April 4, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Go and Tell

Go and Tell

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

² Let Israel say:
    “His love endures forever.”

¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
¹⁶     The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
¹⁷ I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord
    through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
    you have become my salvation.

²² The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

Why are we to “give thanks to the Lord” (verse 1)?

How long with His love endure (verse 2)?

What has the Lord become (verse 14)?

Where do “shouts of joy and victory” resound (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does “the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things” mean (verse 16)?

What will the Psalmist proclaim (verse 17)?

How has the Psalmist, and sometimes us, been chastened (verse 18)?

What gates need to be opened before the Psalmist, and we, can “enter and give thanks to the Lord” (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what do these words prophesy, “This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter” (verse 20)?

Why will the Psalmist, and we, give thanks (verse 21)?

What has become the cornerstone (verse 22)?

Who has done this that “is marvelous in our eyes” (verse 23)?

How should we respond to what the Lord has done (verse 24)?

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

Mark 16:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

What happened “when the Sabbath was over” (verse 1)?

When were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome “on their way to the tomb” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did they ask “who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb” (verse 3)?

What did they see “when they looked up” (verse 4)?

Who “alarmed” them (verse 5)?

Why was “Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified” not there (verse 6)?

What were they to tell “his disciples and Peter” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why were the women “trembling and bewildered” (verse 8)?

Why did they say nothing to anyone (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 help us understand about how to respond to Mark 16:1-8’s account of Jesus’s tomb being empty? 

Acts 10:34-43 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹ He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Who “began to speak” (verse 34)?

What does God not show (verse 34)?

Who does God accept “from every nation” (verse 35)?

What did the “message God sent to the people of Israel” announce (verse 36)?

How did God anoint Jesus (verse 38)?

What was Peter a witness of (verse 39)?

How was Jesus killed (verse 39)?

What did God do on the third day (verse 40)?

Who saw, ate, and drank with Jesus “after he rose from the dead” (verse 41)?

What were these people commanded to do (verse 42)?

Who “receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (verse 43)?

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

In your opinion, how do the prophecies in Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 apply to Jesus as described by Peter in Acts 10:34-43?  How do the prophecies apply to Peter, and us?

In your opinion, how is the worry of the women of Mark 16:1-8 about “who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb” transformed to the celebration in Acts 10:34-43?

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

What does Paul want to remind the Corinthian Christians, and Christians today, of (verse 1)?

How are those who are being saved to hold to the word (verse 2)?

What is “of first importance” (verse 3, 4, and 5)?

 

How many people did the risen Jesus appear to at one time (verse 6)?

Who did Jesus appear to “last of all” (verse 8)?

Why did Paul say he was “the least of the apostles” (verse 9)?

How is Paul able to say “I am what I am” (verse 10)?

How was Paul able to say “I worked harder than all of them” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how does 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 fulfill the Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 statement that “he has become my salvation”?

In your opinion, what three words does the angel in Mark 16:1-8 say that is at the heart of the gospel (good news) that Paul shares in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11? 

In your opinion, how are the backgrounds of Peter (Cephas) in Acts 10:34-43 and Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 different in their association with Jesus?  If their backgrounds are so different then why is their good news (gospel) so similar?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Psalms, Mark, Acts and 1 Corinthians show us how the alarm and fear in Acts are transformed into the “shouts of joy and victory” and rejoicing of Psalms?

In your opinion, how should we celebrate our good news today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 1, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Choosing

-            The

Choosing

Joshua 24:5-15 - New International Version (NIV)              

⁵ “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. ⁶ When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. ⁷ But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

⁸ “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. ⁹ When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

¹¹ “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. ¹² I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. ¹³ So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Who did God send (verse 5)?

How did the Egyptians pursue the Israelites (verse 6)?

What did the Israelites see (verse 7)?

Who destroyed the Amorites (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Balak son of Zippor and king of Moab send for Balaam son of Beor to curse the Israelites (verse 9)?

What did Balaam do (verse 10)?

How did the citizens of Jericho and the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites respond to the Israelites (verse 11)?

How did the Lord drive them out (verse 12)?

How did the Israelites get “a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness” (verse 14)?

Who does Joshua ask the Israelites to choose from to serve (verse 15)?

Who will Joshua and his household serve (verse 15)?

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

Mark 16:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

When did Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bring spices to anoint Jesus’ body (verse 1)?

What time of the day were they “on their way to the tomb” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did they ask “who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb” (verse 3)?

What did they see when they looked up (verse 4)?

Why were they alarmed (verse 5)?

What had “Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified” done (verse 6)?

Who were they to tell “He is going ahead of you into Galilee” (verse 7)?

What did the “trembling and bewildered” women do (verse 8)?

Why did they say “nothing to anyone” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how is God bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea in Joshua 24:5-15 similar to Jesus rising from the tomb in Mark 16:1-8?

Acts 28:23-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²³ They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. ²⁴ Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. ²⁵ They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶ “‘Go to this people and say,
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
²⁷ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

³⁰ For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. ³¹ He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

What did Paul do “from morning till evening” (verse 23)?

How did people react to what Paul said (verse 24)?

When did the people begin to leave (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between seeing and perceiving (verse 26)?

What has happened to “this people’s heart” (verse 27)?

Who has “God’s salvation” been sent to (verse 28)?

How long did Paul stay “in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him” (verse 30)?

What did Paul do “with all boldness and without hindrance” (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s quote of Isaiah’s passage “for this people’s heart has become calloused” in Acts 28:23-31 reveal about how the Israelites responded to the instruction that Joshua gave them “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve”?

In your opinion, how does the “trembling and bewildered” response of the women to the empty tomb in Mark 16:1-8 foreshadow the response of the Israelites in Rome to Paul’s witnessing about Jesus in Acts 28:23-31?

1 Peter 5:6-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Why should we humble ourselves “under God’s mighty hand” (verse 6)?

What should we cast on God (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “be alert and of sober mind” (verse 8)?

Who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (verse 8)?

Why should we “resist him, standing firm in the faith” (verse 9)?

What will “the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ” do (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what similarities are there between Joshua’s message to the Israelites in Joshua 24:5-15 and Peter’s message to Christians in 1 Peter 5:6-10?

In your opinion, how is the empty tomb witnessed by the “trembling and bewildered” women in Mark 16:1-8 the most powerful testimony to the anxious people that Peter is encouraging in 1 Peter 5:6-10 to stand “firm in the faith” that God “will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast”?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s quote from Isaiah “they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them” in Acts 28:23-31 similar to Peter’s instruction to “humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Peter teach us about how people choose to respond to the empty tomb?

Who do you choose to serve?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)