June 11, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Gifts and Service

Gifts and Service

Genesis 45:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸ “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹ Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

Who cried out “have everyone leave my presence” (verse 1)?

How loudly did Joseph weep (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why was Joseph’s first question “is my father still living” (verse 3)?

Why were Joseph’s brothers unable to answer him (verse 3)?

What did Joseph want his brothers to do (verse 4)?

Why were Joseph’s brothers to “not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves” (verse 5)?

What will not happen for the next five years (verse 6)?

Why did God send Joseph ahead of the brothers (verse 7)?

What has God made Joseph (verse 8)?

Who are Joseph’s brothers to “hurry” to (verse 9)?

Where will Joseph’s father and brothers live (verse 10)?

What will Joseph do (verse 11)?

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

John 13:3-17 - New International Version (NIV)

³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

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.

What did Jesus know (verse 3)?

What did Jesus do (verse 5)?

Who ask “Lord, are you going to wash my feet” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “you do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (verse 7)?

How did Jesus respond when Peter said “you shall never wash my feet” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Peter want Jesus to wash his hands and head as well (verse 9)?

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

Why did Jesus say that not everyone was clean (verse 11)?

What did Jesus finish doing (verse 12)?

Why is it right for the disciples to call Jesus “‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’” (verse 13)?

Why should the disciples “wash one another’s feet” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what example has Jesus set (verse 15)?

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

When will the disciples be blessed (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how is Joseph’s service to his brothers as he explained, that God sent him to Egypt to save them, in Genesis 45:1-11 similar to Jesus serving His disciples by washing their feet in John 13:3-17?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. ³ Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

What does Paul want his brothers and sisters not to be uninformed of (verse 1)?

What were Paul’s brothers and sisters influenced and led astray to while they were pagans (verse 2)?

What can someone speaking by the Spirit of God not say (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why can no one “say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit” (verse 3)?

Who distributes all the different gifts (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord” (verse 5)?

Who is at work in all the different kinds of working (verse 6)?

Why is each “manifestation of the Spirit” given (verse 7)?

What are the different gifts of the Spirit that Paul lists here (verses 8, 9, and 10)?

Who determines how the gifts are distributed (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what can we, who are recipients of the gifts of the Spirit that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, learn from Jesus in John 13:3-17?

In your opinion, what can we, who are recipients of the gifts of the Spirit that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, learn from Joseph’s understanding as revealed in Genesis 45:1-11 about why things happened to him?

Revelation 5:5-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.”

Why was John not supposed to weep (verse 5)?

What did the Lamb look like had happened to it (verse 6)?

Who are the “seven horns and seven eyes” (verse 6)?

Where was the scroll that the Lamb took (verse 7)?

What was in the cup of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders who fell down before the Lamb (verse 8)?

What had the Lamb purchased for God with His blood (verse 9)?

Who are the “kingdom and priests” to serve (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does it mean that the same people who Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 are to receive different kinds of gifts for different kinds of service are in Revelation 5:5-10 are shown as “a kingdom and priests to serve our God”?

In your opinion, what does John’s statement about the blood of the slain Lamb in Revelation 5:5-10 help us to understand what Jesus meant in John 13:3-17 when he said “unless I wash you, you have no part with me”?

In your opinion, how does the fact that God sent Joseph ahead of his brothers into Egypt to “save your lives by a great deliverance” in Genesis 45:1-11 help us to understand the Lamb who had been slain and had purchased with his blood “persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” in Revelation 5:5-10?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Genesis, John, 1 Corinthians and Revelation teach us about the reason for the gifts of the Spirit?

In your opinion, how do these passages encourage us “serve our God”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 1, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Suffering and Salvation

 Suffering and Salvation

Genesis 45:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸ “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹ Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’”

What could Joseph “no longer” do (verse 1)?

Who did Joseph make himself known to (verse 1)?

How loudly did Joseph weep (verse 2)?

What question did Joseph ask his brothers (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why were Joseph’s brothers “terrified at his presence” (verse 3)?

How did Joseph describe himself to his brothers (verse 4)?

Why did Joseph tell his brothers “do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here” (verse 5)?

What has been in the land for two years and will be there for five more years (verse 6)?

Who sent Joseph ahead “to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why does Joseph say “it was not you who sent me here, but God” (verse 8)?

Who does Joseph want to come quickly to Egypt (verse 9)?

Where will Joseph’s father and his family live (verse 10)?

Who will provide for Joseph’s father and his family (verse 11)?

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

Matthew 14:22-33 - New International Version (NIV)

²² “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

What did Jesus make his disciples do (verse 22)?

Where did Jesus go to be by himself and pray (verse 23)?

Why was the boat “buffeted by the waves” (verse 24)?

How did Jesus go out to them (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why were the disciples terrified when they saw Jesus “walking on the lake” (verse 26)?

How did Jesus respond to their fear (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why would Peter, who was just terrified, ask Jesus to tell him to “come to you on the water” (verse 28)?

What did Peter do when Jesus said “come” (verse 29)?

Why did Peter begin to sink (verse 30)?

How did Jesus respond to Peter’s cry for help when he began to sink (verse 31)?

When did the wind die down (verse 32)?

How did those in the boat respond (verse 33)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus pulling Peter from the water after he was afraid of the wind in Matthew 14:22-33 similar to God saving the brothers of Joseph who sold him into slavery through Joseph in Genesis 45:1-11?

Romans 8:18-28 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

What is not worth comparing “with the glory that will be revealed in us” (verse 18)?

Who does the creation wait “in eager expectation” for (verse 19)?

What was the creation subjected to (verse 20)?

What is creation to be brought into if it is liberated from it bondage to decay (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the “whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth” (verse 22)?

Who groans inwardly while waiting eagerly for “our adoption to sonship, the redemption of bodies” (verse 23)?

What is “no hope at all” (verse 24)?

How do we wait if we “hope for what we do not yet have” (verse 25)?

Who helps us “in our weakness” (verse 26)?

How does the Spirit intercede for us when we don’t know what to pray for (verse 26)?

How does the Spirit intercede for “God’s people” (verse 27)?

In what things does God work “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how is Peter asking Jesus to call him out onto the water in Matthew 14:22-33 an example of how the Spirit intercedes as Paul talks about in Romans 8:18-28?

In your opinion, how does the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 45:1-11 anticipate Paul’s statement that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” in Romans 8:18-28?

1 Peter 1:1-9 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Who is Peter writing to (verse 1)?

What does God the Father have about the elect that were chosen (verse 2)?

How does the Spirit work in the chosen (verse 2)?

Whose blood are the chosen to be sprinkled with (verse 2)?

Through what has God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ “given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3)?

Where is the “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” kept (verse 4)?

How are the chosen “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how can the chosen “greatly rejoice” even though “for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (verse 6)?

Why have the trials come (verse 7)?

How do the chosen respond to Jesus, even though they have not seen Him (verse 8)?

What is the end result of the faith of the chosen (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, how are Paul, in Romans 8:18-28, and Peter, in 1 Peter 1:1-9, (who were very different in personality and background) similar in their teachings about sufferings and joy?

In your opinion, how does Jesus reaching down to pull Peter from the water in Matthew 14:22-33 even though he had “little faith” add richness and strength to what Peter says about being shielded by God’s power through faith in 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, how does God’s preparation to save the brothers of Joseph in Genesis 45:1-11 help us to understand the foreknowledge and saving work of God that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Genesis, Matthew, Romans and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 1:10 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)