Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4776 to 4800 of 5000 results

4776. They Were Only Children

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Brett Blair and Billy D. Strayhorn

... of our baptism because, that water is the water of life. It changes everything. It cleans us up and gives us a starting over point. And it reminds us just how much we are loved. And all we're asked to do is drink deep from the water of life. Mark starts his gospel, "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." I like that. It tells me every Baptism is a beginning. Every Christian is a new chance to tell the story of the beginning of the Gospel.

4777. Matthew 5:1-12

Matthew 5:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Interpretation 44 [1990]: 281-85) has examined the distinctive qualities of Matthew's version of Jesus' beatitudes as compared to Luke's much more streamlined rendition. Meier isolates two unique elements. First: As well as sharing the "Q" source and a "Mark" source with Luke, Matthew had his own "M" source of material to draw from. Second: Matthew was what Meier calls a "mesher" - a literary artist skilled at weaving together the strands of many different traditions to create a richer, more vibrant whole ...

4778. John 9:1-41

John 9:1-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... chapter begins at some indefinite time with Jesus' entourage encountering a man "blind from birth." At first it seems this congenital condition is mentioned so that the miracle Jesus performs might appear all the more dramatic. Jesus' response (v.3) to the off-the-mark, theologically off-the-wall statement made by the disciples in verse 2 (cf. Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Ezekiel 18:14) seems to suggest that this blindness is a canvas for a demonstration of God's transformative power. But taken in the context of ...

4779. Matthew 26:14-27:66

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Corrupt the relationship had become between the Roman government and high Jewish officials. Not unlike the mood of the nation's 1992 political campaign, the hope was that by throwing out the "incumbents" some real political progress could be gained. Matthew 26:16 marks a climactic shift in the Gospel's tone. The Greek apotote or "from that moment" designates the beginning of a new time period - an era ushered in by Judas' betrayal. For both Jesus and Judas, this "moment" is a fateful fulcrum. It commits ...

4780. John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... picked on as the quintessential example of flimsy faithfulness. There is good reason to believe, however, that Thomas is far more representative of the mood of the whole than as a lone holdout. In each of the other Gospels (Matthew 28:17, Luke 24:11, 25, 37, 41 and Mark 16:14) this same note of hesitancy and doubtfulness is struck as a resonating chord among all the would-be believers. Only John picks out Thomas to sound a solo note. It is much more likely that John chose Thomas as a convenient foil for his ...

4781. 1 Peter 1:17-23

1 Peter 1:17-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... part of an ancient Christian confessional hymn into his text. Unfortunately, its independent identity cannot be wholly substantiated. Without question, however, is the importance of this "ransom" imagery for the early church's sense of self. Mentioned again explicitly in Mark 10:45 and 1 Timothy 2:6, Christians found this whole concept validated by their reading of Isaiah's reference to the "Suffering servant." In Isaiah 53:10-12 this suffering servant "redeems" (ransoms) Israel from her sins. 1 Peter ...

4782. Romans 8:1-11

Romans 8:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , many scholars minimize the point Paul makes. But homoiomati implies more than just some artificial resemblance. University of Dayton scholar Vincent P. Branick forces us to take Paul seriously when he states: The sense of the word in Romans 8:3 ... by no means marks a distinction or a difference between Christ and sinful flesh. If Christ comes en homoiomati of sinful flesh, he comes as the full expression of sinful flesh. He manifests it for what it is. Sinful flesh is fully visible in the flesh of Christ ...

4783. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is surely coming, but that time is not for the servants to determine. It is not even their job to decide which is the wheat and which the weed. The careful explanation provided in verses 36-43 reveals the private moments only alluded to in Mark. In verses 37-39, Jesus provides a detailed analysis of all the players in this story - explaining just exactly who is represented by the sower, the field, the weeds, the seeds, the enemy, the harvest and the reaper. Some of those listening may have been surprised ...

4784. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... like" parables that were so crucial to Jesus' message. Our "kingdom" texts are from Matthew, whose overwhelming preference is to refer to the "kingdom of heaven" (literally the "kingdom of the heavens") instead of the "kingdom of God" (Luke and Mark's favorite designation). The two terms are essentially synonymous, however, and actually reveal more about the individual Gospel writers than Jesus' intentions. The "kingdom of heaven" phrase preferred by Matthew is a far more Jewish term. Scholars suggest that ...

4785. Genesis 32:22-31

Genesis 32:22-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... picture of God, a deity reduced to giving cheap shots in order to achieve divine intentions. Whoever this nighttime visitor was, Jacob manages to stand his ground before him. When morning dawns, he is still erect but limping, victorious yet ever marked and changed by this encounter. Crossing the river has become not just part of his journey but a definitive moment in Jacob's leitmotif. Functionally this odd intrusion in the midst of Jacob's big confrontation with Esau provides four separate etiologies ...

4786. Matthew 23:1-12

Matthew 23:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is to acknowledge is that of the Christ, the Messiah. Matthew could hardly make it clearer. There was to be a profound difference between the stratified, star-studded synagogue and those who would be called Christians. Service, not status, is the mark of this new community. True humility is the only position actively sought. This ideal community of equals that Jesus preaches to and Matthew teaches recognizes only the authority of the Christ. There is no place for grandstanding grace or "holier-than ...

4787. 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Egypt, travel with them through the wilderness, and guide them into a new land. Ba'al worship was based on belief in a localized deity a god tied to one place, whose jurisdiction was limited by specific boundaries. Shrines and altars marked the especially sacred, but circumscribed, dwelling places of these local gods. The appeal of identifying certain locations as favorite dwellings of gods seduced the Israelites into erecting regional houses for Yahweh as well. The permanent temple at Shiloh, where Eli and ...

4788. John 12:20-33

John 12:20-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... debate over whether Jesus' plea ,"Father, save me from this hour," is only part of his rhetorical question, "What shall I say?" or is actually a petition standing by itself. (In those translations that view it as a genuine petition, there is no question mark after "Father, save me from this hour.") No matter how sincerely or how momentarily Jesus entertained the desire to avoid his fate, he completes his thought in verse 27 by utterly rejecting deliverance. Jesus knows that the Son of Man who is able to ...

4789. John 10:11-18

John 10:11-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... both symbolic and straightforward language. Verse 11, which opens this week's gospel text, introduces a new and dramatic idea from the images of Jesus as gate, shepherd and gatekeeper. After declaring himself the "good shepherd," Jesus asserts that the distinguishing mark of such a shepherd is that he "lays down his life for the sheep." Defining Jesus as a shepherd echoes a well-established Old Testament tradition. The pastoral history of Israel was well-established in the hearts of Jesus' Jewish listeners ...

4790. Acts 8:26-40

Acts 8:26-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... joins him. When the eunuch confesses his confusion over this text, Philip eagerly provides the Christian interpretation. It is an interpretation based not only on the events of Jesus' life and death, but apparently on Jesus' own understanding of this scripture. As recorded in Mark 9:12 and Luke 17:25, Jesus himself concluded that the Son of Man and the Suffering Servant were one and the same. At Jesus' baptism, the heavenly voice's assurance that he is the "beloved in whom I am well pleased" identified ...

4791. John 15:9-17

John 15:9-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... two different verbs for love agapao and philio which he uses synonymously. The Greek for the noun "friend," philos, likewise stems from one of those two verbs. For Jesus, and for John, one who is a friend is one who is loved. The mark of Jesus' love and friendship for his disciples is further demonstrated by the openness, respect and reciprocity that defines their relationship in verses 15-16. First, Jesus clearly distinguishes the kind of relationship that exists between himself and his disciples from any ...

4792. Ephesians 2:11-22

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... from the "near-by" Jews. The writer now claims this unity has been brought to pass only through "the blood of Christ." Verses 14-18 are widely recognized as a hymn of praise that the author has inserted into his text. The "for" that marks the beginning of this section and the "so then" that signals its end in verse 19 clearly distinguish it from the rest of the surrounding texts. This hymn of praise to Christ follows all the stylistic and grammatical laws of internal construction for standard hymnic ...

4793. John 6:35, 41-51

John 6:35, 41-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is made clear by his own theology. John 11:25-26 obviously denies any conclusion that believers will somehow avoid genuine physical death if they are participants in the bread of life. Verse 51, the final verse assigned for this week's gospel reading, actually marks the beginning of a distinct Second Discourse on the bread of life (vv.51-59). While it is true verse 51 essentially repeats the message delivered in verses 35-50, it does so in much more earthy, even graphic terms. Startling almost to the point ...

4794. Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The Ephesians' writer has moved from opening texts of praise and blessing through a long section of urgent exhortations. The verses read today mark the conclusion of this exhortative material, but in typical Ephesians' style the writer first crashes to a great crescendo of powerful images before closing. Interlocking pictures are stacked one upon another, increasing the drama of challenges confronting the believer. The author opens this section with a revealing "finally" denoting the ...

4795. John 1:43-51

John 1:43-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... some commentators have linked these four days with the traditional four days of preparation pious Jews observed as they annually celebrated the gift of the Law (see Exodus 19). In John’s gospel, the three days of prayerful preparation and the fourth day marking the gift of that divine law become three days whose events prepare the gospel reader for the first self-revelation of Jesus (the New Law) on that “fourth day” (v.51). On the first three days John the Baptist offers key information about ...

4796. Three Fishing Stories

Mark 1:14-20

Illustration

Jacob M. Braude

... warden?" the old-timer inquired. "Yup." Unruffled, the old man began to move the fishing pole from side to side. Finally, he lifted the line out of the water. Pointing to a minnow wriggling on the end of the line, he said, "Just teaching him how to swim." 2. Mark Twain once spent a pleasant three weeks in the Maine woods. On his way home making himself comfortable in the train to New York, a sour-faced man sat down next to him, and the two struck up a conversation. "Been to the woods, have ye?" asked the ...

4797. Astonishing! - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:21-28

Illustration

Brett Blair

... the ground at the same time, the professors did not believe. The problem here is obvious. Most people are going to believe what they have always believed regardless of the facts. But something different occurred in the life of Jesus. Something persuasive. Mark records that when Jesus came to Capernaum, on the Sabbath day, and entered the synagogue and taught, the crowds were astounded. Why? One word: Authority. He taught, not as the scribes taught, but as one having authority. What was it that convinced ...

4798. Christ's Life Changed Culture

Mark 1:21-28

Illustration

Brett Blair

... or female, and prohibited the killing of any children." In ways that our culture has no knowledge of, nor would it ever admit, Christianity radically changed social justice and the political philosophy of the world, for the good. This ancient congregation mentioned in Mark 1 was astonished at this "new teaching" coming from Jesus. And indeed it's still new. A growing secularism has been trying to denigrate our faith, but it has no clue how deeply their own right to freedom exists because of Jesus Christ ...

4799. Authority

Mark 1:21-28

Illustration

David M. Rhoads

A Lutheran professor named David Rhoads points out that in Mark "Jesus wields authority over demons, illnesses (when people have faith), and natural forces (seas, deserts, trees) - nonhuman forces that oppress people. Jesus wields no authority, however, over people. He cannot heal people without faith, make them keep quiet if they wish to speak, or force his disciples to understand his ...

4800. The World's Worst Bargain

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... him....” She was referring, of course, to the verse in Matthew’s Gospel that reads like this in the King James Version: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark records this same teaching. It reads like this in the New International Version of the Bible: Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me ...

Showing results