June 3, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Lost and Saved Lives

-            The

Lost and Saved Lives

Joshua 20:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹ Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. ⁴ When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

Who told Joshua to tell “the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge” (verses 1 and 2)?

Why would some flee to the city of refuge (verse 3)?

What is the fleeing person to do when they get to the city of refuge (verse 4)?

What must the elders of the cities of refuge not do (verse 5)?

How long is the fugitive to stay in the city of refuge (verse 6)?

Who could flee to the cities of refuge (verse 9)?

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

Mark 8:31-38 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. ³² He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³ But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Who must “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priest and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed” (verse 31)?

What will happen three days after He is killed (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why did Peter take Jesus aside and begin to rebuke Him (verse 32)?

What did Jesus say Peter was concerned about (verse 33)?

Who must “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (verse 34)?

What will happen to the person who wants to save their life (verse 35)?

Who will save their life (verse 35)?

In your opinion, “what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul” (verse 36)?

How will the Son of Man react to the person who is ashamed of Jesus and His words “in this adulterous and sinful generation” when He comes “in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (verse 38)?

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

In your opinion, what is the similarity between fleeing to a city of refuge until the death of the high priest in Joshua 20:1-9 and the disciple of Jesus losing their life for Jesus and the gospel and saving their life in Mark 8:31-38?

Acts 12:1-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. ³ When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

¹² When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. ¹³ Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

¹⁸ In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Why did King Herod arrest “some who belonged to the church” (verse 1)?

What did King Herod do to James the brother of John (verse 2)?

When did King Herod seize Peter (verse 3)?

How many soldiers guarded Peter (verse 4)?

What was the church doing (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why was Peter so heavily guarded, with two soldiers, bound with two chains, and with senteries at the entrance (verse 6)?

What happened when the “angel of the Lord appeared” (verse 7)?

Who told Peter to “put on your clothes and sandles” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Peter think he was seeing a vision (verse 9)?

What did the iron gate do for Peter and the angel (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say “Peter came to himself” (verse 11)?

What were people doing in the “house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark” (verse 12)?

What did Rhoda do when Peter knocked on the door (verse 13)?

How do we know that Rhoda was excited (verse 14)?

What did the people who had been praying for Peter think when Rhoda said he was at the door (verse 15)?

How did the people feel when they opened the door and saw Peter (verse 16)?

Who did Peter say got him out of prison (verse 17)?

What did Herod order for the guards who had been guarding Peter (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what had God done for James, who was put to death by the sword in Acts 12:1-19, that was greater than the sanctuary cities that the Lord told Moses and Joshua to establish in Joshua 20:1-19?

In your opinion, how is Peter’s escape from the four squads of soldiers with the help of the angel in Acts 12:1-19 a symbolic representation of Jesus’s words “whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it”  in Mark 8:31-38?

1 Peter 1:3-9 – New International Version (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

What has God done “in his great mercy” (verse 3)?

Where is our inheritance kept (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean when he says we are “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation” through faith (verse 5)?

What does Peter say Christians may have had to suffer “in all kinds of trials” (verse 6)?

When will “the proven genuineness of your faith” result in praise, glory and honor (verse 7)?

What fills those who are “receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (verses 8 and 9)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the refuge that is offered by the designated cities in Joshua 20:1-9 and the shielding by God’s power through faith that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, what is the difference between Peter in Mark 8:31-38 who was rebuked by Jesus for having “merely human concerns” when he rebuked Jesus for saying He was going to die and Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-9 who talks about a “a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”?

In your opinion, how does knowing that Peter had a friend killed by the sword and was in jail in Acts 12:1-19 add strength to his instruction in 1 Peter 1:3-9 to “greatly rejoice” even though there may be griefs and trials?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Peter show us about the difference between being a refugee in the world and being reborn “into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”?

In your opinion, how does Jesus losing His life to save us enable us to save our lives by losing them for Jesus and the gospel?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 27, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Conviction, Action and Salvation

-            The

Conviction, Action and Salvation

Joshua 14:6-14 - New International Version (NIV)              

⁶ Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. ⁷ I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, ⁸ but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. ⁹ So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’

¹⁰ “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! ¹¹ I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. ¹² Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

¹³ Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. ¹⁴ So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

Who said “you know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me” (verse 6)?

What did he bring back to Moses (verse 7)?

Who “made the hearts of the people melt in fear” (verse 8)?

Why did Moses swear that “the land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever” (verse 9)?

How old is Caleb (verse 10)?

 In your opinion, why does Caleb say “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out” (verse 11)?

What does Caleb ask for (verse 12)?

Who helps Caleb drive out the Anakites (verse 12)?

What did Joshua do (verse 13)?

What did Caleb do “wholeheartedly” (verse 14)?

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

Mark 7:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

What could Jesus not keep secret (verse 24)?

When did the “woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit” come to Jesus and fall at His feet (verse 25)?

Where was the woman from (verse 26)?

What did she beg Jesus to do (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “first let the children eat all they want . . . for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (verse 27)?

How did the woman respond to Jesus (verse 28)?

What does the woman receive for her reply (verse 29)?

What did the woman find when she went home (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what do Caleb, the eighty-five year old vigorous Israelite, in Joshua 14:6-14 and the Greek woman who was born in Syrian Phoenicia, with the demon possessed daughter, in Mark 7:24-30 have in common?

Acts 11:1-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him ³ and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴ Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. ⁶ I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. ⁷ Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

⁸ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

¹¹ “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. ¹⁴ He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵ “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸ When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

What did “the apostles and the believer throughout Judea” hear (verse 1)?

Why did “the circumcised believers” criticize Peter (verses 2 and 3)?

How did Peter respond to the criticism (verse 4)?

What did Peter see being let down from heaven when he was praying and in a trance (verse 5)?

What was Peter supposed to do (verses 6 and 7)?

In your opinion, why did Peter say “surely not, Lord” (verse 8)?

How did the voice from heaven respond to Peter’s refusal (verse 9)?

Who came after this had happened three times (verse 11)?

What did the Spirit tell Peter (verse 12)?

What did the man say the angel said that “Simon who is called Peter” would bring (verses 13 and14)?

Who came on them when Peter began to speak (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why is what Peter remembered “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” important (verses 16 and 17)?

How did the circumcised believers praise God (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar between Caleb in Joshua 14:6-14 and Peter in Acts 11:1-18?

In your opinion, how does Jesus giving the Greek woman “children’s crumbs” in Mark 7:24-30 help prepare Peter to respond to the vision of the large sheet filled with “four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds” in Acts 11:1-18?

Romans 10:5-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”  ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

What did Moses write about “the righteousness that is by the law” (verse 5)?

What does saying “who will ascend into heaven” do (verse 6)?

What does saying who will descend into the deep” do (verse 7)?

Where is the Word (verse 8)?

How are you saved (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be justified (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be saved (verse 10)?

Who will never be put to shame (verse 11)?

Why does Paul believe there is no difference between Jew and Gentile (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is Caleb who reports in Joshua 14:6-14 that he made his report to Moses based on his convictions an Old Testament example of what Paul instructs us to do to be saved in Romans 10:5-13 when he tells us to “declare with our mouth” and to “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”?

In your opinion, how does Jesus driving the demon from the Greek woman’s daughter in Mark 7:24-30 illustrate the truth of Paul’s statement in Romans 10:5-13 that “anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame”?

In your opinion, how does the objection to the uncircumcised by the circumcised and the way Peter overcomes that objection in Acts 11:1-18 help us to understand what Paul means in Romans 10:5-13 when he says “for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Romans teach us about how God leads us to act on convictions?

In your opinion, what convictions and actions must come together to bring salvation?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 20, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Love the Lost

Love the Lost

Joshua 13:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹ When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.

² “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites, ³ from the Shihor River on the east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north, all of it counted as Canaanite though held by the five Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron; the territory of the Avvites ⁴ on the south; all the land of the Canaanites, from Arah of the Sidonians as far as Aphek and the border of the Amorites; ⁵ the area of Byblos; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.

⁶ “As for all the inhabitants of the mountain regions from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, that is, all the Sidonians, I myself will drive them out before the Israelites. Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you, ⁷ and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh.”

What did the Lord tell Joshua when he “had grown old” (verse 1)?

Who would drive out the inhabitants of the mountain regions (verse 6)?

What was Joshua to do with the mountain regions (verses 6 and 7)?

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

Mark 6:6b-13 - New International Version (NIV)

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Where did Jesus go around teaching (verse 6)?

What did Jesus give the Twelve (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus tell the Twelve to “take nothing for the journey except a staff” (verse 8)?

What were the Twelve not to wear (verse 9)?

How long were the Twelve to stay in the houses they entered (verse 10)?

Why were the Twelve to shake the dust off their feet at the places where they were not welcomed or listened to (verse 11)?

What did the Twelve preach (verse 12)?

What did the Twelve do (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, why did God give the Israelites an inheritance in Joshua 13:1-7 and Jesus give the Twelve authority in Mark 6:6b-13?

Acts 8:9-24 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, ¹⁰ and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹ They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

¹⁴ When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. ¹⁵ When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. ²³ For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

²⁴ Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

How did Simon amaze “all the people of Samaria” (verse 9)?

What did “all the people” call Simon (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what was the difference between what Simon did that caused the people to follow him and what Philip did that caused the people to be baptized (verses 11 and 12)?

What astonished Simon (verse 13)?

When did the apostles send Peter and John to Samaria (verse 14)?

Why did Peter and John pray for the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit (verses 15 and 16)?

What happened when Peter and John placed their hands on the new believers (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did Simon offer money and ask to be given the ability “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (verses 18 & 19)?

Why did Peter tell Simon “may your money perish with you” (verse 20)?

What is not “right before God” (verse 21)?

What did Peter instruct Simon to do (verse 22)?

What did Peter see in Simon (verse 23)?

How did Simon respond to Peter (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how is the kingdom of Israel, who God says still has “very large areas of land to be taken over” in Joshua 13:1-7 and the kingdom of God when Philip went to Samaria in Acts 8:9-24 similar?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the message of repentance that the Twelve gave when they went out in Mark 6:6b-13 and the message of Philip, Peter and John in Acts 8:9-24?

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.

When would Paul (and we) be “only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that he is nothing if he has gifts of prophecy, knowledge and faith but does not have love (verse 2)?

What would Paul gain if he gave all he had to the poor and his body over to hardship and did not have love (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)?

What does love never do (verse 8)?

When will the “in part” that we know and prophesy disappear (verses 9 and 10)?

What do we see now (verse 12)?

What remains (verse 13)?

What is the greatest (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 help us recognize about the difference between the kingdom that Joshua is helping to establish in Joshua 13:1-7 and the kingdom that Jesus established with his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead?

In your opinion, what is the long-term difference in results of the authority that Jesus gave to the Twelve in Mark 6:6b-13 and the love that Paul promotes in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13?

In your opinion, how is the difference between Philip and Simon in Acts 8:9-24 explained by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Corinthians teach us about the foundation of the Kingdom of God?

In your opinion, how do we, as the kingdom of God, react to the large areas that are not part of the kingdom?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 13, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Victory Over Fears

-            The

Victory Over Fears

Joshua 10:6-15 - New International Version (NIV)              

⁶ The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

⁹ After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. ¹⁰ The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

¹² On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
¹³ So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. ¹⁴ There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

¹⁵ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Why did the Gibeonites send word to Joshua (verse 6)?

What was Joshua’s response (verse 7)?

Who told Joshua not to be afraid of them (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Joshua take them by surprise (verse 9)?

Who threw “them into confusion before Israel” (verse 10)?

What killed more of them than “were killed by the swords of the Israelites” (verse 11)?

What did Joshua say “to the Lord in the presence of Israel” (verse 12)?

What did the sun do (verse 13)?

Why was the day that the Israelites protected the Gibeonites unique (verse 14)?

Where did Joshua and all Israel go after the battle (verse 15)?

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

Mark 4:35-41 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

When did Jesus tell His disciples “let us go over to the other side” (verse 35)?

How did the disciples take Jesus (verse 36)?

Why was the boat “nearly swamped” (verse 37)?

Where was Jesus (verse 38)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples think Jesus didn’t care if they drowned (verse 38)?

What happened when Jesus rebuked the wind (verse 39)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith” (verse 40)?

Why were the disciples terrified (verse 41)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from the sun standing still in Joshua 10:6-15 and the wind and waves obeying Jesus in Mark 4:35-41?

Acts 7:54-60 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁴ When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

How did the members of the Sanhedrin respond to what Stephen said (verse 54)?

What did Stephen see while he was full of the Holy Spirit (verse 55)?

Where did Stephen see “the Son of Man standing” (verse 56)?

In your opinion, why did the members of the Sanhedrin cover their ears (verse 57)?

What did they do to Stephen (verse 58)?

Where did the witnesses lay their coats (verse 58)?

When did Stephen pray “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (verse 59)?

In your opinion, why did Stephen pray “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (verse 60)?

What happened to Stephen (verse 60)?

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

In your opinion, how is the victory of Stephen over fear and anger in Acts 7:54-60 a more amazing miracle than the sun standing still while the Israelites defeated the Amorites in Joshua 10:6-15?

In your opinion, why do we see a difference in the level of faith exhibited by the disciples as they were in fear of the winds and waves in Mark 4:35-41 and Stephen as he was being hit by the stones in Acts 7:54-60?

Romans 8:28-39 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Who does God work for the good of in all things (verse 28)?

Why did God predestine those He foreknew “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what is Paul describing in the steps of: predestined, called, justified and glorified (verse 30)?

In your opinion, does it change what Paul is saying in verses 31 through 34 if the quote reads this way: ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be successful against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all eternally important things? ³³ Who will bring any charge that sticks against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who eternally condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

In your opinion, what can we learn from Paul when he follows the statement “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” with the quote “for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered” (verses 35 and 36)?

Where are we “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (verse 37)?

What is Paul convinced that death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height, depth, “nor anything else in all creation” will not be able to do (verses 38 and 39)?

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

In your opinion, how does the Lord hurling large hailstones at the Amorites and stopping the sun from moving in Joshua 10:6-15 show He is greater than those who Paul outlines might be against us in Romans 8:28-39?

In your opinion, how does Jesus calming the wind and waves in response to the disciple’s fear in Mark 4:35-41 demonstrate how we might wish that God would respond to our fears of all the things that Paul outlined in Romans 8:28-39?

In your opinion, how does Stephen’s response to his stoning in Acts 7:54-60 demonstrate the Holy Spirit’s power in allowing him to have victory over his fears, which teaches Saul, who became Paul the author of Romans, who then teaches us about the love of Christ overcoming the things that we fear in Romans 8:28-39?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Romans teach us about God’s abilities in our crises?

In your opinion, how do we move from focusing on a crisis to finding victory over our fears in all circumstances?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)