Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2676 to 2700 of 5000 results

2676. The Holy Spirit and the Blessings of the New Covenant

Romans 8:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... by the indwelling Spirit obey the just requirement (dikai?ma) of the law. A comparison of this statement with Romans 13:8–10 and Galatians 5:14 suggests that Paul believed that love for others (and God) is the ultimate fulfillment of the essence of the law (cf. Mark 12:28–31). 8:5–8 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. A chart best captures Paul’s sentiments in 8:5–8, after which I offer three brief comments. There is a running contrast ...

2677. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... their work in the Lord probably stemmed from their ministry with him in the eastern provinces. 16:13 Greet Rufus . . . and his mother. Rufus and his mother were Jewish Christians. Long ago, J. B. Lightfoot defended the plausible theory that Rufus and his brother (see Mark 15:21) were sons of Simon of Cyrene, who was forced to carry Jesus’ cross.12 That Paul calls Rufus “chosen in the Lord” may be because his father helped Jesus carry the cross. This Rufus had a direct link to the historical Jesus ...

2678. Trust versus Self-Reliance

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... ” was a well-known title for God.2Paul merely parallels Christ’s presence among the Corinthians with God’s providing presence in the wilderness. 10:6 Now these things occurred as examples. The Greek word translated “example” is typos, which literally means a “mark” (or “trace”) left by a blow or pressure.3 It refers to an image or an impression. When applied to an event, it gives the event a formative characteristic. The event in the desert is not merely an example but a paradigmatic ...

2679. Imitation and Role Modeling

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... .” The idea that we can be perceived as participating in other people’s crimes simply by associating with them is a reality of the human heart. We are called to share Christ with all people, no matter what their station in life and no matter what marks may be against them—they are no different from us in terms of our common need for grace. And sharing the gospel is often best done in relationship with others. At the same time, we need to discern the difference between love and approval, for God will ...

2680. Worship and Humility

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... to the manner in which they should come. If they approached the Lord’s Supper with humility, they would all join for a common meal without distinctions (11:19). The self-examination is the test that reveals whether their behavior and lifestyle reflect Christ’s (cf. Mark 14:17–21). 11:29 without discerning the body of Christ. Lack of concern for the body brings judgment. It is uncertain whether Paul has the church or the elements of the Lord’s Supper in mind with this phrase. It is possible he ...

2681. The Focus of Christian Worship

1 Corinthians 14:26-40, 1 Corinthians 14:1-25

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... behavior” sent the wrong message in a public setting. Whether Paul sees a connection between this kind of Corinthian “dishonor” of a prophet in his home and Jesus’s saying that a prophet is not without honor except “in his own home” (Matt. 13:57 // Mark 6:4; cf. Luke 4:24; John 4:44) is obviously impossible to determine with any kind of certainty. But it does not seem completely unreasonable to suggest. If so, Paul might also have made the connection to the follow-up statement that Jesus “did ...

2682. The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation 1:1-3

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... prediction of future events. The phrase “the time is near,” like “soon” in 1:1, is yet another expression of imminence (cf. Mark 1:15, where Jesus says the kingdom of God “has come near”). Theological Insights The opening paragraph of the book of ... know times and dates set by the Father but to do what we’ve been told to do as his church (Acts 1:7; Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32–37; 1 Thess. 5:1–11). It is no coincidence that in the same context where John affirms the nearness of the time, he also ...

2683. Greeting, Doxology, and Confession

Revelation 1:4-8

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... , he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” John here combines Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 12:10–12 to announce the second coming of Jesus Christ (cf. Mark 13:26; Matt. 24:30; John 19:37). Clouds are a common Old Testament symbol for God’s glorious presence (Exod. 13:21). In Daniel 7:13, the Messiah is described as one like a “son of man” (= a human being) who comes with the clouds of heaven ...

2684. Message to Sardis

Revelation 3:1-6

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... and heard; hold it fast, and repent. Jesus issues five commands to shock them back to life. The first, “Wake up!” (perhaps better: “Be watchful!”), is the same command Jesus uses so often in other eschatological contexts (see Matt. 24:42–43; 25:13; Mark 13:34–35, 37; Luke 12:37). It appears again alongside the thief image in Jesus’s warning in Revelation 16:15. In essence, Jesus is telling this church to realize their condition and be willing to do something about it. This charge would have ...

2685. Message to Laodicea

Revelation 3:14-22

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... people to trust in him rather than in material possessions, and to use things to meet the needs of others (e.g., Deut. 8:10–14; Prov. 30:8–9; Matt. 6:19–24; Luke 12:13–21; 1 Tim. 6:6–10, 17–19). Generosity is a consistent mark of obedient believers throughout the Bible. What happened in Laodicea can easily happen in the churches today, leading us to trust more in the gifts and to ignore the Giver. Teaching the Text 1. Jesus is the only reliable source of life. This text offers an ideal place to ...

2686. The Protective Sealing of God’s People on Earth

Revelation 7:1-8

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... be protected from the divine judgments (see the sidebar). The seal on the forehead, the place where slaves were usually marked in antiquity, indicates ownership and protection (cf. Ezek. 9:4–6) and distinguishes the servants of God from the inhabitants ... also connected with all believers throughout Revelation (7:3–5; 9:4; 14:1; cf. also 3:12; 22:4), just as unbelievers bear the mark of the beast (13:16–17; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). Taking other details about the group literally becomes very ...

2687. Faithful Witnesses Who Proclaim God’s Word

Revelation 11:1-14

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167–164 BC, the siege and destruction of the temple by the Romans in AD 66–70 (cf. Luke 21:20 [Luke’s “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” more closely links the prophecy with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70] with Mark 13:14 and Matt. 24:15), and ultimately in the final days of human history with the persecution by the beast and his followers. This period describes a time when God allows his people to be persecuted and martyred and corresponds to their time of ...

2688. The Seventh Trumpet (Third Woe)

Revelation 11:15-19

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... The consummated kingdom fulfills what had been foreshadowed in the Old Testament. For example, Psalm 2 speaks of God establishing his kingdom and giving the king, his “son,” the nations of the world as his inheritance. Jesus announced the arrival of the kingdom (Mark 1:15). Now the inaugurated kingdom has been fully and completely established. God and his Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, have begun to reign, not just in heaven but over the whole of creation. As N. T. Wright says, “This is not about private ...

2689. Proclamations of Judgment and Reward

Revelation 14:6-13

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... , because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made . . .” This angel proclaims an “eternal gospel” (the only use of the noun euangelion in Revelation; cf. the verb in 10:7) to people from every nation (cf. 5:9; 7:9; 21:24, 26; Mark 13:10), a gospel that also calls people to recognize God for who he is or else face judgment. These hearers are not identical to the unbelieving “inhabitants of the earth,” and hope remains that some might convert or “fear God and give him glory” and ...

2690. The Harvest of the Earth

Revelation 14:14-20

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... 13–18; 2:12, 18, 23; 6:16; 19:11–27; 22:12), a truth affirmed throughout the New Testament (e.g., Matt. 10:32–33; 25:31–32; Mark 8:38; John 5:22; Acts 17:31; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8). Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain but ... memorialized for the ages. The prospect of future justice never crossed their minds. Whether we know it or not, our lives right now are being marked for a coming day of judgment. The things we have done, causes we have loved, and time we have spent will be known, and ...

2691. Seven Angels with Seven Plagues

Revelation 15:1-8

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... glory. Understanding the Text Revelation 15 introduces the bowl judgments of chapter 16, the third and final series of seven judgments (seals in 6:1–8:1, trumpets in 8:2–9:21; 11:14–19). The unit of 15:1–8 is marked off by the inclusio (“bookends” marking the beginning and the end) of seven angels with seven plagues completing the wrath of God (15:1, 8). The expression “I saw/looked” (eidon) divides the passage into three parts: the introduction (15:1), the celebration of God’s people (15 ...

2692. The Bowl Judgments

Revelation 16:1-21

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... s wrath on the earth.” Since no one is allowed to enter the temple until the seven last plagues are completed (15:8), the voice of 16:1 likely belongs to God himself (cf. Isa. 66:6). With the first bowl God marks with sores those who have worshiped the beast and received his mark. The second and third bowls bring a bloody death to the sea and the inland waters, reminding the beast worshipers of the blood of the saints they have shed (16:6). The fourth bowl intensifies the heat of the sun, but the ungodly ...

2693. The Coming Judgment Calls for the Saints to Leave Babylon

Revelation 18:1-24

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... oppressing and exploiting others financially. Illustrating the Text God takes economic persecution seriously. History: “Revelation,” by Mark Wilson. Commenting on the economic disparity present in Rome, Wilson observes: Today the salary of a person ... in opulence sustained by evil ended his days violently, buried in the desert without ceremony or memorial to mark his final resting place. Condoning and cooperating with sinful powers brings destructive consequences. History: Rome. Commenting on the opulence ...

2694. The Warrior Messiah Conquers the Two Beasts and Their Followers

Revelation 19:1-21

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... , white and clean. The armies consist of both angels and believers. Angels are said to accompany Christ at his return elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g., Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Matt. 13:40–42; 16:27; 24:30–31; 25:31–32; 1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:7; Jude 14 ... references (e.g., 1 En. 54:1; 90:24–27), and Jesus’s teachings about hell as a place of fiery punishment (e.g., Mark 9:42–48; Matt. 13:40–42). A second result of the eschatological war is that “the rest” are killed and eaten by birds, ...

2695. Grain Offerings

Leviticus 2:1-16

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... (1 Kings 17:12–13). Oil probably is a symbol of gladness, pleasure, and joy (cf. Ps. 45:7; Prov. 21:17; Isa. 61:3). Incense or frankincense is an expensive, fragrant gum whose sweet smell would help mask the smell of burning flesh on the altar and mark this offering as special. Not all grain offerings require it (e.g., Lev. 2:4–10 below), and when a grain offering substitutes for a sin offering, it is forbidden (Lev. 5:11). The layperson hands the offering over to the priests, who burn a portion of it ...

2696. The Priestly Portions of Sacrifices

Lev 6:8–7:38

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... of the just and the unjust (Dan. 12:2). Jesus argues that when Exodus 3:6 calls God “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” this implies that these patriarchs are still living in the afterlife since God is the God of the living not the dead (Mark 12:24–27). The warning that offenses against God can lead culprits to be “cut off from their people” by divine punishment is a reminder that no offense, even if hidden from human eyes, can escape the scrutiny of God. Those today who choose to sin defiantly ...

2697. Uncleanness Due to Childbirth

Leviticus 12:1-8

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... moment of his greatest “powerlessness,” and his life seems completely delivered to the derision of his adversaries and into the hands of his executioners: he is mocked, jeered at, insulted (cf. Mark 15:24–36). And yet, precisely amid all this, having seen him breathe his last, the Roman centurion exclaims: “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39). It is thus, at the moment of his greatest weakness, that the Son of God is revealed for who he is: on the Cross his glory is made manifest.3 ...

2698. Sexual Discharges

Leviticus 15:1-33

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... . This warping of sexuality after the fall is perhaps one reason why the Pentateuch makes sexual expressions, both male and female, a source of ceremonial uncleanness. Being aware of this problem allows corrective action in the direction of wholesomeness. The Gospels (Matt. 9:20–22; Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:43–48) record a case of a woman with an abnormal discharge as described in Leviticus 15:25–30. For twelve years she has spent her money on doctors, futilely looking for a cure. She is thus stuck in a ...

2699. Holy Days and Festivals

Le 22:17–23:22

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... thank God for all things, since all blessings, agricultural and otherwise, come from him (Eph. 5:20; James 1:17), and be generous in sharing their bounty with those in need (2 Cor. 9:11; 1 Tim. 6:18). The seventh month, Tishri (September/October), is marked as special by trumpets (vv. 23–25). In Tishri is the solemn Day of Atonement (vv. 26–32; see Lev. 16), a day of fasting and confession of sin, reminding Israel that only through atoning sacrifice can God purge its impurities and remain in its midst ...

2700. Failure to Enter the Land

Num 13:1–14:9

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... from which the scouts are sent. Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. Rehob is a city in the vicinity of Lebo Hamath that can be identified with Laboue or Al Labweh in modern Lebanon. This is some 270 miles north of Kadesh, where the scouts begin. Lebo Hamath marks the northern border of Canaan (Num. 34:8) and was the northernmost city of David and Solomon’s empire (1 Chron. 13:5; 1 Kings 8:65). 13:22 Hebron. This is the first major fortified city that Israelite invaders would have encountered. The text emphasizes ...

Showing results