November 8, 2020 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – One by Choice

One by Choice


Ezekiel 28:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
    you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
    in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.
³ Are you wiser than Daniel?
    Is no secret hidden from you?
⁴ By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.
⁵ By your great skill in trading
    you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.

⁶ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
⁷ I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
    and pierce your shining splendor.
⁸ They will bring you down to the pit,
    and you will die a violent death
    in the heart of the seas.
⁹ Will you then say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
    in the hands of those who slay you.
¹⁰ You will die the death of the uncircumcised
    at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Who does the Lord want Ezekiel to speak to (verses 1 and 2)?

Where does the ruler of Tyre say “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas” (verse 2)?

How has he gained wealth and amassed gold and silver (verse 4)?

What has his wealth caused (verse 5)?

Why is the Sovereign Lord going to bring foreigners against him (verses 6 and 7)?

What will the foreigners do to him (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why will the presence of those who want to kill him change his attitude about being a god (verse 9)?

Who has declared the death of the ruler (verse 10)?

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

Mark 7:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Where did Jesus go (verse 24)?

What did Jesus not want anyone to know (verse 24)?

Who came to Jesus “as soon as she heard about him” (verse 25)?

What was the woman (verse 26)?

What did she beg for (verse 26)?

Who said “it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss is to the dogs” (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why would the woman have been able to respond “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (verse 28)?

How does Jesus respond to the woman’s statement (verse 29)?

What did the woman find when she got home (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how is the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 different in his view of God from the view of the woman from the vicinity of Tyre in Mark 7:24-30?

Acts 12:19b-24 – New International Version (NIV)

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. ²⁰ He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

²¹ On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. ²² They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” ²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

Where did Herod go (verse 19)?

Why did the people of Tyre and Sidon join together to seek an audience with Herod (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that Herod wore his royal robes and sat on his throne to deliver the public address to the people (verse 21)?

What did the people shout (verse 22)?

Why did the angel strike Herod down (verse 23)?

What happened to the word of God (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how is the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 similar to Herod in Acts 12:19b-24 in attitude?  How are they similar in destiny?

In your opinion, how is the woman from the region of Tyre in Mark 7:24-30 different from Herod in Acts 12:19b-24 in attitude?  How are they different in destiny?

Galatians 3:19-29 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. ²⁰ A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

²¹ Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

In your opinion, why was the law “added because of transgressions” (verse 19)?

Is the law “opposed to the promises of God” (verse 21)?

What did Scripture lock up “under the control of sin” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is “what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ” (verse 22)?

What held us in custody until the coming “of this faith” (verse 23)?

What was the law “until Christ came that we might be justified by faith” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, why are we no longer under a guardian “now that this faith has come” (verse 25)?

What are all in Christ Jesus through faith (verse 26)?

Who is clothed with Christ (verse 27)?

Who is one in Christ Jesus (verse 28)?

Who are “heirs according to the promise” (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, how does pride in the heart of the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 reveal that he had rejected the guardianship of the law referred to by Paul in Galatians 3:19-29?

In your opinion, how is the Phoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30 proof of Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:19-29 that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”?

In your opinion, how does Herod being stricken in Acts 12:19b-24 show the need for the law to bring us into custody until we are justified by faith as Paul proclaimed in Galatians 3:19-29?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, Mark, Acts and Galatians teach us about the relationship between our view of ourselves and our salvation by faith?

In your opinion, what can we who are “one in Christ Jesus” do to help the Word spread and flourish today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 12, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Custody under the Law or Victory in Christ

Custody under the Law or Victory in Christ

Genesis 21:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Who was gracious to Sarah and did what He had promised (verse 1)?

What did Sarah do (verse 2)?

Who named Isaac (verse 3)?

What happened to Isaac when he was eight days old (verse 4)?

How old was Abraham when Isaac was born (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did Sarah say “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, who would say to Abraham that “Sarah would nurse children” (verse 7)?

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

John 7:14-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

²⁰ “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

When did Jesus go to the temple courts to teach (verse 14)?

Why were the Jews there amazed (verse 15)?

Where did Jesus’ teaching come from (verse 16)?

Who will find out if Jesus’ teaching is from God or on His own (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does the person who speaks on their own do so “to gain personal glory” (verse 18)?

Who does not keep the law (verse 19)?

What does the crowd say about Jesus (verse 20)?

Why were the Jews amazed (verse 21)?

What do the Jews do on the Sabbath (verse 22)?

Why were the Jews angry with Jesus (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between “judging by mere appearances” and judging correctly (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how does reading about Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 21:1-7 help you see why the Jews of John 7:14-24 would believe that they should circumcise their sons, even on the Sabbath when they were not supposed to be working?

Galatians 3:19-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. ²⁰ A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

²¹ Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

What was “added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why does a mediator imply more than one party (verse 20)?

Is the law opposed to the promises of God (verse 21)?

What would have had to happen for righteousness to come by the law (verse 21)?

How is “what was promised” given (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “held in custody under the law” and “locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed” (verse 23)?

What could happen when Christ came (verse 24)?

Why are we (Christians) no longer under a guardian (verse 25)?

How are we children of God in Christ Jesus (verse 26)?

Who has clothed themselves with Christ (verse 27)?

What are all Jews, Gentiles, slave, free, male and female in Christ Jesus (verse 28)?

Who are we if we belong to Christ (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul in Galatians 3:19-29 help us more correctly understand the law that Jesus said the Jews in the temple court were using to judge by appearances instead of correctly in John 7:14-24?

In your opinion, how is it possible that Isaac, through whom God gave laughter to Sarah in Genesis 21:1-7, and we, who belong to Christ, are related according to Paul in Galatians 3:19-29?

Revelation 3:7-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Who are these “words of him who is holy and true” written to (verse 7)?

What is placed before the people of the church in Philadelphia (verse 8)?

What have the people of the church in Philadelphia done in spite of having “little strength” (verse 8)?

Who do “those of the synagogue of Satan” claim to be (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what is meant by the “hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (verse 10)?

Why are the people of the church of Philadelphia supposed to “hold on to what you have” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, who is the “one who is victorious” (verse 12)?

Who is supposed to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion in Galatians 3:19-29 about the law and faith help us to understand what we have to do to be one of the “victorious” that Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, what do those in the temple who Jesus said judged by appearances instead of correctly in John 7:14-24 have in common with those “who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not” in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, how can the circumcision of Isaac in Genesis 21:1-7 be similar to the “hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Genesis, John, Galatians and Revelation help us understand the importance of having faith in Christ and not in our works?

In your opinion, how do these passages encourage us to keep Jesus’ word and not deny His name?            

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)