Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3076 to 3100 of 3852 results

3076. The Grace Question: “Are You a Teacher…and Yet Do Not Understand These Things?”

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... right!,” said St. Peter with a smile on his face. “And that’s worth 97 points. Come on in.” Nicodemus didn’t understand that. Despite the witness of scripture and our experience, we continue to question grace. Maybe it has something to do with our original sin. It certainly has a lot to do with our pride and perverted self-sufficiency. So, let’s think about it…this question of Jesus so relevant to us because it’s question of grace. I. Focus first on that phrase that shocked Nicodemus. “You ...

3077. Can It Be Sin to Be Shy?

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... than do more aggressive cats. About 15 percent of cats, says Daniel Goleman, are just born timid. (2) And, says Goleman, the percentages are consistent enough to suggest that shyness is, for the most part, an inherited condition. It is genetic in origin. Behavioral scientist Jonathan Cheek has made extensive studies of shyness and even wrote an entire book on the subject. He studied over eight hundred pairs of twins, some of them identical and some of them fraternal. He discovered that if one fraternal ...

3078. The God of Hope

Isaiah 11:1-10, Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the Holy Spirit.” Advent is, first of all, hope for the world. H.G. Wells once wrote a story titled “In the Days of the Comet.” Well’s story is a somewhat typical science fiction fantasy. A mysterious green vapor of unknown origin descends from the clouds and covers the earth. The vapor has the immediate effect of putting all the earth’s people into a deep sleep for three days. When they finally awake, something amazing has happened. Their inner nature is radically transformed. Petty quarreling ...

3079. The Creation of the World

Genesis 1:1-2:3

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... than God. “Image” emphasizes humanity’s close similarity to God, while “likeness” stresses that this similarity is not exact. God and humanity are not indistinguishable. Verse 27 clearly states that the distinction of the sexes (male and female) is also of divine origin. One’s sexuality is far from a biological accident. As the divine image bearer, humanity is to subdue and rule over the remainder of God’s created order. This is not a license to rape and destroy everything in the environment ...

3080. The Fall

Genesis 3:1-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is crafty, subtle. These terms translate a neutral word that in the Old Testament may describe either a commendable (“a prudent man” in Prov. 12:16, 23) or a reprehensible (the “crafty” in Job 5:12 and 15:5) trait. Second, there is a word about the serpent’s origin—he was made by God. This point is stressed to make it plain that the serpent is not a divine being, not a coequal with God. The serpent’s first tack is to suggest to Eve that God is sinister, that in fact God is abusing her. This is ...

3081. From Adam to Noah

Genesis 5:1-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... these figures as totally impossible. While they are indeed high, the numbers are quite ordinary when laid alongside another document from the ancient world known as the Sumerian King List (ca. 2000 BC; see photo). It begins with an introductory note about the origin of kingship. Then it gives a list of eight preflood kings who reigned a total of 241,200 years. One of these kings, Enmenluanna, reigned 43,200 years. The shortest reign is 18,600 years. Furthermore it is difficult to distinguish whether some ...

3082. Hagar and Ishmael

Genesis 16:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... time he appears in the Bible. But in verse 13 the text says that it is God who speaks with her. The angel of the Lord and the Lord—distinct, yet the same. All sorts of explanations, usually along the lines of form-critical concerns (what was the original form of the story?), have been offered to explain this “incongruity.” Might we see here, as we saw in the “us” of 1:26 and 11:7, a hint of God’s trinitarian nature? The child born of this union between Hebrew patriarch and Egyptian servant girl ...

3083. The Lord of Birth and Death

Genesis 18:1-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 16:49–50 makes it clear that Sodom’s sin was social as well as sexual immorality. God himself conducts a personal inspection of the city (18:21)—or at least he intends to. Abraham now stands before the Lord. (Some commentators feel that the original text may have been “The Lord stood before Abraham.”) Abraham is convinced that the judge of all the earth will do right. He has no doubts about the integrity and consistency of God. Therefore he speaks plainly with God. This is no place for clich ...

3084. Jacob, Leah, and Rachel

Gen 29:15--30:24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... that contains a word or words that sound like the proper name. Most intriguing here are the births of Levi and Judah. From these sons come two of the most crucial institutions of the Old Testament—priesthood and kingship. Both institutions have their origin in an unwanted marriage laced with deception and bitterness. Paul is correct; God does work in all things for good (Rom. 8:28). The competition between Leah and Rachel means more children for Jacob (30:1–24). Reflecting an allowable custom of her ...

3085. The Rape of Dinah

Genesis 34:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... daughter, Tamar, who is also sexually violated (2 Samuel 13). The criminal is Shechem, son of Hamor. He is called a Hivite in verse 2. An ancient version of the Bible renders this as “Horite” (i.e., Hurrian), showing perhaps that the original settlers of Shechem were Hurrians. Jacob’s sons (but not Jacob himself) are understandably incensed. Hamor attempts to appease them with the offer of peaceful coexistence. One more time we encounter an instance of deception in Genesis. Jacob imitates his father ...

3086. Jacob Blesses His Sons

Genesis 49:1-28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... are Jacob’s addressed to individuals—his twelve sons. Verse 28, however, extends the perspective: “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel.” One of the reasons this chapter is problematic is that it is so difficult to translate from the original. Indeed, it is probably the most difficult chapter in Genesis. Just a glance at the many footnotes in the NIV, which suggest alternate readings, will bear this out. Reuben, the firstborn, is disqualified from the rights of primogeniture because of his ...

3087. Birth, Preservation, and Preparation of Moses

Ex 2:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... years his elder (Exod. 7:7). Miriam is old enough to watch the basket into which their mother puts Moses after she can no longer hide him. When she puts her son into the Nile it is in keeping with the edict, with the added protection of an ark. Originally an Egyptian word, the Hebrew word tebah is used only here and of Noah’s ark (Gen. 6:14–16). Each craft saves the life of a critical servant of God from the destructive force of water. It is possible that Jochabed lodged the basket in a side channel ...

3088. Instructions for Passover

Exodus 12:1-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... John 19:36). In time the bitter herbs came to represent the bitterness of slavery and unleavened bread the purifying from the leaven of sin. Yeast affects the entire loaf of bread; so also the pollution of sin ranges much farther than its original starting point. Fermentation also leads ultimately to decay and death, a compelling representation of the results of sin. Jesus identifies the “yeast of the Pharisees” as hypocrisy (Luke 12:1), and Paul uses the figure to address the need to deal in a radical ...

3089. Preparations to Receive the Covenant

Exodus 19:1-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... whole. Many scholars have rejected the three categories of moral-ethical, civil-social, and ritual-ceremonial torah as arbitrary and have intrepreted the text by use of principalism. This method (1) identifies what the law meant to its original audience, (2) evaluates the differences between the initial audience and successive generations of believers, and (3) develops universally applicable principles from the text that correlate with New Testament teaching. To be sure, the instructions are interwoven in ...

3090. Ten Commandments and the People’s Response

Exodus 20:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... penalty. They were concerned to determine just what actions beyond those noted in Scripture (Exod. 16:29; 34:21; 35:3; Num. 15:32–36; Neh. 10:32; 13:15–18; Jer. 17:21, 24, 27) were forbidden. Sabbath observance in its original intent, however, was viewed as a positive and restorative command, providing release from anxious toil and ambition. Fifth Commandment · The fifth commandment (20:12) is in a pivotal position between the first group, which addresses humankind’s relationship with God, and the ...

3091. Incense Altar, and Half-shekel Contribution

Ex 30:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to perfect worship in the very presence of God. The half-shekel payment, collected in conjunction with the census, maintained the cultic system. It is called atonement money and serves as a reminder that the members of the community have been ransomed (30:12). While the original statement sounds like a one-time payment, it was collected at later points in history when the temple was being repaired (2 Kings 12:4; 2 Chron. 24:9; 34:9) and seems to have been the precedent for an annual assessment (cf. Matt. 18 ...

3092. Voluntary Sacrifices

Leviticus 1:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Sacrificial Worship (1:1–7:38): According to Genesis, sacrificial worship and priesthood originated long before the Israelites departed Egypt (Gen. 4:3–5; 8:20; 12:7–8; 13:4, 18; 14:18; 22:13; 31:54; 46:1). In Leviticus some earlier categories of sacrifice (burnt offerings and “sacrifices”) continue. Also continuing are a number of aspects of sacrifice, such as the ...

3093. Separating Defilement from Sanctuary and Community

Leviticus 16:1-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ritual (“purification ritual,” not “purification offering”) teaches that after the Lord’s sacrifice bears all of the people’s responsibility for their sins as their substitute, a demonic archenemy of the Lord bears responsibility for his own part in their sins as the originator of sin (cf. Genesis 3), tempter (1 Chron. 21:1; Matt. 4:1, 3; 1 Cor. 7:5; Rev. 12:9), and maliciously accusing witness (Deut. 19:16–19; Zech. 3:1; Rev. 12:10). The live goat does not represent Christ (Heb. 13:11 ...

3094. Holiness of God’s Name, and Human and Animal Life

Leviticus 24:10-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , the Lord directs that the Israelites stone him outside the camp, after those who hear his utterance lay their hands on his head as a symbolic action (24:14), apparently to return evil back to its source (cf. Lev. 16:21) so that the originator will bear punishment for his own sin (cf. 24:15). Verses 15–22, between the death sentence (24:14) and its fulfillment (24:23), specify penalties for anyone who commits similar crimes. Assault on a person resulting in a permanent physical defect (the Hebrew ...

3095. Holiness of the Promised Land

Lev 25:1-55

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... name Jubilee (25:10) comes from a Hebrew word for “ram” (yobel), an animal that provided horns to blow for signals (Josh. 6:4–6, 8, 13; cf. Exod. 19:13). The Jubilee provided release of two kinds: return of ancestral agricultural land to its original owners and release of persons from servitude. Israelites could lose their inherited property and freedom due to poverty, which could result from a factor such as crop failure. Once a farmer sold his land for living expenses or to pay off debt, if he had ...

3096. Holiness of Dedicated Items

Leviticus 27:1-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , automatically belong to God (27:30–33). Some kinds of items can be redeemed from the holy domain after they are donated. The blessings and curses of chapter 26 have conditionally probed into the future possibility of exile, but chapter 27 concludes Leviticus on a positive note. It brings the original Israelite audience back to the present, when the functioning sanctuary is at the center of their life with God.

3097. Quail from the Lord

Numbers 11:4-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to a depth of two cubits, as NIV, NRSV, NASB, NJPS, and NJB read) would be easy prey for the Israelites to knock out of the air. The ravenous Israelites work around the clock to gather a huge number of the hapless birds, at least ten homers (originally donkey loads, or about ten and a half bushels) of quail each (11:32). Flocks consisting of millions of migrating quail have been recorded as recently as the 1900s. But the remarkable number in Numbers 11, combined with the timing in response to the Israelites ...

3098. Instructions for Conquest and Settlement of Canaan

Num 34:1–36:13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to chapter 27, regarding inheritance by the daughters of Zelophehad. Leaders of their clan perceive a potential problem: if these women join another tribe by marriage, they will transfer their landholding to that tribe. The Jubilee return of ancestral land to original inheritors (cf. Leviticus 25) cannot fix the problem because they are the heiresses (36:1–4). Again the Lord’s word through Moses solves the matter within the culture (cf. Numbers 30): these and other daughters who inherit should simply ...

3099. Warning Not to Fight Brethren

Deuteronomy 2:1-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 2:12), so he had driven the Emites out of the other land he had now given to Moab (2:10). The name Anak was also known in the early Egyptian Execration texts. The Anakim were remembered by the name Rephaim as well, listed earlier as original inhabitants of the promised land, who were defeated by the invader Kedorlaomer (Gen. 14:5). Israel crossed the brook Zered, the southern boundary of Moab, after thirty-eight years had gone by since they left Kadesh Barnea (2:14)—enough time for an entire generation of ...

3100. Witnessing First Fruits of the Coming Campaign

Deut 2:24–3:11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... was not killed or burned, such as silver, gold, or iron, was to be placed in the sanctuary of the Lord. This is not the ordinary ethic of the Bible with respect to the treatment of people groups, but an extraordinary one. It was the prerogative of the original Israelite inhabitants of Canaan, thereafter only to be realized in the future in the final destruction of all evil. In like manner, the Lord gave Og, king of Bashan, into Israel’s hands (3:1–11). His territory, far to the north and east of the Sea ...

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