tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81049283588597246952023-11-15T08:42:40.420-08:00Community Bible Study"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" -Psalm 34:2Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-17604983366358938492009-06-08T06:26:00.000-07:002009-06-08T06:29:51.984-07:00Mark 2:23-3:61. <strong>Read Psalm 8</strong><br />2. Ask about sermon from Sunday<br />a. What is the bad news of Ephesians 2:1-10?<br />b. What is the good news of Ephesians 2:1-10?<br /><br /><strong>Mark 2:23-3:6</strong><br />23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”<br /><br />Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 23-24</strong><br />1. An accusation is made against Jesus. He is accused of breaking the Sabbath.<br />2. Sabbath was one of the 10 commandments.<br />a. <strong>Exodus 20:8-11</strong><br />3. “Work” was left undefined by the Torah.<br />a. In verse 24, the question being asked is not actually legitimate because there was nothing clearly stating that what they did was wrong.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 25-28</strong><br />1. Jesus responds by reminding them of a story about David.<br />a. <strong>1 Samuel 21:1-6</strong><br />2. Jesus’ point in telling the story is not to state whether or not what they were doing was a violation of the Sabbath. His point is that their actions were justified by reference to a higher obligation. The higher obligation is not the satisfaction of their hunger; rather, the focal point of the story is about David and his role in Israel’s history. The Jews believed that David’s violation of the law is permissible only because of his special place in God’s place for Israel. Jesus is implying that something greater than David is here in their midst.<br />3. With Jesus alluding to the fact that something greater than David has arrived, the question inevitably follows: If David was justified in his actions of violating the Sabbath, how much more would someone greater than David be justified in his actions?<br />4. Jesus is also declaring that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of people, not people for the benefit of the Sabbath.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 1-6<br /></strong>1. This section follows out in more detail what Jesus mentions at the end of Chapter 2. Jesus is declaring that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of people and was not meant to be a burdensome command.<br />2. The overall message of this section is pretty easy to grasp, but there are some very important details in this section that can easily be missed.<br />3. In verse 2, Jesus is being watched so that people can accuse Him of doing wrong.<br />4. In verse 5, Jesus has a very strong reaction to the people watching him. Jesus is angered and grieved by their hardness of heart.<br />5. Jesus heals the man despite the protest of the hard hearts around him. In response to his healing the man, the Pharisees go out and even make alliances with the people they absolutely hate in order to destroy Jesus.<br />6. This section is the real beginning of the tension that will develop between Jesus and the religious and political establishments. The tension that has begun here will inevitably lead to his death.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Questions for Mark 2:23-3:6<br /></strong>1. How does Jesus’ announcement of Him being greater than David affect the attitude of the Pharisees?<br />2. Why do the Pharisees respond the way that they do?<br />3. Why does Jesus respond the way He does in 3:5?<br />4. How does viewing the Sabbath as a gift from God differ from viewing it as a burdensome command?<br />5. How does Romans 13:8-10 relate to this section in Mark?<br />a. 8 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-37237420329608621452009-06-08T06:25:00.000-07:002009-06-08T06:26:37.972-07:00Mark 2:18-22<strong>Read Psalm 7</strong><br /><br />Review from previous Saturday on Mark<br /><br /><strong>Mark 2:18-22</strong><br />18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”<br /><br /><strong>Verse 18</strong><br />A question is given as to why the disciples of Jesus do not fast. Fasting “from food was highly valued among Jews as an expression of religious devotion. Individuals fasted in order to demonstrate repentance for specific sins and thus to win God’s favor” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.40).<br /><br /><strong>Verse 19</strong><br />Jesus responds in a way that shocks his questioners.<br />“He justifies the non-fasting of his disciples by means of a parable: Would it be proper to fast at a wedding? The celebration must continue as long as the bridegroom is present! Those who heard Jesus proclaim the good news concerning the arrival of God’s rule would get the point. This is not a time to lament God’s absence but to celebrate God’s presence [with them]!” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.40)<br /><strong><br />Verse 20</strong><br />This verse contains Jesus’ first mention of His death. His disciples need not mourn while He is still with them proclaiming the Kingdom of God. The time for mourning will come quickly enough. The disciples have not yet understood the cost that the Son of God must pay in order for the Kingdom of God to be able to come upon the world. Soon enough, the disciples will be awakened to this reality by watching their leader die an agonizing death as an innocent man. For now, while the time for Jesus to die has not yet come, the disciples need to be focused on staying in the present moment where God is at work.<br /><br /><strong>Verse 21-22</strong><br />Jesus gives two more parables regarding the reason as to why his disciples do not fast. “Both parables stress the incompatibility of the new with the old and the irresistible power of the new…The good news about God’s active presence is incompatible with the gloomy stance of those who are [still] waiting for God to do something” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.41).<br /><br /><strong>Overall Message</strong><br />The time of waiting for the Messiah to some is over; there is no more need to try to beckon the Messiah’s coming with empty rituals done for the purpose of earning God’s favor. The Messiah has come, He has arrived. It is not that people should not mourn their sin; it is that there is great hope to be found in Jesus because He would be the one to bear the full weight of their sin. In Jesus they have hope because He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He is there is the midst of Israel beckoning people to leave behind their self-reliance and activity done for the purpose of trying to earn God’s favor. Jesus is telling people to leave the old things behind and for them to embrace Him and what God is doing through Him in the world.<br /><br /><strong>Questions for Mark 2:18-22</strong><br />1. In what ways has Jesus relieved us from trying to earn God’s favor?<br />2. Do Christians experience sorrow in the same way as unbelievers do?<br />3. 2 Corinthians 7:10 tells us “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” How does this verse relate to Mark 2:20?<br />4. In His answer regarding why His disciples do not fast, why does Jesus stress that the old is incompatible with the new?<br />5. What are some of the implications of Jesus’ stressing that the old is incompatible with the new?<br />6. What are some practical things to take from this passage? What has stood out to you in this passage?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-38899020546377018562009-06-08T06:23:00.000-07:002009-06-08T06:25:12.677-07:00Mark 2:13-17<strong>Read Psalm 6</strong><br /><br /><strong>Mark 2:13-17</strong><br />13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.<br /><br />15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”<br /><strong><br />Read Mark 2:13-17 section from Tom Wright’s book<br /></strong><br /><strong>Questions for Mark 2:13-17</strong><br />1. Levi works for the people that the Jews view as being the very ones that are preventing the kingdom of God from coming. What might have been some of the people’s perceptions of Jesus’ befriending Levi?<br />2. Both Jesus and the Jews want to see the kingdom of God manifested, with the result being a radical transformation occurring in the world. However, Jesus and the Jews have very different ideas as to how this radical transformation will be brought about.<br />a. In what ways do the way of Jesus and the way of the Jews differ in how they believe radical transformation will occur?<br />b. In what ways are we as Christians much like a lot of the Jewish people in Jesus’ day in how we believe the world will be transformed?<br />3. What does verse 17 tell us about what the mission of Jesus was when He was here on earth as a human?<br />4. Is the mission of Jesus the same today as it was while He was still on earth as a human? Why or why not?<br />5. What are some practical things we can do to be used by God to share Christ with other people in our daily lives?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-79618979655716383952009-05-05T10:32:00.000-07:002009-05-05T10:34:43.620-07:00Mark 2:1-12<strong>Read Psalm 5</strong><br /><br />And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”<br /><br />1. Ask about what has been happening so far in Mark.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 1-2</strong><br />“And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.”<br />1. The leper going about talking openly about Jesus healing him added to the amount of people coming to see Jesus.<br />2. Despite the large crowd, Jesus is continuing to keep focused on what he was sent to do.<br />a. “Preached the word”<br /><br /><strong>Verses 3-5</strong><br />3 “And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”<br />1. Despite the difficulty of what it would take to get the man to Jesus, the man and his friend’s do whatever it takes so that the man can get to Jesus.<br />2. Two characteristics of these men:<br />a. Resourceful<br />i. They get to Jesus by a method not used by the rest of the crowd; namely, through the roof.<br />ii. “An ancient flat-roofed house usually had a stairway to the roof, which would have enabled the [men carrying their friend] up without difficulty.” (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p.992)<br />iii. The roof would have been made of grass, clay, and other materials.<br />iv. Getting the man down to Jesus would have been easy, but it would have practically destroyed the roof.<br />b. Bold<br />i. (Read verse 1 of chapter 2)<br />1. Jesus was at home!<br />ii. This is where Jesus is staying. It is his dwelling place with his disciples. To be specific, it is Simon Peter’s house. <br />3. Jesus’ response has a sense of irony to it.<br />a. Jesus saying that the man’s sins are forgiven could very well have been referring to the man being the cause of there being a hole in the roof just as much as he could be referring to the man’s actual sins.<br />4. Verse 5: “Jesus saw their faith”<br />a. There is a sense that although Jesus could have been referring to the roof being destroyed, he is not talking about the roof.<br />5. Only two texts in the Old Testament where God Himself is speaking, declaring that He forgives sin.<br />a. The first Exodus<br />i. <strong>Exodus 34:6-7 (Read 34:1-8)</strong><br />1. The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.<br />b. The New Exodus in Isaiah<br />i. <strong>Isaiah 43:25 (Read Isaiah 43:16-25)</strong><br />1. Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise. “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense. You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities. “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”<br />c. Come back to later in the passage when Jesus declares Himself to be the “Son of Man”<br /><br /><strong>Verses 6-7</strong><br />6 “Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”<br />1. The scribes are unsettled by Jesus’ claim of the man’s sins being forgiven.<br />a. Their reaction is understandable. No one but God can forgive sins.<br />b. The scribes did not know or believe that Jesus was the Messiah.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 8-11</strong><br />8 “And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”<br />1. Jesus’ response to the scribes is NOT Him stating that one of the phrases was quicker to say or easier to speak than the other phrase.<br />2. Jesus response to the scribes is in regards to them not recognizing that the Messiah was in their midst.<br />3. In proclaiming the man to be forgiven, Jesus was declaring, once again, that the New Exodus had arrived.<br />a. “Jesus invites his opponents to acknowledge that God has been present and active in his ministry. If he heals by the power of God, then surely his authority to forgive comes from the same source.” (Mark, Douglas R.A. Hare, p.37)<br />4. In verse 10, Jesus calls Himself the “Son of Man”. <br />a. In the Old Testament, the phrase “Son of Man” is used by God to identify His messengers. This phrase is common in many of the prophetic books, especially in Ezekiel. The phrase is only used when God is speaking to His messengers; the phrase was NEVER self-designated.<br />5. In this passage, Jesus claims to have the power to forgive sins and the power of designating Himself as God’s messenger, something that was not at all common in Judaism. Jesus is claiming that his authority is equal to that of God’s.<br />6. Jesus moves from His being the Messiah as something that was implicitly stated based on what He did, to openly declaring Himself to be the Messiah.<br />7. “It is inevitable that Jesus’ lofty claims will meet stern resistance among those responsible for maintaining religious order. In the accusation “It is blasphemy!” we have the first foreshadowing of the passion; it will be on the charge of blasphemy that Jesus will be condemned to death by the high priest’s council (14:64). (Mark, Douglas R.A. Hare, p.37)<br /><br /><strong>Verse 12</strong>“And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”<br />1. “The people of Capernaum do not concur with the scribes. Even though they have already witnessed other healings at [Simon] Peter’s house (1:32-34), they now glorify God as a result of the paralytic’s double liberation from sin and paralysis. God’s honor has not been impugned by Jesus’ behavior but exalted.” (Mark, Douglas R.A. Hare, p.37)<br /><br /><br /><strong><br />Questions</strong><br />1. Why is it important for Jesus to be preaching the word to the people who are coming to see him?<br />2. What do the actions the paralyzed man and his friends take to get to Jesus show about them? about what they believed about Jesus?<br />3. How do we respond to people who try to take rights over us in ways that only God can do?<br />4. What does coming under the lordship of Jesus mean and look like?<br />5. How do we respond to the lordship of Jesus and His rights over us? How should we respond to Him?<br />6. The paralytic probably came to Jesus with only the intention of getting his body healed, and nothing else. Yet Jesus heals not only the man’s body, but also his soul. Jesus met a need the man might not have even recognized that he had. In what ways does God meet needs we don’t even know we have?<br />7. What is the response of the crowd to Jesus’ healing the man?<br />8. What kind of shift is occurring already in Mark in this passage from Jesus making an explicit claim about His being the Messiah?<br />9. What from this passage can be applied to our lives? What from this passage stood out to you?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-59419990503716545122009-04-27T11:12:00.000-07:002009-04-27T11:15:58.041-07:00Mark 1:40-45<strong>Read Psalm 4</strong><br /><br /><strong>Mark 1:40-45</strong><br />40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.<br /><br />The verse preceding this section speaks of Jesus’ resolve to continue teaching in the synagogues and casting out demons, as He continues to usher in the Kingdom of God in the surrounding areas. Verse 40 starts off by telling us that while Jesus was going about teaching and casting out demons, a leper came to him asking to be made clean. Although there is a very distinct type of leprosy that was common in Biblical days that caused people to lose feelings in their nerves so as to lead them into many difficulties, the leprosy mentioned here is a generic term which includes not only the leprosy typically thought of being mentioned in the Bible, but also a variety of skin diseases which may or may not have been related to what we know today as leprosy.<br /><br />Nevertheless, having a skin disease that would be classified as being a leprous disease was a very devastating disease to have not only because of the physical condition of a person’s body, but largely because of the social ramifications that were associated with having the disease. Leviticus 13:45-46 gives us some insight into some of the social ramifications of having this disease. The text reads:<br /><br /><blockquote>45 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the<br />hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out,<br />‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He<br />is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.</blockquote><br />People with leprosy had to wear special clothing that covered their entire body, and had to live in isolation from all that they once knew. When they were pronounced to be unclean, they had to immediately leave their home, their family, their job, their friends, their synagogue, and also were not allowed to go to the Temple to participate in any of the Holy Days or to offer sacrifices. They lived outside of the area where the majority of the people lived, and likely only had much contact with other people who suffered from similar diseases.<br /><br />A person pronounced unclean because of leprosy also had to make their presence known when they entered into a town or any other area where people were. The lepers were identified not only because of their clothing, but they also had to shout the word “Unclean!” over and over again when they entered into town to get supplies for themselves.<br /><br />Lepers were NEVER to be touched, and spent their lives not feeling the physical presence of another person. One of the basic human needs that all people need is that they need to be touched. If a baby is not touched or held, the baby will not develop properly and may even die because of lack of touch.<br /><br />Another aspect of being pronounced unclean was that lepers were, in many ways, at the mercy of the kindness of strangers. Lepers could not work, as anything they touched would be considered unclean. Because they could not work, they could not provide for themselves. Family members could help their relative who was now unclean, but doing so was likely not looked upon very favorably, as most of the people of that time viewed the person’s leprosy as a result from a sin that that individual person had committed. If the person was viewed as being in the condition they were in because of their own rebellion against God then supporting that person could have been viewed as enabling them to continue in their own wickedness.<br /><br />It was indeed a devastating thing to have been pronounced as having leprosy.<br /><br />In modern times there is a similar, though less profound, example of this type of mentality that many people hold in regards to people who are homeless. Sometimes people assume that if a person is homeless, it is solely because they are lazy or have a drug problem; they automatically rule out any other option that may be a real possibility as to why the person may be in the predicament that they are in. The person may be homeless because they lost their job, because they had some things that happened back to back and caused them to lose their step in life, because they have mental illness and no one to help them stay well; a person may be homeless may be for any number of reasons, none of which we know for each individual person we may encounter.<br /><br />As it is true today that people often have bad things that happen to them in their lives through no real fault of their own, so it was back then. We live in a world where all people are born enslaved to sin, and though we may not suffer ills because of the actions we ourselves take, we all suffer because of sin entering the world through Adam’s disobedience. Though it is true that there is an obvious, yet general, principle that a person will reap what they sow, sometimes our suffering is because of the general curse of creation and other times it is because of the sinful actions of other people.<br /><br />Though there were many misinterpretations of the Scripture on the part of the Jews of Jesus’ day, this misinterpretation was one that, although it is easy to see how they could have come to conclude what they did from reading without the Holy Spirit enlightening them, proved to have devastating effects on the members of their community. Being declared unclean had profound implications and thus separated the person from being a part of the life of society, the life of the perceived people of God, and the entrance into temple or synagogue worship.<br /><br />So in verse 40 when the leper even approaches Jesus, the leper is breaking a huge social norm; not only was the leper breaking a social norm, he might have even been considered as breaking the Law of Moses. There is nothing that I have found that specifically notes the exact punishment for an action of this type, but it would not have been uncommon for someone doing such an outrageous thing to be stoned or put to death.<br /><br />The leper not only approaches Jesus; he comes to Jesus with a request. The leper approaches Jesus and says, “If you will, you can make me clean.”<br /><br />The leper is asking Jesus this not because he doubts Jesus’ ability to make him clean, but because he does not know if Jesus is willing to do it. It is likely that the leper’s uncertainty may have been because leprosy was viewed as a punishment for sin. The Law of Moses contains sections where blessings are promised for obedience and curses are promised for disobedience; these sections were viewed by many of the Jews as stating that blessings and curses would happen absolutely based on how a person lived, and that any hardship in a person’s life was solely because of their own sin. There are several passages in the Old Testament that show that God did, in fact, punish some people by giving them leprosy. One of these passages is in 2 Chronicles 26.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was<br />unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn<br />incense on the altar of incense. 17 But Azariah the priest went in after him,<br />with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood<br />King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the<br />LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn<br />incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you<br />no honor from the LORD God.” 19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in<br />his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy<br />broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the<br />LORD, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the<br />priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they<br />rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had<br />struck him. 21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a<br />leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD.<br />And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the<br />land. </blockquote><br /><br />For the people of the time when the encounter between Jesus and the leper took place, “there was a natural analogy between ritual impurity, which separated a person from the worship of God, and sin, which separated one from God in a profounder sense” (Mark, Douglas R.A. Hare, p.34). In many senses, the leper was implicitly asking Jesus for forgiveness. Whether the need or desire for forgiveness was a part of what the leper was asking for when he inquires of Jesus or not, Jesus nevertheless grants the request to the leper.<br /><br />One of the amazing things about Jesus granting this request is not only that he makes the leper clean; the amazing part is that Jesus reaches out to touch the man. Imagine never feeling human touch for an extended period of time. It is likely that this man had never received human touch in years; all of that time: never giving a handshake, never being hugged, never having a hand on your shoulder, never being kissed, never being able to be comforted by another person when one of your greatest challenges in life occurs.<br /><br />Jesus, being moved with pity, touches the man and pronounces him to be clean. Verse 42 then tells us, “And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.”<br />Jesus restoring this man had a number of profound effects.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Question:</strong> What would some of the effects of Jesus having cleansed the man be?<br /><br />There seems to be an odd shift in tone from verses 40-42 to verses 43-45. Jesus moves from being moved with pity to speaking sternly to the man he just made clean. While the shift in tone may seem odd on many levels, it actually serves a very profound and necessary function.<br /><br />“<br /><blockquote>As the ceremonies of the law had not yet been repealed, Christ did not wish that<br />they should be despised or neglected. Now, God had commanded in the law that, if<br />any man had been cleansed from leprosy, he should present himself to the priest<br />with a sacrifice of thanksgiving, (Leviticus 14:2.) The design was that the<br />priest, by his decision, might attest the benefit received from God; and that<br />the person who had been healed might give an expression of his gratitude.<br />Christ, therefore, by sending the leper to the priest, proves that he had no<br />other object in view than to display the glory of God. The showing to the priest<br />was for the purpose of examination, and the offering was the expression of<br />thanksgiving. He wishes that the priests should examine the man, to make the<br />divine favor manifest and undoubted; and that the leper, on the other hand,<br />should acknowledge that God had healed him. Meanwhile, he commands them to<br />observe the ceremonies prescribed by the law, till the time when it should be<br />repealed.” (John Calvin, Volume 1 on the Gospels)<br /></blockquote><br />There are also several things that can be said about Jesus asking the man to “say nothing to anyone”.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>“[Jesus] did not intend that the remembrance of the miracle which he had done<br />should always remain buried. When the leper, at the command of Christ, came into<br />the presence of the priest, this was a testimony to them, which would render<br />them inexcusable, if they refused to receive Christ as the [servant] of God; and<br />would, at the same time, take away occasion for slander, since Christ did not<br />neglect a single point of the law. In a word, if they were not past cure, they<br />might be led to Christ; while, on the other hand, so solemn a testimony of God<br />was sufficiently powerful to condemn them, if they were unbelievers.” (John<br />Calvin, Volume 1 on the Gospels)<br /></blockquote><br />Despite Jesus’ directions, the man nevertheless goes about talking freely about what had happened, thus causing a rather large stir that would in turn cause Jesus to have to change how he went about ministering to people, proclaiming the kingdom of God.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Questions for Mark 1:40-45</strong><br />1. The book of Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:1-3,6). In light of these verses, why would anyone who is sinful expect to receive anything from the Lord, especially if the problem we are seeking help for was our own fault?<br />2. Is there any type of person or group that the Lord finds too sinful to save? On what basis does God save people?<br />3. What in our life changes when Jesus declares us clean?<br />4. What are your thoughts about Jesus telling the man to show himself to the priests? What will the man showing himself to the priest accomplish?<br />5. Why might the man who was cleansed have not gone to the priests for them to declare him to be clean?<br />6. What kind of effect might this man’s actions have on Jesus’ ministry later on?<br />7. The more that Jesus is out and about proclaiming the kingdom of God in word and in action, what seems to be occurring? Why might that be?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-90143329994735401222009-04-22T10:29:00.000-07:002009-04-22T10:34:44.247-07:00Mark 1:27-39<strong>Read Psalm 3<br /></strong><br /><strong>Verses 27-34</strong><br />27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. 29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.<br /><br />At this point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ ministry just began a short time ago. In this time Jesus was baptized, sent out to the wilderness to be tempted, went into Galilee to proclaim the kingdom of God, called His first disciples, is at the synagogue teaching, and then goes to the house of two of His disciples. In this short time Jesus has had, at least from a natural perspective, quite an odd journey so far. One cannot help but wonder how the people who witnessed these scenes interpreted Jesus and what He did.<br /><br />Jesus is markedly different from other people. He stands out; you cannot help but notice Him. People you have known for a long time, people of sound mind, just up and leave what they were doing to go and follow Him. Talk about strange. And then Jesus goes into the place you worship at every week and begins teaching. He teaches much differently than what you are used to. Jesus actually sounds like He has something you need to hear, He sounds like He even believes what He’s teaching on. And He is just teaching right from the Scripture; He doesn’t even mention the famous debate that took place over this text’s meaning, the debate that is ALWAYS mentioned when this passage comes up. You think this trip to the synagogue is turning out to be different than what you expected, but its okay; in fact, it’s pretty interesting.<br /><br />So here you are, listening to Jesus, and a man stands up and screams “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” That’s, ummm, not what you were expecting. It’s quite an odd event, actually. I don’t know about you, but I have never been listening to someone give a sermon where somebody from the audience stands up and cries out against what the speaker is saying. The closest thing to this that I have experienced is hearing someone scream the word heretic at a Christian conference when a famous Bible teacher was walking to the podium.<br /><br />But this guy in the synagogue isn’t just trying to create a scene; he’s actually possessed by a demon. Jesus then goes and exorcises the unclean spirit out of the man. Suffice it to say, this is no ordinary Sunday at Main Street Baptist.<br /><br />Jesus then leaves the synagogue and goes to the house of two of His disciples. When he arrives there, he heals someone. It’s crazy. There is no one like this Jesus. He teaches with authority, he has authority over evil spirits, he has authority over illness, is there anything Jesus can’t do?<br /><br />What is interesting is that after Jesus performs some very public acts of ministry, He leaves from there to go to His disciple’s home. Jesus could easily stir up the people and cause the kingdom of God to come by force. But instead, Jesus goes to participate in the personal lives of His followers. Jesus knows that His disciples need a healing touch right in the center of where they live.<br /><br />In our day and time, a fever is not that big of a deal; we have medicine, and the warmth and coolness of our homes that help us to deal with our illness better. In those days even something as seemingly insignificant as a fever could easily lead to more sickness and eventually lead into death. Having good medicine, cool drinking water, or the comforts of a modern home were not as easily accessible as they are today. Getting sick with something like a fever, if you didn’t die from complications, could damage your body in irreparable ways. Jesus stepping in to heal this lady with the fever was not like Him healing someone’s everyday headache; Jesus was healing someone suffering from something that could have proved devastating to both her and her family.<br /><br />Jesus not only stepped in to restore something in His disciples’ lives once upon a time, He steps in to our lives even today. Jesus steps into the center of our lives, into the places where all of our mess and all of Jesus need to meet the most.<br /><br />But Jesus doesn’t step into the life of Simon and Andrew to heal Simon’s mother-in-law as an end in its self. Jesus never comes into our life just to make things look better on the outside; He comes to heal us from the inside outside. When Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, the end result is her being able to serve them. She probably did it out a sense of joy and not out of a sense of duty. She felt the healing from the Lord and got up to graciously serve this miraculous man.<br /><br />After Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, people start coming by the house later that evening bringing other people who needed healing from the Lord. In fact, verse 33 says that the whole city was gathered there. There is a huge build that has happened in Jesus’ ministry in such a short time so far. Jesus goes from living in obscurity to being relatively famous very quickly.<br /><br />An odd feature the Gospel of Mark contains is something known as the Messianic Secret. The end of verse 34 tells, “And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.” Jesus has this ongoing thing throughout the book of Mark where He does things that show Himself to be the Messiah, but He does it in such a way that He keeps His being the Messiah hidden. Jesus even seems intentional about people not knowing that he is the Messiah.<br /><br />The Scripture does not give any perspicuous indication as to why Jesus may have done this, but it is clear throughout the book of Mark, and throughout all of Scripture, that the work of God sort of evades us. We can’t quite grasp it or see it clearly; we know God is at work in our lives and in the world, but we can’t quite see it or define what it is He is doing.<br /><br />As it is true of the Gospel of Mark, so it is also true of our experience with God today. God is present with us, but the work He is doing is steps ahead of us. We can’t figure it out; we shouldn’t try to figure it out. A lot of what we have to learn to do as Christians is to live in the tension of knowing God in the present moment and stepping forward into an unknown future where we know God better but are nevertheless surprised by who He shows Himself to be and where He is leading us.<br /><br />It’s always a journey where we understand more the longer we walk with Christ, but there is something about God and the work He is doing that always evades us. Living in this tension is not an easy thing, but it is how the Lord works. We may gather more frustration than insight into why this is the way it is, but we must always come back to the promise of God that tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”<br /><br /><br /><strong>Questions for Mark 1:27-34<br /></strong>1. Have you ever been in the presence of a person who really knows the Lord? What was different about them? How do people respond to that person?<br />2. When the Lord saved you, what areas of your life did you see the Lord change that surprised you?<br />3. In what ways has the Lord brought about restoration or wholeness to the central parts of your life?<br />4. Why does the Lord desire that He be known and experienced in the central most aspects of our lives?<br />5. What do you do when you cannot sense that the Lord is at work in a situation?<br />6. Why does God choose to work in mysterious, and sometimes even hidden, ways?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Verses 35-39</strong><br />35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.<br /><br />So far in Mark, Jesus, a man once living in obscurity, began His ministry a short time ago. In this short period of time a lot of things have happened. Jesus’ work has gained a lot of attention; so much so that when he goes to a friend’s house to rest, the crowds follow him there. He cannot seem to get away from the crowds.<br /><br />This section of Mark begins with Jesus going to have some private time on His own. Verse 35 tells us a lot of things, some of which are easy to miss. One of the first things the verse tells us is that Jesus rose “very early in the morning, while it was still dark”. This is not given to us simply to let us know some sort of declaration about the time of day Jesus set out to do this. One of the things to note is that it seems as though there is intentionality on Jesus’ part as to his going out to do this. He goes out “while it was still dark”, at a time when few people would be awake; there may have been some people moving about taking care of morning chores, but it would have been unlikely that they would have neglected the duties they do when they first get up to go find Jesus.<br /><br />Verse 35 also tells us that Jesus goes “out to a desolate place”, which helps to show that Jesus not only rose early “to beat the crowd”, He even goes out to a place where it would be unlikely for people to be out and about at that hour of the day. Jesus sets a time aside to go by Himself to a very private place to pray.<br /><br />What seems odd about this is not that Jesus wakes up early and sets out for a place to be by Himself. What is odd is that Jesus is going to pray. Although Jesus is a man in this section of Mark, Jesus is also at that same time God. We might play it down to explain it so that it seems less odd by saying that it is the Son having fellowship with the Father, which is altogether truth, but in many ways we miss the weirdness that this is in and of itself. In an essence, this verse is telling us that God is praying to God. They are different persons in the Godhead, but what is interesting is that while there is an inseparable connectedness between the three persons of God, there is still a need for them to be in relationship with one another; this is true not only in time, but also in eternity as well. Jesus is wholly God, but He is also wholly man in every aspect. Many people try to minimize these aspects in many ways, shifting from one extreme to the other, not balancing that Jesus is both fully, fully God and fully, fully man.<br /><br /><strong>Question(s)<br /></strong>Even though Jesus has an inseparable connectedness to the Father, why does he need to pray?<br />What would Jesus’ praying help him to do?<br /><br />Whether it was a short or long time we do not know, but after some time had passed people began looking for Jesus. The type of group that was with Simon is not mentioned, but it could just as easily have been just the people staying at Simon’s house as it could have been another crowd of people. If you had someone staying at your house and when you woke up they were nowhere to be found, you would likely go out searching for them to see if they were okay. With verse 33 telling us that “the whole city was gathered together at the door” of Simon’s house the night before, it is also likely that there might have been a crowd coming again the next morning to take in the signs and wonders. It is possible that the crowd looking for him was both a combination of concerned friends whom Jesus was staying with as well as people eager to watch the show; this seems to be the most likely explanation, as things in real life tend to not be so cut and dry as they often appear to be in fictitious stories. Any way this is to be viewed, the text is silent in defining who all is contained in this crowd.<br /><br />Jesus is found and is told that people are looking for him. This doesn’t seem to be much of a surprise to Jesus, and Jesus responds with a statement that underscores his resolve to continue in doing what He knows He is called to do, namely, to preach to people in the neighboring towns.<br /><br />Mark 1:15 tells us that Jesus was proclaiming that “the kingdom of God is at hand”, commanding people to “repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus is, in many senses, “the kingdom of God”, the rule and reign of God Himself over all things. Jesus is going about teaching, showing that He is the Messiah, the chosen One, the One by whom God was going to move through to establish His kingdom here on earth.<br /><br /><blockquote>“The problem faced by Jesus involves the ambiguity of miracles. He meant them to<br />be perceived as signs of the kingdom of God. They were intended to arouse<br />repentance and faith (see vv.14-15). The grave danger was that people, seeing<br />his acts of healing merely as spectacular feats of magic, would not alter their<br />relationship to God in the slightest. From much later in his ministry comes a<br />saying reflective of Jesus’ great disappointment with the people of Capernaum:<br />“And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down<br />to Hades. For if the deeds done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have<br />remained until this day” (Matthew 11:23).<br /><br />When Simon and his companions<br />track Jesus down, bringing further news of his success, Jesus shows that he has<br />not been swayed from his task of widely proclaiming the kingdom of God. He goes<br />on to repeat in other synagogues what he has done in Capernaum- preaching the<br />gospel with authority and providing visible signs of God’s rule by exorcising<br />Satan’s minions.” (Mark, Douglas R.A. Hare, p.32) </blockquote><br /><br /><br /><strong>Questions for Mark 1:35-39<br /></strong>1. What are your thoughts on Jesus, who is Himself God, taking time to spend with the Father?<br />2. What in your life distracts you from listening to what God is actually speaking to you?<br />3. Think of a time when you spent time with the Lord before you moved forward to go about your life. Think of a time when you did not spend time with the Lord to go about your life. What was different about your life during these two times? How did you respond to the situations in front of you during both times?<br />4. Why was it important for Jesus to go around to the other towns to preach?<br />5. The people in Capernaum came to Jesus looking for something other than what Jesus was intending for them to come to him for. Jesus came to proclaim forgiveness for sins, and the people came to see the signs and wonders, losing focus on what Jesus was truly trying to show them. Why did the people miss what Jesus was showing them? In what ways are people the same today as they were in Capernaum?<br />6. Verse 39 tells us that Jesus continued to do what God had called him to do, despite the people coming to him for the wrong reasons. Even though people may seem to want to come to God for many different reasons, what will the Holy Spirit continue to do to those who come into contact with Him?<br />7. Even though there are certain things that happen in our lives, almost as a natural consequence, when we receive the Lord, is it more important for Jesus to meet our felt needs or for him to meet our real needs? Why? What are our real needs?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-21418887715793791182009-04-09T20:17:00.000-07:002009-04-09T20:24:40.571-07:00Mark 1:16-26<strong>Read Psalm 2</strong><br /><br /><br />16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.<br /><br />Although it may not seem so obvious, Simon, Andrew, James, and John being fishermen and the Lord calling them to follow Him is no small thing. As children, all Jewish people were required to go to school when they reached a certain age. The primary reason for sending the children to school was for them to learn and memorize the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; by the time the children finished their schooling, they memorized every word of all five of these books. They knew the books inside and out, and could quote them to you in their sleep. Having memorized the books of Moses is even true of many practicing Jews today.<br /><br />Along with learning the books of Moses, Jewish girls spent time learning how to help their family around the home, as well as learning what was expected of them as Jewish women in their culture. As the male children continued to go to school, slowly but surely they were sent home after their instructors believed that the student had reached what they had the potential for doing. The longer the students were allowed to stay at the school, the greater the chance they had at becoming a rabbi or a lawyer. The students who desired to be a rabbi not only had to be able to do well and show potential; they also had to be accepted by a rabbi to become his disciple. Ordinarily, rabbis NEVER initiated the process of having someone become their disciple; the student was always the one to do the initiating. Even then the rabbi had the sole choice in the matter, being under no obligation to choose in any direction he should so choose.<br /><br />Simon, Andrew, James, and John being fishermen tells us that they did not make it to the top of their class; they might have done well, but certainly not well enough to be disciples. Jesus chooses four men who, from a natural standpoint, did not have the potential to be disciples who would eventually teach people the Scripture. Jesus reverses the pattern as to what was required for a person to be in leadership. Jesus chooses these four men, showing us that the people God uses to spread His Name get their authority not from people, but from God Himself. The choosing of these four men also shows that God uses people often overlooked by the world to be His witnesses; people who were not the smartest; people who were not prominent in society, who lived ordinary lives, who worked with their hands.<br /><br />Although it is possible that Simon, Andrew, James, and John had some knowledge of Jesus because of His baptism and His coming into Galilee proclaiming the kingdom of God, the text is silent about how, or if, they knew Jesus or what they knew about Him, if they knew anything at all. All that we know is that Jesus calls out to these four men in the ordinary day-to-day activities of their lives and they immediately leave to follow Him. Whatever their relationship to Jesus might have been, we can at least deduce that people felt compelled to obey Him; when He spoke, people obeyed Him.<br /><br />Something worth noting is that when Jesus goes out to the Sea of Galilee to call people to follow Him, He doesn’t make a general call to everyone who is there; He makes a specific call to Simon, Andrew, James, and John but does not call the others that are there, as it shows by mentioning other people there with some of these four men. Jesus never gives His children just a general call; Jesus calls us each individually and when He calls, we respond to it and begin to follow Him.<br /><br />The four disciples mentioned in this passage are fishermen. They worked with their hands for a living. They probably went fishing almost every day; life was pretty predictable for them. It is very likely that it wasn’t just them that fished for a living; it was likely a family business. There is a good chance that there were generations upon generations of family that had gone before them who did the same thing they are doing now. Life was predictable. Their dad’s were fishermen, they were fishermen, and they probably anticipated that their children and grandchildren would also be fishermen. Being in that type of setting was pretty safe. You had a long line of people who had gone before you who taught you all there is to know about fishing, which made learning how to be the best at what you do relatively easy. You have people who have bought fish from your family for as long as you can remember. You have no concern about where your next meal is coming from; if things get tough, you simply put in more hours or work a little hard to make up for the loss.<br /><br />Then one day Jesus comes along. Here you are at work, doing what you have always done and known when suddenly Jesus asks you to leave behind all that you know to come and follow Him. Jesus probably isn’t asking for you to think this over for a while; He means now, He means immediately. Jesus calls you to leave everything you know behind. It is a pretty scary thought if you stop to think about it.<br /><br />But Jesus just didn’t call four men a long time ago to come and follow Him. It wasn’t just them that Jesus intended to call, He is also calling us. Jesus is calling us, even right now, to leave behind the familiar, the comfortable, and the known, to step out into the unfamiliar, the uncomfortable, and the unknown. He calls us to leave our old life behind.<br /><br />He calls us not only to leave behind our old life, but also to receive new life as well. And the thing is, when Jesus told them that they would be fishers of men, they probably had no idea what exactly that meant or what it would be like; they just more or less did it. They stepped out in faith and left their old life behind. Jesus spoke with authority over their lives and they left all that they once knew. Jesus still speaks these same words to all who have ears to hear it: “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”<br /><br /><br />1. Have you ever felt incapable of doing something God called you to do? What was it? Did you act on it?<br />2. Why does God choose to use people who seem to be unlikely candidates to do His work through?<br />3. Have you ever heard God speak to you in such a way that what He spoke shook your very soul and you were compelled to do what He told you to do? What was it like?<br />4. When you received the Lord, what was it like? What did God call you to leave behind when you came to know Him? In what ways did your life change when you put your faith in Him?<br />5. What is it like for God to call us out into the unknown away from what is familiar and comfortable to us?<br />6. What is God’s purpose in calling us to follow Him?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.<br /><br />After Jesus begins His ministry and calls His first disciples, He goes to the synagogue to teach. The synagogues had a rabbi whose primary job was to teach the congregation, but they heard lots of different teachings. The people who went to the synagogue heard numerous people teaching the Scriptures, much in the same way we do today. Traveling around this area was common for the people who lived there, which made access to multiple teachers rather easy. Also, having your religion tied to all aspects of your daily living made speaking about your faith a normal and regular occurrence. Much like today, there was a wide diversity of interpretation of the Scriptures during that time. Judaism being not only a private religion, but also being the basis for how national and civic affairs meant that the Jewish people had to have somewhat close ties with one another.<br /><br />A religious official’s interpretation of the Scripture was a big deal. It wasn’t like how it is today; your whole life and country could change based on the Jewish authorities interpretation. In our day and time, if Christians disagree with one another over an issue they aren’t forced to keep close ties. Imagine a Roman Catholic, a Charismatic, and a Fundamentalist being forced to have a conversation about even one topic, say, the Holy Spirit, and for them to live and worship together in relative harmony; now imagine them all having to be in close company dealing with one another’s views on every area of life. Needless to say, it would get pretty intense at times.<br /><br />Verse 22 tells us that Jesus taught with authority and not as the scribes did. The scribes did a number of things; some of the tasks they performed included dealing with legal matters, serving as record keepers or historians for Israel, and interpreting the Scripture. They were generally diplomatic people, as their job usually required it; with such a wide spectrum of interpretation of the Scripture, they generally had to do some people-pleasing to make their lives easier. Some of their people-pleasing was probably done out of trying to avoid or not create conflict; some of it was probably done to gain favor from the particular groups, possibly even out of personal interest.<br /><br />The scribes would likely teach in a way that what they said was so vague and general that no one could disagree with what they were saying, or they just taught on what the varying interpretations of the texts were, not telling what interpretation they themselves held to. One of the things the scribes were notorious for was for their making the traditions they made equal, and sometimes even more important, than the Scripture itself; they not only taught the Scripture, they also taught bringing very precise traditions that had come about because of years of endless debate on any given topic in the Scripture.<br /><br />Jesus, on the other hand, came in and taught as one who had authority. Jesus did not make vague and general statements about the matter at hand; He taught as a person with conviction. He taught from the Scripture, not bringing in tradition that took away from the Scripture itself and completely missed the obvious intention of the Scriptures author.<br /><br />For Jesus to teach with authority he had to know the Scripture. He not only had to know the Scripture, He had to know the heart of the Scripture and what it meant. Imagine Jesus, the One whom everything in the Scripture is testifying to, speaking about the correct interpretation of what a text means. Jesus knew he was on a mission from God. He was moving forward in bringing about the Kingdom of God. Not only was He moving forward in bringing about the Kingdom of God, He was the Kingdom the God, the rule and reign of Himself over all things. Imagine being in the very presence of the Word of God made flesh, standing so close you could reach out and literally touch Him; the very reality of all of Scripture, of all of how your life as a Jew was set up; it was probably a convicting place to be.<br /><br />So here is Jesus in the synagogue, teaching from the Scripture that is testifying of Himself, and a man with an unclean spirit cries out against Him. The intensity must have been enormous. Here is the God-man, teaching the very truth of God in the presence of sinful men, one of whom has an unclean spirit. Sinful men hate the truth of God and, unless compelled by the Holy Spirit, will not come into the light because their deeds are evil. Listen to what Jesus tells us in the third chapter of the Gospel of John concerning this:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever<br />believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not<br />send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world<br />might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,<br />but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed<br />in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light<br />has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light<br />because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates<br />the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”</blockquote><br /><br />The man with the unclean spirit cries out and yells, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”<br /><br />Evil and darkness will always cry out against the truth. Evil hates the truth, and wants nothing to do with it. Evil knows it cannot co-exist with good; it must put up a fight against good or be forced to flee, in the same way that darkness flees when light enters. Jesus responds to the man with the unclean spirit by rebuking him and commanding the unclean spirit to leave the man. The unclean spirit has no choice but to leave.<br /><br />We don’t talk about it a lot, but the truth is that Jesus has complete authority over evil. When Jesus commands spiritual darkness to leave, it must do so; it has no choice in the matter. Often times, we have a picture of there being a sort of tug-of-war match going on between God and Satan; sort of a back-and-forth battle where, although God will inevitably win, God must take some losses here and there, and He actually has a hard time keeping things together. The Bible, however, presents a much different picture of God’s relationship over evil. The Bible presents a God who is totally sovereign over evil, yet in such a way that He is not responsible for evil and does no evil in all that He does. God has complete control over evil; when He chooses not to restrain evil from happening it is not because He has no control over it. We may never know the why’s of His choice to not restrain evil during certain times; it is not for us to know. As Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”<br /><br /><br />1. Think of a time when you heard two different types of proclamation of the Word, where one person spoke what is from the Scripture and the other person did not stay centered on the Scripture. How were their messages different from one another? How was the way they presented their messages different from one another?<br />2. Have you ever heard God speak something to you that was hard for you to receive? What was it? What was it like to hear it?<br />3. Why can’t light and darkness live together?<br />4. What does it mean for God to be sovereign over evil? Is it hard to accept that God is sovereign over evil?<br />5. What kind of implications, both good and difficult, does God’s being sovereign over evil have?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-4725512308481450422009-03-30T10:33:00.000-07:002009-03-30T10:35:21.477-07:00Mark 1:1-15<strong>Read Psalm 98</strong><br /><br /><strong>Introduction to Mark:<br /></strong>400 years of silence: No prophets, no message from the Lord. There were 400 years of silence during the time between the Old Testament and New Testament. During this time the political turmoil was intense. Judaism was threatened with extinction, both from being exiled and having foreign rulers occupying the land, forbidding the Jews from worshipping. These 400 years were a time of great bloodshed, with many of the Jews leading revolts against the foreign occupiers because of the fierce attempts that were taken at eradicating Judaism. Antiochus was the leader of the country occupying Israel at one time during these years. Some of Antiochus’s more noteworthy feats against the people of Israel included his fierce attempts to destroy all copies of the Torah and requiring offerings to the Greek god Zeus. When Antiochus erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple and sacrificed pigs to it the people revolted, thus leading to a 24 year-long war. The war was long and devastating, yet the Jews won. Despite this great victory enabling them to restore the country and their worship, less than 50 years after the war had ended the Romans came and took control of the area. The political turmoil and bloodshed were intense during this time, and not hearing a word from the Lord added to the heartache of the people who believed themselves to be chosen by God. Needless to say, Israel’s future looked bleak, with the Lord’s promise to them looking as though it would go unfulfilled.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 1-8</strong><br />1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.<br />2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,<br />"Behold, I send my messenger before your face,<br />who will prepare your way,<br />the voice of one crying in the wilderness:<br />'Prepare the way of the Lord,<br />make his paths straight,'"<br />4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”<br /><br />1. The other 3 Gospel accounts begin quite differently than Mark does. Matthew and Luke begin with the birth of Jesus and give some background as to where Jesus came from. John begins his Gospel by testifying to Jesus being God and being the Father before the world was created. Mark, however, chooses to begin his Gospel quite differently. Mark begins by attesting to God doing something new on the earth. Mark begins with the Gospel, or good news, of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For Mark, the Gospel begins with the preparation for the Son of God to come. Mark quotes Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, two passages that attest to the coming of the Messiah. Malachi 2:17-3:5 attests to the coming of the Messiah needing a messenger to declare His coming so that they will not receive judgment when the Messiah arrives. Isaiah 40:1-5 is a passage declaring the work of restoration that God is going to bring through His act of pardoning sin.<br />a. <strong>Malachi 2:17-3:5</strong><br />b. <strong>Isaiah 40:1-5<br /></strong>c. Why might Mark have chosen to quote these two verses together?<br />d. What message is Mark trying to convey with the two verses he quotes?<br />2. What is it that John the Baptist is doing and proclaiming?<br />3. How is the message of repentance necessary to prepare the way of the Lord?<br />4. In what ways does repentance prepare the way of the Lord in our lives?<br />a. “Not without hating sin and turning against his faults shall a man taste the grace of God.” (Calvin, p. 115, Volume 1 on the Synoptic Gospels)<br />5. What is the response of the people to John’s message?<br />a. “The Jewish historian Josephus reports that Herod became alarmed by the size of the crowds; fearing that John’s movement might turn into a political revolution, he had John executed.” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.15)<br />6. What does John’s appearance tells us about him?<br />7. What would it be like to take the words of someone like John seriously?<br />8. How might people on the outside looking in have perceived those who listened to and received John’s message?<br />9. (Verses 6-8) Jewish people would not untie other people’s sandals. They viewed doing so to be only the job of servants or slaves, which is something they commonly believed themselves to be above doing. It would be very unheard of to hear of a Jewish person untying someone’s sandals.<br />a. If John does not even consider himself worthy enough to do a task for the Messiah that was normally viewed as too lowly for any Jew to do, what is John’s view of himself in relation to the Messiah?<br />10. In what ways are we called to be like John the Baptist?<br /><br /><strong>Verses 9-15</strong><br />9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”<br /><br />1. Mark 1:9-15 is, in some senses, a parallel to the Exodus story. The people are waiting for God to deliver them from slavery. They need a move of God. Jesus, stepping into the role the Father has given Him, goes to John to get baptized. Jesus’ baptism is like the splitting of the Red Sea which allowed the Jews to escape physical slavery. Jesus is beginning the process of leading the people out of their slavery to sin. In His coming to get baptized, Jesus is acknowledging “in a public way the legitimacy of God’s judgment on the sin of His people and to consecrate [or set apart] Himself to God’s sovereign rule” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.17). This baptism certifies before all that the pleasure of God is on Jesus, delighting in Him and leading Him on His mission.<br />2. (Verse 9-11) “Heavens opened”<br />a. The ancient Hebrew understanding of the sky was that it was an inverted bowl separating the natural world from God’s heavenly domain. After 400 years of silence, this baptism was the announcement that the Messiah had come and that God’s Spirit would again be present with them.<br />3. (Verses 9-11) What is it like to hear God speak or to have a spiritual breakthrough after it seems as though God has been silent with us for a long time?<br />4. Verse 12 tells us that the Spirit is the one who drove Jesus into the wilderness. After the Father blesses Jesus and announces that He is the Messiah, Jesus is immediately sent into the wilderness to be tempted.<br />a. How does hearing that we have favor with God through Christ prepare us to be sent into our own wildernesses?<br />b. Why does God sometimes send us through our own wilderness journeys?<br />5. John ministry had to end before Jesus could begin His ministry on earth. Why did John’s ministry have to end before Jesus’ ministry could begin?<br />6. “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” means that the time of God’s saving activity has arrived. The kingdom of God is both a present and future reality.<br />7. In what ways is the kingdom of God connected to Jesus?<br />8. What does repent mean in verse 15?<br />a. “Repentance means not merely turning away from specific sins but turning toward God in faith and obedience.” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.22)<br />9. In verse 15, what does Jesus mean when he says to “believe in the gospel”?<br />a. More than mental assent. Confident trust and commitment to Christ and the work he did on our behalf.<br />10. “For Mark, Jesus’ entire ministry, including his death and resurrection, signifies that the time has come and that God’s rule is at hand. His ministry in itself constitutes a call for repentance and faith.” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.20)<br /><br /><strong>Summary</strong><br />1. What has happened in verses 1-15?<br />2. What is the overall message of verses 1-15?<br />3. What are some practical things we can take from these verses to apply to our lives?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-51384827859688273222009-03-18T11:10:00.000-07:002009-03-18T11:12:08.551-07:002 Timothy 4<strong>Read Psalm 146</strong><br /><br /><strong>Verses 1-2</strong><br />“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”<br />1. Why does Paul mention Christ as judge when he charges Timothy to preach the Word?<br />2. In verse 1, what does Paul mean by mentioning Christ’s appearing and Christ’s kingdom?<br />3. What is Christ’s kingdom?<br />a. The kingdom of God is the authority and reign of Christ working through the Word and the Spirit to bring about redemption and transformation.<br />4. When is Christ’s kingdom?<br />a. “Now and not yet.”<br />b.<strong> Luke 17:20-21</strong><br />i. “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””<br />c. <strong>John 3:1-3<br /></strong>i. “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””<br />5. Why does Paul mention Christ’s appearing and kingdom?<br />6. Why must the word be preached?<br />7. What does in season and out of season mean?<br />a. At all times.<br />8. Why must we be prepared to preach in season and out of season?<br />9. For what reasons would we want to teach others both patiently and carefully?<br /><br /><strong>Verses 3-4</strong><br />“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”<br />1. “For”<br />a. “What for?”<br />i. “We must be prepared to do these things because…”<br />2. “Human depravity shows just how careful pastors must be. For the Gospel would be quickly erased from people’s memories if godly people did not strive earnestly to preserve it…When Paul says that men will not put up with sound doctrine, he means not only that they will not like it and will despise it, but also that they will actually hate it.” (Calvin, 2 Timothy Commentary)<br />3. What does it mean for people to have itching ears?<br />4. Should we be surprised that people in the church will go after false teachers who tell them what they want to hear?<br />5. If people will not listen to or put up with sound teaching, what must the people of God be diligent to do?<br />a. “When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.” – Abraham Kuyper<br />b. “Peace is possible, truth at all costs.”- Martin Luther<br /><br /><strong>Verse 5</strong><br />“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”<br />1. Why is Timothy to “keep his head” or “be sober-minded”?<br />2. What types of things is Timothy to do?<br />3. How does a person fulfill their ministry?<br /><br /><strong>Verses 6-8</strong><br />“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”<br />1. “For”<br />a. “What for?”<br />i. Keep doing these things because…”<br />2. What is Paul preparing to do?<br />3. What does Paul call his death in verse 6?<br />a. If someone is departing from somewhere, what does that imply?<br />4. What might be Paul’s motivation for doing what he has done as a Christian?<br />a. <strong>Acts 20:24<br /></strong>i. “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”<br />b. Christians do the things they do to make God known for two reasons:<br />i. They are compelled to share the joy they have received from being given grace and being forgiven.<br />ii. They are looking forward to their reward. A Christian’s reward is not a larger house in heaven or anything like earthly rewards. The reward that God gives to Christians is Himself. God gives them Himself because they desire nothing else, and because nothing else will satisfy them in the deepest way as being in His presence can.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 9-17<br /></strong>“Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.”<br />1. Although Paul knows his time to be short, what is his mindset about the time he has left?<br />2. What does Paul plan to continue doing with the time he has left on earth?<br />3. What should be our attitude when things get tough or we know that our time is near?<br /><br /><strong>Verses 18-22</strong><br />“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”<br />1. Paul died for his faith. Church tradition tells us that Paul was beheaded and died a gruesome death. When Paul says that the Lord will rescue him from every evil attack or deed and bring him into His heavenly kingdom, what does he mean?<br />2. How does Paul end this letter?<br /><br /><strong>Chapter Overview</strong><br />1. How would Chapter 4 best be summarized?<br />2. How could these verses be applied to our lives?<br /><br /><strong>Overview of 2 Timothy</strong><br />1. What is the overall message of 2 Timothy?<br />2. What are some things we can take from book as a whole?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-87516929067751141402009-03-12T10:48:00.000-07:002009-03-12T10:54:31.422-07:002 Timothy 3:10-17<p><strong>Psalm 33</strong><br /><br /><strong>Verses 10-13</strong><br />“You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived”<br /><span></span><span></span>1."Timothy, you are not like the false teachers. The truth of Christ is evident in all aspects of your life. Christ is so evident in your life that you were even willing to support me in all of my persecutions. Although I went through many hardships, the LORD saw me through all of them. The persecutions I suffered are not something strange or random that will happen just to me; all people who live in the pursuit of knowing God will have trouble follow them. Godless people hate anything that has to do with God, so don’t be surprised when what has happened to me happens to you; godly people will be persecuted and all the while godless people will continue to become sicker and more twisted. Just as Christians grow more like Christ as they continue to know God, the longer that godless people do not know the truth the more evil they will become. The longer that godless people have sin in their lives the darker their minds will become so that they are all the more taken captive by evil and are unable to see the truth.”<br />2. Timothy has followed Paul’s teaching not only in holding to sound doctrine, but in ways that show Timothy’s wholehearted devotion to following Christ. Why would Paul be reminding Timothy of what he has done in the past and how he has lived?<br />3. 3 cities mentioned are in Galatia. Paul visited these three cities on his first and second missionary journeys. Paul was actually stoned by some of the people in one of these cities.<br />4. How many people who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted?<br />5. Why will people who seek the things of God be persecuted?<br />6. <strong>John 15:18-25</strong><br />7. Why will evil people and imposters go from bad to worse?<br />8. In what sense are evil people themselves being deceived?<br /><br /><strong>Verses 14-15<br /></strong>“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”<br />1. Paul wants Timothy to continue in not just what he has learned but what he also firmly believes. Why does Timothy need to continue in the things he is sure of?<br />a. What might happen if Timothy teaches on things he is not sure of?<br />2. “We must add to our faith the discernment to distinguish between God’s Word and man’s word so that we do not accept everything that is offered to us indiscriminately. There is nothing more alien to faith than a [gullibility] that accepts everything unquestioningly, no matter what source it comes from. For the basis of faith is knowing that its origin and authority are in God.” (Calvin, Commentary on 2 Timothy)<br />3. Timothy grew up learning the books we know today as the Old Testament.<br />4. How is the Old Testament able to make us wise for salvation?<br />5. How were people in the Old Testament saved?<br />a. <strong>Romans 4:1-15</strong><br />6. If people do not truly know what it means to be saved or why they need salvation, do they have true faith?<br /><br />Verses 16-17<br />“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”<br />1. Is all of Scripture truly useful and important?<br />2. What does it mean for Scripture to be God-breathed or inspired?<br />a. What does breath allow us to do?<br />3. How important is it to believe that Scripture comes from God?<br />4. How is Scripture profitable…<br />a. For teaching?<br />b. For reproof?<br />c. For correction?<br />d. For training in righteousness?<br />5. Why is having all of our knowledge of God and of ourselves coming solely from the Scriptures important?<br /><br />Overview<br />1. How would verses 10-17 of this chapter best be summarized?<br />2. How could these verses be applied to our lives? </p>Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-5643829082949190232009-03-01T17:38:00.000-08:002009-03-01T17:41:26.622-08:002Timothy 3:1-9<strong>Read Psalm 1</strong><br /><br /><strong>Verse 1</strong><br />“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”<br />1. “But”<br />a. But what?<br />i. “Even though God may grant repentance to people who are straying from the truth…”<br />2. The phrase “the last days” refers to the entire length of time after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. “The last days” refers to the entirety of this time up to the present and will continue to be “the last days” until the Second Coming.<br />3. Why does Paul want Timothy to be aware that the last days will be times of difficulty?<br />4. How does knowing what we can expect in living in the last days help to guide us in our living?<br /><br /><strong>Verses 2-5</strong><br />“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”<br />1. Paul is NOT talking about people out in the world who are openly opposed to Christ. Paul IS taking about people in the church who claim to follow Christ.<br />2. The dangers Paul mentions concerning the last days come not “from war, famine, disease, or any other…disaster…but it will come from the wickedness of depraved people.” (Calvin, Commentary on 2 Timothy)<br />3. What is at the root or what is the base sin of the sins listed in verses 2-4?<br />a. Lovers of self; people who worship themselves.<br />4. What are some of the sins listed in these verses that stand out to you as to what you see in the church?<br />5. In what ways is the modern church in America like our culture?<br />6. In what ways should the church in America be different from our culture?<br />7. What is the power of godliness?<br />8. Why is having a form or appearance of godliness but not having the power of godliness a bad thing?<br />9. Do people ever hide their faults by pretending that what they are doing is okay or even godly?<br />10. What should our attitude be towards people who live ungodly lifestyles but wear a front, or a mask, to disguise themselves as being godly?<br />11. Name some instances where people have appeared to be godly but were not truly godly.<br />12. When we are told to avoid such people or have nothing to do with such people, what does that mean?<br />a. Not to share close connection with people who are unrepentant in the church.<br />13. Why are we to have nothing to do with people who claim to know Christ but are unrepentant of their sin?<br />a. Distracts us<br />b. Tempts us to sin or be led astray<br />c. Easy to be led astray<br />d. When we are closely associated with these types of people and the evil deeds of the false teachers become exposed, our witness will be dampened. Although we may not be actively participating with people in their ungodliness, it may appear that we are in line with the false teachers or ungodly people’s way of life simply because people will associate us with them.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 6-7</strong><br />“For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”<br />1. To worm or creep into people’s homes means using flattery or being cunning to get a person to let their guard down.<br />2. “For among them”<br />a. What type of people are people who lead others astray?<br />3. Will the people who are giving a false message about God always be easy to spot?<br />4. Why does Paul mention weak-willed women as the ones being targeted?<br />a. Is it just women that can be deceived?<br />5. What does the description about these women tell us about them and why they are easily led astray?<br />6. What does it mean for people to be “always learning but never able to arrive at or acknowledge the truth?<br />a. People can be easily led astray by various passions when they are both curious and restless. People are curious because they are interested in learning what the person who appears to be godly has to say, as the deceiver appears to take interest in and care about the person they are deceiving. When people are restless and do not have a firm foundation built on Christ, they are open to any suggestion that appears to give them rest and satisfaction. Often times, the blind begin leading the blind and both become increasingly ensnared in their own folly because they are blinded in their sinfulness.<br />7. “When every man is eager for what he can get, and anxious to keep what he has, this makes men dangerous to one another. When men do not fear God, they will not regard man.” (Matthew Henry, Commentary of 2 Timothy)<br /><br /><strong>Verses 8-9</strong><br />“Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”<br />1. Jannes and Jambres are not mentioned explicitly in the Bible. Extra-biblical material has told us that these two men are the magicians/sorcerers mentioned in Exodus 7-9.<br />2. Exodus 7:1-3; 8:16-19<br />a. The magicians challenge Moses and for a time seem to be somewhat of a match for God and the plagues God brings on Egypt.<br />3. How are the false teachers like Jannes and Jambres?<br />4. How will the false teachers’ folly be made plain?<br />a. False Teachers are never allowed to get away with what they are doing. God allows spiritual error to advance, but only so far.<br /><br /><strong>Summary<br /></strong>1. What is the overall message of verses 1-9?<br />2. What are some practical things we can take from these verses to apply to our lives?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-42108300570562068082009-02-25T12:53:00.000-08:002009-02-25T12:56:24.977-08:002 Timothy 2:14-26<strong>Read Psalm 15</strong><br /><br /><strong>Verse 14</strong><br />“Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”<br />1. Remind them of what things?<br />a. Remind them that God wants them to continue in the faith and that God is able to accomplish His purpose no matter how things look.<br />2. Why do people need to be reminded of spiritual truths?<br />3. “Quarrel about words” generally means not going on endlessly talking about topics for the purpose of trying to be clever or show off by out-smarting one another.<br />4. Why would “quarreling about words” hurt the hearers?<br />a. It might upset people whose faith is not strong.<br />5. “God’s purpose is not to pander to our inquisitiveness but to give us profitable instruction.” (Calvin, Comm. on 2 Timothy)<br /><br /><strong>Verse 15</strong><br />“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”<br />1. If Timothy is concerned with being approved by God, who will he not be concerned with getting approval from?<br />a. What benefit would not getting caught up in other people’s business have for Timothy? For our lives?<br />2. How does a person rightly handle the word of truth? If your job is to teach and instruct people about the things of God, how is truth rightly handled?<br />a. The Word must be spoken to benefit the hearers.<br />b. Handle the word so that when you expound it, it lifts up those who hear it.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 16-18<br /></strong>“But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”<br />1. What is gangrene and why is it so deadly?<br />a. Unless treated, gangrene spreads quickly to the areas near the infection and penetrates deep into the skin and bones until it finally kills the person.<br />2. If “irreverent babble” is compared to the spreading of gangrene, what will “irreverent babble” do to the church? How does this generally happen in real life?<br />3. Heresy and heretics had put questions in the believer’s minds about the stability and permanence of the church.<br /><br /><strong>Verse 19</strong><br />“But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.””<br />1. In this context, what is the phrase “God’s firm foundation” referring to?<br />2. What does the first quotation mean?<br />a. God knows who the true believers are.<br />3. What does the second quotation mean?<br />a. If people truly know God, they will eventually turn away from their sin. Believers may fall into error, but they will always turn from what is not of God at some point because the Holy Spirit will convict them.<br />b. Matthew 7:15-20 (Mention but maybe not go to)<br /> i. Good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit. Good trees cannot bear bad fruit and bad trees cannot bear good fruit.<br />4. Should we judge people to determine if they are saved?<br />a. Yes AND no.<br /><strong><br />Verses 20-21</strong><br />“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”<br />1. “The fate of the false teachers is also not yet fixed.” Although they may not yet be truly saved, ‘they too may turn from evil.” (Carson, NT Comm. On Use of the OT)<br />2. When people turn away from sin, the Lord will use them in mighty ways.<br />3. Why will turning away from sin prepare us for “every good work”?<br />a. God desires that the people who represent Him and show Him to the world live so that their lives declare His character. People will only see who God is when His character is manifested in us is such a way that people know that in order for us to be the way we are, there has to have been a supernatural work to account for how different we are.<br /><strong><br />Verses 22-23</strong><br />“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.”<br />1. Verse 22 tells us to do two things. What two things are we do to?<br />a. Flee things that lead into sin<br />b. Pursue the things of God.<br />2. Paul tells Timothy to develop relationships with people who “call on the Lord from a pure heart” but also tells Timothy to have no part of the controversies going on.<br />a. Does who we put ourselves around effect how we think and live?<br />3. What happens when people get too involved with other people’s business?<br /><br /><strong>Verses 24-25A</strong><br />“And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.”<br />1. When conflicts arise, why must we remember to be kind to all of the people surrounding the conflict?<br />2. Why must we be able to teach others?<br />a. So that we are able to communicate what we believe clearly so that other people will understand what we are saying. If we are able to communicate what we believe so as to rightly understood, there will be less of a chance of having people misunderstand and stray from the intended meaning that you are conveying.<br />3. Why must we endure evil patiently?<br />4. Why must we correct people who have strayed from the truth with gentleness?<br />a. We ourselves may be wrong.<br />b. People are not likely to listen to us if we are rude or belittling to them.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 25-26</strong><br />“God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”<br />1. Who grants people repentance and leads them to the truth?<br />a. God.<br />2. Will people ever repent or know the truth without God granting them this ability?<br />3. Is it possible that people who are leading others astray will one day turn to the LORD and see the truth?<br />4. Should we ever give up on being Christ to other people even if it seems that it is doing no good?<br />5. How should we respond to and interact with people who are straying from the truth?<br /><strong><br />Summary</strong><br />1. What is the overall message of verses 14-26?<br />2. What are some practical things we can take from these verses to apply to our lives?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-5567155025247832212009-02-15T17:26:00.000-08:002009-02-19T10:10:20.580-08:00Psalm 32Valentine's Day, or Singleness Awareness Day as one of my friends put it, was a day I felt was unlikely for many people to be at the Bible Study. Family and significant others are important and wanted you all to be able to spend time with them without having to miss some of 2 Timothy.<br /><br />The group studied Psalm 32 last night and the notes are below. Next week we will get back to 2 Timothy 2 and finish up that chapter. I am thinking we have four more weeks of 2 Timothy and then maybe we will move onto Mark. There is still a lot of good things that 2 Timothy has and I am excited to see what the next few weeks will be like.<br /><br />Below are the notes and some quotes that are helpful.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Quotes on Repentance</span><br /></strong>(Saving faith is) not just believing that Jesus lived and died. Faith that saves is the confident, continuous confession of total dependence on, and trust in Jesus Christ to meet the requirements on your behalf to give you entrance into God's Eternal Kingdom. It's the surrender of your life in complete trust to Him to do what you cannot do.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>John MacArthur</strong></span><br /><br />[Repentance] is not a merely intellectual change of mind or mere grief, still less doing penance, but a radical transformation of the entire person, a fundamental turnaround involving mind and action and including overtones of grief, which result in (spiritual) fruit.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>D.A. Carson</strong>. Matthew, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan, 1984, p. 99.<br /></span><br />Repentance is more than simply being sorry for sin. It is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin and pursue holiness (Isaiah 55:7).<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Grace to You Ministries</strong>. All rights reserved. 1991. Used by permission.</span><br /><br />Repentance is a change of mind regarding sin and God, an inward turning from sin to God, which is known by its fruit – obedience (Mt. 3:8; Acts 26:20; Lk. 13:5-9). It is hating what you once loved and loving what you once hated, exchanging irresistible sin for an irresistible Christ.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Jim Elliff</strong>. The Unrepenting Repenter, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Read Psalm 124</strong><br /><br /><strong>Verse 1</strong><br />“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.<div>1. Why are we blessed to have our sin forgiven?<br />2. “We are only accounted righteous before God by the free remission of sins, this is the gate of eternal salvation; and, accordingly, that they only are blessed who rely upon God’s mercy.” (Calvin, Commentary on Psalm 32)<br />3. Why do we need to have our sin forgiven?<br />4. “God cannot be reconciled to those who are worthy of eternal destruction in any other way than by freely pardoning them, and bestowing upon them his favor.” (Calvin, Commentary on Psalm 32)<br /><br /><strong>Verse 2</strong><br />“Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”<br />1. Verse 2 begins by stating that we are blessed when God does not count our sin against us. If a person has sinned so that they need the LORD to not count their sin against them, what does it mean for there to be no deceit in a person’s spirit?<br />2. Why does a person need to have a clear picture of themselves and God, and be honest about their condition before God?<br /><ul><li>“He who feels not his disease refuses the remedy.” (Calvin, Commentary on Psalm 32)<br /></li></ul><br /><strong>Verses 3 & 4</strong><br />“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.”<br />1. Bones is a Hebrew word that signifies a person’s strength. The verse could easily be translated to say: “For when I kept silent, my strength wasted away through my groaning all day long.”<br />2. What is meant by “kept silent”?<br />a. Obstinate to God<br />3. Why does keeping silent about our sin wear away our strength?<br />4. What does it feel like when you know you did something wrong but haven’t or won’t make things right?<br />5. Whose hand was heavy upon the Psalmist?<br />6. If someone were to say that something is occurring “day and night”, how often is it occurring?<br />7. Without God convicting people of their sin, will they ever turn from their sin on their own?<br />8. Why must people feel the weight of their sin before they will turn to God?<br />a. “We never perceive how great a happiness it is to enjoy the favor of God, until we have thoroughly felt from grievous conflicts with inward temptations, how terrible the anger of God is.” (Calvin, Commentary on Psalm 32)<br /><br /><strong>Verse 5</strong><br />“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”<br />1. If something is not covered, what must it be?<br />2. Was the Psalmist’s act of confession what pardoned him?<br /><ul><li>“It is faith which, by opening our hearts and tongues, really obtains our pardon…[The Psalmist] obtained pardon by his confession, not because he merited it by the mere act of confessing, but because, under the guidance of faith, he humbly implored it from his judge.” (Calvin, Comm. On Psalm 32)<br /></li></ul><br /><strong>Verses 6 & 7</strong><br />“Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah”<br />1. If there is a time when God may be found, what does this also imply?<br />a. (There is a time when God may not be found)<br />b. Why would God not be found?<br />i. Because our heart is too hard and we are unwilling to cry out to Him.<br />2. “Rush of great waters” or “mighty waters rise” or “flood” means all “dangers from which there appears no means of escape” (Calvin, Comm. On Psalm 32)<br />3. There is nothing from which God cannot save a person from. No matter what it is, God can save you from it.<br />4. What does it mean for God to be our hiding place?<br />5. How does God protect or preserve us from trouble?<br /><ul><li>Does that mean that life will be free from trouble?<br /></li></ul>6. Three underlying ideas in verses 6 & 7:<br /><ul><li>There is no place of safety except in Christ</li><li>God will be faithful to preserve or protect us.</li><li>God will be the one to deliver us.</li></ul><br /><strong>Verse 8</strong><br />“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”<br />1. Who will do these all of these things?<br />2. If someone has their eye upon you or is watching over you, what does this imply?<br /><br /><strong>Verse 9</strong><br />“Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.”<br />1. What are horses and especially mules known for being?<br /><ul><li>Stubborn!!!<br /></li></ul>2. What is this verse asking us not to be?<br />a. Why is it asking us not to be stubborn?<br />3. What does the owner of a horse or mule do when the animal is ignoring him?<br />4. <strong>Hebrews 12:5-11<br /></strong><br /><strong>Verse 10</strong><br />“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.”<br />1. Why are the sorrows of the wicked many?<br />a. The wicked are living out of step with true reality. People reap what they sow. When people sow destructive choices into their lives they will reap destructive results.<br />2. Why does God’s steadfast love surround those who trust in Him?<br />3. If we trust in the LORD, what does it imply that we are not doing?<br /><br /><strong>Verse 11</strong><br />“Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”<br />1. In this verse, what does being righteous or upright mean? (Look at the larger context.)<br />2. When this verse refers to the righteous and upright being glad, rejoicing and shouting for joy, what is the reason for their response to God?<br />3. Why do people who will humble themselves and trust in the LORD have reason to be the happiest people alive?<br /><br /><strong>Summary</strong><br />1. What is the overall message of Psalm 32?<br />2. What are some practical applications we can take from this Psalm?</div>Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-40912887747710195292009-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:002009-02-09T17:06:50.253-08:002 Timothy 2:1-13This nights study had many good insights from you all. We delved into verse 13, a difficult verse, together and came up with many good insights, insights that never even entered my mind (thanks Nick!). The theme of 2 Timothy is becoming pretty clear, as many of you have mentioned to me both during and outsiden of the study.<br /><br />Next week is Valentine's Day. I am planning on being there but we will NOT be studying 2 Timothy that night. We will be studying Psalm 32, as it is what the Lord has put on my heart. I figured it would give a little bit of a break from 2 Timothy and would be good to do because many people might not be there because of Valentine's Day.<br /><br /><br />Read Psalm 136<br /><br />Verse 1<br />“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,”<br />1. After Timothy is reminded of what has been occurring in and among the church, Paul moves on to exhort Timothy about what he should do and how he should respond to all that is going on.<br />2. “What God requires from us in His Word, He also supplies by His Spirit, so that we are strengthened in the grace that He provides” (Calvin, p.305, Commentary on 2 Timothy).<br />3. What does “being strong in the grace” or being “strengthened by the grace” “that is in Christ Jesus” mean? <br />4. How are we strengthened by God’s grace?<br /><br />Verse 2<br />“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”<br />1. When the verse 2 speaks of entrusting faithful or qualified men with the task of teaching, what is meant by the word faithful or qualified?<br />2. What qualifies a person to teach?<br />3. Why is it important that the men who Timothy entrusts to teach the church be faithful or qualified?<br /><br />Verse 3<br />“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”<br />1. If a person was a good soldier, how would they share in suffering to help their side win?<br /><br /><br />Verse 4<br />“No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”<br />1. If a person was a soldier who was off at war, why would they not want to get involved in civilian affairs?<br />2. What consequences might getting involved in civilian affairs have on you or the war that you are there fighting?<br />3. Going back to 2 Timothy, how does the metaphor in verse 4 apply to our spiritual life?<br /><br />Verse 5<br />“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”<br />1. Why would an athlete not be considered the winner unless they competed according to the rules?<br />2. Why would doing sinful things to advance God’s Kingdom be a bad thing to do?<br />3. What application does this verse have for our lives?<br /><br />Verse 6<br />“It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.”<br />1. If you are a farmer, what must you do to have a harvest?<br />2. On Judgement Day, if we expect to reap some reward for our service to God, what must we do until Judgement Day comes if we want to have a reward?<br />3. We are saved totally by grace but in order to be saved we must persevere until the end. While God does demand that those whom He saves persevere, He also enables and causes people who truly know Him to persevere.<br />a. 1 Peter 1:3-5<br /><br />Verse 7<br />“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”<br />1. Why does Paul specifically tell Timothy to think over these things?<br />2. How does God usually teach us about who He is?<br />3. Although Timothy has to be the one to think over Paul has said, how will Timothy get the proper understanding of what is being said?<br /><br />Verse 8<br />“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,”<br />1. “risen from the dead”<br />a. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead gives evidence that what Jesus taught is truthful and that Jesus truly is God. Jesus’ resurrection also shows that because His claims were true, we can share in the benefits that His death and resurrection for us.<br />2. “Offspring of David”<br />a. Who was David?<br />i. David was a king of Israel whom God promised that Christ would be descended from. David was promised that Christ would reign on his throne forever.<br />b. Why would Paul mention Christ being the offspring of David?<br />i. Christ is a real person who has a real connection to real people that had real promises made to them by a real God.<br />3. Why is Timothy being told to “remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel”?<br /><br />Verse 9<br />“for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!”<br />1. What does Paul mean he says that the Word of God is not bound?<br />2. Isaiah 55:1-11<br /><br />Verse 10<br />“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”<br />1. “Therefore”<br />a. What’s it “there for”?<br />i. Because the Word of God is not bound…<br />2. Why does Paul want the elect to obtain salvation?<br /><br /><br /><br />Verse 11<br />“The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;”<br />1. What is the connection between us dying with Christ and us living with Christ?<br />Verse 12<br />“if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;”<br />1. What is the connection between us enduring and us reigning with Christ?<br />2. Why will Christ deny us if we deny Him?<br /><br />Verse 13<br />“if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”<br />1. God is always faithful to do what He says He will do.<br />a. Isaiah 48:9-11<br />b. Ezekiel 36:16-32<br />2. What does it mean that God “cannot deny Himself”?<br /><br />Overview<br />1. How would verses 1-13 of this chapter best be summarized?<br />2. How could these verses be applied to our lives?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-62620045116577254432009-02-09T16:54:00.000-08:002009-02-09T16:58:57.566-08:002 Timothy 1:13-18The notes below are all that we got to on the third night. It is only about five verses, but is worth looking over.<br /><br />1. Prayer Requests<br />2. Read Psalm 95<br />3. Pray for time of fellowship and study<br />4. Review from last week.<br />a. What were verses 8 through 12 talking about?<br /><br />Verse 13<br />“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”<br />1. Do not deviate from the message that Paul taught in any way. Put God’s Word before you. “Follow the pattern” literally means to put a vivid picture before you; a vivid picture right before your eyes so that you see the message of Christ clearly and as it is in its purest form.<br />2. Why is it important for Timothy to not deviate or change the message he received from Paul in any way?<br />3. The sound words consist “of faith and love, which have their source and beginning in the knowledge of Christ” (Calvin, p. 301, Commentary on 2 Timothy).<br /><br />Verse 14<br />“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”<br />1. What is the good deposit that was entrusted to Timothy?<br />2. By the power of God that is inside of you, protect and preserve yourself from leaving the message of Christ that you have received.<br />3. Philippians 2:12-13<br /><br />Verses 15-18<br />“You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.”<br />1. These verses are reflections of the results of people’s staying or straying from the message of Christ.<br />2. What is Paul’s purpose in mentioning these people?<br />a. Two-fold:<br />i. Information<br />ii. To show the reality of what will happen to us when persecution or hardship comes if we deviate or turn away from the true message of Christ.<br />3. Hebrews 3:7-14<br />4. Verses 15-18 show that when trouble came to the church, the people had two drastically different responses to the hardships.<br />5. If standing up for certain beliefs or ideas will greatly cost the people who stand up for these beliefs, is it possible for people to remain neutral or passive in the situation?<br />6. What are people’s motivations for continuing or leaving the faith when persecution comes?Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-89006654246458711302009-01-25T16:20:00.000-08:002009-02-09T16:59:17.518-08:002 Timothy 1:8-12"I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."<br />-Martin Luther King Jr.<br /><br />The notes below are my notes for 2 Timothy 1:8-12. I did not get to some of the things that are on the sheets below, as time and the Lord's leading did not allow. This study was definitely on the deeper (or deepest) end of knowing who God is. For those who attended, thanks for trudging through some of this deep and hard stuff with me. I pray that it was beneficial to you and that God will give us the eyes to see how it applies to our lives and the confidence that we can have in God. I have yet to figure out to format the notes below so that they look how they would in a word document. At the bottom of my notes is the handout that I gave to you all about the foreknowledge of God (God's knowing the future) and free will.<br /><br />Teaching through books without skipping any parts is a tough job to do and keeps us honest and dependent on God. Teaching all parts of a book is not always the most entertaining way to teach, but I do know that God will bless us for being committed to seeking to understand who He has revealed Himself to be in the Scriptures and learning how to work through the Bible in a way that shows how real people in real situations interacted with God and how He spoke to their (and our) real and specific needs. There is such a diversity in Scripture in how certain principles are applied in different situations that a "one-size fits all" answer often doesn't help; we need to know the heart of God by seeing His Word dealing with specific needs and then use that to see how our living God will likely speak to us in our needs. I was very grateful to hear the prayer requests last night and hope that God will allow us to be open and honest with each other more and more as we meet together. God has gifted each of you uniquely and the body of Christ cannot function properly without you using your gifts and insights to help equip us to serve the world. God desires you to use your gifts not only for this Bible study, but in every area and place that you go to with believers to have fellowship.<br /><br />If anyone has any thoughts or questions on any of this, feel free to contact me or leave a message on the comments section on this post. <br /><br /><br /><strong><br />Verse 8</strong><br />Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,<br /><br />1. “Therefore”<br />a. What’s it “there for”?<br />i. Connect this thought to the previous verse (or verses)<br />b. What is Paul connecting the thought in verse 8 to?<br />i. The family of faith, who we are because of Christ, and the weapons/tools God has given us to overcome fear and be a witness for Him.<br />2. Paul views himself as the Lord’s prisoner and NOT as a prisoner of the empire.<br />3. Why would Paul view himself as the Lord’s prisoner instead of viewing himself as a prisoner of the empire?<br />4. “share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God”<br />a. God has ordained that the Gospel would come to pass primarily through suffering. The suffering may not necessarily be persecution. Suffering for the gospel may simply be living to make Christ known. Making Christ known always comes at the expense of the person doing it.<br />5. Colossians 1:24<br />a. In this verse Paul does not mean that he is adding to the atoning work of Christ. Paul does NOT mean that the work Christ did on the cross was not enough; in fact, Christ’s work is more than enough. What Paul is saying is that Christ propagates the gospel to the nations through people. Christ is not here on earth as a human being to give Himself over in love by serving others so that people will know Him. Because Christ is not physically here on earth to serve others so that they will know Him, He gives us the task of acting on His behalf. We act on behalf of Christ by living through the power of the Holy Spirit so that people see Him living and moving through flesh and blood. When people see that we can hope and joy in any type of situation and that we have the ability to love even our enemies, they will see that something is different about us. When a person who knows God responds to life situations much differently than how the majority of people would respond to the same situation, people who see the believer’s response will think it is strange. When people who do not know God see believers living the way that they are, they will respond in one of two ways. They will turn to God, repent and receive Him, or they will hate us because how we live reveals them for what they truly are.<br />b. John 15:18-25<br />6. Suffering for the sake of the Gospel is a gift from God. Suffering is a gift from God that He calls us to participate in.<br />a. Acts 5:40-42<br />i. Background: God was at work among the early church so much that it was creating quite a stir in Jerusalem. Because of the jealousy of the Jewish officials, the Apostles were arrested and commanded not to speak in the Name of Jesus ever again. After the Apostles respond by telling the officials that they will not obey them, a council member stood up and convinced the other Jewish leaders that if what the Apostles were teaching were not of God it would eventually go away. The council member also told the Jewish officials that if the teaching was of God, no one would be able to stop the Apostles no matter what anyone did to them.<br />b. Philippians 1:29<br />c. Matthew 5:20<br />d. Philippians 3:8-11 (especially verses 10 & 11)<br />7. For what reasons would a person willingly suffer for the sake of the gospel?<br />8. Why would God use suffering as the primary means for how the Gospel would be most fully displayed?<br /><br /><br /><strong>Verse 9</strong>“who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”<br /><br />1. God “saved us and called us” not because of what we have done, could do, or would do but “because of His own purpose and grace”.<br />2. What was God’s purpose or motivation for creating all that He created?<br />3. How does God’s grace relate to His purpose in creating all that He has created?<br />4. God’s plan for Christ to come was not an afterthought. God knew what Adam would do before He created him. In Romans 5:14, Paul writes that Adam “was a type of the one who was to come”. The verse does NOT say that Christ was a type of Adam; the verse states that Adam was a type of Christ. The purpose of having Christ come into the world came BEFORE Adam.<br />5. Colossians 1:15-17<br />6. In some sense, God has allowed or ordained all that has or will ever take place in history from beginning to end. However, this DOES NOT mean that people do not have free will or are not responsible for their actions. <br />7. See Handout.<br />8. People are responsible for their actions because they are the ones who actually do the action. God does not force anyone to act sinfully nor does He cause people to act against their will. God knows all things before they happen and although He allows or ordains all that ever will actually come to pass, people are still responsible for their actions because they are freely doing whatever it is that they are choosing to do. God is also not the author of sin. God is not the author of sin in that He never does nor can do anything that is sin. God can allow sinful events to occur and even in doing this He never is or does evil in ANY way at all.<br />a. Acts 2:22-23, 36-41<br />i. God ordered that Christ die in the way that He did and God still holds the people who actually did it responsible.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 10-12</strong>“and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me”<br /><br />1. Although God had planned and determined that Christ would come, the plan of Christ to come to earth and die would, in some sense, not actually be accomplished until Christ actually stepped into time and did it. Christ’s stepping into time to live as a human being and then dying on the cross for the sins of the world brought the original purpose of God to light. <br />2. From eternity, God had planned to undo all that His creation would do to try to thwart His plan. God has shown that even when what He creates acts against His will, He still is accomplishing His purposes through it. “God did not just overcome evil at the cross. He made evil serve the overcoming of evil. He made evil commit suicide in doing its worst evil” (John Piper, Spectacular Sins, p.12).<br />3. Paul is convinced not only that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass and that Christ coming to die was God’s original plan but Paul was also convinced that God had appointed him to be one of the people to proclaim God’s message about Christ to the world.<br />4. What type of impact would knowing how well God has orchestrated history have on how we deal with difficulties that may arise in our life?<br />5. How would knowing that God is able to accomplish His purpose without anyone ever being able to thwart that purpose prepare us to face hardship or persecution?<br />6. In verse 12, Paul says that he knows whom he has believed. He does not say he knows what he has believed, but whom he has believed.<br />7. What is the difference between believing God and believing in God?<br />8. How does believing God help us?<br />9. This verse shows us “most excellently the power of faith by teaching us that in the most desperate plight we should glorify God by not doubting that He will be true and faithful and that we should accept the Word with the same assurance as if God Himself had appeared to us from heaven…Faith always connects God’s power with His word, which it does not think of as something remote and distant but rather something inward which it has in its possession. Thus it is said of Abraham in Romans 4:20,” “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Calvin’s Commentary on 2 Timothy).<br />10. If we were to summarize what verses 8 through 12 mean, what would these verses tell us?<br />11. What practical application do these verses have for our lives?<br /><br /><br /><strong><br />The Foreknowledge of God and Free Will</strong><br />“God, from all eternity, did—by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will—freely and unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass. Yet he ordered all things in such a way that he is not the author of sin, nor does he force his creatures to act against their wills; neither is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.”<br /><strong>3.1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Modern English Study Version.</strong><br /><br />“Although—in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first Cause—all things come to pass unchangeably and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, he orders them to occur according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.”<br /><strong>5.2 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Modern English Study Version.</strong><br /><br />“But it does not follow that, though there is for God a certain order of all causes, there must therefore be nothing depending on the free exercise of our own wills, for our wills themselves are included in that order of causes which is certain to God, and is embraced by His foreknowledge, for human wills are also causes of human actions; and He who foreknew all the causes of things would certainly among those causes not have been ignorant of our wills.” <br /><strong>Augustine, City of God, 5.9.</strong>Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104928358859724695.post-9875900179959155102009-01-19T10:34:00.000-08:002009-01-19T10:37:10.345-08:002 Timothy 1:1-7<strong>Background of 2 Timothy:</strong><br />2 Timothy is believed to be Paul’s last letter. His missionary ministry was over, as he was in prison on account of the Gospel of Christ. Paul knew that his death was certain and near at hand. Paul writes this letter as a second letter to Timothy, a leader in the early church. Timothy’s father was Greek and an unbeliever while his mother was Jewish and a Christian (see Acts 16:1). Because of Timothy being from mixed ethnicities, he was very likely subject to mistreatment from both Jews and Gentiles, as Acts 16:1-5 attests to. Timothy was a very young, timid, and very sickly person; seemingly not a likely candidate to lead the church through the severe persecution that had arisen that was only getting worse. Paul writes this letter to Timothy as a type of “last will and testament” and uses his last writing to bring some encouraging words to give this follower of Christ courage for the future ahead of both Timothy and the church.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Chapter 1:1-7</strong><br /></span><br /><strong>Verses 1 & 2: Introduction<br /></strong><br /><strong>Verses 3-5: Remember where you came from.<br /></strong>1. We have a family of believers. Other believers serve as:<br />a. A source of encouragement.<br />b. A source of joy<br />i. Not a joy in themselves but a joy in that they show us that God is at work in our midst.<br /><br />2. We have a legacy of faith.<br />a. God has always had a people to carry out his plan.<br />b. We are connected to a story larger than ourselves.<br />i. We are in some sense connected to all believers who ever lived or will live. God uses people to make the Gospel known. This connects us together because we heard about Christ from other people and people will know about Christ because other people tell them.<br /><br /><strong>Verses 5-7: Remember what you have.</strong><br />1. If we are born again having the Holy Spirit inside of us,<br />a. We have faith.<br />i. Having faith means that we “believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV)<br />b. We have the power to persevere to overcome fear. (Revelation 12: 7-11)<br />c. We have the ability to respond in love. (1 John 2:7-10; 4:7-21)<br />d. We have the ability to base decisions on the character of God and on truth rather than on something that is fleeting or has no stability like our emotions. (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16)<br /><br />Note: see Ephesians 1:3 and 2 Peter 1:3-4 for this topic as well.Brad Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406943867520509346noreply@blogger.com0