December 7, 2025 – Advent 2025 – The Gift of Peace

The Gift of Peace

Psalm 34:11-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
¹³ keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

What is the Psalmist going to teach (verse 11)?

What should the one who “loves life and desires to see many good days” keep their tongue from (verses 12 and 13)?

What should they seek and pursue (verse 14)?

Who are the “eyes of the Lord” on (verse 15)?

Who is the “face of the Lord” against (verse 16)?

What cry does the Lord hear (verse 17)?

How does the Lord respond to those who are “crushed in spirit” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what is revealed about the power of God’s peace in this passage?

Luke 2:13-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Who appeared with the angel (verse 13)?

What were those on earth whom God’s favor rested on to receive (verse 14)?

When did the shepherds say “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing” (verse 15)?

Who did they find (verse 16)?

What did they do after they had “seen him” (verse 17)?

Who was “amazed at what the shepherds said” (verse 18)?

How did Mary respond to everything (verse 19)?

Who glorified and praised God “for all the things they had heard and seen” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what is revealed about the power of God’s peace in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Luke 2:13-20 reveal about who will find the peace that Psalm 34:11-18 instructs us to seek?

Romans 5:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

What do we have “since we have been justified through faith” (verse 1)?

What does faith in Jesus Christ gain us access to (verse 2)?

How do we respond to our sufferings (verse 3)?

What produces character (verse 4)?

Why does hope not “put us to shame” (verse 5)?

What did Christ do “when we were still powerless” (verse 6)?

What will anyone rarely do “for a righteous person” (verse 7)?

How did God demonstrate “his own love for us” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what is revealed about the power of God’s peace in this passage?

In your opinion, how does your understanding of the statement in Psalm 34:11-18 that “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles” change after reading Romans 5:1-8?

In your opinion, how does Romans 5:1-8 help us understand how God brought the peace that the angels sang about in Luke 2:13-20 to “those on whom his favor rests”?

Colossians 3:12-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

How should God’s holy and dearly loved people clothe themselves (verse 12)?

What should we do if we have “a grievance against someone” (verse 13)?

How should we forgive (verse 14)?

What should we let rule in our hearts (verse 15)?

How should “the message of Christ” dwell among us (verse 16)?

How should we do whatever we do (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what is revealed about the power of God’s peace in this passage?

In your opinion, how is the command to “seek peace and pursue it” in Psalms 34:11-18 expanded by Colossians 3:12-17?

In your opinion, how is the gift of peace to those on whom God’s favor rest in Luke 2:13-20 transformed in Colossians 3:12-17?

In your opinion, how does Romans 5:1-8 help us understand how to follow the instruction in Colossians 3:12-17 to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Psalms, Luke, Romans and Colossians teach us about what is distinctive about Godly peace in comparison with how the world might define peace?

In your opinion, how do we who have received the gift of peace because of God’s favor share it with the people around us?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 2, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Provoking to Peace

 Provoking to Peace

Jeremiah 7:11b-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ . . . But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

¹² “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. ¹³ While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. ¹⁴ Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. ¹⁵ I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

¹⁶ “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. ¹⁷ Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. ¹⁹ But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

²⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

What has the Lord been doing (verse 11)?

Where is Jeremiah to go (verse 12)?

What did the Lord do “again and again” while the people of Judah were doing wicked things (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why would the Lord do “to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors” what he had done in Shiloh (verse 14)?

Where is the Lord going to thrust the people of Judah (verse 15)?

What will the Lord not listen to (verse 16)?

How do the people “in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem” arouse the Lord’s anger (verses 17 and 18)?

In your opinion, are the people of Judah and Jerusalem provoking the Lord or harming themselves (verse 19)?

What is going to be poured out (verse 20)?

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

Mark 11:27-12:12 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. ²⁸ “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

³¹ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

¹ Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ² At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

⁶ “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
¹¹ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

¹² Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Who came up to Jesus in the temple courts (verse 27)?

What did they ask Jesus (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask them for the origin of John’s baptism (verses 29 and 30)?

Why could they not answer “from heaven” (verse 31)?

Why could they not answer “of human origin” (verse 32)?

How did they answer (verse 33)?

What did the man do with the vineyard that he planted and protected (verse 1)?

Who did the man send to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard (verse 2)?

What happened to that person (verse 3)?

How were the other people sent to the vineyard treated (verses 4 and 5)?

How did the man think they would respond to his son (verse 6)?

Why was the son killed (verses 7 and 8)?

“What will the owner of the vineyard do” (verse 9)?

What happens to “the stone the builders rejected” (verse10)?

What did “the teachers of the law and elders” know (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how are the people of Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah 7:11b-20 and the chief priests and elders of Mark 11:27-12:12 similar? 

Acts 3:11-15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹² When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. ¹⁴ You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. ¹⁵ You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 

Where were Peter and John when “the people were astonished and came running to them” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Peter ask “why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk” (verse 12)?

Who “has glorified his servant Jesus” (verse 13)?

Who “handed him over to be killed” (verse 13)?

Who had the astonished people verse 11 disowned (verse 14)? 

What did they do to “the author of life” (verse 15)?

What had God done for “the author of life” (verse 15)?

What had Peter and John done (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, how does the rejection of God by the people of Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah 7:11b-20 compare to the rejection of God by the people in the temple in Acts 3:11-15?

In your opinion, how is the question that Jesus asks in Mark 11:27-12:12 “what then will the owner of the vineyard do” and His answer to that question “he will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others” relevant to Peter’s words in Acts 3:11-15?

Romans 5:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

How do “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 1)?

What do “we boast in the hope” of (verse 2)?

In your opinion, how can we “also glory in our sufferings” (verses 3 and 4)?

What “has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (verse 5)?

When did Christ die “for the ungodly” (verse 6)?

Who might “someone . . . possibly dare to die” for (verse 7)?

How did God demonstrate “his own love for us” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the people of Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah 7:11b-20 who are arousing God’s anger and the people that Paul is speaking to in Romans 5:1-8 who are boasting “in the hope of the glory of God”?

In your opinion, why is being willing to answer “John’s baptism-was it from heaven or of human origin” in Mark 11:22-12:12 important to the justification through faith that Paul discusses in Romans 5:1-8?  What does an unwillingness to answer this question demonstrate? 

In your opinion, how do you think the surprise of the people in Acts 3:11-15 about a lame man being given the ability to walk would compare with their surprise if they understood that Jesus, who they handed over to be killed and then disowned, was declared by Paul in Romans 5:1-8 to have loved them enough to die for them?  What does it take to accept that love? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Mark, Acts and Romans teach us about how we, who have sinned, can respond to God?

In your opinion, how can we move from being people who are “harming themselves” to being people who “have peace with God”?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)