Sermon and Worship Resources

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 3901 to 3925 of 4490 results

3901. Esther's Request to the King

Esther 5:1-8

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

The Jewish Response II: Esther’s Plan for Haman: As we have seen, banquets (feasting/drinking) occur at pivotal moments in the book of Esther and they regularly mask deeper realities. Vashti was deposed as a result of her insubordination during the public banquets of chapter 1. Esther is crowned as Vashti’s replacement during a banquet in chapter 2, but her identity is kept secret throughout (2:18–20). Haman dined with the king in a sinister, private banquet after making the king an (unknowing) accomplice ...

3902. At the Potter's House

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Jeremiah 20:1-6

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Jeremiah’s First Trip to the Potter (18:1-23): Though observed by Jeremiah rather than performed by Jeremiah, we now hear of another prophetic action that illustrates the prophet’s verbal message. Jeremiah 18:1–4 narrates the action while 18:5–10 interprets the general significance of the action. Verses 11–12 apply the teaching of the general principle specifically to Judah and Judah’s negative response to God’s call for repentance. A poetic oracle registering surprise at the people’s unwillingness to ...

3903. How Deserted Lies the City

Lamentations 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Lament for and by Jerusalem: 1:1–2 Alef/Bet. The poet does not name Jerusalem at the start, but simply speaks of the city. The name of the city does not have to be spoken; poet and readers would know the identity of the now deserted city of Jerusalem. As today there is no doubt when a New Yorker refers to “the city,” so there is no secret concerning the identity of the city among Judeans. This once bustling place (a city “closely compacted together” [Ps. 122:3]) is now eerily deserted. The poet engages the ...

3904. Hosea's Wife and Children

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Superscription (1:1): In a sense, chapters 1 through 3 in Hosea’s book serve as a summary of his entire message. Centered around the “sign” of Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, they prepare for and condense all that follows after in the story of God’s poignant love affair with the people of Israel in the eighth century BC. Perhaps they originally circulated in Judean circles independently of chapters 4–14. But whoever placed them in their present position intended to help us understand the oracles of chapters 4– ...

3905. Judgment on Israel's Enemies

Zechariah 9:1-8

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

The First Oracle: The arrangement of the various prophetic sayings in Zechariah 7–8 has opened up a space between the return to the land and the promised age to come. God has reaffirmed the cherished promises but moved them into the future relative to the fourth year of Darius, thereby encouraging the waiting community to hold on to its hopes. Meanwhile, God makes clear to them that the Law and the earlier prophetic preaching still define their relationship to God. Even after coming through the experience ...

3906. No More Tears

Sermon

King Duncan

One of these days I ought to give you a quiz on my sermon from the week before. Don’t worry. I’m not actually going to do it. It would be too embarrassing. Truthfully, there are times when I can’t remember what I preached on the week before. That’s why it caught my attention when a pastor named Benton Lutz told about the one sermon he most remembers. The pastor who preached this sermon described an experience he once had in a bathtub. The preacher said, that he was in a tub, the water was running; the tub ...

3907. A Grayhound and a Kite

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt in their book Five Frogs on a Log tell about a family visiting Mexico that found itself in a difficult situation. On Sept. 6, 1960, the Salado River in Sabinas, Mexico, overran its banks. Flood waters filled the main road leading from Sabinas across the border into the U.S. Numerous cars and trucks stalled while attempting to cross the border. However, a tow truck driver observed the mess with happy anticipation. You can guess why. He charged an exorbitant fee to tow ...

3908. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

Nicodemus is introduced as a particular example of the “believers” mentioned in 2:23–25. As a “member of the Jewish ruling council” and “Israel’s teacher” (vv. 1, 10), he is perhaps not wholly typical of the group, though later indications are that leaders of the people were indeed conspicuous among these so-called believers (12:42). It is probably out of fear that Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. Speaking perhaps for the larger group, he makes a confession that puts the narrator’s summary (2:23) into ...

3909. Testimonies About Jesus

John 5:31-47

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The discourse of verses 19–47 can be divided into two parts on the basis of a change from the third to the first person at verse 30. Instead of referring to himself as “the Son,” Jesus now uses the emphatic pronoun I (vv. 30, 31, 34, 36, 43). But part two of the discourse begins like part one with the insistence that Jesus’ authority is a derived authority. He does nothing on his own but acts entirely on his Father’s instructions (v. 30; cf. v. 19). If he does what he sees his Father do (vv. 19–20), he ...

3910. Warning Against Antichrists

1 John 2:18-27

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

This section of 1 John is unified by its concern for maintaining the truth which has been given to the Johannine community over against the lie of the antichrists. The antichrists are those who have seceded from the community (2:19) and who deny that the fully human Jesus is the Christ, the divine Son of God (2:22). The Elder’s aim is to reassure the remaining loyal Christians that they have the truth and to urge them to remain in it (2:24, 27). 2:18 The two key notes of this verse are the announcement of ...

3911. Renewal of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 29:1-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Summary and Renewal of the Covenant: In terms of the rhetorical nature of the book, Moses’ third speech to Israel begins here at 29:2 (which is 29:1 in the Hebrew text). In terms of the concentric structure of the book, we are still within what Christensen calls “the inner frame” (chs. 27–30), which is in a position corresponding to chapters 4–11 (cf. introduction, p. 4). And in terms of the message of the book, this section picks up and summarizes much of the earlier material, setting it once again within ...

3912. Solomon's Throne Established

1 Kings 2:13-46

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Solomon Consolidates His Position: David has gone, and Solomon has been left to fend for himself. His rule was firmly established, 2:12 tells us. This is clearly an allusion to 2 Samuel 7:11b–16, where the verb ḵwn (established) appears on three occasions (vv. 12, 13, 16; cf. also v. 26) of God’s action in ensuring for David an everlasting dynasty. In 1 Kings 2:12–46, this same verb appears on four occasions, strategically positioned at the beginning and end of the section (vv. 12, 45–46) and halfway ...

3913. God’s Miraculous Provision: Caring for the Needy

Mark 6:30-44

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The message of the feeding miracle is simple: God will provide. This is the primary miracle in which Jesus involved his disciples, and the question is whether they will put their trust in the God who provides for them in every situation. Understanding the Text Many think of this passage as another round of miracles by the lake. It is far more than that. Here Jesus’s authority is seen in its effect on discipleship. The primary group involved is not the crowds or the leaders but the disciples. This ...

3914. Family in the New Kingdom Community

Mark 10:13-16, Mark 10:1-12

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The emphasis here is on family life in the new kingdom community. Jesus states that the easy-divorce policy advocated by many rabbis was not God’s will, and that divorce was allowed only because of their stubborn sin. He further teaches that children are models for kingdom living; to enter life with God, all must have a childlike faith. Understanding the Text There is both geographical and thematic movement in this section. Geographically, Jesus continues south, moving through Galilee and across ...

3915. The Messianic Anointing of Jesus

Mark 14:1-11

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Three issues dominate in this opening scene of the final events: (1) the contrast between the woman’s worshipful act and Judas’s betrayal; (2) Jesus’s recognition that her anointing constituted a fourth passion prediction; (3) the first of five discipleship failures that will run through chapter 14. Understanding the Text In the first part of the passion story (chaps. 11–12) the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities grows more and more severe, culminating in the diatribe of 11:28–30. ...

3916. The Supernatural Witness to the Significance of Jesus’s Death

Mark 15:42-47

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The taunts from the onlookers, soldiers, and leaders are overturned by God’s supernatural intervention in the tearing of the veil and the unconscious testimony of the centurion to the true nature of the one crucified. Understanding the Text The events in verses 38–41 and the burial in verses 42–47 provide the aftermath of Jesus’s death and a transition to his resurrection. The mockery and horror of his crucifixion lead to the divine affirmation of the actual significance of his death, and both ...

3917. “Love Your Enemies”

Luke 6:27-38

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: We should treat other people as God treats us, looking not to our own advantage or satisfaction, but to what is good for them. Understanding the Text This is the middle section of the sermon that began at 6:20. Its first section set out the choice between two ways of life and commended that of discipleship. This section now explores some of the ethical implications of discipleship, with special reference to how we should treat other people and to the effect that this may have on our own ...

3918. Jesus and Women

Luke 7:36--8:3

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Jesus’s work of salvation extends to people shunned or ignored by Jewish society; women play an unusually large part in his mission. Understanding the Text After the characterization of Jesus as a bon viveur and a friend of the disreputable (7:34), we now find him at a dinner party and befriending a disreputable woman. Two themes from earlier in the Gospel reemerge in this story: Jesus’s openness to and welcome by unrespectable members of society (5:27–32) and his claim to forgive sins (5:17–26 ...

3919. Priorities

Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:22-34

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Honoring God as king, and being ready for the return of the Lord, must take priority over the ordinary concerns of life. Understanding the Text Several themes from our last section are developed here: God’s fatherly care, the absolute priority of serving God over all other concerns, and especially the tension between material concern and true discipleship—12:22–31 is a sort of commentary on 12:15 and the parable that illustrates it. This last theme of “God and mammon” will be picked up again ...

3920. Applying God’s Wisdom to Life’s Issues

1 Corinthians 2:6-16, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: God’s wisdom is understood only through the Spirit’s revelation. Spiritual maturity comes from applying God’s wisdom to all aspects of life. Understanding the Text Not only did the reality of the church members’ inclusion in the Christ community directly demonstrate how God’s wisdom was unusual (1:26–31), but Paul’s own life and preaching were living proof that God’s wisdom easily superseded any of the human wisdom being offered in Corinth. Although Paul avoids calling himself an idi?t?s, a term ...

3921. The Census of the Twelve Tribes

Num 1:1–2:54

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: God fulfills his promises. Understanding the Text Numbers begins with Israel still “in the Desert of Sinai,” where it has received the Ten Commandments (Num. 1:1; cf. Exod. 19:1–2). Numbers continues the story of Exodus and Leviticus. At the end of the book of Exodus, Israel constructs the tabernacle, or “tent of meeting.” The book of Leviticus gives rules for how Israel is to use the tabernacle. Now from that tent at Mount Sinai God gives further instructions. Centuries earlier God had promised ...

3922. Racism and Envy

Numbers 12:1-16

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Racism and envy can bring about God’s judgment. Understanding the Text When Israel leaves Mount Sinai, things quickly turn sour. Numbers 11 begins a series of three locations where the people grumble and complain. At Taberah they complain because of the hardships of the journey (Num. 11:1–3), and at Kibroth Hattaavah they complain because they are tired of manna and want the meat and vegetables that they had enjoyed in Egypt (Num. 11:4–35). Now at Hazeroth (Num. 11:35) two members of Moses’s own ...

3923. Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Obedience

Num 15:1-41

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Fellowship with God and defiant sinning are incompatible. Understanding the Text Numbers goes from a narrative about scouts (Num. 13–14) to a seemingly unrelated chapter of laws concerning sacrifices, unintentional sins, Sabbath breaking, and tassels. Why this material is placed here rather than with similar material in Leviticus has mystified interpreters. Numbers 15 does contribute one thing to the previous story. In Numbers 14 Israel is told that the adults will not enter the land (Num. 14:20– ...

3924. Priesthood Confirmed and Its Mediation Duties Specified

Num 17:1–8:7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: God confirms his ministers and directs them to protect that which is sacred. Understanding the Text In Numbers 16 Korah challenges the exclusive privilege of priesthood by Aaron and his sons. But in the contest between Aaron and the followers of Korah, God shows Korah to be wrong by sending fire to consume the 250 non-Aaronites who have come to offer incense to God. A challenge also comes from Reubenites, who in sympathy with Korah claim that “the whole community is holy” (Num. 16:3b), not just ...

3925. “Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave”: Power Poisons the Conscience

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord’s chosen servants cannot hide their sins from him. Understanding the Text Empowered by the Lord, David has experienced great success militarily and made Israel more secure than it has ever been. He obeyed the Deuteronomic regulations pertaining to the accumulation of chariot horses and wealth, promoted justice for all, and tried to model God’s faithfulness in his relationships. But suddenly the story takes a shocking downward turn as David’s blatant violation of God’s law brings chaos ...

Showing results