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Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 3526 to 3550 of 4963 results

3526. Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Deuteronomy 18:9-13, 14-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... something God proposes to do not just once or twice, but periodically, and for as long as the people need to hear the word of the Lord. While the messages proclaimed by these prophets will change over the years, the general characteristics of prophecy will remain the same. First, all the prophets who genuinely speak God's word for Israel will be personally called to their positions. Becoming a prophet is not a position one can learn or an office one can earn. In fact, true prophets are noted for disclaiming ...

3527. John 12:20-33

John 12:20-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and service, the heavenly voice sounded like that of an angel. Though they could not yet discern the whole implication of what was to come, they sensed the presence of the divine in their midst. For a great many, however, Jesus' teachings remained scrambled, turning whole notions of messianic leadership, divine power and glorification over hard and on their heads. To those who simply cannot "get it," the voice is only so much noise the din of thunder. The text concludes with Jesus' revealing more ...

3528. Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... mask the odor of death and decay that they already expected to find permeating the tomb. Some suggest that the burial Joseph of Arimathea gave to Jesus was to fulfill the law detailed in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 a hanged man "under God's curse" was not to remain all night on the tree where he died. This would indicate that Joseph was convinced of Jesus' criminal status and that he rushed the burial in order to keep the law, not out of respect for Jesus or any concern for the approaching Sabbath. Since Jesus was ...

3529. Luke 24:36b-48

Luke 24:36b-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... first teaching seminar is divided into two parts. In verse 46, Jesus outlines the promises from Scripture that have now been fulfilled. Not until verse 47 does Jesus finally present the parts of Scripture which yet must be fulfilled in order to remain in complete accordance with the Father's will. Both repentance and forgiveness must be preached in Jesus' name to all nations, beginning with no less than Jerusalem. The disciples' disbelief and wonderment must have continued as they heard Jesus proclaim (v.48 ...

3530. John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... visiting Jesus under cover of darkness so that his own good name would not be linked with that of a Galilean wonderworker. In case Jesus turned out to be a public relations disaster, this secret visit assured Nicodemus that his reputation would remain intact. Others, who find the Nicodemus figure a generally favorable character, conclude something quite the reverse. Nicodemus is in darkness until he reaches Jesus, the one who is the light, who "shines in the darkness" (1:5). This Pharisee purposively comes ...

3531. Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5:21-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... picked up again. At first glance, it would seem that Mark could not have put together two more different people if he had tried. Jairus is referred to by name, identified by status, and appears as powerful and persuasive. The woman, on the other hand, remains forever anonymous; she is poor and sick and unclean due to both her gender and her illness. Yet there is a common experience that binds these two diverse individuals together: They are both utterly desperate, and they both come to Jesus as their last ...

3532. 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... veil covering the identity of this "person in Christ" is intended to fool no one. But it allows Paul to speak, obliquely at least, about an experience which is too astounding and personally moving for him to blurt out directly. Yet even as he remains intentionally vague on the issues of content within this vision, Paul cannot help falling back into Israel's prophetic tradition that carefully detailed dates when miraculous visions took place (see Amos 1:1; Haggai 1:1;2:1,10, 20). The humility suggested in ...

3533. Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is the redemption we have received from the sacrifice of Christ's own blood. All the goodness, all the excitement, all the joy depends first and foremost on the centrality of faith in Christ. Without that faith, we stand outside God's plan, and remain estranged from belonging to this adoptive family. Second, we are freely given "the forgiveness of our sins (NRSV "trespasses"), so that no guilt, no past events, may stand between us and our full acceptance as adopted children of God. Third, God bestows on us ...

3534. John 6:56-69

John 6:56-69

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... back," abandoning Jesus and his hard words (see John Painter, "Tradition and Interpretation in John 6," New Testament Studies volume 35, 1989, 421-450). Our reading concludes with Peter's confession. Note how under these conditions of abandonment, Peter's confession itself goes unnoted by Jesus and uncelebrated by the remaining disciples.

3535. James 1:17-27

James 1:17-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... theological treatises. If James is reticent in his Christological descriptions, he nevertheless exalts the power and glory of God beautifully through his imagery of "the Father of lights" (v.17). James testifies to the sustaining, unwavering nature of a God whose love remains constant, a love which no human suffering can obscure. In verses 17-18, James reminds readers that all good gifts come from God, beginning with the gift of birth-life itself and including our life-birth "by the word of truth." Our ...

3536. Mark 10:35-45

Mark 10:35-45

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... baptism, Jesus again took upon himself the judgment humanity deserved. James' and John's unhesitating willingness to share in Jesus' "cup" and "baptism" reveals how little they understood the personal cost that lies behind these channels to the divine. To remain true to the setting of this text, we must remind ourselves that the "cup" and "baptism" held different meanings for the disciples than they would later for the communities of post-Resurrection Christians. For the church, the cup and baptism clearly ...

3537. Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... scene depicted in today's gospel reading opens much as had the previous two question-and-answer dialogues (Mark 11:27f and 12:13f). A scribe approaches Jesus, his intellectual curiosity tweaked by the learned discussions he had overheard. The text remains unclear about the loyalties of this scribe. Both the more liberal Pharisees and the more conservative Sadducees had their own scribal interpreters of the Law. Indeed, what attracts this scribe's attention is not Jesus' position on the questions thrown at ...

3538. 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is in response to the report Timothy has brought him from the Gentile-Christian community in Thessalonia. Although he had personally preached before these early Christians, Paul's comments here are based on information from his envoy Timothy. Paul had remained in Athens, not accompanying Timothy on his journey to Thessalonia. There is scholarly speculation that the Thessalonian Christians had made a deal with the city rulers, promising that Paul himself would not be invited back within the city. But neither ...

3539. Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ministry in Galilee. Jesus cites Deuteronomy 8:3 in response to the tempter's first test. This answer testifies not only to the truth that human life is not dependent on satisfying physical needs alone. What is more important than mere food, Jesus states, is remaining obedient to the Word of God. In Luke's second (Matthew's third) temptation, the scene shifts as the Devil takes Jesus "up" for a global view. From this vantage point, Luke presents the greatest elaboration of the Devil's words. The claim made ...

3540. Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

3541. Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... so congenial that he speaks to them in supreme confidence that they both will understand his words and act accordingly. Paul and the Philippians had worked closely together in the past they had suffered together for the common faith and therefore the apostle remains convinced that they will continue to work with him and support him. Paul is so buoyed by this conviction that despite his imprisonment, his absence and his concern over the wrong theology being taught by the Judaizers in their midst, he finds it ...

3542. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... have gone before it. Paul offers a threefold promise that should comfort believers in every age. First, Paul declares that all past, present and future temptations are qualitatively similar. People have experienced similar types and degrees of temptations throughout the ages. Second, despite all our waywardness, God remains eternally faithful. Third, God will not test us beyond our ability to endure and God will always provide a way out of whatever moral quagmire in which we find ourselves floundering.

3543. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... share of the property that will belong to me" (v.12). Yet despite the legalese (or perhaps because of it), scholars still wrangle over what exactly was due to a son who would make such a demand, and what legal and moral responsibilities would remain between this father and son once this division of property was made. Whatever the cultural standards or legal implications associated with early inheritance, it is evident that the younger son cast them aside. In verse 13, he "gathered all he had" that is, he ...

3544. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... : Mary. After leaving the women with whom she had first come to the tomb (see Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-3, Luke 24:1-3) to summon Peter and John, she had returned to the tomb after the women and two disciples had been there and gone. Alone, she remains outside the tomb weeping. On her return, she has not met the other women with whom she first went to the tomb. It is clear she has not heard their report that Jesus is alive. The synoptists mention one angel; John says that two appeared as Mary stood distraught ...

3545. Acts 9:36-43

Acts 9:36-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of Stephen' s martyrdom and Saul' s conversion before returning to the driving force behind the expansion of the early church. For when we catch up with Peter, he has moved out of Jerusalem where the bulk of the followers of the Way had remained. On a pastoral journey to visit the churches established already outside of Jerusalem through the preaching of Philip and others, he now arrives on the Mediterranean coast at the town of Lydda (the Old Testament Lod) and Joppa (present-day Jaffa). Here, away from ...

3546. Revelation 7:9-17

Revelation 7:9-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... other page upon page. At worst they are embarrassed by Revelation's reliance on strange supernatural creatures as key players in the church's collective future. Still, however abused, misused and confused our tradition's relationship with Revelation has been, it remains one of the most quoted and talked about books in Scripture. We should not hesitate to preach on the messages in Revelation out of a fear of becoming ensnarled in its intimidating images and the volumes of interpretations they have inspired ...

3547. Revelation 21:1-6

Revelation 21:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... built by God and coming to humanity "from above." As a city now built by God alone, above and outside the old corrupt creation, this Jerusalem is now truly a new creation and a holy city. With Jerusalem as the bride and those faithful believers who remain after the last judgment as the bridegroom, this new creation becomes nothing less than the household of God. The divine "tabernacle" had always symbolized God's dwelling place with God's people (Exodus 25:8-9; 29:45; 1 Kings 6:12-13). According to John ...

3548. Acts 16:9-15

Acts 16:9-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is momentous. Paul's turn toward the West into Macedonia marks the first step in the church's missionary movement into Europe itself, setting up the first signs of the dichotomy between the Christian West and the largely unmissionized East that would remain until this century. There is a fair amount of scholarly debate about the meaning and inclusiveness of the pronouns employed here. The third person account articulated in verses 6-9 suddenly shifts to a first person account in verse 10ff. Although the ...

3549. Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the world. There is a ninth-century midrash, however, which identifies hokhmah as one of the seven things created before the creation of the universe, namely the Torah (see Burton L. Visotzky, The Midrash on Proverbs [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992]). The remaining verses (24-31) constitute an in-depth discussion of wisdom's role in creation. Wisdom "was there when he set the heavens in place" and when he "marked out the horizon on the face of the deep" (v.27 NIV). When God "established the ...

3550. 2 Kings 5:1-14

2 Kings 5:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... actions. Elisha does not present ultimatums to either the common people or the various kings of Israel. Elisha also leaves the prophets of other gods to their own devices. They are not engaged in a struggle for dominance. It is Elisha's sheer presence that remains a constant reminder of Yahweh's power a power greater than that of any king of Israel or any foreign ruler. In today's story, and throughout Elisha's prophetic ministry, that power is morphed into a simple message the message pronounced by both a ...

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