Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 876 to 900 of 1138 results

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... woman’s own testimony in the matter and assume her innocence. Probably we are again dealing with “paradigmatic” law, that is, the detailing of specific circumstances with a view to giving judges basic principles and precedents on which to evaluate the great variety of individual cases that might come before them. It was of equal importance that the guilty should be fully punished (and others deterred) and that the innocent should be protected. Intercourse with a girl as yet not pledged to be married ...

877. Renewal of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 29:1-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... grace is added God’s faithfulness through the centuries and generations. On either side of this central covenantal fulcrum two other key truths are balanced, (a) The social inclusiveness of the covenant is spelled out in remarkable detail by listing a whole variety of people in the community, all of whom are included in the covenant relationship, from national leaders to the most menial laborers, women, children, and men, aliens and native born (vv. 10f.; cf. 31:12). No caste system in Israel excludes the ...

878. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... sign-acts and oracles of judgment convey the inevitability of Jerusalem’s destruction. Third, in Ezekiel’s second vision of the Glory (chs. 8–11), Ezekiel watches as God withdraws the divine presence from Jerusalem. Fourth, the prophet makes clear in a variety of parables, sign-acts, and oracles that the present generation and their leaders are responsible for the tragedy that has befallen them and their city (chs. 12–19). Part five (chs. 20–24) is a miscellaneous collection of material describing ...

879. Signs, Sayings, and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 12:1-28, Ezekiel 13:1-23, Ezekiel 14:1-11, Ezekiel 14:12-23

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... ill-built wall. Some years ago, my wife worked for a time in a damp basement office. A spreading mildew stain on the wall witnessed to the unhealthy conditions of this workplace. But rather than addressing these problems seriously, management attempted in a variety of ways to cover up the mildewed wall, finally enclosing it behind wood paneling! Of course, the basement office was just as damp and unhealthy as ever, but a visitor not knowing what lay behind the fresh paneling might be deceived into thinking ...

880. Epilogue to the Law of the Temple: River, Land, City

Ezekiel 47:1-12, Ezekiel 47:13-23, Ezekiel 48:1-29, Ezekiel 48:30-35

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... from exile: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (Hag. 1:4). Only when they have built the temple can God’s presence in the midst of the community bring blessing. Further, a variety of texts identify Zion, the mountain of the temple, as a source of rivers. Psalm 46 contrasts the violence and chaos of the nations, depicted as a raging, violent flood (Ps. 46:2–3) with the quiet, calm, life-giving waters flowing from Zion: “There is ...

881. Parables Discourse: Importance of Response to the Kingdom Message

Matthew 13:1-23

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... nature (chaps. 5–7) and its mission (chap. 10). The Parables Discourse elaborates on the nature of God’s kingdom and reveals it as an “already and not yet” reality. In the chapter’s first parable (parable of the soils) and its explanation a variety of responses to the message of the kingdom are delineated. Rejection of the kingdom message is explained by a similar rejection in Isaiah’s time (13:14–15; see Isa. 6:9–10). Acceptance of the kingdom message is expressed in terms of hearing ...

882. The Disciples Confess Jesus as the Messiah

Matthew 16:1-4, Matthew 16:5-12, Matthew 16:13-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ministry to Israel, showing Jesus teaching and doing miracles with authority all the while including seekers, sinners, and even Gentiles in his kingdom ministry. As Matthew clarifies Jesus’ identity as the healing and compassionate Messiah, he also illustrates a variety of responses to Jesus and the hiddenness of the kingdom that Jesus inaugurates: the unbelief of the Jewish leaders and Jesus’ hometown, the little faith and frequent misunderstanding of the twelve disciples, and the faith of various ones ...

883. Jesus Inaugurates the Disciple Band and Conquers the Unclean Spirits

Mark 1:14-20, Mark 1:21-28

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... He will indeed take care of our needs, but we must “give up everything” to follow him (10:28–31). 3. The kingdom teaching of Jesus provides the only basis for discovering final truth. Many great insights for life are to be found in a variety of sources, but only in Jesus can one discover what bears on eternal reality. Old Testament truth pointed to Jesus (Christ “fulfilling” [Matt. 5:17–18] or “culminating” [Rom. 10:4] the law), and New Testament truth stems from Christ. No wonder the crowds ...

884. Praying in Faith

Mark 11:20-25 (26)

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... of prayer. Through testimony, tell the stories of people who have seen God do powerful things in their lives through prayer. These stories can be told through video or in person, or you can read or retell them. If possible, share a variety of stories that focus on physical healing, relational healing, provision, direction, and so on, so that people are encouraged to ask God for help in different areas of their lives and the lives of others. Praying without doubting Television: Downton Abbey. This television ...

885. The Birth of John

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... way. The quiet dramatization is compelling; the listener really hears and sees what is happening. Music: It would be good to let the audience hear a rendition of the “Benedictus,” a term that may be unfamiliar to the average churchgoer. A variety of styles are available online, ranging from a Vineyard song to Gregorian chant. God remains faithful to his covenant and raises up messengers to point to spiritual redemption, the path through the darkness into light. Quote: Michael Milton. Milton, a professor ...

886. The Birth of Jesus

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... need to talk about it, some give gifts, and still others feel led to do something celebratory or explicitly worshipful. All of these responses, though, have the potential to bring glory to God and to make us focus on his mighty acts. Personal Testimony: Ask a variety of individuals to tell, in ten words or less, the first reaction they had when they comprehended the good news of the gospel. Some will say they cried, some will say they danced, some will say they called a friend, and so on. Compile these mini ...

887. Two Memorable Healings

Luke 5:17-26, Luke 5:12-16

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... , until the issue comes to its final resolution in Jerusalem. The controversy motif, with the Pharisees as chief opponents, will continue in our next two sections, up to 6:11. Historical and Cultural Background The term “leprosy” was used for a variety of skin complaints, not necessarily leprosy proper as we know it today (Hansen’s disease). Those affected were regarded as unclean and were forced to live outside normal society for fear of contagion (see Lev. 13:45–46). “Leprosy” was regarded ...

888. The Good Life

Luke 6:17-26

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... out the truth of what appears on the surface as unrewarding discipleship. Biography: Erle Frederick Rounds. The highest goal of Rounds (1901–43) was to take the love of Christ to unreached areas of the world. Multitalented and able to fill a variety of roles, Rounds and his family ended up in the Philippines. What interrupted their successful work, including his forays into rugged mountains of the Philippines, was the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, after which the Japanese invaded Manila and surrounding ...

889. Rejecting or Responding to Jesus

Luke 10:1-24

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... his most common Jewish name, “Satan” (the “enemy” or “accuser”), familiar from Job 1–2, where Satan acts as a disaffected and destructive influence among the “sons of God.” In postbiblical Jewish thought Satan (under a variety of names) and his associates (the “fallen angels” or “watchers”) were regarded as the source of evil on earth. Interpretive Insights 10:13 Chorazin! . . . Bethsaida! These towns are close to Capernaum. Chorazin had a predominantly Jewish population ...

890. Affluence and the Afterlife

Luke 16:19-31

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... which no one looked forward except as an escape from earthly suffering. But Daniel 12:2–3 shows a developing idea of differing fates after death, and by the first century the ideas of heaven and hell were widely accepted, though pictured in quite a variety of ways. In Jesus’s teaching “hell” (geenna, “Gehenna” [see on 12:5]) is a place of destruction and/or punishment, but in this parable Hades seems, unusually in the New Testament, to have the same connotation. As in 13:28–29, heaven is again ...

891. Jesus Takes the Initiative

Luke 21:5-38, Luke 21:1-4, Luke 20:41-47

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... Insights Two theological themes stand out from these rather disparate scenes. 1. The status of Jesus as the Messiah. Luke has made this a central theme of his Gospel from the infancy narratives on. The messianic role has come to expression in a variety of ways in Jesus’s own words and actions and has been recognized by his disciples. His recent arrival in Jerusalem has been in an unmistakably messianic style, and a royal, Davidic status has been a prominent element in that. Jesus’s questioning ...

892. The Death of Jesus

Luke 23:44-49, Luke 23:26-43

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... in his Father’s hands. Understanding the Text The crowd demanded Jesus’s crucifixion in 23:21, 23, and that now takes place, cruelly embodying Jesus’s earlier warning that to follow him would mean to “take up the cross” (9:23; 14:27). A variety of reactions on the way to “the Skull” and at the cross reflect the different ways people have responded to Jesus and his claims within the Gospel. But as the scene progresses, a sequence of positive notes offsets the official rejection of Jesus (the ...

893. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... former (9:6–29) emphasizes God’s sovereignty, while the latter (9:30–10:21) emphasizes human responsibility. Historical and Cultural Background In Romans 9:6–29 Paul draws on the concept of the remnant, which runs throughout Scripture in a wide variety of texts and contexts. The central idea of the remnant concept/theology is that in the midst of seemingly total apostasy and the consequental terrible judgment and/or destruction, God has always had a small, faithful group that he delivered and worked ...

894. Exile for National Israel, Restoration for Spiritual Israel

Romans 11:1-10

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... is partial. And one day national Israel will embrace its Messiah (see 11:11–15, 25–27). Teaching the Text This is a good opportunity for a lesson on the “remnant,” since Paul uses that word in 11:1–10. Although appearing in a wide variety of texts and contexts, the central idea of the remnant concept or theology is that in the midst of seemingly total apostasy and the consequential terrible judgment and/or destruction, God has always had a small, faithful group that he delivered and worked through ...

895. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... to be supported by their own people in the near future? (6) Are national leaders supported on a level consistent with the local economy or on the economic level of members of the supporting church?12 True Story: People have always tried to find a variety of ways in which to fulfill Jesus’ command that we love our neighbors. One couple, Saji and Priya Mathi, dug toilets for HIV-infected patients, individuals who are seen as beyond hope in the city of Hyderabad, India, where the couple works. “We consider ...

896. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... them with the singular noun “assembly” (ekkl?sia). The modern equation of ekkl?sia with “church” (bringing buildings, liturgy, programs, and so on, to mind) was unknown to the early readers. Ekkl?sia was a general term used for a variety of assemblies, political and otherwise. Moreover, many such assemblies belonged to wealthy patrons who could expect loyalty from their assembly’s members, who in turn enjoyed the rights, prominence, and influence that came from being associated with that patron ...

897. Being Wronged versus Claiming One’s Right

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... . Film: Pick one, two, or three current movies, the genre and plot of which will be familiar to a majority of your listeners. (You could do this illustration with only one example, but the point gets stronger if you have time to cover a small variety.) Pick ones that are vastly different in genre and style, like an action/adventure or war movie, a romance or moody drama, and perhaps a comedy or children’s adventure. If you have projection capabilities, consider creating slides with the logo or poster from ...

898. Marriage, Sexual Intimacy, and Spiritual Devotion

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... modern readers, Paul’s advice to widows or widowers seems rather innocuous—especially, maybe, as the words “widow” and “widower” often suggest an older person. In the first-century Roman world, however, it was not uncommon to find teenage widows, as a variety of complications claimed young victims (cf. 1 Tim. 5:11–14). Cohick’s study on the Samaritan woman in John 4 sheds helpful light on the situation. [The Samaritan woman’s] history of several husbands fits the pattern we find of women ...

899. Consider Others Higher Than Yourself

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... is to measure it against the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Does it focus on the rights and privileges of “me,” or does it emphasize a true concern for the growth and spiritual strengthening of others? Common knowledge derives from a variety of sources; the knowledge Christ inspires flows from the awareness of his suffering and sacrifice on behalf of others. 3. Paul directs his pastoral concern in this chapter toward mature and immature Christians alike. He seems to mostly address the strong, but ...

900. Personal Rights and Christian Testimony

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... stands out in this chapter, it is the issue of personal rights of individual Christians. Paul’s theological discussion of meat may seem rather irrelevant to most modern Christians; his point, however, remains as relevant as ever. A large variety of issues facing contemporary Christians raise the same theological question that faced the Corinthians. If, for example, participation in a certain setting arguably is harmless to a person’s Christian confession of Jesus as Lord, does this automatically justify ...

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