Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 651 to 675 of 793 results

1 Peter 2:13-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Respect for Authority 2:13 What living the Christian life entails is now spelled out in some practical detail. Peter applies the admonition Submit yourselves to a series of relationships: to civil government (vv. 13–17), to slavery (vv. 18–20), to Christ himself (vv. 21–25), and to marriage (3:1–7). The relationship of Christians to the state was one which soon became problematic, for in the early centuries of the church all states not only were governed by pagans but included pagan worship within their ...

652. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

The second half of Exodus 2 (vv. 11–25) begins with Moses walking among the Hebrew laborers. Three times in these verses he intercedes on behalf of weak persons who had been wronged, thereby showing himself to be God’s friend. Nevertheless, in addition to demonstrating the gifts God had given him, these three short scenes also reveal what was lacking in Moses’ character and education. Each encounter shows who he was and also changed him in significant ways. In striking down the Egyptian Moses encountered ...

653. The Passover

Exodus 12:1-30

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

Exodus 12 and 13 stand together as a single literary unit, describing the Passover (pesakh; lit., pass over). If we read this lengthy portion (12:1–13:16) in a simple linear fashion, it may seem oddly organized and redundant. The most we could say is that the length itself was part of what served to establish the exodus event and its perpetual observance in Israel’s memory and liturgical practice. It was indeed a primary formational event. We can understand the themes of this vital material even better, ...

654. Israelites Fight the Benjamites

Judges 20:1-48

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

Civil War in Israel: The book of Judges begins with war and ends with war. We would be mistaken, however, if we assume that the book’s structure is cyclical, since we have apparently come full circle back to where we started. While Judges 1 and 20 do share some common features, the major difference is not to be ignored. Judges 1 portrays a holy war against foreign peoples, and Judges 20 deals with holy war against a tribe of Israelites, fellow members of the covenant community. The similarity between the ...

655. Ruth Meets Boaz

Ruth 2:1-23

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

Naomi’s Reality: 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz. Jewish tradition is full of fables about Boaz. The Talmud identifies him as the minor judge Ibzan (Judg. 12:8) and reveres him as a patriarchal figure on the level of a Kirta or a Danil in Canaanite myth (b. B. Bat. 91a). According to the Talmud, he becomes a widower on the very day Ruth arrives in Israel and is rich enough to throw lavish wedding parties for every one of ...

656. The Family of Abraham

1 Chronicles 1:28

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

Abraham’s Descendants: The previous section ended with Abraham, so this section dwells on Abraham’s descendants. The Chronicler hastens from Adam and Noah to Abraham, narrowing his focus all the time to get to the specific part of the family that he wants to portray, namely, the tribe of Judah (see next section). This section starts with a heading in 1:28, introducing the two sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. First Chronicles 1:29–31 contains the genealogy of Ishmael, while 1:32–33 presents the ...

657. Rebuilding the Altar

Ezra 3:1-6

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Making a Start: Here the first of the two implementations of the divine mandate given through Cyrus is completed. A nucleus of the exiled people had come home in order to rebuild the temple. To this end they brought with them Gentile gifts and recovered vessels from the first temple (ch. 1) and then added gifts of their own (2:68–69). Now they were to take the first step of reestablishing the worship of the Jerusalem temple by restoring the sacrificial system on a reconstituted altar (3:1–6) and laying ...

658. Further Opposition to the Rebuilding

Nehemiah 6:1-14

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Success in Spite of Intimidation: The keyword of this chapter is intimidation. Of the major English versions, only the NJPS is consistent in its fivefold rendering of the same Hebrew verb for intimidation. It occurs regularly at the conclusion of paragraphs, in verses 9, 13–14, 16, and 19. The first main section, consisting of verses 1–14, is divided into two parallel subsections describing different attempts to intimidate, in verses 1–9 and 10–14. Then verses 15–16 record a great reversal of the ...

659. Haman Hanged

Esther 7:1-10

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

Esther Accuses Haman: While the events of the preceding chapter mark the beginning of reversals in Esther, there is plenty of suspense as Esther begins to put her plan into action. Although the king has shown favor to Esther and Mordecai, he has given them nothing substantive to save their lives. Haman’s head is covered in grief at the end of chapter 6; it will come under a death sentence in chapter 7. Mordecai was dressed with royal honor in chapter 6; he will be promoted in rank in chapter 8. 7:1–6a As ...

660. The Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 10:1-32

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

The MT includes the title (“the proverbs of Solomon”) as part of 10:1 and it applies to the collection in 10:1–22:16 a total of 375 proverbs (375 is the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew name šlmh, or Solomon). The breadth and meaning of m e šālîm, or proverbs, is illustrated particularly in the following collections that are mainly one-line sayings. This is in contrast to the lengthy wisdom poems that characterize chapters 1–9. On the nature and style of the proverbial sayings, see the introduction above ...

661. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 19:1-29

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

19:1 Antithetic comparison. Verses 1 and 2 are not in the LXX. The antithesis between blameless and perverse is clear, but not so for poor and fool. One would expect “rich” instead of fool. This is the reading of the apparent doublet in 28:6, adopted by many commentators and translations (NAB). 19:2 Synonymous. In Proverbs, hasty action is generally suspect (e.g., 21:5; 28:20; 29:20). It suggests aimless (if not evil) and unplanned activity. The meaning of verse 2b enables one to translate the difficult ...

662. A Letter to the Exiles

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Letters to Babylon and Back: Chapters 27 and 28 describe a prophetic conflict concerning the status of the 597 B.C. exiles to Babylon and the future of those who remain behind. Jeremiah represented the view that the former would stay in exile and the latter were under judgment. Hananiah attacked Jeremiah and optimistically stated that all would end well in just a short period of time. The present chapter continues the same note of prophetic conflict. However, rather than two prophets in contact physically ...

663. Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

Hosea 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Israel Shall Reap What She Sows (8:1-7a): As is frequently the case with Hosea, it is very difficult to know how to divide chapter 8 into its separate oracles. From a form-critical standpoint, verses 1–3 could form an independent unit because they include summons, accusation, and judgment. But they are intimately linked to what follows by their subject matter. Verse 4 spells out the two primary ways in which Israel has rejected what is good (v. 3). It is then connected with verse 5 by the repetition of the ...

664. The Lord's Plan

Micah 4:6-13

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

God the Shepherd of Israel (4:6-8): 4:6–8 It is declared in Micah 4:1–5 that in the eschatological future God will rule over the nations of the world from Zion, and that Zion will become the center of the world to which all peoples will stream for worship and instruction. But what of the wounded and scattered people of Israel, who have become like sheep without a shepherd? (For the expression, cf. Num. 27:17;1 Kgs. 22:17; 2 Chron.18:16; Zech. 10:2; 13:7; Mark 6:34 and parallel; Matt. 26:31). Yahweh himself ...

665. Deliverance and Destruction

Micah 5:5-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Delivery from Future Enemies (5:5-6): 5:5–6 The NIV has attached the first line of verse 5 to the foregoing oracle, but in order to do so, it has had to emend the line. The Hebrew does not say, And he will be their peace. Rather it reads, “And this shall be peace.” The line belongs with this oracle, though indeed “this” refers to the messianic figure of verses 2–4. There has been much scholarly discussion about the proper interpretation of this brief passage and its relation to 5:2–4. The plural verbs in ...

666. A Crown for Joshua

Zechariah 6:9-15

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

A Prophetic Sign-Act: A Crown for Joshua: The sequence of vision reports and oracles ends with the report of a symbolic action, the crowning of the Branch. Zechariah’s instructions from the Lord are somewhat like the commands to Samuel and to Elisha’s unnamed colleague to anoint kings. There were long waiting periods after the anointing of David and Jehu (1 Sam. 16:1–13; 2 Kgs. 9:1–13) before these chosen men were able to take their thrones (2 Sam. 5:1–5; 2 Kgs. 10:18–36). The delay in Zechariah’s case ...

667. Staying Close to Christ

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Churches are funny places. You know that by now. I always love a good story about funny things that happen in church. Some of them you couldn’t make up. I read recently about a “Women’s League” in a certain church that wanted to announce a new project for the church. The president announced the project on a Sunday morning to the congregation. After a brief description, she asked all of the ladies of the league to “march up to the front of the sanctuary”--a group of women mostly 55 years of age and older. ...

668. Jesus and Those Who “Believed”

John 8:31-41, John 8:42-47, John 8:48-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The reaction of many of the Jewish authorities with whom Jesus has been speaking is to believe in him (v. 30), and the remainder of the discourse is focused on this group of “believers.” The prediction that they will realize later who Jesus is (v. 28) appears to be coming true even before they lift him up on the cross. It sounds, and it is, too good to be true. Their faith is not genuine (cf. 2:23–25). Jesus has directed their attention toward the future, but they will have none of it. The present is good ...

669. The Death of Lazarus

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

Jesus’ mysterious escape (v. 39) ends the confrontation at Solomon’s Colonnade in the temple at the Feast of Dedication (cf. v. 22), just as his earlier escape had ended the confrontation in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. 8:59). This time he leaves Jerusalem itself, the scene of his activities since 7:14, and returns to Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where he has spent time with John the Baptist and begun to gather a group of disciples (vv. 40–42; cf. 1:19–51; 3:26). The earlier ...

670. The Impending Departure I

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, John 14:15-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The single theme of the first block of teaching material is developed in dialogue form, with a series of questions and answers (13:36–14:24) ending with a postscript in the form of a monologue (14:25–31). Each question is occasioned by a previous statement of Jesus, so that each interchange has three parts: Jesus’ initial statement, the question that it occasions, and Jesus’ answer to the question. In all, four disciples take their turn as inquirers: Peter, Thomas, Philip, and Judas (not “the son of Simon ...

671. Timothy and Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:19-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Timothy’s Forthcoming Visit In 2:19–30 we have a section that has been called the “apostolic parousia” or “travelogue.” Paul announces his intention of paying his readers a visit before long (v. 24) but plans to send Timothy in advance of himself. 2:19 I hope in the Lord Jesus, in which “in the Lord Jesus” may have the same “incorporative” force as similar phrases with “in” have elsewhere in Paul (cf. 1:14, 26). Paul and Timothy, as fellow Christians, participate in the risen life of Christ. Their hopes ...

672. Exhortations

Philippians 4:2-9

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Fresh Plea for Unity Two members of the church are begged by name to reach a common mind as fellow Christians, and another of Paul’s co-workers is urged to help them in this regard. 4:2 Euodia and Syntyche were evidently two very active members of the Philippian church, probably foundation members. From the fact that (in a letter meant to be read to the church) Paul begs each of them by name to agree with each other in the Lord, it may be inferred that the disagreement between them, whatever its nature, ...

673. The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-9

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Dispersion of Humans for Their Building at Babel: The preceding Table of Nations describes the unity among all peoples on earth, while this narrative gives the reason for the diversity, discord, and distrust that exist among the various clans, tribes, and nations. In this narrative the people take counsel and begin to build a tower (vv. 1–4); God in response takes counsel and puts an end to their building (vv. 5–8); and the episode is memorialized by naming that place Babel, that is, Babylon (v. 9). ...

674. Obedience Commanded

Deuteronomy 4:1-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Obedience and Loyalty to Israel’s Unique God: The historical recollections now give place to urgent exhortation. 4:1–8: This chapter is the natural conclusion to the lessons of this first speech of Moses and comes to a powerful climax in 4:32–40. At 4:44 and 5:1 we are introduced to the second major discourse, which includes the rest of the law itself. With this chapter we also move into the “inner frame” of the book’s structure, comprising chapters 4–11 and 27–30, with their many common themes. Chapters 4 ...

675. Worshipping Other Gods

Deuteronomy 13:1-18

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Sources of the Temptation to Go after Other Gods: Continuing the concern for the purity of Israel’s worship, in line with the first commandment, Deuteronomy warns the people of the kinds of situation in which they might be tempted or pressured into deserting Yahweh for other gods. First, the danger of false religious leaders (vv. 1–5); second, the possible conflict of loyalties when close family members are involved (vv. 6–11); third, the pressure of an influential group of leaders in a community (vv. 12– ...

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