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Archive for the ‘Bible Study’ Category

Read Luke 1:39-80
1. Who does Mary go to visit? What happens when she gets there?

2. What prophetic statement does Elizabeth make about the baby Mary is carrying?

3. Verses 46 to 55 of Luke 1 are often referred to as the Magnificat (also known as Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary) What strikes you in this section of scripture?

4. How does Zechariah come to speak again? What is the first thing he says?

5. What does Zechariah say in his prophecy about the Coming One (Messiah)?

6. Imagine that you were Mary, a young woman somewhere between the ages of 14 and 18 living in a small town with your parents. You are visited by an angel and told that you will have a child who sit on the throne of David, fulfilling all the prophecies of Messiah. What would you be thinking? Feeling? Consider the favor shown to Mary. The favor shown to you, a child of God, is much greater than even that shown to Mary. How does that impact you as you prepare for Christmas?

7. Read Luke 1:39-56. Verses 46-55 are known as The Magnificat, and they represent some of what Mary was feeling spoken out in praise to her God. Write out your pray of praise to God for all that He has done for you in and through Christmas.

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Luke 1:26 to 38
1. Who is Mary? What do we learn about her from this passage?

2. Who comes to visit her? Why?

3. Why does Gabriel say “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”?

4. Why does he tell her not to be afraid?

5. What is the prophecy that Gabriel tells Mary?

6. What does Mary ask Gabriel in Luke 1:34? What proof does he offer to her that the words that he says are true?

7. Copy Luke 1:37 here. Meditate on this and record your thoughts and impressions. As you meditate on Luke 1:37, consider the proof you have seen that this is true in your own life or the lives of those around you? Explain.

8. What is Mary’s response to the news in verse 1:38?

9. What do we learn in James 4:7? 1 Peter 5:5? How does Mary demonstrate these concepts?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Matthew Chapter 11
1. What does Jesus do after He instructs the disciples according to Matthew 11:1?

2. What does John the Baptist do when he hears about what Jesus is doing according to Matthew 11:2-3?

Going deeper: Where was John the Baptist imprisoned?

3. How does Jesus respond in Matthew 11:4-6? What is the importance of these things they are seeing Jesus do?

Going deeper: Review the following scriptures which describe the things Messiah will do when He comes. How are the following passages relevant to what Jesus is telling John? Isaiah 35:4-6, Isaiah 29:18-19.

4. Who is Jesus talking about in Matthew 11:7-10?

5. Copy Malachi 3:1. Meditate on this record your thoughts and impressions on this and Matthew 11:10.

6. What does Jesus say about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11-15?

7. What comparison does Jesus make in Matthew 11:16-17? What is the meaning He is trying to convey?

Going deeper: The phrase “to what shall I liken” was often used by rabbis when they were telling a parable.

8. What comparison does Jesus make in Matthew 11:18-19?

9. Where was Chorazin located in Israel at the time of Jesus?

10. Where was Bethsaida located in Israel at the time of Jesus?

11. What does Jesus say of Chorazin and Bethsaida in Matthew 11:20-24?

12. What is the significance of Jesus’ mention of Tyre and Sidon? According to Jesus, how would their reaction be different from the other cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum?

13. Copy Isaiah 14:11. How does this relate to Jesus’s statements regarding Capernaum in Matthew 11:23?

14. What is Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 11:25-26?

15. Restate in your own words the truths you find in Matthew 11:27.

16. Copy Matthew 11:28-30. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.

Going deeper: What would the “yoke” mean to an observant Jew in the time of Jesus? How does that influence how we understand this passage?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Matthew Chapter 10
1. What do you learn about John from the following verses?
Matthew 4:21

Mark 5:37

Mark 9:2

Mark 9:38-39

John 13:21-29

John 18:15-17

2. What do you learn about Philip from the following verses?
John 1:43-48

John 6:5-7

John 12:20-22

John 14:8-14

Acts 1:13

3. What do you learn about Bartholomew from the following verses?
Luke 6:14

John 1:43-51

Acts 1:13

4. What do you learn about Thomas from the following verses?
John 11:-16

John 14:1-6

John 20:19-29

5. What do you learn about Matthew from the following verses?
Mark 2:14

Luke 5:29-32

Acts 1:13

6. What do you learn about James, son of Alphaeus, from Acts 1:13?

7. What do you learn about Judas Iscariot from the following verses?
Matthew 26:14-16

Matthew 27:3-4

Luke 22:3-4

John 6:66-71

John 12:1-8

John 13:1-30

John 18:1-9

Acts 1:15-26

6. What did Jesus give his disciples according to Matthew 10:1?

7. What commands did Jesus give his disciples when he sent them out according to the following verses?
Matthew 10:5-6

Matthew 10:7-8

Matthew 10:9-10

Matthew 10:11-15?

Matthew 10:16

Matthew 10:17-20

Matthew 10:21-23

Matthew 10:24-26

Matthew 10:27

Matthew 10:28

Matthew 10:29-31

8. What does Jesus say about those who acknowledge Him and those who deny Him in Matthew 10:32-33?

9. What does Jesus say about his mission on earth in Matthew 10:34-36?

10. What does Jesus say about those who are worthy of Him in Matthew 10:37-38?

11. Would you be worthy of Jesus based on His criteria in Matthew 10:37-38?

12. Copy Matthew 10:39. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.

13. What does Jesus say about those who welcome the disciples in Matthew 10:40-42? How can this apply to our lives today?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Matthew Chapter 10
1. What does Jesus do according to Matthew 10:1?

2. Who are the twelve disciples?

3. What do you learn of Simon (Peter) from the following verses?
Matthew 4:18

Matthew 16:13-20

Mark 1:29

Mark 14:37

Luke 5:1-11

John 6:67-69

John 13:6-9

John 18:10-11

John 18:15-18; 25-26

4. What do you learn of Andrew from the following verses?
Mark 1:16

John 1:35-40

John 1:44

John 12: 20-23

Acts 1:13

5. What do you learn of James from the following verses?
Matthew 4:21

Matthew 27:55-57

Mark 1:19

Mark 3:17

Mark 10:35-45

Luke 5:10

Luke 8:51

Luke 9:28

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Matthew Chapter 7

Read Matthew Chapter 7
1. What is Jesus instructing them not to do in Matthew 7:1-2? Why?

2. What does God say about judging in the following verses?
Leviticus 19:15

Numbers 35:15-25

Luke 6:37:43-45

John 7:24

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

3. Consider words that are synonyms of “judge.” Make a list of some that might be applicable to Jesus’s point in Matthew 7:1-2.

4. Look up the following words in a dictionary. Record what you find as it might apply to this passage.
Discernment

Judgment

Criticism

Inspection

According to commentators, Jesus is not prohibiting all types of judgment or evaluation among believers. He is addressing the issue of criticizing those of the household of faith. His point is that we should expect to be judged according to the criteria or type of judgment we apply to others. As a result, we should always seek to judge righteously, so that any judgment applied to us would also be done righteously. It seems to be an extension of the command to love your neighbor as yourself. See Matthew 7:12.

5. What is Jesus describing in Matthew 7:3-4? (Hint: See Matthew 7:5)

6. What do you learn about hypocrites and hypocrisy from the following verses?
Proverbs 11:9

Matthew 23:13-30

Mark 7:6

James 3:17

7. What remedy does Jesus suggest in Matthew 7:5?

8. Copy Matthew 7:6. Meditate on this. What is Jesus’ point?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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9. What is the lesson Jesus is teaching in Matthew 7:7-11?

10. How do the following verses help clarify or add meaning to Matthew 7:7-11?
Psalm 37:4

Matthew 21:21-22

John 15:7

John 16:23-24

11. Explain the meaning of Matthew 7:12 in your own words.

12. What is Jesus’ message to them in Matthew 7:13-14?

13. How is Matthew 7:13-14 similar to or different from Deuteronomy 30:15-20? Psalm 1?

14. In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus is explaining how we are to judge people (as fruit inspectors). What does He say about false prophets? How can we know them?

15. What do the following passages add to your understanding of false prophets and how you can identify them?
Deuteronomy 13:1-5

Jeremiah 14:14

Mark 13:22

2 Peter 2:1-3

John 10:12

16. What does Jesus say about those who will enter the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 7:21-23?

17. What does Jesus say about those who hear His words and act on them in Matthew 7:24-27?

18. What was the reaction of the crowd to Jesus’ teaching according to Matthew 7:28-29?

Walking to nowhere

The last day I was in Israel was a Sunday, and I was staying in Jerusalem. As a final way to close the trip, my friends and I visited the Old City one last time. It was a beautiful day. In this post, I will share with you some of the splendor of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is a place that can be difficult to navigate for all the apparent organized chaos and the different manifestations of faith and ritual that are all around. This time, perhaps because it was a Sunday, I was able to genuinely enjoy the beauty and serenity of the church. Whatever you may believe about where Yeshua, the Messiah (Jesus Christ) was buried, this church is a place where generations of believers have come and remembered the crucifixion and burial of Yeshua. God said that He would be found by those who seek Him with all their heart. See Jeremiah 29:13.

Shabbat Shalom

I apologize for taking a few days to get back to the tour highlights. I left off in my last post about our recent tour of Israel with our visit to Tel Arad. That is definitely a place to visit. From Tel Arad, we headed north and made our way out of the Negev basin. As we climbed, we noted places along the way such as Maon, Carmel (not the Mt Carmel on the coast), and Ziph. (See Joshua 15:55 for the reference to these cities as being part of the allotment to the Tribe of Judah).

We were not able to visit all the tels, but from a vantage point in the wilderness of Ziph, we were able to remember David’s time in the wilderness of Ziph as described in 1 Samuel 23. We were able to see the route by which David would have easily traveled to En Gedi from Ziph. These connection in the land bring the scriptures to life.

In this area, we were also able to remember the story of Abraham and the three visitors. We could look out and see the Salt Sea, and the traditional location of Zoar at the south end and remember that Lot had asked to be able to go to Zoar after leaving Sodom when it was slated for destruction. Recent excavations and other findings at Tall el-Hamman to the north east of the Salt Sea suggest that the location for Sodom may be in that area, but I leave that for another day. (See article in Nature Journal A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea)

We reached our final destination, Hebron, with time to visit both the tel and the cave of the Patriarchs. This was not the first time I visited tel Hebron or the Cave of Machpelah. You can see my earlier post here.

We visited the tel first. This is definitely worth the climb. The tel has been partially excavated.

After visiting the tel, we visited the cave of Machpelah – the burial place of the patriarchs. Here are some images from our visit.

Matthew Chapter 6 (Part 2)

Read Matthew Chapter 6:16-34
1. What does Jesus teach them about fasting in Matthew 6:16–18?

2. What do you learn about fasts and fasting from the following passages?
2 Samuel 12:20-22

Ezra 8:21-22

Esther 4:16

Psalm 69:9-11

3. Read Isaiah chapter 58. This passage reveals a great deal about what God thinks about fasts, how they should be conducted, and what they should be about.
a. What does God accuse Israel of doing on their days of fast in Isaiah 58:3?

b. What motives does God accuse Israel of having in their fasts in Isaiah 58:4?

c. What does God say about the fast He has chosen in the following verses?
Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58:7

d. What does God promise will be the result of such fasting in Isaiah 58:8-9?

e. Record His additional conditions in the following verses:
Isaiah 58:9

Isaiah 58:10

Isaiah 58:13

f. Record His additional promises in the following verses:
Isaiah 58:11

Isaiah 58:12

Isaiah 58:14

Going Deeper: For more on Fasting, refer to Daniel 9:2-4 and Joel 2:12-32

4. What does Jesus teach them in Matthew 6:19-34?

5. What further insight into Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:19-34 do you gain from the following verses?
Proverbs 11:4

Proverbs 12:25

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Luke 10:40-42

Luke 12:22-34

Philippians 4:6-7

6. Copy Matthew 6:21. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.

7. What do you learn from the following passages about loving God first?
Exodus 20:1-11

Deuteronomy 4:23-24

Deuteronomy 6:4

Going deeper: What did the idiomatic expression “eye is good” or “eye is bad” mean in first century Jewish society?

8. What do you learn about the light and darkness within from the following passages?
Isaiah 5:20

John 3:18-20

9. What application regarding prayer in your own life can you make from this chapter?

10. How can you apply Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness to your own life?

11. Have you been storing up treasures somewhere other than heaven? How does this chapter help you to reconsider that practice?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Blessings for Shabbat

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Read Matthew Chapter 9:18-38
1. Who came to see Jesus according to Matthew 9:18?

2. What was the leader of the synagogue’s name according to Mark 5:22?

3. What does Jairus say to Jesus according to Matthew 9:18? What is his posture?

4. What is Jesus’ response according to Matthew 9:19?

5. What happened on Jesus’ way to Jairus’ house according to Matthew 9:20?

6. What are we told of the woman’s thoughts in Matthew 9:21?

7. What is Jesus’ response to her reaching out to touch Him according to Matthew 9:22? What happened to the woman?

8. What does Jesus see when he came to Jairus’ house according to Matthew 9:23? What was the significance of what he saw?

9. What does Jesus tell them in Matthew 9:24? How did the crowd respond to him?

10. What does Jesus do next according to Matthew 9:25? What happened to the young girl?

11. What do you learn from Matthew 9:26?

Going deeper: You can read the account of the healing of these two women in Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56.

12. Who does Jesus encounter next according to Matthew 9:27? What are they crying out?

13. What does Jesus ask the blind men according to Matthew 9:28? How do they respond?

14. What does Jesus do next according to Matthew 9:29? What is the result?

15. What evidence of their faith can you see in the passage?

16. What stern warning does Jesus give them in Matthew 9:30? How do they respond?

17. Who is brought to Jesus according to Matthew 9:32?

18. What happened according to Matthew 9:33?

19. What was the response of the Pharisees?

20. What does Matthew tell us that Jesus was doing in Matthew 9:35-36?

21. Copy Matthew 9:37-38. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions. How is this still true today?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Matthew Chapter 9:1-17
1. What does Jesus do in the opening verse of Matthew chapter 9?

2. What is “His own city?” (Hint: See Matthew 4:13)

3. Who was brought to Jesus according to Matthew 9:2?

4. What does Jesus notice? What does He say to the paralytic?

5. What do you learn about faith from the following verses?
Habakkuk 2:4

Matthew 17:20

Matthew 23:23

Mark 5:34

Mark 11:21-33

Acts 3:16

Acts 6:8

Romans 3:28

Romans 4:5

Romans 5:1

2 Corinthians 5:7

Hebrews 4:2

Hebrews 11:1-3

6. How do the scribes respond in Matthew 9:3?

7. What does Jesus say to the scribes in Matthew 9:4-6?

8. What does Jesus say to the paralytic in Matthew 9:6?

9. What does he do according to Matthew 9:7?

10. What is the reaction of the multitude according to Matthew 9:8?

Going deeper: More of the story of the paralytic and his friends can be found in Mark 2:1-12. We learn in the Mark version that the paralytic’s friends were so desperate to get him to Jesus, they lowered him through the roof of the house He was in.

11. What do you learn about the authority to forgive sins from the following verses?
Exodus 34:6-7

2 Samuel 12:13

Isaiah 43:25

12. Where is Jesus in Matthew 9:9 and what does he see?

13. What additional things do you learn about Matthew (Levi) in Mark 2:13-15?

Going deeper: You can also read the story of Jesus’ encounter with Matthew (Levi) the tax collector in Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-32.

14. What does Jesus tell Matthew to do in Matthew 9:9? How does Matthew respond?

15. Where is Jesus in Matthew 9:10? Who is with him?

16. What do the Pharisees ask the disciples in Matthew 9:11?

17. How does Jesus respond?

18. Copy Hosea 6:6. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.

19. What question do John the Baptist’s disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 9:14?

20. How does Jesus respond in Matthew 9:15-17?

21. What do you learn of the Bridegroom from the following verses?
Isaiah 61:10

Isaiah 62:5

John 3:28-30

22. What is Jesus’s point in Matthew 9:16-17?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Matthew Chapter 5:13-24
1. What does Jesus compare believers to in Matthew 5:13?

2. How did salt function according to the following verses?
Exodus 30:35

Leviticus 2:13

Numbers 18:19

2 Kings 2:19-22

Ezekiel 16:4

Colossians 4:6

Going deeper: Read Luke 14:34-35 where Jesus discusses the problem of salt that loses its saltiness. Record Jesus’ comments.

Going deeper: Read Mark 9:49-50. Here Jesus is making another reference to salt. He is first of all saying that we will all be salted with fire in Mark 9:49. Since salt is a purifying element, He is saying that we will all be purified by fire. He goes on to say, “Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with one another.” This is a reference to the use of salt in making covenants in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). See Numbers 18:19 and 2 Chronicles 13:5.

3. Why did Jesus call his disciples and the others listening to him on the side of the mountain that day salt? What is the spiritual application?

4. To what does Jesus compare those Jews listening to Him in Matthew 5:14-16? What explanation does He provide?

5. How do Jesus’ statements in Matthew 5:14-16 link up with Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6?

6. What is Jesus’ command in Matthew 5:16? For what purpose? How might this look in your life?

7. Review Proverbs 4:18-19. Here we read of the contrast between light and dark. Summarize these verses in your own words in light of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:14-16.

8. How does Paul expand on this idea of being a light in the following verses?
Romans 2:18-20

Ephesians 5:8

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Matthew Chapter 5:1-12

1. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:6? What is their promise?

2. What do you learn from these verses?
Psalm 107:4-9

Proverbs 12:28

Proverbs 21:3

2 Timothy 3:16

3. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:7? What shall they receive?

4. What do you learn from the following verses?
Psalm 18:25

Proverbs 11:17

Proverbs 14:21

Proverbs 21:21

5. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:8? What is their reward?

6. What do you learn from the following verses about the pure in heart?
Psalms 24:3-6

Psalm 73:1

7. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:9? What shall they be called?

8. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:10? What does Jesus say will be theirs?

9. What does the prophet have to say to those who seek righteousness in the following verses?
Isaiah 51:1-8

Isaiah 66:5-6

10. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:11-12? Where is their reward?

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Read Matthew Chapter 5:1-12

1. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:4? What is the promise to them?

2. What do you learn from the following verses about those who mourn (over their sin)?
Isaiah 61:1-3

Isaiah 66:13

John 16:20

3. Who is blessed according to Matthew 5:5? What are they promised?

4. What do the following verses teach about the meek (gentle, sweet-spirited)?
Psalm 37:11

Isaiah 11:4

Zephaniah 3:12

5. What do the following verses teach about the inheritance of the believer?
Ephesians 1:11-12

Galatians 4:4-7

1 Peter 1:4

6. Who are those who have no inheritance with God according to the following verses?
Ephesians 5:5

Galatians 4:30-31

 

 

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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