Foofee's Nana

Look at the verses above which include both the word "give" and a preposition that means "in behalf of." According to these verses, what was the purpose of Jesus giving himself in sacrifice? This is my body....given ro you I will give my body for the life of the world Gave Himself as a ransom for all men Gave Himself to rescue us from our sins Gave Himself to redeem us and purify us Gave His life as a ransom for many Gave Himself up for us as a fragant offering and sacrifice

Why does Christianity insist on a physical birth, physical suffering, and a resurrection of the physical body? How would our faith be different if Christ hadn't fully entered the human condition? These are the very corner stones of our faith....God came and was made flesh for us.....He was born in a physical birth to a virgin....so even at the beginning He came into this world as we have....with humanity and it s faults and also its dreams . He was God made into man so that He really knew what we go through, how could a perfect advocate be such unless He understood ??? He willingly went to the cross for us.....died a human physical death on the cross. But praise God He was raised for the dead on the third day. He paid the price in full for us.....we do not have to keep making payments to keep our end of the bargain. All we must do is believe and accept Him as our Lord and Savior.

Why do you think the Apostle Peter emphasized Jesus' physical body, when he talks about sin-bearing? I think Peter was showing us what Jesus had done for us...of His own free will.....to give His body....it was not taken, it was not forced into this gift....but...given. it is difficult to imagine as a human knowing what that terrible death on the cross would be. To know that Christ Jesus paid this for us....knowingly and with love...He bore all of our sins....He who was sinless became sin for me.

What are the implications for you personally, when you realize that in the Lord's Supper you are becoming a sharer in the sacrifice of the cross? How does that affect you? How does it change your understanding of the Lord's Supper? The experience of sharing in the Lord's Supper is something that always makes my heart tender....to know that I am a believer, one of His children....and that what He paid was for me...he gave His blood.....that I now drink....His body was broken for me...and I now eat it. It makes me feel in close communion weith Him....that he and I walk side by side through His payment for me.

In what way did the priests participate in the altar by eating of the Old Testament sacrifices? The eating of the sacrifices also gave the community they served atonement for sin...they were following through with what the law required on them. How does Paul connect this observation with our participation with Christ's sacrifice? We also have been commanded to drink the blood in remembrance...to eat the body in remembrance. We share a part of the ongping process to remember each time we take of the Lord's Supper.

What does koinōnia mean? Sharing something in common with others. What does it mean to "participate" or "share" in the blood of Christ? In a sense it means that we are in this with our Savior.....that we share in the blood, in the body.....and that when we take this as communion, we particiapte in what Christ Jesus gave for us.

Why was Paul exhorting the Corinthians about the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons? Believers were tempted to share in the sacrifices of the Greeks and Romans....to gods that were served by demons. This would open them up to a false teaching and not the one true and living God. What was going on in the church? The church was experiencing believers who may have held pagan practices also.... What was the danger to the believers? The danger to believers is that we leave ourselves open to demonic activities and things that we may not want to open ourselves up to.

In what way is the Lord's Supper a proclamation? It is a proclamation in that each time we take of the Lord's Supper we are showing our belief in the death on the cross that Christ Jesus paid for us. To whom is the proclamation made? This is for believers and also as a witness to non-believers because God's desire is that ALL come to know Him. Why is this important? It is important so we always remember that He died for us on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin. What happens to the church when its proclamation shifts to a different central theme? If the church shifts to something other than Christ centered we lose the power and all that Christ gave for us....in a sense we become worldly.

Why is our remembrance of Christ's death so important? Remembering Christ's death is what keeps it real for us.....He is the divine and holy Son of God.....made flesh for us.....and then to give HIs life on a cross to save us......We need to always remember. What happens to Christianity if we neglect remembering in this way? If we neglect to remember we can become complacent and get so absorbed in ourselves that we forget what was done for us. The reality is that we need to become more and more like Christ and to stay in His Word. What happens to us personally when we forget Christ's death? When we forget about Christ's death we make what He did for us almost a mockery. We need to stay close to Him and remember His sacrifice.

What was the purpose of the Passover meal for future generations? To help them remeber what the Jewish people had gone through during 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Why was it to be repeated? It was to be repeated so they would not forget....a remembrance table. What was to be remembered? Unleavened bread ( no time to let bread rise) Haroseth represents the mortar ( this was a paste of fruit and nuts) Bitter herbs to remember their enslavement Parsley dipped in salt water for the tears of the Jewish slaves. Roasted egg for spring Lamb's meat was part of the meal for the blood from the passover lamb Four cups of wine to mean-- freedom, deliverance, redemption, and release. A fifth cup of wine in the contemporary Jewish seder, the Cup of Elijah, looks forward to the coming of the Messiah. What would have happened if the Jews had stopped remembering the Exodus? If they had stopped remembering the Exodus from Egypt perhaps they would have broken the kind of fellowship that God truly desires with us. This would finally fortell the true Passover Lamb....our Lord Jesus.

When repeated often, doesn't the Lord's Supper run the risk of becoming mundane and lose its meaning? Why did Jesus command its repetition? I do not think the repeating of the Lord's Supper would ever cause it to become mundane or an everyday thing....if we keep pur hearts in tune to the Savior and the reason we are doing this. Jesus commanded this to always remember Him and what He had done for us. He paid the price on the cross by His body shed for us and the blood poured out for our sin.

Which part of the meaning of the Lord's Supper is most valuable for you at this point in your spiritual journey when you partake of and meditate on the Lord's Supper? The connection for me is knowing ......really knowing that Christ Jesus loved me so much He was willing to die on the cross for me. When I take of the Lord's Supper it makes me focus that He did this......He gave his body and shed His blood for me.

Which action words used to describe the elements of the Lord's Supper, teach us that we are to be thinking of Jesus' sacrifice of atonement, when we partake of the Lord's Supper? Given: that Christ Jesus gave Himself for us as a living sacrifice. Broken: His body symbolize by the bread, broken for us on the cross. Poured out: His blood shed for us....to be the covering for our sin. Forgive: to wipe away our sin. All of these things are an action that we do to remember and to give praise.

How can an extreme symbolic interpretation cause a person to have too little respect for the Lord's Supper and its elements? If we decide this is a "mere" symbol with no real meaning behind it we are really taking away all that Christ Jesus sacrificed for us and making it trivial. We need to remain prayerful.....confess the things on our hearts and when we take of the bread and the body of Christ we should remember and be so thankful for a Father that loves us this much. Where is the balance, do you think? I think that our hearts should be in a prayerful atttitude and longing to be closer to our Savior. It is a lovely and specail time to take of the Lord's Supper.

How does your particular understanding of the bread and the wine (literal or figurative) help you grow closer to Christ when partaking of the Lord's Supper? (Note: This question is not your excuse to argue, but to learn from one another's personal experience of partaking.) I began my journey loving the Lord Jesus when I was a little girl...my Sunday School teacher and parents thought I was too young to understand. So every Sunday I held my self tight in the pew until I was 8 years old and made that walk to delcare Jesus was my Lord and Savior......and then I took of the Lord's Supper the first time. It was for me the figurative of His body that had been shed just for me.....His preciosu blood that had been poured out just for me. Recently I have had the joy of sharing the Lord's Supper Covenant with my 8 year old grand daughter and it brought me to a humble and clear love once again.

What do they have in common? Matthew 8:5-13; the Roman centurian had more faith than anyone Jesus had met in Israel. ( this man was a Gentile) Matthew 21:33-44; Jesus said that the tax collectors and prostitutes believed more readily than His own. Matthew 22:2-13; this is the parable about the wedding feast and the guests acted bad by making excuses and not coming....so the door was opened to the good and bad.....I would think that is the Gentiles. Matthew 24:14; and the gospel will be preached to ALL nations Matthew 28:19. go to all nations and baptize them What relation does the visit of the wise men have to Matthew's theme of bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles? The Magi were not Jewish...so this had reached them through study and they came as foreign people to worship the King of the Jews. How should we be applying this mandate in our own lives? We should be eager and happy to share the love we have for Jesus with others....to bring more to the Kingdom of Jesus.

Why was it appropriate for the Magi bring gifts to the Christ-child? It would have been appropriate because the Magi came to see the King of the Jews....they had followed a star to Bethleham and would have wanted to bring gifts worthy of a King. How does the extravagance of their gifts reflect their heart attitude? They brought gold....the most valuable of metals...to show the value they placed on this experience. This would have been an import item...even back then. Frankincence was highly valued for embalming or religious rituals and was also expensive. Myrrh was a valued perfume and also used in anointing. I think their hearts were in the right place.....they gave all that they knew to be of high value for the baby King. What kinds of gifts are appropriate for us to bring? It is needed for us to give Him our all.....our heart, our love, our devotion....our belief in His diety.

What do we learn from seeing the Magi prostrating themselves before the child Jesus? That they knew in their hearts this indeed was the King of the Jews that they had sought. This was the Child they had followed the star to see.....the Messiah. What was the significance of this for them? They had left their homeland on a mission....probably about two years they had travelled.....they were rightly awed and thrilled to see the King of Kings.... How can we emulate this kind of worship? I think that we need to trust and believe...so many times we want proof....to make use of logic and our sensibility...the magi stepped out in faith to see a Baby Boy...the Son of God....the Messiah.

What is the significance of the Star of Bethlehem that the Magi saw? This was gthe fulfillment of prophecy from the book of Numbers....a star will come out of Jacob. Why do you think the Magi came to find the Christ-child when they saw the star? I think they were probably astrologers of the day and this star in the east held such interest for them, they knew it was the King of the Jews who was born. They seemed to be men of study and perhaps had been waiting for this sign. In what way was does prophecy prefigure this event? The prophecy may have been originally interpreted to be about David....but later I think the scholars knew it was a prophecy regarding the Messiah.

Great joy, praise, curiosity, amazement, telling others, thoughtful meditation. Which of these responses to the Good News are present in your life? Telling others.....thoughtful meditation, and great joy. In what manner do they show themselves? I want to share with others my love of Christ...I enjoy and try to stay faithful in study....to really try to know the Word. If some are missing, why? The things that are missing are because of me.....not Christ. I want to be amazed......to be always curious and full of praise. I guess it is a daily walk and growth. What can you do to recover these responses? I can lean more fully on Him and His word.....trust His love for me.

What are the three titles of Jesus given by the angels? Savior. Christ the Lord, Messiah What does each mean? Savior: one who rescues, one who delivers, preserver Christ the Lord: anointed one, owner, lord, master, one of high position Messiah: Yahweh....the living God What does this tell us about Jesus' true identity? He is the truth, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, He is the Beginning....He is the Christ, He is the Savior, all in a baby boy born by virgin birth in Bethlehem.

Why do you think the message of Jesus' birth comes to shepherds, of all people? This would seem to be the choice of God to come to as the lowest....Christ was coming to be a servant to mankind and who better to represent the lowly people than shepherds. Why is Jesus born in a stable with a manger for a bed? It shows that He gave up all and emptied Himself to be a God for us.....to have His first bed where the cattle ate or drank.....what humility. This has to be intentional. What point is God making? I think He wants us to get over ourselves and see if Christ Jesus did this....who are we ????

Why do you think the journey to Bethlehem was difficult for Mary? First of all she is a little young teenage girl.....riding on a donkey over bumpy roads or paths.....in the end time of her pregnancy for 4 long days.....if they made good time. She has to be wondering and thining all of the time about God's plan for her....she has not yet been with her husband and she is already the subject of gossip.....WOW....I do not know if difficult is a strong enough word for her trip. Is pleasure an indication that we are in God's will or not? No.....I think we can be in the center of God's will and there may be a world of hurt, chaos or grief around us....and YET HE LIVES...... Any examples from your life? Extra Credit: Argue for or against this proposition: "Being a consistent Christian causes more hardships than just going with the flow." My life has been full of ups and downs.....but I have to tell you that if it were not for the hardships I would not recognize the blessings. My desire is to be a servant.....and that journey has led to conflict, turmoil and tears...but walking with Jesus is my love.

Why does Luke name the rulers in 2:1-2? What point is he making? He names Quinius to prove the point that this is a part of recorded history....not just some myth or story passed down through the ages. If this is history then we can know it is true and see the Old Testament prophecies come to pass in the New Testament events, such as a first time census.

What does Joseph accepting Mary as his wife say about his character? It shows that he was of a high moral character....he beleived and obeyed God. It is that simple and that complicated..... What is the significance for prophetic fulfillment of Jesus as a Son of David that Joseph "named" the child "Jesus"? The fact that Joseph named the baby Jesus meant that he assumed the role of earthly father and made Him in the lineage of David as was prophecied.