Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 851 to 875 of 3852 results

851. The Lord Protects and Rescues Jonah

Jonah 2:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... toward the sailors from the ship, who place their trust in worthless gods. 2:10 · The Lord delivers Jonah:Creation responds at the spoken word of the Lord. Jonah is deposited unceremoniously on the dry land, apparently in proximity to God’s original destination. One can assume that the sailors thought Jonah had perished, and told the story of their voyage to others, so his reappearance, certainly very white and wrinkled as well as smelly, may have frightened the inhabitants of Nineveh, who could have ...

852. John Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in the Old Testament (e.g., Num. 19:12) or first-century practices such as those from the Qumran community in the area of the Dead Sea; (2) Gentile baptism upon conversion to Judaism; or (3) some combination of these. Whatever the specific origin, it seems that John’s baptism drew on expectations about washings or baptism but combined these with unexpected elements, such as his preaching of the kingdom (similar to the eschatological tone of Qumran). If John is drawing on the practice of baptizing Jewish ...

853. A Prophet without Honor

Matthew 13:53-58, Matthew 14:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... :55–56). Jesus’s hometown is portrayed with the negative characterization given the Jewish leaders in Matthew 12: they distrust his authority, questioning its source. While the leaders have claimed Jesus’s authority is demonic in origin (12:24), his hometown cannot overlook his family origins (13:54–56). In both cases, they stumble over Jesus’s messianic identity (13:57; Greek skandalizō as “take offense” or “stumble”; cf. 11:6; also 15:12). At the beginning of chapter 14, Matthew inserts ...

854. Preparation for Ministry

Mark 1:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... s opening line is “Son of God.” Although this title is absent in the important fourth-century manuscript Codex Sinaiticus and in quotations of the verse by several church fathers, the many manuscripts that include the term offer support that it was part of the original text. “Son of God” is the most important and most complete title for Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, signifying the full deity of Jesus the Messiah. Thus, in his opening line, Mark announces that the essence of the good news of God’s ...

855. Clean and Unclean

Mark 7:1-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... torah. Pharisees affirmed that the written laws of torah declared what God required but that the oral tradition was necessary to determine how to fulfill God’s requirements. Unfortunately, the focus on the how shifted attention away from the original intent of the law and onto an array of peripheral observances. Jesus expressly declares that the “tradition of the elders” does not clarify torah or assist in its fulfillment but actually skews its meaning, resulting in “nullifying” the commandments ...

856. The Validity of Jesus’ Testimony

John 8:12-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 21–30)? This is the second time this question has been asked (cf. 7:32–36). Earlier Jesus volunteered no explanation. Now when his audience mistakenly thinks that he will commit suicide (8:22), Jesus unveils something of his true origins (8:23–24). Jesus is returning to the place from which he originated, “from above” (8:23; cf. 3:31). The divine implications of this are explicit in 8:24. Jesus uses the divine name (egō eimi) as a description of his identity. In this round (8:24, 28) and the next ...

857. The Apostles Persecuted

Acts 5:17-42

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... they may be common names, as Josephus dates Theudas to a later period of time (AD 44–46). Gamaliel’s advice is that if the work of these Christians “is of human origin, it will fail” (5:38). In light of the narrative that follows, Luke has already proven that their work is not “of human origin.” More importantly, Gamaliel further suggests that if they are from God, then the Jews who fight against them are “fighting against God” (5:39). The continued persecution of the Christians by the ...

858. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 3:29). There are elect angels (1 Tim. 5:21), but God’s grace toward humankind is far more excellent than his grace to such angels, as it was a far more costly and heroic work to redeem sinners than to preserve angels in their original holiness. To deliver humankind required that Christ become his people’s High Priest, to represent them in offering himself as their substitute, and in dying for them to appease God’s holy wrath against their sin. The glory of Christ shines more brightly in his redeeming ...

859. The Question of Sin and the Commandment to Love

1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... for the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John—“helper,” or “advocate”—but here he uses it in reference to Jesus. This is a familiar Johannine term, and while the Holy Spirit is “another” counselor and advocate (John 14:16), Jesus is the original. Conversely, he then employs an unusual reference to the atoning sacrifice (Greek hilasmos; see also 1 John 4:10) of Jesus Christ the righteous one, which seems more Pauline than Johannine. In fact, the word never occurs in the Gospel of John. Of course ...

860. Let Us Love One Another!

1 John 4:7-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in faith, whom one has seen? The appeal to the believer’s identity and aspiration is a winsome move. One cannot authentically claim to love God without also loving those God loves—brothers and sisters within the beloved community of believers. This makes the original commandment of the Lord that much more compelling: those who love God must love Christian brothers and sisters. They have no choice. To refuse to embrace the beloved of God is to deny, in effect, one’s love for the Father. Again, the ...

861. The Victory That Overcomes the World

1 John 5:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 1 John as a circular read among the Asia Minor churches, both faith and faithfulness are lifted up as a response to, and an implication of, that victory of God which overcomes the world. 5:1–3 · Belief in Jesus as the Christ is victory:Just as the original ending of the Gospel of John (John 20:31) is written in order that hearers and readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and in believing have life in his name, the promise of this message concludes the final chapter of the first ...

862. In the Event of Power Failure

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... life. Jesus promised it to us: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Acts 1:8). Jesus gave us a beautiful promise, a promise that his powerful Spirit would come to dwell within those who believe in him. The apostles who originally heard this promise were so unsure of what Jesus meant and when this power would be received that Pentecost came as a surprise. Yet when they were filled with the power of the Spirit, they could not contain it. The Spirit motivated and empowered them to ...

863. I Wonder if God Exists

Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... cosmological argument.” Most believe this argument began with Saint Thomas Aquinas, who sought to discover the cause for the origin of our world. The first part to this argument states that every event has a cause (nothing comes from ... ought” to be done. Some call this innate knowledge of right and wrong our conscience. Where does our conscience come from? Our conscience does not originate with us; it comes from God. If there is no God, then human beings decide what is right and wrong and no moral code is ...

864. A Warning Against Hypocrisy

Matthew 23:1-39

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... Moses’ law. Moses’ seat is more than a metaphor; it was an actual stone seat on the synagogue platform close by the sacred scrolls (cf. Luke 4:20 and the fact that Jesus sat to teach). The Pharisees were a sect of strict legalists whose origin goes back to the second century B.C. The name means “the separated ones.” Their energy was totally dedicated to keeping all the minute regulations of the law in both its written and (especially) oral forms. The “scribes” (v. 2, AV)—who were Pharisees for ...

865. Signs of the End of the Age

Matthew 24:1-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... in v. 21 of the suffering of this period that will never again be equaled), it is unwise to limit the interpretation to a specific time in history past. A more satisfactory answer to the identification of the “abomination of desolation” is to find its origin in that critical period that gave rise to the Maccabean revolution, and then to understand that it has surfaced in history whenever the purposes of God have been violently assaulted by the forces of evil and will assume a personal embodiment in the ...

866. The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... 11); the end will arrive unexpectedly (v. 13). As with every good parable, the message is applicable in any number of related circumstances. Additional Notes 25:1 Some manuscripts add the words kai tēs nymphēs (“and the bride”). Some argue that they were original and were omitted because they would be incompatible with the idea of Christ (the bridegroom) coming to take his bride (the church). It is more likely that they were added by a scribe in order to bring the parable into line with the customary ...

867. Signs of the End of the Age

Mark 13:1-31

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... events. The cosmic disturbances described in verses 24–25 resemble OT descriptions of manifestations of God’s judgment in Israel’s history (cf. Joel 2:10; 3:15; Isa. 13:10; 34:4; Ezek. 32:7–8; Amos 8:9). The language originated in ancient Israelite times when the sun, moon, and stars were believed to represent deities who controlled world affairs. Israel believed that when God acted these celestial bodies would be disturbed. Those powers that other nations believed controlled history would be shown ...

868. The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

Luke 3:21-38

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... , or Nahum). It is not likely that Matthat is to be identified with Matthan of Matt. 1:15. 3:27 Joanan, the son of Rhesa: Leaney (p. 112) and others have suggested that Rhesa is meant to be the Aramaic word for “prince” and that the original read “Prince Joanan, son of Zerubbabel.” If this were true, then Hananiah in 1 Chron. 3:19 may have been the intended person. (Luke actually follows the spelling for Zerubbabel’s name that is found in 1 Chron. 3:19.) Fitzmyer (p. 500), however, rightly regards ...

869. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Luke 9:10-17

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... 5,000, the version that is found in both Luke and John. (Recently, however, Robert M. Fowler [Loaves and Fishes: The Function of the Feeding Stories in the Gospel of Mark, SBLDS 54 (Chico: Scholars, 1981)] has argued that the feeding of the 4,000 was the original story.) At least four reasons argue that Mark’s two feeding stories are actually two accounts of the same episode. First, in view of the first feeding (Mark 6:30–44) the question of the disciples just prior to the second feeding (Mark 8:1–10 ...

870. Peter's Confession of Christ

Luke 9:18-27

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... a direct challenge, in the minds of Romans and Palestinian Jews alike, to Rome’s imperial authority. 9:23 take up his cross: Some commentators think that this saying could have originated only in the early church, after Jesus’ death on the cross. For example, Fitzmyer (p. 786) suspects that the saying was originally, “Take up my yoke” (Matt. 11:29); but after the crucifixion it became, “Take up my cross.” If Jesus had anticipated his death, however, and there is no compelling reason that ...

871. Jesus and Beelzebub

Luke 11:14-28

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... there is no middle ground. Either one is with (i.e., believes in) Jesus, or one is against (i.e., rejects) Jesus; either one helps Jesus gather the things of the kingdom, or one scatters (or hinders) the kingdom. 11:24–26 Although this was originally an independent but related saying, Luke has put it to good service by making it a concluding statement of the Beelzebub controversy. Almost certainly Luke sees the reference to the evil spirit who has been cast out, but later returns, as relating to the ...

872. Warnings and Encouragements

Luke 12:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... trials and persecution for the sake of allegiance to Jesus are worth it when it is realized that the day will come when Jesus will acknowledge before God in heaven the faith of his follower. The saying in v. 10 may very well have been originally independent of the present context. Its location is appropriate, however, for it answers the question that very naturally arises from vv. 8–9. What about those who not only denied Jesus, but actively sought his death, and then later regretted it? Verse 10 declares ...

873. Jesus at a Pharisee's House

Luke 14:1-14

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... argument would be: If you are concerned enough to rescue a dumb animal on the Sabbath, then surely you should have as much concern for a fellow human being (see commentary on 13:10–17 above). However, by referring to a “son” (which is most likely the original reading) the argument is somewhat different and would run as follows: If you are concerned to rescue your own son (or even an ox) on the Sabbath, then surely there is nothing wrong with rescuing the son of someone else. By way of contrast, it is ...

874. The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Luke 16:1-15

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... , property, wealth (so also Marshall, p. 621). 16:10 trusted with very little: This lesson does not fit the context of the Parable of the Shrewd Manager very well, since the manager, as it turned out, could not be trusted with anything. Therefore, this saying probably originated in a separate context (Leaney, p. 223). The Law and the Kingdom Luke 16:14–18 represents a cluster of sayings of Jesus from the sayings source that Luke had in common with Matthew (Luke 16:16=Matt. 11:12–13; Luke 16:17=Matt. 5 ...

875. The Coming of the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20-37

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... opinion concerning the end time. 17:21 The Lucan statement that the kingdom of God is within you (see note on 4:43 above), not paralleled in the other Gospels, is found in the non-canonical work, the Gospel of Thomas (late first or early second century in its original Greek form) saying 3: “Jesus said, ‘If those who lead you say to you, “See, the Kingdom is in the sky,” then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, “It is in the sea,” then the fish will precede you. Rather, the ...

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