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Showing 4426 to 4450 of 4937 results

4426. Solomon’s Wives

1 Kings 11:1-13

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Solomon’s Apostasy: While stopping short of questioning his basic commitment, and certainly allowing that he was blessed by God in a tremendous way, our authors have hinted throughout 1 Kings 1–10 that all is not well with Solomon’s heart (e.g., 3:1–3; 4:26, 28; 5:14; 6:38–7:1). The prayer of 8:22–53 and God’s response in 9:1–9 have, however, made clear both the importance of keeping the law and the consequences of disobedience; read in this context, 9:10–10:29 have sounded ominously like the climbing of ...

4427. Jehoahaz King of Israel

2 Kings 13:1-9

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Jehoahaz and Jehoash: The crisis of 2 Kings 9–11 is past. A descendant of David once more sits on the throne of Judah, and a new house governs Israel, with security of tenure until the fourth generation (10:30). We anticipate a period of relative calm within the two countries, even if not in their relations with other countries (cf. 8:12; 10:32–33; 12:17–18). Chapter 13 unfolds much as expected, updating us on events in Israel during the reigns of the two Israelite kings who acceded during the reign of ...

4428. Judgment Against the Nations

Isaiah 34:1-17

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Streams Turned into Desolation, Desert into Pools: While chapter 33 looks back and reworks the message of the book so far, it does so in a way that points forward and emphasizes the wondrous reversal and restoration that Yahweh will bring about. Since the second half of the book is more renewal-focused, chapter 33 thus also anticipates this material. Chapters 34–35 then mirror chapter 33. They have one eye to what has preceded, but they more explicitly point to what will come, introducing us to themes to ...

4429. Pharisees Reject the Divine Origin of Jesus’ Power

Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:38-45, Matthew 12:46-50

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Although Jesus is accused of healing by Satan’s power, Matthew shows him to be enacting the kingdom by God’s Spirit and so warns of judgment upon those who fail to accept Jesus’ identity and respond in obedience. Understanding the Text The controversy between Jesus and Galilean Pharisees intensifies in this passage. The Jewish leaders again accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of demons (12:24; cf. 9:34). Jesus addresses their accusation with a set of analogies, claiming in the ...

4430. Failing the Test and Spiritual Failure—Hardness of Heart

Mark 6:45-56

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: This episode illustrates the key contrast of this central section in Mark. Jesus has the power to take care of his followers, but the disciples fail to understand this because of their hardness of heart and spiritual failure. Understanding the Text God provides for the needy (6:30–44), and Christ heals all who come (6:53–56). True disciples place their trust in God and Christ, who watch over them. As the new Israel, Jesus’s followers must be tested with their own “wilderness” experience. In other ...

4431. Keeping Promises

Numbers 30:1-16

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Take solemn promises and commitments seriously. Understanding the Text Following the first census in Numbers is a section dealing with vows, specifically Nazirite vows (Num. 6). Likewise, after the second census Numbers 30 deals with vows, especially women’s vows. Why would a section on vows follow Numbers 28–29, which is on offerings made on holy days? Perhaps because holy days are occasions for completing vows. Numbers 29:39 mentions that “vows” can be completed by sacrifice on holy occasions. ...

4432. Restoration of Isarel

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

30:1–33:26 Review · The Book of Comfort:As now arranged, the book so far has had several urgent warnings, some earnest pleas, and many dire announcements of coming disaster. By contrast, chapters 30–33 fulfill that part of Jeremiah’s assignment that called for building and planting (1:10). Now come promises of return from exile, of a secure and stable society in the homeland, and of an intimate relationship once again of people with their God. The “book” proper is in poetry (30–31); the prose expansion (32 ...

4433. The Siege and Destruction of Nineveh

Nahum 2:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Nahum 2:1–2 marks a transition and is the third in the series of contrasts in God’s dealings with Nineveh and Judah. Verse 1 begins the description of the fall of Nineveh that is taken up again in verse 3 and then developed in the rest of the book. Verse 2 concludes the promises of the benefits that Israel will enjoy as a result of the defeat of her enemies. The result of the attack on Nineveh will be a scattering to the winds of her inhabitants (cf. Nah. 3:18). The words “Guard the fortress” (2:1) are ...

4434. Jesus’s Fifth Discourse—The Eschatological Discourse

Matthew 24:1-35, Matthew 24:36-51

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

24:1–25:46 Review · Matthew’s fifth and final extended section of Jesus’s teaching continues with the theme of judgment on Jerusalem leaders and the temple begun in chapters 21–23. Matthew provides glimpses of Jesus’s second coming or reappearing and the end of the age, with its final judgment of all peoples. Regarding the temple’s destruction, Jesus warns his followers against confusing precursor signs with the events that will occur when it falls (24:4–35). The opposite warning is given for Jesus’s ...

4435. On Cyprus

Acts 13:4-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The account of their ministry on the island of Cyprus (13:4–12) begins with a note concerning the guidance of the Holy Spirit (13:4), not unlike the one found at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry (Luke 4:1, 14). It is in this episode that Luke first calls “Saul” by his Roman name, “Paul” (13:9), thus indicating the shift that the gospel is now reaching an increasingly Gentile audience. While preaching to the proconsul Sergius Paulus in Paphos, Barnabas and Paul are met with opposition by the false prophet ...

4436. The Angel and the Little Scroll

Revelation 10:1-11

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

The role played by the interlude in each of the three visions of divine wrath is the same: to cause the readers to assess their present crisis in terms of the future realization of God’s past triumph in Christ. In this sense, the crisis confronting unbelieving humanity is a theological one. Their vision is blinded by the “official” propaganda of the surrounding world order; thus, their life is anchored not by faith in a sovereign God but rather by a false confidence in the idols of the anti-Christian world ...

4437. A Prayer for the Heart in the Midst of Threat and Temptation

Psalm 141:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

A Prayer for the Heart in the Midst of Threat and Temptation This is a prayer psalm of the individual. Its first half focuses on the speaker’s relationship to God (vv. 1–2) and on God’s restraining him from temptation (vv. 3–5a). Its second half turns to the retribution of evildoers (vv. 5b–7) and his preservation from their schemes (vv. 8–10). The spirituality reflected in this prayer psalm is decidedly more reflective and introspective than what is found in most. We see here the realization that “there ...

4438. Idolatry Forbidden

Deuteronomy 4:15-31

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Obedience and Loyalty to Israel’s Unique God: The historical recollections now give place to urgent exhortation. 4:15–20 This specific warning against idolatry is prefaced with a reminder of the point just made, you saw no form (v. 15). Any attempt, therefore, to make an image as an object of or aid to worship, was bound to be inadequate. But the reason for the prohibition should be carefully expressed. Sometimes it is claimed that Israel here affirmed an invisible deity, as against visible idols. Or that ...

4439. Jehoash King of Israel

2 Kings 13:10-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

4440. Jeremiah's Complaint

Jeremiah 12:1-4, Jeremiah 12:5-17, Jeremiah 11:18-23

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

God Protects His Prophet (11:18--12:1-6): This passage speaks of a plot against Jeremiah. It begins with Jeremiah’s complaint (11:18–20) and ends with God’s judgment against those who are plotting against him (11:21–23). Then the text continues with another complaint (12:1–4), followed by a divine response (12:5–6). Jeremiah was an unpopular person because while other prophets were claiming that God would bring peace, Jeremiah was saying that defeat was inevitable and the result of the people’s sin (see ...

4441. Apostles of Hope

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

If you want to stay out of the rain, you need to invest in an umbrella. So the saying might go. Or in our world right now, if you want to stay clear of the “cloud,” you need to wear your mask. For what you can’t see, CAN hurt you! We can’t see it. We can’t feel it. We can’t hear it. We can’t touch it. And yet, we cower in our homes for fear of the viral invader we call COVID-19. This invisible “force” is changing the world, changing the way we do life, changing people. But not necessarily all for the worse ...

4442. Spirit Powered Anointing

Luke 4:14-21 · Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Anointing. This is a term that means that the Holy Spirit is with you, that the Holy Spirit has come upon you. When you are “anointed,” you are not only empowered but commissioned into action. The word comes from the Greek word echrisen, to anoint from the root chrio, also related to christos, anointed one, the word we call “messiah.” Jesus has been “contracted” by God with the power of the divine Holy Spirit to impart “good news” of God’s favor and grace. And what good news it was! This inauguration of ...

4443. Unto Us

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Will Willimon

John says, ''The Word (the eternal Logos, the Christ) became flesh and dwelt among us." Flesh. Meat. Incarnation, which me.ans ''in the flesh," ''in the body." That's Christmas, ''The Feast of the Incarnation." Our God didn't stay up on Cloud Nine, aloof, unscathed by what troubles us in this world. In the flesh. Sometimes well meaning folk say, ''After all, when you get down to it, all religions are fairly much the same. Right?'' Wrong. When you get down to it, and today, on the Eve of the Feast of the ...

4444. Thistles Among The Wheat

Genesis 28:10-22, Psalm 139:1-24, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Romans 8:12-25

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The parable of the weeds and wheat is intriguing. It raises a number of issues that are complex and can be confusing. Some resolutions of the issues are suggested while for others you need to look elsewhere for more adequate explanations. Some differences are found within the parable itself and the interpretation given to the disciples. One of the issues is the question about the nature of the church. Does this parable apply to the church as part of the kingdom of God? If so, is the church a divine or a ...

4445. The Scope Of The Spirit

Sermon

John A. Stroman

How is the power of the Holy Spirit within the Christian community related to divine activity in the world as a whole? Does the wind of the Spirit that blows within the church blow elsewhere in the world? There are those who almost instinctively sense that the Spirit is moving about in all levels of human activity seeking to unlock many doors and seeking to resolve many of our human dilemmas. In John 3:8 Jesus talks about the wind (pneuma) as the Spirit and that the wind "blows where it wills." This ...

4446. The Christian Journey IV: The Pool

Sermon

John N. Brittain

Psalm 114; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Acts 1:1-9; John 4:1-30 We have been thinking about the Christian Journey in terms of some biblical images for the past few weeks. The first image was the path. We saw that one of the earliest -- perhaps the earliest -- designation used to describe those who were devoted to Jesus was "followers of the way," in Greek hodos, a path, a road, a highway, but a term that soon enough came to mean a way of life. This image reminds us that commitment to Jesus Christ presupposes that we ...

4447. Holing Out

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

The time of my departure has come. -- 2 Timothy 4:6b My dad holed the second ace of his half-century golf career on November 10, 1998. He became a low single digit handicapper not too long after picking up the game as an Army drill sergeant at New Jersey's Fort Dix just after World War II. Knowing perfectionist Ben Hogan had only one ace in his entire competitive career, a hole-in-one requires good providence -- luck in the secular mind. But as my dad always counseled me about every sport, "The harder you ...

4448. The Hope Of A Girl-- And The Hope Of The World

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Years ago in a small European town a visitor noticed that on one of the streets when the citizens of the town walked by a certain wall they would nod and make the sign of the cross. As he stood there and watched he observed that they all did this. He became curious about the practice and began to ask around. But no one could tell him what it meant. Finally, he obtained permission to investigate the wall. He began to chip away layers of paint and dirt. He discovered underneath them a beautiful mural of Mary ...

4449. Uncovering Cover-Ups

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

For some it is ancient history. For others it is as fresh as yesterday. I speak of 1972 when the word "cover-up" came into our consciousness in a big way -- the cover-up by then President Richard Nixon regarding the Watergate scandal. Assured of a landslide victory in his election for a second term, Richard Nixon, overborne with anxiety, apparently felt that was not enough. So he authorized the so-called "Watergate Plumbers," headed by G. Gordon Liddy, to break into the Democratic Headquarters in the posh ...

4450. Proper 5

Lk 7:11-17 · Gal 1:11-24 · 1 Ki 17:17-24

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

THE LESSONS 1 Kings 17:17-24 Through prayer Elijah restores a child to life. For the next five Sundays, Lesson 1 focuses upon the great prophet, Elijah, whose name means, "Yahweh is my God." He is the champion of Yahweh, and as the representative of the prophets, appeared at the Transfiguration. To understand today's pericope, one needs to know the context. Because Ahab, King of Israel, turned to pagan gods, a severe drought came upon the land. After the brooks dried up, Yahweh sends Elijah to a pagan ...

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