God's Word Our Great Heritage: Recent Episodes
Tom
Jesus uses the imagery of a vine and its branches to describe our relationship with Him. He also uses the term, "friend." We'll explore both those descriptions in this devotional look at John, chapter 15.
Keywords: Grumbling, Providence
Questions to Consider:
- What evidence do you see that the manna and quail God provided were miraculous and not natural occurrences?
- Rather than complaining in the difficult times of life, what would God have us do?
Key Concepts: Feeling Trapped; Victory in Christ; Worship Songs
Questions to Consider:
- What things in life make you feel trapped or afraid?
- How does knowing that the LORD fights for you, bring you peace?
- What great victories has the LORD already won for you?
- What makes a great worship song?
Key Concepts: Telling the next generation, vigil, close communion
Questions to Consider:
- Over and over again the LORD emphasizes the importance of telling the next generation what He has done. How do we do that?
- How is the story of Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection, our story?
- God told the Israelites to keep vigil (or keep watch) on the anniversary of the Passover. What application do you see to our religious holidays?
- God told the Israelites that those outside the community were not to participate in the Passover. What parallels do you see to the Lord's instructions regarding His Supper?
Key Concepts: vicarious atonement, teaching our children
Possible questions:
- Explain the symbolism behind: the perfect lamb, the blood of the lamb, not using yeast in the bread.
- Why is it so important to teach our children the things our God has done?
- Contrast what the worship must have been like in the homes of the Israelites that night with what was taking place in the homes of the Egyptians.
Key Concepts: Judgment, Passover, Lamb of God
Questions to Consider:
- How would you explain to someone God's harsh judgment on the unbelieving Egyptians?
- What parallels can you draw between the Passover and what Christ has done for us?
Key Concepts: Spiritual darkness; Spiritual light
Questions to Consider:
- How does the writer Moses continue to impress on us that these plagues were not natural phenomena?
- What evidence of spiritual darkness do you see in the world today
- What is the light God has given us?
Key Concepts: Ten Plagues; God's Judgment; God's Deliverance
Questions to Consider:
- What did the Egyptians worship? How does this help us understand the nature of the plagues?
- What progression do we see in the plagues?
- Why is a refusal to listen to God's Word such a dangerous thing?
- When we turn to God, what kind of a God do we find?
Key Concepts: Disappointments, Hardships, Covenant, Faithfulness
Questions to Consider:
- Moses complained that God wasn't rescuing the Israelites. How did God respond?
- Can you think of a passage which says God does not remember our sins? What does God remember?
- What is the meaning of the word "redeem"?
- What pattern do we see in each of the plagues?
Key Concepts: Hardship, Fatherhood of God
Questions to Consider:
- What was Moses to call the Israelites when he went to Pharaoh?
- What does it mean that God is your Father?
- Our first reaction, our sinful reaction, in the face of adversity is often to complain. Where does God want us to turn in adversity?
Key Concepts: Time, Stewardship
Questions to Consider:
- What plan did the rich fool come up with?
- What foiled his plan?
- What plan does God have for us? (Hint: He announced it throughout the Old Testament beginning in Genesis 3:15.)
- How does knowing God's plans for you impact your planning today?
Key Concepts: Adversity, Hope, Faith
Questions to Consider:
- What's the difference between treating this world as a guest room or as your permanent hom?
- Why did Naomi think Ruth should go back to Moab?
- What was Ruth's motivation for choosing to live as a foreigner in Israel despite the difficulty?
- How does an eternal perspective help us to show love and kindness toward one another as Ruth did for Naomi?
Key Concepts: Stewardship, Time, Priorities
Questions to Consider:
- Of all the resources God gives us to manage, why, in some ways, is time the most precious?
- What was foremost on Martha's mind when Jesus visited? What was foremost on Mary's?
- Why was Mary's the better choice?
Key Concepts: Service, God's presence
Questions to Consider:
- Why didn't Moses want to go back to Egypt?
- How did God respond to Moses' excuses?
- When God calls us to service, we need to consider the gifts God has given us. But what else do we need to consider?
Key Concepts: Humility, Strength, God's Name
Questions to Consider:
- How did God get Moses' attention? How does He get people's attention today?
- How can we approach a holy God?
- Moses thought he was not competent for the job. But what was he forgetting?
- How can we know God?
Key Concepts: Patience and God's Faithfulness
Questions to Consider:
- Why did Moses want to be part of the Israelites (a slave people) rather than enjoying the benefits of being part of Pharaoh's household?
- How did the Israelites react when Moses tried to help them?
- What happened to Moses in the land of Midian?
Key Concepts: Oppression, God's Power, and God's Promises
Questions to consider:
- How does the book of Exodus connect to the book of Genesis?
- How did Pharaoh think he was being shrewd in dealing with the Israelites?
- How did God use ordinary people to carry out His plans?
In their suffering, God's people are brought back to prayer & repentance. Still, there is hope in the Lord.
Questions to consider:
- Why is confession and repentance an important part of the grieving process
- Why do you think the book of Lamentations ends as it does?
- The books of Isaiah and Jeremiah both address the same events as do es Lamentations. What passages of comfort from those two books come to mind as you read Lamentations?
Suffering is inescapable in this world. But when suffering is endured in faith, we are drawn closer to God. We can plant those seeds of disappointment in the soil of God's promises, and share His faithfulness compassionately with those around us.
Questions to consider:
- What other Biblical characters experienced the kind of suffering Jeremiah describes?
- What can we learn from this chapter, especially the middle verses (19-38), about how to handle difficult times?
- Define the following: lovingkindness, compassion, faithfulness.
Questions to consider while listening:
- What point does the prophet repeatedly make about the reason for Jerusalem's suffering?
- In the description of Jerusalem's suffering, what jumps out at you the most?
- There is a proverb which says the wheels of God's justice may grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine. How might you apply that to our world today?
- Read Psalm 103:10-14. What comfort do you find there?
Lamentations teaches us to face our pain. It gives us permission to cry out to God and one another. It points us to Jesus, who bears all our grief in compassion, love, and faithfulness. In Lamentations we learn to grieve, and in our suffering look with hope to Jesus.
- What reasons are there for studying a book like Lamentations?
- Who is "Lady Zion"? What does she want the LORD to do?
- What parallels do you see between Lady Zion's suffering and what Jesus suffered as the bearer of our sins?
- Give some examples from the Bible of times God allows someone's life to fall apart to them an important lesson.
Mark records the first Easter for us, summing up the true meaning: In Jesus, we have forgiveness of all sins. The proof of our hope is in His resurrection.
Questions to consider:
- Why did the women go to the tomb that morning?
- Why is there no longer a reason to be afraid?
- How does Jesus rising from the dead prove that He will keep His promises?
- What is the Church's task today?
Questions to consider while you listen:
- What were the people around Jesus doing as he was dying for them?
- Why did God the Father forsake his Son, Jesus?
- What did the curtain at the temple symbolize? What did its tearing symbolize?
- What led the centurion to his conclusion that Jesus was the Son of God?
Peter seeks self-preservation, but Jesus loves us perfectly, and is willing to suffer all for the sake of our salvation. The guilty Barabbas goes free. The innocent Jesus is condemned to death.
Questions to reflect upon:
- Why did Peter deny knowing Jesus?
- When have we, by our words or by our actions, denied knowing him?
- How is Barabbas' freedom and Jesus' condemnation an illustration of God's plan for our salvation?
This week we remember the injustice Jesus faced as he was arrested and tried. Because he willingly received the injustice of a guilty verdict, we are declared innocent in God's courtroom. Questions to consider as we study Jesus' arrest:
- How did Judas, Peter, and all the disciples display hypocrisy, misunderstanding, lack of loyalty?
- How did Jesus demonstrate his commitment to the Father's plan and to our salvation?
- Jesus did not respond in kind to the horrible abuse and injustice. What do we learn from that?
Study guide can be found here.
In this section, we begin with the Lord's Supper, wrestle with Judas' temptation, and walk with Jesus to Gethsemane. Thankfully, Jesus' forgiveness is not dependent on our progress, but His love.
Questions to consider:
- What did Jesus mean when he said, "I will go ahead of you into Galilee"? How is that a promise and comfort also for us?
- What do the following phrases teach us about the Lord's Supper: "took bread"/"took the cup" and "my body"/"my blood"?
It's Passover. Jesus' earthy ministry is nearing an end. He defends Mary when she is scolded by the disciples for a beautiful act of devotion. He offers repentance to Judas, who would ultimately betray him. Then, he gives the disciples (and his Church today) a miracle-meal of forgiveness: Holy Communion. Visit https://bit.ly/Mark_14 for study questions.
Jesus explains what to expect in the end times, the tribulation, and calls his disciples (and us) to be ready for his return.
Jesus again addresses the religious leaders, teaching which of the commandments is greatest. Questions to reflect upon: Why did God give us the commandments? What makes our offerings pleasing to God?
Jesus is confronted on matters of authority this week. His answer, indirect and brilliant, communicates God's reaction to stubbornness. Then, He is brought trick questions on marriage in heaven and paying taxes.
Last week, we saw Jesus exercise his divine power in the cursing of a fig tree that failed to produce fruit. This week, his disciples marvel at the dead tree, and Jesus uses this opportunity to speak about the power of faith and prayer.
This week we follow Jesus on the road to the cross as He enters Jerusalem.
Accompanying Online Study Guide: https://bit.ly/Mark11_1-19
Questions about this lesson?
Email Pastor Tom Westra at pastor_westra@beautiful-savior.com
We continue in the Gospel of Mark, this week studying the second half of chapter 10, where Jesus teaches us the meaning of true greatness. In this last stretch before Jesus enters Jerusalem, we'll meet a roadside beggar, and recognize that we are all beggars before God.