Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing all results

Psalm 130:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... (NIV put your hope in) Yahweh. Their “action of inaction” is also based on the premise that with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption (note the word order). The emphasis of the closing confession of trust thus lies not on the action but on the subject of the action: He himself will redeem Israel.

3077.

Psalm 139:1-24

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... (vv. 1–6), omnipresence (vv. 7–12), and omnipotence (vv. 13–15). But the sudden shift from sublime wonder at God’s determined interest in the speaker to a denunciation of “the wicked” (vv. 19–22) sounds like an impulsive change of subject. Why are the wicked brought up in a psalm that to this point has made pleasant reading? Some commentators believe that interpretation of the psalm must begin with these verses. Its occasion would thus lie in the speaker’s conflict with the wicked ...

3078.

Psalm 145:1-21

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of praise and is a general designation, as the parallel term, “your mighty acts,” implies (v. 4). Next, “all [the people] he has made” are the recipients of Yahweh’s goodness and compassion (v. 9). As a result, “all you have made” becomes a subject praising God (v. 10). The final two instances are identical and emphasize his works as objects of his compassion: Yahweh is “loving toward all he has made.” In terms of motifs the structure of Psalm 145 may be analyzed this way: Praising God: 1 ...

3079.

Psalm 147:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... 33:1). Yahweh is presented through the metaphoric roles of “builder” of Jerusalem and “the healer” of the brokenhearted (cf. Isa. 30:26; 61:1; Hos. 6:1). The Hebrew verbs praising God in this psalm are mostly participles, thus placing emphasis on the subject performing the action, rather than simply on the action itself. The two roles of builder and healer go hand-in-hand because the city’s former inhabitants are the exiles of Israel. Without transition the psalm moves to the stars. The connection ...

3080.

Psalm 150:1-6

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of this praise: his sanctuary and His mighty heavens (lit. “his powerful firmament”). As seen in Psalm 148, the congregation of the people of God stands as the liturgist summoning both the earthly and heavenly congregations to worship. Verse 2 provides the subject of praise, his acts of power and greatness. 150:3–5 The bulk of the remaining calls to praise list the musical instruments that are to accompany the singing. The praise of God is not simply contemplation, confession, and prostration—it is ...

3081. Body

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... verse 7 to his body as a “jar of clay,” alluding to the original composition of human beings from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7) and to their subjugation to death and decomposition to dust after the curse (Gen. 3:19). The creation, too, has been subjected to futility and decay (Rom. 8:20). The mortal material out of which humans are made is the problem. Hence, in Romans 7:24 we find the anguished cry (perhaps of Adam after the fall), “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” On the other hand ...

3082. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 28:1-28, Proverbs 29:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... five times each in chaps. 28 and 29 but is absent from chap. 27; cf. commentary on 16:1–22:16). Some interpreters consider these chapters to be “rules for rulers,” although fewer than one-fourth of the verses refer to either rulers or their subjects. More striking is the emphasis on traditional Hebrew piety here. Proverbs 28:12, 28 and 29:2, 16 are parallel, dividing these chapters into four subsections: 28:1–11; 28:12–28; 29:1–16; 29:17–27. According to these verses, the stability and mood ...

3083. Jerusalem’s Humiliation

Lamentations 4:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the contrast between “then,” a time of glory, and “now,” a time of humiliation. 4:1–10 · Jerusalem’s faded glory: “How” is the recognizable introduction to a lament (1:1). Not Jerusalem only but the country’s suffering populace is the subject. Jerusalem the golden has become very tarnished. Its pride, the sanctuary, is dismantled, and its stones are scattered about in the streets. However, with verse 2 as a clue, “gold” and “gems” may refer to the best of its citizens. The sons of ...

3084. Daniel Interprets the Dream

Daniel 2:24-49

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... —you are the head of gold. (2:37 NRSV) The main clause is “You, O king . . . you are that head of gold” (2:37–38). The second “you” resumes the sentence, which was interrupted by all the material between the first “you,” which is the subject, and the second “you,” which leads into the predicate. The title “king of kings” itself is attested in Akkadian, but it is normally used in the third person, not in the second person, to address a king (Montgomery, Daniel, p. 171). It is used of ...

3085. Daniel Interprets the Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:19-27

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... largess provide shelter for the beasts of the field and nests for the birds of the air (4:12, 21). Similarly, God says through Jeremiah: “Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him” (Jer. 27:6). Nebuchadnezzar is a kind of new Adam, having been given dominion over the earth and the animals (Gen. 1:26, 28; 2:19). The interpretation is a decree of the Most High (4:24). The word translated “decree” is the same ...

3086. Woe to the Complacent

Amos 6:1-7

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... .” Calneh and Hamath were both city-states to the north of Israel and were apparently under Israelite influence in Amos’s day, though they would be conquered by Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria in 734 BC. Gath was a Philistine city-state on Judah’s border and subject to it, but it would be conquered by Sargon II of Assyria in 712/1 BC. Is Amos pointing to the good fortune of Israel and Judah by his questions and yet predicting the future loss of their supremacy? Or has verse 2 been inserted after 734 BC ...

3087. A Basket of Ripe Fruit

Amos 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... the judgment announcement in 7:9 and is bound to the third vision by the use of “sword” in both 7:9 and 7:11 and by the reference to “sanctuaries” in both 7:9 and 7:13. Thus the whole unit holds together by its common subject matter of visions and the reaction to them. Visions were frequent means of God’s communication with the prophets. In an ecstatic state of heightened consciousness, the prophet was granted to see and to hear God’s voice and actions, of which others were unaware. For example ...

3088. Blessings for a Defiled People

Haggai 2:10-19

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... so the reference is likely to meat from an animal that has been offered as a fellowship offering, which any offerer and Yahweh can share (Lev. 3). It was evidently acceptable for the offerer to take his share home and for other people to join in eating it, subject to certain conditions (Lev. 7:11–21). So Yahweh asks the priest to imagine a person taking meat home, cradled in the fold of his garment, a corner folded back to make it into the equivalent of a pocket. If the fold were to touch some other food ...

3089. Zerubbabel the Lord’s Signet Ring

Haggai 2:20-23

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... in the book). So “Haggai does not challenge Persian authority, but he does put it into perspective” (March, “Haggai,” p. 731). The dating of the prophecies by the years of the emperor’s reign “is a persistent reminder that the people are subjects of the empire,” yet this designation of Zerubbabel as Yahweh’s signet ring stands alongside that; Judah is “in but not of the empire” (Meadowcroft, Haggai, p. 213). There is no suggestion that Yahweh is commissioning Zerubbabel to put down the ...

3090. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 29:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3091. The Voice of Truth

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Scientific Revolutions.” In it, he asserted that science is not objective and that “objectivity” is a fallacy in our thinking, that we cannot assert any absolute truths, because our personal observations will always render anything we see as “subjective.” When cultural paradigms shift, so does our concept of truth. Today, still in the midst of the Technological Revolution, we have moved as a society from a respect for authorities or specialists who “know” facts and on whom we depend ...

3092. A Portion of Thyself

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... The gospels record 37 of his parables, and in nearly half of them ― sixteen, to be exact ― Jesus talks about money and the way in which we use our possessions! More than that: one-tenth of all the verses in the gospels deal directly with the subject of money. That’s 288 verses! Again, when you look at the whole Bible, you find that less than 500 verses speak specifically about faith, and only 500 verses talk about prayer, yet more than 2,000 verses address the topics of money and possessions! Religion ...

3093. Swimming Against the Tide

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... someone as a fellow human being with fears, anxieties, doubts, assumptions, experiences, hopes, and dreams, we have hurdled over our greatest log. When we “demonize” others, we take away their humanity and view them as “objects” that are wrong rather than “subjects” of interest. As Ted Lasso would say, “be curious, not judgmental.” Learn about someone with differing views. Blood after all must be thicker than water. Can we really hope for the best for our neighbors and friends? Even if their ...

3094. Strength for The Journey

John 16:12-15

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... and most widely accepted of all Christian beliefs and, if you don’t mind my saying so, one of the least understood. Oh, don’t look at me. I don’t understand it either. But I have, over the years, done some reading on the subject. Here’s a little excerpt from the web site www.prayerist.com: “The Trinity is one of the most fascinating ― and controversial ― Christian teachings. The Trinity is described as a “mystery.” By mystery the Church does not mean a riddle, but rather the Trinity is ...

3095. For Someone of Distinction

Matthew 5:13-16 · 2 Timothy 4:1-2, 6-8

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... it provided him with many wonderful experiences. And there were also his years at the University of Buffalo, first as a campus minister, then as an administrator, and then as a faculty member. John’s brilliant mind, his knowledge of a vast array of subjects, his down to earth touch when it came to the courses he taught and the complicated issues he’d discuss, made him a popular figure on the UB campus. And over those years John was provided with wonderful experiences of conversations and relationships ...

3096. For Someone Remembered by Many

Luke 24:13-35 · Acts 20:31-35 · Matthew 16:13-20

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... Mayumi will always remember the conversations they had with their dad on a multitude of issues especially during the commercial breaks of a Star Trek rerun. They’ll forever recall his love of reading and learning and his great range of knowledge, knowing of subjects as obtuse as aviation technology, as deep as ancient cultures and rituals, and as mundane as the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Joe’s sisters Alma and Sue will never forget their years growing up with Joe and how supportive he always was ...

3097. A Sermon About Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... then all of them together, as a whole. 1. He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” We start with the image of Jesus, himself, praying. The subject of prayer is not an academic one for Jesus or for the author of this gospel. The disciples approached Jesus while he was praying, not while he was writing a paper or a book about prayer. Prayer, Luke told us, is an activity that comes in the midst ...

3098. Learning to Lean

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... most powerful prayer we can pray. For in trusting the Holy Spirit, we put ourselves fully into the hands of God, willing to follow God’s will, no matter what God decides. But by inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives, we open ourselves and the subjects of our prayers to the dynamic saving, healing, and changing power of God – to God’s divine intervention in our lives and the lives of others. To invite the Holy Spirit into our lives takes deep faith and trust in God’s loving and caring Spirit, in ...

3099. What’s In a Word?

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... about the cheese shop. The Spanish Inquisition sketch features normal folks getting questioned by a relative, only to have a mustachioed clergyman bursting on the scene shouting the tagline, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” In the sketch the inquisitors subject their victims to torture devices like “the comfy chair” or the “soft pillow.” If people didn’t expect a Spanish Inquisition they certainly didn’t expect this sort of treatment either. But the Spanish Inquisition was no joke ...

Showing 3076 to 3099 of 3099all results