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Showing 3826 to 3850 of 4681 results

3826. Mary's Song

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... boys and girls. Last week we said we were going to be talking about pride during the Christmas season because Christmas season is a time of honoring the humble things in this world. Today our Scripture lesson is about when the angel told the Virgin Mary that she would bear a child and His name would be Jesus. Mary was overjoyed and she prayed a prayer in which she gave thanks that God would honor her in this way. She was such a humble person and yet God had chosen her. Last week we said that pride puffs us ...

3827. The First Two Days: John the Baptist’s Message

John 1:19-28, John 1:29-34

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... s world is to be purified; all sin will be purged from the earth, and everything evil will be destroyed. Lamb of God by itself suggests a quite different image, the blood sacrifice of an innocent victim, but the point of the saying is not so much that the Lamb bears the guilt of the world’s sin as that the Lamb quite literally takes sin away. The focus is on the result of the Lamb’s work, not on the means of reaching that result. The best commentary on this message is 1 John 3:5, in which the language ...

3828. John the Baptist's Testimony about Jesus

John 3:22-36

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... the chapter is maintained in the reply of John to his disciples (vv. 27–30). John speaks, as Jesus did to Nicodemus, of what is humanly impossible: A man can receive only what is given him from heaven (v. 27; cf. vv. 2, 3, 5). In particular, John bears witness to his own limitations, citing part of the very testimony to which his disciples have just referred (v. 28). John is not the Messiah, but only a messenger sent on ahead to prepare for the Messiah’s coming (cf. 1:20, 23). In his imagination, John ...

3829. Jesus and Those Who “Believed”

John 8:31-41, John 8:42-47, John 8:48-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... 8:31–32 If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Cf. Jesus’ words in his farewell discourse to those who were genuinely his disciples: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (15:8); “I no longer speak of you as slaves, for a slave does not know what his master is about. Instead, I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from my Father ...

3830. Jesus Predicts His Death

John 12:20-36

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... , and both make the point that latent in the death itself is the power and reality of the resurrection. The paradox inherent both in nature and in grace is that life comes only through death (cf. 1 Cor. 15:36). This paradox is brought to bear, not only on Jesus’ experience, but on that of his disciples (v. 25). Just as in Mark’s Gospel the first prediction of the Passion was immediately followed by teaching on discipleship (Mark 8:31–38), so here the announcement of Jesus’ hour becomes the basis ...

3831. The Impending Departure II

John 16:5-16, John 16:17-33

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... most part, on tracks that never met, but in chapters 15–17 they do meet and come into conflict, even though Jesus traces only faintly the precise contours of that conflict. I have much more to say to you, he says to his disciples, more than you can now bear (v. 12). He leaves it to the Spirit to spell out more clearly what is yet to come (v. 13), that is, the nature of the disciples’ mission and the world’s opposition to it, and the final outcome of all their efforts. Jesus takes this opportunity to ...

3832. Jesus Prays for His Disciples

John 17:1-5, John 17:6-19, John 17:20-26

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... v. 10. But what specific name is meant? A comparison with Phil. 2:9–11 might suggest that the name “Lord” (Gr.: kyrios; the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Yahweh or Jehovah) is in view, and Thomas’ confession in 20:28 could be understood as bearing out this conclusion. A related, and more likely, suggestion is that the name is “I am” (Gr.: egō eimi; Heb.: ‘anî hû’), the self-designation of God in the OT (especially in Isaiah) that Jesus adopted at several crucial points in this Gospel and ...

3833. The Empty Tomb and the First Appearance

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (Matt. 28:10). Both in Matthew and in John, an encounter with an angel (or angels) at the tomb is reinforced by an encounter with Jesus himself. The main difference is that in Matthew the angel bears testimony to Jesus’ resurrection, whereas the two angels in John merely ask Mary why she is crying. Yet in John’s Gospel the very positioning of the angels one at the head and the other at the foot in the place where Jesus’ body had been (v. 12 ...

3834. Timothy and Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:19-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... Epaphroditus, meaning “lovely” (derived from Aphrodite), was a very common personal name; cf. Josephus’s patron Epaphroditus, to whom his later works were dedicated (Ant. 1.8; Life 430; Against Apion 1.1; 2.1, 296). Epaphras of Colossae (Col. 1:7; 4:12; Philem. 23) bears a name which is a shortened form of Epaphroditus, but there is no reason to identify the two men. Fellow worker and fellow soldier: Gk. synergos and synstratiōtēs, two of Paul’s well-loved compounds with syn- (cf. 4:3, sy(n)zygos ...

3835. Pressing on Toward the Goal

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... still alive will “clothe itself … with immortality.” Both the dead who are raised and the living who are changed, having hitherto “borne the likeness of the earthly man” (the first Adam, according to the narrative of Gen. 2:7), will henceforth “bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” This last statement is expressed here in slightly different wording when Paul says that Christ will transform our lowly bodies (lit., “our body of humiliation”) to be like his glorious body (lit., “his ...

3836. Love One Another

1 John 3:11-24

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... of obedience, cf. John 8:51; 9:31; 14:21; 15:10.) Here it is the way to effective prayer. It is only as the community realizes its true identity before God as his children (vv. 19–21) and faithfully does what God wants (v. 22b) that its prayers bear fruit. Keeping God’s commands and doing what pleases him are synonymous. Precisely what commands the Elder has in mind is made very clear in v. 23. 3:23 While it may appear to be an overstatement, in the Gospel and letters of John, there are really only two ...

3837. Assured by the Certainties of Faith

1 John 5:13-21

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... (lit., “I wrote”; egrapsa, an example of the epistolary aorist; see also 2:13c, 14, 21, 26) forms an inclusio with “we write” of 1:4: just as the latter looks forward to the entire epistle, so I write looks back on the whole of it. Verse 13 bears a close resemblance to the concluding statement of purpose in the Gospel of John, 20:31: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Both verses come at ...

3838. Joy at Believers’ Walking in the Truth

3 John 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... adds “with evil words.” What the author objects to is not attacks on his character (which “gossip” implies) but the unjustified charges that Diotrephes is raising. These charges are not only against the writer personally but against us, those who bear the tradition of the Johannine community. Presumably, they include the claim that the Elder is not to be regarded as the authoritative leader and teacher. Diotrephes is not satisfied with that. His fourth affront to the Elder goes beyond speaking to ...

3839. The Flood

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... who bore the image of God filled God’s heart . . . with pain so that God regretted having made humans (hit’atseb; 34:7; 1 Sam. 20:34; Isa. 54:6). God’s response to human injustice reveals his intimate concern about how those who bear his image think and behave. Furthermore, this wording informs us that in bringing universal judgment on the earth, God did not act out of cold calculation or judge with indifference. Yahweh declared that he was going to wipe out all humans, animals, and creatures that ...

3840. The Three Visitors

Genesis 18:1-15

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to Abraham’s laughter regarding the same promise (17:17). The narrative highlights their laughter to underscore the stupendous nature of God’s promise. To counter her unbelief and to reinforce his message, Yahweh reaffirmed that through his intervention Sarah was to bear a son at the appointed time. Continuing to speak to Sarah through Abraham, Yahweh asked him why Sarah had laughed. Yahweh pressed the issue, addressing the note of unbelief in her laughter by asking if there was anything too hard for ...

3841. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Genesis 19:30-38, Genesis 19:1-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... made no impact on them, suggesting that in their presence Lot had behaved like the citizens of Sodom rather than as one who had accompanied Abraham from Haran. Now, despite the imminent danger they faced, he appeared to them as a mocking fool. Their response bears additional witness to the moral decay of this city. 19:15 As dawn was about to break, the messengers urged Lot to hurry and leave with his wife and . . . two daughters lest he be caught in the conflagration. Given the frightful events of the ...

3842. The Death of Sarah

Genesis 23:1-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... of Hebron to gain permission to bury Sarah on one of their plots of land. In the ancient manner of negotiating courteously and indirectly, for which the Near East is famous, Abraham sought clear title to a burial plot. His determination to secure this land bears witness to the depth of his conviction that God’s promises to him were sure (Sarna, Genesis, p. 156). The negotiations moved through three rounds. In the first the citizens of Hebron agreed that Abraham could have access to a field to bury his ...

3843. Isaac and Rebekah

Genesis 24:1-67

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Sarna, Genesis, p. 161). 24:59–61 The family sent . . . Rebekah on her way . . . with Abraham’s servant and his men. Her nurse, Deborah, accompanied her (35:8). Before her departure the family pronounced a twofold blessing on Rebekah. She was to be fruitful, bearing many children, and her offspring (seed) was to possess the gates of their enemies (22:17). This blessing is similar to Noah’s blessing on his sons Shem and Japheth (9:26–27). Future events would produce an amazing twist to this blessing ...

3844. The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Genesis 35:16-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... not be legitimately joined to a man again (2 Sam. 15:16; 16:22; 20:3; Sarna, Genesis, p. 244). When Jacob learned of the incident he took no definitive action, similar to his response to the rape of Dinah (ch. 34). His containing his anger bears additional witness that his character had indeed been changed at Peniel. He no longer resorted to trickery to retaliate against those who had offended him. That Reuben’s act deeply offended him, however, is discovered in his last testament (49:3–4; 1 Chron. 5:1 ...

3845. Esau's Descendants

Genesis 36:1-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... binds together the list of Esau’s sons (vv. 10–14) and the list of chiefs from Esau (vv. 15–18). 36:20–30 This is the genealogy of three generations of Seir the Horite (vv. 20–28) to which a list of Horite chiefs, bearing the same names as Seir’s sons, has been attached (vv. 29–30). Thus “family history is succeeded by tribal history” (Westermann, Genesis 12–36, p. 565). These were the occupants of Mount Seir prior to Esau’s arrival. The genealogy mentions one daughter, Oholibamah ...

3846. Jacob Goes to Egypt

Gen 46:1–47:12

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... thirty years old and that his years had been few and difficult. Jacob’s words markedly contrast the usual saying of an aged patriarch that one had lived to a good old age, full of years (25:8). The schemer and manipulator of God’s will had to bear many hardships through the years because of his scheming. He had served Laban for twenty years for his wives and flocks. He had been deceived about the two people he loved most, Rachel and Joseph. Jacob also lamented that his life span would not reach that of ...

3847. Driving Out the Nations

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... to the nations, and no matter how eloquently one does so, one will very soon face the response, “What about the Canaanites, then?” Has that universal blessing inherent in the ancestral promise been suspended or overlooked here? These are some of the questions we must bear in mind as we turn to the text. 7:1–2 The emphasis in these verses, right up until the final instructions that come at the end, is on God’s own action in bringing Israel victoriously into the land ahead of them. It would be ...

3848. Fear the Lord

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... and explicitly shapes much of the practical social legislation. And loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. Apart from its relevance to the immediately following ethical command to Israel, this singling out of Yahweh’s love for the alien must have a bearing on the meaning of his impartiality in the previous verse. God’s electing love for Israel has been affirmed to be free of sheer favoritism and so not in conflict with the affirmation that God shows no partiality. That point is now expressed ...

3849. Exclusion From the Assembly

Deuteronomy 23:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... profit out of hard times. This may, as some think, be the reason why the ban did not apply to foreigners. The foreigners in mind (though not, it must be said, stated in the law) may have been commercial traders, with whom interest bearing transactions were allowed. Thirdly, the impact and influence of the OT ban on interest has been remarkably extensive in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic history. Only with the dawn of the modern era did the Christian church shift from its position that interest was unlawfui ...

3850. Blessings for Obedience

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... name of the God of Israel is the first step in the ingathering and salvation of the nations (e.g., Isa. 19:19–22; Jer. 12:14–17; Amos 9:12). Ultimately all humanity will know the name of the God of Israel through the multinational community who bear the name of Israel. As ever, we find the close integration of ethics and mission for the envisaged spread of the knowledge of Yahweh’s name through the Israelites (v. 10) is bound up with their being his holy people by keeping his commands and walking in ...

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