Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 551 to 575 of 662 results

Luke 6:27-36

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... love than sinners (6:32). The love of nonbelievers for one another is based on mutuality and repayment, but the love that marks the “children of the Most High” (6:35) gives without expecting anything in return. Such unselfish love will be rewarded at the end, and disciples will be imitating their Father, who is merciful and kind to all (6:35–36).

552. The Passover Meal

John 13:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... as the many signs of Jesus were accompanied by discourses (cf. John 6, the feeding miracle and the bread-of-life discourse), so too this last sign of death and resurrection will be interpreted by lengthy teaching in the upper room (chaps. 13–16). The Gospel imitates the arc of a pendulum: it begins at a high point, descends, and elevates again. The Johannine prologue reflects this too, as the Word is in God’s presence (1:1), experiences rejection (1:10–11), and then returns to places of glory (1:18 ...

553. An Appeal for Full Response to the Collection

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of the church’s love for others to the test of a comparison (8:8). To do this is only to recognize that the Corinthian church contains persons much more able to give than their Macedonian sisters and brothers. Accordingly, Paul urges the Corinthians to imitate Christ, who though he was rich yet agreed willingly to become poor “so that you through his poverty might become rich” (8:9; cf. Phil. 2:5–11). Paul is unwilling, however, to conclude his appeal apart from the provision of some specific advice ...

554. An Appeal for Full Allegiance to Apostolic Authority

2 Corinthians 10:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Corinth about Paul’s ability to exercise apostolic authority in a clear and compelling way, especially when face-to-face with his audience, as over against his ability and willingness to write in a bold way from a distance. For his own part, Paul refuses, in imitation of the meekness and gentleness of Christ (see also 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:23), to be moved to a demonstration of his authority simply by the challenge to do so (cf. Matt. 4:3, 6). Instead, before the necessity for authoritative action imposes ...

555. An Appeal to the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... term for “first” would normally refer to the first in a series, possibly giving some weight to the southern Galatian theory). His tone is now more personal (use of “brothers and sisters,” 4:12, and “my dear children,” 4:19). He calls on them to imitate him, based on the integrity of his former work among them (4:12). Because of some illness, which he does not pause to detail here (perhaps his “thorn in my flesh”; see 2 Cor. 12:7), Paul’s initial visit caused him to come under obligation ...

556. Appreciation of the Philippians’ Gift

Philippians 4:10-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... that he is content no matter the circumstances, which is a reference to his situation in prison. Paul is not affected by outward circumstances, because they are not the focus of his life. He concentrates on what is truly important: the preaching of the gospel, the imitation of Christ, and what it means to live as a citizen of heaven. As long as the gospel is being advanced and Christ is exalted, Paul is content with life in prison, martyrdom, or freedom, a theme he first introduced in 1:15–20. Plenty and ...

557. Warning against Unbelief

Hebrews 3:7-19

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to David (4:7), an example of the consistent assumption of the writers of the New Testament that what the Scripture says, God says (cf. Rom. 9:15, 17; Gal. 3:8; Heb. 9:8; 10:15). The cited portion of the psalm is an admonition not to imitate the wilderness generation in its faithlessness, only one particular instance of which is recollected in verse 8: rebellion and testing (Exod. 17:1–7; cf. Num. 20:1–13; 1 Cor. 10:1–11; Jude 5). The burden of the citation is the judgment pronounced on unbelief in ...

558. Warning against Falling Away

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... confidence rests on his acquaintance with the genuinely faithful lives they have lived as Christians, especially in the early days of their faith in Jesus Christ (10:32–34). Such faith, love, and obedience, however, must continue as long as they live in the world. In exhorting his readers to imitate the faithful of the former epoch (as appears from the following verses), the author characteristically anticipates a theme he will subsequently enlarge on (11:1–12:1).

559. The High Priest of a New Covenant

Hebrews 8:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 25–40) demonstrates that the tabernacle and, by implication, the temple were not the reality but only copies of it. The author’s readership is in danger of preferring the copy to the genuine article, of accepting an imitation as the true principle of salvation. Now the author presents Jesus Christ as the guarantor of a better covenant (8:7–13). The argument now introduced in verse 7 parallels that of 7:11 and 10:2. Hebrews was written to a community inclined ...

560. Warning Not To Turn Away from God

Hebrews 12:14-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... station of the saints as set apart to God (Exod. 4:22; 13:2) and heirs of all things, the very privileges that Esau squandered (Heb. 12:16–17). The admonition in verses 25–27 reiterates 3:7–12 and 4:1–2. The readers must not imitate faithless Israel in the wilderness. The threat of divine judgment is no less serious today. In view of the connection of thought between verses 24 and 25 (“that speaks . . . who speaks”), it is reasonable to assume that Jesus is to be understood as the one who ...

561. One Like a Son of Man

Revelation 1:9-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... golden lampstands of God’s heavenly temple (1:12–13). Lampstands, or menorahs, were furnishings in the earthly tabernacle (Exod. 25:31–40), Solomon’s temple (1 Chron. 28:15), and Herod’s (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 3.199). However, these earthly versions were pale imitations of the seven glorious lampstands seen by John (Heb. 8:5). Even though the divine origin of “one like the son of man” is ambiguous in the Aramaic text of Daniel 7:9–14, it is clear in Revelation that this Son of Man ...

562. The Beast out of the Earth

Revelation 13:11-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in John’s day, and he expected more (1 John 2:18). The beast of the sea has parodied the death and resurrection of Christ, with its fatal head wound and miraculous recovery. The beast of the earth appears as a lamb with two horns. They try to imitate the slain Lamb, but fail. The empire had its gospel (the pax Romana). It claimed to be the world’s savior, and the world believed it. But the peace that Rome brought to disparate lands was wrought by slaughter and violence; its prosperity was at the cost of ...

563. No Greater Love

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... had in mind in these words: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). Paul, once a warrior against Jesus and now a beloved prisoner of Christ's love, directs the Ephesians and through them, us to "be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2). In his epistles, John speaks of it in these words, "We know love by this, that he laid down his ...

564. One Heaven of a Party

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... truth, we should conclude that we are never more like God than when we are generous. When we give with grateful and joyous hearts, we are somehow sharing with God the ecstasy of generosity. And as we allow ourselves to share what we have, we are imitating the very character of God. The glorious gift of creation beckons us to reflect the generosity of God. Unfortunately, many of us do not take the time to notice. Consider trees. We walk and drive by them everyday, but do we ever consider how they inherently ...

565. The Invitation

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... , a better boat, and a better business. Have you checked your mailbox lately? Have you seen the sacrifice of the trees? And for what? Junk mail and advertisements. And some are very slick with their invitations. I received one that was packaged in an imitation overnight envelope. Written upon it for all to see were the words, “Urgent delivery for Charles D. Reeb, open immediately.” It got my attention! So I tore it opened and discovered a new, exciting, once-in-a-lifetime offer for a credit card! What ...

566. The Real Thing

Matthew 5:21-48

Sermon

James L. Killen

... experience to change your life. If you learn to live in that way, your life will become an adventure. Do you know what will be the reward of that adventure? A life that is the real thing. So much of our lives seem to be made up of cheap imitations of life. Have you ever driven into a city on a freeway and seen the sky covered up with neon signs advertising first one thing and then another -- stores, hotels, places to eat? And you knew what each sign represented and you knew that some were more expensive ...

567. Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Mark 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... adopted in this commentary is that Jesus did use the term as a self-description, though the variations in the Gospel sayings of Jesus between “the Son of Man” and “I” show that the term may have been inserted in some sayings by the Gospel writers in imitation of Jesus’ own general usage (compare, e.g., 8:27 and Matt. 16:13). (For a recent, cogent study of the term, see Barnabas Lindars, Jesus Son of Man [London: SPCK, 1983]; cf. J. R. Donahue, “Recent Studies on the Origin of ‘Son of Man’ in ...

568. Who Is the Greatest?

Mark 9:33-37

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... . To welcome one of these little children means, in context, to treat honorably other disciples, taking the role of servant toward them. The child is not used as an example of humility (as is the case in 10:13–16), for the issue in verse 37 is not imitation of the child but the treatment of these little children. The logic of using the child as a symbol of one’s fellow disciple is found in the fact that in Aramaic (probably the language Jesus used in teaching his disciples) and in Greek (the language in ...

569. The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... allegorizing it.”) The point of the parable is that anyone (even a lowly Samaritan), not just a religious expert, can show love and so keep the Great Commandment (Luke 10:25–28); not that it is necessary to avoid being Jewish or to attempt to imitate a Samaritan. 10:30 A man: Lit. “a certain man.” Lachs (p. 282) wonders if Jesus might not have been referring to himself in the indefinite third person. Jericho: East of Jerusalem some 17 miles (and about 3,300 feet lower), in the Jordan Valley. “It ...

570. Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Romans 6:1-14

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... succumb to sin, and in chapter 7 he will confess his own struggle with sin. Had Paul said, “Let us die to sin,” we might take it as an appeal to the believer’s will and a call to ethical arms. But there is no hint here of imitating the example of Jesus or of a moral crusade for the virtuous life. Paul says categorically, we died. This is neither empty creedalism, nor implicit asceticism. It is an objective reference to Christ’s death and to the reality that in Christ’s death something decisive has ...

571. Expel the Immoral Brother!

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... away from its errors and toward its mission to the world. 5:1 Remarkably, as Paul takes up this matter of sexual impropriety, he never directly addresses the principal parties participating in the scandal. The behavior in view here contrasts sharply with the “imitation” that the apostle advised in the prior section, and as he registers his judgment concerning the issue Paul reveals the fallacy of those who are “arrogant, as if [he] were not coming to [them]” (4:18). Paul identifies the situation in ...

572. Propriety in Worship

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... Paul touches on matters he can affirm, although his commending of the Corinthians briefly precedes his turning to other issues that are impossible for him to laud. In what follows, both positively and negatively, the point of continuity is with 10:33–11:1, imitation of Paul and following his teachings. Moreover, D. K. Lowery (“The Head Covering and the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:2–34,” BibSac 143 [1986], pp. 155–63) finds connections between the two major portions of 1 Cor. 11 at the ...

573. Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

2 Samuel 14:1-33

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... drastically. He had been the disgraced prince, guilty of fratricide. He became a popular hero. Absalom had a three-pronged strategy. First the people were going to notice that Absalom was back and be made to think that Absalom was significant. He imitated the custom of surrounding nations with his display of pomp, exploiting his own good looks. The bodyguard of fifty men and the showy chariot were different from anything known in Israel so far. Jonathan, the ostensible heir in the previous regime, was ...

574. Absalom’s Death

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... Brueggemann (First and Second Samuel, p. 322) views Ahimaaz as “blurting out” the news of victory and then exhibiting cowardice as he fails to give David the news of Absalom’s death. However, it is equally likely that the young man exhibits diplomatic skills, imitating Joab’s wiliness. 18:33 David’s desire to have died instead of his son may be an expression of parental grief but seems likely to portray his own sense of responsibility. However, it is not clear whether he saw his original actions ...

575. Love for Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... something less serious than it is. The perfection to which Jesus calls his followers has just been defined by the context. Perfect love is an active concern for all people everywhere, regardless of whether or not they receive it. To do this is to imitate God and demonstrate that we are his children (v. 45). It is to display a family likeness. The Greek work teleios (“perfect”) means “having attained the end/purpose.” Since human beings were made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), they are “perfect ...

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