February 2, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – God’s Favor and Blessing

God’s Favor and Blessing

Genesis 4:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. ⁴ And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.

Who was Cain (verse 1)?

Who was Abel (verse 2)?

What did Cain bring “as an offering to the Lord” (verse 3)?

What did Abel bring (verse 4)?

Who did the Lord look on with favor (verse 4)?

Why was Cain “very angry” (verse 5)?

When is sin “crouching at” Cain’s door (verse 7)?

What did Cain need to do with the sin (verse 7)?

Where were they when Cain killed Abel (verse 8)?

How did Cain respond when the Lord ask “where is your brother, Abel” (verse 9)?

What was Abel’s blood doing (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who God looks at with favor and blessing?

Matthew 5:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Where did Jesus go when He “saw the crowds” (verse 1)?

What did He begin to do (verse 2)?

How are the “poor in spirit” blessed (verse 3)?

Who “will be comforted” (verse 4)?

What will the meek inherit (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what will fill those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (verse 6)?

Who will “be shown mercy” (verse 7)?

How are the “pure in heart” blessed (verse 8)?

What will the peacemakers be called (verse 9)?

How are those who are “persecuted because righteousness” blessed (verse 10)?

Why should those who people insult, persecute and falsely say evil things against “rejoice and be glad” (verses 11 and 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who God looks at with favor and blessing?

In your opinion, how could Cain killing Abel in anger about offerings in Genesis 4:1-10 be an example of the way Jesus says that believers will be persecuted and blessed in Matthew 5:1-12?

2 Timothy 3:10-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

What had the Lord rescued Paul from (verses 10 and 11)?

Who will be persecuted (verse 12)?

What will “evildoers and impostors” do (verse 13)?

Why was Timonthy to “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of” (verse 14)?

What are “the Holy Scriptures” able to do (verse 15)?

How much Scripture is “God-breathed” (verse 16)?

What does the Scripture’s usefulness in “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” do for the servant of God (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who God looks at with favor and blessing?

In your opinion, how could Timothy, who is to look at Paul as an example in 2 Timothy 3:10-17, also find Abel in Genesis 4:1-10 to be an example?

In your opinion, how could the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:1-12 have served to equip Paul for the things that he went through listed in 2 Timothy 3:10-17?

Revelation 22:7-14 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. ⁹ But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

¹⁰ Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 

Who is “blessed” (verse 7)?

Who “heard and saw these things” (verse 8)?

Who is a fellow servant with John and “with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll” (verse 9)?

Why were the “words of prophecy of this scroll” not to be sealed (verse 10)?

Who is to continue to do wrong (verse 11)?

Who is to continue to do right (verse 11)?

What will be given “to each person” (verse 12)?

Who is “blessed” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who God looks at with favor and blessing?

In your opinion, how is Genesis 4:1-10 an example of Revelation 22:7-14’s instruction to “Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy”? 

In your opinion, how does Matthew 5:1-12 help us understand what we have to do receive the blessing that Revelation 22:7-14 promises to those who “wash their robes”?

In your opinion, what do we learn from Revelation 22:7-14 to help us as we strive to follow Paul’s instruction to Timothy, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” in 2 Timothy 3:10-17?

In your opinion, what do these God-breathed Scriptures from Genesis, Matthew, 2 Timothy and Revelation teach us about how the world reacts to those who have found God’s favor?

In your opinion, how does God react to we, who are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, who are persecuted, and who wash their robes?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 17, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Suffering and Rejoicing

Suffering and Rejoicing

Jeremiah 25:27-33 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.’ ²⁸ But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! ²⁹ See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the Lord Almighty.’

³⁰ “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

“‘The Lord will roar from on high;
    he will thunder from his holy dwelling
    and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
    shout against all who live on the earth.
³¹ The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth,
    for the Lord will bring charges against the nations;
he will bring judgment on all mankind
    and put the wicked to the sword,’”
declares the Lord.

³² This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Look! Disaster is spreading
    from nation to nation;
a mighty storm is rising
    from the ends of the earth.”

³³ At that time those slain by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.

Who tells them to “drink, get drunk and vomit” (verse 27)?

What is Jeremiah to do ‘if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink” (verse 28)?

Where is the Lord “beginning to bring disaster” (verse 29)?

Who is the Lord Almighty calling down a sword on (verse 29)?

In your opinion, why will the Lord “roar mightily against his land” (verse 30)?

Who will the Lord shout against (verse 30)?

What will the Lord bring on all mankind (verse 31)?

Where is “a mighty storm rising” (verse 32)?

Where will “those slain by the Lord” be (verse 33)?

How will the slain be “lying on the ground” (verse 33)?

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

Matthew 5:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

What did Jesus do when He saw the crowds (verse 1)?

What did Jesus begin to do (verse 2)?

Whose is “the kingdom of heaven” (verse 3)?

How will those who mourn be blessed (verse 4)?

Who will “inherit the earth” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (verse 6)?

How will the merciful be blessed (verse 7)?

Who will see God (verse 8)?

What will be the blessing of the peacemakers (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why are those who are persecuted because of righteousness to have the kingdom of heaven (verse 10)?

What are people who are insulted, persecuted and have evil lies told about them because of Jesus (verse 11)?

Why should we “rejoice and be glad” when we are persecuted for Jesus (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how are the people who Jesus says are blessed in Matthew 5:1-12 different from the “mankind” that the Lord is bringing judgment on in Jeremiah 25:27-33?

Ephesians 2:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What was the condition of those Paul was writing in to Ephesus (verse 1)?

Whose ways did the people in Ephesus follow (verse 2)?

Who is at work “in those who are disobedient” (verse 2)?

What did they a gratify (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why were they “by nature deserving wrath” (verse 3)?

What is God rich in (verse 4)?

When were we made “alive in Christ” (verse 5)?

Where did God seat us (verse 6)?

When is God going to show “the incomparable riches of his grace” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that faith “is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (verse 8)?

Why can no one boast (verse 9)?

What are we who are “God’s handiwork” created in Christ Jesus to do (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul’s discussion about grace and faith in Ephesians 2:1-10 help us to understand about those who Jesus says are blessed in Matthew 5:1-12?

In your opinion, how is the richness of God’s mercy, shown by His making “us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions” as Paul states in Ephesians 2:1-10 become even more magnificent when we consider the totality of the destruction that Jeremiah saw in Jeremiah 25:27-33?

1 Peter 4:12-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵ If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶ However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
    what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

¹⁹ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

What does Peter say we should not be surprised by (verse 12)?

Why should we rejoice (verse 13)?

When will we be overjoyed (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why are we blessed when we are “insulted because of the name of Christ” (verse 14)?

What should we not suffer as (verse 15)?

How should respond if we suffer as a Christian (verse 16)?

What will begin with “God’s household” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner (verses 18)?

What should those who suffer according to God’s will do (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, why does Paul, who in Ephesians 2:1-10 makes it clear that we are saved by grace through faith which is a gift of God, say we are created in “Christ Jesus to do good works” and Peter, who in 1 Peter 4:12-19 makes it clear that if we “suffer according to God’s will” that we should not only commit ourselves to God but also “continue to do good”?

In your opinion, what does comparing the blessings that are promised by Jesus if we are insulted, persecuted and have people say false things about us because of Jesus in Matthew 5:1-12 and the blessings promised by Peter in 1 Peter 4:12-19 when we are insulted “because of the name of Christ” help us to understand about those blessings?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the suffering in Jeremiah 25:27-33 when the prophet is called to say “drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you” and the suffering as a Christian in 1 Peter 4:12-19?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Jeremiah, Matthew, Ephesians and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?