Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 776 to 800 of 972 results

776. Recognize that, in the Light of Death, One Must Redeem the Time

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and the wicked is in God’s sovereign control. Love and hate could be a merism (as in Eccles. 3:8), expressing the full range of emotions that may motivate one’s actions, probably human rather than divine (as in 9:6). These emotions are associated exclusively with humans in the book (Eccles. 2:17–18; 3:8; 5:10; 9:9). How a specific person will be treated by others and treat others remains unknown, for both those classified as “good” and those labeled “bad” share common experiences under the sun ...

777. I am a Rose of Sharon

Song of Songs 2:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... vivid memory of the shepherd and the vibrance of the intimate moments she shared with him during the spring season(s) in the vineyards elicits an affirmation of love and loyalty from the maiden. Verse 16 is repeated in 6:3 and emphasizes the exclusiveness of their relationship. “Browsing” or “feeding” among the lilies is a metaphor for the lover’s enjoyment of the maiden’s physical charms (cf. 6:2). “Until the day breaks” is a poetic idiom for the dawn. The joy and pleasure of the physical ...

778. A Prayer for God’s People

Isaiah 26:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... for his people when he establishes peace for them (26:12–15). He will punish the wicked, who have no share in God’s redemption, but will “enlarge” his people and extend their borders (26:14–15). He raises up his own people and will rule over them exclusively. Isaiah prays that the time of distress will soon pass and that, out of the suffering, the Lord may raise up a new people (26:16–19). God alone can initiate the era of restoration, and those who share in it will “wake up and shout for joy ...

779. Oholah and Oholibah

Ezekiel 23:1-49

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... (Isa. 7:1–8:22; 30:1–31:9; Jer. 2:20–25; Hos. 7:11–13; 8:9) condemned their generation for fornicating with Gentiles, for pursuing alliances with foreign nations. God’s people have become the Lord’s unfaithful wife. As her husband, the Lord demands of Israel exclusive fidelity. That is what he has given her, and she needs to reciprocate. If she insists on multiple suitors, then God’s only course of action will be to abandon her.

780. A Prophecy Against Egypt

Ezekiel 29:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... they preached. 29:1-21 · Verses 1–6a compare the Pharaoh (Hophra?) to the crocodile of the Nile. The king of Tyre deduced his divinity on the basis of the geography and topos of Tyre. The king of Egypt deduces his divinity on the basis of his exclusive ownership of the life-giving waters of the Nile. God goes on a crocodile hunt. The fish that stick to his scales (29:4), as the monster is dragged from the waters, represent the citizens of Egypt. They will suffer along with their leader. Verses 6b–9a ...

781. Enterings and Exitings

Ezekiel 44:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ritual sacrifice to the Levites, God is in effect punishing the people by barring them from the inner gates, where the sacrifice takes place. Although the Levites are to fulfill certain functions, they are not to serve as priests. The priesthood is reserved exclusively for the descendants of Zadok (the hereditary priesthood of the Solomonic temple). They alone may enter the sanctuary. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to the dos and don’ts of these Levite priests/sons of Zadok who serve at the altar ...

782. Punishment of Destruction

Hosea 13:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... people from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 14–15) and chose them as his special holy people (13:4–8). There was no one who could save them from their terrible situation in Egypt, so God acted on their behalf. At Sinai God asked for their exclusive devotion to him within the covenant relationship and instructed them to worship no other gods because he alone was their Savior. He continued to care for his people by miraculously leading them through the hot and dry Sinai wilderness, giving them more manna and ...

783. The Lord’s Conquest of the Enemy Restores Productivity to the Land

Joel 2:18-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , and describes his subsequent victorious battle over the evil nations. 2:18–27 · The jealousy of God provokes his desire for vengeance against the nations who have tormented his people. Deuteronomy describes the Lord’s jealousy as his demand for exclusivity among the Israelites, depicting his wrathful response to the infidelity manifested in idolatry (Deut. 32:16, 21). God’s jealousy and protectiveness toward his people are incited in battle toward their adversaries (Isa. 42:13; 59:17; Zech. 1:14 ...

784. Jonah’s Unjustified Anger and God’s Response

Jonah 4:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... –19; Joel 2:13–14). Which part of the formula was quoted by a biblical writer depended on whether he wanted to emphasize the Lord’s mercy or the longevity of God’s anger. In some sense, Jonah believes that the Lord’s mercy toward his creatures is exclusive to the nation of Israel and that the parameters of the Lord’s grace should not extend to the Gentiles. Jonah concludes his outburst by telling God what he should do—that is, take Jonah’s life (4:3). Jonah’s request further clarifies his ...

785. Assyria

Zephaniah 2:13-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Assyrians’ pride in their way of life were idolatrous from God’s perspective. The prophet sarcastically personifies Nineveh by proclaiming its divine status. For Judah, the statement “I am the one! And there is none besides me” (2:15a) was a confession of the unique and exclusive claim of Yahweh (cf. Isa. 43:10; 44:6; 45:5, 18, 21–22; 46:9). The mood of the oracle changes rapidly. Sarcasm changes into lament (2:15b). The end of Assyria will be celebrated by all who pass the ruins of the city. The ...

786. Jesus’s Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and that he will give them to Jesus if Jesus will worship him (4:8–9). Matthew shows Jesus drawing from Deuteronomy 6 in his response: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matt. 4:10; Deut. 6:13). This call to exclusive allegiance to Yahweh is the positive side of the prohibition against testing the Lord that Jesus has already cited (Deut. 6:16). Though Israel failed the loyalty test in the wilderness, Matthew shows Jesus to be fully faithful to God through all three wilderness temptations ...

787. Preparation for Ministry

Mark 1:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of feet were duties of Gentile slaves; the assumption of this role by John signifies his humility and subordination in relation to Jesus. John’s baptism in water was intended to symbolize Jesus’s baptism in the Holy Spirit (1:8). In the Old Testament, bestowal of the Spirit belonged exclusively to God. John’s attributing of this function to Jesus, the More Powerful One, again signifies that Jesus comes in the power and prerogative of God.

788. “On the Way” to Jerusalem

Mark 9:33-37, Mark 9:38-41

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... but by Jesus’s generosity. As a member of Jesus’s inner circle, John, son of Zebedee, takes an elitist attitude toward an unnamed exorcist. Failing to learn the object lesson of the previous story, John regards his call as one of entitlement and exclusion; indeed, he speaks of following us rather than following Jesus (9:38). Ironically, John wants the exorcist to stop doing what he and the other disciples could not do (9:28). Jesus is more generous than the disciples. Faith no larger than a mustard ...

789. The Fig Tree and the Temple

Mark 11:12-19, Mark 11:20-25 (26)

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... interests associated with the Jewish sacrificial system have deprived the “nations” (Greek “Gentiles”) of the one place where non-Jews could worship. The Messiah was popularly expected to “cleanse” the temple of Gentiles and restore it for exclusive Jewish rites and rituals. Jesus does not “cleanse” and restore the sacrificial system of the temple, but clears it for Gentiles. The chief priests and scribes—the two groups responsible for oversight of the temple—fully understand his ...

790. Peter Disowns Jesus

Mark 14:66-72

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Mark concludes the sandwich unit by returning to Peter, who is warming himself by the fire in the courtyard of the high priest (14:54, 66). Verses 66–72 focus exclusively on Peter, who alone of the participants is named. Nights in Jerusalem in March-April require the warmth of a fire, the light from which allows Peter to be identified. While Jesus undergoes a trial by the high priest, Peter undergoes one by a mere servant girl. To her accusation ...

791. The Cost of Following Jesus

Luke 9:57-62

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... former (1 Kings 19:19–21). Nevertheless, Jesus’s call is more radical. No one can plow effectively if he or she looks back, for the furrow will be crooked and the wooden plow tip might break. So too, no one can follow Jesus without making him the absolute and exclusive center of life.

792. Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two

Luke 10:1-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... When Jesus states that the Father has handed “all things” over to him, he means that the Father has given the Son authority to reveal the knowledge of the Father and Son to others. Then Jesus indicates that the Father and Son possess a mutual and exclusive knowledge of each other. The centrality and uniqueness of the Son is affirmed because no one can know the Father apart from the Son’s permission. Jesus’s words show that the knowledge of God is a gift bestowed from above, and thus it follows that ...

793. The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Luke 16:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... money cannot be trusted with spiritual riches (16:11). (4) One who cannot handle his or her own affairs will not be called on to manage the affairs of another (16:12). In verse 13 Jesus penetrates to the root; no one can give exclusive service to both God and money. Clearly the reproof of the greedy Pharisees (16:14–15) continues to focus on money, but it takes the discussion in a new direction. Apparently the Pharisees were ridiculing Jesus because they imagined some compatibility between serving God ...

794. Jesus Predicts His Death

John 12:20-36

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to unveil himself to Israel have been exhausted, Greeks arrive, eager to see Jesus. Jewish reluctance is exceeded by Greek zeal. Mark’s Gospel follows a similar structure. In Mark the watershed is in 8:27–30, and from then on Jesus devotes himself exclusively to his disciples. But prior to this revelation at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus finds an unprecedented response among the Greeks (Mark 7:24–30; 7:31–37; 8:1–10). Once Judaism fails to embrace the signs of Christ, Gentiles are given the opportunity ...

795. The Work of the Holy Spirit

John 16:5-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ) continues to be Jesus’s concern. While sorrow may follow Jesus’s departure (16:5–6), it is actually necessary for him to go, since the coming of the Spirit is dependent on his death/glorification (cf. 7:39). In some fashion the Spirit and Jesus are mutually exclusive; or, as we shall see in chapters 19 and 20, the Spirit comes in the midst of Christ’s glorification. The Spirit is Jesus’s Spirit and is released in his death (cf. 19:30, 34; 20:22). The relation between the Spirit and the world has ...

796. Jesus Prays for His Disciples

John 17:6-19

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is precious; it implies relationship, obedience, and knowledge. Only Christians possess God’s name in this Old Testament sense (17:6), and they alone draw the correct inference: the Son who bears this name has come from God and must be believed. Jesus now prays exclusively for his followers (17:9–19) even though they have been on his mind all along (17:6–7). In one sense this prayer is a continuation of that prayer for glory in 17:1–5. Christ’s glory is continually manifested through the lives ...

797. Israel’s Unbelief

Romans 9:30--10:21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God, which is Jesus, the promised Savior (quotation of Isa. 28:16 and Isa. 8:14). Israel has rejected the stone that God placed in Zion, laying a foundation for a new “temple” (the new place of worship in the new covenant). The reason for Israel’s exclusion from salvation is unbelief in Jesus Christ, who brings God’s promised salvation (cf. Rom. 3:21–26; 10:4) and in whom all people are to trust, both Jews (Israelites) and Gentiles. 10:1–13 · Paul asserts again that he desires and prays for the ...

798. Questions about Marriage, Divorce, and Celibacy

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... but rather as those who already have begun to live in God’s new kingdom. Those who have wives should remember that one day the caliber of fellowship to be enjoyed between everyone in the kingdom of God will match that which is now the exclusive possession of husbands and wives (Mark 12:25). Similarly, those who mourn should likewise recall that their mourning has already begun to call forth comfort (Matt. 5:4). And those who “are happy” in the present world should bear in mind that the age to ...

799. The Believer’s Freedom

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The discussion to this point has highlighted two principles, which Paul now summarizes. Paul has labored thus far to show that Christian freedom is not absolute. It must be qualified through the exclusion of any attitude or action that is not “beneficial” to the development of the individual (10:1–23), or not “constructive” with respect to the growth of the community (8:1–13). Moreover, the two are tied together, because the goal for the Christian is to seek not simply one’ ...

800. Epistolary Introduction

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... apostle’s sufferings). Paul chooses rather to extol the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (1:3), from whom he has received the strength to sustain himself in suffering. Furthermore, precisely because of his experience, which forced him to rely exclusively on God in a situation in which he had given himself up for dead, Paul has become uniquely equipped to minister to “those in any trouble,” bringing to them the “comfort we ourselves have received from God” (1:4). In the light ...

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