Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 251 to 275 of 3099 results

Mark 13:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Lord. In “those days” (13:24)—the end of time—earthly calamities will be mirrored by celestial portents—the darkening of sun and moon and shaking of stars and planets (13:24–25)—all foretold in the Old Testament prophets. Then the Son of Man, though now subjected to suffer in Jerusalem (8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34) and destined to be crucified as a common criminal (Phil. 2:8), will come “in clouds with great power and glory” (13:26). Jesus, who is now Son of God in humility, will be revealed as ...

252. The Shepherd and His Flock

John 10:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 10:21 implies this) or to the material in 10:22–39? We have chosen to unify all of chapter 10 under this final feast. There is a strict change of subject at 10:1, and the second half of the chapter still presupposes the sheep metaphor (see 10:26–27). Moreover, the subject of the discourse in 10:1–21 applies directly to the Feast of Dedication, which recalled the corrupt priests of the Greek era (Jason and Menelaus) and had in Jesus’s day evolved into a ceremony of priestly rededication. Synagogues ...

253. Slaves to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God—and came to faith in Jesus Christ, they have become obedient to God. It was God himself who caused them to become obedient in their hearts to the gospel. It was God who liberated them from the power of sin and its death sentence and subjected them to the power of righteousness (6:18). When Paul uses the language of slavery with regard to God and righteousness, he speaks in human terms (6:19). In their past life, the believers were slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness. In their present new life they ...

254. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God’s right hand, a reward for his self-sacrifice for sinners (Heb. 10:13–14; 12:2; Phil. 2:6–11). In the following paragraph (2:10–18) the author explains why the Son had to become a man and suffer and die as a man. As the larger subject of the comparison of the Son to angels is not forgotten (2:16), it may be assumed that this explanation is offered in part to allay the suspicion of his readers that Jesus’s reputation, on account of his humanity and humiliation at the hands of mere men, suffers ...

255. I Wonder if God Exists

Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... makes a difference when we give him our hearts. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah and said, “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all of your heart” (29:13). A colleague of mine once visited a Sunday school class. The subject was on being “born again.” A national magazine had just done a story on the issue, and the class wanted to discuss it. The teacher of the class that day was a prominent doctor in the community. He said to the class, “Five years ago I didn’t ...

256. Struggling with Sin

Romans 7:7-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... in me. A rabbinic saying centuries later repeats the imagery, “Sin begins as a guest and ends up as master of the house” (Str-B, vol. 3, p. 239 [my translation]). The implications of this are more radical than they first appear. We normally think that as subjects of their actions individuals choose whether or not to sin. Paul, however, does not say the individual does sin but that sin is a power dwelling within an individual which causes a person to do what he or she does not will to do! The individual ...

257. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... as sin because they were done (or so it was supposed) from pride, ambition, and the like (see Str-B, vol. 1, pp. 204–5). Paul’s bold declaration, everything that does not come from faith is sin (v. 23b) has been the subject of similar misunderstanding, as evidenced by Augustine’s pronouncement, for example, that pagan virtues were but “splendid vices” (Contra Julianum 4.32; see Cranfield, Romans, vol. 2, p. 728). The assumption behind such interpretations seems to be that unless one is a Christian ...

258. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... Those Who Seek to Win Souls,” ResQ 29 [1987], pp. 129–42) relates Paul’s taking on both Jewish and Gentile lifestyles as his “becoming weak” for the sake of others. The phrase under Christ’s law is ennomos Christou in Gk. and connotes being “subject to the law of Christ,” although Paul offers no exposition of the phrase. Cf. Gal. 6:2, where Paul uses nomos Christou in reference to the entity of “Christ’s law,” as distinct from the idea of the state or status of being “under Christ ...

259. Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... allotment of gifts. Paul will elaborate and explain his convictions about God’s will or determination of the composition and complexion of the church in the remainder of chapter 12, but for now he only mentions that topic in passing. Nevertheless, the subject has been implicit in the discussion of spiritual gifts from the outset of the conversation. Additional Notes 12:4–6 The word translated as gifts is charismata, from charisma (“gift”), a word that by root is related to charis or “grace.” The ...

260. Orderly Worship

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... concern for the Corinthians: so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 14:32 This verse is also difficult to grasp on a first reading. Paul means either “each prophet controls the spiritual gift he or she possesses” or “one who prophesies is subject to evaluation by other prophets who are present.” Given that 12:10 recognizes discerning the spirits as an identifiable gift of the Spirit and Paul’s emphasis in 14:13–19 on the importance of mind and spirit working in conjunction with each ...

261. The Lord’s King and Rebellious Peoples

Psalm 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... and you will: for reading this “so I may make” and “you may break,” see B. K. Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1990), p. 563, example 3. Verse 9 deserves special comment because it is easily subject to much misuse and abuse. As already noted, it is not a you will prediction but a “you may” threat contingent on the nations’ carrying out their plot of defiance (vv. 1–3). The NIV’s “you will” rule them also implies the king’s ...

262. Intercession for the King Before Battle

Psalm 20:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... 5 These verses are an intercession throughout (to be consistent with the other Hb. jussives, the cohortative of v. 5a should also be rendered as a wish, “May we shout for joy”), where the king is addressed directly (you) in the form of a wish where Yahweh is the subject of the action (May the LORD answer you . . . ). Special significance is attached to the name of God (vv. 1, 5, 7), probably because Yahweh’s name was a key rallying point for Israel’s army (e.g., 1 Sam. 17:45; Pss. 44:5; 118:10–12 ...

263. Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel 8:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... [8:8]), which might also mean he “magnified himself.” In other contexts with humans, it may suggest more than pride; it may even indicate rebellion (Pss. 35:26; 55:12 [55:13 MT]; Jer. 48:26, 42; Zeph. 2:10). When this verb is used with God as the subject, it tells of his great deeds (1 Sam. 12:24; Ps. 126:2–3). In contrast, the author of Daniel looks askance at human hubris. Next, the scene changes. A new animal enters the stage: a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes comes from the west (8:5 ...

264. Wives and Husbands

1 Peter 3:1-7

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... to husbands (just v. 7), for the former were in far more need of support and guidance in what could be a tricky situation. The position of women in the ancient world was never an easy one. In Roman, Greek, and Jewish cultures women were subject to the authority of their husbands. If a husband were converted to Christ, it automatically followed that he brought his wife into the church as well. But the other way around posed a very different situation. For a wife to become a Christian, while an unsympathetic ...

265. Solomon's Wisdom

1 Kings 4:29-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... promise picked up in reference to Solomon) and overlapping quite a bit with the area of David’s dominion as deduced from texts such as 2 Samuel 8:1–14 and 2 Samuel 10. The countries in this region, we are told, brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life. So it is that an enormous quantity of food flows into the kingdom from outside, with the result that all Israel, from very north to very south (Dan to Beersheba) lived each man under his own vine and fig tree. That is to say, they ...

266. Everlasting Salvation for Zion

Isaiah 51:1-16

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Four Wake-up Calls and a Departure Call: In 50:4 the subject suddenly changes again—in two senses. The grammatical subject is once again a human “I” rather than a divine “I,” and the thematic subject is the pressure upon this human “I.” In both respects the passage parallels 49:1–6, and it will emerge that 50:4–52:12 forms a sequence parallel to 49:1–50:4, analogous to double sequences we have noted earlier in chapters 40–55. The arrangement of sections ...

267. Speaking Truth to Power and Hope to the Powerless

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

... and took her in his arms and told them that whoever welcomes one such child in his name welcomes him, and whoever welcomes him actually is welcoming the Father who sent him. Now it may look like Jesus had given up trying to teach the disciples and changed the subject, but I don't believe he had. Think about who in the ancient world, and probably in our world as well, have the least amount of power. Children in those days got little respect, for the most part they didn't count, they had no legal status and ...

268. Jesus' Guide to Wise Investing

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... ) He was still a very wealthy man, but his obsession with wealth cost him his life. All of us are concerned for one reason or another about money. Jesus knew that. It was no different 2,000 years ago. That’s why he had so much to say on the subject. Money is an important part of our lives. Indeed, Jesus noted that we will control our money or it will control us. It will either be a blessing to us or a curse. Our lesson for today begins with someone in the crowd saying to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother ...

269. The Art of Impersonation

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... to a true understanding of God. It certainly doesn’t lead to spiritual maturity. For today’s Bible passage, it’s especially important to understand the first part of the conversation. As we have already seen, Jesus starts off his public teaching with his favorite subject, the kingdom of heaven. He teaches us that our righteous acts don’t earn our way into God’s kingdom. Instead, he says that those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are persecuted for God’s sake are blessed in God ...

270. The Good Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 1 Kings 19:9-18, 1 Kings 19:19-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... cords of a man, with the bonds of love, and I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws, and I bent down and fed them.” (Hosea 11:4) “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) The metaphor of field (God’s world or vineyard) is the world in which we walk with Jesus, our rabbi and teacher. When we call on His Name, he sets us free from the yokes that bear us down, and he ...

271. Little Start, Big Finish

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... Americans, raised in a democratic republic, the idea of kings and kingdoms seems, at best archaic and, at worst, ludicrous to the point of being offensive. Being the subjects of another person doesn’t work for us. We don’t do kings and we don’t do kingdoms. Another reason we are unclear on the subject is because it has been muddied by the ongoing battle between Christian fundamentalism and the scientific community, especially those scientists who insist that fundamentalism is the only real expression ...

272. Living at Cross-Purposes

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... cross-purposes.” You’d take a group of people and split them up into two teams. One-half of the participants would get a question or subject; the other half would get an answer or explanation. Then, everyone would be set loose to find the explanation that matched their subject. The game could be very fun if people accidentally matched up the wrong subjects and explanations. Today, we use the name of this game to describe a less-pleasant situation. When we say that people are working at cross-purposes ...

273. Factions

Luke 20:9-19

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... you speak about the exact same thing the pastor spoke about? I know I certainly have. JILL: I admit that I have spoken about this subject and maybe a lot. DARIEN: I agree it's a necessary thing, but do you think the people in the congregation will support it? MYRA ... . I guess you'll never agree with us and we'll never agree with you. DARIEN: And we'll never agree with the pastor on this subject. JILL: What's so bad about it? MYRA: It's not that. It's just that we have never done it before. JILL: Well. I say ...

274. Lent 3

Luke 13:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Psalm 63:1-11, Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... the victims in such events. Jesus proceeds to address the question of who will perish. It is the unproductive tree that is to be cut down. By inference it is the unproductive person who will perish. It is not just those who do great evil who are subject to punishment. It is also the persons who do not produce good fruit. It is not enough just to abstain from great evil acts. It is necessary to act fruitfully to escape judgment. Homily Hints 1. When Disaster Strikes. (vv. 1-5) Questions arise when people are ...

275. Through The Eye Of The Needle

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... is our functional god. Insofar as our use of money reflects these values and commitments, our use of money is a very "religious" issue. No wonder Jesus talks so much about money in his sayings, teachings, and parables. There is no more "religious" subject in life. There is no other subject that gets so close to our hearts. In our modern capitalist societies money is very important. Money is the measure of most, if not all, things. A good job with a good paycheck is the means to get all those good things ...

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