October 27, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Wake Up, the Kingdom is Near

Wake Up, the Kingdom is Near

Isaiah 9:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

² The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

Who will there be “no more gloom for” (verse 1)?

What have the “people walking in darkness” seen (verse 2)?

What has the Lord Almighty increased (verse 3)?

What three things have been shattered (verse 4)?

Which boot “will be destined for burning” (verse 5)?

Who will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (verse 6)?

How will He establish and uphold His kingdom (verse 7)?

What “will accomplish this” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the kingdom of heaven?

Matthew 4:12-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶ the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

When did Jesus withdraw “into Galilee” (verse 12)?

Where was Capernaum (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus go (verse 14)?

How is Galilee described (verse 15)?

Who “have seen a great light” (verse 16)?

What has dawned on “those living in the land of the shadow of death” (verse 16)?

Why are the people Jesus is preaching to called to “Repent” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the kingdom of heaven?

In your opinion, how is David’s kingdom that the child will rule in Isaiah 9:1-7 related to the kingdom of heaven that Jesus says has “come near” in Matthew 4:12-17?

Ephesians 5:8-20 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What had the readers of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians once been (verse 8)?

What are they “now” (verse 8)?

What is the “fruit of the light” (verse 9)?

What are they to “find out” (verse 10)?

How are they to react to “the fruitless deeds of darkness” (verse 11)?

What is shameful (verse 12)?

What happens to “everything that is illuminated” (verse 13)?

When will Christ shine on the sleeper (verse 14)?

How should the reader live (verse 15)?

Why should the reader make “the most of every opportunity” (verse 16)?

What does the reader need to understand to avoid being “foolish” (verse 17)?

How should the reader be filled (verse 18)?

Where should the music the reader sings “to the Lord” come from (verse 19)?

What should the reader “always” do (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the kingdom of heaven?

In your opinion, what do we learn about the darkness in Isaiah 9:1-7 from the darkness that believers in Ephesians 5:8-20 used to be in?  How is great light of Isaiah related to the “light of the Lord” in Ephesians?

In your opinion, how is the repenting that Jesus calls for in Matthew 4:12-17 related to the waking that Paul calls for in Ephesians 5:8-20?

James 4:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Where do “fights and quarrels” come from (verse 1)?

What happens when the readers “covet” (verse 2)?

Why do the readers “not receive” (verse 3)?

Who becomes “an enemy of God” (verse 4)?

What says that “he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us” (verse 5)?

Who does God show “favor to” (verse 6)?

Who should the reader “submit” to (verse 7)?

Who should the reader “resist” (verse 7)?

When will God “come near to you” (verse 8)?

What does Paul say will happen if the readers “humble” themselves “before the Lord” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the kingdom of heaven?

In your opinion, what is the difference between God humbling the “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali” in Isaiah 9:1-7 and people humbling themselves “before the Lord” in James 4:1-10?

In your opinion, what does James 4:1-10 reveal to us about the repenting that Jesus commanded “because the kingdom of heaven has come near” in Matthew 4:12-17?

In your opinion, how is the humbling of ourselves that James 4:1-10 commands related to the invitation to be filled by the Spirit that Ephesians 5:8-20 gives?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Ephesians, and James teach us about the difference between the world and the kingdom of heaven?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’s call to “repent” an invitation to becoming people who always give “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”?

In your opinion, how do we live as “children of light” in the dark world today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 22, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Under the Sun or In the Light

Under the Sun or In the Light

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 - New International Version (NIV)      

¹² I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! ¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened;
    what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶ I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

¹⁸ For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
    the more knowledge, the more grief.

What was the Teacher (verse 12)?

How did the Teacher study and explore “by wisdom all that is done under the heavens” (verse 13)?

What has the Teacher seen (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by “all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (verse 14)?

What can not be straightened (verse 15)?

Who is the Teacher wiser than (verse 16)?

What did the Teacher decide about the “understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly” (verse 17)?

What comes with “much wisdom” (verse 18)?

What comes with “more knowledge” (verse 18)?

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

Matthew 7:15-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

How does Jesus describe false prophets (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he asks “do people pick grapes from thornbushes” (verse 16)?

What tree bears good fruit (verse 17)?

What tree cannot bear good fruit (verse 18)?

Where will trees that do not bear good fruit end up (verse 19)?

How will we recognize false prophets (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how does what Jesus said about false prophets in Matthew 7:15-20 apply to what the Teacher says in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18?  Why do we need to consider all of Ecclesiastes before we apply what Jesus says?

Romans 6:19-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Why is Paul offering an example “from everyday life” (verse 19)?

How should we offer ourselves as “slaves to righteousness leading to holiness” (verse 19)?

When were we “free from the control of righteousness” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, how would you answer Paul’s question “what benefit did you reap at that time from the things that you are now ashamed of” (verse 21)?

When do we reap the benefit that “leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (verse 22)?

What are the “wages of sin” (verse 23)?

What is the “gift of God” (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, why can Paul talk about people who used to be slaves to sin but are now slaves of God in Romans 6:19-23 when the Teacher said in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 that “what is crooked cannot be straightened”?

In your opinion, what does Paul’s statement in Romans 6:19-23 that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” help us to understand about the good and bad trees that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7:15-20?

Ephesians 5:8-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How does Paul describe the Ephesians that he was writing to (verse 8)?

What is the “fruit of the light” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, “what pleases the Lord” (verse 10)?

How should we treat “the fruitless deeds of darkness” (verse 11)?

What is shameful (verse 12)?

When do things become visible (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean for the sleeper to wake up and have Christ shine on them (verse 14)?

How should we not live (verse 15)?

How should we live (verse 15)?

Why should we make “the most of every opportunity” (verse 16)?

How do we avoid being foolish (verse 17)?

What should we be filled with (verse 18)?

How should we speak to each other (verse 19)?

When should we give thanks (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the wisdom that is “chasing after the wind” in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 and and living as the wise as Paul instructs in Ephesians 5:8-20?

In your opinion, what does Paul in Ephesians 5:8-20 teach us about the good fruit from the good tree that Jesus tells us about in Matthew 7:15-20?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Ephesians 5:8-20 give us a better understanding of how we can receive the “gift of God” that is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord that is promised in Romans 6:19-23?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Romans and Ephesians help us to understand the difference between things that are “done under the sun” and things that are done as “children of the light”?

In your opinion, how can we avoid the wisdom that is meaningless and live in the light as the wise?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 13, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – From Darkness to Perfect Light

From Darkness to Perfect Light

Genesis 1:2-5 – New International Version (NIV)

² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

What was the earth (verse 2)?

What was “over the surface of the deep” (verse 2)?

Where was the Spirit of God (verse 2)?

Who said “let there be light” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why was the light “good” (verse 4)?

What was the evening and the morning (verse 5)?

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

John 3:16-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Why did God give “his one and only Son” (verse 16)?

Who will not perish (verse 16)?

Why did God “send his Son into the world” (verse 17)?

Who is not condemned (verse 18)?

Why are those who do not believe condemned (verse 18)?

Where has light come (verse 19)?

Why do people love the darkness (verse 19)?

Who hates the light (verse 20)?

Why won’t those who hate the light come into the light (verse 20)?

Who comes into the light (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how does John 3:16-21 help us understand why God said that the light was good in Genesis 1:2-5?

Ephesians 5:8-20 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “you once were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (verse 8)?

What does the fruit of the light consist in (verse 9)?

How should we treat “fruitless deeds of darkness” (verse 11)?

What does Paul say about what “the disobedient do in secret” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that “everything exposed by the light becomes visible” (verse 13)?

What does everything that is illuminated become (verse 13)?

Who will shine on the sleeper who wakes up and rises from the dead (verse 14)?

How should we be careful to live (verse 15)?

Why should we make the most of every opportunity (verse 16)?

What should we understand (verse 17)?

What leads to debauchery (verse 18)?

How do we speak to each other when we are filled with the Spirit (verses 18 and 19)?

What should we always give thanks to God the Father for (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn about the people Paul said are now “light in the Lord” although they “were once darkness” in Ephesians from John, who said “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” in John 3:16-21?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion of the fruit of the light and the fruitless deeds of darkness in Ephesians 5:8-20 help us understand why God in Genesis 1:2-5 considered the light good?

Revelation 21:22-27 – New International Version (NIV)

²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Why is there no temple in the city (verse 22)?

What gives the city light (verse 23)?

Who is the lamp for that light (verse 23)?

Who will walk in the light of the city (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of “on no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there” (verse 25)?

What glory and honor will be “brought into it” (verse 26)?

What will never enter the city (verse 27)?

Who will enter the city (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn if we consider Paul’s statement In Ephesians 5:5-20 “For you were once darkness” and John’s statement in Revelation 21:22-27 that “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” both to be true?

What does John’s discussion in John 3:16-21 about who is condemned and who is not condemned teach us about the ones who in Revelation 21:22-27 John says will enter the Holy City that came down from heaven because their “names are written in the Lamb’s book of life”?

In your opinion, what does it mean that in Genesis 1:2-5 the first thing created was light and it was separated from the darkness and then in Revelation 21:22-27 we find out that there will no longer be darkness?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Ephesians and Revelation help us understand about light and darkness and how to live today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)