The December 1, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Stiff-necked to Saved

Stiff-necked to Saved


Psalm 51:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

What does David ask God to have on him (verse 1)?

How does David ask God to treat his iniquity (verse 2)?

Where is David’s sin (verse 3)?

Who has David sinned against (verse 4)?

When did David become sinful (verse 5)?

Where was David taught wisdom by God (verse 6)?

How does David believe he will be “whiter than snow” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does David mean by “let the bones you have crushed rejoice” (verse 8)?

What does David ask God to do with his iniquity (verse 9)?

How does David believe he can have a “pure heart” (verse 10)?

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

Mark 2:13-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus begin to teach (verse 13)?

What did Jesus tell Levi the son of Alphaeus (verse 14)?

What did Levi do (verse 14)?

Who was eating dinner with Jesus at Levi’s house (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why did the “teachers of the law who were Pharisees” ask “why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners” (verse 16)?

How did Jesus answer the question (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how would you contrast David’s view of sinfulness in Psalm 51:1-10 with that of the “teachers of the law who were Pharisees” from Mark 2:13-17?

Acts 7:51-60 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— ⁵³ you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

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.

Who does Stephen say the members of the Sanhedrin always resisted (verse 51)?

In your opinion, who had the members of the Sanhedrin “betrayed and murdered” (verse 52)?

What had the members of the Sanhedrin not obeyed (verse 53)?

How did the members of the Sanhedrin react to the accusations of Stephen (verse 54)?

How was Stephen able to see Jesus (verse 55)?

Where did Stephen say Jesus was (verse 56)?

In your opinion, why did the members of the Sanhedrin cover their ears and yell at the top of their voices as they rushed Stephen (verse 57)?

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

What did Stephen pray (verse 59)?

What did Stephen cry out (verse 60)?

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

In your opinion, how did the members of the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:51-60, who would have considered themselves to be children of David, reveal that they had different attitudes than David when he wrote Psalm 51:1-10?

In your opinion, how does the question asked by the teachers of the law who are Pharisees in Mark 2:13-17 prove them to be similar to the members of the Sanhedrin who stoned Stephen in Acts 7:51-60?

1 Timothy 1:12-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. ¹³ Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴ The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶ But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

What does Paul thank Christ Jesus for (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why does Paul call himself “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violet man” (verse 13)?

What was Paul shown (verse 13)?

How was the “grace of our Lord” poured out on Paul (verse 14)?

What did Christ Jesus come into the world to do (verse 15)?

Why was Paul shown mercy (verse 16)?

What does Paul pray for “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how are David, who wrote Psalm 51:1-10, and Paul, who wrote 1 Timothy 1:12-17, similar?  What does the fact that David prayed for mercy and Paul said he had received mercy reveal to us?

In your opinion, what does Paul’s statement that he was the worst of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:12-17 reveal about how he would have reacted to Jesus statement in Mark 2:13-17 that “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”?  How should we react?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Saul, who witnesses laid their coats at the feet of in Acts 7:51-60 as Stephen was stoned for saying he saw Jesus in heaven is the very same person who says in 1 Timothy 1:12-17 that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am thre worst”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Mark, Acts and 1 Timothy teach us about stiff-necked people and saved people today?

In your opinion, what should we who were once sinners but now are saved do today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 24, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Transformed by Forgiveness

-                        The

Transformed by Forgiveness


2 Chronicles 7:11-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹² the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

¹³ “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ¹⁵ Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. ¹⁶ I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

¹⁷ “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, ¹⁸ I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’

¹⁹ “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰ then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. ²¹ This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²² People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

What had Solomon finished (verse 11)?

Who chose the temple (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that the Lord began His statement to Solomon with “when” (verse 13)?

How would the Lord’s people need to act in order to be forgiven and have their land healed (verse 14)?

What will the Lord’s ears be attentive to (verse 15)?

Where will the Lord’s eyes and heart always be (verse 16)?

How does Solomon need to walk before the Lord (verse 17)?

What will the Lord establish (verse 18)?

When will the Lord “uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name” (verses 19 and 20)?

Who will be appalled (verse 21)?

What will people understand about why the temple is “a heap of rubble” (verses 21 and 22)?

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

Mark 2:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Who heard that Jesus had come home (verse 1)?

How were people gathered around Jesus (verse 2)?

What did the four men carry (verse 3)?

Why did they make an opening in the roof (verse 4)?

When did Jesus say “son, your sins are forgiven” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why were the teachers of the law thinking “Why does this fellow talk like that?  He’s blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (verses 6 and 7)?

What did Jesus say to them (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus ask them “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?” (verse 9)?

What did Jesus want them to know (verse 10)?

What did Jesus tell the man (verse 11)?

How did the people who saw this respond (verse 12)?

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

In 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 the Lord promises “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”?  In your opinion, do you think the paralyzed man in Mark 2:1-12 was going to Jesus expecting Him to fulfill that promise Why or why not?

Acts 16:11-15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. ¹² From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵ When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

How did Paul, Silas and Timothy travel (verse 11)?

Where was the “Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia” (verse 12)?

Why did they go to the river (verse 13)?

What did they do when they got to the river (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to us today that Lydia was “a worshiper of God” and that “the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message” (verse 14)?

Who was baptized (verse 15)?

How did Lydia persuade them to stay at her house (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Lord did for Lydia along a river in a foreign land in Acts 16:11-15 what He had promised Solomon to do for the Israelites in the temple in 2 Chronicles 7:11-22?

In your opinion, how are the paralyzed man in Mark 2:1-12 and Lydia in Acts 16:11-15 similar?  What do we have in common with them?

Philippians 3:12-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

¹⁷ Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Who “took hold” of Paul (verse 12)?

What one thing does Paul do (verse 13)?

How is Paul called heavenward (verse 14)?

Who will clear up our thinking if it is different from Paul’s (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “live up to what we have already attained” (verse 16)?

Who does Paul say we should keep our eyes on (verse 17)?

How do “many live” (verse 18)?

What is “their god” (verse 19)?

Where is a Christian’s citizenship (verse 20)?

What will Jesus Christ do (verses 20 and 21)?

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

In your opinion, how is the transformation of the nation of Israel that was promised when its people called on the Lord, humbled themselves, prayed, sought the face of the Lord and turned from their wicked ways in 2 Chronicles similar to the transformation Paul speaks of in Philippians 3:12-21?

In your opinion, how does Jesus being able to heal the paralyzed man prove not only His ability to forgive that man of sin in Mark 2:1-12, but also that he can give us citizenship in heaven as Paul promises in Philippians 3:12-21?

In your opinion, how does the Lord opening Lydia’s heart in Acts 16:11-15 help us understand how we can imitate Paul in Philippians 3:12-21 and forget what is behind and strain for what is ahead?

In your opinion, what can we, whose sins are forgiven, learn from the paralyzed man and from Lydia?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Chronicles, Mark, Acts and Philippians teach us about Jesus ability to forgive our sins and to transform us?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 17, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Purified and Indignant

-                        The

Purified and Indignant


Isaiah 52:11-15 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
    you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

¹³ See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

What are the Israelites not to touch when they leave bondage for Israel (verse 11)?

Why will they “not leave in haste or go in flight” (verse 12)?

Who will “be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (verse 13)?

How did many feel about Him (verse 14)?

What happened to His appearance (verse 14)?

Who will shut their mouths because of Him (verse 15)?

What will they understand (verse 15)?

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

Mark 1:40-45 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Who came to Jesus (verse 40)?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the man from his statement “if you are willing” (verse 40)?

In your opinion, why was Jesus indignant (verse 41)?

What did Jesus do as He was saying “I am willing” (verse 41)?

What happened to the man (verse 42)?

How did Jesus send him away (verse 43)?

Who was the man’s cleansing and offering to be a teatimony to (verse 44)?

What happened when the man talked freely and spread the news (verse 45)?

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

In your opinion, how do you reconcile Jesus touching the leper in Mark 1:40-45 with the command in Isaiah 52:11-15 to “touch no unclean thing”?

Acts 11:4-18 – New International Version (NIV)

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.”

Where did Peter start (verse 4)?

What was Peter doing when he saw the vision of the sheet being let down (verse 5)?

What was in the sheet (verse 6)?

How did Peter react to the command to “Get up, Peter.  Kill and eat” (verses 7 and 8)?

In your opinion, what did the voice from heaven mean when it said “do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (verse 9)?

How many times did this happen (verse 10)?

Who came to the house where Peter was staying (verse 11)?

What did the Spirit tell Peter (verse 12)?

Who had said “send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter” (verse 13)?

How was the household going to respond to Peter’s message (verse 14)?

What happened when Peter began to speak (verse 15)?

What did Peter remember (verse 16)?

In your opinion, who could stand in God’s way (verse 17)?

How did those listening to Peter praise God (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how is our understanding of what is considered unclean that Isaiah 52:11-15 indicates should not be touched altered by what happened to the man in Caesarea in Acts 11:4-18?

In your opinion, what things do the leper in Mark 1:40-45 and the man from Caesarea in Acts 11:4-18 share?

 1 John 1:5-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

What message has John heard that he declares (verse 5)?

When do we lie (verse 6)?

When do we have fellowship “with one another” (verse 7)?

What does “the blood of Jesus, his Son” do (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how is claiming to be without sin deceiveing ourselves (verse 8)?

When does God “forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (verse 9)?

Who do we make out to be a liar if we claim we have not sinned (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how can those who live in fear of violating the command to “touch no unclean thing” from Isaiah 52:11-15 find both condemnation and comfort in 1 John 1:5-10?

In your opinion, how does the miracle of cleansing that 1 John 1:5-10 promises dwarf the miracle of the cleansing of the man with the incureable disease in Mark 1:40-45?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 1:5-10 explain what happened to the man from Caesarea in Acts 11:4-18?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach us about our uncleanness and our purification from sin?

In your opinion, what should we be indignant about today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 10, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Beauty in Feet and Professing's

Beauty in Feet and Professing's


Isaiah 52:3-10 - New International Version (NIV)

³ For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,
    and without money you will be redeemed.”

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
    lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵ “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
    therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

What will occur “without money” (verse 3)?

Who has “lately” oppressed the Lord’s people (verse 4)?

What is happening to the Lord’s name (verse 5)?

Who will know the Lord’s name (verse 6)?

What do those who bring good news say to Zion (verse 7)?

Who will see the Lord’s return to Zion “with their own eyes” (verse 8)?

Why should the “ruins of Jerusalem” burst into song (verse 9)?

Where with the “salvation of our God” be seen (verse 10)?

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

Mark 1:29-39 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. ³¹ So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴ and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹ So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Where did they go “with James and John” (verse 29)?

Who was “in bed with a fever” (verse 30)?

What happened with Jesus “took her hand and helped her up” (verse 31)?

When did people bring the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus (verse 32)?

Who gathered at the door (verse 33)?

Why did Jesus not let the demons speak (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus get up very early and go to a solitary place to pray (verse 35)?

Who went to look for Jesus (verse 36)?

What did they exclaim when they found Jesus (verse 37)?

Why had Jesus come (verse 38)?

Where did they go (verse 39)?

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

In your opinion, was the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law and the others who were sick or demon possessed in Mark 1:29-39 the salvation that the Isaiah said in Isaiah 52:3-10 those with feet that were beautiful in the mountains would bring news of?  Why or why not?

Acts 8:26-40 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

³⁰ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶ As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” ³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Where did the angel of the Lord send Philip (verse 26)?

Who did Philip meet (verse 27)?

What was Philip supposed to stay near (verse 29)?

How did the man answer Philip’s question “do you understand what you are reading” (verses 30 and 31)?

What passage was he reading (verses 32 and 33)?

What did he ask Philip (verse 34)?

Who did Philip tell the man about (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why is the eunuch’s question “what can stand in the way of my being baptized” important to him (verse 36)?

What did Philip do (verse 38)?

How did the eunuch continue on his way (verse 39)?

What did Philip do as he traveled about (verse 40)?

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

In your opinion, how would a reader of Isaiah 52:3-10 who observed Philip in Acts 8:26-40 describe his feet?

In your opinion, how does Philip in Acts 8:26-40 imitate the actions of Jesus in Mark 1:29-39? 

 Romans 10:5-17 – 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.”

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Who writes “about the righteousness that is by the law: “the person who does these things will live by them”” (verse 5)?

What does righteousness not say in the heart(verses 6 and 7)?

What does righteousness say (verse 8)?

What happens “if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” (verse 9)?

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

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

Who does the Lord richly bless (verse 12)?

Who will be saved (verse 13)?

In your opinion, “how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard” (verse 14)?

Whose feet are beautiful (verse 15)?

What have “all the Israelites” not accepted (verse 16)?

How is the message heard (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does Romans 10:5-17 reveal about the “salvation of our God” that Isaiah 52:3-10 says all the ends of the earth will see?

In your opinion, how does Romans 10:5-17 help us understand why Jesus was not content in Mark 1:29-39 to stay in one town healing the sick and casting out demons?

In your opinion, how does Acts 8:26-40 illustrate the truth of Paul’s statement in Romans that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and Romans teach us about what is beautiful?

In your opinion, how can our professings be beautiful today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)