November 16, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Jesus and Witnesses

November 16, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Jesus and Witnesses

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus and Witnesses

Matthew 17:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”

Who went with Jesus up a high mountain (verse 1)?

What happened to Jesus there that caused His face to shine like the sun and His clothes to become as white as light (verse 2)?

Who appeared before the disciples talking with Jesus (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Peter suggest putting up three shelters (verse 4)?

What did the voice from the bright cloud say (verse 5)?

How did the disciples respond to the voice (verse 6)?

Who touched the disciples and comforted them (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what happened to Elijah and Moses (verse 8)?

When were the disciples to tell what they had seen (verse 9)?

Who said that Elijah must come first (verse 10)?

What did Jesus say Elijah was going to do when he came (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why was “Elijah” not recognized when he came (verse 12)?

What happened to Elijah (verse 12)?

What is going to happen to the “Son of Man” (verse 12)?

Who was Jesus talking about when He was talking about Elijah (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 17:1-13 show us about the Great Commission?

Malachi 4:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. ² But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. ³ Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

What will the day burn like when it comes (verse 1)?

Who will be stubble that the “day that is coming” will set on fire (verse 1)?

Who will “frolic like well-fed calves” when “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays” (verse 2)?

What will the wicked be “on the day when” the Lord Almighty acts (verse 3)?

How is Moses identified (verse 4)?

What did the Lord Almighty give to Moses at Horeb (verse 4)?

When will the prophet Elijah be sent (verse 5)?

What will Elijah do (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of Moses and Elijah being mentioned in the last chapter in the Old Testament, Malachi 4:1-7, and also being a part of the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17:1-13?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Malachi show us about the Great Commission?

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

¹ “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Who was written about in the former book (verse 1)?

What did He give to the Holy Spirit to the apostles (verse 2)?

How many times did Jesus appear to the disciples (verse 3)?

Where were the disciples to stay until they received “the gift” (verse 4)?

How are the disciples to be baptized (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples ask, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel” (verse 6)?

Who has set the “times or dates” (verse 7)?

When will the disciples receive power (verse 8)?

What will the disciples be when they receive power (verse 8)?

How did Jesus leave the disciples (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why were the disciples “looking intently up into the sky” (verse 10)?

What is the promise is given about Jesus (verse 11)?

In your opinion, how does the statement that Jesus “who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” in Acts 1:1-11 expand our understanding of “that great and dreadful day of the Lord” that is proclaimed in Malachi 4:1-6?

In your opinion, how is the transfiguration of Jesus that occurred in Matthew 17:1-13 a foreshadowing of Jesus being taken into heaven of Acts 1:1-11?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Acts show us about the Great Commission?

    

Revelation 11:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

⁷ Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

¹¹ But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.”

What was John given (verse 1)?

Why is the outer court not be measured (verse 2)?

How long are the two witnesses to prophesy (verse 3)?

Where do the two witnesses stand (verse 4)?

What happens to those who try to harm the two witnesses (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why are the powers to “shut up the heavens” and to “turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague” significant (verse 6)?

What happens when the testimony of the two witnesses is finished (verse 7)?

Where will the bodies lay (verse 8)?

Who will gaze on their bodies (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why will the inhabitants of earth gloat and send each other gifts (verse 10)?

What enters the bodies at the end of three and a half days (verse 11)?

Where did the voice come from (verse 12)?

How did they go to heaven (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would the survivors give glory to God (verse 13)?

What has passed and what is coming (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the fact that the two witnesses were taken to heaven in a cloud in Revelation 11:1-14 and that Jesus was taken up “before their very eyes” in Acts 1:1-11?

In your opinion, what can we deduce from the fact that the miracles that the two witnesses do in Revelation 11:1-14 were the miracles that Moses (calling the plagues) and Elijah (shutting up the heavens so that it does not rain) were known for, who are both mentioned in Malachi 4:1-6 which also discusses the “great and dreadful day of the Lord”?

In your opinion, how does the calling of the two witnesses to heaven, where Jesus was already raised to, in Revelation 11:1-14 complete a reunion of the three who were together at the transfiguration described in Matthew 17:1-13?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 17:14 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 9, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Life and Meaning

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Life and Meaning

Matthew 16:21-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²¹ “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

What did Jesus begin to explain to his disciples (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why did Peter take Jesus aside and begin to rebuke Him (verse 22 and also see Matthew 16:19)?

How did Jesus respond to Peter (verse 23)?

What kind of concerns did Jesus say that Peter was concerned with (verse 23)?

What do those who want to be a disciple of Jesus need to do (verse 24)?

In your opinion, why do those who want to save their life lose it while those who lose their life for Jesus will find it (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how does the value of the world compare to the value of an individual’s soul (verse 26)?

How will the Son of Man return (verse 27)?

How will the Son of Man reward people when he returns (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by the promise “some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 16:21-28 show us about the Great Commission?

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Remember your Creator
    in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
    and the years approach when you will say,
    “I find no pleasure in them”—
² before the sun and the light
    and the moon and the stars grow dark,
    and the clouds return after the rain;
³ when the keepers of the house tremble,
    and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
    and those looking through the windows grow dim;
⁴ when the doors to the street are closed
    and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
    but all their songs grow faint;
⁵ when people are afraid of heights
    and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
    and the grasshopper drags itself along
    and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
    and mourners go about the streets.

⁶ Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
    and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
    and the wheel broken at the well,
⁷ and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
    and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
    “Everything is meaningless!”

When should we remember “Our Creator” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what are verses 2 through 5a talking about?

In your opinion, what is verse 5b talking about?

Who should we remember “before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken” (verse 6)?

Where does the spirit return to (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why does the Teacher say that everything is “Meaningless, Meaningless” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the similarity between those who do not “remember your creator in the days of your youth” finding life “Meaningless” in Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 and the person who “wants to save their life” but “will lose it” in Matthew 16:21-28?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Ecclesiastes 12 show us about the Great Commission?

Hebrews 12:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

Who surrounds us (verse 1)?

What should we throw off (verse 1)?

How should we run (verse 1)?

In your opinion, how is Jesus “the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross and scorn its shame (verse 2)?

What are we to do “so that” we “will not grow weary and lose heart” (verse 3)?

How far have we not yet resisted in our “struggle against sin” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, how can we consider it encouragement to consider “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastens everyone he accepts as his son” (verses 5 and 6)?

How are we to “endure hardship” (verse 7)?

What are we not if we are not disciplined (verse 8)?

What do we do if we “submit to the Father of spirits” (verse 9)?

Why does God discipline us “for our good” (verse 10)?

When does discipline produce a “harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, how should we “strengthen feeble arms and weak knees” (verse 12)?

Why should we “make levels paths for your feet” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how is the one will “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” in Hebrews 12:1-12 the opposite of the one who does not “remember your creator in the days of your youth” and who ends up saying “meaningless, meaningless” in Ecclesiastes 12:1-8?

In your opinion, how is the “everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” in Hebrews 12:1-13 similar to the “human concerns” that Jesus said Peter had in Matthew 16:21-28?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Hebrews show us about the Great Commission?

    

2 Peter 1:16-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

¹⁹ We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

In your opinion, why is Peter careful to say that he is not “following cleverly devised stories” but was one of the “eyewitnesses of his majesty” (verse 16)?

What did Jesus receive from “God the Father” (verse 17)?

What did the voice from “the Majestic Glory” say to Jesus (verse 17)?

Where did they hear the voice (verse 18)?

How is the “prophetic message” described (verse 19)?

How should we pay attention to the prophetic message (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why does no “prophecy of Scripture” come about because of “the prophet’s own interpretation of things” (verse 20)?

Where does prophecy not have its origin (verse 21)?

How do prophets “though human” speak for God (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how complex is “our Lord Jesus Christ” who in 2 Peter 1:16-21 comes “in power” and as someone having “majesty” but in Hebrews 12:1-13 as the “pioneer and perfecter of faith” who “for the joy set before him . . . endured the cross”?

In your opinion, how does paying attention to the “prophetic message” “as to a light shining in a dark place” in 2 Peter 1:16-21 address the despair of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 as he says “meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless”?

In your opinion, was Peter in his statement that “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” in 2 Peter 1:16-21 verifying that Jesus was accurate in Matthew 16:21-28 when He says “some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 2 Peter show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 17:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 2, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Keys and Stones

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Keys and Stones

Matthew 16:13-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who did he ask “Who do people say that I am” (verse 13)?

Who did they mention (verse 14)?

How did Jesus change the question He ask before “Who do people say that I am” in verse 15?

Who answers Jesus this time (verse 16)?

What is the answer to the revised question (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say that the answer was not “revealed by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven” (verse 17)?

What will be built on the rock that the “gates of Hades will not overcome” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say, “I will give you the keys of heaven” (verse 19)?

Who were the disciples to tell that Jesus was the Messiah (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 16:13-20 show us about the Great Commission?

Exodus 3:1-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.

¹⁶ “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’”

What was Moses doing when he came to “Horeb, the mountain of God” (verse 1)?

How did the angel of the Lord appear to him (verse 2)?

Why did Moses go to the bush (verse 3)?

Who called to Moses from the bush (verse 4)?

Why did Moses have to take off his sandals (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did God identify Himself as “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (verse 6)?

What had God seen (verse 7)?

What is God going to do (verse 8)?

What has reached God (verse 9)?

What has God seen (verse 9)?

Where is Moses to go (verse 10)?

How does Moses object (verse 11)?

Who will provide Moses with the stature necessary to go to the Pharaoh (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why does Moses ask for God’s name (verse 13)?

Who does God identify himself as (verse 14)?

What is God’s identity to the Israelites forever (verse 15)?

What is Moses to tell the elders that God has seen (verse 16)?

What is God’s promise (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how is it significant that the God who identifies Himself in Exodus 3:1-17 as “I AM WHO I AM” asks the disciples in Matthew 16:13-20 “Who do you say that I am”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Exodus show us about the Great Commission?

    

1 Peter 2:4-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

What title does Peter give to Jesus (verse 4)?

How does Peter describe “God’s elect”, the people he is writing to (verse 5)?

Who will “never be put to shame” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why “to those who do not believe” has the “stone the builders rejected . . . become the cornerstone” (verse 7)?

Why do the stumble (verse 8)?

Why are we “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (verse 9)?

What are we (verse 10)?

What have we received (verse 10)?

In your opinion, how are we who Peter says have received mercy from God in 1 Peter 2:4-12 similar to the Israelites that God was sending Moses to call out from the misery of Egypt in Exodus 3:1-17?

In your opinion, what does it mean that Peter, who Jesus called the rock in Matthew 16:13-20 calls Jesus the “living Stone” in 1 Peter 2:4-10?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Peter show us about the Great Commission?

  

Revelation 3:7-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

What does Jesus, the One who is “holy and true”, hold (verse 7)?

Who can shut what He opens, or open what He shuts (verse 7)?

What has been placed before the church in Philadelphia (verse 8)?

What will “those who are of the synagogue of Satan” going to be forced to acknowledge (verse 9)?

What command has the church in Philadelphia kept (verse 10)?

When is Jesus coming (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why is the promise that “never again will they leave” the temple a wonderful promise for the church of Philadelphia (verse 12)?

Who is to hear (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how are the “chosen people” of 1 Peter 24-10 beneficiaries of the “open door that no one can shut” of Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, how is appropriate that the God who heard the cry of the Israelites and called them from Egypt in Exodus 31-17 is also the God who promises that “the one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God” in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the One who told Peter He would give him the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 16:13-20 also the One who is portrayed as having the “key of David” and who opens and no one can shut or shuts and no one can open in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 16:21 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)