Lisa Rupert

Q4. (Matthew 5:13-15) How do verses 13-16 relate to verses 10-12? How does hiding our light affect the glory of God? Why must glory and suffering go hand in hand? Was Jesus' suffering necessary? Is ours? What does this have to do with Romans 12:2? By letting our "light shine" and by being the "salt of the earth" we are representing God and we are saying that we chose Him. This helps us to stand firm in our Faith. If we hide our light then we can not be true in our works and deeds. Our word has to shine through and be a flavoring to this world or it's meaning will be nothing but blind faith to others who or unaware. We will be persecuted, for Christ who is innocent was persecuted for his namesake. His followers even to this day are/were persecuted for their faith. Giving glory and honor to the Lord is essential to the Father in all we are and in all we do. Jesus' suffering and persecution gave us the chance for a relationship with our Father.

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable? This parable reminds me of the song "This little light of mines, I'm gonna let it shine". What good is it to be a part of the light (Jesus) if your light doesn't shine through? It is important to let who we are in Christ shine through.

Q1. (Matthew 5:13) In what sense are Christians the "salt of the earth" using the preservation analogy? In what sense are Christians the "salt of the earth" using the seasoning analogy? I believe that the analogies for the preservation and the seasoning of "salt of the earth" means that we should use conviction and passion through our examples when addressing the Word to others, through prayer and teaching.

Q5. (Matthew 5:8) Why can people with a pure heart see, know, and discern God? Why can't "chronic" sinners see God? How do we obtain the pure or clean heart that Jesus describes? Those that possess a "pure heart" are those that acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and has walked among man with a pure clean heart and remained sinless through his journey, and gave his life for the sinner by paying the sin debt with blood, his blood on the cross. Those that ask that their hearts be made pure and clean and they strive for a Christ-like life are the ones that see, know and discern God. They seek God, they thirst for him and their nourishment can only be fullfilled through the feeding of his Word. Chronic sinners don't see God because they are earthly people they seek after self gratification instead of seeking The Kingdom of God. They don't request him, or acknowledge him, they don't seek him or obtain their nourishment through his feeding of the Word. They choose to be in control of their life and destination instead of putting their trust and belief in God. We can obtain a good clean pure heart as described by Jesus by following the Word which directs us to live a Christ-like life.

Q4. (Matthew 5:6) How can an intense desire for righteousness put you at odds with the world? What sort of righteousness is Jesus talking about, do you think? What promise are we given in this Beatitude? An intense desire for righteousness can put one on the opposite side of what the world wants and desires because our wants and desires are that we thirst and hunger for the Lord. We live in a world that stores it's treasures here on earth rather than storing it's treasure in the Kingdom of God. Those that seek after righteousness are thought of as having the wrong idea when it comes to earthly treasures, instead we look forward to our reward which we will receive in heaven. We are given the promises in this beatitude that we will be filled with the blessing. "Those who seek righteousness will find it; those who thirst for righteousness will be filled to the brim with it". The righteousness that only one can receive once the new man in Christ is brought about within you.

[font=Georgia]Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? How is humility important to Christlikeness? The world does not value those that are gentle in it, instead they believe that you have to be on top of the game, everything is about getting yours, win at all cost, no matter what and we know these are not qualities of those that show gentleness and kindness because you have to be shrewd, smart, and cunning to play in the big leagues, forsaking everything just to get that edge. Putting your family, your health, and the most precious things in life in a backseat so that you can be one of the players. We must remember that it is the "meek" not the "proud" that will inherit this earth. Those are the qualities that Christ brought forth to us, to be kind, loving, caring, gentle, patient, courageous, gentle in heart, and considerate to others. We must humble ourselves in all we do, this is the requirement of a Chrisitan because in Christ is where you find your strength.[/font]

Q2. (Matthew 5:3-4) Why is it necessary to be aware of your spiritual poverty before you can become a Christian? What kind of mourning is necessary for a person to become a Christian? What kind of mourning is a common experience of Christians? (See Isaiah 61:2-3; Ezekiel 9:4.) It is important to be aware of your spiritual poverty in order to surrender your life over to Christ, getting rid of the old man and putting on the new man, surrendering all over to him. The kind of mourning that we experience once we are awaken to the truth is part of the Chrisitan experience, knowing that we are not and have never been able to do anything without our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We mourn because we are no longer blind but now we see.

Q1. (Matthew 5:3-11) Each Beatitude consists of two parts. What are these parts? Why do you think Jesus made each Beatitude a paradox? What is the relationship of the Beatitudes to the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)? The two parts of the Beatitude are the blessing and the extent of the blessing or the reward that follows the blessing. The Beatitudes were made into a paradox for understanding or an explanation. The relationship with the Beatitudes and the Fruit of the Spirit is that the Beatitudes are the instructions on making the works of the Fruit of the Spirit existent in ones being. They coincide with each other which means one without the other can not work.

[font=Georgia]Q4. Read Matthew 8:5-13; 21:33-44; 22:2-13; 24:14; and 28:19. What do they have in common? What relation does the visit of the wise men have to Matthew's theme of bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles? How should we be applying this mandate in our own lives? The scriptures all have in common the fact that Jesus is Lord over all who believe. The Magi were the first Gentiles to witness Christ and they told everyone they met about the birth of the Savior. We to should spread the Good News of the Savior.[/font]

Q3. (Matthew 2:11b) Why was it appropriate for the Magi bring gifts to the Christ-child? How does the extravagance of their gifts reflect their heart attitude? What kinds of gifts are appropriate for us to bring? In those times it was a tradition for gifts to be brought to the King, one would never visit a King without presenting gifts to him. So the Magi knew they were going to visit a King and they brought him gifts according to tradition. They not only brought gifts but they brought the finest of gifts as you would bring to a King. The kinds of gifts we can bring are our worship and praises, our faithfulness, our mindfulness, as humble obedient children who demonstrate our love for our King.

[font=Georgia]Q2. (Matthew 2:11a) What do we learn from seeing the Magi prostrating themselves before the child Jesus? What was the significance of this for them? How can we emulate this kind of worship? The Magi bowed down to worship the Christ child the King of Kings, the King of the Jews, the Savior born just as it had been prophecied. They were humble before the King, the Christ, the Savior of mankind. We can also submitted ourselves over to our King, our Savior, our God. We can show ourselves gratful through our worship and our praises, showing our faithfulness for he is the one born to save us, our rescuer, our redeemer, our Christ.[/font]

[font=Georgia]Q1. (Matthew 2:1-2; Numbers 24:17) What is the significance of the Star of Bethlehem that the Magi saw? The significance of the Star of Bethlehem to the Magi was that it was a sign to find the new Jewish Kings birth that was prophecied. Why do you think the Magi came to find the Christ-child when they saw the star? The Magi were astrologiers and they followed the stars and the signs, the interpretation of dreams which they knew of as the prophesy of the birth of the Christ child the new King of The Jews that would come and rule over the Jewish Kingdom. In what way was does prophecy prefigure this event? The birth of the Christ child has been told throughout the Torah, the birth of the one who would come and rescue the Jewish people.[/font]

Q4. (Luke 2:11) What are the three titles of Jesus given by the angels? What does each mean? What does this tell us about Jesus' true identity? The titles of Jesus given by the angels are; Messiah Christ the Lord, the owner, Lord over all or master, Yehweh which means divinity or divine, royal, holy, and Savior, the one who saves or rescues. "The angel brought good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" (2:10-11) He was also connected to David by ancestory, this prophesy was from ancient times 730 years before by the prophet Micah, fullfilling this prophecy that the Jews have longed for. "And this Savior will bring both salvation from enemies and from sin -- but not just to the Jews but also to the Gentiles -- all people!"

Q3. (Luke 2:7-8) Why do you think the message of Jesus' birth comes to shepherds, of all people? Why is Jesus born in a stable with a manger for a bed? This has to be intentional. What point is God making? The message of Jesus' birth was shown to the shepherds because they were the symbol of who Jesus was sorting, the ones of whom Christ became, Jesus chose to be born poor because his mission was to serve the poor so he made himself the poorest of the poor. By man on this earth the shepherd was considered one of the lowest of people. Jesus' commission was to teach the good news to the poor. I also believe that Jesus was a shepherd to the people, he would lead them and guide them and protect them, just as the shepherd lead, provided guidance and protected the sheep, so was Jesus who also came as a servant to his people.

Q2. Why do you think the journey to Bethlehem was difficult for Mary? Is pleasure an indication that we are in God's will or not? 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." The journey to Bethlehem was very difficult for Mary, she was preganant, riding on a donkey, carrying a child, in the winter, and this was her first child, I am sure she was afraid. I believe that pleasure is also an indication but hardship is an indication also. How could you effectively have joy without ever experiencing pain? One can not exist without the other. Or one would not understand what the other was if life was only full of joy or only full of pain. God uses hardships for our benefit, so we can understand and learn from the lessons we are taught aiding us into becoming obedient Christians and experiencing his love as being true and real.

Q1. (Luke 2:1-2) Why does Luke name the rulers in 2:1-2? What point is he making? Luke named the rulers as proof of the time of Jesus' birth and life through history.

Q5. (1:24-25) What does Joseph accepting Mary as his wife say about his character? What is the significance for prophetic fulfillment of Jesus as a Son of David that Joseph "named" the child "Jesus"? Joseph was a righteous, devout, obedient, faithful, servant of God and he carefully observed the law. He was obedient and did exactly what the angel of God told him to do. He was a good husband and father and he protected his family. He was chosen by God and lived to prove his faithfulness. In Luke it tells of how Joseph lineage was a direct descendant of David and of whom the Messiah would come. Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit and is the "Son of God" but legally according to law he was the son of Mary and Joseph and heir to the promises of David through Joseph whom was a direct descedant of David and Abraham fulfilling the prophecy.

Q4. (Matthew 1:23) How did the prophetic concept of the virgin conception and the name "Immanuel" find their fullness in the birth of Jesus to Mary? The prophesy told by Isaiah described the "Virgin Birth" who would be named "Immanuel" or God with us. This prophesy was filled in the New Testament with the conception and birth of Christ. Matthew spoke of the connection of the prophesy Isaiah made about the virgin birth of Jesus to Mary.

Q3. (Matthew 1:21) What is the significance of the name Jesus? Why do you think the angel gave the name to both Mary (Luke 1:31) and Joseph independently? Jesus' name means Yahweh or to Save, the one whose destiny is to save his people from the power of sins. The name represents the mission. It was given to both his parents independently so that they would both know the significance of his name and the importance of his mission. The angel wanted to make sure they both understood that Jesus' mission would be to save his people from the power of sin and that he was not going to fight wars because his mission was not political or military his destiny wasn't to overthrow the Roman Kingdom oppressors or to reinstate the Jewish kingdom. The primary mission was to overthrow the power of sin and to save his people from the power of sin.

Q2. (Matthew 1:19) What were Mary's options being pregnant and carrying a baby not her husband's? What kind of character did Joseph exhibit by deciding to divorce Mary quietly and leniently? Mary would face rejection from her husband, embarrasment, her family would be shamed, she could be stoned, she would be labeled as an adulterer, she would be shunned and because of all of this she would not be able to remarry because everyone in the town knew of her indiscretion, she couldn't move away and live along because women didn't live along in those days. Joseph was a righteous man who only wanted to do what was right, he loved Mary but he loved God too. He didn't want to hurt her that is why he was going to quietly divorce her because all of this which went against the Jewish law that Joseph followed righteously. He just wanted to do the right thing for Mary and what he believed that would be pleasing to God.

Q1. What would Jesus have learned as the son of a carpenter? What experiences would this have exposed him to? I believe that Jesus learned as the son of a carpenter that here was a plain piece of wood and he saw how his father reconstructed this piece of dry wood from nothing into something valuable, the very same thing Jesus was here to do as the Savior, he would teach us how to reconstruct our bodies, our minds and our hearts and rebuild them into Christ like bodies rebuking the sins of the flesh so that we could serve the Lord God our father righteously.

Q5. (Luke 1:42-43) In what sense are the titles "Blessed Virgin Mary" and "Mother of God" appropriate for Mary? Why are we sometimes hesitant to exalt her as "blessed among women"? The titles "Blessed Virgin Mary and "Mother of God" are both appropriate titles for Mary for she is both, she is blessed because God choose her to bare the Son of God and she cared and nurtured and gave birth to the Son of God. We are hesitant to exalt her because Jesus said we should not exalt anyone but God. But we can remember her for being the Mother of God, the woman who was chosen by God to bare the Savior.

[font=Georgia]Q4. (Luke 1:38) What is the essence of Mary's positive response to the angel? What can we learn from her response for our own lives? In what sense was Mary's response an "informed consent"? When we respond to God, what do we consent to? Mary's positive response was a demonstration of her service and proved that she was a true servant of the Lord. She was humble and obedient, willing and ready to serve God in whatever his will was for her. We should all remember that we too are servants and should spend our life in servitude to the Lord. Her response was one of an obedient child and we should remember that we should all be obedient children and should serve his will just as his Son Jesus was here to serve the will of the Father.[/font]

Q3. (Luke 1:35) What does the virgin conception teach us about Jesus' nature? How central is the doctrine of the virgin conception to the Christian message? The virgin conception teaches us that Jesus is the divine being joined with human. Mary's child was conceived by the Holy Spirit and is holy and was born the Son of God. This message was a fullfillment of Prophesy, God's own words brought into truth.

Q2. (Luke 1:34) In what way does Mary's "How?" question (1:34) to the angel's declaration differ from Zechariah's "How?" question (1:18)? Why was Mary rewarded and Zechariah disciplined? Mary's "How" question was a question arose from faith and Zechariah's question was because of doubt or disbelief in what God was capable of doing.