Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 26 to 50 of 797 results

Acts 17:16-34

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... ). At first his intention may have been not to preach until Silas and Timothy had arrived. But he was so greatly distressed by what he saw that he could not rest (the verb corresponds to the noun in 15:39—he suffered a paroxysm). We learn from 1 Thessalonians 3:1–2 that Timothy did rejoin Paul in Athens, but was sent back “to strengthen … and encourage” the Thessalonians. Silas, it appears from 18:5, did not arrive from Berea until Paul had gone to Corinth. He and Timothy arrived together, Timothy ...

27. Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

Acts 18:18-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... vv. 19–21) encouraged the move (or the Greek could mean that they encouraged the Corinthians to receive him) and wrote accordingly to the church in Achaia (v. 27). The idea of his going may have come from Priscilla and Aquila, thinking that Apollos’ training and learning would attract the attention of a Corinthian audience. Certainly he proved to be a great help to those who by grace had believed (v. 27). Or perhaps it was that he was able to help “by his (gift of) grace,” that is, by the knowledge ...

28. Living to Please God

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... 2 Tim. 2:21) and in 1 Peter 3:7 with reference to the marriage relationship, of wives in particular. Peter describes the wife as the weaker vessel. On the basis of that passage, some suppose that Paul is also speaking of wives—“that each of you should learn to control his own wife.” But it should be observed that Peter does not call the wife the husband’s vessel, but rather implies that both the husband and wife are the vessels of God. In any case, if that were Paul’s meaning here, it would imply ...

29. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... submitting to Christ one is freed from bondage to sin and death, including all legalism (in the sense of meriting one’s salvation). Thus James is saying that it is the person who lives this freedom who will be blessed by God, not the person who only learns about it. 1:26 James has completed his opening statement. All that remains is to sum up in such a way that a transition is made to the next section. Verses 26–27 are that summary and transition. If anyone considers himself religious … That is, does ...

30. Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... 31, 33 [twice], 34, 35, 36 [twice], 38 [twice], 41). The drama unfolds as Isaac gives Esau instructions in preparation for blessing him (27:1–4); Rebekah prepares Jacob to come before Isaac to receive the blessing (27:5–17); Isaac blesses Jacob (27:18–29); Isaac learns of the deception and blesses Esau (27:30–40); Rebekah devises a plan to save Jacob from Esau’s wrath (27:41–28:5); and Esau marries an Ishmaelite woman (28:6–9). There are only two actors in each scene. In the first four scenes ...

31. Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt

Genesis 42:1-38

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... grain in Egypt. Therefore Jacob sends his sons to Egypt (vv. 1–4); the brothers negotiate with Joseph (vv. 5–25) and then return to Canaan (vv. 26–38). 42:1–4 To cope with the crisis of the famine the mournful Jacob reasserted his leadership. Having learned that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob called his sons together, scolded them for inaction, and instructed them to go down to Egypt to buy grain so that they might live. Ten of his sons went to Egypt; they are identified as Joseph’s brothers to ...

32. The Glory Departs

Ezekiel 8:1-18, Ezekiel 9:1-11, Ezekiel 10:1-22, Ezekiel 11:1-15, Ezekiel 11:16-25

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... for the city’s survival. Curiously, there is no conversation at all between Ezekiel and either the twenty-five men or their leaders, Jaazaniah and Pelatiah. Instead, the Lord reveals to Ezekiel the attitudes of these men. So, too, in Ezekiel 18:1–2, the prophet learns of a proverb making the rounds of the exilic community—not from his neighbors, but from the Lord. Also, in 37:11, it is God who reports the despairing words of the people to the prophet. As we have observed before, the book of Ezekiel is ...

33. Egypt

Ezekiel 29:1-21, Ezekiel 30:1-26, Ezekiel 31:1-18, Ezekiel 32:1-32

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land (v. 12). The nations of the earth, formerly sheltered in the World Tree’s shade, now abandon it. The lesson the nations and their rulers have learned, or at any rate ought to have learned, is plain: Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high (v. 14). No ruler, in senseless pride, is to claim godlike power and invincibility (see 28:2 and 29:3); they are all destined for death, for the ...

34. Parables Discourse: The “Already and Not Yet” of the Kingdom

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... by drawing from the Scriptures (Isaiah, Psalms). Expounding the Scriptures is precisely the role of the grammateus (see 7:29). like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old. This final brief parable compares a learned disciple of the kingdom to a householder with a storeroom who brings out new and old treasures from storage. So a disciple of the kingdom knows enough to draw upon both old and new to understand the nature of the kingdom and to follow accordingly ...

35. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... you ever watched a loving parent teach a toddler to swim? Often the parent stands in the water, inviting the toddler to jump in. The child stands at the edge of the pool knowing that he or she cannot swim. The pool must seem frightening, but the toddler has learned over time that the parent’s love can be trusted. And so, in a moment of faith, the child leaps into the water, confident of being safe because of the parent’s love. A whole new world has been opened to the child. What is the antidote to fear ...

36. Christian Maturity

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... , he uses the term to explain how their behavior lacks any indication that they belong to God’s Spirit and have learned his ways. 3:3 You are still worldly. To be worldly, or carnal (sarkikos, “fleshly”), is to be infantile. “Carnal” must ... to discipline their needs. Slowly but surely, parents must teach young children to manage their needs and emotions, to be patient, to learn to share, not to interrupt, to obey. If some of these disciplines are not in place by the time these children start ...

37. The Woman, the Son, and the Dragon

Revelation 12:1--13:1a

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... The grand interlude of 12:1–14:20 continues with a description of the heavenly war between Michael and Satan (12:7–12). The previous section introduced the main characters in the combat drama: the woman, the son, and the dragon (12:1–6). Now we learn of a heavenly war that results in Satan’s defeat and expulsion from heaven (12:7–12). This crucial battle is located at the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a defeated and desperate foe whose territory has been restricted to earth, Satan now ...

38. The Choice: Obedience or Punishment

Lev 26:1-46

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... disobey. If we cease to be faithful to God and instead disobey his word, if we fall into our own form of idolatry, unbelief, and disobedience, we can expect to forfeit some of God’s blessings and possibly even bring disaster upon ourselves. We must learn from Israel’s example. 3. God shows mercy to repentant sinners. Though God’s wrath is severe, his mercy and grace are even greater. By rights God could have destroyed and abandoned Israel, but in his mercy he refuses to do so (Lev. 26:44). Likewise ...

39. Elihu Makes His Appearance

Job 32:1--37:24

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... 10–11 But no one says, “Where is God my Maker?” Elihu argues that humans who cry out for relief from oppression (35:9) are not sincerely seeking God. What they need to do is submit themselves to God’s teaching (35:11), so that they can learn his wisdom. As it is, they want to enjoy the privileges of the graduate without having to undergo the regimen of the student. 35:12–13 God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. The reader realizes that Job’s condition ...

40. “Show Me Your Ways, Lord”

Psalm 25:1-22

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... realizing their need for spiritual continuing education until the day they die, many Christians wrongly believe that all they need to know can be gained through a half-hour sermon once a week. Psalm 25 shows David’s realization of his need to continue to learn and grow as he repeatedly asks the Lord to teach him. Pride can prevent us from trusting in the Lord. Psychology: Dr. Mark Goulston wrote a self-analysis on why men stereotypically prefer to be lost rather than ask for directions. His list of eight ...

41. “Trust in the Lord and Do Good”

Psalm 37:1-40

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... two teachers—at least, he experiences it differently—for to him, the “evil days” encompass him and make life into a prison from which no one but God can ransom him (49:7–8). He has reached a tentative “solution” in the lesson he has learned and taught, that death equalizes the difference between the righteous and the wicked (49:12–14, and refrain), a theme not contained in the other two psalms. While the first half of verse 15 asserts that God will redeem his life from death (Sheol), the ...

42. At the Home of Martha and Mary

Luke 10:38-42

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... to be busy with other matters, even though they may be commendable of themselves. It would have been far better for Martha to have made simpler and less time-consuming preparations in order, like her sister Mary, to learn from the Lord. Likewise, the priest and the Levite of the Parable of the Good Samaritan needed to learn that God and people are better served by deeds of mercy than by religious rituals. Evans (p. 43) suggests that Luke intends this passage to parallel Deut. 8:1–3 where people are to ...

43. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

44. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ’s mentor in the faith had been no less than Paul himself: the apostle, herald, and teacher appointed by Christ to carry the gospel into the Gentile world. There could be no cause to doubt or second-guess the authenticity of the lessons Timothy had learned from Paul. But the apostle of the new also called on his protégé to remember the old, the “sacred writings” of Hebrew scripture he had been taught and steeped in from earliest childhood. The message Timothy had received from Paul, coupled with his ...

45. Saul’s Conversion

Acts 9:1-19a

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Jesus, whom you are persecuting (v. 5; cf. 22:8, “I am Jesus of Nazareth”), and with it the first lesson that Paul had to learn, namely, that Christ had a “body,” a tangible presence on earth, the church (see disc. on 1:1; cf. Rom. 12:4, 5; 1 Cor. ... what that task would be. But the narrative in that chapter has been condensed by omitting all reference to Ananias, from whom Paul would learn only later for what purpose Christ had laid hold of him (see disc. on vv. 15f.; 22:12–16, also 22:17–21). ...

46. Paul Before Agrippa

Acts 25:23--26:32

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... is driving you insane: The second half of this outburst was probably intended to soften the first. It was not that Paul was mad, but that his learning (lit., his “many letters”) was “turning him toward madness.” The reference may have been to the learning that Paul had displayed in the speech and, more precisely, to his knowledge of the Scriptures. But Paul may have actually used the word “letters” of the Scriptures and Festus may have picked it up in that sense: “Your many Scriptures are ...

47. The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:1-14

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... 1.141–142 [Colson and Whitaker, LCL]). In the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs an angel is spoken of positively as being the mediator between God and humanity for the peace of Israel (Testament of Dan 6:2). Josephus has Herod say “we have learned the noblest of our doctrines and the holiest of our laws from the messengers [angels] sent by God” (Ant. 15:136 [Marcus, LCL]). 3:20 Paul’s statement that a mediator by definition cannot represent only one party works on the assumption that the mediator ...

48. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... His main point will be that the tongue, that is, human speech, is hopelessly evil. He begins with an analogy from nature: “All kinds of species are being tamed and have been tamed by humans.” He is not arguing scientifically: It would not bother him to learn that no one had yet tamed a rhinoceros or that in his day killer whales still lacked human contact; nor is James concerned about whether an animal is fully domesticated. It is enough for him that wild-cats and apes can be brought under human control ...

49. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... the creation of Israel as a nation. This verb repeats the theme that the Hebrews would be driven out of Egypt (otherwise they never would have made it out; see 6:1; 11:1; 12:39). In a similar way, Moses himself was forced to leave. Moses learned the hospitality of God’s wilderness even as Israel later would. 2:23–25 Israel groaned and God heard. Here, at the first mention of God (ʾelohim) since giving families to the midwives, is the announcement of a second key theme and an important turning point ...

50. The Waters of Marah and Elim

Exodus 15:22-27

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... impatient with them at the Wilderness of Sin, but the Lord responded with patience. This was not the case in the book of Numbers, when the people faced the same difficulties, complained, and suffered God’s impatience with them over lessons they should have learned in Exodus. The various “trial runs” in 15:22–17:7 focus on water and food. Enemy attacks on the Israelites, during which the Lord provides for their protection, precede and follow these “tests” (14:10–21; 17:8–16; see outline below ...

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