prayer warriors (following Jesus Christ, everyone welcome)

[ocap]

@lazy gardener

Who was the other "one of the two?" mentioned in John 1:40?

John (the author of John) never calls himself by name, was it him?

 

[shortgrass]

Thanks for sharing those, SG! Now, moving on:
[COLOR=000000]Per request of Jake, we are going to start a study of the apostles. The first one will be Peter. I will try to present this study in a chronological order, but will most likely step out of sequence. The goal will be to weave Peter's story together as it relates to Jesus. Hopefully, we will be able to come away from this study with a clearer understanding of who Peter was, How Jesus impacted him, how Peter impacted the church, and how we can apply what we see in Peter's life to our own lives and our walks with Jesus.
Simon Peter was the son of Jonas. He was a fisherman who lived in Bethsaida and Capernaum. He was married.
Before telling Peter's story, I want to lay a bit of ground work. Starting with John the Baptist, when Jesus came to him to be baptized. This may have been the first meeting between John and Jesus since before they were both born. If you recall, John leapt in his mother's (Elizabeth's) womb when Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus. Even prior to birth, John, by revelation of the Holy Spirit recognized the Messiah.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=39547F]John 1:29-42[/COLOR]
[COLOR=23221F]29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”[/COLOR]
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[[COLOR=B34B2C]f [/COLOR]]
[COLOR=000000]John’s Disciples Follow Jesus[/COLOR]

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
[COLOR=23221F]40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
Questions:
Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. Why did he leave John to follow Jesus?
Who was the other "one of the two?" mentioned in John 1:40?
After spending the day with Jesus, What did Andrew do next?
How does this correlate to our response when we meet Jesus as our Savior?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=39547F]Matthew 4:18-20 [/COLOR]
[COLOR=23221F]Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Questions:
Ever have a moment in your life when life takes an immediate detour from the expected?
Consider the emotions that can accompany a sudden life change. Now... back to Andrew and Peter... What were they thinking as they left their livelihood, their community, their families, and all that was familiar to them to follow this stranger? How do you think their families reacted?
Does this verse fit the context of the above situation? Luke 14:26[/COLOR] [COLOR=001320]"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple.[/COLOR]

I'm going to start with the "what were their families thinking" question... Specifically, Peters wife. If I put it in context of 2017, I'm not sure it would do justice. So I need to go back in time...to what, approximately 30 AD? They were Jewish. Waiting for the Messiah. Big deal in that day... Now, noticing that Jesus was asked to heal his mother in law, I'm assuming the family was still intact. Peter didn't just run off into the sunset, he FOUND THE MESSIAH! I'm fairly certain also, that since Paul mentioned that Peter could "lead" a wife and the other disciples could "lead" their families, I'm also going to believe that Peter did in fact, keep his wife in the loop. Wives weren't quite as privileged back then as they are now, so she obviously had no say and Peter did not need her "permission" to do anything. If I try to put my mind back in time and look at it from a Jewish wife's standpoint, I would have been thrilled that my husband had found the Messiah. And I would trust that my husband was a man of God and following the truth. Now, if I fast forward to 2017, I could parallel it with military service. A man goes off to war on occasion,leaving the family at home, in order to "serve". So, this day and age, if a husband and wife are both united and godly people, the same would apply. I would be overjoyed that my husband had decided to be a servant rather than a king. But a servant TO the King, nonetheless. To worldy people, this would just be nuts. They'd freak out, try to put dad in the nuthouse, a divorce would probably ensue... Maybe even getting sued by the wife and cast away from the family. Based on scripture(that I will dig up when the girls are off to school) I believe Peters wife was not only accepting of it, but possibly happy?.... It's too hard to put conjecture and assumptions in there with so few verses to go on and I don't want to " assume", but I suppose that's what I just did lol, please do correct me if I'm off the mark

 

[ocap]

@lazy gardener

How does this correlate to our response when we meet Jesus as our Savior?

Is the partial answer in this song?

 

[lazy gardener]

Ocap, there are no right or wrong answers here. It is merely an invitation to dig a bit deeper, and examine our emotional response to the events prevented in scripture. And, yes, you are right in the fact that time in history, and culture dictated by that time, and Judaism of the day plays a major role in the response of the people. Yet, human emotion is universal. I'll with hold further comment until folks have had a chance to respond. But, you've moved on to the next segment, so I'll add the verses. I am only pulling up a few verses, perhaps only using one book of the gospels, so I invite the readers to flesh out the presentation by adding pertinent verses from the other gospels, and perhaps adding some other NT or OT verses as they relate. Love the addition of song as it pertains to the context of our Peter study.

So, here's the next part of the story:

Luke 4:38-39
Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.

Question:
Was this a miracle?
Have you ever experienced such an event in your life? If so, share if you'd like.

 

[shortgrass]

Oops lol, ok I need to learn to slow down and not hop to the last question first .... I have to go back anyway to understand the order of events...

So beep beep beep, backing up....


Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. Why did he leave John to follow Jesus?

The answer to this is in John 1:35-39

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”


They literally RAN away from John the baptist as soon as he said "look! The lamb of God!" ...it was akin to a bunch of teenage girls at a sock hop seeing John Lennon and taking off to just be close to him (sorry about the comparison but its kinda the same kind of thrilling emotion IMO)

So they ask where he's staying and Jesus just pretty much says, "come see for yourself".. Direct command. And they follow it.




Who was the other "one of the two?" mentioned in John 1:40?
Ocap covered that one, and I agree....


After spending the day with Jesus, What did Andrew do next?

That one is at John 1:39-42, specifically verse 41-42


39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter)


He went and found his brother, Peter to tell him the news of the Messiah! He immediately started "witnessing" to others...





Let me add here, in context if what I did when I first became a Christian...I called my mom, my sisters, my best friend, my ex, and a bunch of lawyers and my probation officer and told them how amazing it was and asked if they knew Jesus


I got mixed responses lol...the biggest one from my PO, who got all excited and said, "that's AMAZING!" ...but then I saw her at church when I started going, and have since also ran into the DA and the judge that presided over my case, ALL at my church

No wonder she was so excited for me, she already knew the good news!

 

[ChickenMama6RIR]

Drops in the ocean by hawk nelson! Such a powerful song

 

[LauraBrown]

My dear friends,
I humbly ask for your prayers as my community and surrounding communities were hit by a large tornado. My family was extremely lucky, as the tornado passed just a few hundred feet from our house. We only sustained minor damage and a tree landed just feet from our house. Others were not so fortunate. Entire houses destroyed, farms and grain bins demolished, and livelihoods greatly damaged. Fortunately, there are only reports of minor injuries and sadly one fatality. I ask that you keep everyone who have lost their homes and property in your prayers and especially that one family who has lost a loved one.

"The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit." -Psalm 34:18


A large tree, just feet from our house.

The path the tornado took behind our house. This area was previously thick with trees.

House destroyed in Elkville, IL

Damaged property in Mulkeytown, IL

House virtually destroyed near Vergennes, IL

Definitely! So glad y'all are okay! Abt 7 years ago we had a tornado here and we sat in the basement and prayed.. after if was over we went outside and it had jumped right over our house,but did a good bit of damage to the yard. God is so amazing!

 

[ocap]

Ocap, there are no right or wrong answers here. It is merely an invitation to dig a bit deeper, and examine our emotional response to the events prevented in scripture. And, yes, you are right in the fact that time in history, and culture dictated by that time, and Judaism of the day plays a major role in the response of the people. Yet, human emotion is universal. I'll with hold further comment until folks have had a chance to respond. But, you've moved on to the next segment, so I'll add the verses. I am only pulling up a few verses, perhaps only using one book of the gospels, so I invite the readers to flesh out the presentation by adding pertinent verses from the other gospels, and perhaps adding some other NT or OT verses as they relate. Love the addition of song as it pertains to the context of our Peter study.

So, here's the next part of the story:

Luke 4:38-39
Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.

Question:
Was this a miracle?
Have you ever experienced such an event in your life? If so, share if you'd like.

Was this a miracle?

Miracle or providential, I choose miracle

 

[lazy gardener]

I don't think there is an "off the mark" here. Merely a question to elicit some thought! IMO, if she agreed that Peter had met the Messiah, she would have been elated. She would have packed a lunch for him! But, it also would have placed her under hardship. Every woman knows how difficult it is to keep the home fires burning when hubby is away. Good assumption and break down about how different folks would have responded: Those who believed, the skeptics, and the worldly.

@lazy gardener

How does this correlate to our response when we meet Jesus as our Savior?

Is the partial answer in this song?

Powerful song. I had a hard time following the video story line. I'd like you to explain your take on it. Had hubby watch it with me, and between us, I think we got it, but still would love to have input re: other's response to this video.

Ocap, there are no right or wrong answers here. It is merely an invitation to dig a bit deeper, and examine our emotional response to the events prevented in scripture. And, yes, you are right in the fact that time in history, and culture dictated by that time, and Judaism of the day plays a major role in the response of the people. Yet, human emotion is universal. I'll with hold further comment until folks have had a chance to respond. But, you've moved on to the next segment, so I'll add the verses. I am only pulling up a few verses, perhaps only using one book of the gospels, so I invite the readers to flesh out the presentation by adding pertinent verses from the other gospels, and perhaps adding some other NT or OT verses as they relate. Love the addition of song as it pertains to the context of our Peter study.

So, here's the next part of the story:

Luke 4:38-39
Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.
Question:
Was this a miracle?
Have you ever experienced such an event in your life? If so, share if you'd like.

Most assuredly, I believe this was a miracle. One does not immediately jump up from a sick bed, having had a fever, and have the energy to start serving guests. And yes, I have experienced miracles in my life. I had one instance where I was taking care of a neighbor's house for her. The place was incredibly filthy. The kind of filth that you could not imagine without seeing it. I had tweaked my back, to the point that I couldn't get up without rolling to the floor on my hands and knees, then pulling up to stand. But, I had determined that I was going to do an act of love for her before she came home. I determined that I was going to at least clean her floors. They were covered with all manner of filth. So, I gathered cleaning supplies, and went to her house. I used lots of bleach and lots of Simple Green. Went in her house, started to fill my bucket... and my back was healed. Just as quickly as that. God healed my back so I could get the job done. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had a respiratory flu that laid me flat. Coughing to the point of throwing up. No antibiotics b/c I was pregnant. Weeks of unrelenting cough, to the point that my ribs were sore. Then, I went into labor. That cough stopped. Suddenly. I had no symptoms while I was in labor. Unfortunately that cough came back after my son was born, but God took it away so I could get the job done. My husband was hospitalized with acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. At the time survival rate was 10%. The nurses were talking about 3 expected deaths one of the early nights when he was in ICU. 2 of the three died, but God preserved my husband. Other miracles in my life, and family's lives as well, but these three stand out.

Oops lol, ok I need to learn to slow down and not hop to the last question first

.... I have to go back anyway to understand the order of events...

So beep beep beep, backing up....

Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. Why did he leave John to follow Jesus?

The answer to this is in John 1:35-39

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”


They literally RAN away from John the baptist as soon as he said "look! The lamb of God!" ...it was akin to a bunch of teenage girls at a sock hop seeing John Lennon and taking off to just be close to him (sorry about the comparison but its kinda the same kind of thrilling emotion IMO)

So they ask where he's staying and Jesus just pretty much says, "come see for yourself".. Direct command. And they follow it.

Who was the other "one of the two?" mentioned in John 1:40?
Ocap covered that one, and I agree....

After spending the day with Jesus, What did Andrew do next?

That one is at John 1:39-42, specifically verse 41-42

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter)

He went and found his brother, Peter to tell him the news of the Messiah! He immediately started "witnessing" to others...

Let me add here, in context if what I did when I first became a Christian...I called my mom, my sisters, my best friend, my ex, and a bunch of lawyers and my probation officer and told them how amazing it was and asked if they knew Jesus

I got mixed responses lol...the biggest one from my PO, who got all excited and said, "that's AMAZING!" ...but then I saw her at church when I started going, and have since also ran into the DA and the judge that presided over my case, ALL at my church

No wonder she was so excited for me, she already knew the good news!

Agreed, that was the first thing I did when I got saved. However, it didn't go so well for me. I was just a kid, and a very shy one at that. Tried to share the good news with my best friend, and she ridiculed the daylights out of me. Then, I prayed for a Christian friend. God gave me that the next year at school. New kid in the class. She and I became best buddies.

 

[lazy gardener]

Next event in Peter's story:

Matthew 17:24-27
When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?" When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. read more.
"However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me."

Questions:

What is the two drachma tax?

What was the significance of Jesus asking Peter if kings collect tax from their sons or strangers?

If the son of the king is exempt from paying the tax, what is Jesus implying?

Was the method of procuring the drachma tax money a miracle?