December 25, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Life, Death and New Life

Life, Death and New Life

Genesis 2:4-7 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶ but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Who made the earth and the heavens (verse 4)?

Why had no shrub appeared or plant sprung up (verse 5)?

How was the ground watered (verse 6)?

What did the Lord God form a man from (verse 7)?

When did man become a living being (verse 7)?

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

John 1:6-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Who sent John (verse 6)?

Why did John testify concerning the light (verse 7)?

What was John’s relationship to the light (verse 8)?

Who does the true light give light to (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why did the world, though made through Him, not recognize the light (verse 10)?

Who did not receive Him (verse 11)?

What did He give “those who believed in his name” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “born of God” (verse 13)?

What did the Word become (verse 14)?

What filled the Son who came from the Father (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from comparing the way the first man was formed and given life in Genesis 2:4-7 and the way the Son “became flesh” in John 1:6-14?

Romans 5:12-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

¹³ To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶ Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

²⁰ The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, ²¹ so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

How did sin enter the world (verse 12)?

How did death enter the world (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law” (verse 13)?

What reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the gift and the trespass (verse 15)?

What followed one sin (verse 16)?

What did the gift follow (verse 16)?

How is God’s provision of grace described (verse 17)?

How many trespasses resulted in condemnation for all people (verse 18)?

How many righteous acts resulted in justification and life for all people (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “the law was brought in so that the trespass might increase” (verse 20)?

What happened when sin increased (verse 20)?

How does grace reign (verse 21)?

What does grace bring through Jesus Christ (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul in Romans 5:12-21 help us understand about the way those who “believed in his name” in John 1:6-14 became children of God by being “born of God”?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Jesus, who is the one who breathed life into Adam in Genesis 2:4-7 is also the one whose righteous act Paul says in Romans 5:12-21 resulted in “justification and life for all people”?

Revelation 19:11-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of lords.

What is the rider of the white horse called (verse 11)?

How does the rider of the white horse wage war (verse 11)?

What is on the rider’s head (verse 12)?

What is the rider dressed in (verse 13)?

What is the rider’s name (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the rider’s armies are dressed in “fine linen, white and clean” (verse 14)?

Where is the sharp sword (verse 15)?

What winepress does the rider tread (verse 15)?

What is written on His robe and his thigh (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, why does Paul show Jesus as the provider of the gift of abundant grace in Romans 5:12-21 but John sees Jesus as the one who strikes down nations and who “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty” in Revelation 19:11-16?

In your opinion, why does John in John 1:6-14 say that he saw “the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” and then in Revelation 19:11-16 says that he “judges and wages war”?

In your opinion, how do you feel when you think that the one who created a man from dust and breathed life into him in Genesis 2:4-7 is also the one who judges, wages war and strikes down nations in Revelation 19:11-16?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Romans and Revelation help us understand about life, new life and judgment?

In your opinion, how do these passages strengthen our desire to live in “God’s abundant provision of Grace”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 18, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Sabbath-Rest or Torment

Sabbath-Rest or Torment

Genesis 2:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

What was “completed in all their vast array” (verse 1)?

When had God “finished the work he had been doing” (verse 2)?

What did God do when He “finished the work he had been doing” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that God made the seventh day holy (verse 3)?

Why did God bless the seventh day and make it holy (verse 3)?

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

John 7:14-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

²⁰ “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Where did Jesus go “halfway through the festival” (verse 14)?

What did He do there (verse 14)?

Who was amazed (verse 15)?

In your opinion, who did Jesus’ teaching come from (verse 16)?

What will everyone who does the will of God find out (verse 17)?

What does someone who speaks on their own seek (verse 18)?

Who is “a man of truth” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “not one of you keeps the law” (verse 19)?

Who says that Jesus is demon-possessed (verse 20)?

How did Jesus amaze the crowd (verse 21)?

Who gave them circumcision (verse 22)?

What do they do on the Sabbath (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus use the circumcision on the Sabbath to justify healing on the Sabbath (verse 23)?

How does Jesus say judging should not be done (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, what does Jesus defense of healing on the Sabbath in John 7:14-24 help us to understand about what God intended when He made the Sabbath holy in Genesis 2:1-3?

Hebrews 4:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. ² For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. ³ Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. ⁴ For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” ⁵ And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

⁶ Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, ⁷ God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰ for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

In your opinion, what is the “promise of entering his rest” (verse 1)?

Why was the message “of no value to them” (verse 2)?

Who will enter the rest (verse 3)?

When were God’s works finished (verse 3)?

What did God do on the seventh day (verse 4)?

Where will some enter (verse 6)?

Who did God speak through “a long time later” (verse 7)?

What were people not to do “today, if you hear his voice” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that God spoke “later about another day” (verse 8)?

Who is the Sabbath-rest for (verse 9)?

Who rests “from their works” (verse 10)?

What should we make every effort to do (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does the fact that Jesus said He healed on the Sabbath in John 7:14-24 help us to understand about the Sabbath-rest that Paul is talking about in Hebrews 4:1-11?

In your opinion, what does the fact that Genesis 2:1-3 shows God resting from His work and then blessing the Sabbath help us to understand about the Sabbath rest that Paul in Hebrews 4:1-11 says is for the people of God?

Revelation 14:6-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Who did the angel “flying in midair” have the eternal gospel to proclaim to (verse 6)?

How should people respond to the “hour of his judgment” (verse 7)?

What does the second angel proclaim (verse 8)?

Who is the third angel talking about (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “drink the wine of God’s fury” (verse 10)?

For whom will there be “no rest day or night” (verse 11)?

Who is called to have “patient endurance” (verse 12)?

Who says “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on” (verse 13)?

What is the blessing that those “who die in the Lord from now on” will receive (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how does John in Revelation 14:6-13 continue the discussion of the ones who don’t or do share the faith in Christ that Paul began in Hebrews 4:1-11?

In your opinion, how does John’s discussion of who receives torment and who receives rest in Revelation 14:6-13 help us to understand what Jesus meant in John 7:14-24 when He said to “stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly”?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the gospel the angel proclaimed to “every nation, tribe, language and people” in Revelation 14:6-13 was to worship God who “made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water” that Genesis 2:1-13 shows God blessing the seventh day because He was resting from creating?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Hebrews and Revelation help us understand about the holy rest that God has blessed?

In your opinion, how do these passages encourage us to choose rest in God and be patient in the torment of the world?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 11, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Deceit and Triumph

Deceit and Triumph

Genesis 3:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

How was the serpent different from any of the wild animals (verse 1)?

What did the serpent say to the woman (verse 1)?

How did the woman answer (verses 2 and 3)?

How does the serpent respond (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did the serpent say “and you will be like God” (verse 5)?

What justification did the woman use to justify eating the fruit (verse 6)?

Where was her husband (verse 6)?

Why did they sew fig leaves together (verse 7)?

What did the man and his wife do when they heard the sound of God walking in the garden (verse 8)?

Why did the man say he hid (verse 10)?

What did the man say when God ask him if he ate fruit from the tree they were commanded not to eat from (verses 11 and 12)?

Who did the woman blame for her actions (verse 13)?

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

John 8:42-47 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Why did Jesus say that they would love Him (verse 42)?

Who sent Jesus (verse 42)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when He said “you are unable to hear what I say” (verse 43)?

Who does Jesus say they belong to (verse 44)?

What does Jesus say the devil was from the beginning (verse 44)?

Why are lies the devil’s native language (verse 44)?

Why do they not believe Jesus (verse 45)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus ask them if they can prove him guilty of sin (verse 46)?

Who hears what God say (verse 47)?

Why don’t they hear what Jesus says (verse 47)?

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

In your opinion, what happened in Genesis 3:1-13 that would allow Jesus in John 8:42-47 to call the devil “a murderer from the beginning”?

2 Corinthians 11:1-15 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! ² I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. ³ But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

⁵ I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” ⁶ I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. ⁷ Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? ⁸ I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. ⁹ And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. ¹⁰ As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. ¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

¹² And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. ¹³ For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

How does Paul hope the Corinthians will relate to him (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he tells the Corinthian Christians that he “promised you to one husband, to Christ” (verse 2)?

What did the “serpent’s cunning” do to Eve (verse 3)?

What was Paul’s fear that the “serpent’s cunning” would do to the Corinthian Christians (verse 3)?

What do the Corinthian Christians put up with easily enough (verse 4)?

Who does Paul not think he is inferior to (verse 5)?

What is Paul untrained as (verse 6)?

How did Paul preach the gospel to them (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says he “robbed other churches” (verse 8)?

Who supplied what Paul needed (verse 9)?

What does God know (verse 11)?

How will Paul “cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us” (verse 12)?

What are such people (verse 13)?

How does Satan masquerade (verse 14)?

What will Satan’s servants end be (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul reveal to us in 2 Corinthians 11:1-15 about what the one Jesus calls the “father of lies” in John 8:42-47 wants to use his lies to accomplish?

In your opinion, how does the way that Satan approached Eve in Genesis 3:1-13 help to understand about the methods he might use to lead Christian’s minds from a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” as Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:1-15?

Revelation 12:7-12 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God,
    and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
    who accuses them before our God day and night,
    has been hurled down.
¹¹ They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.
¹² Therefore rejoice, you heavens
    and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
    because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
    because he knows that his time is short.”

Who was involved in the war that broke out in heaven (verse 7)?

Who was not strong enough and lost their place in heaven (verse 8)?

Who “leads the whole world astray” (verse 9)?

What has come (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the significance saying that Satan is “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night” (verse 10)?

How did Christian brothers and sisters triumph over Satan (verse 11)?

Who is to rejoice (verse 12)?

Why is there woe to the earth and the sea (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians 11:1-15 about how Satan might try to lead “the whole world astray” according to Revelation 12:7-12?

In your opinion, what does Revelation 12:7-12 reveal to us about the way that we can triumph over Satan and, as Jesus expresses it in John 8:42-47, belong to God?

In your opinion, how does the way that the serpent deceived Eve in Genesis 3:1-13 helps us to understand about how, as prophesied in Revelation 12:7-12, he will bring woe to the earth and sea in his fury?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, 2 Corinthians and Revelation help us understand about Satan and his methods and how to overcome?

In your opinion, how do these passages enable us to be prepared for those who masquerade as servants of righteousness?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)