Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 401 to 425 of 797 results

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

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... that he says is mine. Jesus can speak of his truth as all truth because all that belongs to the Father is mine (v. 15; cf. 17:10). Everything the Spirit reveals comes from the Father and therefore from Jesus. The accent is not on what human beings can learn anyway by rational inquiry or by the use of their five senses but on the much more (v. 12) that Jesus would like to tell the disciples, but cannot, about their life and mission in the world. The teaching ministry of the Spirit builds on and develops the ...

402. Jesus and the High Priest

John 18:15-18, John 18:25-27, John 18:19-24

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... .g., 13:33 with 7:34 and 8:21 or 14:7 with 8:19, or 16:27–28 with 8:42). Nothing he said was subversive; there were no secret instructions for a select group engaged in plotting against either Rome or the Jewish priesthood. To learn the substance of his teaching, no list of disciples, no interrogation of them one by one, was necessary. The high priest could question anyone who had heard Jesus on any number of occasions—his own priestly associates in fact—and draw his own conclusions. The exchange ends ...

403. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... and personal circumstances of others is at best imperfect (1 Cor. 4:5). Above all, the day of Christ Jesus is the time when the salvation of believers, already inaugurated, will be consummated. Like their Thessalonian brothers and sisters, the Christians of Philippi had learned “to wait for his [God’s] Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead” (1 Thess. 1:10), and to rejoice in the “hope of salvation” because they had been chosen not to endure the divine retribution to be visited on the ...

404. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... that they came behind him in no respect. The news of what they were doing, they thought (and hoped), would fill Paul with chagrin and frustration. It was galling enough for Paul to be deprived of his liberty: it would be more galling still for him to learn how those who did not wish him well were forging ahead with their presentation of the gospel. If we find it difficult to credit that followers of Christ could actually find satisfaction in thus rubbing salt into Paul’s wounds, it may be because we fail ...

405. Imitating Christ's Humility

Philippians 2:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... . 3:34, quoted in James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). Humility is specially appropriate to Christians, whose Master was, not self-consciously, but spontaneously, “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). His first disciples found the lesson of humility a hard one to learn: repeatedly, when they fell to discussing which of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of God, Jesus insisted that among his followers true greatness consisted in being least of all, servant of all—“for even the Son of Man did not come ...

406. Timothy and Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:19-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... prevent his own going there in due course. Commendation of Epaphroditus Even before Timothy sets out, Paul has another emissary ready to go to Philippi. Epaphroditus, an emissary from the Philippian church to Paul, was now to return home immediately, without waiting to learn how Paul’s case would turn out. 2:25 Epaphroditus had come from Philippi to visit Paul, bringing him a gift from the church there (cf. 4:18). When Paul describes Epaphroditus as his fellow worker and comrade-in-arms (fellow worker and ...

407. Exhortations

Philippians 4:2-9

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... in view here. See R. P. C. Hanson, Tradition in the Early Church; F. F. Bruce, Tradition Old and New. In the presentation of Paul’s example here, as in 3:17, W. Schmithals discerns a polemical note, as though Paul were warning the Philippians against what they might have “learned and received and heard and seen” in others (Paul and the Gnostics, pp. 112, 113).

408. Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... claims that this understanding of God is what Jesus taught; it is the message (angelia) which the first generation heard from him and now declares (anangellō; the same verb is translated as proclaim in vv. 2–3) to those who follow. It is also what they learned from observation of his life (John 14:9: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”). The last part of the verse strongly affirms, as if in bold contrast to an unspoken claim to the contrary, that there is absolutely no darkness in God. Light ...

409. Love One Another

1 John 3:11-24

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... tradition (cf. Matt. 15:19; Gal. 5:19–21; Rev. 21:8, 27). 3:16 The perfect tense of the Greek verb egnōkamen (NIV, we know) implies knowledge based on experience. On Jesus as a pattern for Christian conduct, see, e.g., Matt. 11:29 (“learn from me”); Mark 10:42–45 (service); John 13:14–17 (foot-washing), 34 (love); Phil. 2:5 (“attitude”); 1 John 2:6 (“walk as Jesus did”); Dodd, Epistles, pp. 84–85; W. Michaelis, “mimeomai,” TDNT, vol. 4, pp. 659–74. In contrast to Jesus’ action ...

410. The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... them to populate the earth (v. 28). (c) This phrase establishes the fact that every male and every female is made in God’s image. In the essence of being human there is no qualitative difference between male and female. (d) We learn that God made humans as social creatures who discover their identity and destiny in relationships characterized by rapprochement. “Male and female” conveys that the basic reciprocating human relationship is between a man and a woman (see Gen. 2:21–24). Beyond that ...

411. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... for working the soil and for the construction of larger and stronger buildings. Through these advances in technology societies placed more and more land into food production, thereby promoting an increased population. Human creativity continued after the flood. Noah learned how to grow vines and make wine. The first vintner gave humans a means for giving their tired spirits rest. Nimrod is credited with the development of hunting (10:9). Early monarchs like Gilgamesh bragged about killing large animals ...

412. God’s Covenant with Noah

Genesis 9:1-17

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

God’s Blessing on Noah and His Offspring: After the great deluge God gives to Noah and his sons the same blessing he gave to humans at their creation (1:28), empowering them to prosper and to replenish the earth. Further, we learn that humans continue to bear the image of God; each person possesses intrinsic value.Yet God introduces three drastic changes. First, God grants humans permission to eat meat. Second, dread of humans henceforth characterizes the way animals respond to humans. Third, God also ...

413. The Sons of Noah

Genesis 9:18-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the incident to his two brothers; this is particularly true if he bragged about what he had seen. In antiquity shaming a parent was a serious offense, as evidenced by the death penalty for striking or cursing a parent (Exod. 21:15, 17). On learning what Ham had seen, Shem and Japheth acted honorably. Taking discreet steps that make carrying out their mission very awkward, they covered their father’s nakedness in such a way that they would not see him. They seek to remove the cause of their father ...

414. From Shem to Abram

Genesis 11:10-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Abram takes Lot under his care (12:4). 11:29–30 Abram’s wife was Sarai. In Hebrew her name means “princess,” and in Akkadian it means “queen,” the name of the moon god’s consort. None of her lineage is given, but in 20:12 we learn that she is Abram’s half-sister, born to Terah by a different mother than Abram’s. Nahor married his niece Milcah, another Akkadian term for “queen” and the title of Ishtar, the moon god’s daughter. These names indicate that this family came from a culture ...

415. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

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

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the first section there are five scenes, in which Lot extends hospitality to the two messengers (vv. 1–11), Lot prepares to flee Sodom (vv. 12–15), Lot’s family flees (vv. 16–23), the cities of the plain are destroyed (vv. 23–26), and Abraham learns about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (vv. 27–29). 19:1–2 Two of the three messengers from heaven who had visited Abraham (ch. 18) journeyed on to Sodom, arriving at evening. Given the distance, either they hastened their journey by drawing on their ...

416. Abraham and Abimelech

Genesis 20:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... these steps to address the wrong he had done, Abraham obeyed God by praying for him. God heard Abraham’s prayer and healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls from the curse of infertility. Only at this point does the reader learn that God had inflicted a curse of infertility on Abimelech’s household because of . . . Sarah. Additional Notes This episode in Abraham’s life functions as a model by which the people Israel could understand their national experience with the Philistines. Like Abraham ...

417. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... If God did not accept the sacrifice of Isaac, the first child of promise, surely no other sacrifice of a child would be acceptable to him. Given the popularity of child sacrifice in some cultures close to Israel, this was a vital truth for Israel to learn (cf. Lev. 18:21; 20:2–5). Amid all the possibilities medicine makes available to humans in this age, we need to hear this truth afresh. Referred to by the Jewish community as the Akedah, from the Hebrew term “bind,” this account has had great impact ...

418. Nahor's Sons

Genesis 22:20-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Genealogy of Nahor 22:20–24: After the events on Mount Moriah, Abraham learned about the children born to his brother Nahor. This genealogy identifies Nahor’s eight sons by his primary wife, Milcah, and his four sons by a concubine named Reumah, continuing the list found in 11:27–32. The genealogy’s location here provides background information for the course of Isaac’ ...

419. Jacob Arrives at Paddan Aram

Genesis 29:1-14

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... any person or animal from falling into the well. Each day shepherds gathered at the well, and when several had assembled, they rolled away the stone, watered their flocks, and returned the stone to its place. 29:4–8 Addressing the shepherds as brothers, Jacob learned that they were from Haran. He then asked about the welfare of Laban, Nahor’s grandson. They pointed to a girl who was leading a flock to the well and informed him that she was his daughter Rachel. Suddenly Jacob ordered the shepherds to ...

420. Dinah and the Shechemites

Genesis 34:1-31

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... price high as long as they truly permitted the marriage. Although Shechem did not admit that he had done any wrong to Dinah, he essentially offered compensation to Jacob’s family for the damages he caused them. Only later does the audience learn that these two men were negotiating from the advantage of having Dinah under their control (v. 26). Inexcusably, these two Shechemites displayed no remorse or any hint of contrition for the grave wrong that Shechem had done. Their cavalier attitude increased the ...

421. The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Genesis 35:16-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... over the family by taking advantage of his father’s sorrow. In either case, Bilhah was reduced to living widowhood, because she could 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 ...

422. Judah and Tamar

Genesis 38:1-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... , Judah went up to Timnah with his friend Hirah to visit the men who were shearing his sheep. Hard work and joyous festivities characterized the time of sheep shearing. Hirah’s accompanying him reveals that Judah was identifying with the Canaanites. Tamar learned of Judah’s journey to Timnah. Since Shelah had grown up, she had come to suspect that Judah no longer intended to keep the obligations of levirate marriage. Tamar therefore decided to take matters into her own hands. Putting aside her widow ...

423. Jacob Goes to Egypt

Gen 46:1–47:12

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... symbolizes an ideal, complete unit, such as the Sanhedrin. The list of Jacob’s seventy children at the end of the patriarchal era parallels the seventy nations at the close of the primeval narrative (ch. 10). 46:28–30 Judah went ahead to meet with Joseph to learn where they were to settle in Goshen. Joseph went to Goshen in his chariot. On meeting his father, he embraced him and wept for a long time. The only way Israel could respond was to say that he was ready to die, having been comforted in seeing ...

424. Jacob Blesses His Sons

Genesis 49:1-28

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... flocks and fields that this tribe would enjoy. 49:13 Zebulun was to dwell by the seashore and have a good port (Deut. 33:19); his border would reach toward Sidon, a major Phoenician city. This latter reference suggests that Zebulun would either learn sea trade from the Phoenicians or be employed by them in their commercial adventures. A difficulty arises from the fact that Zebulun’s allotment was not along the Mediterranean Sea (Josh. 19:10–16). It is possible that during certain periods, perhaps very ...

425. Joseph Reassures His Brothers

Genesis 50:15-21

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... prisons. He wept at the guilt and anxiety his brothers still felt. He wept for joy that they had been reunited and expressed true remorse for their transgression against him. His weeping demonstrated that his concern for them was genuine. 50:18 When they learned about Joseph’s response to their request, the brothers came to him, bowing to the ground before him. Submissive, as Joseph had dreamed in his youth (37:5–11), they asserted that they were his slaves. 50:19–21 Joseph addressed their fears ...

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