May 4, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – A Model of Hope

A Model of Hope

Daniel 9:4-19 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. ⁸ We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.

“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. ¹² You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

How did Daniel describe God (verse 4)?

What did Daniel say they had “turned away from” (verse 5)?

Who had not listened to the prophets (verse 6)?

Where were the people who were covered with shame (verse 7)?

Why were they covered with shame (verse 8)?

How did Daniel describe God, “even though we have rebelled against him” (verse 9)?

Why have “the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God” been poured out (verse 11)?

What had the people not done even though “all this disaster has come on us” (verse 13)?

What is the Lord “in everything he does” (verse 14)?

What does Daniel say the “Lord our God” has done (verse 15)?

What does Daniel ask the Lord to do “in keeping with all your righteous acts” (verse 16)?

How does Daniel ask the Lord to look on “your desolate sanctuary” (verse 17)?

Why is Daniel able to “make requests” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how is hope in God displayed in this passage?

Matthew 6:5-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’

¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

What have hypocrites praying in public places already received (verse 5)?

Who will reward “what is done in secret” (verse 6)?

Who thinks “they will be heard because of their many words” (verse 7)?

What does our Father know (verse 8)?

Where is “our Father” (verse 9)?

What do we ask to “come” (verse 10)?

What do we ask for “today” (verse 11)?

Who have we forgiven (verse 12)?

How do we want our Father to help us with the “evil one” (verse 13)?

When will our “heavenly Father” forgive us (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how is hope in God displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how does the prayer of Daniel 9:4-19 compare to the model prayer that Jesus provides in Matthew 6:5-15?

James 1:12-18 - New International Version (NIV)

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 will the “one who perseveres under trial” receive (verse 12)?

Who does God tempt (verse 13)?

How is “each person” tempted (verse 14)?

What is the genealogy of death (verse 15)?

Where is “ever good and perfect gift” from (verse 17)?

How does God give Christians birth (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how is hope in God displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how does Daniel 9:4-19 introduce the concept later found in James 5:13-20 that God does not tempt anyone?

In your opinion, why when James 5:13-20 teaches that God does not lead us into temptation, does Jesus’s model prayer say “lead us not into temptation” in Matthew 6:5-15?

Jude 1:17-25 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

What did “the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” foretell (verses 17 and 18)?

What do these people follow (verse 19)?

How do Christians keep themselves “in God’s love” (verses 20 and 21)?

Who should we “be merciful” to (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “show mercy, mixed with fear” (verse 23)?

Who can keep us “from stumbling” and present us “before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (verses 24 and 25)?

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

In your opinion, how is hope in God displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, when you compare what Daniel confesses about Israel and Judah in Daniel 9:4-19 with what Jude 1:17-25 anticipates for the “last times” what surprises you the most?

In your opinion, how is the model prayer of Jesus in Matthew 6:5-15 perfect for the challenges that Jude 1:17-25 anticipates?

In your opinion, despite the fears created by the intimidating challenges outlined in James 5:13-20 and Jude 1:17-25 how does Jude offer us hope?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Daniel, Matthew, James and Jude teach us about our separation from God?

In your opinion, how is the simple prayer that Jesus models a source of hope in our relationship with God?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 19, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Believing Among those who Don’t

Believing Among those who Don’t

Isaiah 53:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

 

In your opinion, “to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed” (verse 1)?

 

How did He grow up (verse 2)?

What did He not have to “attract us to him” (verse 2)?

How did “mankind” react to Him ( verse 3)?

What did He bear (verse 4)?

Who was He pierced for (verse 5)?

How are we healed (verse 5)?

What has “each of us” done (verse 6)?

What has “the Lord” laid on Him (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage provide a reason to hope, even in the midst of unbelief?

John 12:37-50 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

⁴² Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

⁴⁷ “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. ⁵⁰ I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

What did the crowd in Jerusalem not do, in spite of the signs that Jesus had performed (verse 37)?

Whose word was this to fulfill (verse 38)?

What had He hardened (verse 40)?

What had Isaiah seen (verse 41)?

Why would the leaders who believed in Jesus not openly acknowledge their faith” (verse 42)?

What did they love more than “praise from God” (verse 43)?

Who else does the one who believes in Jesus believe in (verse 44)?

Who does the one who looks at Jesus see (verse 45)?

How did Jesus “come into the world” (verse 46)?

Who does Jesus not judge (verse 47)?

What will condemn the “one who rejects” Jesus and does not accept His words (verse 48)?

Who “commanded” Jesus to say all that He spoke (verse 49)?

Whose command “leads to eternal life” (verse 50)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage provide a reason to hope, even in the midst of unbelief?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah 53:1-6 help us understand about what Jesus would have to do to “save the world” as He indicates is His purpose in John 12:37-50?

Romans 10:14-21 - New International Version (NIV)

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. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
    I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
    I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

In your opinion, “how can they hear without someone preaching to them” (verse 14)?

Whose feet are beautiful (verse 15)?

What did not all the Israelites accept (verse 16)?

How is the message heard (verse 17)?

What is the answer to the question “did they not hear” (verse 18)?

Who will God use to make Israel envious (verse 19)?

Who does Isaiah say will find God (verse 20)?

How is Israel described (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage provide a reason to hope, even in the midst of unbelief?

In your opinion, how does Isaiah 31:1-6 support the message of good news that Paul in Romans 10:14-21 says “of course” the Israelites heard?

In your opinion, how does Paul indicating that all the Israelites heard the message but not all “accepted the good news” in Romans 10:14-21 help us understand what Jesus meant when He said that He would not be the judge, but “very words” He spoke would “condemn them at the last day” in John 12:37-50? 

Jude 1:17-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

What does Jude want his “dear friends” to remember (verse 17)?

When will scoffers “follow their own ungodly desires” (verse 18)?

What do these people do (verse 19)?

What do these people follow (verse 19)?

How does Jude want his friends to build themselves up (verse 20)?

How does Jude want his friends to pray (verse 20)?

What are Jude’s friends to wait for (verse 21)?

Who should Jude’s friends “be merciful to” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “show mercy, mixed with fear-hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh” (verse 23)?

How is God able to present Christians “before his glorious presence” (verse 24)?

What does Jude pray for God to have “through Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage provide a reason to hope, even in the midst of unbelief?

In your opinion, how does Jude 1:17-25 help us understand why those in Isaiah 53:1-6 who did not believe made the choice they did?

In your opinion, what does Jude 1:17-25 help us understand about how to respond to those who John 12:37-50 indicates were blinded and did not believe, or believed but were unwilling to openly acknowledge their beliefs?

In your opinion, what does Jude 1:17-25 instruct Christians do for themselves when the scoffers of Romans 10:14-21 are obstinate and do not believe?

In your opinion, what does Jude 1:17-25 instruct Christians do for those scoffers of Romans 10:14-21 who are obstinate and do not believe?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Romans and Jude help us understand about how the message of salvation is received by the world?

In your opinion, how can we grow in God’s love despite the persistent battering of unbelief around us?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)