August 26, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – A Time to Die and a Time to Live with Jesus

-            The

A Time to Die and a Time to Live with Jesus

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

¹⁵ Whatever is has already been,
    and what will be has been before;
    and God will call the past to account.

¹⁶ And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
    in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

¹⁷ I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed.”

¹⁸ I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. ¹⁹ Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. ²⁰ All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. ²¹ Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

²² So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

What is there a season for (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what is the Teacher trying to say in the “a time for” verses (verses 2 through 8)?

What has the Teacher seen (verse 10)?

Where has God “set eternity” (verse 11)?

What did the Teacher say about people being happy and doing “good while they live” (verse 12)?

How does the Teacher define eating, drinking and finding satisfaction in toil (verse 13)?

How much can be added to or taken from what God does (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by “whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before” (verse 15)?

Where was wickedness (verse 16)?

For what will there be a “time to judge” (verse 17)?

How did the Teacher tell himself that God will test humans (verse 18)?

What advantage do humans have over animals (verse 19)?

Where do all return (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by the question “who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth” (verse 21)?

The Teacher determine that there is “nothing better for a person than to” do what (verse 22)?

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

Matthew 7:21-23 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Who will enter the kingdom of heaven (verse 21)?

What will many say (verse 22)?

How will Jesus respond (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when He said that He will say “I never knew you” (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the Teacher’s view of the judgment of the “righteous and the wicked” in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 and what Jesus conveys by His statement “I never knew you.  Away from me you evildoers.” in Matthew 7:21-23?

Romans 3:21-28 – 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.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

What is apart from the “righteousness of God” that has been made known (verse 21)?

How is this righteousness given (verse 22)?

Who is this righteousness given to (verse 22)?

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

How are those who have sinned “justified” (verse 24)?

How is Christ who God presented “as a sacrifice of atonement” to be received (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how can God be “just” and also be “the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (verse 26)?

What law excludes boasting (verse 27)?

What does Paul “maintain” (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how do you think Paul, who said in Romans 3:21-28 that “all have sinned”, might have been able to encourage the Teacher, who saw wickedness where there should have been justice in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion of a righteousness that is received by faith in Romans 3:21-28 help us understand Jesus’s statement in Matthew 7:21-23 “I never knew you.  Away from me you evildoers.”?

2 Timothy 2:8-19 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
    we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
    we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
    he will also disown us;
¹³ if we are faithless,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot disown himself.

¹⁴ Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷ Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

Who does Paul want Timothy to remember (verse 8)?

What is not chained (verse 9)?

Why is Paul willing to “endure everything” (verse 10)?

What will happen if we “died with” Christ (verse 11)?

When will we reign with Christ (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to us that Jesus “remains faithful” even when we are “faithless” (verse 13)?

What is of no value (verse 14)?

What does it mean to be a worker who is approved (verse 15)?

Who will become “more and more ungodly” (verse 16)?

How did Hymenaeus and Philetus “destroy the faith of some” (verses 17 and 18)?

Who does the Lord know (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Teacher’s statement in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 that there is “a time to be born and a time to die” expanded on by the “trustworthy saying” of 2 Timothy 2:8-19 that says, “if we died with him, we will also live with him”?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion in 2 Timothy 2:8-19 help us avoid hearing Jesus say on judgment day, “I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!” as He warned in Matthew 7:21-23?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s explanation of the justification of the sinner in Romans 3:21-28 logically followed by his instruction in 2 Timothy 2:8-19 to “remember Jesus Christ” and that “everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Romans and 2 Timothy teach us about moving from enjoying (or not enjoying) our work to being an approved worker who Jesus knows?

In your opinion, how do we move from living and dying in the world to dying and living in Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 12, 2017 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Heart Issues

-            The

Heart Issues

Exodus 7:8-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹ Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: ¹² Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Who is talking to Moses and Aaron (verse 8)?

What is Aaron to do when the Pharaoh says “perform a miracle” (verse 9)?

Who did Moses and Aaron go to (verse 10)?

What happened when Aaron threw his staff down in front of the Pharaoh and his officials (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why did the Pharaoh summon “wise men and sorcerers” (verse 11)?

What happened to the snakes the staffs of the wise men and sorcerers became when they threw them down (verse 12)?

How did the Pharaoh respond (verse 13)?

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

Luke 5:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Where was Jesus standing when the people crowded around Him “listening to the word of God” (verse 1)?

What were the fishermen who left the two boats at the water’s edge doing (verse 2)?

Who did Jesus ask to “put out a little from shore” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch” (verse 4)?

Why did Simon not expect to catch anything (verse 5)?

Why did Simon let down the nets (verse 5)?

How many fish did they catch (verse 6)?

Who came to help (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Simon Peter fall at Jesus knees and say “go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man” (verse 8)?

What astonished Simon Peter and his companions (verses 9 and 10)?

What does Jesus tell Simon Peter he will now do (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why did Peter leave everything and follow Jesus (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, why is the reaction of the Pharaoh to the miraculous sign that he requested in Exodus 7:8-13 so different from the reaction of Peter to the astonishing catch of fish in Luke 5:1-11?

Romans 3:21-28 – 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.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

Who testifies to the righteousness of God that has been made known “apart from the law” (verse 21)?

How is this righteousness given “to all who believe” (verse 22)?

What have “all” done (verse 23)?

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

Who does God present as a “sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood” (verse 25)?

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

What law excludes boasting (verse 27)?

What does Paul maintain (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how is Peter’s recognition that he is sinful and his request that Jesus leave him in Luke 5:1-11 addressed by a loving God in Romans 3:21-28?

In your opinion, how is the hardening of the heart that afflicted the Pharaoh in Exodus 7:8-13 similar to the boasting that Paul says is excluded in Romans 3:21-28?

1 John 4:7-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Why should we “love one another” (verse 7)?

Who do those who do not love not know (verse 8)?

How did God show His love among us (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why is love “not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (verse 10)?

Why should we “love one another” (verse 11)?

What happens when “we love one another” (verse 12)?

How do we know that we live in God and God lives in us (verse 13)?

What has John seen and testified to (verse 14)?

When does God live in us and we in God (verse 15)?

What can we know and rely on (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “righteousness” that “is given through faith in Jesus Christ” that Paul talks about in Romans 3:21-28 related to the love that John says “comes from God” in 1 John 4:7-16?

In your opinion, how is the love that John says in 1 John 4:7-16 “comes from God” the perfect response to the human reaction to God that Peter exhibits in Luke 5:1-11 when he says “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man”?

In your opinion, how is the hardening of the Pharaoh’s heart after he received the miracle that he requested in Exodus 7:8-13 help us understand the one who John says in 1 John 4:7-16 does not love because they don’t “know God”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, Romans and 1 John teach us about how people react to the love of God?

In your opinion, how does the progression of these passages from a hardened heart, to requesting Christ leave because of a recognition of sinfulness, to being “justified freely by his grace” help we who have been made righteous to “love one another”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)