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Showing 3576 to 3600 of 4963 results

3576. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with the rest of the Jewish community. The parables Jesus tells in chapter 13 suggest why his kingdom of heaven message received a mixed reaction from his fellow Jews. More puzzling was the fact that even some Gentiles accepted Jesus' words while Jews remained unconvinced. Both the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3b-9) - which would more accurately be called the parable of the seeds - and the parable of the wheat and the weeds (13:24-30) use a familiar agricultural motif to address this problem. In ...

3577. Romans 10:5-15

Romans 10:5-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the Pauline gospel. To those who have long lived with the identity of a "chosen people," however, this is not necessarily good news. Indeed, it smacks of a demotion. But as an example of how extensive and expansive the Lord's attentions remain, Paul insists that there is enough of all the divine bounty to share with all who call to the Lord. The NRSV's translation "is generous" is a distinctly wimpy, anemic version of the magnanimity Paul promises. A more exuberant "abounding wealth" better describes ...

3578. Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... her position. But her clever use of Jesus' own image demonstrates to him that there is still a way that she might receive a portion of God's bread. The woman does not deny the children of Israel the primacy of the table. Yet, she asserts that there remains a place for her as well. Jesus is clearly struck by her retort, impressed and inspired by this Gentile woman's tenacity and vision. He is now able to see how the table of God set before Israel may be stretched to accommodate a far more inclusive group ...

3579. Mark 13:24-37

Mark 13:24-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ' reference to the "day" and "hour" are not directly tied to the moment "heaven and earth will pass away." God's complete sovereignty and divinity is indisputable but so is God's intended intrusion into the world's normal order. Jesus' key advice remains constant throughout the two parables he offers in Mark 13:28-36 "watch." He illustrates this imperative in the story of the absentee master. Before he leaves, this master does an unusual thing he entrusts his servants, his slaves actually, with a certain ...

3580. 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him." After the third call, Eli acts as mentor for Samuel one last time by instructing him to go lie down and wait to hear the voice again. This time, Eli counsels, do not jump up and run around, but remain still and answer, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening" (v.9). It would be unwise to take the Lord's fourth call and appearance to Samuel in verse 10 as a literal apparition of God. The fact that Samuel's vision occurs only when he returns to his bed ...

3581. Romans 4:13-25

Romans 4:13-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... promise only spoke of innumerable progeny, possessing the land of Canaan and blessing other nations through Abraham's seed, common Jewish tradition had long expanded and exalted the promise so that it implied the conquest of the whole world. The point for Paul remains the same no matter how grandiose the Abrahamic promise had become it did not come "through the law but through the righteousness of faith." Verse 14 explains why this must be the case. If the promise to Abraham was extended only to those ...

3582. John 12:20-33

John 12:20-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... promised now to all who become disciples of this glorified one. Eternal life is primarily a qualitative, not a quantitative, concept. Finally, in verse 26, Jesus makes it clear that all those who call themselves his servants share in this eternal life by remaining always in his presence. Even as the unexpected nature of Jesus' glorification must have stunned his listeners, once it has been pronounced, Jesus too admits this is not an easy way to follow. In verse 27 there is some debate over whether Jesus ...

3583. Acts 8:26-40

Acts 8:26-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... despite the fact that he was an exotic, imposing official from the "end of the earth," this man was already a "God-fearer" or perhaps even a full proselyte to the thoroughly nonevangelical Jewish way of faith and worship. The issue of his true status remains in question although if this Ethiopian was literally a eunuch he could not have been a full proselyte into the Jewish faith (see Deuteronomy 23:1). The Spirit that had given Philip such excellent road directions to the middle of nowhere now urges the ...

3584. John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by these crowds is based on the signs Jesus performed, not the content of his words. Jesus knows how tenuous the faith of these witnesses really is, and as such, trusts none of these newcomers. Next, Nicodemus appears on the scene. He remains a strangely enigmatic figure, despite all the details we are given about him. At first, he appears to be exactly the kind of believer Jesus needs to help his ministry gain acceptance and recognition among the established religious community. Nicodemus is described ...

3585. 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , Paul implies, and they should not bother the believer nor cause one to "lose heart." The inner nature, our Christ-filled center, is as yet "unseen" hidden from the world inside the weak and troubled outer nature. But this "unseen" core is what remains eternally. This inner nature is exactly what will receive the weight beyond measure of the God-promised glory. Paul expected the return of Christ quite soon, perhaps even within his own lifetime. No wonder he could not imagine losing heart! The eternal gift ...

3586. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... escape the crowds that have gathered about and engulfed him, he fails. The disciples, his boat companions, are the only ones directly with Jesus. But Mark notes that even out on the sea "other boats were with him" (v.36). Just how long this flotilla remains together is not mentioned, but it is interesting to consider its possible presence in light of the way the situation develops. Did the storm that so badly battered the boat Jesus and the disciples were in also threaten the lives of those in these other ...

3587. James 1:17-27

James 1:17-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Evidently James means to stress God's creative power and identity. As "Father" of all these lights, or the stars and other heavenly bodies, God's role as creator and originator of every good thing is emphasized. This creative God remains unchanged with "no variation or shadow," unlike the heavenly lights God has created, which are constantly changing. While the terms the author uses here are definitely references to astronomical events (trope and parallage) the events themselves are not specified (i ...

3588. Mark 7:24-37

Mark 7:24-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Finishing up his lesson on what is "defiling" and what is not, Jesus sets off to a region that might be considered "defiled." The text explains Jesus' presence in that disreputable corner of the countryside as part of his effort to lay low and remain anonymous. Certainly in the midst of this primarily Gentile region of Tyre, tucked away in the quiet of a private home, Jesus might have expected to snatch a few days of solitude and silence, avoiding the constant recognition and perennial crowds. But Jesus " ...

3589. Mark 10:2-16

Mark 10:2-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... breaks up this discourse by having the disciples and Jesus now leave the crowds and retreat to the privacy of their local home base and the intimacy of a private tutorial. The "whatever cause" phrase from Matthew that is dropped in Mark's gospel remains absent in Jesus' final private words on this subject to his disciples. Matthew knows his audience and is well aware of "unchastity" as legitimate grounds for divorce a point Jesus himself concedes in Matthew 19:9. But before Mark's Gentile listeners, Jesus ...

3590. Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of each who would confess this truth, to love this God. The totality of this love extends to all aspects of the human being. Mark's rendition divides these aspects differently than does the original text from Leviticus, but the essential concept remains the same. In Leviticus, loving with all the "heart," "soul" and "might" is mandated. Here in Mark, "heart," "soul," "mind" and "strength" are stipulated. The original Hebrew had no need to designate both "heart" and "mind," for the Hebrew concept of heart ...

3591. Revelation 1:4b-8

Revelation 1:4b-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

There is little agreement over anything having to do with the book of Revelation. True authorship remains a mystery - there is no clear evidence to establish whether the writer might have been John the gospel writer or John the son of Zebedee or if "John" was simply a late redactor's pseudonym used to heighten the acceptance of this book of visions. Neither does internal evidence clearly ...

3592. 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the usual vicissitudes of human nature, but in the disturbing reports of persecution these new Christians had already been forced to endure. It is against this anxious backdrop that Paul receives Timothy's uplifting news, his Thessalonian brothers and sisters have remained strong under stress. In verse 9, Paul uses the power of a rhetorical question to emphasize his pleasure: "How can we thank God enough ...?" The joy he feels overwhelms and outweighs his ability to give thanks for it. The King James ...

3593. The World's Worst Bargain

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... told them there had been some mistake and he did not have his own violin. He stepped back behind the curtain thinking that it was still where he had left it, but discovered that someone had stolen his violin and left this old secondhand one in its place. Paganini remained back of the curtain for a moment, then came out before his audience and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I will show you that the music is not in the instrument but in the soul.” And he played as he had never played before; and out of that ...

3594. Remember Me

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:18-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... this evening to remember, to celebrate the risen Christ. An Italian mystic and novelist Luigi Santucci sought to capture Christ’s thoughts at that Last Supper with his disciples. Listen to his words: “At this point I see his eyes wandering around over the remains of the bread on the table-cloth, and then shining with an ineffable inspiration: this, this would be his hiding place. That’s where he would take refuge [ in the bread which he broke for his disciples]. That night [the soldiers] wouldn’t ...

3595. God Loses, So We Can Win

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... reconcile with Esau. The conniver, trickster, supplanter, and heel-grabber goes home to face the music. Music he can’t compose or direct. What Jacob needs is forgiveness, and only Esau can give it. What we need most we can’t grab. But the heel-grabber remains true to his modus operandi. He divides his wives, children, slaves, and flocks in half. One half will be offered to Esau as a peace offering. That is, if Esau doesn’t destroy them once he finds out they belong to Jacob. And, the conniver plots ...

3596. Tested, for God’s Sake

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... Son of Man, the Human Being. God’s love will be expressed by solidarity with the beloved. Jesus, the Human Being, won’t defy the law of gravity. In Philippians 2, there is an early profession of faith that asserts, that even though Jesus had the right to remain safe and secure in his divinity, he saw equality with God not as something to be grasped and exploited for his own advantage. Rather he emptied himself, becoming a human, a servant, one who will die, die even on a cross. Jesus says to the Tester ...

3597. Jesus' Good News of a New World · Part 1

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... to have the thorn removed. It wasn’t. At last he heard God’s response: “My grace is sufficient for you.” With that Paul’s mind changed about his thorn. He came to see it as a blessing. He came to see it as God’s way to help him remain poor in spirit. You see, he’d had a mystical experience in which he was transported to the spiritual realm. Such an experience can give one a superiority complex. Paul’s thorn was turned from curse to blessing. God was using it to remind him that the source of ...

3598. The Call to Downward Mobility

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... for? The two answer their own question without being aware of it. They answer Jesus’ question with a question: “Where are you staying?” The Greek word is meno. It is crucial to the Fourth Gospel’s testimony to who Jesus is. It means stay, remain, rest in, dwell, abide. “Jesus, where are you staying?” He doesn’t give them a location. He’s more concerned with a relationship than a place. He’s more concerned with firsthand experience than with a creed. He answers, “Come and see.” They ...

3599. The Father’s Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... , of not being good enough, of being good for nothing, of not deserving to be loved for who we are. On Mother’s Day I observed that each of us has been created with a God-hole. In that God-hole lies all our self-doubt and shame. It remains there until God fills that hole. We try to fill the hole with God-substitutes. We try to overcome the self-doubt by proving ourselves. The world gives us a cafeteria line to choose from. All we have to do is become the slave of its offerings: success, wealth ...

3600. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Josephus declared that lepers were treated “as if they were, in effect, dead men.” Whenever leprosy was diagnosed on examination by the priest, the leper was banished from the community. The writer of Leviticus spelled out the sentence of the condemned: “He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean; he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp” (13: 46). The leper had to go with “rent clothes, disheveled hair, and with a covering upon his upper lip,” and as ...

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