- The January 19, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Rejected and Accepted Lavish Love

Rejected and Accepted Lavish Love


2 Kings 1:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. ² Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”

³ But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.

⁵ When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”

⁶ “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”

⁷ The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”

⁸ They replied, “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.”

The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

Who rebelled against Israel after Ahab dies (verse 1)?

Why did Ahaziah send messengers to “Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron” (verse 2)?

Who sent Elijah the Tishbite to meet the messengers (verse 3)?

How was Ahaziah’s question for Baal-Zebub answered by the Lord (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did king Ahaziah ask the messengers “why have you come back” (verse 5)?

How did the messengers answer the king (verse 6)?

What did the king ask the messengers (verse 7)?

How did the king know it was “Elijah the Tishbite” (verse 8)?

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

Mark 3:20-35 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹ When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. ²⁸ Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

³⁰ He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

How big was the crowd that gathered when Jesus entered the house (verse 20)?

Why did His family go “to take charge of him” (verse 21)?

Who said “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” (verse 22)?

How did Jesus begin to speak to them (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why can a kingdom that is divided against itself not stand (verse 24)?

What has come if “Satan opposes himself and is divided” (verse 26)?

When can a strong man’s house be plundered (verse 27)?

Who can be “forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter” (verse 28)?

Who will never be forgiven (verse 29)?

What were they saying about Jesus (verse 30)?

Who stood outside looking for Jesus (verse 32)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “who are my mother and brothers” (verse 33)?

Who is Jesus “brother and sister and mother” (verse 35)?

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

In your opinion, how are Ahaziah from 2 Kings 1:1-8, Jesus’s mother and brothers, and the teacher of the law who came from Jerusalem in Mark 3:20-35 similar? 

Acts 5:27-42 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸ “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³ When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. ³⁴ But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. ³⁵ Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. ³⁶ Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷ After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸ Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹ But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

⁴⁰ His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹ The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴² Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

Who were the apostles made to appear before (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why did the high priest say that the apostles were “determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood” (verse 28)?

Who said “we must obey God rather than human beings” (verse 29)?

Who “raised Jesus from the dead” (verse 30)?

Why did God exalt Jesus “to his own right hand as Prince and Savior” (verse 31)?

Who are the witnesses “of these things” (verse 32)?

How did the Sanhedrin react to what the apostles said (verse 33)?

What did Gamaliel order (verse 34)?

Why did Gamaliel say that the Sanhedrin should “consider carefully what you intend to do to these men” (verses 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39)?

What did the Sanhedrin order should happen the apostles (verse 40)?

Why did the apostles rejoice (verse 41)?

How did the apostles react to the Sanhedrin’s order in verse 40 to not “speak in the name of Jesus” (verse 42)?

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

In your opinion, how are Elijah in 2 Kings 1:1-8 and the apostles in Acts 5:27-42 similar?

In your opinion, what does the dispute between the Sanhedrin and the apostles in Acts 5:27-42 help us understand about Jesus statement about His mother and brothers in Mark 3:20-35?

1 John 3:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

¹¹ For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

How can we understand that the Father has lavished great love on us (verse 1)?

Why does the world not know us (verse 1)?

What do the children of God not yet know (verse 2)?

When will we see Christ “as he is” (verse 2)?

What do those who hope in Jesus do (verse 3)?

Who breaks the law (verse 4)?

Why did Jesus appear (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does James mean by “no one who lives in him keeps on sinning” (verse 6)?

Who is righteous (verse 7)?

Why did the Son of God appear (verse 8)?

Who is God’s seed in (verse 9)?

How can we tell “who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are” (verse 10)?

What is the message heard from the beginning (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how does John’s statement that “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work”  in 1 John 3:1-10 help us understand why Ahaziah, who reached out to the god of Ekron instead of the God of Israel was never able to leave his bed in 2 Kings 1:1-8?

In your opinion, what does John’s statement that “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” in 1 John 3:1-10 help us understand about the desire of Jesus for the teachers of the law and for His mother and brothers who were outside the circle of those He claimed as His mother and brothers in Mark 3:20-35?

In your opinion, how are the decisions and acts of the Apostles in Acts 5:27-42 an illustration of how Christians are to love one and other according to 1 John 3:1-10?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Kings, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach us about the differences between those who accept the “great love the Father has lavished on us” and those who have not?

In your opinion, as recipients of the “great love the Father has lavished on us” how are we to be obedient to the command to “love one another”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 12, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Appointed or Purified

Appointed or Purified


Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

¹² The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

¹⁷ “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Whose word came to Jeremiah (verse 4)?

When was Jeremiah appointed “as a prophet to the nations” (verse 5)?

What objection did Jeremiah raise to the Lord (verse 6)?

How did the Lord respond to Jeremiah’s objection (verse 7)?

Why is Jeremiah not to be afraid (verse 8)?

How did the Lord put words in Jeremiah’s mouth (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Lord appointed Jeremiah “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (verse 10)?

What did Jeremiah see (verse 11)?

How did the Lord interpret what Jeremiah saw (verse 12)?

What is Jeremiah to say (verse 17)?

Who is Jeremiah to stand against (verse 18)?

How will they respond to Jeremiah (verse 19)?

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

Mark 3:13-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who came to Him (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus appoint the twelve (verse 14)?

What authority did the twelve have (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus give the name Peter (verse 16)?

How is Judas Iscariot described (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, why would the one who knew Jeremiah before He formed him in the womb, in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19, have appointed “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” to be one of the twelve in Mark 3:13-19? 

Acts 1:12-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

¹⁸ (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰ “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Who returned to Jerusalem (verse 12)?

Who joined “constantly in prayer” (verse 14)?

How many believers were there (verse 15)?

What did Peter say had to be fulfulled (verse 16)?

How does Peter describe Judas (verses 16 and 17)?

What did Judas do with his payment (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why did Peter quote the Psalms in verse 20?

What criteria did Peter require of Judas’s replacement (verses 21 and 22)?

Who was nominated (verse 23)?

What did they pray (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is an “apostolic ministry” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how is the way Matthias became a member of the twelve and the way the other eleven became members different (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jeremiah, who God appointed as a prophet according to Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 different from Judas who Jesus appointed as one of the twelve in Mark 3::13-19 and who fulfilled the Scripture “which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David” according to Peter in Acts 1:12-26?

In your opinion, how could Judas, who was appointed by Jesus in Mark 3:13-19, have been the one who Peter said in Acts 1:12-26 “served as a guide for those who arrested Jesus”?

Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How did God speak to the ancestors of the Jews (and us) in the past (verse 1)?

How did God speak to us “in these last days” (verse 2)?

Who is “appointed heir of all things” (verse 2)?

Through whom did God make the universe (verse 2)?

Who is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (verse 3)?

Who “provided purification for sins” (verse 3)?

Who “became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (verse 4)?

Who did the “God of peace” bring back through “the blood of the eternal covenant” (verse 20)?

What is Paul praying that his Christian readers will be equipped with (verse 21)?

What is Paul praying that God will do in his readers (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what is different about the word that God spoke to us through Jeremiah as outlined in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 and the message delivered “to us by his Son” in the last days according to Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21?

In your opinion, how are we who God has spoken to by His Son and who have been equipped  “for doing his will” as described in Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 to be like the twelve that Jesus appointed in Mark 3:13-19?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the twelve of Acts 1:12-26, of whom Paul includes himself with and says in Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” and those have received the “purification for sins” but who have not heard Jesus speak?  How are our responsibilities similar?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us understand about the differences between those who are appointed, like Jeremiah and the twelve (including Judas) and those who have been purified from sins and whom God is working in today?

In your opinion, what can we who are purified from sins through Jesus learn about what God’s will for us today is by studying those who were appointed in today’s scriptures?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 29, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Making Our Joy Complete

Making Our Joy Complete


Deuteronomy 18:9-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. ¹⁰ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, ¹¹ or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. ¹² Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. ¹³ You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

¹⁴ The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. ¹⁵ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

What are the Israelites not to do when they “enter the land the Lord your God is giving you” (verse 9)?

How many should be found who “sacrifices the son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead” (verses 10 and 11)?

In your opinion, why would the practice of these things be “detestable to the Lord” (verse 12)?

How must the Israelites be before God (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why are the Israelites to be different from those nations they “will dispossess” (verse 14)?

Who will the Lord God raise up “from your fellow Israelites” (verse 15)?

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

Mark 3:7-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. ⁸ When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. ⁹ Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰ For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. ¹¹ Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” ¹² But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

Where did Jesus withdraw to with His disciples (verse 7)?

When did people come to Jesus (verse 8)?

Why did Jesus tell His disciples “to have a small boat ready for him” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why were those with diseases “pushing forward to touch him” (verse 10)?

What did impure spirits cry out when they saw Jesus (verse 11)?

What “strict orders” did Jesus give to the impure spirits (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how would someone who recieved the truth about Jesus from an impure spirit in Mark 3:7-12 been similar to someone who received information about the world or the future from any of the methods that are banned in Deuteronomy 18:9-15?

Acts 16:16-34 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. ²⁰ They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar ²¹ by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³ After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴ When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³ At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. ³⁴ The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

How did the female slave predict the future (verse 16)?

In your opinion, was she accurate in her predictions (verse 16)?

What did she shout when she followed Paul around (verse 17)?

In your opinion, was she accurate (verse 17)?

When did the spirit leave her (verse 18)?

Why did her owners drag Paul and Silas “into the marketplace” (verse 19)?

Who joined the attack against Paul and Silas (verse 22)?

What did the jailer do with Paul and Silas (verse 24)?

What were Paul and Silas doing at midnight (verse 24)?

Why was the jailer going to kill himself (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why did the jailer ask Paul and Silas “what must I do to be saved” (verse 30)?

When were the jailer and all his household baptized (verse 33)?

What filled the jailer (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, why were the people who heard the female slave shouting apparently not saved, but the jailer and his family were saved?

In your opinion, how does the disruption caused by the female slave possessed by the impure spirit who was shouting a truth in Acts 16:16-34 help us understand why the practices listed in Deuteronomy 18:9-15 were considered to be detestable and were banned?

In your opinion, why would Paul in Acts 16:16-34 not have followed the example of Jesus in Mark 3:7-12 and silenced the impure spirit?

1 John 1:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

Why is John’s message about the Word of life valid (verse 1)?

What did John see and testify to (verse 2)?

What “was with the Father and has appeared to us” (verse 2)?

Why does John proclaim “what we have seen and heard” (verse 3)?

Where is John’s fellowship (verse 3)?

Why does John write this (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how would the message someone received through one of the banned practices of Deuteronomy 18:9-15 be different, even if the content of the message was the same, from what John is proclaiming in 1 John 1:1-4?

In your opinion, why is John’s message in 1 John 1:1-4 about Jesus being the Son of God different from the message of the impure spirits who shouted that Jesus was the Son of God in Mark 3:7-12?

In your opinion, how are the messages of Paul ans Silas, who were singing in the jail at midnight in Acts 16:16-34, and the message of John, who was proclaiming what he saw with his own eyes according the 1 John 1:1-4, similar?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach us about listening to and fellowshiping with Jesus?

In your opinion, how can we make our  joy complete today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)