February 9, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – This Little Light of Mine

This Little Light of Mine

Isaiah 30:18-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!

¹⁹ People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ²² Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”

²³ He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. ²⁴ The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. ²⁵ In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. ²⁶ The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.

Why will the Lord “rise up to show you compassion” (verse 18)?

Who is blessed (verse 18)?

When will the Lord be gracious (verse 19)?

What “will be hidden no more” (verse 20)?

What will the voice from behind say (verse 21)?

What will they say when “idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold” are desecrated (verse 22)?

What will be “rich and plentiful” (verse 23)?

How will the fodder and mash that the oxen and donkeys eat be spread out (verse 24)?

Where will the streams of water flow (verse 25)?

How bright with the sunlight shine (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

Matthew 5:13-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

What are “you” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, “if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again” (verse 13)?

What is salt that loses saltiness good for (verse 13)?

What are “you” (verse 14)?

What cannot be hidden (verse 14)?

Where do people not put a lamp that is lit (verse 15)?

What will the lamp do when it is “put on its stand” (verse 15)?

Where should our light shine (verse 16)?

When do others glorify our “Father in heaven” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

In your opinion, how does God’s graciousness, that includes bringing bright light, in Isaiah 30:18-26 relate to the light that Matthew 5:13-16 says we are to let “shine before others”?

Philippians 2:12-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸ So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

What does Paul want the Philippian Christians to “continue to work out” (verse 12)?

Who “works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (verse 13)?

What should Christians do “without grumbling or arguing” (verse 14)?

How does Paul describe the generation in which he wants Christians to be “children of God without fault” (verse 15)?

Where will Christians shine as they “hold firmly to the word of life” (verses 15 and 16)?

What will Paul be able to boast “on the day of Christ” (verse 16)?

What is Paul able to do with Christians even if he “is being poured out like a drink offering” (verse 17)?

How should Christians react with Paul (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

In your opinion, what does Philippians 2:12-18 reveal about how people should respond to God’s graciousness when they cry for help as described in Isaiah 30:18-26?

In your opinion, how does Philippians 2:12-18 help us understand how Christians can let our “light shine before others” as commanded in Matthew 5:13-16?

Revelation 21:22-27 – New International Version (NIV)

²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Why did John “not see a temple in the city” (verse 22)?

What is the light of the city (verse 23)?

What is the city’s lamp (verse 23)?

Who will walk by the city’s light (verse 24)?

Why will the gates never be shut (verse 25)?

What will be brought to the city (verse 26)?

Who will enter the city (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

In your opinion, how does the light and healing in Isaiah 30:18-26 anticipate the magnificent light of the city in Revelation 21:22-27?

In your opinion, how do those whose “names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” in Revelation 21:22-27 letting their “light shine before others” as commanded in Matthew 5:13-16 glorify the One whose glory lights the city of Revelation 21:22-27?

In your opinion, how can the city described in Revelation 21:22-27 be a source of inspiration for those who are struggling to work out their “salvation with fear and trembling” in the “warped and crooked generation” in Philippians 2:12-18?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Isaiah, Matthew, Philippians and Revelation teach us about the source of light?

In your opinion, how do we let our lights shine today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 23, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Salty Wisdom

Salty Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 7:4-12 and 29 - New International Version (NIV)         

⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
⁵ It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶ Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
    so is the laughter of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

⁷ Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
    and a bribe corrupts the heart.

⁸ The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
    and patience is better than pride.
⁹ Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
    for anger resides in the lap of fools.

¹⁰ Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
    For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing
    and benefits those who see the sun.
¹² Wisdom is a shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

²⁹ This only have I found:
    God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.

Where does the Teacher say the “heart of the wise” is (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why is it better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the the song of fools (verse 5)?

What is the laughter of fools like (verse 6)?

What turns the wise person into a fool (verse 7)?

What is better than pride (verse 8)?

Where does anger reside (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why is it not wise to ask “why were the old days better than these” (verse 10)?

Who benefits from wisdom (verse 11)?

What are both wisdom and money (verse 12)?

How did God create mankind (verse 29)?

Where has mankind gone (verse 29)?

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

Matthew 5:13-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

What does Jesus call his disciples (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how can salt be made salty again (verse 13)?

What are Jesus’s disciples (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why can’t a town built on a hill be hidden (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what would happen if a lighted lamp was placed under a bowl (verse 15)?

Where is the lighted lamp put (verse 15)?

Where is the light of Jesus’s disciples to shine (verse 16)?

Whyy should the light of Jesus’s disciples shine (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what happens when you combine the Teacher’s statement that “God created mankind upright” only to have them go “in search of many schemes” from Ecclesiastes 7:29 with Jesus saying in Matthew 5:13-16 that salt that loses it’s saltiness is “no longer good for anything”?

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

What is the message of the cross to “us who are being saved” (verse 18)?

Whose wisdom will be destroyed (verse 19)?

In your opinion, has God made foolish the wisdom of the world (verse 20)?

How is God pleased to “save those who believe” (verse 21)?

What do Greeks look for (verse 22)?

What does Paul preach (verse 23)?

In your opinion, how is Christ “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (verse 24)?

What is “wiser than human wisdom” (verse 25)?

Why did God “choose the foolish things of the world” (verse 27)?

For what did God choose the lowly things, the despised things, and the things that are not (verse 28)?

Who has become “wisdom from God” for us (verse 30)?

How should we boast (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, what does the wisdom of God that is revealed in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 do to the wisdom of the Teacher as revealed in Ecclesiastes 7:1-12 and 29?

In your opinion, how can the “message of the cross” that Paul proclaims in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 make salty again those who may have lost their saltiness so that they become the ones that Jesus commands in Matthew 5:13-16 to “let your light shine before others”?

James 3:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

How does James instruct the “wise and understanding” to show it (verse 13)?

What are we not to deny (verse 14)?

What is the wisdom that harbors “bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts” (verses 14 and 15)?

Where will you find “disorder and every evil practice” (verse 16)?

What is “pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (verse 17)?

What will “peacemakers who sow in peace” reap (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, based on what James says about wisdom in James 3:13-18 how would you define the wisdom of the Teacher from Ecclesiastes 7:1-12 and 29?

In your opinion, how is the light that Jesus commands us to “shine before others” in Matthew 5:13-16 defined by the “wisdom that comes from heaven” that James discusses in James 3:13-18?

In your opinion, what do Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and James in James 3:13-18 help us understand about worldly wisdom?

In your opinion, what do Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and James in James 3:13-18 help us understand about heavenly wisdom?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, 1 Corinthians and James help us understand about the conflict between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom?

In your opinion, how does knowing that we are to “boast in the Lord” help us understand how to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)