June 24, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Transformed to Greatness

Transformed to Greatness

Joshua 22:21-31 - New International Version (NIV)            

²¹ Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: ²² “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. ²³ If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.

²⁴ “No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.

²⁶ “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ ²⁷ On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’

²⁸ “And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’

²⁹ “Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle.”

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. ³¹ And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s hand.”

Who did Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh reply to (verse 21)?

Who knew that this had not been a “rebellion or disobedience” (verse 22)?

What did Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh ask the Lord to do if they built their alter “to turn away from the Lord” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, did the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have a reason to fear that they would someday be told they had “no share in the Lord” (verses 24 and 25)?

What was the alter not built for (verse 26)?

What did they build the alter for (verses 27 and 28)?

In your opinion, why did they consider building an alter for “burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifies, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle” to be rebellion against God (verse 29)?

How did Phinehas and the leaders of the community feel about what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh said (verse 30)?

Who said “today we know that the Lord is with us” (verse 31)?

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

Mark 10:35-45 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

³⁸ “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Who ask Jesus to do “for us whatever we ask” (verse 35)?

How did Jesus respond (verse 36)?

What did they want (verse 37)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “you don’t know what you are asking” (verse 38)?

What did Jesus tell them they would drink (verse 39)?

Who do the places at Jesus right and left belong to when He comes into glory (verse 40)?

How did the other ten disciples react when they heard about the request of James and John (verse 41)?

What do those “who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles” do (verse 42)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He tells the disciples that “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (verse 43)?

What does the one who wants to be first have to be (verse 44)?

What did the “Son of Man” come to do (verse 45)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh’s decision to build the alter in Joshua 22:21-31 and the request of James and John to be seated at the right and the left of Jesus when He came into glory in Mark 10:35-45?

Acts 14:8-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed ¹⁰ and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

¹¹ When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ¹² Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. ¹⁶ In the past, he let all nations go their own way. ¹⁷ Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” ¹⁸ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹ Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

What is distinctive about the man sitting in Lystra (verse 8)?

What did Paul see about him (verse 9)?

How did the man react to Paul’s command to “stand up on your feet” (verse 10)?

Who shouted “the gods have come down to us in human form” (verse 11)?

Why did they call Paul Hermes (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why did the priest of Zeus and the crowd want to offer sacrificies to them (verse 13)?

When did Barnabas and Paul tear their clothes and rush into the crowd (verse 14)?

What did Paul and Barnabas want the crowd to turn to “from these worthless things” (verse 15)?

What had God let the nations do in the past (verse 16)?

How had God testified to the nations in the past (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did they have difficulty “keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them” (verse 18)?

What did the crowd do when the Jews from Antioch and Iconium won them over (verse 19)?

Where did Paul and Barnabas go (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, why are the members of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Joshua 22:21-31 different in their relationship to God than the crowd at Lystra in Acts 14:8-20?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s explanation about the difference between Gentiles and Christians in Mark 10:35-45 begin to help us understand why the crowd that was going to offer sacrificies to Paul and Barnabas suddenly turn on them and stoned Paul in Acts 14:8-20?

Romans 12:1-2 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “in view of God’s mercy” (verse 1)?

What does Paul say that we should offer as a “holy and pleasing” living sacrifice to God (verse 1)?

What are we not to “conform to” (verse 2)?

How should we be transformed (verse 2)?

If we are transformed what will we be able to “test and approve” (verse 2)?

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

In your opinion, how are “Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites” in Joshua 22:21-31 an example of what Paul might mean in Romans 12:1-2 by the way the transformed Christian may be able to “test and approve what God’s will is”?

In your opinion, how does the fact that Jesus became the servant of the disciples and even died for those who sought to be the greatest (Gentile definition) in Mark 10:35-45 help us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds as Paul instructs in Romans 12:1-2?

In your opinion, what three things do Paul and Barnabas do in Lystra according to Acts 14:8-20 that would indicate that they had been “transformed by the renewing of your mind” as Paul instructs in Romans 12:1-2?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Romans show us about the difference between conforming “to the pattern of this world” and being “transformed by the renewing of your mind”?

In your opinion, what can we do today to be great in the Jesus’s eyes?

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June 12, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Noble and Beautiful Wives

Noble and Beautiful Wives

Proverbs 31:10-12 and 25-31 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ “A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

What is a wife of noble character worth (verse 10)?

What does her husband have (verse 11)?

When does she bring her husband good (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that she is “clothed with strength and dignity” (verse 25)?

How does she speak (verse 26)?

What does she watch over (verse 27)?

Who calls her “blessed” (verse 28)?

Who does noble things (verse 29)?

Who is to be praised (verse 30)?

Why should she be honored (verse 31)?

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

Mark 10:35-45 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

³⁸ “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

What did James and John say to the “Teacher” (verse 35)?

How did Jesus answer (verse 36)?

In your opinion, what would it mean to “sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory” (verse 37)?

What did Jesus say that they did not know (verse 38)?

Did Jesus agree that they could “drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with” (verses 38 and 39)?

Who do the seats at Jesus right and left belong to (verse 40)?

How did the other disciples react when they heard what James and John had done (verse 41)?

What did Jesus say the rulers of the Gentiles did (verse 42)?

What did Jesus say the high officials did (verse 42)?

What should the disciple who wants to be great be (verse 43)?

What should the one who “wants to be first” be (verse 44)?

Who came to “serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (verse 45)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “wife of noble character” in Proverbs 31:10-12 & 25-31 an illustration of the serving that Jesus talks about in Mark: 10:35-45?

Galatians 3:23-29 - New International Version (NIV)

²³ “Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

How were we held “before the coming of this faith” (verse 23)?

What was “our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what does it mean “now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (verse 25)?

Who are we “in Christ Jesus” through faith (verse 26)?

What have people who were baptized into Christ done (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (verse 28)?

What are we if we belong to Christ (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, how are the words of Paul in Galatians 3:23-29 that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” expanded on by Jesus when He says in Mark 10:35-45 that “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all”?

In your opinion, if Paul is right in Galatians 3:23-29 and there is no “male or female” then what message does Proverbs 31:10-12 & 25-31 have for men and women who are in Christ Jesus today?

1 Peter 3:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

⁷ Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

How does Peter say unbelieving husbands might be won over by their Christian wives (verse 1)?

What were the unbelieving husbands to see in the lives of their Christian wives (verse 2)?

Where should beauty not come from (verse 3)?

What should beauty be of (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why is “the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” of great worth in God’s sight (verse 4)?

Who did “holy women of the past” put their hope in (verse 5)?

How can women be the daughters of Sarah (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean for a husband to be “considerate” as they live with their wives (verse 7)?

Why should husbands treat their wives “with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how do you reconcile Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:23-29 that there is no “male and female” with Peter’s discussion in 1 Peter 3:1-7 that gives specific instructions to husbands and to wives?

In your opinion, how does Peter in his directions to wives and husbands 1 Peter 3:1-7 give specific instruction in how to implement the command of Jesus from Mark 10:35-45 that “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant”?

In your opinion, how does the wisdom of Proverbs 31:10-12 & 25-31 anticipate Peter’s statement in 1 Peter 3:1-7 that beauty “should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”?

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

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