17:1 Last week, we
encountered Noah and Noahic Covenant. This week, we encounter Abraham and the Abrahamic Covenant.
How do these two covenants inform our understanding of Lent and Easter?
Abraham was only ninety-nine year old? Well, at least he was not one hundred
years old!
17:2 Of all people, why did
God Almighty choose Abraham?
17:3 Why does Abram fall on
his face? Why do we no longer fall on our faces when we encounter God Almighty?
17:4 What is the meaning of
“nations”?
17:5 Why does God change
Abram’s name to Abraham? Note the use of the past tense “I have made you”.
17:6 Will Abraham be exceedingly
fruitful or will his descendants be exceedingly fruitful?
17:7 In verse 17:2 God Almighty
promises to establish a covenant with Abraham.
In this verse, the promise is extended to Abraham’s offspring.
17:15 Why does God have
Abraham change Sarai’s name to Sarah?
17:16 What is the
difference between a covenant and a blessing?
22:23 What does the
psalmist mean by “fear”? Why does the psalmist refer to offspring of
Jacob/Israel rather than Abraham?
22:24 Is the Psalmist the
afflicted?
22:25 What is the great
congregation? What vows will be paid?
22:26 Why “poor” rather
than “hungry” if the issue is their being fed?
22:27 Remember what? Why “families
of the nations” rather than just “nations”?
22:29 Is life being
contrasted with death? How can the dead bow down?
22:30-31 Is this promise
for the church as much as for Abraham and his offspring? How does one proclaim
anything to the yet unborn?
4:13 Did only Abraham have
faith, or did his descendants also have faith? What came first, the promise or
Abraham’s faith?
4:14 This sounds logical.
4:15 Again, this sounds logical.
Whose wrath does the law bring?
4:16 What does Paul mean by
“the faith of Abraham”?
4:18 Is “hoping against
hope” the same as “faith”?
4:19 Is hope or faith ever
misplaced?
4:20 This sounds like faith
is trust rather than assent to doctrine. Is distrust the opposite of faith? Is
distrust the same as doubt?
4:21 God may be able to do
what God promised, but does God always do what God is able to do?
4:22 What is Paul quoting?
4:23 How could anything
written about Abraham be written for Abraham’s sake alone?
4:24 It seems Paul is now arguing
that faith is belief rather than trust. How are belief and trust the same and
how are they different?
4:25 Must one believe only
that Jesus was raised, or that he died for or trespasses and was raised for our
justification?
8:31 Why does Jesus not
begin to preach this until Chapter eight? How many people in the pews
understand “Son of Man” language? How much time should a preacher spend in a
sermon unpacking “Son of Man” language?
8:32 Did Jesus not always
speak openly? Why did Peter rebuke
Jesus?
8:33 Why did Jesus look at
the disciples rather than looking at Peter when he rebuked Peter? What might be
the multi-faceted meaning of “Get behind me Satan”? What are the “divine things”
Peter out to be setting his mind on?
8:34 What cross? Is this
the first time in Mark that Jesus or anyone else has mentioned a cross?
8:35 I think this is the
kernel of wisdom in the husk of this passage. Was Peter seeking to save hi own
life or the life of Jesus?
8:36 Is this anything like
the Faustian bargain?
8:37 Is this a rhetorical
question?
8:38 Who might Jesus have
in mind when he refers to those who are ashamed of him? Was this warning only
for those in Jesus’ day, or for the readers Mark was writing to and for, or for
all generations? I can not recall ever being ashamed of Jesus but I have sometimes been ashamed of what others, including the Church, have done, and are doing,
in his name.
ADDENDUM
I am currently serving at the Interim Pastor of The Presbyterian Church of Cadiz, worshiping at 154 West Market Street, Cadiz, Ohio, every Sunday at
11:00 AM. Please
like The Presbyterian Church on facebook.
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