Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4001 to 4025 of 4681 results

4001. The Shepherd and His Flock

John 10:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... followed. Here Jesus indicates that he alone has true authority because he has obtained the gatekeeper’s invitation. Second, the false leader’s voice cannot be recognized. The intimacy between shepherd and sheep is a well-known Palestinian phenomenon. Sheep can even bear personal names! Here Jesus shows that he alone knows and is known by the sheep. In John this is a central feature of discipleship: discerning Jesus’s voice and abiding in him. As in other discourses, the failure of the listeners to ...

4002. The Plot to Kill Jesus

John 11:45-57

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 57). The deliberations of the Sanhedrin, now called to a formal meeting about Jesus, typify the drift of the Jewish leadership’s reaction to Christ since chapter 9: Jesus’s signs seem compelling, but the practical implications of this are more than they can bear. What if the masses start to follow him? Would it not upset the fragile political equilibrium with Rome (11:48)? Would Caesar tolerate a messiah? The Sanhedrin must choose either to follow the logic of Jesus’s truth, regardless of the cost, or ...

4003. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The provision of Jesus that will bring about this relationship is declared to be the indwelling Spirit (14:15–17), who now bears two new names: the Paraclete(NIV “advocate,” 14:16) and the Spirit of truth. Paraclete (Greek paraklētos) is unique to John (elsewhere, 14:26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1) and expresses the Spirit’s strengthening, equipping role. A paraklētos was a judicial advocate (cf. Matt. ...

4004. The Vine and the Branches

John 15:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . Jesus’s new metaphor in chapter 15 affirms this again. The verb for indwelling (Greek menō; 14:17) appears numerous times (NIV “remain,” 15:4–7, 9–10), but now it is viewed in terms of its results. Spiritual experiences must lead to fruit-bearing in the form of new obedience and love. The vine/vineyard metaphor is used frequently in the Old Testament. Israel is often depicted as a vine transplanted from Egypt (Ps. 80:8–11) and brought to fertile soil (Ezek. 17:1–6). Enemies may trample ...

4005. Jesus Prays for Himself

John 17:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . In this latter role Jesus becomes a priest interceding for his people (see Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). Note how in 1 John 2:1 another Johannine teaching even depicts Christ as our Paraclete (or advocate) in heaven. The first words of the prayer in Greek bear a significant Johannine phrase: “the hour [NIV “time”] has come.” This hour has been anticipated from the outset (2:4; 7:30; 8:20) and is described as the time of Jesus’s glorification (12:23, 27; 13:1; cf. 19:14, 27). This glorification is a ...

4006. Jesus Prays for His Disciples

John 17:6-19

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... am” sayings (e.g., 8:28, 58). In the Old Testament, possessing God’s name is precious; it implies relationship, obedience, and knowledge. Only Christians possess God’s name in this Old Testament sense (17:6), and they alone draw the correct inference: the Son who bears this name has come from God and must be believed. Jesus now prays exclusively for his followers (17:9–19) even though they have been on his mind all along (17:6–7). In one sense this prayer is a continuation of that prayer for glory ...

4007. Jesus Prays for All Believers

John 17:20-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ), the Holy Spirit will manifest the reality of Christ in us in this present world. Jesus’s final prayer asks that two things be “in” us: God’s love and Christ’s presence. Later John will write the same thing. How do we know that we abide in him? We bear God’s love (1 John 4:7, 16) and Christ’s own Spirit (4:13).

4008. Jesus Before Pilate

John 18:28-40, John 19:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

This entire narrative section bears the marks of a carefully written unit. Its dramatic suspense is second to none. Pilate moves in and out of the praetorium five times (18:29, 33, 38; 19:9, 13), establishing the innocence of Jesus and exploring his title of “king.” In fact, kingship weaves continuously through the story, ...

4009. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

John 20:10-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus (20:11–18) bears some resemblance to two separate Synoptic narratives. Mary now witnesses two angels (20:12) and afterward meets Jesus and seeks to embrace him (20:16–17). In Luke two angels appear to the women when they arrive at the tomb (Luke 24:4–9), and in Matthew we read about ...

4010. Jerusalem Council and the Identity of Gentile Believers

Acts 15:1-21, Acts 15:22-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... a discussion that emphasizes the “grace of our Lord Jesus” (15:11). In light of Peter’s earlier rhetorical question, “Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?” (15:10), this statement requires a different reading: Moses has been preached and read in every city from the earliest times, but we still fail to observe his commandments; why then should we require the Gentiles to do that which we failed to do? With the ...

4011. Righteousness Through Faith

Romans 3:21-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the righteousness of God is God’s act of saving Gentile sinners and Jewish lawbreakers. God saves the ungodly and the disobedient, the very people who assaulted his glory and who did not obey his will. Paul clarifies that this new reality is scriptural: the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it (cf. Rom. 1:2; 4:1–25; 9:25–33; 10:6–13; 15:8–12). The gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ that Paul proclaims is the fulfillment of God’s promises for the new covenant; it is not a new religion. In 3 ...

4012. An Illustration From Marriage

Romans 7:1-6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the law, and thus they are free to belong to someone else, namely, to God. As a result of their incorporation into Christ, whom God has raised from the dead, believers experience the power of resurrection in their lives, allowing them to bear fruit for God. This reality is explained in verses 5–6. Before their conversion, believers lived in the “flesh” (Greek sarx). This means that their physical existence was conditioned by opposition to God and thus determined by sin—indeed, by “sinful passions ...

4013. God’s Sovereign Choice

Romans 9:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God’s chosen people, who had privileges that the Gentiles did not possess, Israel’s unbelief raises the question of God’s covenant faithfulness (9:6). Paul mentions nine characteristics that constitute Israel’s privileges. (1) They are Israelites; that is, they bear the name of honor that God gave to Jacob (Gen. 32:38–39). (2) They received the adoption; they are God’s “firstborn son” (Exod. 4:22; Deut. 14:1; Hos. 11:1). As Abraham’s descendants, Jews have a unique, special relationship ...

4014. The Resurrection of the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... :14; Acts 24:15), then there is no reason to believe in the anomaly of Jesus’s resurrection. But if he “has not been raised,” then both to preach and to believe the resurrection is “useless” (15:14). Worse, such preaching would be tantamount to bearing “false witness” about God’s actions. “For we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead,” and that cannot be true if “the dead are not raised” (15:15–16). Worse still, if Christ has not been raised, then apart from ...

4015. An Appeal for Complete Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 6:3-13, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Paul’s Appeal to the Corinthians (6:1–13:10) As one of “God’s co-workers,” chosen to bear the message of reconciliation, Paul now presents the Corinthians with the first in a series of appeals, urging them “not to receive God’s grace” in vain (6:1). In context these words seem meant to spur the Corinthians to respond to Paul’s attempt at reconciliation with the church. ...

4016. An Appeal for Complete Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 6:14--7:1, 2 Corinthians 6:3-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

4017. Paul Boasts About His Sufferings

2 Corinthians 11:16-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... has become necessary for Paul to do in the face of opposition, he submits for primary consideration incidents that display his moments of weakness and vulnerability rather than those that demonstrate accomplishments won as a result of his personal strengths. In an effort to bear the gospel to the world, Paul has repeatedly suffered the lashes of the Jews, beatings inflicted by the “rods” of Gentiles (Acts 16:22), and the stones cast at him by both (Acts 14:19). He has been willing to expose himself to ...

4018. Prayer for Enlightenment

Ephesians 1:15-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to understand with their enlightened heart: (1) the hope to which God has called them, (2) the glorious abundance of God’s inheritance, and (3) God’s more than sufficient power for those who believe (1:18b–19). These three concepts bear a striking similarity to the three spiritual blessings that Paul enumerated earlier. That they are not precisely parallel simply begins to unfold their significance. Paul’s prayer that the believers better understand these three concepts is not left dangling; in the ...

4019. Therefore Walk in Unity

Ephesians 4:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ) may sound strange to modern readers, but Paul likely follows here an early Jewish Targum that applied it to Moses at Sinai. Taking the term “ascended” as key, Paul instead applies the whole passage to the ascending and (at Pentecost?) descending, gift-bearing Christ, the Christ who fills the universe (4:9–10; 1:23). The gifts he has given his people (4:11) promote the unity of the church (4:13). They include apostles and prophets, those specially gifted and authoritative communicators of God ...

4020. Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... family and is thus characterized as darkness, the opposite of the light of the Lord. Outside Christ, Paul’s readers “were once darkness,” but no longer. In the Lord, they now “are light” (5:8). The metaphor depicts human beings as bearing enormous influence in either direction. As light, they conduct themselves in correspondence to the goodness, righteousness, and truth of God’s nature (contrast 5:3), seeking to know what pleases Christ, which is indispensable for living this way (5:9–10). In ...

4021. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Colossians 1:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... In 1:27 we find the focus of hope, “Christ in you,” and its expected outcome, “glory.” The center of this section introduces the term “gospel,” described here in organic terms—it is growing both within their community and throughout the entire world; it is bearing fruit in all places. In 1:21–23 Paul expands on what the gospel message is. He explains that Christ’s physical body was put to death, which results in humans being reconciled to God and being made holy. This gospel is accessed by ...

4022. The Example of Paul’s Suffering

Colossians 1:24--2:5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . These sufferings might include overt physical afflictions or illness or painful broken relationships or the mental struggles against doubt and perceived failure that haunt the faithful. The list is long, but the sufficiency of Christ is greater. Paul describes the gospel’s power as bearing fruit and expanding across the whole world (1:6, 23). Now he adds a new descriptor to the Word of God—mystery, which refers to the new activity of God in Christ in creating a new people for God (see also Rom. 11:25 ...

4023. Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:17--3:5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... it (2:20). 3:1–5 · Timothy’s mission:This section should be read in the light of Paul’s painful separation from the Thessalonians and his unfruitful attempts to return to the church (2:17–18; Acts 17:5–10). When he and his companions could no longer bear the agony and the weight of worry, they took action, with Paul in the lead (3:1; cf. 3:5): “So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.” This verse presupposes an unknown visit of Timothy and ...

4024. The Disorderly

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... society the impact would have been devastating. The hope was that they would experience social shame (1 Cor. 4:14; Titus 2:8), which, in a society that valued honor above all else, would have been a very effective means of social control. The church bears a responsibility to guide the conduct of its members as the group supports the common Christian virtues and helps each to avoid vice. The situation here is not exactly parallel to 1 Corinthians 5:9–11. Here the disorderly person remains a member of the ...

4025. Prayer and Worship

1 Timothy 2:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... article (“through the childbearing”); thus, other interpreters believe that Paul has in mind one particular instance of childbearing: Mary’s giving birth to Jesus. This reading has much to commend it: Paul seems to be asking women to take their bearings in their relationship with God, not from Eve’s deception by Satan, but from Mary’s receptivity to God’s promise. Mary’s faithful “May it be according to your word” brought about the human race’s salvation “through (the) childbearing ...

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