January 12, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Appointed or Purified

Appointed or Purified


Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

¹² The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

¹⁷ “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Whose word came to Jeremiah (verse 4)?

When was Jeremiah appointed “as a prophet to the nations” (verse 5)?

What objection did Jeremiah raise to the Lord (verse 6)?

How did the Lord respond to Jeremiah’s objection (verse 7)?

Why is Jeremiah not to be afraid (verse 8)?

How did the Lord put words in Jeremiah’s mouth (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Lord appointed Jeremiah “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (verse 10)?

What did Jeremiah see (verse 11)?

How did the Lord interpret what Jeremiah saw (verse 12)?

What is Jeremiah to say (verse 17)?

Who is Jeremiah to stand against (verse 18)?

How will they respond to Jeremiah (verse 19)?

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

Mark 3:13-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who came to Him (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus appoint the twelve (verse 14)?

What authority did the twelve have (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus give the name Peter (verse 16)?

How is Judas Iscariot described (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, why would the one who knew Jeremiah before He formed him in the womb, in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19, have appointed “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” to be one of the twelve in Mark 3:13-19? 

Acts 1:12-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

¹⁸ (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰ “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Who returned to Jerusalem (verse 12)?

Who joined “constantly in prayer” (verse 14)?

How many believers were there (verse 15)?

What did Peter say had to be fulfulled (verse 16)?

How does Peter describe Judas (verses 16 and 17)?

What did Judas do with his payment (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why did Peter quote the Psalms in verse 20?

What criteria did Peter require of Judas’s replacement (verses 21 and 22)?

Who was nominated (verse 23)?

What did they pray (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is an “apostolic ministry” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how is the way Matthias became a member of the twelve and the way the other eleven became members different (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jeremiah, who God appointed as a prophet according to Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 different from Judas who Jesus appointed as one of the twelve in Mark 3::13-19 and who fulfilled the Scripture “which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David” according to Peter in Acts 1:12-26?

In your opinion, how could Judas, who was appointed by Jesus in Mark 3:13-19, have been the one who Peter said in Acts 1:12-26 “served as a guide for those who arrested Jesus”?

Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How did God speak to the ancestors of the Jews (and us) in the past (verse 1)?

How did God speak to us “in these last days” (verse 2)?

Who is “appointed heir of all things” (verse 2)?

Through whom did God make the universe (verse 2)?

Who is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (verse 3)?

Who “provided purification for sins” (verse 3)?

Who “became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (verse 4)?

Who did the “God of peace” bring back through “the blood of the eternal covenant” (verse 20)?

What is Paul praying that his Christian readers will be equipped with (verse 21)?

What is Paul praying that God will do in his readers (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what is different about the word that God spoke to us through Jeremiah as outlined in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 and the message delivered “to us by his Son” in the last days according to Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21?

In your opinion, how are we who God has spoken to by His Son and who have been equipped  “for doing his will” as described in Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 to be like the twelve that Jesus appointed in Mark 3:13-19?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the twelve of Acts 1:12-26, of whom Paul includes himself with and says in Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” and those have received the “purification for sins” but who have not heard Jesus speak?  How are our responsibilities similar?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us understand about the differences between those who are appointed, like Jeremiah and the twelve (including Judas) and those who have been purified from sins and whom God is working in today?

In your opinion, what can we who are purified from sins through Jesus learn about what God’s will for us today is by studying those who were appointed in today’s scriptures?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 22, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Listening and Doing

Listening and Doing

Joshua 8:30-35 - New International Version (NIV)              

³⁰ Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, ³¹ as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. ³² There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. ³³ All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

³⁴ Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

Where did Joshua build an alter to the Lord, the God of Israel (verse 30)?

What was special about the stones that he used to build the alter (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what were the purposes of the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings (verse 31)?

What did Joshua do “in the presence of the Israelites” (verse 32)?

Who was standing on “both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (verse 33)?

What did Joshua read (verse 34)?

Who did Joshua read to (verse 35)?

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

Mark 3:13-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who did He call (verse 13)?

What did those He called do (verse 13)?

Why did He appoint twelve (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus give them authority to drive out demons (verse 15)?

What name did Jesus give to Peter (verse 16)?

Who did Jesus call the “sons of thunder” (verse 17)?

What did Judas Iscariot do (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is Joshua building the alter, writing the law of Moses on the stones, and reading all the words that are written in the Book of the Law to all the Israelites and all who are with them in Joshua 8:30-35 similar to Jesus appointing the twelve and giving them authority in Mark 3:13-19?

Acts 6:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

What was happening to the number of disciples (verse 1)?

Why were the Hellenistic Jews complaining (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did the Twelve think “it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables” (verse 2)?

Who was to choose the seven men (verse 3)?

What will the Twelve turn over after the seven men are chosen (verse 3)?

What will the Twelve give their attention to (verse 4)?

How did the group view the proposal (verse 5)?

Who was described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (verse 5)?

What did the apostles do when the men were presented to them (verse 6)?

What happened to the word of God (verse 7)?

What happened to the number of disciples in Jerusalem (verse 7)?

What happened to “a large number of priests” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how is what Joshua did in building the alter and then reading the entire Book of the Law to the Israelites in Joshua 8:30-35 similar to what the Twelve apostles did when they prayed and laid hands on the seven in Acts 6:1-7?

In your opinion, what is different between Jesus appointing the twelve and then giving them authority to drive out demons in Mark 3:13-19 and the Twelve having men selected and then turning responsibility over to them in Acts 6:1-7?

James 1:19-27 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

What should everyone be quick to do (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why should everyone be “slow to speak and slow to become angry” (verse 19)?

What is not produced by human anger (verse 20)?

What are we to get rid of (verse 21)?

How should we accept “the word planted in you, which can save you” (verse 21)?

How can we deceive ourselves (verse 22)?

Who is like “someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (verses 23 and 24)?

Who will be “blessed in what they do” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why is the religion of someone who considers themselves religious and does not “keep a tight rein on their tongues” worthless (verse 26)?

What is “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless” (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, how does James who said in James 1:19-27 “whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” illustrate his agreement with Joshua who over a thousand years earlier in Joshua 8:30-35 wrote on stones a copy of the of the law of Moses?

In your opinion, what should we who are called to be brothers and sisters learn from Jesus’s calling and instructing the twelve in Mark 3:13-19 and from the instructions in James 1:19-27?

In your opinion, what should we learn from the care for the widows that the Twelve apostles made sure was correctly administered in Acts 6:1-7 and the James’s instruction in James 1:19-27 that “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and James teach us about our calling today?

What does listening to the words of this lesson show you about yourself?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 21, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Grace and Peace

Grace and Peace

Ecclesiastes 1:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”

³ What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?
⁴ Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.
⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.
⁶ The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.
⁸ All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹ What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.

Whose words fill Ecclesiastes (verse 1)?

What is meaningless (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what do “people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun” (verse 3)?

What comes and goes while the “earth remains forever” (verse 4)?

Where does the sun hurry to (verse 5)?

What goes “round and round” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why is the sea never full (verse 7)?

What does the eye never have enough of (verse 8)?

What is “new under the sun” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, is there really nothing about which one can say “Look! This is something new” (verse 10)?

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

Mark 3:13-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who did Jesus call to him (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus appoint the twelve (verse 14)?

What authority did Jesus give to the twelve (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus give the name Peter (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus give James and John a name that means “sons of thunder” (verse 17)?

What is distinctive about Judas Iscariot (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, would the “Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem” of Ecclesiastes 1:1-10 think that the appointment of the twelve, including the traitor, and giving them authority to drive out demons in Mark 3:13-19 is “nothing new under the sun”?

Romans 3:21-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

What has been made known “apart from the law” (verse 21)?

What do the “Law and the Prophets” testify to (verse 21)?

What is given “through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (verse 22)?

Who has sinned and fallen “short of the glory of God” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (verse 24)?

How was Christ a “sacrifice of atonement” (verse 25)?

What was God’s forbearance (verse 25)?

What did God demonstrate “at the present time” (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between Jesus calling the twelve and giving them authority to drive out demons in Mark 3:13-19 and Jesus giving righteousness through faith to all who believe in Romans 3:21-26?

In your opinion, what is Paul proclaiming in Romans 3:21-26 that is something new that the Teacher of Ecclesiastes 1:1-10 did not know about?

2 Peter 1:1-2 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

How does Simon Peter describe himself (verse 1)?

What have the recipients of the letter received through the “righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (verse 1)?

What does Simon Peter want the blessings of grace and peace to be through (verse 2)?

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

In your opinion, how does Peter in his blessing of “grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” in 2 Peter 1:1-2 help us understand the importance of understanding righteousness and faith which both Peter and Paul in Romans 3:21-26 discussed?

In your opinion, what does it tell us that although Peter received authority to cast out demons from Jesus in Mark 3:13-19, he focuses not on Jesus’s power or authority, but on His righteousness 2 Peter 1:1-2?

In your opinion, what could the “Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem” who found everything “meaningless” in Ecclesiastes 1:1-10 have learned from 2 Peter 1:1-2 about what is meaningful?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Mark, Romans and 2 Peter tell us about what is meaningless and what leads to grace and peace?

In your opinion, what do these passages show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to 2 Peter 1:3 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)