November 25, 2018 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – From Judgment to Mercy

-            The

From Judgment to Mercy

Jeremiah 25:4-14 - New International Version (NIV)          

⁴ And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. ⁵ They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁶ Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

⁷ “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”

⁸ Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹ I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. ¹⁰ I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

¹² “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. ¹³ I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. ¹⁴ They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

Who had the people “not listened or paid any attention” to (verse 4)?

What did the people have to do to “stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does God mean by the instruction “do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made” (verse 6)?

How did the people bring “harm to yourselves” (verse 7)?

Who will the Lord Almighty summon “against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations” (verses 8 and 9)?

What will the Lord banish from the lands (verse 10)?

How long will the country be a “desolate wasteland” (verse 11)?

What will happen “when the seventy years are fulfilled” (verse 12)?

How will the Babylonians be repaid (verse 14)?

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

Zechariah 1:7-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.

⁸ During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.

⁹ I asked, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”

¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.”

¹¹ And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”

¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” ¹³ So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

¹⁴ Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, ¹⁵ and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’

¹⁶ “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

¹⁷ “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

What happened “on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius” (verse 7)?

Where was the “man mounted on a red horse” that Zechariah saw in the vision (verse 8)?

Who answered Zechariah’s question “What are these” by saying “I will show you what they are” (verse 9)?

Who explaind “they are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth” (verse 10)?

What did they report about the world (verse 11)?

How long had the Lord Almighty been angry with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah (verse 12)?

How did the Lord speak to the angel who was talking to Jeremiah (verse 13)?

What was Zechariah to say about how the Lord Almighty felt about Jerusalem and Zion (verse 14)?

Why was the Lord Almighty angry with “the nations that feel secure” (verse 15)?

How will the Lord Almighty “return to Jerusalem” (verse 16)?

What does the Lord Almighty say will overflow in “my towns” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what has happened to the prophcy of Jeremiah 25:4-14 by the time Zechariah receives the prophcy of Zechariah 1:7-14?

John 12:31-36 – New International Version (NIV)

³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

What time does Jesus say it is (verse 31)?

Who will be driven out (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (verse 32)?

Why did He say this (verse 33)?

What had the crowd “heard from the Law” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when He instructed “You are going to have the light just a little while longer.  Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.” (verse 35)?

What happens if we “believe in the light while you have the light” (verse 36)?

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

In your opinion, how is the judgment of the Lord Almighty in Jeremiah 25:4-14 different from the judgment Jesus declares in John 12:31-36?

In your opinion, how does the fact that Zechariah had a vision in the night, or dark, in Zechariah 1:7-14 help us understand about the statement that Jesus makes “walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you” in John 12:31-36?

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 state were the Ephesian Christians in (verse 1)?

In your opinion, who is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (verse 2)?

What were we all “deserving of” (verse 3)?

What is God rich in (verse 4)?

How did God make us alive “when we were dead in transgressions” (verse 5)?

How did God raise us up (verse 6)?

What did God show through “his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (verse 7)?

How are we saved (verse 8)?

Why can no one boast (verse 9)?

What are we created to do (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does Ephesians 2:1-10 reveal about the Ephesian Christians (and Christians of today) that is in common with the people who Jeremiah said God was angry with in Jeremiah 24:4-14?

In your opinion, what does Zechariah’s predicted return of the Lord to Jerusalem in Zechariah 1:7-14 have in common with explanation that Paul gives in Ephesians 2:1-10 about why God “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead with transgressions”?

In your opinion, what does Paul reveal in Ephesians 2:1-10 about how Jesus, who said in John 12:31-36 that “now is the time for judgment on this world” makes people into “children of light”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Zechariah, John and Ephesians teach us about the relationship of anger and judgment to mercy and grace?

In your opinion, what has God prepared for you to do?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 18, 2018 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Stiff-Necked or Devoted

Stiff-Necked or Devoted

2 Chronicles 36:11-21 - New International Version (NIV)   

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. ¹² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. ¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. ¹⁷ He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁸ He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.

²⁰ He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.

How old was Zedekiah when he became king (verse 11)?

What did Zedekiah refuse to do “before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord” (verse 12)?

Who did Zedekiah rebell against (verse 13)?

What did the “leaders of the priests and the people do” (verse 14)?

Why did “the Lord, the God of their ancestors” send word to the people “again and again” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, whey did God’s people despise His words and scoff at His prophets (verse 16)?

Who did God give His people to (verse 17)?

Where did all the “articles from the temple of God, both large and small” get carried to (verse 18)?

What happened to God’s temple (verse 19)?

What did the “remnant, who escaped from the sword” become (verse 20)?

How long did the land rest (verse 21)?

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

Zechariah 1:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:

² “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. ³ Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. ⁴ Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. ⁵ Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?

“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’”

When did “the word of the Lord” come to the prophet Zechariah (verse 1)?

Who was the Lord “very angry” with (verse 2)?

What does the Lord promise to do if the people return to Him (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did the people’s ancestors not listen or pay attention to God (verse 4)?

How did the people’s ancestors respond when God’s words and decrees overtook them (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, why might the people that Zechariah is talking to in Zechariah 1:1-6 respond differently to God than their ancestors responded to Jeremiah’s message from God in 2 Chronicles 36:11-21?

John 1:9-14 – New International Version (NIV)

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 “was coming into the world” (verse 9)?

What did the world not do (verse 10)?

In your opinion why did “that which was his own” not receive Him (verse 11)?

Who did He “give the right to become children of God” (verse 12)?

How were these “children of God” not born (verse 13)?

What did the Word become (verse 14)?

Where did the Word dwell (verse 14)?

Who came from the Father, “full of grace and truth” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how is Zedekiah, the king of Israel in 2 Chronicles 36:11-21 an example of the way “the world” and “his own” reacted to Jesus according to John in John 1:9-14?

In your opinion, how is the opportunity that God gave the people in Zechariah 1:1-6 to “return to me . . . and I will return to you” similar to what Jesus gave in John 1:9-14 “to all who did receive him”?

Titus 3:3-8 – New International Version (NIV)

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

In your opinion, who is the “we” in Paul’s statement that “we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures” (verse 3)?

Who does Paul say had “kindness and love” (verse 4)?

Why did God save “us” (verse 5)?

How did God save “us” (verse 5)?

How was the Holy Spirit “poured out on us generously” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “justified by his grace” (verse 7)?

What are those “who have trusted in God” to be careful to do (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how is the reaction of Zedekiah to God in 2 Chronicles 36:11-21 different from the reaction of the “foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved” that Paul is talking about in Titus 3:3-8?

In your opinion, why doesn’t the statement of Zechariah 1:1-6 that “the Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve” not apply for the “foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved” of Titus 3:3-8?

In your opinion, what does Titus 3:3-8 teach us about Jesus and those who received Him in John 1:9-14, “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Chronicles, Zechariah, John and Titus teach us about the reactions of people to God?

In your opinion, how can each, individually, devote ourselves to “doing what is good”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 4, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Built for Action

Built for Action

Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 - New International Version (NIV)      

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

⁹ Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. ¹⁰ The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. ¹² Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

¹³ Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

What does the Teacher say is “meaningless” (verse 8)?

Who did the the Teacher impart knowledge to (verse 9)?

What did the Teacher search for (verse 10)?

In your opinion, how are the words of the wise “like goads” (verse 11)?

What does the Teacher say to “be warned” about (verse 12)?

What is the Teacher’s “conclusion of the matter” (verse 13)?

What will God do with every deed and every hidden thing (verse 14)?

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

Matthew 7:24-29 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Who is “like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (verse 24)?

Why did the house not fall even though “the rain come down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house” (verse 25)?

Who is “like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (verse 26)?

What happened to the foolish man’s house when “the rain come down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house” (verse 27)?

How did the crowds feel about Jesus teaching (verse 28)?

How did Jesus teach (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, how do the Teacher’s conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 and the parable of Jesus recorded in Matthew 7:24-29 agree?

James 2:14-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

Who does James ask the question “can such faith save them” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what changes if you say to someone “go in peace; keep warm and well fed” (verses 15 and 16)?

What is faith “if it is not accompanied by action” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between someone who says “you have faith; I have deeds” and James who says “I will show you my faith by my deeds” (verse 18)?

What do demons believe that causes them to shudder (verse 19)?

When was Abraham considered righteous (verse 20)?

What worked together to make Abraham’s faith complete (verse 22)?

When was it credited to Abraham “as righteousness” (verse 23)?

What must be added to faith so that someone is considered righteous (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how are the deeds the Teacher says God will bring into judgment in Ecclesiates 12:8-14 and the deeds James encourages in James 2:14-24 different?

In your opinion, how are James’s  description of the one with faith and without deeds and the one with faith and deeds in James 2:14-24 similar to Jesus descriptions of the wise man and the foolish man in Matthew 7:24-29?

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

² We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. ³ We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. ⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁷ And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, ⁹ for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

When does Paul thank God for the Thessalonians (verse 2)?

What does Paul remember about the Thessalonians (verse 3)?

Who has God chosen (verse 4)?

How did the gospel come to the Thessolians (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how could the Thessalonian Christians have been able to welcome the message with joy when they were “in the midst of severe suffering” (verse 6)?

What did the Thessalonian Christians become (verse 7)?

What “rang out” from the Thessalonian Christians (verse 8)?

What did the Thessalonian Christians turn from idols to do (verse 9)?

Who rescues us from the coming wrath (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Teacher’s statement that “God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” opposed by Paul’s message in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10?

In your opinion, how does 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 show us that Thessalonian Christians were wise and built their faith upon the rock as Jesus describes in Matthew 7:24-29?

In your opinion, how is the faith of Abraham that James described in James 2:14-24 similar to the faith of the Thessalonian Christians that Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, James and 1 Thessalonians teach us about the difference between actions that are meaningless and actions that prove our faith?

In your opinion, how can our actions show God’s love?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 14, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Leaving a Meaningless World Through the Narrow Gate

Leaving a Meaningless World Through the Narrow Gate

Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. ² All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.

³ This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. ⁴ Anyone who is among the living has hope even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

⁵ For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
    and even their name is forgotten.
⁶ Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.

⁷ Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. ⁸ Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. ⁹ Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

In whose hands are “the righteous and the wise” (verse 1)?

What do “the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not” share (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does the Teacher think the fact that the “same destiny overtakes all” is “the evil in everything that happens under the sun” (verse 3)?

Who “has hope” (verse 4)?

What do the living know (verse 5)?

Who does the Teacher say “never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun” (verses 5 and 6)?

Why does the Teacher say to “eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by “always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil” (verse 8)?

How does the Teacher say we should live “all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun” (verse 9)?

What should we “do with all your might” (verse 10)?

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

Matthew 7:13-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

What are we to do “through the narrow gate” (verse 13)?

How does Jesus describe the gate that “leads to destruction” (verse 13)?

What do “many” do (verse 13)?

What “leads to life” (verse 14)?

How many find “life” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, which part of the choice Jesus presents in Matthew 7:13-14 does the Teacher describe in Ecclesiastes 9:1-10?

Acts 4:8-14 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

What filled Peter (verse 8)?

How does Peter describe the act that they are “being called to account today for” (verse 9)?

How does the man stand “before you healed” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean by “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone” (verse 11)?

What is found in no one other than Jesus (verse 12)?

Why were the rulers and elders of the people astonished (verse 13)?

Why was there nothing the rulers and elders of the people could say (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what did Peter and John, as unschooled, ordinary men, know in Acts 4:8-14 that the Teacher of Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 did not know?

In your opinion, how is Matthew 7:13-14 explained by Peter in Acts 4:8-14?

1 Timothy 2:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

Who does Paul urge Timothy to make “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving” for (verse 1)?

Why does Paul urge Timothy topray for “kings and all those in authority” (verse 2)?

What does “God our Savior” want (verses 3 and 4)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “come to a knowledge of the truth” (verse 4)?

Who is the “mediator between God and mankind” (verse 5)?

What did the “mediator” do (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 add hope to the despair the Teacher had in Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 when he said “the hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead”?

In your opinion, how does Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 lead us to the “narrow gate” that Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:13-14?

In your opinion, how do we reconcile the fact that Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit” confronted the rulers and elders in Acts 4:8-14 and Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 urges “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving” be made to “all those in authority”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Acts and 1 Timothy help us understand about the difference “meaningless days” and “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”?

In your opinion, what can we do to continue the witness to “Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people” and lead others to through the narrow gate?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 7, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Living as God’s Children

 Living as God’s Children

Ecclesiastes 8:9-17 - New International Version (NIV)        

⁹ All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. ¹⁰ Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

¹¹ When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. ¹² Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. ¹³ Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

¹⁴ There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. ¹⁵ So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

¹⁶ When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the labor that is done on earth—people getting no sleep day or night— ¹⁷ then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.

What did the Teacher apply his mind to (verse 9)?

How did the Teacher define the wicked (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why does the Teacher think that “people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong” when a “sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out” (verse 11)?

Who will it go better for than a “wicked person who commits a hundred crimes” and lives a long time (verse 12)?

Why will it not go well with the wicked (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by the righteous getting what the wicked deserve and the wicked getting what the righteous deserve (verse 14)?

When will joy accompany people in their “toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun” (verse 15)?

What did the Teacher see when he applied his “mind to know wisdom and to abserve the labor that is done on earth” (verses 16 and 17)?

What can the wise claim to know but not comprehend (verse 18)?

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

Matthew 5:38-42 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

What does Jesus say had been heard (verse 38)?

How should we respond if someone slaps the right cheek (verse 39)?

What should we give someone who sues for our shirt (verse 40)?

How far should we go if forced to go one mile (verse 41)?

Who should we give to (verse 42)?

Who should we not turn away from (verse 42)?

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

In your opinion, what is the basic change that would take place in the world the Teacher portrays in Ecclesiastes 8:9-17 where “the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve” if we followed the instructions Jesus gives in Matthew 5:38-42?

Romans 8:9-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

What realm are you in if the Spirit of God lives in you (verse 9)?

Who does not “belong to Christ” (verse 9)?

What does the Spirit give if Christ is in us (verse 10)?

Who will give life to our mortal bodies if the “Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in” us (verse 11)?

What do we not have an obligation to (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body” (verse 13)?

Who are the “children of God” (verse 14)?

What does receiving the Spirit not make us (verse 15)?

What did receiving the Spirit bring us (verse 15)?

Who testifies that “we are God’s children” (verse 16)?

If we are God’s children then what are we heirs of (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s statement in Romans 8:9-17 that “if you live according to the flesh, you will die” challenge the Teacher’s statement in Ecclesiastes 8:9-17, “there is nothing better for a person under the sun that to eat and drink and be glad”?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s statement “we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh , to live according to it” in Romans 8:9-17 help us begin to understand the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5:38-42?

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

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Where do the “fights and quarrels” come from (verse 1)?

Why do we not have (verse 2)?

Why do we not receive even when we ask (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does “friendship with the world” mean “enmity against God” (verse 4)?

What does the Scripture say that God “jealously longs for” (verse 5)?

Who does God show favor to (verse 6)?

Who should we submit ourselves to (verse 7)?

What happens when we “resist the devil” (verse 7)?

What happens when we “come near to God” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why does James tell us to “grieve, mourn and wail” (verse 9)?

When will the Lord lift us up (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how does James’s discussion about desires and motives in James 4:1-10 reveal what the Teacher sees going “on under the sun” in Ecclesiates 8:9-17?

In your opinion, how does what we learn from James 4:1-10 that might help us understand how to implement what Jesus tells us to do in Matthew 5:38-42?

In your opinion, what do we learn when we combine the command of James to “submit yourselves, then, to God” in James 4:1-10 and Paul’s statement that “the Spirit you received does not make you slaves” in Romans 8:9-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Romans and James help us understand about the differences between the things that are “under the sun” and those in the “realm of the Spirit”?

In your opinion, how do we move from the “desires that battle within you” to living as “God’s children” and heirs?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)