August 5, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Living For Self or Bearing Fruit

Living For Self or Bearing Fruit

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun.

What did the Teacher decide to test himself with (verse 1)?

What does the Teacher say “is madness” (verse 2)?

How did the Teacher try to cheer himself up (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what would motivate the Teacher undertake “great projects” (verses 4, 5, and 6)?

In your opinion, why would the Teacher gather all the possessions (verses 7 and 8)?

What did the Teacher become (verse 9)?

What did the Teacher deny himself (verse 10)?

In your opinion, how would the Teacher’s heart taking “delight in all my labor” be a reward for all his toil (verse 10)?

What did the Teacher think when he “surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achive” (verse 11)?

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

Matthew 5:27-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

What does Jesus say His listeners had heard (verse 27)?

What has the person “who looks at a woman lustfully” already done (verse 28)?

How should we react if our right eye causes us to stumble (verse 29)?

How should we react if our right hand causes us to stumble (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why is it better “to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does Jesus in Matthew 5:27-30 help us understand about what the Teacher was doing when he “denied myself nothing my eyes desired” according to Ecclesiastes 2:1-11?

Galatians 5:13-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

What does Paul instruct us that Christian freedom should be used for (verse 13)?

How is the entire law fulfilled (verse 14)?

When will we be destroyed by each other (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (verse 16)?

What is “contrary to the Spirit” (verse 17)?

When are we “not under the law” (verse 18)?

What is obvious (verse 19)?

Who will not “inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 21)?

What are “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (verses 22 and 23)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to  have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (verse 24)?

Why should we “keep in step with the Spirit” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how are the conclusion that the Teacher came to after rewarding himself with everything he desired in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 and Paul’s discussion in Galatians 5:16-25 about the desires of the flesh similar?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion about crucifying “the flesh with its passions and desires” in Galatians 5:16-25 help us understand Jesus’s statement in Matthew 5:27-30 “it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell”?

Hebrews 12:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

What surrounds Christians (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (verse 1)?

How are we to run the “race marked out for us” (verse 1)?

Where do we fix our eyes (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he calls Jesus the “pioneer and perfecter of faith” (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross (verse 2)?

Where did Jesus sit down (verse 2)?

Why should we consider Jesus, “who endured such opposition from sinners” (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, how is the focus of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 different from the focus that Paul suggests in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, what is similar between the focus on the woman that Jesus condemns in Matthew 5:27-30 and the focus on Jesus that Paul recommends in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, what can we learn when we consider that in Galatians 5:13-25 Paul says that “the entire law is fulfilled by keeping this one command: “love your neighbor as yourself” and in Hebrews 12:1-3 he tells us to “run with perseverance”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Galatians and Hebrews teach us about the consequences of focusing on ourselves?

In your opinion, how can we, living in sinful flesh and in a sin filled world, bear the “fruit of the Spirit”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 22, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Under the Sun or In the Light

Under the Sun or In the Light

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 - New International Version (NIV)      

¹² I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! ¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened;
    what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶ I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

¹⁸ For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
    the more knowledge, the more grief.

What was the Teacher (verse 12)?

How did the Teacher study and explore “by wisdom all that is done under the heavens” (verse 13)?

What has the Teacher seen (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by “all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (verse 14)?

What can not be straightened (verse 15)?

Who is the Teacher wiser than (verse 16)?

What did the Teacher decide about the “understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly” (verse 17)?

What comes with “much wisdom” (verse 18)?

What comes with “more knowledge” (verse 18)?

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

Matthew 7:15-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

How does Jesus describe false prophets (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he asks “do people pick grapes from thornbushes” (verse 16)?

What tree bears good fruit (verse 17)?

What tree cannot bear good fruit (verse 18)?

Where will trees that do not bear good fruit end up (verse 19)?

How will we recognize false prophets (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how does what Jesus said about false prophets in Matthew 7:15-20 apply to what the Teacher says in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18?  Why do we need to consider all of Ecclesiastes before we apply what Jesus says?

Romans 6:19-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Why is Paul offering an example “from everyday life” (verse 19)?

How should we offer ourselves as “slaves to righteousness leading to holiness” (verse 19)?

When were we “free from the control of righteousness” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, how would you answer Paul’s question “what benefit did you reap at that time from the things that you are now ashamed of” (verse 21)?

When do we reap the benefit that “leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (verse 22)?

What are the “wages of sin” (verse 23)?

What is the “gift of God” (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, why can Paul talk about people who used to be slaves to sin but are now slaves of God in Romans 6:19-23 when the Teacher said in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 that “what is crooked cannot be straightened”?

In your opinion, what does Paul’s statement in Romans 6:19-23 that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” help us to understand about the good and bad trees that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7:15-20?

Ephesians 5:8-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How does Paul describe the Ephesians that he was writing to (verse 8)?

What is the “fruit of the light” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, “what pleases the Lord” (verse 10)?

How should we treat “the fruitless deeds of darkness” (verse 11)?

What is shameful (verse 12)?

When do things become visible (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean for the sleeper to wake up and have Christ shine on them (verse 14)?

How should we not live (verse 15)?

How should we live (verse 15)?

Why should we make “the most of every opportunity” (verse 16)?

How do we avoid being foolish (verse 17)?

What should we be filled with (verse 18)?

How should we speak to each other (verse 19)?

When should we give thanks (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the wisdom that is “chasing after the wind” in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 and and living as the wise as Paul instructs in Ephesians 5:8-20?

In your opinion, what does Paul in Ephesians 5:8-20 teach us about the good fruit from the good tree that Jesus tells us about in Matthew 7:15-20?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Ephesians 5:8-20 give us a better understanding of how we can receive the “gift of God” that is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord that is promised in Romans 6:19-23?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Romans and Ephesians help us to understand the difference between things that are “done under the sun” and things that are done as “children of the light”?

In your opinion, how can we avoid the wisdom that is meaningless and live in the light as the wise?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 15, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – From Meaningless to Blessed

From Meaningless to Blessed

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”

³ What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?
⁴ Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.
⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.
⁶ The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.
⁸ All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹ What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
¹¹ No one remembers the former generations,
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.

Who is the Teacher who wrote Ecclesiastes (verse 1)?

What does the Teacher say is “meaningless” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, “what do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun” (verse 3)?

What comes and goes (verse 4)?

What does the sun do when it sets (verse 5)?

Where does the wind blow (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why is the sea “never full” (verse 7)?

What is “wearisome” (verse 8)?

What is “new under the sun” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, “is there anything of which one can say, “Look! There is something new”?” (verse 10)?

Who is not remembered (verse 11)?

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

Matthew 5:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

When did Jesus go up on a mountainside and sit down (verse 1)?

What did Jesus begin to do (verse 2)?

How are the poor in spirit blessed (verse 3)?

Who will be comforted  (verse 4)?

How are the meek blessed (verse 5)?

What will happen to “those who hunger and thirst for fighteousness” (verse 6)?

Who will be shown mercy (verse 7)?

How will the pure in heart be blessed (verse 8)?

Who will be called “children of God” (verse 9)?

What will the blessing be for “those who are persecuted because of righteousness” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how can the Teacher be accurate when he says that everything is meaningless in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 when Jesus lists people who are blessed in Matthew 5:1-10?

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

¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

What should those who “have been raised with Christ” set their hearts on (verse 1)?

What should those who “have been raised with Christ” not set their minds on (verse 2)?

Where is the life of those who “have been raised with Christ” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “then you also will appear with him in glory” (verse 4)?

What should be put to death (verse 5)?

What is coming (verse 6)?

In what ways did those who “have been raised with Christ” used to walk (verses 5 and 7)?

What should those who “have been raised with Christ” do with anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips (verse 8)?

Why should those who “have been raised with Christ” not lie to each other (verse 9)?

What have those who “have been raised with Christ” put on (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, using the definitions of earthly things and things above in Colossians 3:1-10 of earthly things or things above, how would you classify the wisdom of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 and why do you classify this way?

In your opinion, how does the Paul’s teaching in Colossians 3:1-10 reveal how the people of the crowd that Jesus was talking to in Matthew 5:1-10, and people today, can move into the status of being blessed as Jesus promises?

James 1:12-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Who is blessed (verse 12)?

What will the one who is blessed receive (verse 12)?

Why should no one say “God is tempting me” (verse 13)?

When is “each person” tempted (verse 14)?

What does desire give birth to (verse 15)?

What gives birth to death “when it is full-grown” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why does James say “don’t be deceived” (verse 16)?

Who “does not change like shifting shadows” (verse 17)?

How did the Father choose to give us birth (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how does the Teacher in his wisdom find everything “meaningless” in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 and yet James sees that “the one who perseveres under trial” is blessed?

In your opinion, how does knowing that God “chose to give us birth through the word of truth” (James 1:12-18) help us understand how the blessings of Jesus in Matthew 5:1-10 will be accomplished?

In your opinion, how does the relationship of desire and sin explained in James 1:12-18 help us have a richer understanding of the “old self with its practices” that Paul talks about in Colossians 3:1-10 and about the “new self” we are to put on?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthes, Colossians and James teach us about the difference between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom?

In your opinion, what can we change today to help us from viewing everything as meaningless to living as blessed?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 8, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Love and Rest

Love and Rest

Joshua 23:9-16 - New International Version (NIV)              

⁹ “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. ¹⁰ One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. ¹¹ So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

¹² “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, ¹³ then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. ¹⁵ But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. ¹⁶ If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

Who has driven out the “great and powerful nations” (verse 9)?

How could one Israelite rout a thousand (verse 10)?

What does Joshua tell the Israelites to “be very careful to” do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why will the “survivors of these nations” become snares and traps for the Israelites if they intermarry and associate with them (verses 12 and 13)?

In your opinion, what does Joshua mean when he says he is “about to go the way of all the earth” (verse 14)?

What will the Lord bring on Israel just like “all the good things the Lord your God has promised have come to you” (verse 15)?

When will the Lord’s anger burn against the Israelites (verse 16)?

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

Mark 14:17-25 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸ While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹ They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

²⁰ “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. ²¹ The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²² While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴ “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. ²⁵ “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

When did Jesus arrive with the Twelve (verse 17)?

Who did Jesus say would betray Him (verse 18)?

How did the Twelve feel about the idea that one of them would betray Jesus (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the statement “one who dips bread into the bowl with me” (verse 20)?

How will the Son of Man go (verse 21)?

What would have been better for the one who betrays Jesus (verse 21)?

When did Jeus say “take it; this is my body” (verse 22)?

When did Jesus give them the cup (verse 23)?

What is “poured out for many” (verse 24)?

When will Jesus drink “again from the fruit of the vine” (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, what is the main difference between the departing message of Joshua to the people of Israel in Joshua 23:9-16 and the Last Supper message of Jesus to the Twelve in Mark 14:17-25?

Acts 17:22-34 – New International Version (NIV)

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³ At that, Paul left the Council. ³⁴ Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

What did Paul see about the people of Athens (verse 22)?

Why did Paul say they were “ignorant of the very thing your worship” (verse 23)?

Who made “the world and everything in it” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “he is not served by human hands” (verse 25)?

What did the Lord mark out (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “though he is not far from any one of us” (verse 27)?

Where do we “live and move and have our being” (verse 28)?

What should we not think that God is like (verse 29)?

What does God now command all people to do (verse 30)?

In your opinion, how is God raising Jesus from the dead proof that “he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed” (verse 31)?

How did the people react to Paul talking about resurrection of the dead (verse 32)?

What did some people do (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between Joshua’s instruction of the Israelite people in Joshua 23:9-16 and Paul’s instruction to the people of Athens in Acts 17:22-34?

In your opinion, what is the a similarity between Jesus’s invitation to the Twelve in Mark 14:17-25 and Paul’s invitation the the people of Athens in Acts 17:22-34?

1 John 3:11-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. ²⁴ The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

What message have we heard from the beginning (verse 11)?

Why did Cain murder his brother (verse 12)?

What should not surprise Christians (verse 13)?

How do we “know that we have passed from death to life” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why is anyone who hates a brother or sister” a murderer (verse 15)?

How do we know what love is (verse 16)?

What should we do for “our brothers and sisters” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is Paul saying in verse 17?

How should we love (verse 18)?

What do we know “if our hearts condemn us” (verse 20)?

When do we have “confidence before God” (verse 21)?

When do we “receive from him anything we ask” (verse 22)?

What is the command of God (verse 23)?

Where does  the one who keeps God’s command live (verse 24)?

How do we know that God lives in us (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how does Joshua’s instruction to “be very careful to love the Lord your God” in Joshua 23:9-16 become John’s messges that “we should love one another” in 1 John 3:11-24?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’s message to the Twelve in Mark 14:17-25 the foundation of John’s message to Christians in 1 John 3:11-24?

In your opinion, how does John’s statement that “we know it by the Spirit he gave us” in 1 John 3:11-24 help us understand Paul’s statement in Acts 17:22-34 that “in him we live and move and have our being”?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 John help us have confidence “that we belong to the truth”?

In your opinion, how does loving others “with actions and in truth” help us “set our hearts at rest in his presence”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 1, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – A Kingdom of the Redeemed

-            The

A Kingdom of the Redeemed

Joshua 23:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹ After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, ² summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. ³ You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. ⁴ Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.

⁶ “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. ⁷ Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. ⁸ But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

When did the Lord give Israel a “rest from all their enemies around them” (verse 1)?

What did Joshua say to the the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel (verse 2)?

Who fought for Israel (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what did Joshua mean by “an inheritance for your tribes” (verse 4)?

Why will the Lord push out the nations (verse 5)?

What are the Israelites to be careful to do (verse 6)?

Who are the Israelites not to associate with (verse 7)?

Who are the Israelites not to swear by, serve or bow down to (verse 7)?

What are the Israelites to do (verse 8)?

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

Mark 12:28-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

What did the teacher of the law notice (verse 28)?

What did the teacher of the law ask Jesus (verse 28)?

Who is one (verse 29)?

How does Jesus say that we should love the Lord our God (verse 30)?

What is the second most important commandment (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why does the teacher of the law say “well said, teacher” (verse 32)?

What is “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (verse 33)?

What did Jesus see about the teacher’s answer (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by “you are not far from the kingdom of God” (verse 34)?

What did no one dare to do “from then on” (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, how is Joshua’s instruction to the Israelite people to “be careful to obey all that is written in the book of the law of Moses” in Joshua 23:1-8 explained by Jesus in His answer to the teacher’s question in Mark 12:28-34?

Acts 16:22-34 – New International Version (NIV)

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.

What did the magistrates order (verse 22)?

When were Paul and Silas thrown into prison (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, why were Paul and Silas “praying and singing hymns to God” (verse 25)?

What happened when the “violent earthquake” occured (verse 26)?

What was the jailer about to do when he thought the prisoners had escaped (verse 27)?

Who shouted “don’t harm yourself” (verse 28)?

What did the jailer do (verse 29)?

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

How did Paul and Silas answer the question (verse 31)?

What did Paul and Silas do (verse 32)?

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

Why was the jailer “filled with joy” (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, why is there a difference between Joshua’s commandment in Joshua 23:1-8 to “be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses” and Paul and Silas’s instruction in Acts 16:22-34 to “believe in the Lord Jesus”?

In your opinion, why is there a difference between Jesus’s commandment in Mark 12:28-34 to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and Paul and Silas’s instruction in Acts 16:22-34 to “believe in the Lord Jesus”?

1 Peter 1:13-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

What are we to do “with minds that are alert and fully sober” (verse 13)?

What does Peter say that was are not be conform to (verse 14)?

Why are we to “be holy in all” we do (verses 15 and 16)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (verse 17)?

What did not redeem us “from the empty way of life” (verse 18)?

What did redeem us “form the empty way of life" (verses 18 and 19)?

When was Christ chosen (verse 20)?

Who is a Christians “faith and hope” in (verse 21)?

How should we “love one another” (verse 22)?

What kind of seed are we “born again” through (verse 23)?

How are we “born again” (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, how are the Israelites who Joshua instructed in Joshua 23:1-8 to “not associate with these nations that remain among you” and the Christians that Peter instructs in 1 Peter 1:13-23 to “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” similar?

In your opinion, what does Peter in 1 Peter 1:13-23 show us about what the teacher of the law from Mark 12:28-34 needed to do to move from being “not far from the kingdom of God” to being “redeemed”?

In your opinion, how does  the instruction in 1 Peter 1:13-23 to  “set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed” help us understand how Paul and Silas, after being flogged and while in stocks, could have been singing in Acts 16:22-34?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Peter show us about living as citizens of the Kingdom of God in a world that is lost?

In your opinion, how do we move from attempting to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength to being redeemed?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)