November 8, 2020 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – One by Choice

One by Choice


Ezekiel 28:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
    you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
    in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.
³ Are you wiser than Daniel?
    Is no secret hidden from you?
⁴ By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.
⁵ By your great skill in trading
    you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.

⁶ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
⁷ I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
    and pierce your shining splendor.
⁸ They will bring you down to the pit,
    and you will die a violent death
    in the heart of the seas.
⁹ Will you then say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
    in the hands of those who slay you.
¹⁰ You will die the death of the uncircumcised
    at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Who does the Lord want Ezekiel to speak to (verses 1 and 2)?

Where does the ruler of Tyre say “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas” (verse 2)?

How has he gained wealth and amassed gold and silver (verse 4)?

What has his wealth caused (verse 5)?

Why is the Sovereign Lord going to bring foreigners against him (verses 6 and 7)?

What will the foreigners do to him (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why will the presence of those who want to kill him change his attitude about being a god (verse 9)?

Who has declared the death of the ruler (verse 10)?

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

Mark 7:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Where did Jesus go (verse 24)?

What did Jesus not want anyone to know (verse 24)?

Who came to Jesus “as soon as she heard about him” (verse 25)?

What was the woman (verse 26)?

What did she beg for (verse 26)?

Who said “it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss is to the dogs” (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why would the woman have been able to respond “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (verse 28)?

How does Jesus respond to the woman’s statement (verse 29)?

What did the woman find when she got home (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how is the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 different in his view of God from the view of the woman from the vicinity of Tyre in Mark 7:24-30?

Acts 12:19b-24 – New International Version (NIV)

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. ²⁰ He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

²¹ On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. ²² They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” ²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

Where did Herod go (verse 19)?

Why did the people of Tyre and Sidon join together to seek an audience with Herod (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that Herod wore his royal robes and sat on his throne to deliver the public address to the people (verse 21)?

What did the people shout (verse 22)?

Why did the angel strike Herod down (verse 23)?

What happened to the word of God (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how is the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 similar to Herod in Acts 12:19b-24 in attitude?  How are they similar in destiny?

In your opinion, how is the woman from the region of Tyre in Mark 7:24-30 different from Herod in Acts 12:19b-24 in attitude?  How are they different in destiny?

Galatians 3:19-29 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. ²⁰ A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

²¹ Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

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.

In your opinion, why was the law “added because of transgressions” (verse 19)?

Is the law “opposed to the promises of God” (verse 21)?

What did Scripture lock up “under the control of sin” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is “what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ” (verse 22)?

What held us in custody until the coming “of this faith” (verse 23)?

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

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

What are all in Christ Jesus through faith (verse 26)?

Who is clothed with Christ (verse 27)?

Who is one in Christ Jesus (verse 28)?

Who are “heirs according to the promise” (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, how does pride in the heart of the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 reveal that he had rejected the guardianship of the law referred to by Paul in Galatians 3:19-29?

In your opinion, how is the Phoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30 proof of Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:19-29 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”?

In your opinion, how does Herod being stricken in Acts 12:19b-24 show the need for the law to bring us into custody until we are justified by faith as Paul proclaimed in Galatians 3:19-29?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, Mark, Acts and Galatians teach us about the relationship between our view of ourselves and our salvation by faith?

In your opinion, what can we who are “one in Christ Jesus” do to help the Word spread and flourish today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 27, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Conviction, Action and Salvation

-            The

Conviction, Action and Salvation

Joshua 14:6-14 - New International Version (NIV)              

⁶ Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. ⁷ I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, ⁸ but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. ⁹ So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’

¹⁰ “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! ¹¹ I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. ¹² Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

¹³ Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. ¹⁴ So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

Who said “you know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me” (verse 6)?

What did he bring back to Moses (verse 7)?

Who “made the hearts of the people melt in fear” (verse 8)?

Why did Moses swear that “the land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever” (verse 9)?

How old is Caleb (verse 10)?

 In your opinion, why does Caleb say “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out” (verse 11)?

What does Caleb ask for (verse 12)?

Who helps Caleb drive out the Anakites (verse 12)?

What did Joshua do (verse 13)?

What did Caleb do “wholeheartedly” (verse 14)?

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

Mark 7:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

What could Jesus not keep secret (verse 24)?

When did the “woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit” come to Jesus and fall at His feet (verse 25)?

Where was the woman from (verse 26)?

What did she beg Jesus to do (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “first let the children eat all they want . . . for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (verse 27)?

How did the woman respond to Jesus (verse 28)?

What does the woman receive for her reply (verse 29)?

What did the woman find when she went home (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what do Caleb, the eighty-five year old vigorous Israelite, in Joshua 14:6-14 and the Greek woman who was born in Syrian Phoenicia, with the demon possessed daughter, in Mark 7:24-30 have in common?

Acts 11:1-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him ³ and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴ Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. ⁶ I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. ⁷ Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

⁸ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

¹¹ “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. ¹⁴ He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵ “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸ When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

What did “the apostles and the believer throughout Judea” hear (verse 1)?

Why did “the circumcised believers” criticize Peter (verses 2 and 3)?

How did Peter respond to the criticism (verse 4)?

What did Peter see being let down from heaven when he was praying and in a trance (verse 5)?

What was Peter supposed to do (verses 6 and 7)?

In your opinion, why did Peter say “surely not, Lord” (verse 8)?

How did the voice from heaven respond to Peter’s refusal (verse 9)?

Who came after this had happened three times (verse 11)?

What did the Spirit tell Peter (verse 12)?

What did the man say the angel said that “Simon who is called Peter” would bring (verses 13 and14)?

Who came on them when Peter began to speak (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why is what Peter remembered “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” important (verses 16 and 17)?

How did the circumcised believers praise God (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar between Caleb in Joshua 14:6-14 and Peter in Acts 11:1-18?

In your opinion, how does Jesus giving the Greek woman “children’s crumbs” in Mark 7:24-30 help prepare Peter to respond to the vision of the large sheet filled with “four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds” in Acts 11:1-18?

Romans 10:5-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”  ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

What did Moses write about “the righteousness that is by the law” (verse 5)?

What does saying “who will ascend into heaven” do (verse 6)?

What does saying who will descend into the deep” do (verse 7)?

Where is the Word (verse 8)?

How are you saved (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be justified (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be saved (verse 10)?

Who will never be put to shame (verse 11)?

Why does Paul believe there is no difference between Jew and Gentile (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is Caleb who reports in Joshua 14:6-14 that he made his report to Moses based on his convictions an Old Testament example of what Paul instructs us to do to be saved in Romans 10:5-13 when he tells us to “declare with our mouth” and to “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”?

In your opinion, how does Jesus driving the demon from the Greek woman’s daughter in Mark 7:24-30 illustrate the truth of Paul’s statement in Romans 10:5-13 that “anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame”?

In your opinion, how does the objection to the uncircumcised by the circumcised and the way Peter overcomes that objection in Acts 11:1-18 help us to understand what Paul means in Romans 10:5-13 when he says “for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Romans teach us about how God leads us to act on convictions?

In your opinion, what convictions and actions must come together to bring salvation?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)