Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 726 to 750 of 5000 results

Luke 1:5-25

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... things (even though he apparently had been praying for precisely this outcome [1:13]) and contrasts with Mary’s ready acceptance of a similar challenge to faith in 1:38. Compare Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17:17–18; 18:10–15. Illustrating the Text God is able to overcome human helplessness and turn despair to joy. Film: The Nativity Story, directed by Catherine Hardwicke. This somewhat overlooked movie (2006) includes strong acting and cinematography, a beautiful and subtle musical score, and many of ...

727. Mary’s Song—the Magnificat

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

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R.T. France

... of regular, unremarkable people into amazing ministry proves the power of God and ensures a grateful, humble people of God. God is the rescuer of the poor and afflicted, and responds generously to those who acknowledge their powerlessness. Bible: This concept can be well illustrated with a brief look into a number of Scriptures, such as the Beatitudes (Matt. 5); Psalm 34:18; or the widow’s oil (2 Kings 4). Object Lesson: Use three clear glasses. The first should be filled with red wine or grape juice. The ...

728. The Birth of John

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66

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R.T. France

... sun” has come “to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (1:78–79). The dawn of God’s end-time salvation gives us hope for the future and peace in the present. Illustrating the Text God can use ordinary family events (in this case, a circumcision and naming) to demonstrate his presence and power. Film: The Nativity Story. As noted earlier, this film is a natural resource for showing the dynamics of the account of Christ’s birth and ...

729. The Boy Jesus in the Temple

Luke 2:41-52

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R.T. France

... John’s did. The two summaries in 2:40, 52, which remind us of the accounts of the child Samuel in 1 Samuel 2:21, 26, use the same Greek terms to speak of Jesus’s “wisdom” and of the “grace (favor) of God,” themes that have been illustrated in the story of 2:41–50. But this time we hear also of Jesus’s good reputation in the village (“favor with . . . man”). His supernatural origin did not make him into the enfant terrible that some later Christian legends made him. We will discover in 4 ...

730. The Baptism of Jesus

Luke 3:21-38

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R.T. France

... to show the importance of a genealogy for your audience through a contemporary example, such as where a legitimate heir might inherit a vast estate, or where someone might gain access to a famous person’s papers and memoirs because of ancestral claims. Illustrating the Text God the Father personally bore witness about the divine lineage of Jesus, his Son. Popular Saying: There is an old saying that “the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” When the Father spoke words of blessing and acceptance ...

731. Jesus’s Manifesto

Luke 4:14-30

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R.T. France

... . Luke not only tells the story in much more detail, and with his typical focus on Jesus’s mission of deliverance, but also has inserted it at the very beginning of his account of Jesus’s public preaching to act as a sort of frontispiece (a decorative illustration facing a book’s title page) for Jesus’s ministry as a whole. The themes of deliverance, of good news for the poor, and of the universal scope of Jesus’s mission set the tone for all that is to follow. The hostility of Jesus’s own ...

732. Feasting and Fasting

Luke 5:33-39, Luke 5:27-32

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R.T. France

... ’s conversion. It became a best seller, has been translated into many languages, and was one of the most influential books of its time. It was later made into a film of the same name. Anecdotes from the book would be very helpful to illustrate this principle. Biography: Jackie Pullinger. Not well known to American audiences is the story of Pullinger (b. 1944), founder of St. Stephen’s Society (a rehabilitation facility), who felt called to go to Hong Kong to reach out to drug addicts. Hundreds of those ...

733. The Good Life

Luke 6:17-26

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R.T. France

... as that? They might usefully consider also how Jesus’s own life exemplifies what he says here. Did it leave him any room for enjoyment and satisfaction? Illustrating the Text The word “beatitude” needs to be carefully understood. Definition: The beatitude form, using makarios (“lucky,” “fortunate”), may be illustrated from various classical Greek texts that have no religious dimension. One example is from Aristophanes, Wasps (lines 1292–93), who recounts that Xanthias, while undergoing a ...

734. “Love Your Enemies”

Luke 6:27-38

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R.T. France

... especially verse 21, where Paul says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The goal is not to be passively exploited by others, but to actively overcome evil with good. That is what God did for us in Christ. Illustrating the Text We are to love our enemies and those who mistreat us in word and practice, an uncompromising ethical challenge that can seem almost impossible. Literature: Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This is a dark novel (1866) about a terrible human being ...

735. Power over Illness and Death

Luke 7:11-17, Luke 7:1-10

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R.T. France

... , will be to an immortal, eternal existence. These resuscitations, like Jesus’s healings and exorcisms, are merely snapshots that foreshadow the full restoration of creation that will one day be completed through Jesus’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Illustrating the Text The centurion’s faith was extraordinary. True Story: In Light of Eternity: Perspectives on Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. In this book (1999) Alcorn tells about praying for twenty-two years for his father, who, as Alcorn puts ...

736. Rejecting or Responding to Jesus

Luke 10:1-24

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R.T. France

... and experienced his miraculous works. You might also consider the question of whether judgment today may be more severe for some than for others, and if so, on what basis? How does the exclusive claim of 10:22 relate to those earlier verses? Illustrating the Text The seventy-two are to rejoice, not in the extraordinary powers passed on to them, but instead in the giver of that power and in their own eternal destiny. Commentary: Expositions of Holy Scripture: Luke I to XII, by Alexander Maclaren. Maclaren ...

737. “Love Your Neighbor”

Luke 10:25-37

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R.T. France

... other people, even the most unlikely. Understanding the Text On Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem, which began in 9:51, much attention is focused on the nature and demands of discipleship. Here a question from someone outside the disciple group prompts Jesus to illustrate the central demand of discipleship by telling one of his best-loved parables. The famous “summary of the law” in the twofold demand to love God and to love one’s neighbor occurs in all three Synoptic Gospels, but Luke’s presentation ...

738. The Failure of Israel’s Leadership

Luke 11:37-54

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R.T. France

... heir to the scribal attitude that Jesus here criticizes? How far is the judgment that Jesus sees as imminent for his own generation relevant for our understanding of where the true focus of the people of God is to be found today? Illustrating the Text A concern for proper procedure may ignore the real dimensions of Christian discipleship. Literature: Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan. In this classic book (1678) Bunyan (1628–88) depicts how religious teaching can get in the way through two characters ...

739. Interpreting the Times

Luke 12:54-59, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:35-48

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R.T. France

... are unable or unwilling to transfer their diagnostic skill from the natural sphere to the spiritual, and so they miss what is plain for all to see. 12:58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate. Here we have an everyday scene that illustrates the need to take timely action and not to let things drift. Once the legal process has been started, there is no way out. It is inappropriate to press the details of the cameo by asking who is represented by the “adversary,” what the offense was ...

740. “Unless You Repent . . .”

Luke 13:10-17, Luke 13:1-9

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R.T. France

... . First, repentance has been at the heart of the message of both John (3:3, 8) and Jesus (5:32), and Jesus has rebuked his contemporaries for their failure to repent in response to his preaching (10:13–15; 11:32). In chapter 15 he will illustrate God’s deep desire for sinners to repent. Here the theme is developed, but with a warning that judgment is also a reality, and the opportunity for repentance may not last forever. The message is reinforced with a short parable. Second, we have seen in 6 ...

741. Ready for the Kingdom of God?

Luke 13:31-35, Luke 13:22-30, Luke 13:18-21

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R.T. France

... use this opportunity to discuss the difficult theological question of whether, and in what sense, Israel is still God’s special people. Is there any hope for Israel’s future in 13:35? A good cross-reference for this theme is Romans 9–11. Illustrating the Text The kingdom of God, at first inconspicuous, will grow to reach all nations. Popular Culture: The fast-food restaurant chain McDonald’s is an example of enormous growth from a small start. Ray Kroc, who worked as a salesman for various products ...

742. Table Talk

Luke 14:1-14

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R.T. France

... works on a basis of mutual obligation: the reward for hospitality is to be invited in return. The threefold repetition of “repay” emphasizes this reciprocal expectation. But God’s kingdom is one of grace, not of quid pro quo, as the following parable will illustrate (see 14:21, mentioning the same four disadvantaged groups), and we are called to follow his lead by giving to those who cannot give back. For such hospitality there is a “repayment,” but it is not in this life. There is a similar theme ...

743. Two Parables about Prayer

Luke 18:9-14, Luke 18:1-8

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R.T. France

... that makes people ask, “What have I done to deserve . . . ?” Is grace still an alien concept for most people? Compare the Pharisee’s attitude with Jesus’s teaching in 17:7–10. How can a religious person get it all so wrong? Illustrating the Text Jesus enjoins us to persist in prayer and not give up. Church History: Augustine of Hippo. For years Augustine’s (354–430) mother, Monica, prayed for him as he lived licentiously, shunning God. Eventually, in response to those prayers, Augustine was ...

744. On the Mount of Olives

Luke 22:47-53, Luke 22:39-46, Luke 22:7-38

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R.T. France

... that God’s will may be different from what we want? Should all specific petitions be qualified by “if it is your will”? Is it right to think of such prayer as a two-way conversation, and if so, how may this be achieved? Illustrating the Text Even the most well-intentioned disciples misunderstand and misapply some of Jesus’s more mysterious words. Comedy: Play a little bit of Abbott and Costello’s classic bit, “Who’s on First?” In this masterpiece of miscommunication, two men debate the base ...

745. The Whole World Is under the Curses of the Covenant

Romans 3:9-20

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... justice to the apostle’s phrase “works of the law.” The more straightforward meaning of this phrase indicates the law of Moses in its totality. Paul thereby refutes a synergistic/legalistic approach to justification that was pervasive in Second Temple Judaism. Illustrating the Text The heart of all humankind is depraved. Literature: Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Written by a Nobel Prize–winning British author, this novel (1954) is sometimes seen as an allegory or fable. A group of British ...

746. God’s Saving Righteousness and the Restoration of Israel

Romans 3:21-31

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C. Marvin Pate

... , Paul contrasts the old covenant with the new covenant in 3:31. Since the law and the old covenant failed to justify humans before God, the new covenant received by faith in Christ alone is the only legitimate way to be accepted by God. Illustrating the Text Boasting before God because of one’s supposed good works is a dead-end street. Literature: The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. This British children’s classic (1908) features four colorful characters, Beaver, Rat, Mole, and Toad. Toad is a ...

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

Romans 6:15-23

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C. Marvin Pate

... is proof positive that God accepted his Son’s sacrifice for our sins. The last becomes a spiritual reality when believers moment by moment draw upon the resurrection power of the risen Christ by his Spirit to replace disobedience with obedience to God. Illustrating the Text Everyone serves one lord: sin or righteousness; there is no middle ground. Film: The Two Towers. This movie (2002) is the second installment of the film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings. The scene ...

748. The Reversal of the Deuteronomic Curses and Blessings: Replacing Law with Faith

Romans 9:30--10:21

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C. Marvin Pate

... even hearing the gospel at all. But from Romans 10:14–21 it seems clear that the “exclusivist” view has the most biblical support, though sometimes God may reveal Christ to the lost through dreams and visions apart from human contact. Illustrating the Text We have powerful motivation for missions and evangelism. Biography: The recent death of Ralph Winter (1924–2009) reminds us of his strategic emphasis on reaching not simply every nation with the gospel but also every people group. Winter founded ...

749. Christian Maturity

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

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Preben Vang

... the group as a whole will be tested. God will test the quality of each member’s work (3:13). Each one is responsible for utilizing his or her gift(s) to build God’s building on the foundation of Jesus Christ (12:7). Illustrating the Text Christians whose decisions and behavior seem unchanged by God’s Spirit remain infants in Christ. Human Experience: Compare the behavior of infants and toddlers with the behavior one expects of a growing child, a teenager, and then a young adult. Infants cannot live ...

750. Leadership and Servanthood

1 Corinthians 4:1-21, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

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Preben Vang

... what they have been entrusted with according to their master’s design. By the same token, Christians must not use what Christ has entrusted to them for their own self-promotion but must be faithful to the wisdom of the cross. The illustrative parallel could not be missed by the Corinthians, who all recognized the consequences of unfaithful management of a patron’s estate. Applying this general, common-sense truth to the church situation, Paul switches his language from plural to singular. He is no ...

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