Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3226 to 3250 of 3852 results

3226. The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

Revelation 8:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... telling us, Be still and know the Godness of God (cf. Ps. 46:10). Taken as a whole, the seven seals give a partial answer to the problem of theodicy (i.e., why a good and powerful God does not act immediately to end human suffering). They demonstrate that the origin of suffering and evil is complex. There are several degrees of separation from God, who once held the scroll (4:1); to the slain Lamb, who takes it and breaks the seals (5:7; 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12; 8:1); to the cherubim, who give the command ...

3227. 8:2–5

Revelation 8:6--9:21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ; 2 Pet. 2:4; 1 Enoch 10:4–14). The swarm is reminiscent of the eighth Egyptian plague (locusts; Exod. 10:12–20) but also possibly the third (gnats; 8:16–19) and fourth (flies; 8:20–24), since locusts, gnats, and flies were all insects thought to originate in the belly of the earth and could cover the land like a blanket of darkness (Exod. 10:15; Joel 2:2, 10; cf. Rev. 8:12). The demonic locusts of Revelation, unlike the locusts that devastated Egypt’s farming lands, are not allowed to damage the ...

3228. The Babylonian Whore

Revelation 17:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... vice and moral decadence was familiar among Greco-Roman moralists (Seneca, On the Good Life 7.3.1–3; Plutarch, Pericles 12.2) and Jewish readers alike (Isa. 23:15–18; Nah. 3:4–5). It is a familiar caricature (despite its patriarchal origins) and illustrates the exploitive nature of Rome’s relations with her vassal states. The empire’s success was dependent on the patron-client relationships between Rome and the major urban centers of the empire. Cities received emergency funds from Rome to rebuild ...

3229. A Light for All Nations

Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Confidentially, I understand that the place is just crawling with foreigners.” Prejudice is deeply rooted in human nature. It does not die easily. Nevertheless, the book of Genesis makes it plain. There is but one race--the human race. We all have the same original parents. God is no respecter of persons or of nations. There is a second thing to be said, however. Sometimes God does choose individual persons or nations for a particular task. Israel was called to be a light to the nations. It was not that ...

3230. Jesus or Niccolo?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... the first two, this temptation also has eternal implications combined with instant gratification. John's prologue introduces Jesus using, among others, these words: "All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being" (John 1:3). What originally belongs to Christ as this world's Creator, and what the Father promises, according to Psalm 2, he shall inherit as Messiah. Satan, in one of the biggest ruse attempts of all time, now promises to give him what is already his. In ...

3231. A Jiffy for Eternity

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.[1] Perhaps one thing that makes this old song especially fascinating is that its third verse was penned not by the song's original author, Pastor Frederick Lehman, but penciled on a cell wall by a man who was consigned to live in an asylum because he was adjudged to be mentally troubled beyond hope. His lines were discovered when hospital personnel entered his cubicle room to place his ...

3232. Here's Mud In Your Eye

John 9:1-41

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

"Just the facts, ma'am!" That phrase, often attributed to Sergeant Joe Friday of Dragnet fame, even though it did not originate with him, goes straight to the point. Now here is another "just the facts personality": Julius Caesar was admired for his ability to make uncluttered summations of his great achievements. In a few words Caesar could lay bare the story of his accomplishments. Perhaps none of his statements is any ...

3233. Live Spelled Backward

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... 2:2 ESV). He descended from heaven and fell just high enough to set up shop where he could deputize emissaries for the purpose of reaping havoc among us, our forbears, and generations not yet born. That, according to the Bible, is where evil found its origins and where its roots are found today. So we can say that it is no surprise that psychiatry has not yet found a cure for it. Evil Personified The most pronounced human example of this diabolical thing called evil is a certain man named Judas Iscariot ...

3234. Son of a Daddy

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... that day. Where he came from and where he went afterward, no one knows. This man's name is Barabbas. '"They shouted in reply, 'Not this man, but Barabbas!' Now Barabbas was a bandit" (v. 40). Barabbas's Moniker Barabbas is a name of Aramaic origin. Aramaic is the language that came into being after the captivity of the Israelites when the language of the Syrian captors became entangled with the Hebrew language of old Israel. It could be compared to Spanglish, an intermingling of English and Spanish that has ...

3235. Oh Say, Can You See by the Dawn’s Early Light?

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... life changes forever: "He saw and believed" (v. 8). What makes the difference for John? Actually, we could first ask ourselves if there really is any difference for John. What is it that he "believed"? We might conclude that he simply believes Mary's original account. He too concludes that someone has vandalized Jesus' grave. Two pieces of evidence, however, argue against this: The first is that John already seems to believe Mary's account, for when he arrives at the graveside he can see the stone rolled ...

3236. When Heartbreak Turns to Heartburn

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Here again we find Luke the physician at his best. Although not one of the original twelve, in his own exquisite and unique way this doctor-disciple of Jesus gives us details with clarity indicating that he is close to Jesus and the disciples and can speak with the authority of an eyewitness to the things he tells us. In his opening phrase in the passage, ...

3237. Getting Under Someone's Skin

Matthew 5:7

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

In the original Aramaic which Jesus spoke, the word "merciful" means literally "to get under someone's skin." It means to wear his skin, as it were; to see life from his perspective, to stand in his shoes. It means more than sympathy; it means active empathy or merciful understanding. Let me illustrate. ...

3238. Falling Into Faith

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... ), p. 101. 4. Poem by Charles D. Reeb. 5. Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1999), pp. 195-196. 6. Henri J. M. Nouwen, “A Spirituality of Waiting,” Weavings 2, no. 1 (January- February, 1987), p. 10. 7. Originally published in Circuit Rider, copyright The United Methodist Publishing House, Charles D. Reeb — January/February 2002. Article in The Baltimore Sun written by Holly Selby.

3239. The Invitation

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... true? Well, it’s not, because this invitation is not of this world. The Invitation comes from God through many sources, but today The Invitation comes through the prophet Isaiah. Obviously, there is nothing new about The Invitation. It is timeless. It was originally extended to the people of God as they wandered in the wilderness, trying to find the way. Soon they became so desperate that they were grasping at anything and everything which looked like an answer. Remember the golden calf and the invitation ...

3240. Prayer Changes Things

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... to ignite it. Nobel was a Christian and understood some biblical Greek. He decided to name his new chemical dunamis or dynamite. His vision came from Mark 11:23 where Jesus tells us that faithful praying can move mountains. This is exactly what dynamite originally did. It removed mountains so highways could be built! Nobel became very wealthy, as you might imagine. He set up a foundation. Perhaps you have heard of it — The Nobel Prize. We have our own spiritual dynamite. It is called prayer and it can ...

3241. Pop Verses: Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah 40:28-31

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... response to the officer-related deaths of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, Americans were left wondering how divided their nation is. “If some events during this week are any indicator, then there might be more hope for unity than originally thought. “According to a CNN video posted to their Facebook page, another Black Lives Matter protest began in Dallas. A counter-protest formed across the street. “A representative from the Black Lives Matter protest and a representative from the counter ...

3242. The Genealogy of Jesus

Matthew 1:1-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... follows the royal lineage. 1:1 At the very beginning Matthew establishes the two most significant points about Jesus’ family history: he was the son of David (therefore of royal lineage) and also a descendant of Abraham (he belonged to the people of God who had their origin with the great patriarch who moved out of ancient Ur and by faith followed the leading of God to a new land.) The title son of David occurs frequently in Matthew and stems from God’s promise to King David in 2 Samuel 7:12: “I will ...

3243. The Visit of the Magi

Matthew 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... to be born in Bethlehem in Judea. Matthew adds that this is in fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah, who said that from Bethlehem would come a ruler who would shepherd his people Israel. It is instructive to compare Matthew’s quotation with the original in Micah 5:2. “Ephrathah” (probably the district in which Bethlehem lay) becomes the land of Judah; “clans of Judah” becomes rulers of Judah; and “though you are small” becomes you … are by no means least. What we have is a form of midrashic ...

3244. The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... and you are their true successors (cf. 23:29–36). Stendahl thinks that Jesus may be referring to his disciples as prophets in much the same way as did the Essenes (p. 776). Additional Notes 5:4 Metzger notes that if vv. 3 and 5 had originally been together, with their rhetorical antithesis of heaven and earth, it would have been unlikely that any scribe would have inserted v. 4 between them. It is easier to assume that a second-century copyist brought the two verses together to produce the antithesis and ...

3245. Judging Others

Matthew 7:1-6

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... in a more general way as counsel against sharing spiritual truth with those who are unable and unwilling to accept it. Because what is sacred is not parallel with pearls it has been suggested that the Greek word for sacred mistranslates an Aramaic original that meant “earring.” The text is acceptable as it stands. It would be unthinkable to take sacred food and give it to dogs or valuable pearls and feed them to pigs. Finding pearls unpalatable, pigs will trample them underfoot, and dogs will turn ...

3246. Jesus and John the Baptist

Matthew 11:1-19

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the coming kingdom. He is the one of whom Scripture says, I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you. The quotation is from Malachi 3:1 and reflects the LXX of Exodus 23:20. Jesus changes “before me” in the original to “before you” and in so doing refers the passage to himself as Messiah. I tell you the truth, continues Jesus, that there has not risen among mortals anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet the humblest member of the kingdom of heaven is greater than ...

3247. John the Baptist Beheaded

Matthew 14:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... , in that it calls attention to the treachery of using a relatively innocent person in perpetrating such a cruel and violent deed. The disciples of John came and took the body for burial and then told Jesus about it. Additional Notes 14:1 Tetrarch: Originally this title signified “ruler of a fourth part.” This was appropriate in the case of Herod Antipas, because upon the death of Herod the Great, he and his brother Philip inherited one half of the territory ruled by their father (Josephus, Ant. 17.317 ...

3248. Clean and Unclean

Matthew 15:1-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... akmēn places the stress at the beginning of the sentence). Whatever enters the mouth travels through the stomach and then out of the body into the drain (aphedrōn). It is what comes out of (not into) the mouth that defiles, because it originates in the heart. That is the real source of all that makes a person unclean. Matthew then lists seven evils (v. 19). After the first (evil thoughts), they follow in the order of the sixth through the ninth commandments (murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft ...

3249. As You Go, Remember…

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... species brought to its highest expression, and we know that if God has his final way, he will some day make each of us into that kind of perfection. I refer to the last verse in our text, which is usually translated as an imperative. In the original Greek, the future and the imperative are spelled exactly alike, so that on textual grounds it could just as well be translated as a promise rather than a command; namely, "I will let you in on my ultimate objective." It is not something we have to attain before ...

3250. What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... whole life. I am speaking now about "the upward journey," and I realize that many people never even begin it because they have failed to learn the most basic single truth about God; namely, that he is a holy one. This word "holy" was not originally a moralistic term. It meant "separate," "unique," "only one of its kind." When applied to God, it means that he is a different sort of being than anything else we experience. There are actually just two orders of reality, the uncreated and the created. Everything ...

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