Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 1001 to 1025 of 4942 results

1001. Love and Obey the Lord

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

The Crucial Choice: Blessing or Curse: This is the last chapter of the great introduction to the law that began in chapter 4. It continues to expound the summarizing text of 10:12f., but interweaves examples and illustrations around the repeated exhortations to obedience. The constant thrust is on the importance of choice—the benefits of the right choice and the disasters that will result from the wrong choice. Ultimately, obedience or disobedience is the only choice, blessing or curse is the only prospect ...

1002. Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Kings 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Solomon and Wisdom: Wisdom (Hb. ḥoḵmâ) has already played an important role in the narrative, guiding Solomon in his treatment of those who were a threat to him (1 Kgs. 2:6, 9). It will play an even more central role now in 1 Kings 3. Solomon has a dream wherein he confesses a lack of discernment before God and is promised (among other things) a “wise and discerning heart” (3:4–15). He then hands down a legal judgment in which his use of this new gift is of crucial importance (3:16–28). The major question ...

1003. Elijah Fed by Ravens

1 Kings 17:1-6

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Elijah and the Drought: We have lacked a prophet to address the house of Omri, but now a prophet bursts onto the scene with a vengeance. His announcement of doom on this house will, however, be delayed until 1 Kings 21:21–24. His first task is to tackle the problem of the Baal-worship that Ahab has introduced into Israel (16:31–32), so as to demonstrate beyond all doubt that Baal is no more a god in any real sense than Jeroboam’s calves are. Chapter 17 provides the context in which the climactic ...

1004. Elijah Flees to Horeb

1 Kings 19:1-8

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Elijah and the LORD: Elijah has been involved in a mighty battle. He seems to think it decisive and so he has left the battlefield for Jezreel. Yet there have been several hints in the narrative thus far that it is the queen, and not the king, who is the real general of the opposing forces. She will not be so easily cowed as her husband, and Elijah is now to see that to win a battle is not necessarily to win the war. That realization will send him into retreat, both physical and mental, as victory becomes ...

1005. Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

1 Kings 22:1-28

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Ahab Dispatched: The house of Ahab stands under the prophetic curse. The full outworking of God’s wrath is to be delayed until the reign of Ahab’s son, because of the king’s response to Elijah (21:27–29). Ahab’s own death, however, has now been foretold by two different prophets, with no delay in prospect (20:41–42; 21:19), and we thus anticipate an early fulfillment of their prophecy. The appearance now of a third prophet brings us to that fulfillment, as Ahab marches out to meet the Arameans at Ramoth ...

1006. Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

2 Kings 18:17-37

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The Assyrian Assault on Judah: The second David has arrived. He has reformed Judean worship according to Mosaic law, casting off foreign influence and domination. We wait to see what will happen when the king of Assyria tries to take the kind of vengeance on Judah that he has just inflicted upon Israel. 18:13–16 The beginning of the Assyrian assault is reported in verses 13–16, as a new king (Sennacherib) attacks all the fortified cities and captures them. This is not a very promising beginning. It seems ...

1007. Distress and Help

Isaiah 33:1-24

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Oh You Destroyer Who Has Not Been Destroyed: We noted in the Introduction that the major copy of Isaiah from Cave 1 at Qumran leaves a space after chapter 33, and this chapter indeed closes off the first half of the book. It does this quantitatively, because we are fairly precisely half way through the book. It also does it thematically and verbally. At one level chapter 33 is jerky and puzzling. The addressees keep changing, we are not clear who is being talked about, and no train of argument develops ...

1008. Comfort for God's People

Isaiah 40:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

The Gifts of Comfort and Energy: So Isaiah 39, set in Isaiah’s own day, envisages the future deportation of Judeans to Babylon. Isaiah 40–55, however, is set in the time after this deportation has happened. It does not say “In days to come God will send a message of comfort to people who have been punished,” in the manner of a passage such as 30:19–26. It says, rather, “God is now comforting you who have been punished.” The traditional view is that these chapters were written by Isaiah ben Amoz, and we may ...

1009. The Glory of Zion

Isaiah 60:1-22

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Promises of Glory: In the two great central sections of chapters 56–66 (59:21–60:22 and 61:1–62:12), Yahweh addresses both the prophet and the city. In the first section, the address to the prophet comes in 59:21, while the address to the city occupies the whole of chapter 60. Admittedly Zion/Jerusalem is not named until 60:14, but the verb arise (60:1) repeats the exhortation to Jerusalem in 51:17 (NIV “rise up”) and the verbs are feminine singular, which makes it clear enough that the prophet speaks to ...

1010. Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia

Ezekiel 25:1-7, Ezekiel 25:8-11, Ezekiel 25:12-14, Ezekiel 25:15-17

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

Oracles against the Nations: Oracles against foreign nations were an important part of the prophetic repertoire. Collections of such oracles appear in many prophetic books (apart from Ezek. 25–32, see Isa. 13–23; Jer. 46–51; Amos 1–2). However, it is doubtful that the prophets meant for foreigners to read these words, or that any foreign king ever saw them. For though the prophets directed these oracles against other nations, their intended audience was the people of Israel—just as, in our own day, ...

1011. Jesus Begins His Ministry to Israel

Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew 4:18-22

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus announces the arrival of God’s kingdom by preaching and healing and calls disciples to follow in his mission. Understanding the Text This passage begins a new section of Matthew’s story of Jesus in which Jesus begins to minister to the people of Israel in the area of Galilee (as signaled by the narrative formula at 4:17; 16:21). The inaugural message of Jesus—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (4:17)—is identical to John’s earlier preaching (3:2). Jesus’ preaching of the ...

1012. Sermon on the Mount: Jesus Teaches on the Torah

Matthew 5:17-48

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus explains his role as fulfiller and consummate teacher of the Torah (Old Testament law) and expects his disciples to live in covenantal obedience to his expression of the Torah, culminating in the call to love even one’s enemies. Understanding the Text This passage begins the body of the Sermon on the Mount and introduces Matthew’s extensive emphasis on the law. In the title sentence (5:17) Jesus claims to fulfill rather than abolish the Law and the Prophets and then calls his kingdom ...

1013. Jesus Demonstrates Status Inversion in the Kingdom

Matthew 19:1-12, Matthew 19:13-15, Matthew 19:16-30

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew illustrates the inversion of status in God’s kingdom by narrating Jesus’ protection of women in his teaching on divorce, his valuing of children, and his stringent call to a rich man who would follow him. Understanding the Text Following Jesus’ fourth major teaching block (chap. 18), Matthew provides his usual formula to transition to a narrative section (19:1; also 7:28–29; 11:1; 13:53; 26:1). Themes accentuated in the previous discourse are illustrated narratively in 19:1–26. The ...

1014. Jesus Demonstrates Messianic Authority over the Temple

Matthew 21:12-17, Matthew 21:18-22

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Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ authority as Messiah over the temple and his critique of its leadership as well as the importance of unwavering faith in following Jesus. Understanding the Text In Matthew the account of Jesus in the temple immediately follows his entry into Jerusalem. Both stories highlight Jesus’ identity and authority as Israel’s Messiah, with the acclamation of Jesus as the “Son of David” by the crowds and by children (21:9, 15). In 21:12–17 Jesus acts with messianic authority by ...

1015. Jesus Is God’s Faithful Son in Gethsemane and at His Arrest and Trial

Matthew 26:31-35, Matthew 26:36-46, Matthew 26:47-56, Matthew 26:57-68, Matthew 26:69-75

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Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Although Jesus predicts and witnesses the disciples’ desertion and prays for God to change his fate, he as the Messiah, the Son of God, proves himself faithful to God’s will even to the point of suffering and death. Understanding the Text Matthew’s passion story continues with Jesus’ prediction of the disciples’ desertion and Peter’s denial (26:31–35), Jesus’ time of prayer in Gethsemane and arrest there (26:36–56), and Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin (26:57–68) followed by Peter’s denial (26: ...

1016. Caring for the Needy and Commissioning Apostles

Mark 3:7-12, Mark 3:13-19

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Jesus again leaves the urban setting for a ministry at the Sea of Galilee, healing the sick and demonstrating authority over all powers. At the same time, we see the second stage of discipleship as Jesus elects and empowers twelve disciples/apostles, making them the restored new Israel. Understanding the Text This passage (3:7–12) begins a new section of ministry by the lake (3:7–6:6). At the same time, it starts another cycle in Mark (defined by Jesus’s ministry to the disciples, the crowds, and ...

1017. Jesus Turns to His New Family

Mark 3:31-35, Mark 3:20-30

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Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Opposition to Jesus takes a new turn as his family thinks that he is insane and the religious leaders accuse him of being demon possessed. Jesus’s response is twofold: he cannot be under the control of Satan because he has already bound Satan, and his true family consists of those who have joined him in the household of God. Understanding the Text Jesus’s ministry to sinners and his call to several outcasts to be among the Twelve will now get him in trouble with the authorities. This is the first ...

1018. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Jesus shows himself to be Lord of the storms, completely sovereign over the powers of nature and of the cosmic world of darkness. In contrast, the disciples are unable to think of anything but their own vulnerability. Understanding the Text Mark moves from a collection of Jesus’s parables to a collection of Jesus’s miracles. The emphasis is on his authority, and the order moves through every type of miracle that Jesus did, demonstrating first his power over nature (4:35–41), then his power over ...

1019. Mission and Rejection in Galilee

Mark 6:14-29, Mark 6:7-13

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Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: All followers of Jesus are called to mission. Yet when the kingdom news of the gospel is presented, there is both authority from God and inevitable opposition to it when people reject the good news, sometimes even costing the lives of those sent to speak for God. Understanding the Text This begins the fourth section of the Galilean ministry in Mark (after 1:16–3:6; 3:7–35; 4:1–6:30) and constitutes the third sandwiching episode thus far (after 3:20–35; 5:21–43). The sending of the Twelve (6:7–13 ...

1020. Jesus Interprets the Passover Seder of Himself

Mark 14:12-26

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Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The theological motif that unites the Last Supper narrative is Jesus’s sovereign awareness of and control over all that transpires. In its preparation and execution, Jesus redefines the paschal meal as fulfilled in his own sacrificial death. Understanding the Text The woman’s act of worship in anointing Jesus for burial leads to the Last Supper scene, which explains the significance of his coming death. The lengthy preparation (vv. 12–14) shows that Jesus deliberately planned this event so that ...

1021. The Passover as Eucharist: Jesus’s Body and Blood Given for Us

Mark 14:27-31

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Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: There are two primary aspects to this story: (1) Jesus has given himself as the Passover sacrifice, producing a new exodus and a new covenant; (2) the disciples will fail, but Jesus will meet them after his resurrection and give them the strength to overcome. Understanding the Text This is the core of the eucharistic scene, the reason why Jesus celebrated the Last Supper—to show his disciples that his coming death was to be a vicarious sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Structure There is an A-B ...

1022. “Who Is This?”

Luke 9:10-17, Luke 9:1-9

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R.T. France

Big Idea: Jesus shares his mission with his disciples, but his unique authority is further recognized and is demonstrated in another astonishing nature miracle. Understanding the Text The Twelve disciples chosen by Jesus in 6:13–16 have hitherto been merely his companions and audience; now they become his agents as he extends the scope of his mission. In 10:1–12 that delegation of his mission will be further expanded. The reader is thus prepared for the eventual continuation of the movement after Jesus’s ...

1023. Table Talk

Luke 14:1-14

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The kingdom of God reverses our conventional ideas of who really matters. Understanding the Text This is the third time Luke has depicted Jesus as an invited guest at a Pharisee’s table (see also 7:36–50; 11:37–54), and on each occasion Jesus makes things uncomfortable, challenging the social conventions and the moral values of his hosts and fellow guests. In this case, the meal setting continues into 14:15–24, in which Jesus will use the motif of a special meal as the basis for a parable about ...

1024. Two Parables about Prayer

Luke 18:9-14, Luke 18:1-8

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: We should pray with confidence that God will respond, but our confidence should be in God’s mercy, not in our own merits. Understanding the Text Parables have been a prominent feature in Luke’s narrative of the journey to Jerusalem, especially in chapters 14–16. The two parables in the present section, together with one further one in 19:11–27, will round out the collection before Jesus reaches Jerusalem. The first of these two parables is linked to the preceding section in that it finishes with ...

1025. The Spirit and the Glory of the Age to Come and the New Covenant

Romans 8:28-39, Romans 8:18-27

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul showcases another blessing from the Spirit of the new covenant: glory. More particularly, the Spirit is a sign of the glory of the age to come and the new covenant. And yet, that glory occurs in the midst of this age and suffering. Understanding the Text 1. Suffering/glory (8:18) 2. Three groanings (8:19–27) a. Creation groans (hope for the revelation of the children of God) (8:19–22) b. Believers groan (firstfruits of the Spirit / by hope we were saved) (8:23–25) c. The Spirit groans (the ...

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