Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 476 to 500 of 656 results

Deuteronomy 15:1-11

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... negative basis of God’s moral judgment against one who is hostile and grudging to the needy. Furthermore, the rhetoric of the passage is stylistically emphatic. Hebrew gives weight to an imperative or a promise by a double verb form: infinitive plus imperfect (e.g., “giving you shall give,” i.e., “you must surely/freely/generously give.”). There is a greater density of this emphatic construction in Deuteronomy 15 than in any other chapter in the book. English translations have to use adverbs—e.g ...

477. Going to War

Deuteronomy 20:1-20

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... to the foreigner within Israel, even in Deuteronomy. The mere fact, then, that Deuteronomy makes provision for war does not invalidate all it has to say concerning human ethical duties of compassion, neighborliness, and generosity. Secondly, it is precisely within the imperfections and failenness of human life that love for neighbor has to operate. And Deuteronomy is well aware that sometimes the priority is to work for the humane within the inhumane, to mitigate the worst effects of human sin, to control ...

478. The Temple’s Furnishings

1 Kings 7:13-51

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... king. The name would then embody the hope that God will act in a similar way on behalf of the king who has built the temple. Certainly this interpretation of Boaz fits well with the likely interpretation of Jakin, which is by form a Hiphʿil imperfect from the verb ḵwn, “to be firm, established.” This is the verb used in 2:12, 24, 45, 46 of God “establishing” David’s throne and Solomon upon it. A pillar named “he will establish” clearly implies that hopes for the future of the dynasty are ...

479. Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... as a rule the participial construction beginning a sentence . . . is continued by means of a finite verb,” but the latter continues the participial meaning (GK 116x; see Additional Notes on 17:1–3). Thus here grammatically “befooler,” “turner,” and “fulfiller” are imperfect verbs, but they continue the participial statement. 44:26–27 The link between verses 26 and 27 looks less direct in English than it does in Hb., for ruins and be dry come from different verbs, but they look the same ...

480. Jesus’s Ministry and Popularity Continue to Grow

Mark 1:40-45, Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:29-34

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Grant R. Osborne

... and demon-possessed. The news had spread throughout Capernaum and the surrounding regions, so that by Saturday evening (Sabbath ended at dusk) the crowds engulfed Simon’s home, and the sick were everywhere. The verb “brought” in the Greek text is in the imperfect tense, picturing the people “bringing” the ill much of the afternoon and evening in an ongoing pilgrimage to Jesus the healer. 1:34 he would not let the demons speak. Jesus’s power over the demons was absolute. He cast them out with ...

481. Jesus Turns to His New Family

Mark 3:31-35, Mark 3:20-30

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Grant R. Osborne

... , but his brothers certainly think that he has gone crazy. 3:22 “He is possessed by Beelzebul!” No one could doubt that Jesus had cast out demons, so the scribes (“from Jerusalem” means an official delegation) challenge the source of his power. The imperfect verb elegon (“kept on saying”) refers to an ongoing campaign to vilify Jesus.1 “Beelzebul” likely stems from the name of a Canaanite god and can be understood as “lord of the height,”2 but perhaps is best interpreted as “lord of ...

482. Gentiles Exemplify True Discipleship

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

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Grant R. Osborne

... acting as a summary of all the previous passages in which Jesus commands silence and the people are unable to comply (1:44; 5:43). The more Jesus demands silence, “the more strongly they kept on preaching” (the literal translation), with Greek imperfect tenses emphasizing the ongoing nature of their witness. Their astonishment is so strong that they cannot stop talking about Jesus and his miracle. Like God in the Old Testament (Gen. 1:31; Eccles. 3:11), Jesus “does everything well.” The last part ...

483. The First Disciples

Luke 5:1-11

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R.T. France

... to volunteer; we go looking for them. Teaching the Text A good way to teach this passage is to show the contrast between Peter’s (and our) total unworthiness to be Jesus’s disciple and his perfect suitability to be used by God. Jesus takes imperfect instruments and uses them to accomplish his purpose. Peter is not ready or able to follow Jesus wholly until he experiences Jesus’s power and majesty and recognizes his own sinfulness. Then Jesus can take him, transform him, and teach him to fish for ...

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

Romans 6:15-23

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C. Marvin Pate

... slaves to holiness. Two comments can be made about this verse. First, Paul speaks in the general sense in 6:19a: because human nature is weak in understanding spiritual matters (in this case the obligation incumbent on Christians to live holy lives), imperfect analogies can be of help in illuminating theological truth (in this case the metaphor of slavery).6Second, now that Paul has made clear in Romans 1–5 that righteousness is imputed to believers apart from their own merits, the apostle has no qualms ...

485. Christian Maturity

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

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Preben Vang

... ado. When an author used a different tense, it was intentional and aimed to highlight a special verbal aspect. This is significant here. Paul and Apollos simply planted and watered (aorist tenses). God, however, continued to give increase (imperfect tense, underscoring the ongoing quality of his action). All of the emphasis is on God’s continuous action. Paul’s farming metaphor completely undercuts the cliquish behavior of the Corinthians. The ones planting and watering must, obviously, work together ...

486. The Priority of Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

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Preben Vang

... (or vehicles) God uses to show his presence and love until his people shall see him face-to-face (13:12; cf. Rev. 22:4); love is the very essence and expression of God’s presence and therefore will never end.[13] When the perfect comes, in other words, the imperfections sin brings to love will vanish, and the purity of the relationship God intended from the beginning will be fully restored (John 17:23; Col. 3:14–15; 1 John 4:17–19; Rev. 21:3–4; cf. Isa. 65:19–25). At that time gifts will cease to ...

487. Aaron Begins His Duties

Leviticus 9:1-24

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Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: God uses imperfect ministers to lead his people to see and joyfully worship him. Understanding the Text In this passage Aaron and his sons are directed by God through Moses to commence sacrificing. Leviticus 9 continues the account of the inauguration of worship under the Aaronic priesthood that began in Leviticus 8 and ...

488. Portions for the Priests and the Levites

Numbers 18:8-32

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... . Laypersons are subject to death if they encroach on the holy things (v. 22), but Levites are threatened with death if they refuse to give the best of the tithes to Yahweh (v. 32). Are ministers today obligated to tithe? Although the analogy is imperfect—ministers are neither priests nor Levites—Numbers 18:25–32 suggests that ministers are not exempt from tithing. Those gifts need not necessarily go back to their own church. The congregation of Israel gave to the Levites, who then gave to the priests ...

489. The Red Heifer

Numbers 19:1-22

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... Yahweh is the God of life (order) and is separated from that which has to do with death (disorder). Mary Douglas has shown the connection between cleanness/holiness and concepts such as “wholeness,” “physical perfection,” and “completeness.”11Physical imperfections (Lev. 21:17–21; 22:20–24), representing a movement from “life” toward “death,” move a person ritually away from God, who is to be associated with life. Corpses and carcasses render a person unclean because they have to ...

490. The Lord Decides to Build David a House

2 Samuel 7:18-29, 2 Samuel 7:1-17

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... through Jesus, the ideal Davidic king, who is fully obedient and will bring about the complete and lasting realization of the promise. In the end, God’s sovereign choice of David and his faithful commitment to his promise override the sins of imperfect Davidic rulers, whose failures delay realization of the promise but do not invalidate it. This proposed resolution to the problem is consistent with the way the Davidic dynasty is viewed in the exilic and postexilic periods. The Former Prophets end with a ...

491. “You Are My Son; Today I Have Become Your Father”

Psalm 2:1-12

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C. Hassell Bullock

... low-voiced but threatening talk going back and forth in the distance as the nations make their sinister plans.3 The first two verbs have a different tense. The first question (Hebrew perfect) asks the reason for their attempt (already past), and the second (Hebrew imperfect) asks why they imagine that they will succeed (in the future). 2:2 anointed. In ancient Israel the king was anointed with oil (2 Sam. 5:3). The term “anointed” came to refer to the messianic king in Judaism and thus in the view of ...

492. “Have Mercy on Me, Lord, for I Am Faint”

Psalm 6:1-10

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C. Hassell Bullock

... by their unjust opposition to the suppliant, or simply their common practice of evil deeds. 6:9 The Lord has heard . . . the Lord accepts my prayer. While the first verb is the Hebrew perfect (“has heard”) and the second an imperfect (“will accept”), both types of verbs in Hebrew poetry are quite flexible. Here the second verb carries the present reality, “accepts.” Theological Insights The early church included Psalm 6 among the seven penitential psalms that were recited on Ash Wednesday ...

493. “In the Lord I Take Refuge”

Psalm 11:1-7

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C. Hassell Bullock

... Testament is the God of the New Testament, and he is love (1 John 4:8). See comments on 5:5–6. 11:6 he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur. The terms recall those of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24). The imperfect tense of the verb (“will rain”) bears the sense of continuity (“he regularly rains”),[3] thus suggesting that this is God’s way in general toward the wicked. 11:7 he loves justice; the upright will see his face. The first clause draws a contrast between the ...

494. “I Love You, Lord, My Strength”

Psalm 18:1-50

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C. Hassell Bullock

... and his enemies (see title), and that the Lord mounted the cherubim’s chariot, lit up the heavens with his fireworks of liberating power, and drew the psalmist out of deep waters. This truth is not confined to the halls of history. The participles and Hebrew imperfects of 18:46–50 affirm God’s ongoing activity. 18:47 He is the God who avenges me. Vengeance belongs to the Lord (Deut. 32:35) and is governed by justice, not vindictiveness. 18:50 he shows unfailing love to his anointed. This is a ...

495. “The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation—Whom Shall I Fear?”

Psalm 27:1-14

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C. Hassell Bullock

... one could flee from one’s enemies and find safety. 27:6 my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice. Still in the sanctuary, David now reflects on the battlefield. The long form of the imperfect verb “sacrifice” implies that this is a vow to make a sacrifice of thanksgiving.[11] Craigie understands this to suggest that the king is about to offer sacrifices, perhaps as a renewal celebration of the Davidic covenant.[12] 27:7 Hear my voice . . . be ...

496. “Ascribe to the Lord the Glory Due His Name”

Psalm 29:1-11

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C. Hassell Bullock

... for their stately beauty and size, like the sequoias of California. Yet at the thunderous voice of God in the storm, they splinter into toothpicks. The word “breaks” is a Qal participle, while the second line (“breaks in pieces”) has the Piel imperfect of the same verb plus the waw consecutive, implying a repeated breaking. Ancient Middle Eastern kings, including David and Solomon (2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Kings 5:6–9),[14] boasted that they had secured lumber for their buildings from Lebanon. 29:6 ...

497. “Blessed Is the One Whose Transgressions Are Forgiven”

Psalm 32:1-11

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C. Hassell Bullock

... term, the “songs of deliverance” are songs of victory sung by the troops or the waiting people when the army returns from victorious battle. 32:8 I will instruct you . . . I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. “Instruct” is the Hiphil imperfect verb of the participial noun (maskil) found in the heading (see comments on the title above). One can easily see why some commentators consider the noun in the title to mean a “didactic psalm.” In view of the clause “I will counsel you with ...

498. “Your Love, Lord, Reaches to the Heavens, Your Faithfulness to the Skies”

Psalm 36:1-12

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C. Hassell Bullock

... is parallel to “falsehood” (sheqer; NIV: “disillusionment”). The latter part of the verse shows that moral decline has spiraled down from thought to actions. Even on their beds they plot evil . . . and do not reject what is wrong. The verbs here are Hebrew imperfects, implying continuous action—it has become a practice of life for them. The reality that they “do not reject what is wrong” is a summary of the final stage of the downward spiral. The verb “reject” (m’s) is used in Psalm 78 ...

499. “If I Were Hungry I Would Not Tell You, for the World Is Mine, and All That Is in It”

Psalm 50:1-23

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C. Hassell Bullock

... “To make a covenant” is literally “to cut a covenant,” perhaps alluding to the practice in Genesis 15:7–21. The connection of the covenant and sacrifice is confirmed by Exodus 24:5–8. 50:6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness.The imperfect with waw consecutive means this has already happened—the heavens proclaimed his righteousness at the time of the Sinai covenant—and probably implies that they still do. 50:7 Listen, my people, and I will speak . . . I am God, your God. Wilson ...

500. “I Will Praise Your Name, Lord, for It Is Good”

Psalm 54:1-7

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C. Hassell Bullock

... change in the tone of the psalm.3 54:5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them.In the margin, the Masoretes corrected the verb “to return” (yashub) to read “to cause to return” (yashib, Hiphil imperfect), implying that God has a causal relationship to this recoil action: “May he cause evil to recoil on my slanderers.” The word “faithfulness” (’emet) may also be translated “truth,” so that the phrase would mean, “by your truth destroy them” (see ...

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