Choices
Isaiah 7:1-17 – New International Version (NIV)
1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son
of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son
of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they
could not overpower it.
2 Now the house of David was told,
“Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his
people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son
Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool,
on the road to the Launderer’s Field. 4 Say to him, ‘Be
careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose
heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of
the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram,
Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6 “Let
us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make
the son of Tabeel king over it.” 7 Yet this is what the
Sovereign Lord says:
“‘It will not take place,
it will not happen,
8 for the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.
Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’”
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask
the Lord your God for a
sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will
not put the Lord to the
test.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house
of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you
try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore
the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive
and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He
will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the
wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy
knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of
the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your
people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke
away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”
Who did “King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of
Israel” march up to fight (verse 1)?
Why were the hearts
of Ahaz and his people shaken (verse 2)?
Where was Isaiah and
his son, Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz (verse 3)?
In your opinion, why
did the Lord tell Isaiah to call Rezin and Pekah “smoldering stubs of
firewood” (verse 4)?
Who did they want to
make the king of Judah (verse 6)?
What did the Sovereign
Lord say (verse 7)?
How long would it
take for Ephraim to “be too shattered to be a people” (verse 8)?
When would the King
of Judah “not stand at all” (verse 9)?
What was Ahaz to ask
for (verses 10 and 11)?
How did Ahaz respond
(verse 12)?
What sign was the
Lord going to give Ahaz (verse 14)?
What will happen
before the “boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right”
(verse 16)?
Who would the Lord
bring on Judah (verse 17)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what
does this passage teach us about the choices we have in responding to God?
Matthew 1:18-25 - New International Version (NIV)
18 This is
how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to
be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be
pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her
husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to
public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But
after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home
as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She
will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this
took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The
virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When
Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and
took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate
their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Who was Mary “pledged to be married to” (verse 18)?
What happened
before “they came together” (verse 18)?
Why was Joseph thinking about divorcing Mary quietly (verse 19)?
Who appeared to Joseph in a dream (verse 20)?
Why was Joseph not to “be afraid to take Mary home” (verse 20)?
What were they to name the son Mary would “give birth to” (verse 21)?
Why did “all this” take place (verse 22)?
What does Immanuel mean (verse 23)?
When did Joseph do “what the angel of the Lord had commanded him”
(verse 24)?
What did Joseph name Mary’s son (verse 25)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the choices we
have in responding to God?
In your opinion, how does having the promise of the coming Immanuel at a
time of threats great threats in Isaiah 7:1-17 influence your understanding of
the promise of “God with us” in Matthew 1:18-25?
Romans 1:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be
an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the
gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy
Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly
life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the
Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his
resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through
him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the
obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And
you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 To all
in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our
Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
How did Paul describe his relationship
with Jesus (verse 1)?
What was he “set apart” for (verse 1)?
Where were
the gospel promises of the prophets recorded (verse 2)?
What was the Son’s “earthly life” as (verse 3)?
How did “the Spirit of holiness” appoint the Son
of God in power by (verse 4)?
What did Paul receive from Jesus to “call all the
Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (verse 5)?
Who are the Gentiles called to belong to (verse 6)?
Who was the letter written to (verse 6)?
What did Paul pray that they would receive from “God
our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 7)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about
the choices we have in responding to God?
In your opinion, what does Romans 1:1-7 help us better understand
about the son called Immanuel in Isaiah 7:1-17?
In your
opinion, what does Romans 1:1-17 teach us about the power that Jesus would use
to “save his people” as promised in Matthew 1:18-25?
1 John 2:12-25 – New International Version
(NIV)
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his
name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If
anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For
everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the
world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but
whoever does the will of God lives forever.
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have
heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They
went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had
belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that
none of them belonged to us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and
all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you
because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because
no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is
whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the
antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who
denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father
also.
24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the
beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and
in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal
life.
Why was John writing to the “dear children” (verse 12)?
Who had the “young men” overcome (verse 13)?
Why did John write the “young men” (verse 14)?
Who does not have the “love for the Father” in them (verse
15)?
Where does “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life” come from (verse 16)?
Who “lives forever” (verse 17)?
How does John know that it “is the last hour” (verse
18)?
What did “their going” show (verses 18 and 19)?
Why do the ones John was writing to “know the truth”
(verse 20)?
“Who is the liar” (verse 22)?
Who “has the Father also” (verse 23)?
What is promised (verse 25)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion,
what does this passage teach us about the choices we have in responding to God?
In
your opinion, how is Joseph’s choice of Mary and Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25 an
example of the choice that the children, young men and fathers in 1 John 2:12-25
had made?
In your opinion, how
is knowing that Jesus is the son of David and the Son of God as revealed in
Romans 1:1-7 an important part of the overcoming that is discussed in 1 John
1:12-25?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah,
Matthew, Romans and 1 John teach us about the results of our choices in
response to God?
In your
opinion, how can Joseph be an example for us today?
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