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Q3. (Matthew 1:21) What is the significance of the name Jesus? It is [the name Jesus, Joshua] the oldest name containing the divine name Yahweh, and means

Q3. (Hebrews 2:10) What does it mean, to bring many sons and daughters "to glory"? I think at times Paul speaks of glory (glorify, glorification-for example Rom 8 17-18) as a summary of all the amazing things of the age to come for those in Christ-this glory is to be revealed when Christ returns, and it is something that is Christ

Q2. (Hebrews 2:9) In what way did Christ "taste death for everyone"? Jesus experienced death!-Amazing eh! The 2nd person of the Godhead, the co creator of the worlds experienced death! His heart stopped, no more breathe, He was absolutely 100% dead- a corpse! Not only did He experience death, He experienced a painful death, He suffered in death physically and emotionally, and was murdered and executed as a criminal although He was more innocent than we can understand. Later we read that through this act He rendered powerless the one who had power over death

Q2. (Matthew 1:19) What were Mary's options being pregnant and carrying a baby not her husband's? Really there was very little in the way of options, stoned or shunned by community, no option of remarriage, servant hood or prostitution

Q1. (Hebrews 2:9) In what ways did Jesus suffer during his life and death? Persecution, antagonism, temptation (but never sin), being labeled and judged, the horrific physical suffering of the cross, and the acts surrounding the cross (as the case for Christ book entails they had to create a word “excruciating” to describe the measure of pain experienced on the cross). Then tasting death for us, Jesus faced the pain of manifold rejection i.e. from us, and His Father, having the sin of the world thrust upon Him he became a curse (see Galatians). In what ways are we likely to suffer? Does suffering have any value? Our suffering varies from case to case, it is likely we will experience rejection from people at times, and the fight against sin will bring pain (Heb 12:4), relationship breakdowns, and health problems, financial strife most will face at times. Death is going to be faced by all-except if Christ returns before it comes. Hebrews 12 makes it clear that we are to endure hardship as God’s discipline, Jesus was perfected through suffering (Heb 2:10) and God does a mighty work in us, letting us share His holiness through experiencing hardship, so yes suffering has value. And suffering gives us understanding, we can comfort those going through trials because we have been comforted by God in ours (2 Cor 1ff) Jesus’ suffering as a human gave Him understanding, and so in His high priestly role He has great sensitivity to our plight-mercy in a word. What happens when we live in such a way to avoid all suffering? To avoid suffering is to avoid part of God’s process of sanctification, and to avoid understanding. It would mean becoming a hermit, hiding from the church and the world- and thus fail to love and obey Christ.

Q1. What would Jesus have learned as the son of a carpenter? What experiences would this have exposed him to? As the Son of a builder Jesus would have learned: discipline, accurateness, team work and patience. He would have had to rub shoulders with all kinds of people.

Q4. (Hebrews 2:3b-4) In what way has the truth of salvation been confirmed to you? As I look back on my conversion I am aware that the supernatural presence of God was

Q4. (Luke 1:38) What is the essence of Mary's positive response to the angel? I think the essence is- that she viewed her life as belonging to God. The word servant (doule is the feminine version of the male doulos) can be translated slave or Bond-servant. Aristotle spoke of a doulos as merely being a human tool, that of course is the Greek view and the Hebrew view of a bond servant was something a bit different, after 7 years a Bondservant choose either freedom or to servant their master permanently (because they loved serving that master and had found kindness-for the whole picture see Deut 15ff) anyhow Mary saw her self as God

Q3. (Hebrews 2:1) In what ways are we not immune to drifting away from the gospel? The author of Hebrews speaks of drifting away (2:1) and “neglecting” our salvation (2:3) According to the author, how can we successfully resist the tendency to drift? Instead of drifting away and neglect we are to “pay much attention” to what we have heard, a salvation declared by the Lord (2:3), a salvation attested to by witnesses (2:3) and a salvation the God Himself has born witness to through miraculous means (2:4) How did Jesus describe this phenomenon of "drift" in the Parable of the Sower? The seed either never really went under the surface and was stolen away, or it just went under the surface and when it grew it withered, or it was choked by sin and worldly desires-probably of the three it sound most like the first.

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? Zechariah ask

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? Being miraculous it teaches us that He is miraculous! Jesus of course already existed as the Eternal word that was with God and was God (John 1, Phil 2 etc) we are talking about the word becoming flesh and we see something miraculous and mysterious. How did the 2nd Person of the Trinity, who was very God of very God become both fully God and fully man?- there is a mind twister! I think the doctrine of the virgin birth is important, without it how did Jesus come about? Without Him experiencing life as a human (He would have been just Divine without the virgin birth) how could He understand our plight? There are some wonderful passages in Hebrews that speak of Him becoming like us in every way-but without sin! It is also is important for another reason- if it wasn

Q2. (Hebrews 1:2-3) What about the author's description of the Son makes you think that the Son described is himself divine? He is the heir of

Q1. (Hebrews 1:2) In what way do you think the author of Hebrews is using the word "Son"? As a metaphor? As a biological relationship? Man that was a really tricky question to begin with!- I have pondered it and looked at some of the replies, of course Father, Son and Holy Spirit- are the names of the three persons of the Godhead. This relationship is eternal, and we see clearly in the incarnation this unique relationship between the Father and the Son. Some one said in the replies

He will be a son (31) His name will be Jesus (31) He will be great (32) He will be called

Q4. (Psalm 34:18-22) What encouragement does David give to the brokenhearted? The LORD is close to the broken hearted David declares, this remind me of 1Peter where Peter makes it clear that God is present in a special way when we face suffering (1 Peter 4:14

Q3. (Psalm 34:1-3) Why should we praise God continually? Ps 34:1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Ps 34:2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Ps 34:3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. The bottom line is God is worthy of all praise! Reading through this Psalm I can see a great deal of motivation for David in praising God is the goodness of God. There are many references to God saving and delivering from fears and troubles (34:6-7, 17-19) and also references to His protection, vindication and redemption (34:20-22). There are references to answered prayer (34:4-6,15),and provision in times of need (34:9-10). The pinnacle of all the glorious actions of the LORD I think is seen in verse 8 Ps 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. What does continual praise do to our spirit? The goodness of God is motivation for continual praise, and out of this sense of His goodness, and David

Q2. (Psalm 118) What does "the stone the builders rejected" (verses 22-23) have to do with the Messiah? What do verses 25-27 have to do with the Messiah? Jesus is the capstone (cornerstone see quote below) He is foundational in all that God had done, and was going to do, the builders, who were those who were leading the people of God (Mat 21:42) were building without this stone that gave true alignment for all the other stones, thus all that they were building was crooked and unstable. Paul talks about how foundational Jesus is in all that is done in building God

Q1. (Psalm 100) What is the predominant emotion in Psalm 100? How does this psalm make you feel emotionally about God? What are the reasons for praise given in verses 3 and 5? What are the commands in this psalm? I think the predominant emotion is joy-ie- shout for joy-joyful songs- worship the LORD with gladness etc I feel

Q4. (Psalm 51:17) How does one achieve a "broken and contrite heart"? What are the earmarks of this condition? How does this differ from "being sorry" for a sin? How does humility relate to this condition? I think being sorry that our sin was found out by God, and being sorry our sin is offensive to God are two quite different things. Some would carry on in sin if God didn

Psalm 51:10-12 Ps 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Ps 51:11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Ps 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Q3. (Psalm 51:10-12) How is it possible to have a "pure heart" after great sin? I think the answer to this question is linked to one of the next questions i.e. who purifies the heart? David asks God to do a work of grace! With God all things are possible, including making impure hearts pure! What does a "pure heart" consist of? Again I think this question is linked with a future question i.e. relationship between a pure heart and an undivided heart Jesus spoke of the potential of the heart for impurity (or implied also purity) Mat 5:19-20 Gordon MacDonald speak of the heart as the command center of our inner world and so purity or impurity of the heart will drive our actions. I think when the Scripture is speaking of purity of heart it is mainly speaking of undivided devotion to the LORD. 2 Tim 2:22 captures something of this 2Ti 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. There are two aspects in what Paul is speaking about (1) fleeing evil and (2) pursuing the things of God with those who call on God from a pure hearts. This exhortation describes (I think) purity of heart, its like in the 1st chapter of Hebrews where we see God loved the facts that Jesus loved righteousness but hated lawlessness. James (the straight shooter) says

Q2. (Psalm 51:3-6) When David says, "Against you only I have sinned" (4a) is he minimizing his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah? What does he mean by this? David had broken specific covenant commands (see Ex 20) and was acknowledging that he was ultimately accountable to God. I don

Q1. (Psalm 32:2-5) How does self-deceit operate with sin to enslave us? It protects sin! Sin is safe and well in our lives when it is intentionally or unintentionally unnoticed. David talks of no longer covering up his iniquity (32:5), while it is covered up its effects are at work within us. The Scripture speaks of the conscience, and when our conscience is calloused or seared we are less aware of the reality of our sinfulness How does confession enable us to get free from sin? Confession invites God

What similarities do you see between the words of Psalm 22 and the events of Jesus' crucifixion? The Father turning His face away as Christ is made as sin offering- i.e. seen in the statement

Q3. (Psalm 22:1) Why do you think Jesus spoke the words of Psalm 22:1? What was he seeking to express? What was he feeling? How did God answer his plea? A very powerful Psalm indeed! Jesus spoke these prophetic words as a fulfillment of God

Why do you think that Jesus asked the Pharisees about verse 1, "If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" What point was Jesus making? That Jesus was greater than David, He was David