July 24, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Shepherds and the Chief Shepherd

Shepherds and the Chief Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:7-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Who is called to hear the “word of the Lord” (verse 7)?

Why has the Lord’s flock been plundered and become food for wild animals (verse 8)?

What did the shepherds do instead of searching for the flock (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why will the Lord hold the shepherds accountable for the flock (verse 10)?

What will no longer be food for the shepherds (verse 10)?

Who will search for the sheep and look after them (verse 11)?

Where will the sheep be rescued from (verse 12)?

Where will the sheep be pastured after they are brought out of the nations and the countries (verse 13)?

What kind of pasture will the sheep feed on (verse 14)?

Who will tend the sheep (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why bind up the injured and strengthen the weak but destroy the sleek and the strong (verse 16)?

How will the Lord shepherd the flock (verse 16)?

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

John 10:11-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

What does the good shepherd do (verse 11)?

Who abandons the sheep and runs away when he sees the wolf coming (verse 12)?

Why does the man run away (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how does Jesus the good shepherd know His sheep and how do they know Him (verse 14)?

Who knows the Father and is known by the Father (verse 15)?

What does Jesus do for the sheep (verse 15)?

In your opinion, who are the other sheep that are not of “this sheep pen” (verse 16)?

When Jesus brings in these other sheep, how many flocks will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

What does Jesus have the authority to do (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how does the way Jesus identifies Himself in John 10:11-18 show that He is the answer to the prophecy God gave in Ezekiel 34:7-16?

1 Corinthians 2:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

How did Paul not come to the Corinthians as he proclaimed the testimony about God (verse 1)?

What was the only thing Paul resolved to know while he was with them (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says he “came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling” (verse 3)?

What does Paul say his message and preaching were without (verse 4)?

What does Paul say his message and preaching were with (verse 4)?

Where does Paul want the Corinthian’s faith to rest (verse 5)?

Where does Paul speak a message of wisdom (verse 6)?

What are the rulers of this age coming to (verse 6)?

What is “a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how was the message of Jesus, who says in John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd . . . and I lay down my life for my sheep” then powerfully proclaimed by Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-7 that he “came in weakness with great fear and trembling”?

In your opinion, what causes the difference between the shepherds of Israel that Ezekiel has a message for in Ezekiel 34:7-16 and Paul who is acting as a shepherd to the Christians in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2:1-7?

1 Peter 5:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

In your opinion, why does Peter describe himself to the “elders among you” as a ‘fellow elder’ and also as ‘a witness of Christ’s sufferings’ (verse 1)?

What will Peter share with the elders (verse 1)?

Why should the elders watch over the flock that is under their care (verse 2)?

What should the elders not pursue (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between “lording it over those entrusted to you” and “being examples to the flock” (verse 3)?

How is Jesus described (verse 4)?

When will the elders “receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how is Paul in his ministry to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:1-7 an example of the type of shepherd that Peter is appealing to the elders to be in 1 Peter 4:1-4?

In your opinion, how can the elders that Peter is calling to be “shepherds of God’s flock” in 1 Peter 5:1-4 be like the “Chief Shepherd” as Peter calls Jesus instead of the hired hand that Jesus in John 10:11-18 says “abandons the sheep and runs away”?

In your opinion, what can the shepherds that Peter is talking to in 1 Peter 5:1-4 learn from the shepherds that the Lord is holding accountable in Ezekiel 34:7-16?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 Corinthians and 1 Peter tell us about bad shepherds, good shepherds and the one who calls Himself the “good shepherd”?

In your opinion, what do these passages show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 5:5 – (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?

July 10, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Loving Deeply

Loving Deeply

1 Kings 17:15-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. ¹⁶ For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

¹⁷ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. ¹⁸ She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

¹⁹ “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. ²⁰ Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

²² The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. ²³ Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

What was there every day for Elijah, the woman and her family (verse 15)?

Who gave Elijah the word to speak about the jar of flour and the jug of oil (verse 16)?

What happened to the son of the woman who owned the house (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did the woman think that Elijah had something against her (verse 18)?

Where did Elijah take the woman’s son (verse 19)?

What did Elijah ask the Lord (verse 20)?

Where was Elijah when he cried out “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why does 1 Kings say “the Lord heard Elijah’s cry” (verse 22)?

What returned to the boy (verse 22)?

How did Elijah respond to the miracle (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why, after the miracle of the jar of flour and jug of oil not emptying, does the woman say to Elijah “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth” (verse 24)?

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

John 21:15-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

When did Jesus ask Simon Peter “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these” (verse 15)?

How did Peter respond (verse 15)?

What instruction did Jesus give Peter (verse 15)?

What did Jesus then ask Peter (verse 16)?

How was this answer different from his first answer (verse 16)?

What did Jesus then ask Peter (verse 17)?

How did this make Peter feel (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does Peter say “Lord, you know all things” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus respond to each of Peter’s assertions that he loves Jesus with a command to “Feed” or “take care of” His lambs or sheep (verses 15, 16 and 17)?

What will happen to Peter when he is old (verse 18)?

What was Peter going to do that “would glorify God” (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is Elijah stretching out on the boy three times and crying out “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him” in 1 Kings 17:15-24 similar to Jesus asking Peter three times if he loves Him in John 21:15-19?

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What makes speaking “in the tongues of men or of angels” only “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what should we learn about love if Paul considers someone who had the “gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge” along with a “faith that can move mountains” to be nothing if they do not have love (verse 2)?

What, instead of love, motivated the giver of everything to the poor and the body to hardship in verse 3?

What is love (verse 4)?

What does love not do (verse 5)?

What does love rejoice with (verse 6)?

What does love “always” do (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that prophecies, tongues and knowledge will end but that “love never fails” (verse 8, 9 and 10)?

When did Paul talk, think and reason like a child (verse 11)?

What do we see now (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why is love greater than faith or hope (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus indicating to Peter that he should show his love of Jesus by feeding the lambs, taking care of the sheep and feeding the sheep in John 21:15-19 enriched by Paul’s statements that doing things without love has no value in 1 Corinthians 13?

In your opinion, how does Elijah’s response to the accusation in 1 Kings 17:15-24 that the son was killed because Elijah had something against his mother a demonstration of the power of love that Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 13?

1 Peter 4:7-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

What is near (verse 7)?

Why should we “be alert and of sober mind” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how does love cover “a multitude of sins” (verse 8)?

How should hospitality be offered (verse 9)?

What should each of us use the gift we have received for (verse 10)?

How should the one who speaks speak (verse 11)?

What should we do “with the strength God provides" (verse 11)?

How should God be praised (verses 11)?

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

In your opinion, what are the similarities of the commands of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and Peter in 1 Peter 4:7-11?

In your opinion, how do Peter’s comments in 1 Peter 4:7-11 show that he has embraced the requests he received from Jesus in John 21:15-19 when he assured Jesus that he loved Him?

In your opinion, how does Elijah in 1 Kings 17:15-24 demonstrate obedience to what Peter commands in 1 Peter 4:7-11 to be alert and of sober mind so that we can pray and loving each other deeply?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from 1 Kings, John, 1 Corinthians and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 4:12 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)