March 22, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – What are You Waiting For

What are You Waiting For


Genesis 32:22-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Who did Jacob send across the ford of the Jabbok (verse 22?

What else did Jacob send across the stream (verse 23)?

What did Jacob do until daybreak (verse 24)?

Why did the man touch “the socket of Jacob’s hip” (verse 25)?

What did Jacob want before he released the man (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why did the man ask for Jacob’s name (verse 27)?

Why was Jacob’s name to be changed to Israel (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why does the man not tell Jacob his name (verse 29)?

Why does Jacob call the place Peniel (verse 30)?

Why was Jacob limping (verse 31)?

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

Mark 6:14-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.”

And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰ because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶ The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸ and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Why had King Herod head about Jesus (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why would people say that Jesus was Elijah or a prophet (verse 15)?

Who did Herod think Jesus was (verse 16)?

Where did Herod order John to be put (verse 17)?

What had John been saying (verse 18)?

Who nursed a grudge against John (verse 19)?

In your opinion, how could Herod like to listen to John, even if he feared him (verse 20)?

What did Herod do on his birthday (verse 21)?

How did the daughter of Herodias please Herod and the guests (verse 22)?

What did Herod promise the daughter of Herodias (verse 23)?

Who told the daughter of Herodias to ask for the head of John the Baptist (verse 24)?

How did the daughter of Herodias want the head to be presented to her (verse 25)?

Why did Herod give her the head of John the Baptist even though he was greatly distressed (verse 26)?

What did John’s disciples do when they heard about what had happened (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what could be similar between Jacob’s emotions as he anticipated meeting his brother, who he had overcome years before, in Genesis 32:22-32 and Herod’s emotions as he heard about Jesus and thought that He was John the Baptist raised from the dead in Mark 6:14-29?

Acts 22:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³ He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

What was Paul asking people to listen to (verse 1)?

How did the people respond when Paul spoke in Aramaic (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Paul mention that he was a Jew, who studied under Gamaliel and was zealous for God (verse 3)?

Who did Paul persecute (verse 4)?

Why did Paul obtain letters from the high priest and the council (verse 5)?

What happened about noon as Paul was nearing Damascus (verse 6)?

What did the voice Paul heard say (verse 7)?

Whose voice was it that Paul heard (verse 8)?

How did Paul’s companions perceive what was happening (verse 9)?

What was Paul to do (verse 10)?

Why did Paul’s companions lead him by the hand (verse 11)?

Who was Ananias (verse 12)?

When was Paul able to see (verse 13)?

Who had chosen Paul (verse 14)?

What was Paul to be (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why did Ananias say “what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jacob being given a new name in Genesis 32:22-32 similar to Paul getting up, being baptized and calling on God’s name in Acts 22:1-16?

In your opinion, how might Herod’s reaction to hearing about Jesus and thinking that He was John the Baptist, who he had liked to listen to but still had killed in Mark 6:14-29 been different if he’d followed the instructions Ananias gave to Paul in Acts 22:1-16?

Hebrews 12:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

What are we surrounded by (verse 1)?

What should Christians throw off (verse 1)?

How should we run “the race marked out for us” (verse 1)?

Who should we fix our eyes on (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross (verse 2)?

Where did Jesus sit (verse 2)?

What can help us “not grow weary and lose heart” (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jacob struggling with God before getting a new name in Genesis 32:22-32 similar to our throwing “off everything that hinders” as Paul instructs in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how is Herodias in Mark 6:14-29 an example of what can happen if we don’t “throw off . . . the sin that so easily entangles” as instructed by Paul in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how might Ananias’s instruction to Paul to “Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” in Acts 22:1-16 have influenced Paul as he was instructing us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Mark, Acts and Hebrews teach us about struggling with, holding grudges, seeing the light and persevering?

In your opinion, how can we run our race to Jesus without becoming weary or losing heart?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 5, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Living For Self or Bearing Fruit

Living For Self or Bearing Fruit

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun.

What did the Teacher decide to test himself with (verse 1)?

What does the Teacher say “is madness” (verse 2)?

How did the Teacher try to cheer himself up (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what would motivate the Teacher undertake “great projects” (verses 4, 5, and 6)?

In your opinion, why would the Teacher gather all the possessions (verses 7 and 8)?

What did the Teacher become (verse 9)?

What did the Teacher deny himself (verse 10)?

In your opinion, how would the Teacher’s heart taking “delight in all my labor” be a reward for all his toil (verse 10)?

What did the Teacher think when he “surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achive” (verse 11)?

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

Matthew 5:27-30 - New International Version (NIV)

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.

What does Jesus say His listeners had heard (verse 27)?

What has the person “who looks at a woman lustfully” already done (verse 28)?

How should we react if our right eye causes us to stumble (verse 29)?

How should we react if our right hand causes us to stumble (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why is it better “to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does Jesus in Matthew 5:27-30 help us understand about what the Teacher was doing when he “denied myself nothing my eyes desired” according to Ecclesiastes 2:1-11?

Galatians 5:13-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

What does Paul instruct us that Christian freedom should be used for (verse 13)?

How is the entire law fulfilled (verse 14)?

When will we be destroyed by each other (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (verse 16)?

What is “contrary to the Spirit” (verse 17)?

When are we “not under the law” (verse 18)?

What is obvious (verse 19)?

Who will not “inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 21)?

What are “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (verses 22 and 23)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to  have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (verse 24)?

Why should we “keep in step with the Spirit” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how are the conclusion that the Teacher came to after rewarding himself with everything he desired in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 and Paul’s discussion in Galatians 5:16-25 about the desires of the flesh similar?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion about crucifying “the flesh with its passions and desires” in Galatians 5:16-25 help us understand Jesus’s statement in Matthew 5:27-30 “it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell”?

Hebrews 12:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

What surrounds Christians (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (verse 1)?

How are we to run the “race marked out for us” (verse 1)?

Where do we fix our eyes (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he calls Jesus the “pioneer and perfecter of faith” (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross (verse 2)?

Where did Jesus sit down (verse 2)?

Why should we consider Jesus, “who endured such opposition from sinners” (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, how is the focus of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 different from the focus that Paul suggests in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, what is similar between the focus on the woman that Jesus condemns in Matthew 5:27-30 and the focus on Jesus that Paul recommends in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, what can we learn when we consider that in Galatians 5:13-25 Paul says that “the entire law is fulfilled by keeping this one command: “love your neighbor as yourself” and in Hebrews 12:1-3 he tells us to “run with perseverance”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Galatians and Hebrews teach us about the consequences of focusing on ourselves?

In your opinion, how can we, living in sinful flesh and in a sin filled world, bear the “fruit of the Spirit”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 26, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Regret and Salvation

Regret and Salvation

Genesis 6:5-8 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

What did the Lord see (verse 5)?

What was “only evil all the time” (verse 5)?

Who did the Lord regret making (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why was the Lord going to wipe out the animals, the birds, and the creatures that move along the ground along with human beings (verse 7)?

Who found “favor in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 8)?

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

Mark 4:35-41 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Where did Jesus tell the disciples they needed to go (verse 35)?

Who did they leave behind (verse 36)?

What nearly swamped the boat (verse 37)?

Where was Jesus (verse 38)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples say “Teach, don’t you care if we drown” (verse 38)?

What happened when Jesus said “Quiet! Be still” (verse 39)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “do you still have no faith” (verse 40)?

How did the disciples react to Jesus (verse 41)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus saving the disciples from the storm in Mark 4:35-41 similar to the Lord saving Noah from the Flood in Genesis 6:5-8?

Hebrews 12:1-3 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Who surrounds us (verse 1)?

What does Paul say we should “throw off” (verse 1)?

How should we run “the race marked out for us” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why is Jesus called “the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross and scorn its shame (verse 2)?

Who should we consider when we endure opposition from sinners and begin to grow weary (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus getting the disciples through the squall in Mark 4:35-41 help us to understand why Paul instructs us to fix our eyes on “Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s recommendation in Hebrews 12:1-3 that we “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” appropriate when we consider the fact mentioned in Genesis 6:5-8 that the “thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time”?

1 Peter 3:17-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

In your opinion, why is it better “if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good that for doing evil” (verse 17)?

Why did Christ “suffer once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous” (verse 18)?

What happened to Christ when He was “put to death in the body” (verse 18)?

Who did Christ make a proclamation to (verse 19)?

How did God wait “while the ark was being built” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that the eight people “were saved through water” (verse 20)?

What does the water symbolize (verse 21)?

What is the baptism a pledge of (verse 21)?

How does baptism save (verse 21)?

Where has Jesus gone (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “throwing off everything that hinders” and the running “with perseverance the race marked out for us” that Paul talks about in Hebrews 12:1-3 an appropriate follow up for the “pledge of a clear conscience toward God” that Peter says baptism is in 1 Peter 3:14-22?

In your opinion, what has taken Peter from being afraid of the squall and the terrified of Jesus in Mark 4:35-41 to being confident in the resurrection of Christ and His ascension into heaven in 1 Peter 3:14-22?

In your opinion, what does Noah, who found “favor in the eyes of the Lord” in Genesis 6:5-8 and then was saved from the flood of the water have in common with all those who have been baptized with water which saves through the resurrection of Jesus Christ according to Peter in 1 Peter 3:17-22?

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

Next, back to Peter 4:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)