April 2, 2023 – John’s Writings – Love, Accepted or Refused

Love, Accepted or Refused

Isaiah 52:3-10 - New International Version (NIV)

³ For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,
    and without money you will be redeemed.”

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
    lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵ “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
    therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

What were the people of Israel and Judah sold for (verse 3)?

What will they be redeemed for (verse 3)?

In your opinion, how are Egypt and Assyria similar (verse 4)?

When is God’s name blasphemed (verse 5)?

Who will know God’s name (verse 6)?

Whose feet are “beautiful on the mountains” (verse 7)?

What will the watchmen see “with their own eyes” (verse 8)?

Why are the ruins of Jerusalem to “burst into songs of joy” (verse 6)?

Where will the “salvation of our God” be seen (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

John 10:11-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

What is Jesus (verse 11)?

What does the good shepherd do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why does this not say “lays down his life for his sheep” (verse 11)?

What does the wolf do (verse 12)?

Why does the hired man run away (verse 13)?

Who knows the shepherd (verse 14)?

What does the good shepherd do for the sheep (verse 15)?

How many flocks will there be (verse 16)?

What will Jesus do with His life (verse 17)?

Who takes Jesus life from Him (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, how is the salvation of God that Isaiah 52:3-10 talks about related to the laying down of His life Jesus is telling about in John 10:11-18?

1 John 3:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

What is the result of the “great love the Father has lavished on us” (verse 1)?

Why does the world “not know us” (verse 1)?

What are we (verse 2)?

When will we be like Christ (verse 2)?

What do people who have “this hope in him” do (verse 3)?

Who “breaks the law” (verse 4)?

What is sin (verse 4)?

Why did Jesus appear (verse 5)?

How do people who live in Jesus change (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 3:1-6 help us understand about the redemption that Isaiah 52:3-10 says will happen “without money”?

In your opinion, how does John 10:11-18 help us understand about how amazingly great the love that 1 John 3:1-6 says that God has “lavished on us” is?

Revelation 16:8-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. ⁹ They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony ¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

What was the sun allowed to do when the fourth angel poured out his bowl (verse 8)?

How did the people who were “seared by the intense heat” respond to God (verse 9)?

What did the people refuse to do (verse 9)?

Where did the fifth angel pour out his bowl (verse 10)?

What happened when he poured out his bowl (verse 10)?

Why did people gnaw their tongues (verse 10)?

How did people respond to God (verse 11)?

What did people refuse to do (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, how are the people who were “sold for nothing” in Isaiah 52:3-10 similar to the people who “cursed the God of heaven” in Revelation 16:8-11?  How are the people who are redeemed in Isaiah 52:3-10 different from the people in Revelation?

In your opinion, how can the God who is the Shepherd and who lays down His life in John 10:11-18 be the same God who brings the plagues in Revelation 16:8-11?

In your opinion, why do those who are receiving the force of the plagues in Revelation 16:8-11 refuse to “see” and know the one that 1 John 3:1-6 says came to “take away our sins”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, 1 John and Revelation help us understand about who Jesus loves enough to lay down His life for?

In your opinion, what is the difference between those who respond to Jesus’s voice by coming to Him and those who refuse to repent?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 10, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Beauty in Feet and Professing's

Beauty in Feet and Professing's


Isaiah 52:3-10 - New International Version (NIV)

³ For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,
    and without money you will be redeemed.”

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
    lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵ “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
    therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

What will occur “without money” (verse 3)?

Who has “lately” oppressed the Lord’s people (verse 4)?

What is happening to the Lord’s name (verse 5)?

Who will know the Lord’s name (verse 6)?

What do those who bring good news say to Zion (verse 7)?

Who will see the Lord’s return to Zion “with their own eyes” (verse 8)?

Why should the “ruins of Jerusalem” burst into song (verse 9)?

Where with the “salvation of our God” be seen (verse 10)?

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

Mark 1:29-39 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. ³¹ So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴ and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹ So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Where did they go “with James and John” (verse 29)?

Who was “in bed with a fever” (verse 30)?

What happened with Jesus “took her hand and helped her up” (verse 31)?

When did people bring the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus (verse 32)?

Who gathered at the door (verse 33)?

Why did Jesus not let the demons speak (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus get up very early and go to a solitary place to pray (verse 35)?

Who went to look for Jesus (verse 36)?

What did they exclaim when they found Jesus (verse 37)?

Why had Jesus come (verse 38)?

Where did they go (verse 39)?

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

In your opinion, was the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law and the others who were sick or demon possessed in Mark 1:29-39 the salvation that the Isaiah said in Isaiah 52:3-10 those with feet that were beautiful in the mountains would bring news of?  Why or why not?

Acts 8:26-40 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

³⁰ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶ As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” ³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Where did the angel of the Lord send Philip (verse 26)?

Who did Philip meet (verse 27)?

What was Philip supposed to stay near (verse 29)?

How did the man answer Philip’s question “do you understand what you are reading” (verses 30 and 31)?

What passage was he reading (verses 32 and 33)?

What did he ask Philip (verse 34)?

Who did Philip tell the man about (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why is the eunuch’s question “what can stand in the way of my being baptized” important to him (verse 36)?

What did Philip do (verse 38)?

How did the eunuch continue on his way (verse 39)?

What did Philip do as he traveled about (verse 40)?

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

In your opinion, how would a reader of Isaiah 52:3-10 who observed Philip in Acts 8:26-40 describe his feet?

In your opinion, how does Philip in Acts 8:26-40 imitate the actions of Jesus in Mark 1:29-39? 

 Romans 10:5-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Who writes “about the righteousness that is by the law: “the person who does these things will live by them”” (verse 5)?

What does righteousness not say in the heart(verses 6 and 7)?

What does righteousness say (verse 8)?

What happens “if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be justified (verse 10)?

Who will never be put to shame (verse 11)?

Who does the Lord richly bless (verse 12)?

Who will be saved (verse 13)?

In your opinion, “how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard” (verse 14)?

Whose feet are beautiful (verse 15)?

What have “all the Israelites” not accepted (verse 16)?

How is the message heard (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does Romans 10:5-17 reveal about the “salvation of our God” that Isaiah 52:3-10 says all the ends of the earth will see?

In your opinion, how does Romans 10:5-17 help us understand why Jesus was not content in Mark 1:29-39 to stay in one town healing the sick and casting out demons?

In your opinion, how does Acts 8:26-40 illustrate the truth of Paul’s statement in Romans that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and Romans teach us about what is beautiful?

In your opinion, how can our professings be beautiful today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)