Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1026 to 1050 of 1249 results

1026. The Birth of Jesus

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... has put enmity and wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice—we are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God based on self-righteousness or cheap grace. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God’s own family and eat at table with him in unbroken fellowship forever!

1027. Sabbath in Capernaum

Luke 4:38-44, Luke 4:31-37

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R.T. France

... Sabbath he taught the people. On the nature of synagogue worship on the Sabbath, see “Understanding the Text” on 4:14–30. The invitation to teach after the readings from the Scriptures would indicate that Jesus must already have gained some reputation in his adopted home. 4:33 a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out. As usual in an exorcism account, the words are attributed not to the “host” whose voice is used but rather to the possessing demon, and Jesus’s response will be specifically to ...

1028. “Love Your Enemies”

Luke 6:27-38

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R.T. France

... . Underlying specific ethical instructions is the fundamental principle expressed in 6:35–36: disciples should reflect the character of the God they serve. Discipleship is a process of growing into the family likeness. However, this is to be achieved not merely by adopting a new set of behavioral rules but also by absorbing God’s own values and attitudes. This means, above all, an outgoing, uncalculating love that puts the needs and interests of others before our own. A community that lives by such ...

1029. True and False Discipleship

Luke 6:46-49, Luke 6:43-45, Luke 6:37-42

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R.T. France

... they have heard. The following chapters will contain several shorter sections of Jesus’s teaching as well as many examples of his dealings with other people, and so a fuller picture will be built up of what it means to be a disciple and to adopt the radical values of the kingdom of God. An increasingly sharp distinction will thus be drawn between God’s true people and others, between the saved and the lost. The parable of the two houses that concludes this sermon gives a memorably stark portrayal of ...

1030. A Sick Woman and a Dead Girl

Luke 8:40-56

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R.T. France

... (one young, one older) with contrasting conditions, the danger of ritual defilement, Jesus’s unique power, and the pivotal role of faith. All three Synoptic writers combine these two stories in the same way, perhaps simply because Matthew and Luke have adopted Mark’s outline, but perhaps also because those who were present remembered the striking interruption of the journey to Jairus’s house, so that the girl died before Jesus could get there. Historical and Cultural Background Two of the standard ...

1031. “Love Your Neighbor”

Luke 10:25-37

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R.T. France

... utter this innovative and far-reaching summary of the law. 10:28 Do this and you will live. Is eternal life therefore to be “earned” by how we behave? But to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind is much more than adopting a code of behavior; it is a spiritual relationship that affects all aspects of our life. 10:29 who is my neighbor? The questioner, however, focuses only on the second, more directly ethical, principle. As a lawyer, he wants his obligations spelled out with the ...

1032. Lessons on Devotion and Prayer

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

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R.T. France

... would thus have had a familiar ring, though the Qaddish had no parallel to the petitionary second half of the prayer. There are, however, further parallels between the Lord’s Prayer and the Eighteen Benedictions of the synagogue liturgy.1 Jewish thought had adopted from the Old Testament the idea that God is the Father of his people, but to approach him in prayer simply as “Father” (Aramaic “Abba,” a familiar but respectful form of address) is less clearly evidenced in surviving Jewish records and ...

1033. Jesus Takes the Initiative

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

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R.T. France

... fulfillment of God’s purpose, when the Son of Man will reign supreme. Teaching the Text As noted above, Jesus’s eschatological discourse in chapter 21 raises some of the most difficult interpretive questions in the Gospels and the teacher must decide whether to adopt the line of exegesis outlined above or to follow the more traditional reading that understands 21:25–28 to refer to the parousia (and then must see “this generation” of 21:32 either as referring to an earlier part of the discourse [21 ...

1034. “When Will These Things Happen?”

Luke 21:5-38

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R.T. France

1035. On the Mount of Olives

Luke 22:47-53, Luke 22:39-46, Luke 22:7-38

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R.T. France

... and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” The proconsul then threatened to throw Polycarp to the beasts, to which he replied, “Call them then, for we are not accustomed to repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil; and it is well for me to be changed from what is evil to what is righteous.” Finally, seeing that Polycarp was unfazed by these threats, the proconsul told him he would be burned at the stake. Polycarp replied, “You threaten me with ...

1036. The Story of Israel Now and Later

Romans 2:1-16

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C. Marvin Pate

... 11; 2:17–24; 3:1–8. 2. “Conscience” (syneid?sis [2:15]) was a Greek concept, especially the Stoic idea that the conscience is the moral mechanism within humans that convicts them of bad actions (e.g., Seneca, Anger 3.36.1; Mor. Ep. 28.10). Hellenistic Judaism adopted this nuance in its usage of the term (e.g., Wis. 17:11; Philo, Spec. Laws 2.49; Virtues 134; Josephus, Ant. 16.103). Paul refers to this negative aspect of conscience here in Romans 2:15 and also in 1 Corinthians 8:7, 10, 12; 1 Timothy ...

1037. 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

... the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:4). Israel had the pledge of a future resurrection (Ezek. 37), and yet Paul speaks of the resurrection of believers (Rom. 8:10–11). Israel was God’s son (Exod. 4:22), but now believers in Christ are sons and daughters of God and adopted as his own (Rom. 8:14–17). The future inheritance was promised to Israel (Isa. 60), but now it is pledged to the church (Rom. 8:17). Israel was God’s chosen people and the only one foreknown among the nations (Amos 3:2), and yet now the church ...

1038. The Reversal of the Deuteronomic Curses and Blessings: Replacing Law with Faith

Romans 9:30--10:21

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C. Marvin Pate

... from conscious faith in Yeshua [Jesus], all people, including my father, would be lost for eternity.”8 Rydelnik knew that if admission to heaven could be earned by suffering, his father should be there. He had lost his first wife, five sons, and an adopted daughter to the ovens at Auschwitz. He had also suffered terribly in several concentration camps. He later would lose a second wife in childbirth, and a two-year-old daughter by his third marriage drowned in Berlin. Rydelnik’s father and his third ...

1039. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

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C. Marvin Pate

... Christians to launch his mission to Spain would bring about the conversion of the full number of the Gentiles, the restoration of Israel, and the parousia. The actual impact of Paul’s letter to Rome no doubt contributed to Emperor Constantine’s decision to adopt Christianity.3 2. Paul’s language in 16:25–27 about the mystery of old being revealed to him in the prophetic writings is very similar to the pesher method of interpretation used in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The pesharim (e.g., Pesher Isaiah ...

1040. Separation of Faith and Life

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

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Preben Vang

... follow the law. Moreover, Roosevelt is asserting that laws are intrinsically authoritative and binding, in that they reflect self-evident values to which we are accountable whether we choose to accept it or not. If this is true of a nation’s laws that are adopted by representatives of the people, how much more when we think of the way God’s divinely given laws govern the affairs of his church? If the representatives who govern a nation cannot be above the laws they write, how can leaders in Christ’s ...

1041. Being Wronged versus Claiming One’s Right

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

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Preben Vang

... the “loser.”13 6:6 one brother takes another to court. As the argument builds, Paul erupts in disbelief. Paul’s choice of “brother” is hardly coincidental. No Roman would ever call someone outside the bloodline “brother”—except in cases of formal adoption.14 And it was unheard of to sue a member of one’s own familias. In fact, it was the responsibility of the paterfamilias to decide between brothers when disagreements and disputes arose. Paul’s use of “brother,” then, adds further ...

1042. Worship and Humility

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

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Preben Vang

... the same thing people feel when watching celebrity reality shows. It is neither a favoritism toward the powerful and renowned nor a delight in their being humbled. In light of God’s grace we all have the same status: forgiven and accepted sons and daughters, adopted by means of the undeserved shedding of Jesus’s blood on our behalf. As we look around at one another, we ought to see what Christ sees: the absolute dereliction we all experience under the law and the absolute acceptance we all experience in ...

1043. Many Parts, One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

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Preben Vang

... for. In this second half, you should be hearing nuanced but very similar answers. Ask your listeners if they know of any other place in the world where two people who are so different would love one another and agree on the essentials. Only those adopted into the Triune God’s family can boast such radical unity in diversity! Spiritual gifts make sense and have purpose only in community. Popular Sayings: Remind listeners of the old question “If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear ...

1044. Resurrection and Christian Living

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

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Preben Vang

... . As drunkards come back to their senses after a binge, those who reject resurrection should sober up and realize how foolish their talk is and how destructive it has proven to be for their testimony as Christ followers. Those who are “ignorant of God” have adopted a lifestyle of sin that should be stopped (6:12–14; cf. Rom. 1:18–32; 1 Thess. 4:5; 2 Pet. 3:3–4). Paul’s argument connects directly to Jesus’s conversation with the Sadducees when Jesus concluded that their rejection of the ...

1045. Resurrection and Transformation (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... a long way off. That part takes a lifetime to figure out and unpack. In the same way, the moment a person receives the gospel by faith, he or she is declared perfectly righteous in Christ Jesus, eternally accepted as his son or daughter by adoption through faith in Christ, and given the gift of resurrection. On the other hand, living into this takes a lifetime, and an eternity after that. The individual believer begins to experience the Holy Spirit as a pledge and down payment on the fullness of eternal ...

1046. The Woman, the Son, and the Dragon

Revelation 12:1--13:1a

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... he is leaving us alone. We are living in a battle zone. God protects his people against Satan. Applying the Text: Over the next week, make God’s promise of protection a part of your prayer life. Psalm 91 provides an incredible prayer we can adopt for ourselves and our loved ones. As you move through the text, substitute “me” and “my” in the appropriate places, claiming the promises of protection. As the week proceeds, you can also use the language of this prayer to intercede for loved ones, for ...

1047. The Harvest of the Earth

Revelation 14:14-20

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... imaginations the reality that judgment is coming. God will make things right. And those who have suffered will be comforted as God himself wipes away their tears and assures them of no more death or crying or pain (21:4). 2. Believers should adopt the appropriate attitude toward the coming judgment. The first point of application needs to be followed closely with a caution. Judgment is a somber reality and not something to be taken lightly or wielded as a weapon in theological arguments. Our attitude about ...

1048. The Sin Offering

Leviticus 4:1--5:13

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... become the righteousness of God.” Here the NIV margin’s reading probably is correct, identifying Christ as the sin offering that provides the purification from sin that put us in right standing before God. Even if the other rendering, “to be sin,” is adopted, the concept of the sin offering underlies the language. Blood atonement is at the heart of Paul’s gospel. In the Old Testament animals died for the sins and offenses of people so that those people could be forgiven. According to 1 Corinthians ...

1049. Living by God’s Sexual Standards

Leviticus 18:1-30

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... NRSV). The latter interpretation fits the cultural milieu in which the grandfather as paterfamilias has final say over whom granddaughters may marry. 18:11 born to your father. This should rather be rendered “kindred to your father” (via marriage) or paraphrased “adopted by your father” (HCSB) or something similar in order to keep this verse distinct from verse 9, which already covers half sisters. 18:19–23 These verses (except for v. 21 [see below]) deal with other types of sexual relations ...

1050. Holiness of Priests

Lev 21:1–23:2

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... often. Semmelweis followed up his theory by insisting that medical students and doctors wash their hands in a solution of chlorinated lime before delivering babies. Many of them considered this an unnecessary burden and resisted. But after the practice was adopted, the mortality rate among mothers giving birth dropped 90 percent. Those who lead God’s people must be like good doctors. Doctors are to cleanse themselves of all bacteria and infection. Church leaders similarly are to be holy and uncontaminated ...

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