Enduring Word
Isaiah 40:6-11 - New International
Version (NIV)
6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the
field.
7 The grass withers and the
flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely
the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
9 You who bring good
news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with
power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
What did Isaiah ask (verse 6)?
Who is “like grass” (verse 6)?
What does “the breath of the Lordl” do (verse
7)?
What “endures forever” (verse 8)?
What is the one who brings “good news to
Jerusalem” to say (verse 9)?
How does “the Sovereign Lord” come (verse
10)?
How does “the Sovereign Lord” carry the
lambs (verse 11)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what will last?
John 10:7-18 – New International Version (NIV)
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I
am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come
before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to
them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be
saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full.
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.”
How
did Jesus describe Himself (verse 7)?
Who
has come before Him (verse 8)?
What
will happen to the one who “enters through” Jesus (verse 9)?
Why
did Jesus come (verse 10)?
What does the “good shepherd” do (verse
11)?
Why does the “hired hand” abandon
the sheep when he sees the wolf (verses 12 and 13)?
Who do the sheep know (verse
14)?
What
does Jesus do (verse 15)?
What
will the sheep “that are not of this sheep pen” do (verse 16)?
Why
does the “Father” love Jesus (verse 17)?
What
does no one take from Jesus (verse 18)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what will last?
In
your opinion, how is the hopelessness of “all people are like grass” in
Isaiah 40:6-11 transformed by the Good Shepherd in John 10:7-18?
James
1:2-16 - New
International Version (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the
testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let
perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should
ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be
given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not
doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and
tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to
receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is
double-minded and unstable in all they do.
9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their
high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their
humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For
the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom
falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade
away even while they go about their business.
12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having
stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord
has promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but
each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire
and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every
good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the
heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He
chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a
kind of firstfruits of all he created.
What should
we consider “pure joy” (verse 2)?
Where does perseverance come from (verse 3)?
How do we become “mature and complete, not lacking
anything” (verse 4)?
Who gives wisdom “generously to all without
finding fault” (verse 5)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to doubt (verse 6)?
Who is “double-minded and unstable in all they do”
(verses 6 through 8)?
Who should “take pride in their high position” (verse
9)?
Who should “take pride in their humiliation” (verse
10)?
When will the rich “fade away” (verse 11)?
What will the one who “perseveres under trial”
receive (verse 12)?
Who does not tempt anyone (verse 13)?
How is each person tempted (verse 14)?
What does sin give birth to (verse 15)?
Where does “every good and perfect gift” come
from (verse 17)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what
does this passage teach us about what will last?
In your opinion, how does the withering
of grass in Isaiah 40:6-11 help us understand how difficult it is to persevere
and how impossible it is to find joy in trials, as James 1:2-16 says we should,
without God’s generosity?
In
your opinion, how does James 1:2-16 help us understand what Jesus means when He
says in John 10:7-18 that He came that “they may have life, and have it to
the full”?
1 Peter 1:18-25 – New International Version (NIV)
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver
or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down
to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious
blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He
was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these
last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe
in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so
your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the
truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another
deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born
again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the
living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures
forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
What
was not used to redeem Christians “from the empty way of life” (verse 18)?
What redeems Christians (verse 19)?
When was Christ chosen (verse 20)?
How do Christians believe in God (verse 21)?
How do Christians purify themselves (verse
22)?
How should Christians love each other
(verse 22)?
What has happened “through the living
and enduring word of God” (verse 23)?
Who is like grass (verse 24)?
What “endures forever” (verse 25)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage
teach us about what will last?
In your opinion, how
is the God who rules in Isaiah 40:6-11 revealed to be so much more in 1 Peter
1:18-25?
In your opinion, what does 1 Peter
1:18-25 clarify about the purpose of the “good shepherd” of John 10:7-18
laying “down his life for the sheep”?
In your opinion, how does the discussion
of perishable things, like silver and gold, in 1 Peter 1:18-25 help us
understand why the rich in James 1:2-16 “should take pride in their
humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower”?
In
your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, James, and 1 Peter
teach us about the contrast of what the world believes will endure and what truly
endures?
In
your opinion, what does “the word of the Lord endures forever” mean?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
