Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2576 to 2600 of 2815 results

2576. The Widow's Offering

Luke 21:1-4

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... as follows: (1) the Widow’s Offering (vv. 1–4); (2) the Prediction of the Temple’s Destruction (vv. 5–7); (3) Troubles and Persecutions (vv. 8–19); (4) the Destruction of Jerusalem (vv. 20–24); (5) the Coming of the Son of Man (vv. 25–28); (6) the Parable of the Fig Tree (vv. 29–33); and (7) the Admonition to Watch (vv. 34–38). With the exception of the last part, which is found only in Luke, the evangelist has derived his materials from Mark 12:41–13:31. 21:1–4 The episode of the poor ...

2577. God's Righteous Judgment

Romans 2:1-16

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... case, God’s judgment falls on Jews because they fail to keep the revelation they have received. At the end of time the secrets of all hearts will be revealed and judged according to the gospel of the Righteous One, Jesus Christ. 2:1–3 Jesus once told a parable about a Pharisee who stood in the temple and prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men” (Luke 18:11). In 2:1–3 Paul declares that there is a Pharisee in the heart of everyone who esteems his or her own morality. Their error ...

2578. The Jews and the Law

Romans 2:17-29

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... that the Jew per se stands in a position of superiority or advantage over the non-Jew by virtue of being a member of the people of the law” (Romans 1–8, p. 114). Because they have been privileged by God, Jews are like the debtor in Jesus’ parable who was forgiven ten thousand talents by his master, and who then went out and grabbed a fellow debtor by the throat and threw him into jail until he paid back a hundred denarii (Matt. 18:23–30). Jews may be Exhibit A of human righteousness, yet even ...

2579. Peace and Joy

Romans 5:1-11

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... a “new creation,” meaning first to be reconciled to God, and second, the surrendering of self as an “ambassador of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:16–21). Reconciliation thus carries the double significance of God’s doing something for us and with us. The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32 wonderfully illustrates reconciling love. Willful and defiant, the younger son demanded his share of the father’s blessing, later to be rudely awakened in the outside world. Returning to his father and ...

2580. Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Romans 6:1-14

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... respectably: if God has done everything for us, and if our efforts achieve nothing for salvation, why make the effort to live a good life? The issue at stake here lies at the root of Jesus’ breach with a common Pharisaic attitude which he exposed in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14). If a bad person receives justification before a good person, what is the value of the moral life? The point of 5:20, however, as Luther rightly noted, was not “to excuse sin, but to glorify ...

2581. Future Glory

Romans 8:18-27

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... the Greek of verse 26 is more pronounced than in the NIV. It might be translated, “For we do not know how we ought to pray.” God wills that believers adapt their prayers to his saving purpose in history. But in this we fail. In the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, Jesus taught that effective prayer is based not on virtuosity and profuseness, but on sincerity (Luke 18:9–14). Paul knew firsthand that sincerity sometimes issues in weakness and speechlessness (2 Cor. 12:6–10). In prayer, as in ...

2582. All Israel Will Be Saved

Romans 11:25-32

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... the fruitless branches, grafts others onto the tree, and eventually regrafts the faithless branches back onto the tree as well. The end result? An unpromising sowing yields an unimaginable harvest, “thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times,” according to the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1–9). What has lain beneath the surface of Romans looms inescapably before us in verses 31–32. Disobedience leads to obedience; disbelief to faith, wrath to mercy. Human disobedience—in whatever form, from whatever ...

2583. Love

Romans 12:9-21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... low (tapeinos) is used in the NT only of persons, and not things. Moreover, associate seems to suit persons better than objects. People of low position (so NIV) is therefore the preferable rendering (see 1 Cor. 1:27–29). This accords with the posture and parables of Jesus. “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’ ” (Matt. 25:40). Paul thus urges Roman Christians to show solidarity with the poor and oppressed, as ...

2584. Love, for the Day Is Near

Romans 13:8-14

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... object. Four times Paul identifies that object as one another (v. 8), fellowman (v. 8), and neighbor (twice in vv. 9–10). The other person represents God’s claim on our love. We normally think of our neighbor as a person who is like us, but in the parables of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) and Final Judgment (Matt. 25:31–46) the neighbor is very much unlike us. Others are our neighbors not because they are like us, not even because they are chosen by us, but because they are given to us by God ...

2585. The Fall of Babylon

Revelation 18:1-24

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... salvation’s history. The heroic deed of the mighty angel (cf. Rev. 5:2; 10:1) also reminds one of Jeremiah, who also tied his prophecies against Babylon to a stone which he threw into the Euphrates (cf. Jer. 51:63). This enacted parable was subsequently interpreted as confirming the certainty and finality of “the disaster (God) will bring upon her” (Jer. 51:64). In this new context, the angel’s pronouncement brackets, together with the opening stanza (18:2–3), the declaration of mythic Babylon’s ...

2586. The Nazirite

Numbers 6:1-21

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... figures associated with the Nazirite vow is Samson; Samuel and Joseph also merit mention. Although Samson’s vow seems to be a permanent one, the Nazirite vow apparently developed into one men or women could take for a period of time. The Nazirites were a living parable of the camp’s dedication to God and so a special symbol of the people’s holiness. They provide a positive view of holiness in the camp after the instructions in chapter 5 for removing any impurity from the camp. The NT alludes to the ...

2587. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... ; press into a corner; urge to speak.” Elihu is unable to escape the building internal pressure to speak out, which is like bottled-up wine. Of course there were no wine bottles in this context, but wineskins. The picture is similar to that Jesus uses in his parable: “Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wine-skins will be ruined” (Matt. 9:17; also Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37–38). The Greek translation of Job 32:19 employs the ...

2588. Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... of Jesus. One of the distinct features of Matthew’s Gospel is that the teaching of Jesus is collected into five sections. The Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7) is the first of these blocks. The others are Instructions to the Twelve (chap. 10), Parables of the Kingdom (chap. 13), Life in the Christian Community (chap. 18), and Eschatological Judgment (chaps. 23–25). Each block closes with a formula similar to, “When Jesus had finished saying these things” (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). We are ...

2589. The Fulfillment of the Law

Matthew 5:17-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2590. Adultery

Matthew 5:27-30

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2591. Divorce

Matthew 5:31-32

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2592. Oaths

Matthew 5:33-37

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2593. An Eye for an Eye

Matthew 5:38-42

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2594. Love for Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2595. The Wise and Foolish Builders

Matthew 7:24-29

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the other house is swept away. The imagery comes from climatic conditions in Palestine. The country is dry most of the year, but following the autumn rains, sudden torrents may rush down dry ravines and carry away anything in their path. The purpose of the parable is to warn those who have listened to the sermon that wisdom calls for action. The wise man … hears and puts [Jesus’ words] into practice: the foolish man … hears and does not put them into practice (vv. 24, 26). The storm is final judgment ...

2596. Rest for the Weary

Matthew 11:25-30

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... . Jeremias points out a number of Semitisms that argue an early date and thus strengthen the case for authenticity (New Testament Theology, vol. 1, pp. 57–59). It is unnecessary to take the definite article in the titles as generic, thus making the verse a parable about the mutual relationship between a father and son. 11:28–30 The invitation to come to Jesus and, by taking up his yoke, to find rest, occurs only in Matthew, although it is cited independently in the Gospel of Thomas. Applied in a general ...

2597. Jesus and Beelzebub

Matthew 12:22-37

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... it. A great deal has been written on ephthasen in verse 28 (cf. G. E. Ladd, The Presence of the Future, pp. 138–45). It is best to take it to mean that the kingdom has arrived but not necessarily in its fullness. 12:29 Verse 29 is a short parable that makes the point that in order to rob a strong man’s house it is necessary first to tie him up. This is normally interpreted to mean that Satan (the strong man) has been overpowered by Jesus and is therefore unable to prevent him from plundering his goods ...

2598. A History Lesson: From Ephraim to Judah, from the Exodus to Zion

Psalm 78:1-72

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... either prayers (Hb. tepillâ) or praises (Hb. tehillâ), this one is explicitly teaching (Hb. tôrâ; only here in the Pss. does this term not denote God’s “teaching/law”). Like Psalm 49 (v. 4, cf. Prov. 1:6), it designates itself as a parable (or “comparison,” Hb. māšāl) and as “riddles” (rendered “things hidden” in the NIV). Thus, we should expect to find in Psalm 78 explicit teaching and lessons but also something of a puzzle and mystery (as in 49:5–6, 15). The lessons are clear ...

2599. Jesus Walks on the Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... it would be translated “I AM” rather than It is I (cf. Exod. 3:14; Isa. 43:10). 14:28–33 The story of Peter’s attempt to walk to his Master on the water is recorded only by Matthew (vv. 28–31). It is sometimes taken as an acted parable of Peter’s career (i.e., in his pride he fell and had to be rescued and restored by Jesus). Christian elaborations on the theme would see the boat as the church, the water as the hostile world, and Jesus descending from the mountain as the ascended Lord coming to ...

2600. The Maker of Heaven and Earth Watching Over His Pilgrims

Psalm 121:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... liturgist. What is the significance of the hills? Are they a threat or a potential source of my help? There are three possibilities. First, in keeping with the notion of pilgrimage, they may represent hiding places for dangers en route (cf. the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10). Second, they may represent touchpoints of divine help, as symbolized by shrines on the “high places.” Third, they may be symbolic of natural stability because they were considered the earth’s pillars that stabilize it ...

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