Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2551 to 2575 of 4962 results

2551. How the Lord has Covered the Daughter of Zion

Lamentations 2:1-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... here adopts a different perspective. If pressed, he would acknowledge the people’s blame (1:5, 8, etc.), but he elicits the reader’s sympathy for those who have been destroyed. Perhaps he is trying to elicit divine sympathy for their plight with the hope that God would restore their fortunes. 2:15–16 Samek/Pe. As the psalms witness, nothing is more depressing than an enemy rejoicing over one’s downfall. The psalmist beseeches God: Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let ...

2552. The Man Among Myrtle Trees

Zechariah 1:7-17

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... by military conquest, the northern kingdom in 721 B.C. and the southern kingdom in 586 B.C. This brief saying in verses 14–15 summarizes the postexilic understanding of that judgment, and the reasoning that enabled God’s people to have hope for their future relationship. “I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.” The Lord now expresses passionate attachment to Israel in the form of jealousy for the defeated, demolished, and diminished city and temple. Compassion for beloved Zion had turned God’s ...

2553. Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

Zechariah 7:1-14

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... conditions of illness (e.g., 1 Kgs. 13:6), in the face of threats from enemies (e.g., 1 Sam. 13:12; 2 Kgs. 13:4; 2 Chr. 33:12), or when fearful of God’s judgment (Exod. 32:11; Jer. 26:19; Dan. 9:13)—in the hope that God will provide healing, deliverance, or relief from punishment. Second, the men brought a specific question for the priests and the prophets there. “Should I mourn and [consecrate myself] in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” The Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and ...

2554. A Peaceful Mind

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... product and to inform you about the contents of the mattress. According to law, it is only unlawful to remove the tag prior to the sale and delivery of a mattress to the consumer. Once you have purchased the mattress, it is your right to remove the tag. (3) I hope I’ve set your mind at ease at least about one thing--those of you who go to great lengths to find something to worry about. I’m being frivolous, of course, but I am always amazed at the things people can find to worry about. As some unknown ...

2555. A Grayhound and a Kite

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... on the gift of God’s spirit and allow God’s spirit to do great things through them. That’s the place of worship in our lives. I hope you don’t come to church as you might come to a museum or a theater, to be fascinated or to be entertained. I hope you come here each week prepared to receive a life-changing encounter with God’s Spirit. I hope you come anticipating a God-thing occurring in your own life. Author Anthony De Mello tells a story that I think is particularly appropriate for Pentecost. It ...

2556. The Other Side of Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... church. The love I saw in the faces of people as they sang their favorite Christmas carols. I'm not going to pack that away and wait until Christmas next year to bring it back out. I plan on keeping that love in my heart all year long and I hope you will do. After all, love is what Christmas is all about. And love is what Jesus is all about. If Jesus is in our heart, then his love is in our heart and we keep that love with us always. So, pack away the paper and the ornaments. And ...

2557. The Impending Departure I

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, John 14:15-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... :33, which occasioned the whole series of questions, is still in mind. The scandal of Jesus’ absence is alleviated by an emphasis on hope. Jesus’ assurance to the disciples is that their separation from him will be only for a limited time. The purpose of his departure ... therefore preferable; Jesus is not speaking of belief in God (or himself) in a generalized sense but in relation to a specific hope for the future: “Trust God and trust me; this is what will happen, and there is no cause for fear.” 14: ...

2558. Let Us Love One Another

2 John 1:1-13

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... has (this is, of course, contested by the secessionists and by Diotrephes; see 3 John 9–10), pastoral responsibility for “the care and oversight” of these congregations. The reason for, or perhaps the anticipated result of, the visit is that our joy may be complete. The same hope for fulfilled joy occurs in 1 John 1:4 (cf. John 15:11). There it is one of the reasons for writing (cf. 1 John 2:1). In both cases, joy is a characteristic of Christian communication and fellowship (cf. 1 John 1:3). 13 Just ...

2559. Joy at Believers’ Walking in the Truth

3 John 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... children” (2 John), and one to an individual, Gaius (3 John), were written at the same time. Both express that the author has much left to say, that he is unwilling to write further with “paper and ink” (2 John 12; pen and ink, 3 John 13), and that he hopes to “visit” (2 John 12; see you, 3 John 14) and to talk face to face (2 John 12; 3 John 14). Third John 14 adds the nuance that is not merely the Elder who will talk, but that we will both talk together. There is in 3 John, however ...

2560. The Covenant of Circumcision

Genesis 17:1-27

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... three times in this brief speech. 17:17–18 On hearing God’s words that Sarah was soon to bear a son, Abraham was so flabbergasted, given his and his wife’s advanced age, that he fell facedown and broke out laughing. His response revealed that his hope of having a son by Sarah had been extinguished. Reference to his spontaneous display of incredulity establishes that Abraham did nothing to earn the gift of a son. The birth of Isaac was solely a gift of God’s grace. Neither Sarah nor Abraham could do ...

2561. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... that they might have had of what he was about to do with Isaac. Abraham spoke definitively by using intense Hebrew verbal forms (cohortatives): we will go, we will worship, we will return. He was thereby expressing both his resolve to obey God and his hope for Isaac’s survival. 22:6–8 Acting with even greater deliberation to slow down their arrival at the place of sacrifice, Abraham left the donkey laden with supplies with the servants and continued the journey on foot. He took the wood for the burnt ...

2562. Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

Genesis 28:10-22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... provided direct access to the heavenly realm. Rebekah most likely went to such a place in order to receive a word from God as to why the children in her womb were struggling so fiercely (25:22). People came and lingered at these places in the hope of receiving a special communication from the gods, often through a dream. Such places, being sacred ground, or “houses of the gods,” were normally marked by a monument or shrine. No such marker alerted Jacob that he was lying on sacred ground. God chose this ...

2563. Love the Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... lead us to overlook the primary challenge of the text. It is not being said simply that there is ultimately only one divine reality. Such a claim would certainly not be unique among the religions and philosophies of humankind. Nor is the eschatological hope of Zechariah merely that some day all human beings will profess monotheism of some sort per se. A philosophical monotheism that leaves the divine reality unnamed and characterless is alien (both unknown and hostile) to the OT faith. It is vital to see ...

2564. Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 Kings 1:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... authors that we see the strategy of the speeches in these verses as involving selective exaggeration. There is really nothing in 1:9–10 to suggest that Adonijah’s meal is the coronation banquet it appears to have become in vv. 13, 18–19, 24–25. Is the hope that David will feel compelled to act if he thinks matters have progressed further than they have? Such a strategy would also help to explain why Joab the commander of the army (v. 19) has by v. 25 become the commanders of the army in the plural ...

2565. Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

1 Kings 8:22-61

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... , is the way in which 1 Kgs. 8:46–53 quite consciously uses the language and ideas of Deut. 29:17–27 to evoke this idea of reversal of fortunes in the case of exile in particular. See further J. G. McConville, “1 Kings 8:46–53 and the Deuteronomic Hope,” VT 42 (1992), pp. 67–79, although his assertion that the Kgs. passage and Deut. 30:1–10 differ in their view of Israel’s future must surely be modified if 1 Kgs. 8:33–34 and 46–53 are read as part of the same text. First Kings 8 ...

2566. Hezekiah’s Illness

Isaiah 38:1-22, Isaiah 39:1-8

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... dominated by a down note that also prepares the way for what follows. To put it another way, the first pair of chapters about Hezekiah portray a king of Judah more positively than any king is portrayed anywhere in the book, and thereby provide a vision of hope for the future. Hezekiah is the very embodiment of the kind of king Judah needs and one day will have, by God’s faithfulness. The portrait is thus an idealized one. There, the need is not for a portrait of Hezekiah “warts and all” of the kind ...

2567. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... the scroll God commands the prophet to consume in 2:9–10: “words of lament and mourning and woe.” Only when Jerusalem lies in ruins does the Lord remove this constraint, enabling Ezekiel in the closing chapters of the book to bear a message of hope and possibility (chs. 34–48). Additional Notes 1:1 The thirtieth year. According to Jewish tradition, the thirtieth year counts back to the discovery of the scroll of the law in the temple during Josiah’s reign (2 Kgs. 22:8; see M. Greenberg, Ezekiel 1 ...

2568. Signs and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17, Ezekiel 6:1-14, Ezekiel 7:1-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... . But for Ezekiel there is no righteous remnant. Those whom the Lord has spared from destruction have escaped not because of any virtue of their own, but because the Lord chose to deliver them. For Jerusalem and for Israel as a whole, however, there is no hope. Just as God placed Jerusalem “in the center of the nations” as an example (v. 5), so now Jerusalem’s destruction will stand as a demonstration to the nations of the Lord’s wrath; then “they will know that I the LORD have spoken in my ...

2569. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 21:1-32, Ezekiel 22:1-31

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... side” (v. 14). Escape is impossible: the sword is at the city gates (v. 15), and slashes right and left (v. 16), slaying all before it, “So that hearts may melt and the fallen be many” (v. 15). When the sword has finished its work, and all hope is lost, God claps God’s hands (v. 17), announcing the end of the judgment as Ezekiel had announced its commencement (v. 14). 21:18–24 In this section, the theme of the sword continues with “the sword of the king of Babylon” (v. 19). The unit begins ...

2570. Two Adulterous Sisters

Ezekiel 23:1-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... had been. Oholibah is raped by the Babylonians, joined by their mercenary troops and hangers-on, including some Assyrians. They also mutilate her and cut off her nose and ears (v. 25). But unlike her sister, she is not killed—the only note of hope in this chapter. The rape, violence, and mutilation Ezekiel describes are not the prophet’s invention. He is describing battlefield atrocities he may well have witnessed (see Block, Ezekiel 1–24, pp. 751–52). In the story world of Ezekiel 23, however, the ...

2571. Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia

Ezekiel 25:1-7, Ezekiel 25:8-11, Ezekiel 25:12-14, Ezekiel 25:15-17

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... are readily identifiable. Ezekiel 25–28 reads like a natural unit (though the Tyre material in 26:1–28:19 has been expanded). In these chapters, a series of oracles against six nations concludes with a climactic oracle concerning a seventh: a message of hope for Israel (28:25–26). The collection of oracles against Egypt (chs. 29–32) contains the highest concentration of dates in the book (six dated oracles in the space of four chapters). This is also the only place in Ezekiel in which dated oracles ...

2572. Jesus as True King of Israel

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:1-12

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... 1 Sam. 10:2; Jer. 31:15). Ramah was a transport center during the time when Jews were deported to Babylon (ca. 587 BC). In fact, the verses in Jeremiah that follow the one that Matthew cites include the theme of restoration from exile: “There is hope for your descendants. . . . Your children will return to their own land” (Jer. 31:17). 2:22–23 Archelaus. Matthew identifies Archelaus as the son of Herod the Great (2:1) and indicates that the former has become ruler of Judea after his father’s death ...

2573. Transition to Jesus’ Public Ministry

Matthew 4:12-17

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... : 1:1–4:16. Matthew’s task in the initial chapters of his Gospel is to introduce who Jesus is to his readers and hearers. He begins with the affirmation that Jesus is the Messiah, the longed-for Davidic king (“son of David”) and the hope of the Jewish people (“son of Abraham”) (1:1–17), who would bring God’s eschatological salvation. Moreover, Jesus himself will save Israel from their sins; he is Immanuel, “God with us” (1:18–25). The restoration that Jesus brings is set in the context ...

2574. Jesus Begins His Ministry to Israel

Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew 4:18-22

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... reality of the present reign of God (Pss. 97:1–6; 99:1–3; 103:19), the Old Testament prophets long for the time when God will reign over all (Mic. 4:7–8; see also Isa. 24:21–23; Zech. 14:9). The Gospels pick up this eschatological hope and announce the arrival of the kingdom in Jesus. Paul uses kingdom language far less than the Gospel writers (though see, e.g., Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; 15:24), yet he translates the claim that Jesus is king for his primarily Gentile audiences. He regularly proclaims ...

2575. Eschatological Discourse: Being Prepared for Jesus’ Return

Matthew 24:36-51, Matthew 25:1-13

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... Lord” to “be awake and sober” (1 Thess. 5:6, 8; see also Rev. 3:2–3; 16:15). The Epistle of 1 Peter, written to believers being slandered for their allegiance to Jesus, has multiple admonitions to be alert and sober. The first occurs within an exhortation to hope in the grace that will be given at Jesus’ coming (1 Pet. 1:13). Here, as in Matthew, preparation is tied to keen anticipation of what is to come—grace (1 Peter) and joy (Matt. 25:1–13). A second reference comes in 1 Peter 4:7, where ...

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