) become more real to each of us when James teaches that someone who shows favoritism is as guilty of breaking the law as someone who commits adultery or murder (James 2:8-13) and how does this reality make James’s statement that “mercy triumphs over judgment” more wonderful and powerful?

In your opinion, how are we who have received the mercy that “triumphs over judgment” that James talks about in James 2:8-13 to translate into action Jesus statement in Luke 6:43-45 “for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”?

In your opinion, how is David, who says in Psalm 28 that he cried to God for mercy and whose heart trusted in God, an example to all of us who James, in James 2:8-13, indicates have received mercy that triumphs over judgment and are to “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom”?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Psalms, Luke, Ephesians, and James help us understand today’s passage from Psalm 23 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us to have a greater appreciation of the God’s transforming mercy and goodness?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 23, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – He Restoreth My Soul

-            The

“He restoreth my soul” KJV Psalm 23:3a

Psalm 51:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

What part of David’s life did he write this Psalm about (introduction)?

What did David base his request for mercy on (verse 1)?

What did David ask to be cleansed from (verse 2)?

Where is David’s sin (verse 3)?

Who has David sinned against (verse 4)?

How long has David been sinful (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why does David say that God desires faithfulness “even in the womb” (verse 6)?

When will David be “whiter than snow” (verse 7)?

How does David want the bones that God has crushed to respond (verse 8)?

How does David want God to respond to his sines (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does David mean when he asks God to “create in me a pure heart” (verse 10)?

What does David request not be taken from him (verse 11)?

What does David want restored to him (verse 12)?

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

Luke 5:27-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Where was Levi sitting when Jesus commanded him to “follow me” (verse 27)?

How did Levi respond to Jesus (verse 28)?

Who was at the great banquet that Levi held for Jesus (verse 29)?

In your opinion, why did the Pharisees and teachers of the law complain to Jesus disciples “why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners” (verse 30)?

How did Jesus respond to the complaints (verse 31)?

Who has Jesus come to call (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, based on what David says in Psalm 51:1-12, would he have viewed himself in Luke 5:27-32 as one of the healthy, or one of the sick?

Ephesians 2:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What does Paul say about the people he is writing to (verse 1)?

Who did the people Paul is writing used to follow (verse 2)?

Who is at work in “those who are disobedient” (verse 2)?

What does Paul say that “all of us” did at one time (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that God is “rich in mercy” (verse 4)?

Where were we when God “made us alive with Christ” (verse 5)?

Why has God “raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms” (verses 6 and 7)?

What allows us to be “saved, through faith” (verse 8)?

Where is the faith from (verse 8)?

Why can no one boast (verse 9)?

What are we (verse 10)?

What has God “prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul in Ephesians 2:1-10 help us to understand about the how the repentance that Jesus says in Luke 5:27-32 that He came to call sinners to occurs?

In your opinion, what could David, who wrote Psalm 51:1-12 after Nathan came to him following his adultery with Bathsheba, have helped us to understand about the contrast Paul reveals in Ephesians 2:1-10 between the cravings of the flesh and the salvation that is the result of God’s unfailing love and great mercy?

1 Peter 1:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

What are we to set our hope on (verse 13)?

How are we to react to the “evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean when he tells us to “be holy in all you do” (verse 15)?

Why should we “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (verse 17)?

What were we redeemed from (verse 18)?

How were we redeemed (verses 18 and 19)?

When was Christ chosen (verse 20)?

Who is our faith and hope in (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:13-21 teach us about what we are to do after we receive the salvation that Ephesians 2:1-10 explains?

In your opinion, how would you contrast the “empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors” as revealed in Luke 5:27-32 with the life we who have our “faith and hope . . . in God” are called to in 1 Peter 1:13-21?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:13-21 reveal to us about how God accomplished David’s request from Psalm 51:1-12 to “wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalm 51, Luke, Ephesians and 1 Peter teach us about today’s passage from Psalm 23, “He restoreth my soul”?

In your opinion, what do these passages help us to understand about the empty way of life of those who are righteous without Christ versus the “incomparable riches” that those who, through faith, have accepted God’s grace?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)