Overall question: How can Jesus help us have the right kind of life?
Memory Text: John 10:10 NIV “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Sunday – The Gift of Physical Life
Genesis 2:7 God’s Word to the Nations “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into his nostrils. The man became a living being.”
John 1:1-3 God’s Word to the Nations “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was already with God in the beginning. Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.”
Psalm 139:13-14 God’s Word to the Nations “You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.”
Psalm 139:14 COMMENTARY TREASURY OF DAVID (SPURGEON) If we are marvellously wrought upon even before we are born, what shall we say of the Lord's dealings with us after we quit his secret workshop, and he directs our pathway through the pilgrimage of life?
Monday – Physical Education
Healing – Mark 5 CEV “Jesus and his disciples crossed Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa. When he was getting out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit quickly ran to him from the graveyard where he had been living. No one was able to tie the man up anymore, not even with a chain. He had often been put in chains and leg irons, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one could control him. Night and day he was in the graveyard or on the hills, yelling and cutting himself with stones. When the man saw Jesus in the distance, he ran up to him and knelt down. He shouted, "Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do you want with me? Promise me in God’s name that you won’t torture me!" The man said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to come out of him. Jesus asked, "What is your name?" The man answered, "My name is Lots, because I have ‘lots’ of evil spirits." He then begged Jesus not to send them away. Over on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the evil spirits begged Jesus, "Send us into those pigs! Let us go into them." Jesus let them go, and they went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. The men taking care of the pigs ran to the town and the farms to spread the news. Then the people came out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had once been full of demons. He was sitting there with his clothes on and in his right mind, and they were terrified. Everyone who had seen what had happened told about the man and the pigs. Then the people started begging Jesus to leave their part of the country. When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man begged to go with him. But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how good he has been to you." The man went away into the region near the ten cities known as Decapolis and began telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him. Everyone who heard what had happened was amazed. Once again Jesus got into the boat and crossed Lake Galilee. Then as he stood on the shore, a large crowd gathered around him. The person in charge of the Jewish meeting place was also there. His name was Jairus, and when he saw Jesus, he went over to him. He knelt at Jesus’ feet and started begging him for help. He said, "My daughter is about to die! Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live." Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed along and kept crowding around. In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse. The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. She had said to herself, "If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well." As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was well. At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" His disciples said to him, "Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?" But Jesus turned to see who had touched him. The woman knew what had happened to her. She came shaking with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story. Jesus said to the woman, "You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain." While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from Jairus’ home and said, "Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?" Jesus heard what they said, and he said to Jairus, "Don’t worry. Just have faith!" Jesus did not let anyone go with him except Peter and the two brothers, James and John. They went home with Jairus and saw the people crying and making a lot of noise. Then Jesus went inside and said to them, "Why are you crying and carrying on like this? The child isn’t dead. She is just asleep." But the people laughed at him. After Jesus had sent them all out of the house, he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples and went to where she was. He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said, "Talitha, koum!" which means, "Little girl, get up!" The girl got right up and started walking around. Everyone was greatly surprised. (SEE 5:41) But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Then he said, "Give her something to eat."”
Rest – Mark 6:30-32 CEV “30 ¶ After the apostles returned to Jesus, they told him everything they had done and taught. 31 But so many people were coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said, "Let’s go to a place where we can be alone and get some rest." 32 They left in a boat for a place where they could be alone.”
Mark 6:31 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Rest is necessary for those who labour; and a zealous preacher of the Gospel will as often stand in need of it as a galley slave.
Feeding – Mark 6:33-43 BBE “33 And the people saw them going, and a number of them, having knowledge who they were, went running there together on foot from all the towns, and got there before them. 34 And he got out, and saw a great mass of people, and he had pity on them, because they were like sheep without a keeper: and he gave them teaching about a number of things. 35 And at the end of the day, his disciples came to him and said, This place is waste land, and it is late: 36 Send them away, so that they may go into the country and small towns round about, and get some food for themselves. 37 But he said to them in answer, Give them food yourselves. And they said to him, Are we to go and get bread for two hundred pence, and give it to them? 38 And he said to them, How much bread have you? go and see. And when they had seen, they said, Five cakes of bread and two fishes. 39 And he made them all be seated in groups on the green grass. 40 And they were placed in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And he took the five cakes of bread and the two fishes and, looking up to heaven, he said words of blessing over them; and when the cakes were broken, he gave them to the disciples to put before the people; and he made division of the two fishes among them all. 42 And they all took of the food and had enough. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken bits and of the fishes.”
Sabbath – Luke 4:16 BBE “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been as a child, and he went, as his way was, into the Synagogue on the Sabbath, and got up to give a reading.”
Tuesday – Spiritual Life
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
John 3:1-21 NRSV “1 ¶ Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."”
Wednesday – Social Life
Philippines 2:1-5 NRSV “1 ¶ If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,”
Philippines 2:3 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN Instead of fixing your eyes on those points in which you excel, fix them on those in which your neighbor excels you: this is true "humility."
Thursday – Fullness of Life
John 10:10 NLT “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.”
John 10:10 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Literally, that they may have abundance, or that which abounds. The word denotes that which is not absolutely essential to life, but which is superadded to make life happy. They shall not merely have life--simple, bare existence-- but they shall have all those superadded things which are needful to make that life eminently blessed and happy.
2 Corinthians 4:18 KJ21 “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18 PEOPLE’S NT COMMENTARY Our eyes are fixed on the unseen things beyond. Hence, we turn away from present afflictions as momentary and only regard them as adding to the weight of our unseen, eternal joys. Our goal is beyond. [quote abridged]
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James Brenneman
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