Mark 9-10

• Why does Jesus ask? He should know everything already (9:23)

If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."

-- Mark 9:35-37

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
44 (OMITTED TEXT)
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
46 (OMITTED TEXT)
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
48 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'
49 For everyone will be salted with fire.
50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

-- Mark 9:42-50

"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

-- Mark 10:11-12

"Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

-- Mark 10:24b-25

• The decision to leave earthly desires to follow Jesus will bring great rewards (v29-31)
• For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (v45)

Jeremiah 12-16

• The evil may be going through good times right now (12:1-3). But God promises that they will be plucked out. He knows what each and everyone has done (v14). He they repent, God loves (v15-16), but otherwise destroyed (v17)

"Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.

-- Jeremiah 13:9-10

• Consequences of not repenting (chapter 15), but towards the end at v19-21, God still provides the option to choosing the valuable road to take.

• God hates idolatry. (16:11) He emphasises this over and on top of breaking the laws generally.

Psalms 42-44

• As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. (42:1)
• By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. (v8)
• Rock (v9)

• He feels left behind by God (43:2), but still trust God and ask him for guidance (v3)
• Gives praise (v4)
• His mind is in a struggle but constantly reminds himself that Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (v5)
• When you're down, try to praise the Lord!

• It is those times where God seems so distant. We feel we are doing what is right in God's eyes but he doesn't seem to be there. (44:20-26)

1 Samuel 21-25

• Holy bread that David ate (21:6)

• Saul is out of his mind, killing God's priests (22:18-19)

• David seeks God's intentions before going ahead (23:2)
• Notice Saul says "God has given him into my hand" but he does not really pray and ask God to reveal and he just does it (v7-8)
• David constantly prays for direction (v10-11)
• And God will answer (v12)

• Abigail trusted David for being kind. She probably didn't know him but trusted (Chapter 25)

Exodus 5-8

• The Pharaoh rejects Aaron and Moses' request in going out to wilderness to worship God. He makes their burden even greater. Is he like the people today who say if we have so much extra time to worship then plenty of extra time to work. (Chapter 5) Moses blames God for not delivering (v22-23)

• But God tells Moses to wait a minute, God remembers what he promised and knows what Israel is going through so it will be done (v6:1-8), but people lacked faith (v9)
• Even Moses lacked faith,twice (v12, 30)

• Everything is in God's control. He makes Pharaoh's heart harden (7:3-4)
• Opportunity was given to Pharaoh but he did not even try to seek God's repentance (v9-12)
• Pharaoh thinks whatever God can do, he can also with the magicians. So he fails to repent the second time (v14-25)

• 3 further plagues and Pharaoh's heart is still hardened. He promises to get himself out of troubles and overturn these decisions and not let go of Israel (Chapter 8)

Week 15

Mon 04 Aug 2008	Exodus 5-8
Tue 05 Aug 2008	1Samuel 21-25
Wed 06 Aug 2008	Psalms 42-44
Thu 07 Aug 2008	Job 29-30
Fri 08 Aug 2008	Jeremiah 12-16
Sat 09 Aug 2008	Mark 9-10
Sun 10 Aug 2008	1Corinthians 13-14

1 Corinthians 11-12

• the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (11:3)
• in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. (v11-12)
• "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (v24) This is done to remember what God has done in our lives, not to recleanse ourselves through communion.
• Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. (v28) Reflect before taking communion

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

-- 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

• Working as one body of Christ (v12-31)

Mark 7-8

• There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out a person are that defile him ... For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (7:15, 21-22)

• The Lord will provide. What are you worried about? (8:14-21)
• A two step process in healing the blind (v22-26)
• Jesus cares for the personal relationship with you, not what other thinks of him (v27-30)

Jeremiah 1-11

• "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
• God created each and everyone of us and had a plan before he created (1:5)
• We sometimes feel like Jeremiah and say we are young and incapable of serving the Lord (v6) , but he you are called by him, he knows you are capable so just do it (v7-8)
• Why is God letting his people suffer by inducing war in north? (v15) He answers because Jerusalem does not repent and has clung onto evil (v16)

• God remembers when Israel was loyal and faithful to Him (2:2-3)
• God was gracious in providing the promise land after years of wilderness (v5-7)
• God was known to Israel (v8)
• God warns this is wrong to change attitude towards God (v11) God explains which aspects of change is wrong: evil, apostasy, and foresaking God (v19)

• Sadly, God describes the separation of Israel and God, and their choice of connecting with their self-created gods is like man divorcing wife, or playing the whore and returning to a relationship? (3:1)
• They have lacked the heart to fear the Lord (v6-11)
• Askes them to repent (v12-4:4)

• God feels heartached when Judah chooses the wrong path (4:19)
• They are 'wise' - in doing evil! But how to do good they know not (v22)

• Opportunity for repentance for Judah (7:3)
• den of robbers (v11)
• He Judah does not repent, the consequences are "And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim." (v15)
• Sufficient warning is given he they don't repent (v20)
• This is what God is concerned about the most:

But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'

-- Jeremiah 7:23

• My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me (8:18). God is sad he we choose to depart from him

Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity.

-- Jeremiah 9:5

"Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink. I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them."

-- Jeremiah 9:13-16

• Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. (11:11) God draws the line where they choose not to repent

Job 27-28

"From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.'
"God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

-- Job 28:20-28

Psalms 39-41

A prayer of hope. (Chapter 40)

• God provides the rock as foundation (v2)
• Sing hymn to give thanks (v3)

Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!

-- Psalms 40:4

• God's will is done (v8): gospel sharing (v9-11)
• Very humble

As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God

-- Psalms 40:17

• Sounds like David is injured and humbles himself by saying he is sinner. He thanks God that they are protected by God from enemies (Chapter 41)

1 Samuel 16-20

For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

-- 1 Samuel 16:7

• God often likes to let us know his intentions, but he does not make it crystal clear the intricate details. Often we do not see a clear direction on what we should do, but we should be like Samuel and be assured that he is with us so that his will is done. (16:1-13)
• the Lord's Spirit leaves Saul, and he gets attacked by the evil spirit (14-23), David, with the Lord's spirit, soothes.

• Description of Goliath was so mighty that everyone thought he was the clear winner (17:4-7)
• Eliab cares only about the sheep (v28), but David thinks for the nation of God (v26-27), and has courage and strength through the faith in God that God will deliver him (v34-37), unlike others who remain helpless.
• The fact that he does not rely on the armour, is it a sign showing he completely relies on the Lord and not by our own wisdom in protecting ourselves with equipment that thinks we are safer? (v38-40)

You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.

-- 1 Samuel 17:45-46

• The Lord has delivered (v50) and Goliath is killed.
• Saul approves David to fight for Israel in v37, and now he wins, he wants to find out his background (v55-58)

• Saul wants to pin David to the wall (18:6-16), but still lets his elder daughter marry Merab? (v17)
• He reveals his plan to have him killed before the daughter gets to marry him. David is poor so the only gift the King wanted was a hundred foreskins of the Philistines so he may be killed by the Philistines. He ended up doubling that number, and ended up getting Michal rather than Merab instead. (v18-30)

• Saul is warned by his son Jonathan not to kill the innocent (19:4-5), and Saul listened to Jonathan (v6) but the evil spirit let him astray (v9). Sad Saul, why couldn't he repent?

Exodus 1-4

• Israel multiplying even when they are under Egyptian control. Is that God's blessing? (1:1-12)
• Became slaves (v13) I wonder how much of Israel was as thankful to God even when they were persecuted?
• What is evident is that their faith in God did not change even when the midwives ignored the King's orders because they feared God (v17)

• What a blessing from God. Get paid for looking after her own child (2:9) who becomes the one we know as Moses (v10)
• Moses gets wife (v21)

• Moses interacts with God (3:1-6)
• God sees and knows pains of his people (v7-8)
• Moses' faith is still weak. He couldn't trust God and finds excuses that he is incompetant (v11). If he had the faith, God would not need to say v12
• What's the name of God? (v13)
• God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. (v14-15)
• God's promise to his people (v17)

• After God shows Moses his tricks, (4:1-9) Moses still does not trust that God will cover our deficiencies (v10)
• People believe in God towards the end of Chapter 4