Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4626 to 4650 of 4963 results

4626. “When Will These Things Happen?”

Luke 21:5-38

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R.T. France

... to this discourse, be sure to focus on Jesus’s primary points whenever he talks about the end. As believers we are not to set dates or obsess about the specific “signs” or historical events that herald the end. Rather, we are to remain always faithful and vigilant, living a life of godliness and spiritual maturity. Illustrating the Text We are called to maintain a fearless witness in the face of fierce opposition. Church History: John Wesley. Fox’s Book of Martyrs reports the persistent witness of ...

4627. The Trials of Peter and of Jesus

Luke 22:66--23:25, Luke 22:63-65, Luke 22:54-62

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R.T. France

... name again now. As chairman of the Sanhedrin, he would supervise the action taken against Jesus. Peter followed at a distance. True to his boast in 22:33, Peter is apparently the only one of the disciples who has not deserted Jesus, though he wishes to remain incognito. John 18:15 says that another disciple, presumably John himself, went with him. 22:55 a fire in the middle of the courtyard. It can be very cold at Passover time in Jerusalem. We should probably envisage the open-air courtyard of a large ...

4628. At the Tomb

Luke 24:1-12, Luke 23:50-56

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R.T. France

... urgency of the burial before sunset. Either Mark and Luke were unaware of the tradition in John 19:39–40 of spices provided by Nicodemus, or they envisaged the women’s as an additional contribution. The women’s intention shows that they were still expecting Jesus to remain dead. 24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning. This gives a period of less than forty hours after Jesus was buried shortly before sunset on the Friday, but in Jewish idiom “the third day” (9:22; 18:33; 24 ...

4629. The Risen Jesus Revealed

Luke 24:13-35

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R.T. France

... :19–21 a prophet . . . we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. This poignant description expresses the conflicting attitudes of Jesus’s Judean supporters. His prophetic status is not in doubt, but his role as the Messiah remains a frustrated hope in the light of his condemnation by the Jewish authorities and now his decisive execution. The past tense (lit., “we were hoping”) conveys a dead aspiration that only Jesus’s resurrection will now be able to revive. 24:21 it ...

4630. The Commissioning of the Disciples

Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49

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R.T. France

... is universal, and since 2:32 Luke has signaled the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s saving purpose, in fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6; but at the same time Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, and Jerusalem, where the apostles will remain based, will be the headquarters and reference point of the new movement throughout Acts. 24:48 You are witnesses of these things. Acts 1:21–22 will underline the importance of eyewitness testimony for the apostles. This commission, however, is apparently wider, addressed ...

4631. The Story of Israel and the Story of Gentiles

Romans 1:18-32

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C. Marvin Pate

... even overlaps with it as natural law overlaps with the Mosaic law. 2. Thus, just as Israel must keep the law of Moses in order to maintain their covenant with God, so must the Gentiles keep the Noahic law (natural law) if they want to remain in sync with God’s covenant with creation. Therefore, both covenants contained stipulations. 3. But, in point of fact, neither Israel nor the nations kept God’s respective stipulations for them. Rather, beginning with the fall of Adam (compare Gen. 1–3 with Rom. 1 ...

4632. The Story of Israel Now and Later

Romans 2:1-16

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul makes explicit the story of Israel. Obedience to God’s law was required for Israel to remain in covenantal relationship with God. But Israel repeatedly broke the law, and consequently divine judgment fell on Jews. Moreover, God’s judgment will fall on individual Jews on the final day of reckoning if they do not repent by accepting Jesus as the Messiah. Understanding the Text In placing Romans ...

4633. The Whole World Is under the Curses of the Covenant

Romans 3:9-20

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C. Marvin Pate

... 1, which consists of their respective slogans and positions, plus the traditional/old perspective’s recent critique of those positions.1Space constraints permit no further elaboration, except to say, with Moo, “I think, however, that properly nuanced, the traditional viewpoint remains the best explanation of the Pauline polemic.”2 Interpretive Insights 3:9 Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. Verse 9 begins Paul’s conclusion to his argumentation in 1:18–3:8 to the effect ...

4634. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

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C. Marvin Pate

... of the Abrahamic promise, but so also is legalism. Abraham’s faith preceded the law and therefore trumps it in the plan of God. It is important for Jewish believers in particular to be vigilant regarding their own venerable religious heritage. They rightfully remain Jewish and may well celebrate, for example, the Old Testament feasts of the Lord such as Passover, but from a perspective of faith in Christ as the fulfillment of the Torah. Moreover, Jewish believers will want to be sensitive to their Gentile ...

4635. The New-Covenant Blessings: Peace and Hope

Romans 5:1-11

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C. Marvin Pate

... who struggled throughout his life with an addiction to opium. His poem “The Hound of Heaven” is a powerful narrative of God’s steady, majestic, but uncompromising pursuing and reconciling work in his life. Although the poet flees from him, God remains unhurried and unperturbed until finally the pursued understands that this is the true love of a determined God. It would be worth reading several of the memorable, often-quoted stanzas aloud. Suffering allows the Christian to mature and to identify with ...

4636. New Dominion as a Blessing of the New Covenant: Dead to Sin

Romans 6:1-14

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C. Marvin Pate

... take notes on each verse I contemplated, eventually filling whole notebooks on one biblical book after the next. I sometimes think that the Lord was testing me during that first year to see if I really meant business. By the power of the Spirit I remained disciplined during the dull times of my early devotional studies, which eventually gave way to what has for forty-two years become the most meaningful part of my day. And that morning talk with God has in turn increased spiritual discipline in my life. I ...

4637. The Christian’s New Dominion: Dedicated to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

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C. Marvin Pate

... place). Second, “What Happened at the Cross Stays at the Cross!” is a sermon that conveys a double meaning: our sins were buried with Christ at the cross so that no one can bring them back up to shame us, and our sinful lifestyle should remain a thing of the past, buried at the cross. Here again is tension between the indicative and the imperative. The former taps into the fact that Jesus’ death was for our sins, his burial removed those sins from human purview, and his resurrection is proof positive ...

4638. Freedom from the Law through Christ, Enslavement to the Law through Adam

Romans 7:7-25, Romans 7:1-6

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C. Marvin Pate

... expound on this). Understanding the Text Romans 6:23 pronounces that the Christian is in union with Christ and therefore free from the law. This is illustrated in 7:1–6. But things are not so simple. Because this age is dominated by Adam’s sin, the law and death remain a present reality (7:7–12). We may outline 7:1–6 as follows: 7:1-4a Law: Bound to the old husband Grace: United with the new husband 7:4b-5 Law: Fruit of death Grace: Fruit of life 7:6 Law: Letter / old covenant Grace: Spirit / new ...

4639. The Holy Spirit and the Blessings of the New Covenant

Romans 8:1-17

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C. Marvin Pate

... as Lord Protector of England, a young soldier was sentenced to die when the curfew bell rang. His fiancée begged Cromwell to save his life by giving him a pardon, but he refused. As the church sexton over and over pulled the rope at curfew, the bell remained silent. The young man’s fiancée had climbed into the bell tower and wrapped herself around the clapper to keeping it from striking the bell. She refused to let go in spite of the injuries she was incurring. When she finally climbed down to the place ...

4640. The Kindness and Sternness of God

Romans 11:11-24

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C. Marvin Pate

... and sternness of God. Thus, in the present God is kind to Christian Gentiles but stern toward unbelieving Jews. But in the future God will be kind to Israel if they come to faith in Christ but stern to Gentile Christians if they do not remain in faith. Verse 24 concludes Paul’s third reason with another qal wahomer argument: if God grafted the wild branches (Gentiles) into the tree of the people of God (greater), how much more will God regraft the natural branches (Jews) into the tree of the people ...

4641. The Mystery and Mercy of God

Romans 11:25-32

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C. Marvin Pate

... believed that Southern authors were “Christ-haunted”—by implication, a better way to be. She said, We find that the writer has made alive some experience which we are not accustomed to observe every day. . . . If the writer believes that our life is and will remain essentially mysterious, if he looks upon us as beings existing in a created order to whose laws we freely respond, then what he sees on the surface will be of interest to him only as he can go through it into an experience of mystery itself ...

4642. “Weak and Strong” Should Get Along

Romans 14:1--15:13

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C. Marvin Pate

... of the covenant. Going against their conscience condemns them now and ultimately on judgment day before God. To put it another way, it is better for the weak in faith not to presently enjoy the liberty of the new covenant than to fail to remain in that covenant. The second principle addresses all believers: all of life should be lived by faith, for not to do so is sin. Indeed, faith is the means of justification, sanctification, and glorification. Theological Insights Several truths emerge from Romans 14:13 ...

4643. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

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C. Marvin Pate

... his day, led to his expulsion from his post at Oxford in 1381. He died after a stroke in 1384 and was buried, but not for long. At the Council of Constance in 1415, Wycliffe was condemned by Pope Martin V, and it was ordered that Wycliffe’s remains be exhumed and burned. But it was Wycliffe who had the last laugh. Church historian Thomas Fuller wrote, “To city of Lutterworth they come, . . . take what was left out of the grave, and burnt them to ashes, and cast them into the Swift, a neighbouring brook ...

4644. Applying God’s Wisdom to Life’s Issues

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

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Preben Vang

... context, however, the difference in meaning between these readings seems minor. Paul’s point is clearly that the content of his proclamation came as revelation from God and did not originate in human thinking. God’s testimony to the world, his salvation through Christ, remains a mystery to human wisdom (2:7) that the unspiritual do not understand (2:8, 13). 2:2 nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. As the rest of the letter amply shows, this statement is neither absolute ...

4645. Leadership and Servanthood

1 Corinthians 4:1-21, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

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Preben Vang

... to “unconscious plans and motives,” as Theissen suggests,[7] or to a consciously hypocritical concealment of personal intentions and immoral actions, as Paul refers to in other places (2 Cor. 4:2; Eph. 5:11–12). Theological Insights Christian leadership remains middle management. Even leaders are servants. Only God is in charge and can determine the agenda. The purpose of Christian leadership is to lead the church to accomplish God’s purposes. Teaching the Text The inherent danger of all leadership ...

4646. Unity of Life and Faith

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

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Preben Vang

... spirit and vice versa. Sandwiched between verses 17 and 19, verse 18 connects the spirit and the body in the worship of Christ and the believers’ experience as a Christ community. How well the Corinthians were acquainted with the Old Testament prophetic literature remains uncertain, but it is likely that the covenantal story of Hosea and Gomer may form the background for this passage, at least in Paul’s own mind. The one who sins sexually sins not against the prostitute but against his own body. Sexual ...

4647. Worship and Proper Attire

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

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Preben Vang

... own statement about angels rejoicing when sinners repent (Luke 15:7, 10; cf. Heb. 1:6; 12:22–23). 11:13–16 Judge for yourselves . . . the very nature of things . . . we have no other practice. Paul counts on three appeals to remove any remaining doubt about his teaching: common sense (11:13), nature (11:14–15), and Christian custom (11:16). The commonsense appeal speaks to propriety: “Judge for yourselves: Is it proper . . . ?” (11:13). Paul must have been able to count on general agreement on ...

4648. Unity and Community (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

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Preben Vang

... it to her in an effort to look generous. Sometimes believers approach spiritual gifts this way, developing abilities they feel will make them happy and later trying to pass them off as spiritual gifts for the benefit of others. Instead, we must humbly and authentically remain open to the gifts and calling Jesus has for us in each situation and pour it all out for others. The gifts of the Spirit authenticate the gospel by doing things people could do only when reconciled to God. Science: In the field of ...

4649. Many Parts, One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

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Preben Vang

... , points to perfection—where all elements work together beautifully. Even in our modern tech-driven society, Aesop’s fable continues to inform our metaphors, language, and conceptualization. Because of this, Paul’s Christ-focused use of the body metaphor remains an important reminder of how Christ’s body differs from worldly bodies. Teaching the Text 1. The tension between unity and diversity is not a new one. In Paul’s thinking, however, this tension is overcome through clarity of purpose ...

4650. Resurrection and History

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

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Preben Vang

... event that includes five hundred believers. Paul could be referring to a broader group at the Great Commission event (Matt. 28:16–20). The point Paul makes here is that many of those who saw Jesus are still alive and can verify his account. Acts also remains silent on an appearance to James, although James’s significance in the early church is well attested (Acts 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12), which seems to necessitate a resurrection appearance (cf. Acts 12:17). “All the apostles” is a broad ...

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