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Showing 901 to 925 of 4943 results

901. Galatians 6:7-18

Galatians 6:7-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... his day, apparently used a scribe or amanuensis to write out the body of his letters. He then would write a personal postscript, usually to add specific greetings or messages to distinct individuals. But here Paul's add-ons serve a different purpose. As he takes up the pen, the letters grow larger, probably an indication both of Paul's less practiced handwriting skills and as a means of highlighting - as though writing in all capitals - the content of these final lines. Yet what Paul adds in his own hand is ...

902. Proper 19

Proverbs 1:20-33, James 3:1-12, Mark 8:27-30, Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... fail to put handles on their appeals to accept Christ. What specifically must one do to be a Christian? What are the steps? In this text Jesus gives what it takes to be his follower. Outline: If anyone wants to come to Christ a. "Deny yourself." b. "Take up your cross." c. "Follow me." Old Testament: Proverbs 1:20-33 1. Listen or else! (1:20-33). Need: Our people are in desperate need of wisdom, but we are not paying attention nor obeying the voice of wisdom. This makes us fools. Outline: a. What wisdom ...

903. What Matters In the Light of Eternity: “Church Matters”

Acts 20:13-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... their infancy. Here was His reply. “If you lived to be seventy, you would have more unfinished business than you have at sixty-three. Besides, the rise and fall of these ministries are not dependent upon you. So sweep out your self-pity and check your ego at the door, take up your cross and follow me.” Does God ever talk to you like that? Sometimes we need to remember who is in charge here! IV. The Church Is of God and Shall Be Preserved To the End of Time For God’s Kingdom To Come on Earth As It Is ...

904. Personal Remarks

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... 1 Timothy); hence only one tauta (“these things”) imperative (2:14); hence also the reason for 2:2 (“entrust these things to others”), which is not suggested in 1 Timothy. Rather, the appeal was primarily for Timothy himself to be ready to take up the reins after Paul’s death, in light of (a) the spread of heretical/divisive teaching, (b) Paul’s imprisonment and impending death, and (c) Timothy’s own ministry, despite his timidity. Now Paul returns to the second reason for the letter, first ...

905. The Israelites Confess their Sins

Nehemiah 9:1-37

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... in 8:18. Like chapter 8, this chapter works out at a communal level the ideal that Nehemiah expressed in chapter 1. In his private prayer, he representatively confessed the sins of the community of exiles as a prerequisite for their taking up residence in Jerusalem. This was not enough. Now the whole community prays such a prayer after him, as a necessary preliminary to occupying Jerusalem in chapter 11. Their repossession of Jerusalem would mark a significant step forward in regaining the land, which ...

906. Nineveh to Fall

Nahum 2:1-13

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... merely attack (and might then fail) but someone who will scatter the city’s army. That is underscored by the fact that actually Yahweh is the regular agent of scattering in the OT, and this reference makes sense here. The reference to this scatterer thus takes up the description of Yahweh through chapter 1. The word also suggests Judah’s own need to be wary of this prophecy. “Scattering” is what Deuteronomy warns could happen to the people of Israel itself (Deut. 4:27), and it is what does happen to ...

907. Shining as Stars

Philippians 2:12-18

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... perfect (Matt. 5:13, 45, 48). The people of the wilderness generation, by contrast, were repudiated as “no longer his children” (Deut. 32:5). Jesus compared his followers not only to salt but also to “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14–16). Paul takes up this figure when he encourages the Philippian Christians to shine among their pagan neighbors like stars in the universe. The word he uses means “luminaries” (Gk. phōstēres); it is used in the Greek version of Genesis 1:14–19 of the sun ...

908. The Mountain of the Lord

Isaiah 2:1-5

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... :16–28. Paying heed will mean a peace dividend. They will beat their weapons of war into farming implements. Yahweh’s act of destruction (Ps. 46:9) becomes an act of recycling undertaken by the warriors themselves. The finality of such action is underlined: nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more (v. 4b). Between them, this passage and Joel 3:10 reflect the fact that there is a time for war and a time for peace (Eccl. 3:8), but that the time of fulfillment is a ...

909. Isaiah’s Commission

Isaiah 6:1-13

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Isaiah’s Commission--To Stop People Hearing: The fact that this testimony comes here rather than as chapter 1 further reflects the fact that the book called Isaiah is arranged logically rather than chronologically. Chapter 6 takes up many of the motifs in chapters 1–5. It also opens a section of the book in which narrative is more dominant (6:1–9:7) and that stands at the center of chapters 1–12 as a whole. Yahweh’s holiness and the implications of that holiness are of ...

910. Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... verse) in this line promises the restoration of their ruins. Because it rounds off the line as a whole, this likely refers to both Jerusalem and the other towns. It puts the main emphasis on physical rebuilding, a note that verse 28 will take up again. Such rebuilding and restoration might seem as implausible as other aspects of the vision these five chapters have presented. As later readers, we know that Jerusalem was indeed partially restored over the next century. Our image of Jerusalem is also shaped by ...

911. Salvation for Others

Isaiah 56:1-8

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... , and in their incapacity to beget children they could make no contribution to the future of God’s people. But God welcomes them. So eunuchs, whose name would die out, are promised that in the very house of God their name will never die out. The words take up 55:13. Perhaps their memorial is a literal one (cf. 2 Sam. 18:18), but perhaps the idea is that they will always be in God’s mind there, which more than makes up for their memory’s not being perpetuated in their children. The prophet’s stance ...

912. Jesus as God’s Wisdom Is a Hidden Reality

Matthew 11:20-24, Matthew 11:25-30

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... drawing from it for living. Theological Insights: Jesus as God’s Wisdom As we have seen in this passage, Proverbs 8 (along with some Second Temple Jewish texts) prefigures the connection that Matthew makes between Wisdom and Jesus. Other New Testament writers take up this connection and develop it. John’s Gospel begins by identifying Jesus with the “Word” (logos[1:1, 14]), which in Jewish writings was fairly interchangeable with Wisdom (e.g., Wis. 9:1–2).1John indicates that the Word was present ...

913. Testing in the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... of Scripture, but never the authority of Scripture itself. His repeated references here to Deuteronomy 6–8 develop the important typological theme of Jesus as the new Israel. Israel was tested in the wilderness as God’s “son,” and Jesus now takes up that role. Israel was a disobedient son, but Jesus’s perfect submission to his Father’s will enables him to fulfill Israel’s mission to be a light to the nations. This story therefore focuses on the testing of that filial relationship ...

914. Lessons on Devotion and Prayer

Luke 11:1-13, Luke 10:38-42

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... ’s prayers, and they want to share it. Remarkably, without compromising the uniqueness of that relationship, Jesus now encourages them also to address God as Father and to draw on that relationship in what they pray for. The story of Martha and Mary takes up the theme of the women who followed and provided for Jesus (8:1–3). While it does not refer to prayer to God, Mary’s personal devotion to Jesus perhaps foreshadows what later becomes a central element in Christian prayer and devotion. Historical ...

915. Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Obedience

Num 15:1-41

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... Christians choose to wear crosses. Wearing the tassel was a reminder of the need to obey God’s commandments. Wearing a cross—in principle though not always in practice—serves to remind the wearer that he or she belongs to the Crucified One and is obligated to take up the cross and follow him (Luke 14:27). No Scripture commands anyone to wear such a symbol. However, to the degree that wearing a cross serves as a reminder of the need to follow Christ, it can be useful, just as the tassels served as a ...

916. Spiritual Warfare and Jewish Suffering

Daniel 8:1-14

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... , and broaden their vision to see the community of believers who struggle with them. Scripture assures us that our struggle is spiritual, involving the powerful hosts of heaven, which are ultimately under God’s command. Remembering this fact calls us to take up the cause of resisting evil. Challenge your listeners to refuse compromise as they engage in spiritual warfare. 3. There is a time and purpose for suffering. Although God allows significant times of suffering to come upon his people, assure your ...

917. Resolution: The Temple Building Continued and Finished

Ezra 5:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Ezra 5:1 takes up the account from 4:24. Sixteen years have passed since 4:1, when the neighboring “enemies” were able to halt the work. The people have good excuses for not trying to build the temple; after all, their neighbors stopped them when they tried to build. But according to Haggai (1: ...

918. The Jews and the Law

Romans 2:17-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Beginning in 2:17, Paul takes up the objections of his Jewish dialogue partner, who argues that Israel’s covenant status places Jews in a different position ... on God and the exile on Israel (cf. the larger context in Isa. 50:1–3), so now the Jewish people dishonor God by their disobedience. In 2:25–29 Paul takes up the significance of circumcision, the mark of the covenant that was of central importance for Israel’s self-understanding (Gen. 17:9–14). Paul does not deny the value of circumcision ...

919. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... them. He has elected instead to make his boast in a ministry that disavows any dependence on another except the one who compels him to preach. Thus it is an almost involuntary obedience to God’s call, rather than a voluntary and carefully planned decision to take up a self-supporting career, that stands behind Paul’s attempt to “discharg[e] the trust committed to [him]” (9:17; see also 1 Cor. 4:1–2). And the reward he receives for such service is precisely the ability to make good on the terms of ...

920. Idol Feasts and the Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Paul returns here to the topics he dealt with in 8:1–13. There he touched on two related items, eating meat from idol sacrifices and participating in pagan cultic banquets. At this point, however, Paul reverses the order of his discussion and takes up the Christians’ eating at the table in a pagan idol’s temple in 10:14–22 before returning to the issue of eating idol meat per se in 10:23–11:1. In the present verses Paul elaborates and makes even more explicit application of his warning to the ...

921. My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Psalm 22:1-31

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... claim, “It is not the dead who praise the LORD” (115:17; cf. 6:5; 30:9; 88:10–12). Our exploration of Psalm 22 in its OT contexts has uncovered its singular character and perhaps reasons why it is heard on the very lips of Jesus. By taking up the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46, see also vv. 35, 39, 43), he becomes the lamenter par excellence. No other individual prayer psalm is as dark as this one (aside from Ps. 88, which complains of lifelong suffering and would ...

922. Judgment and Hope

Isaiah 66:1-24

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... two types of people—those who recognize it, and those who do not. People who enthuse about the temple (v. 1a) and offer all the right sacrifices can be no different in God’s eyes from people involved in all sorts of worship abominations. Verse 4b then takes up 65:12b when it says for when I called, no one answered and implies that the reason for this is that they are indeed involved in traditional religion as well as temple worship, and this is probably also the point about verse 3. Verse 5 is the ...

923. True Colors

John 14:15-31, Psalm 66:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... “flip,” they’ve taken up a sign and have begun protesting along with their peers. You probably also know people who do this same flip-flop when it comes to their faith. Put them into a room with die-hard Christians, and they’ll take up daily prayer, worship, and join several committees. But remove them from that atmosphere and put them into a different environment, either in an anti-Christian culture or a secular situation, and voila! They’ve adapted so well, you could never tell they’ve ever ...

924. Caught Up In A Dream

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... quickly the disciples left their fishing nets to follow Jesus? Matthew tells us that Jesus was in Capernaum. John the Baptist was now in prison. It seems more than coincidental that upon hearing of John's incarceration Jesus began his own ministry of preaching ” taking up, as it were, where John left off ” preaching a message of repentance: "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Walking by the sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen ...

925. When You Drop the Ball, What Next?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... before we knew that our nest was round, not flat, we have always known our garden home has huge “ups” and impressive “downs.” I love the story of the 85-year-old woman, inspired by George H. W. Bush’s celebration of birthdays, decided to take up sky diving. After she attended instruction classes, the day came for her first jump. Strapping on a parachute, she stood awaiting her turn to leap out of the plane. But when she looked at the ground below, she lost her nerve. Finally, she reached into her ...

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