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Showing 301 to 325 of 1858 results

301. Tough Love

Illustration

King Duncan

... and again until the calf finally stands on its wobbly legs. And then what does the mother giraffe do? She kicks it off its feet! Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. "In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with the herd and avoid becoming a meal for lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs. The best way a mother giraffe has of ensuring that her calf lives is for her to teach it to ‘get up quickly and get with it.'" It makes me glad I'm not ...

302. Ready Or Not, Here He Comes!

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... if, riding atop the last float of the Macy'sThanksgiving Day parade, there was not a jolly old Saint Nick, but a wild-eyed John the Baptist dressed in a glorified burlap sack? Even the perpetually perky Katie Couric would wince as she offered parade ... doors are open — John is not talking to me." Maybe, or maybe not. The truth is that more folks than we care to admit sow their wild oats for six days a week then on the seventh day come to church to pray for a crop failure. John's message is that your ...

303. Silly Goose

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... made you angry ... perhaps even God. Did dropping out make you a better person? Of course not. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are going. Kierkegaard, again, tells of a wild goose, who with splendid motivation, went to live with some tame geese. He was resolved to liberate them from their domesticated life of mediocrity, where the food was rich and life was easy, even if somewhat dull and limited by the farmer's grim ultimate purpose ...

304. Proper 7

1 Kings 19:1-15a, Psalm 42 and 43, Isaiah 65:1-9, Luke 8:26-39, Galatians 3:23-29

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... . We are soothed during the painful parts of life and in good times, we share our rejoicings! Hurrah! Yippee! Hallelujah! Offertory Statement With your own creativity as well as your own fears, you may give of your resources to continue ministry in this place. Doxology "The Lone, Wild Bird" The ends of earth are in God’s hand, The sea’s dark deep and far-off land. And I am yours! I rest in you. Great Spirit, come, and rest in me. Prayer Of Thanksgiving God of Elijah and Us — thank you for being with ...

305. Heaven on Earth

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... than anyone else. The stock answer will refer to angels sitting around in the clouds playing their harps and singing songs. There must be streets paved with gold and lined with precious stones. It always seems, just when I start to have fun with my imagination going wild with heaven speculations, the child wants to know if his pet cat that was run over by a truck last week will be in heaven. Or if that isn't enough, what about Grandma or Grandpa? And what about Uncle George who was cremated and whose ashes ...

306. No Substitutes

Galatians 3:15-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... of life, we need God. He is the source of our life, our strength, our hope. Steve Rubell is one of the founders of the famed Studio 54 nightclub. At its height in the ’70s, Studio 54 was the hottest nightclub in the country. Studio insiders recall wild parties and endless supplies of drugs. But in the late ’80s, Steve Rubell reported that he saw all the old clientele of Studio 54 in a new place coming out of a church. They had been attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. (3) I see that happening ...

307. Breaking News: The Middle East

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... her unborn child, but an angel appeared to Hagar and assures her that they will both live, that her descendants will be too many to count, and that she will call the name of the son “Ishmael”. Then, he says this in verse 12, “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” (Genesis 16:12, NIV) In other words, Ishmael and his descendants will be like a donkey that you can’t tame; free ...

308. Show Me Your Baptismal Certificate

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... life we give them away for love. Martin Luther had mood swings that went from euphoria to utter despair. While he holed himself up in his castle and translated the Greek Bible into German for the first time, he was beset by all sorts of wild beasts, of doubts and discouragement, of betrayals and theological fist-fights. You probably have an image of Luther throwing ink-pots at the devil, because we all remember that image. But what Luther was famous for saying while he careened through the castle yelling at ...

309. Don't Worry! Give Thanks!

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... bird, don’t you think he will provide for us who are His very special, dearly loved, children? The flowers don’t fuss and worry over what they will wear. God clothes the wild flowers which are here one day and gone the next with the finest and most beautiful colors. If God does that for something growing in the wild surely God will care for those whom He has created “a little lower than angels” and crowned us “with glory and honor” as the Psalm says (8:5). Gratitude is the perfect antidote ...

310. Don't Be A Fat Goose

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... spring, when his own flock would fly north again. When spring came, he heard his old flock going by and flew up to join them. The goose had grown fat, however, and flying was difficult, so he decided to spend one more season on the farm and join the wild geese on their next winter migration. The following fall, when his former flock flew southward, the goose flapped his wings a little, but kept eating his grain. By the next time they passed overhead, the now-domesticated goose didn’t even notice them.

311. When Your Struggles Subside, You're Ready

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A parable is told about man who fell into the water. It was obvious that the poor fellow couldn’t swim, as he thrashed about wildly. A man on the banks, a strong swimmer, watched until the wild struggles subsided. Then he dove in and pulled the man to safety. When the rescue was over, the rescuer explained his slowness to act. “If I had jumped in immediately, he would have been strong enough to drown us both. Only by waiting until he was too exhausted to try ...

312. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... desecration, they had arrested him—the advocate made it sound as though this had been an official action, legally carried out, not the wild scene of mob violence that Luke has described in 21:30f. Tertullus implied that the Jews had fully intended to try Paul ... other witnesses were called and one wonders how they expected to press these charges in the absence of anything but wild accusations. 24:10 Felix did not take up the suggestion that he should question the prisoner. Instead, he indicated that ...

313. Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... of association of this saying with a baptismal hymn, believing that it could have been used as an “awakening call” for the unbeliever to step out of his or her darkness into the light of Christ. 5:18 C. E. Rogers believes that the wild, drunken practices connected with the worship of Dionysus form the general background for this command. See his “The Dionysian Background of Ephesians 5:18,” BibSac 136 (1979), pp. 249–57; also, Beare, p. 714; Mitton, pp. 188–89. In addition to the commentaries on ...

314. Titus' Task on Crete

Titus 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... person whose children have followed him in adopting his faith. Or it could mean they are “faithfully” to reflect the behavior of “the faithful.” In either case, the flip side of the coin is that they are not to be open to the charge of being wild (or “dissipation,” “debauchery”; cf. Eph. 5:18) and disobedient (a word used in the LXX of Eli’s sons, 1 Sam. 10:27). The word disobedient is repeated later (v. 10) of the false teachers (“who rebel”). Here we have the first hint of what will ...

315. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... in the following verses and in 3:13–18. See further H. Beck and C. Brown, “Peace,” NIDNTT, vol. 2, p. 780. On the poison image in Jewish literature, see Job 5:15; Ps. 58:4, 5; Sirach 28:17–23. Hermas Similitude 9.26.7 reads, “For just as wild beasts destroy and kill a man with their poison, so also the words of such men destroy and kill a man.” See further O. Michel, “Ios,” TDNT, vol. 3, pp. 334–35. 3:9 Thanking or blessing was frequently directed toward God (Matt. 11:25), so that God can ...

316. Living for God

1 Peter 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... ). Flood of dissipation: Anachysis means a pouring out, an excess; asōtia, a life given up to profligacy (Eph. 5:18; Titus 1:6), implying a waste of time, energy, and resources. The cognate term asōtōs is used of the prodigal son’s “wild living,” which included lavishing his money on harlots (Luke 15:13). In T. Asher 5.1 asōtia is significantly contrasted with “wedlock.” Heap abuse on you translates one word, lit. “blaspheme.” The Greek means to speak lightly or profanely of sacred things ...

317. False Teachers and Their Destruction

2 Peter 2:1-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... the false teachers, using some of the most colorful invective in the NT. These men are bold and arrogant, presumptuous and conceited in self-gratification, characteristics which are exhibited in their brazen behavior. One who is bold (tolmētēs, wildly irresponsible in reckless daring) rides roughshod over the rights, opinions, and interests of others, human or divine. One who is arrogant (authadēs, obstinately self-seeking) will not be deterred by the challenge of any appeal to logic, common sense ...

318. Protection of Property

Exodus 22:1-15

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... . Then the second party was liable for the value of the animal since he was responsible for its safekeeping (v. 12). The rabbis assumed that the first party had paid the second party for his services. If, however, he could produce the remains of death by a wild animal he was not liable, since this kind of protection was beyond what was required. The tenth case (vv. 14–15) addresses liability in the case of an animal borrowed for use in plowing or hauling. If it is injured or dies while the owner is not ...

319. I Am a Rose of Sharon

Song of Songs 2:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... this picture. The Hebrew words for these animals are the masculine equivalents of the words for the creatures mentioned in feminine form in the adjuration (2:7 and repetitions). Gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice (2:9) continues the image of a wild animal, which is now tame or courageous enough to approach human dwellings. The woman announces the man’s speech: My lover spoke and said to me. The inference is that in verses 10–13 we are hearing her voice imagining what she wants or ...

320. Drought, Famine, Sword

Jeremiah 14:1--15:21

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... no water and their riches are of no help. They, like the farmers described next, cover their heads as a sign of sadness. The farmers’ ground is hard and cracked from lack of rain. And the hardship and suffering is not limited to humans: the animals (doe, wild donkeys) have no water. The situation is indeed dire. After the oracle, Jeremiah speaks on behalf of the people (vv. 7–9). He pleads with God to have mercy on them in spite of their sin. He acknowledges the justice of God, but appeals to God’s ...

321. I am the Man Who Has Seen Affliction

Lamentations 3:1-66

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... action of these animals: Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart. (Hos. 13:8) In Amos, it is the Day of the Lord that is the topic when God says: It will be ... of his arrows (Job 7:20; 16:12 [here God has made him a target for the arrows of others]). Both metaphors (wild animals and target practice) emphasize the sufferer’s helplessness. A walker has no real defense against a predatory animal and a target ...

322. Israel Punished and Restored

Hosea 2:2-23

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... –c. The promise seems strange, because only in verse 12 has there been any previous mention of the enmity of wild beasts. Hosea is, however, using a promise characteristic of Israel’s eschatological traditions. The Israelites always knew, as we moderns ... the natural world (Gen. 3:15, 17–18; 9:2; Deut. 7:22; Ps. 91:13) and that Yahweh, the Lord of nature, could use the wild beasts as instruments of judgment (Jer. 5:5–6; 8:17; 15:3; Ezek. 5:17, etc.). Here Hosea begins the prophetic tradition of Israel ...

323. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 2:4-7, Zephaniah 2:8-11, Zephaniah 2:12, Zephaniah 2:13-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... If Assyria thinks this in Zephaniah’s day, the prophecy reports it with some irony, because with hindsight one can see that it is in terminal decline. In his vision, Zephaniah can already see that. Nineveh has become a ruin, just a lair for wild beasts. Passersby scoff or hiss or whistle, and shake their fists, more literally their hands, in astonishment and horror. Additional Notes 2:4 The verse begins ki, which here (as often elsewhere) the NIV takes as merely being there to emphasize what follows (NJPS ...

324. Two Shepherds

Zechariah 11:4-17

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... implements of one who slaughters and eats the sheep. The description of this foolish shepherd reverses the expectations of shepherdly care that the OT expresses elsewhere. A good shepherd protects the flock from wild animals that will kill and devour it, but the anti-shepherd will eat them himself, even down to the hoofs as the wild beasts do (see Amos 3:12). A good shepherd seeks and finds the lost sheep, and tends to the injured, but the worthless shepherd will refuse to perform these duties. This anti ...

325. Jacob Loved, Esau Hated

Malachi 1:1-5

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... divine word interprets contemporary events as judgment on Edom and fulfillment of prophecy. Joel 3:19 and Ezekiel 35:3–4 promise that Edom will become a “wasteland,” as in Malachi 1:3. Isaiah 34:6 pictures it becoming a habitat for many wild animals, including “jackals” (as here in v. 3). Only the prophecies against Edom in Malachi, Obadiah, and Jeremiah 49 call the country “Esau.” Obadiah and Malachi are also the only two prophecies about Edom that refer to her mountains. Edom’s punishment ...

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