Week 11, March 12 - 18, 2017

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 13 - 24
In chapter 13, what was Israel to do with someone who tried to get people to follow other gods?

Why was it okay for a foreigner to eat something found dead, but it was not okay for an Israelite?

15:7 commands that people not be "hardhearted or tightfisted" toward the poor.  What would cause you to be hardhearted or tightfisted?

15:4-6 says that there wouldn't need to be any poor in the land if Israel would be obedient. But 15:11 says there will always be poor in the land.  How can both of these be true?

Chapter 16 describes three annual festivals.  All men were expected to appear at each of these festivals.  Verses 16 and 17 say, "No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you."  Why did the Lord want no one to come empty handed?

How often was a king expected to read Scripture?

What test does 18:22 give to determine whether a prophet is authentic?

In chapter 19, when was a killer not protected in a city of refuge?

Why did God say in 20:1 for Israel not to be afraid when they went to war and found themselves outnumbered?  How does this verse apply to you?

Why did chapter 21 require a sacrifice to be made for an unsolved murder?

22:4 says, "If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet."  This shows that we have a responsibility to help another person when we see them in need.  What situations have you been in that this principle applies to?

What does 23:15 say about a fugitive slave?

Why was a newly married man exempt from being sent to war (24:5)?

Psalms 32 - 34
In Psalm 32 David describes the blessing of forgiveness.  He says in verse 1, "Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered."  In verse 5, describing repentance and confession, he says, "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity."  (The same Hebrew word is used in both verses.)  Why is it good if God covers our sin, but bad if we cover our own?

33:3 says, "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy."  What should you do if you have no skill for music?

In 34:8 David wrote, "Taste and see that the Lord is good."  What does it mean to taste that the Lord is good?

New Testament: Mark 1 - 4
How did John the Baptist describe the One who would come after him?

When people were asking why Jesus spent time with tax collectors and sinners, He said in 2:17 "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Do you have this attitude toward all who need Jesus?

Why did Jesus' family think He was out of His mind in 3:21?  Why did the teachers of the Law think He was possessed by a devil in 3:22?

In 4:17 Jesus speaks of people who have no root and fall away quickly when trouble or persecution come.  How can you develop deep roots that will allow you to stand strong in the face of trouble and persecution?

In 4:40 Jesus questioned why the disciples didn't have more faith in the storm.  What would more faith have done for them during the storm? 1) make them know that Jesus would calm the storm, 2) make them know that even if they died they would be in God's hands, or 3) made them able to calm the storm through prayer themselves?