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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 3826 to 3850 of 4957 results

3826. Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... else but follow his call through the poetic language he employs in verse 5: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah knew his life had been claimed by Yahweh, that he had been predestined for the prophetic life. Jeremiah is not on some "career track" like those false, politically-motivated prophets who surround him. But in recounting his call, Jeremiah admits that he wanted no part of this. In verse 6, he tries ...

3827. Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... them there. Yet for all its drama and power, this transfiguring event appears to play a very limited role in the rest of Jesus' ministry or in the disciples' immediate perceptions of Jesus. Even today, the church seems less comfortable claiming the miracle of the Transfiguration than it does other events in Jesus' life. In Luke's gospel, the literary connections between the Transfiguration event and Jesus' baptism are clearly evident. Jesus' baptism occurs just before he embarks on his successful Galilean ...

3828. Psalm 1

Psalm 1

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... on the state of blessing provided those who resist and reject the scoffer's ways. For the righteous, God's law is not a chore or an ordeal but, rather, a "delight." It is curious how the NRSV somewhat internalizes this joy by claiming that the faithful "meditate" on this law "day and night." The balance of the Hebrew hagah with the verbs for "speakings" or "utterings" seems to lend strength to arguments against this inward-directed, meditative focus. Linguistic tradition suggests that the psalmist refers to ...

3829. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... on the younger son. As the most active character in the story at this time, the younger son goes to his father and demands "the share of the property that will belong to me." There is considerable debate over whether, legally, a son could make this claim on his still-living father's estate. While it seems a moot point here, since the father readily agrees to such a concession, some Jewish traditions seem to indicate that only one-third of the son's usual inheritance could be received under these conditions ...

3830. Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... only martyrs of the church but are all those who can be called Christian. Those who have "washed their robes" are those who have gone through the baptismal waters from death to life. It is as those who received Christ's salvation that these faithful can claim a "right" to the "tree of life." The gift of salvation is eternal life full admission into the gates of God's heavenly city. Forever barred from entering into this city are all those who choose to "love and practice falsehood" instead of Jesus Christ ...

3831. Galatians 2:15-21

Galatians 2:15-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... him as a dead end. Paul willingly "died to the law" so that he might experience the life God offered through Jesus Christ. If it was shocking for Paul's listeners to hear him declare that he had died to the law, it was even more startling to hear him claim he had also died with Christ been "crucified with Christ." Paul's words seem to imply that it was the law which put Christ to death, even as the law had put Paul to death. This thought is more fully explained as verse 20 continues. For Paul, the old "I ...

3832. Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the returning missionaries joyfully report. The excited envoys get their triumph half-right, anyway. In verse 17, they relate to Jesus that it was "in your name" that they were able to accomplish all they did. But they then mistakenly claim that "the demons submit to us." In truth, the demons were submitting to Jesus, as he was represented before them by his messengers. Jesus acknowledges the miraculous things that have happened, but he carefully reminds his followers that everything is accomplished ...

3833. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... faith throughout Hebrews faith is always an active response to God's word, not simply some intellectual, internal assent to the divine. In two other ways, the author adds color and contrast to the biblical version of Abraham's initial call by God. Hebrews 11:8 claims Abraham set out from his homeland of Ur for "a place that he was to receive as an inheritance." There is no specific reference to an "inheritance" in the story found in Genesis 12:1-3 although that theme certainly does appear later in the story ...

3834. Luke 12:49-56

Luke 12:49-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , Jesus feels free to use rather cryptic images and arcane references. Yet, everything about his language indicates Jesus' real sense of urgency for his mission and ministry. While he had made it clear that God's providence is behind all these imminent events, Jesus now claims his role as the designated agent of the divine will. Jesus speaks here of having been sent to set a fire, and he now longs to strike the spark and get the flames roaring. This reference to fire may recall John's prophecy that the ...

3835. Hebrews 12:18-29

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... earth. The author here uses the words of Haggai (2:6) as a template for this second and greater shakedown. When this occurs, it will be a once-and-for-all final event (v.27) that will test the faithfulness and perseverance of those who have claimed to be a part of the second covenant. Those weak in faith, frail in their commitment, even though they stand in the heavenly Jerusalem, will be shaken free and fall away. This once again underscores the writer's insistence that those who reject salvation, after ...

3836. Luke 14:1, 7-14

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... considered a parable only in that they interpret the actual situation metaphorically. The scriptural roots of Jesus' advice may be found in Proverbs 25:6-7, while within Jewish tradition, Jesus' words are similar to the familiar teaching of Rabbi Hillel, who claimed, "My abasement is my exaltation, and my exaltation is my abasement." If holding forth to the other party-goers was indeed part of the tradition of these banquets, Jesus' chosen words are certainly beyond the pale of accepted subject matter for ...

3837. Philemon 1-21

Philemon 1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... one who is beloved. At last, Paul mentions the name of Onesimus. The name itself translates from the Greek as "profitable" or "beneficial," a definition Paul quickly employs in a pun "he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful (onesimus)" (v.11). Paul claims he is sending Onesimus "back to you." But he does not indicate here in any way that Onesimus is some kind of property i.e., a slave of Philemon. Much has been made of Onesimus' presence with Paul, who calls himself here a "prisoner." But nearly ...

3838. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... confusing results. Instead of cursing the steward for his actions, the master commends him for his business shrewdness. This conclusion is so unexpected and so hard to imagine on the lips of Jesus that some commentators have simply thrown in the towel. They claim that the original meaning of verse 8 has been lost due to a disastrous scribal error. Whenever in doubt, it seems, blame "scribal error." Of course, there are a variety of explanations for what went wrong. One camp suggests that the tiny difference ...

3839. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... life experiences and practices as model examples. He begins in verse 3 by referring to the Jewish tradition of praying at regular intervals "night and day." Twice a day, Paul stops and offers prayers to God and "constantly" that is, every time, Paul claims to remember Timothy in his prayers. The issue of loyalty, which will recur throughout this letter, may be what prompts Paul to declare here at the outset that he worships with a "clear conscience" in full light of his "ancestors" or "forefathers." Paul ...

3840. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , Scripture also serves a specific purpose. It is "useful" in quite particular ways: "teaching," "reproof," "correction" and "training in righteousness" - that is, all the tasks of ministry. "Teaching" is the primary focus here. It is teaching Paul wishes Timothy to claim as his main responsibility. The larger category of "teaching" carries within it the necessary task of "rebuking" or "reproofing." One like Timothy, who knew the truth about Scripture and its role as an agent of salvation (it points us to ...

3841. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... co-workers gave not just the message they preached, but that they gave themselves as well. There are mixed reviews about the origins of the proverb-like "rule" Paul states in verse 10. Some scholars suggest that it is a traditional Jewish saying, while others claim it is derived from an established Greek provenance. It may be that the truth of its roots is less in any particular culture than in the international logic of workshop ethics. For Paul's purpose, and the force this rule was intended to have in ...

3842. Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 24:34), he suddenly steps back from confirming any exact time frame. Verse 36 flies in the face of all those who, throughout Christian history, have declared they have deciphered exactly when the Messiah will return. Matthew's text astounds readers by unequivocally claiming that no one, not the "angels of heaven" or even "the Son" himself knows the timing of that event. While there is little doubt that Matthew's text includes "the Son" among those left in the dark about the precise timing of the Messiah ...

3843. Matthew 3:1-12

Matthew 3:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of it. He taunts these super-spiritual elitists by insulting the uniqueness of their genetically inherited moral superiority, hooting that God could make "children to Abraham" out of rocks if God so desired. The distorted poisoned-fruit existence of these religious leaders, John claims, is about to come to an end. "Even now," he promised, the ax is ready to hew them down. Images of fiery judgment close out Matthew's introduction of John the Baptist and his message. The fruitless trees are thrown into the ...

3844. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... be his true identity. When they respond that he is "the Christ," Jesus swears them to silence. His next act is then a pedagogical one: teaching his disciples what the title they have just proudly declared actually means. It is a startling lesson. Rather than claiming authority from his identity, Jesus shakes his faithful followers with the news that the Son of Man (the term Jesus uses to define himself) is to remain obedient to God above all else. The cost of this obedience, Jesus reveals, will be rejection ...

3845. Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... No longer was such suffering to be perceived as either divine punishment or as some harsh pedagogical lesson. Second Isaiah reshapes suffering into a positive image. Personifying this bafflingly new portrayal of suffering is the anonymous servant. Second Isaiah stuns us by claiming that God will be exalted and glorified through this abused and reviled figure. William Holladay sums up the previously unimaginable role of this servant as one who "... has a calling to be God's specific means to reach the world ...

3846. Luke 24:35-48

Luke 24:35-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... (vv.42-43). Food is a recurring motif in all Luke's writings. Jesus seems either to be going to or coming from a meal on nearly every occasion of importance. The mode and mood of food creates some of the gospel's most distinguishing claims to what constitutes the "good news." Jesus eats with the outcasts and "good-for-nothing" riff-raff ("This man receives sinners"). He treats with respect people not unlike those we may deem strange, people estranged from us - punks, gays, pro-abortionists or pro-lifers ...

3847. 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 ...

3848. 1 John 4:7-12

1 John 4:7-12

Sweet

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 ...

3849. 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 ...

3850. 1 Samuel 16:14-23

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a decisive shake in this text. It is one thing for "the spirit of the Lord" to depart from Saul. After all this spirit had been a special gift intimately linked to his recognized kingship (1 Samuel 10:6). It is quite another matter for the author to claim that "an evil spirit from the Lord" now arrives to "torment" Saul. How can we reconcile this description of divine activity with our own understanding of God? It would be a mistake to assume the author of 1 Samuel deemed God to be capricious or evil. It ...

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