February 1, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Boldly Different

Boldly Different

Leviticus 18:1-5, 16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. ³ You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. ⁴ You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

¹⁶ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.

Who spoke to Moses (verse 1)?

Who was Moses to tell I am the Lord you God” (verse 2)?

What practices did God tell them not to do (verse 3)?

What were they to be “careful to follow” (verse 4)?

Who will “live by” the Lord’s decrees and laws (verse 5)?

What would “dishonor your brother” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how God’s people should respond to the world?

Matthew 14:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, ² and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, ⁴ for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

⁶ On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much ⁷ that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted ¹⁰ and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. ¹² John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

What did “Herod the tetrarch” hear (verse 1)?

Who did Herod think Jesus was (verse 2)?

Who was Herodias (verse 3)?

What had John been telling Herod (verse 4)?

Who was Herod afraid of (verse 5)?

How did Herodias’s daughter please Herod (verse 6)?

What oath did Herod make (verse 7)?

What did Herodias prompt her daughter to ask for (verse 8)?

Why did the king order her request to be granted (verse 9)?

What happened to John (verse 10)?

What did the girl give her mother (verse 11)?

Who did John’s disciples tell after they buried John’s body (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how God’s people should respond to the world?

In your opinion, how did Leviticus 18:1-5, 16 effect the relationship between John the Baptist and Herod in Matthew 14:1-12?

Acts 4:23-31 - New International Version (NIV)

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.’

²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Where did Peter and John go “on their release” (verse 23)?

What did the people do “when they heard’ what the chief priests and elders had told them (verse 24)?

What did David say the “peoples” did in vain (verse 25)?

Who did David say the kings of earth and rulers “band together against” (verse 26)?

What did Herod, Pontius Pilate, “the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city” do (verse 27)?

Who had decided what “should happen” (verse 28)?

What did Peter, John, and their people ask God to enable them to do (verse 29)?

Who did they pray would “heal and perform signs and wonders” (verse 30)?

How did God respond to their prayer (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how God’s people should respond to the world?

In your opinion, how does the believers’ prayer for boldness in the face of threats in Acts 4:23-31 demonstrate their willingness to obey the Lord’s commands in Leviticus 18:1-5, 16?

In your opinion, how do both Matthew 14:1-12 and Acts 4:23-31 reveal “nations” raging and “peoples” plotting against the Lord?

Hebrews 10:14-25 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them
    after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.”

¹⁷ Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
    I will remember no more.”

¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

What did Jesus do “by one sacrifice” (verse 14)?

Who “testifies to us about this” (verse 15)?

Where will the Lord write His laws (verse 16)?

What will the Lord “remember no more” (verse 17)?

Where is “sacrifice for sin” no longer necessary (verse 18)?

How can Christians have “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” (verse 19)?

What is the “new and living way opened for us through the curtain” (verse 20)?

With what can Christians “draw near to God” (verse 22)?

Why can we “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” (verse 23)?

What should we consider (verse 24)?

Who should we encourage (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how God’s people should respond to the world?

In your opinion, how might the Israelites entering the land of Canaan in Leviticus 18:1-5, 16 be a foreshadowing of the entry of “brothers and sisters” into the “Most Holy Place” in Hebrews 10:14-25?

In your opinion, what does Matthew 14:1-12 help us understand about the difficulty of obeying the instructions of Hebrews 10:14-25 to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess”?

In your opinion, how is Acts 4:23-31 an encouragement for the “meeting together” that Hebrews 10:14-25 instructs us to not give up on?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Matthew, Acts and Hebrews teach us about how to be boldly different from the world we live in?

In your opinion, how can we as Christians encourage and spur one another on today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 18, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Receiving God’s Mercy

Receiving God’s Mercy

Exodus 33:12-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ ¹³ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

¹⁹ And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

²¹ Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

What did the Lord know Moses by (verse 12)?

Why did Moses want the Lord to “teach me your ways” (verse 13)?

Who will “go with” Moses (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why would Moses not want to be sent “if your Presence does not go with us” (verses 15 and 16)?

Why was the Lord going to do “the very thing” that Moses ask (verse 17)?

What did Moses want to see (verse 18)?

Who did the Lord say He would have mercy on (verse 19)?

Why can Moses not see the Lord’s face (verse 20)?

Where was Moses to stand (verse 21)?

What was the Lord going to do when His glory passed by (verse 22)?

What would Moses be able to see (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s mercy?

Matthew 13:53-58 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

⁵⁸ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

When did Jesus move on (verse 53)?

What did Jesus do when He came to “his hometown” (verse 54)?

In your opinion, why did the people ask “where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” (verses 54, 55, and 56)?

How did the people respond to Jesus (verse 57)?

Where is a prophet without honor (verse 57)?

Why did Jesus “not do many miracles” (verse 58)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s mercy?

In your opinion, how is the blessing of seeing God’s glory that Moses pleads for in Exodus 33:12-23 rejected by the people in Jesus’s hometown in Matthew 13:53-58?  Why did they reject it?

Romans 9:14-26 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. ¹⁷ For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

¹⁹ One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” ²¹ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? ²³ What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— ²⁴ even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
    and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”

²⁶ and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
    ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

“Is God unjust” (verse 14)?

What did God tell Moses (verse 15)?

What does mercy not depend on (verse 16)?

Who did the Scripture say “I raised you up for this very purpose” to (verse 17)?

Who does God have mercy on (verse 18)?

What might someone say (verse 19)?

In your opinion, “who are you, a human being, to talk back to God” (verse 20)?

Who has God “prepared in advance for glory” (verses 23 and 24)?

Who will God call “my people” (verse 25)?

Where will “they be called ‘children of the living God’” (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s mercy?

In your opinion, how does God’s mercy being extended to Moses in Exodus 33:12-23 after Moses’s request to see God’s glory help us understand the complex application of God’s power and mercy in Romans 9:14-26?

In your opinion, how do the people’s doubts about Jesus in Matthew 13:53-58 help us understand Paul’s discussion following his question about God being unjust in Romans 9:14-26?

2 Thessalonians 2:9-17 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Who will come “in accordance with how Satan works” (verse 9)?

What “deceives those who are perishing” (verse 10)?

Why did God send “a powerful delusion” (verse 11)?

Who will be “condemned” (verse 12)?

How are the “firstfruits to be saved” (verse 13)?

How were the “firstfruits” called (verse 14)?

What are the “brothers and sisters” to do (verse 15)?

What do Paul, Silas and Timothy say that Jesus and the Father has given them (verse 16)?

What do Paul, Silas and Timothy want Jesus and the Father to do for the Thessalonian Christians (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s mercy?

In your opinion, what can the “brothers and sisters loved by the Lord” in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-17 learn from Moses’s interaction with the Lord in Exodus 33:12-23?

In your opinion, how does the interaction between Jesus and the people of His hometown in Matthew 13:53-58 help us to understand the deceptions of Satan that Paul, Silas and Timothy talk about in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-17?

In your opinion, what does 2 Thessalonians 2:9-17 help us understand about those whom Romans 9:14-26 says God “wants to have mercy” on?

In your opinion, who does God have compassion for in these Scriptures from Exodus, Matthew, Romans and 2 Thessalonians?

In your opinion, how is understanding the truth about self and God related to receiving the benefit of God’s mercy?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)