Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 851 to 875 of 1230 results

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the One who sent me.” It is important for us to know that in both Jewish and Greco-Roman societies children were considered the least important human beings. These societies idealized the mature adult (males in particular). Jesus took the child in his arms and continued his teaching. To welcome or show kindness to one of these little children in his name, he said, is equivalent to welcoming Jesus himself and not him only but also ...

852. When Is Enough...Enough?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... him. He was certain that who he was had been so firmly established that the surrounding culture couldn’t change him one little bit. Well, you can imagine the rest of the story. When Tony Campolo met Ralph a few years later he was a transformed person. His idealism was gone. He was on the verge of becoming a partner in the firm, he had a live-in relationship with one of his colleagues, and they had just moved into a “super place up on the East Side.” What saddened Campolo most was that the excitement ...

853. Pride Is a Noxious Weed in the Garden of Life

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... of God, the behavior of the tax collector was superior to the behavior of the Pharisee. Don’t read too much into that. The tax collector's humility did not make him the story's hero. His prayerful confession did not transform him into an ideal citizen and person of abiding faith. The tax collector was simply a lying, conniving, cheat who happened to have had an insight into what he was really like. The peripheral message from this story touches the righteousness of the tax collector. The story's center ...

854. Mary and Martha: Nine to Five and Five to Nine

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... put a woman on a pedestal, but then expected her to dust it. Women did go to work during World War I and by the end of World War II, six million women were in the workforce. In 1947, 30% of American women worked outside the home, but the ideal of women at home as wives and mothers persisted. But by 1984, fifty million women were working full time, many of them mothers of children who were still at home. Today, of the mothers who have children under five, two thirds work outside the home. About 75% of two ...

855. Eyes Fixed Upon the Goal

Philippians 3:8-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... letter. When his four years were over, and graduation day came, that student was appointed to deliver the valedictory address for his class. Then the mystery of that letter V was revealed. It stood for valedictory. That letter on the door held before him during his four years the ideal that he had set for himself. What letter could you put over the door of your house that would remind you as you leave your house each day what your life is all about? Would you put up a letter M that stands for money? Or a P ...

Your ideal is what you wish you were. Your reputation is what people say you are. Your character is what you are.

Michael P. Green

857. The Creeping Vine

1 Cor 1:23

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... : they preached Christ crucified. But times changed. The ivy grew and pretty soon covered the last word. The inscription now read: we preach christ. Other men came and they did preach Christ: Christ the example, Christ the humanitarian, Christ the ideal teacher. As the years passed, the ivy continued to grow until finally the inscription read: we preach. The generation that came along then did just that: they preached economics, social gospel, book reviews, just about anything. Man’s philosophical detours ...

858. A New Deal

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

Unhappy spouse to marriage counselor: When I got married I was looking for an ideal. Then it became an ordeal. Now I want a new deal.

859. Why No World Peace?

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... our knowledge we still find ourselves in the dark valley of discord and enmity? What is it that inhibits us from going forward together to enjoy the fruits of human endeavor and to reap the harvest of human experience? Why is it that, for all our professed ideals, our hopes, and our skills, peace on earth is still a distant objective seen only dimly through the storms and turmoils of our present difficulties?” And still these questions persist. Why? What is at the center of our malaise, our pathologies?

860. Solomon’s Death

2 Chronicles 9:29-31

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... Solomon’s many wives and their idolatrous influence on him, Solomon’s adversaries, and Jeroboam’s rebelling against Solomon. These narratives blame Solomon for the division in the monarchy that followed his reign. Given the Chronicler’s desire to idealize Solomon as a prototype of royalty, it is understandable that these Deuteronomistic narratives were not included in the Chronicler’s construction. Summary of 2 Chron. 2:1—9:31 In retrospect, several key ideas clearly dominate the Chronicler’s ...

861. Abijah King of Judah

2 Chron 13:1–14:1

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... with the kingdom of Israel. And he leads his people to a great victory in this battle. It seems that the Chronicler used the figure of Abijah to rectify the blemishes 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 ...

862. Jesus Taken Up into Heaven

Acts 1:1-11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... , was like grasping a nettle, need not lead us to suppose that he never gave this instruction and that it came from a later hand. The history of Israel, as indeed of the church itself, is full of instances in which people did not attain the best ideals of their leaders. The form of the saying shows a close acquaintance with the political and social context of that day. For a broader definition of Judea, see disc. on 10:37, but here Judea refers to that part of Palestine inhabited by Jews, apart from Samaria ...

863. Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

Acts 13:1-3

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... had extended the practice of fasting far beyond the one fast prescribed by the law (the Day of Atonement; cf. 27:9), and Jesus assumed that his disciples would continue the practice (Matt. 6:16–18; but cf. Matt. 9:14f.). It is a denial of self-satisfaction as the ideal of life.

864. Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

Acts 16:6-10

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... , as it were, by the irresistible wind of the Spirit, much as Paul and Barnabas had been on the earlier journey (cf. 13:1–3). 16:6 The reference in verse 2 to Iconium suggests that it too was visited by the missionaries. It would have made an ideal headquarters from which to visit all the other towns, and there is some reason for thinking that this was their arrangement and that Iconium was their base. The inference of verse 6 is that it was from this town that they set out when the work of visitation ...

865. Body

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... had (or not had) all along (cf. 1 John 2:1; Matt. 5:46; John 6:53), not just reception immediately consequent upon the action of the protasis. On the concept of the dwellings in the heavenly Jerusalem (John 14:2; cf. Michael Chyutin, “The New Jerusalem: Ideal City,” DSD 1 [1994], pp. 71–97). On Mark 14:58, whose authenticity can scarcely be doubted, see E. P.Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985), pp. 61, 364 nn. 2–3. On the Qumran idea of the community as a spiritual temple, see ...

866. Body / Ambassador

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... , the expectation of Israel’s restoration as a second exodus redemption included the idea that God would make “new heavens” and a “new earth” (Isa. 65:17–19; 66:22–23; cf. 1 En. 45:4–5; 72:1), and that there would be a return to the ideal conditions in Eden (Isa. 51:3; cf. Jub. 4:26 [no sin]). Within this new creation, “all flesh” would come to Zion in order to worship God (Isa. 66:22–23). Obviously, we are dealing here with much more than individual transformation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:18 ...

867. Paul’s Second Visit to the Jerusalem Church

Galatians 2:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... Power: The Structure of Authority in the Primitive Church as Reflected in the Pauline Epistles (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978), pp. 35–43. Reference to “the poor” may also be a meritorious self-designation such as is found in the Qumran scrolls, in which poverty was an ideal that signified piety and purity. For instance, in the War Scroll we find the prophecy that God will “deliver into the hands of the poor the enemies from all the lands, to humble the mighty of the peoples by the hand of those bent ...

868. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Ephesians 1:15-23

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... racism, nationalism, hate, fear, uncurbed sexual desire, drug addiction, alcoholism, etc. As with ‘principalities and powers,’ before these the individual feels helpless even though he recognizes their power to destroy the best things in human life” (p. 72). 1:23 From the ideal of sovereignty the apostle moves to the concept of vital union, which he expresses by the head-body metaphor of the church: which is his body. This idea is unique to the teaching of Ephesians (1:23; 5:23) and Colossians (1:18 ...

869. Unity in the Body of Christ

Ephesians 4:1-16

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... individualism into the corporate oneness of the person of Christ. In the following verses he describes some circumstances that hinder the attainment of unity, and then he provides some insights on bodily growth. 4:14 Although unity is an ideal to be realized, the writer is aware that the church’s pilgrimage toward that goal is characterized by immaturity and instability. Currently, the body of Christ acts very much like infants, a designation that implies immaturity, erratic temperament, individualism ...

870. Slaves and Masters

Ephesians 6:5-9

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... in this way they do the will of God. This, to be sure, is a revolutionary transformation of the work ethic and has many implications for labor relations today. For a Christian, there is no distinction between the secular and the sacred. “The Christian’s ideal is for his daily work, seen or unseen by men, to be accepted as the will of God, rejoiced in and done not by constraint or carelessness but because it is his will” (Foulkes, p. 168). 6:7 This verse essentially repeats—and thus reemphasizes ...

871. Rules for Christian Households

Colossians 3:18-4:1

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... this verse can apply to the slave as well. They have been exhorted to obey in all things (3:22), to work heartily and sincerely (3:22, 23), and to maintain an eternal perspective (3:24). Could Paul mean that any slave who falls short of that ideal will be judged as a wrongdoer? Slaves who do their work faithfully will be rewarded by God; slaves who fail in their responsibility can expect God’s judgment. God does not show favor to slaves just because of their low estate. 4:1 Again, Paul does not demand ...

872. Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... as leaders in the church of Ephesus. But they had allowed themselves to be ensnared by Satan. Who knows how or why, they became enamored of new ideas, fell in love with speculative interpretations, or made themselves look good by appealing to an ascetic ideal, an elitist Christianity. But underneath they had come to love money, and it did them in. They went astray from the faith and pierced themselves through, as with a sword, with many griefs. Additional Notes 6:3–5 A textual addition that seems to ...

873. Paul's Charge to Timothy

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... deeds, which then, to extend the metaphor, is their way to lay up … treasure for the future. 6:17 That the riches of this age should be for one’s enjoyment creates considerable difficulty for those who see 6:6–8 as the author’s borrowing from Cynic-Stoic ideals (cf. Gealy, “it is another tone than 6:7–10,” p. 457). But it fits in well with Paul’s own view set forth in Phil. 4:10–13, where the believer, strengthened by Christ, can live above both want (6:6–10) and plenty (6:17–19). The ...

874. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... on the lips of Jesus. If Jesus speaks the psalm to God, then—much to the delight of our author—he refers to the people in the assembly as his brothers. It is a man among humans who speaks concerning God. Thus our author has found an ideal passage to buttress his argument about the full humanity of Jesus. 2:13 Jesus is also seen to be the speaker in the next two brief quotations, each of which the author introduces with the simple “and again.” These quotations are from consecutive verses in Isaiah 8 ...

875. The Remaining Promise of Rest

Hebrews 4:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... the author may have in mind the activity of the sacrificial ritual and the minutiae of ceremonial purity so important in the Judaism to which the readers were attracted. The most plausible interpretation, however, is that the author has in mind the ideal qualities of the sabbath-rest, namely, peace, well-being, and security—that is, a frame of mind that by virtue of its confidence and trust in God possesses these qualities in contradiction to the surrounding circumstances. In short, the author may well ...

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