Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3801 to 3825 of 4957 results

3801. John 10:11-18

John 10:11-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... their own caricature as it was drawn before them. Another favorite illustrative technique used by Jesus and recorded most prominently in John's gospel is the "I am" format used to introduce one after another new image of Jesus' role and mission. Jesus claims "I am" before such images as "the salt," "the gate," "the light," "the leaven," "the bread," "the resurrection," and in this week's text "the good shepherd." The Lord as "shepherd" is probably familiar to every Sunday school child who has recited the ...

3802. 1 John 4:7-12

1 John 4:7-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , love is the active life of faith. John concludes this text with another blow to Gnostic tendencies. Verse 12 denies any mystical union with the deity solely for the purpose of experiencing a vision or "ecstasy" of God. Our "vision" of God, John claims, is found in a mirrored reflection. When God's love for us is successfully reproduced in ourselves we obtain not higher and clearer visions but deeper submissions and broader incarnations of God's holiness. Knowledge of God means acknowledging God in every ...

3803. 1 Samuel 16:1-13

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and his people. He begins to take his own council over the directives of the Lord. He brashly disobeys God's marching orders and boasts of his actions before Samuel (1 Sam. 15:1 5ff.). God becomes totally disillusioned with Saul's performance and returns to Samuel, claiming, "I regret that I made Saul king (1 Sam. 15:11). Samuel's response is hardly one of meek acceptance. After all, Saul was anointed by Samuel. The prophet's reputation and status is caught up in Saul's career. And Samuel likes Saul; he had ...

3804. Mark 6:7-13

Mark 6:7-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... obeyed his instructions to the letter. Until now it has not been made clear what exactly the disciples were to do out on their missions. But now we see that their mission and the activity of the early church are one and the same. Claiming only the authority of Jesus' name, the disciples boldly preach the same message as had John the Baptist "repent." Significantly, the success of these new mouthpieces of the message is immediately followed by the report of John the Baptist's death. The lineage of Christian ...

3805. James 1:17-27

James 1:17-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... into wrongdoing. Verse 17 restates James' earlier point in verse 5 that wisdom and all other good gifts do come from God. Although somewhat mangled to fit more perfectly into his line of reasoning, verse 17 is actually James' reworking of a pagan proverb which claimed in essence, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." The God James defines in verse 17 is utterly trustworthy. This God has distributed only goodness since the time of creation for God the Creator is the "Father of lights" and is unfailing in ...

3806. James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in to self-serving counsel is "false to the truth" and will ultimately splinter the community into bickering, self-absorbed factions. The "wisdom" that encourages divisive actions and destructive attitudes is not divine insight to some higher truth, James claims, but "earthly, unspiritual, devilish" quarrelsomeness. According to Jewish tradition, true wisdom is received from God's Spirit, making the leader who is truly "spirit-filled" a receptacle for the highest wisdom. So it is that in verse 15 James ...

3807. Jeremiah 31:7-14

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ." (For this insight see John B. Rogers,Jr., "Jeremiah 31:7-14," Interpretation 42 [July 1988]: 281-85). Verse 9 declares, "I will lead them back," and "I will let them walk by brooks of water." Verse 10 continues to insist that the God who has claimed Ephraim as "first-born" "will gather him" and "will keep him." As part of the new prosperity and abundance that will be poured out on those who had been suffering (vv. 12-14), God continues to promise: "I will turn their mourning into joy," "I will comfort ...

3808. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 15th chapter, however, Paul takes pains to create the atmosphere of a coalesced community, bound together by firm faith, despite the fact that they may still be confused about where that faith may be taking them. Paul begins this chapter by claiming the Corinthians as his kin, joined to him through their mutual experiences with the "good news." Though he phrases his introductory greeting in a somewhat flowery, ceremonial pattern, he nonetheless affirms that he and his readers share a common experience of ...

3809. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to balance his books. He is seeking a way to recover his lost honor and to polish his tarnished image in the community. Scholars debate over the economic impetus behind the steward's next step. Some give the steward the benefit of the doubt and claim that by lowering the amount of debt on the books, the steward is subtracting the usurious percentage he had added for his own ill-gotten profits. Others simply indict the manager as committing yet another act of fraud against his master. In either case the ...

3810. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... "fought the good fight" would evoke images of the very real battle Christianity was facing against pagan gods and values. While not athletic, the phrase "to keep the faith" was already a common expression and would remind readers of their pledges to one another. Claiming that he had "completed the course" or "finished the race" was a phrase found on Dido's lips in Virgil's Aenead. "I have lived; I have finished the course that fortune assigned me" (as cited in Virgil's Aenead, tr. Michael Oakley [New York ...

3811. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5

2 Thessalonians 2:13 – 3:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Thessalonians were being persecuted (an assumption proved wrong in 1 Thessalonians 3:6), and since he worried about their ability to endure, it is reasonable to expect Paul to send such a community written words of comfort and faith. Wanamaker claims that by seeing 2 Thessalonian as the earlier of the two letters, the two distinctive tones of the correspondence make sense. Thus 2 Thessalonians voices concern over possible problems brewing in and stewing about the church, while 1 Thessalonians sounds ...

3812. Romans 5:12-19

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , Paul reveals, God's finger is on this scale of justice - for the balance between the countless "trespasses" accumulated on Adam's side is brought into balance with Christ's sacrificial act through the power of God's grace - the only way in which we may claim "justification" (v.16). Paul's remarks in verses 17-18 on this comparison between the trespasses of Adam and the free gift of Christ reveal how Paul has tried to make both the tragedy of the first Adam and the miraculous gift of the Second Adam ...

3813. Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the mission of the historical human Jesus - a mission that was not completed simply by the act of incarnation, but by the climatic ending of his work through his death on the cross. It is this obedience, even to death, that gives the human Jesus his claim to Lordship and which encourages his disciples to follow in his footsteps. The final three verses of this hymn reflect as high a Christology as is found anywhere in the Scriptures. God exalts the obedient Christ and then raises the name - that is, the very ...

3814. 1 Peter 1:17-23

1 Peter 1:17-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in the distant regions, far away from their native country and culture and its traditions. Yet these are the same "futile ways" 1 Peter denounces. 1 Peter's words now invite these new Christian believers to make the heritage of Israel their own to claim identity with the first generation of ransomed slaves. The reader's "Egypt" was the Gentile/pagan culture from which they are now delivered. But the price paid, the ransom handed over, was far more than the first Passover had demanded. The literal sacrifice ...

3815. 1 Peter 2:2-10

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... building project. God is the builder here. This is not any human construction project. His unique reference to "living stones" leads 1 Peter on to more familiar "stone" images. Both the "cornerstone" and the "stumbling block" images further distinguish the believers who claim Christ from those who reject him. Instead of rejecting the "living stone" who is Christ, new Christians are invited to share in being part of the construction of a new "spiritual house" (v.5). This "house" is, of course, the church ...

3816. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... encourage you to help your people view the completed tapestry Luke created to picture in living color the birthday of the church. The first component in today's text recounts the actual descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. Luke begins by claiming that these still-faithful followers of Jesus were gathered "together in one place" (v.1) a reference that seems to suggest they were still closeted in some closed and secretive "Upper Room." Although Luke himself does not make any explicit references to the ...

3817. Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... from the stormy seas that threaten their boat. However, unlike the incident in 8:23ff., the text says nothing about Jesus himself ordering the seas to calm. And while this text admits the disciples' boat is making little headway in its journey, it does not claim their lives are endangered by the stormy conditions. The purpose Matthew seems to suggest for Jesus' walk on the wild side has more to do with building up the disciples' life of faith than bailing out their swamped boat. Of the three gospels where ...

3818. Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... any threat these authorities might present. Not members of the "true vine," they are weeds that God will simply pull up. Jesus further insults the leaders by calling them "blind guides of the blind." This rub denies the Pharisees the privilege of claiming their celebrated title as "leaders of the blind." Because they themselves are blind, Jesus scoffs, these authority figures would only lead others into a pit with them. As Jesus now continues to explain his remarks in verse 11, the Matthean text rearranges ...

3819. Matthew 21:23-32

Matthew 21:23-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... this point, they would approach Jesus out of any kind of genuine interest in his ministry. The Greek here suggests that the religious authorities are not asking Jesus if he has any authority, but are really asking him what kind of authority he claims. Thus, their two questions "what" and "who" are really only one. The indefinite term "things" is never fully clarified by Matthew's text. Although it could refer only to Jesus' teaching of that moment, it could also include the temple-cleansing incident, along ...

3820. Philippians 4:1-9

Philippians 4:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... "beside" Paul. The apostle skillfully places the two women on equal ground, not giving pre-eminence to either one indeed putting them on level footing with his own spiritual efforts in the Philippian church. Any sense of a pecking order is defused by Paul's claim that all those involved in the church's work of faith have their names listed "in the book of life." If there is one central message in the Philippian correspondence, it is encapsulated by Paul's outburst in verse 4, "Rejoice in the Lord always ...

3821. Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... responses given by Jesus, these Pharisaic challenges demonstrate a precise practice. Although the title "teacher" originally may have been employed as part of the testing process, Jesus' skillful answers, crafted in perfect rabbinical interrogative fashion, testify to his legitimate claim to rabbi status. With the question about whether it is morally correct to pay the demanded Roman tax to Caesar, the Pharisees and Herodians hope to force Jesus into a choice between alienating the crowds (who despise the ...

3822. John 1:6-8, 19-28

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... as an indication of John's immediate, unhesitating, very dramatic answer. "I am not the Messiah." The emissaries are not easily put off. They follow up with another question, as though they are seeking to narrow down the field of possible identities John may care to claim. They next ask if he is Elijah. Their inquiry is rooted in the writing of Malachi 4:5, which declares the prophet Elijah will appear at the end of time to prepare the world for the imminent arrival of the Messiah. John denies this identity ...

3823. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in 1:26-31 actually follow a standard style of "birth announcement" established in such Hebrew annunciations as Zephaniah 3:14-17; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Genesis 18:9-15; and Judges 13:2-7. Similar-type birth announcements, complete with claims of miraculous conception, were also known among the written histories of ancient Near Eastern secular leaders and statesmen. Thus, although Luke's language is uniquely powerful, the form his message takes is not original to him. Luke quickly makes it clear, however ...

3824. Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with authority to those with economic clout (tax collectors) and military might (soldiers). He had been bold enough to address mixed crowds that contained individuals whose social status was far, far above his own. Obviously, John did not shrink from claiming power or authority for his message. But when faced with the crowd's question over his identity, John the Baptist firmly and frankly distinguishes himself from the long-expected Messiah whose coming he announces. John lists three crucial distinctions ...

3825. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... expressing God's love and power to the community of faith. There is also no cause for some elite sense of a super-spiritual class of faithful as the Corinthian church seems inclined to believe. Paul democratizes the gifts of the Spirit in verse 7, claiming that to each and every believer a specific manifestation of the Spirit is given. To be a Christian is to be Spirit-filled. While that Spirit will necessarily take on distinct or unique shape within each individual, it is nonetheless present within all. In ...

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