Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 51 to 75 of 94 results

51. Contemporary Prophets Speak the Truth

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Dorothy Day, a woman who many people today believe to be a prototypical saint for twentieth-century society, was born on November 8, 1897, in Brooklyn, the eldest daughter of John Day, a roving newspaper sportswriter and his wife, Grace. Because of the nature of her father's work, the Day family moved often during Dorothy's youth. In 1906, the Days were ...

52. Recall Notice

Humor Illustration

The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units, code-named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been identified as "Subsequential Internal Non-morality," more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed. Some of the symptoms include: Loss of ...

53. Turning Potholes into Mud Puddles on the Bethlehem Road

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Did you hear? NASA is already testing prototypes of space suits for the first astronauts who will walk on the surface of Mars. Scientists are hoping this event might happen around 2030. That means by the time all the infants playing baby Jesus in this year’s bathrobe dramas known as “Christmas pageants” are getting their driver’s ...

54. Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... and ask for directions. Man: You know, real men don't ask for directions! You remember the old joke that the reason Moses and the Israelites wandered for forty years in the wilderness was because Moses refused to ask directions. However, in the Bible the prototypical wanderer, Abraham, got his directions from God. God appeared to him, urged him to leave his country, his homeland, and relatives to go to a new land, a promised land where God would bless him. Rather than remain in the womb of the past, Abraham ...

55. I'm 8' 4"

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... eight feet, four inches tall!” His mother, greatly surprised, inquired into the matter and found he was using a six-inch ruler to measure a “foot.” The boy was actually only a few inches over four feet. This is exactly what we do, we measure ourselves against one another, imperfect prototypes, rather than by the standard of the Word of God.

56. Abijah King of Judah

2 Chron 13:1–14:1

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... left by the schism of the kingdom under Rehoboam. Whereas the idealized image of the Davidic kingdom and Solomonic cult came under severe pressure under Rehoboam’s reign, the Chronicler’s version of Abijah returns the splendor and dedication of that prototypical image. Abijah becomes a model of proper kingship and pious dedication to Yahweh in the Chronicler’s version. The Chronicler’s narrative starts with the usual regnal formula with some background information on the king (2 Chron. 13:1–2). In ...

57. Body

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... (cf. 1:7; 4:13b–14). Therefore, if 4:7ff. has already been using the first person plural to refer exclusively to Paul, it seems reasonable to assume continuance here, although the apostle’s experience and hope are here, as often elsewhere, prototypical for all believers. Yet how does Paul “know” that he has an eternal house in heaven? Is the source of his knowledge exclusively Jewish and/or Christian tradition? Or, has he received a special revelation? In answering these questions, it is well ...

58. The Lord's Grace to Paul

1 Timothy 1:12-20

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... of the deity in dealing with human rebellion is a thoroughly Pauline idea (Rom. 2:4; 3:25–26; 9:22–23; cf. 2 Pet. 3:9, 15). Such patience is seen in his dealing with me, the worst of sinners, precisely so that Christ might have an example, a prototype, for those who would believe on him and thus also receive eternal life. The Greek for eternal life means not so much life with endless longevity as it does the “life of the coming age,” life that is ours now in Christ to be fully realized at his ...

59. Paul's Charge to Timothy

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... 6:11–12 D-C use a rather circuitous route to argue that the vocative man of God “refers to any Christian … who has been endowed with the spirit of God, and who henceforth ‘serves’ God.” It would in this sense also be applicable to Timothy, “the prototype of a ‘man of God’ since he is the leader of the congregation” (p. 88). But again this seems to miss the genuinely ad hoc character of this Epistle. It is common to argue (e.g., Gealy, Hanson) that Paul could never say, “strive for ...

60. By Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... of Isaiah, 5:11–14). Those who went about in sheepskins and goatskins and were forced to live in the wilderness in caves and holes in the ground are probably not the prophets, such as Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), though he is their prototype, but again the Israelites persecuted by Antiochus during the Maccabean era. This fits well with the description of them as destitute, persecuted and mistreated. They fled to the wilderness, according to 1 Maccabees 2:29–38, because of the evils Antiochus brought upon them ...

61. Samson’s Marriage

Judges 14:1-20

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... five sections, each introduced by the verb “went down” (Hb. yrd): verses 1–4, 5–6, 7–9, 10–18, and 19–20 (Davis, Such a Great Salvation, p. 170). The verb frequently appears in negative contexts, under the influence of its prototype, the Israelites’ going down into Egypt (Genesis 42–46), leaving the land of God’s covenant promise and hence abandoning the covenant it represented. So Samson’s “going down” communicates subtly yet clearly that his actions were less than exemplary. 14:1 ...

62. Ruth and Boaz on the Threshing Floor

Ruth 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... “no coincidence that both chapters 2 and 3 end with gifts of grain,” because “the book uses the need for grain . . . as a leitmotif, and alongside this, the need for an heir.” Insight: On Patriarchal Leadership Although Boaz enacts a role as prototypical husband, what he does for Ruth on this threshing floor is best understood, perhaps, by comparing it with the behavior of the other father figures in the immediate context: the Levite’s concubine’s father (Judg. 19:2–10) and the old Gibeahite ...

63. The People in Jerusalem

1 Chronicles 9:1-34

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... All-Israel: all those tribes in the Transjordan, the very south, and the very north are included in his definition. Using language from social-identity theory here, we may describe the Chronicler’s effort in the genealogies as the development of the prototype of what All-Israel entails. 9:1b–2 First Chronicles 6:15 already referred to the Judahite exile. The Chronicler returns to that point in history, indicating that this happened on account of Judah’s unfaithfulness (maʿalah). This concept plays an ...

64. Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

Ezra 7:1-10

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... the same document from the temple archives was used in both writings. The descending genealogy preserved in Chronicles is here turned into an ascending one so as to focus on ancestry rather than descent. In its present form it is even more selective than the prototype, skipping six names in the middle. Whereas 1 Chronicles 6:14 continues the listing to Jehozadak, the exiled son of the last high priest before the exile, this list begins with his father Seraiah. We recall from Ezra 3:2, 8; 5:2 that Jehozadak ...

65. Purim Celebrated

Esther 9:20-32

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... of the events recorded in chapters 1–8 (though not necessarily in the form we now have it). In the background here is the unusual command to the ancient Israelites to record in writing their defeat of the Amalekites, their first and prototypical enemy in the conquest (Exod. 17:14). This command included a divine oath to completely annihilate the Amalekites. Although Saul failed to complete the divine mission, Esther and Mordecai achieve the desired results. They put the final chapter of the Amalekite ...

66. John the Baptist's Testimony about Jesus

John 3:22-36

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... of all to John the Baptist as portrayed in this Gospel. Nicodemus and his community have rejected Jesus’ testimony (v. 32; cf. v. 11), but John and those like him have accepted it as a message from God himself. John the Baptist is the prototype of all who endorse God’s truthfulness by recognizing Jesus as his unique messenger. In that sense, John is the first Christian. Jesus’ words are to him the words of God because God has given Jesus the Spirit “without limit” (v. 34). At Jesus’ baptism ...

67. Solomon's Adversaries

1 Kings 11:14-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... case, however, a knowledge of OT texts about the temple and its worship is important if we are to understand much of what the NT has to say about Christ and his church, particularly in both Hebrews and Revelation, which develop the idea of the heavenly temple that is both prototype of the earthly temple (e.g., Heb. 8:3–5) and its eschatological fulfillment (Rev. 3:12; 7:9–11; 11:19; 15:5–8; 21:22).

68. Jesus as True King of Israel

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:1-12

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... the restoration of Israel from exile. The pattern of exile and restoration already established in Matthew 1 continues into chapter 2. This can be seen most clearly in the quotation of Hosea 11:1 in 2:15, where God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt is the prototype for the promise of God’s deliverance of Jesus’ family from the evil intentions of Herod by flight to Egypt and return to Israel. Jesus as God’s son is protected and delivered. The theme of return to the land, as in the story of Israel, is ...

69. Jesus as Isaianic Messiah and Wisdom Embodied

Matthew 11:1-19

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... at him because they consider him a known quantity (13:57), and the Pharisees are offended by his teaching (15:12). 11:9 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. Across Matthew, John the Baptist has been portrayed as a prophet. He eats and dresses like Elijah, the prototypical Israelite prophet (3:4; cf. 2 Kings 1:8). Here John is called “more than a prophet”; he is the one to prepare the way for God’s return to Israel (3:3; cf. Mal. 3:1). John’s preeminent role is clarified in 11:11: he comes at ...

70. Jesus as God’s Wisdom Is a Hidden Reality

Matthew 11:20-24, Matthew 11:25-30

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... refers to the “realm of the dead” (NIV). Jesus’ message to those in Capernaum who have rejected the message of the kingdom and resisted his ministry is an analogous warning: their presumptuous arrogance will actually result in their destruction. Sodom. As the prototypical city receiving judgment in the Old Testament (see Gen. 18:16–19:29), Sodom is used in a comparison with Capernaum: “It will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for [Capernaum]” (11:24). Both sayings (about ...

71. The Baptism of Jesus

Luke 3:21-38

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... point of the following genealogy? Socially speaking, Jesus would be known as Joseph’s son (see above on 2:41–52). This genealogy therefore establishes his official place in society. But it does more. It links Jesus with David, the king and prototype of the Messiah, and with Abraham, the revered ancestor of the Jewish people. So much is in common with Matthew, though the names listed are different (see the “Historical and Cultural Background” section above). But Luke then follows the Old Testament ...

72. “Blessed Are Those Who Have Regard for the Weak; the Lord Delivers Them”

Psalm 41:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... Torah, which is in the suppliant’s heart (40:6–8), and in which the psalmist delights (1:2). Second, Psalms 40 and 41 quite appropriately compile a summary of the struggles and sentiments of David represented in Book 1, presenting David as the prototype of the righteous man. David indeed is the “blessed” person who “has regard for the weak” (41:1). As already observed, this ideal profile actually begins in Psalm 40:4, where the benedictory term ’ashre occurs to draw attention to the person who ...

73. “Cast Your Cares on the Lord and He Will Sustain You”

Psalm 55:1-23

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... our sermon/lesson by observing that few of us have escaped the bitter problem of being betrayed by someone, and some of us have had the even more bitter problem of being betrayed by a friend. David, whom the Christian church has historically considered to be a prototype of Christ, has experienced this same kind of betrayal (55:13–14), much like Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. It is so disturbing a situation that David just wants to take the “wings of a dove” and fly away (55:6–8). To escape is a common ...

74. The Radiant Face of Moses

Exodus 34:29-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... sin. He does not take lightly or easily God’s grace. He fasts again for forty days and forty nights (Deut. 9:9, 18), recognizing his need to be prepared to be the covenant mediator who will declare the word of God. This fasting is a prototype of that of Jesus Christ, who in preparation for his role as the perfect mediator of the new covenant will fast in the Judean wilderness for forty days and nights. Just as the Ten Commandments are written again, graciously given to instruct and restore the Israelites ...

75. Ahaz King of Judah

2 Kings 16:1-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... city of Damascus, and the reader now realizes that submission to Assyria comes at an even steeper price. In an attempt to ingratiate himself with his new master, Ahaz sends blueprints for the redesigned altar of the temple in Jerusalem after a foreign prototype, and thus the place of worship becomes corrupted as a place of political servitude. It is hard to determine the degree of complicity on the part of Uriah the priest, but he certainly does not appear to be a “Jehoiada” for these times. After ...

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