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 1101 to 1125 of 2273 results
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
1:1–12:6 Review · Prophecies against Judah: The first twelve chapters of Isaiah may be compared to a painting with three panels (a triptych). Isaiah’s call to be a prophet (chap. 6) is at the center, while the other two parts of the triptych concern judgment and hope. The first section (chaps. 1–5) is in the form of a covenantal lawsuit, and the third section (chaps. 7–12) presents God’s word of judgment and hope in the historical situation of the growing Assyrian Empire. A holistic approach to these ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
4:17–16:20 Review · Jesus’s Announcement of the Kingdom to Israel and Resulting Responses: The second major section of Matthew focuses on Jesus’s announcement and enactment of the reign of God and the responses it generates in Israel. The people have been prepared for Jesus’s kingdom inauguration by John’s call to repentance and announcement of the kingdom’s impending arrival (identical to that of Jesus; cf. 3:2 and 4:17). In addition, Jesus’s return to and relocation within Galilee sets up his Galilean ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The empire unveiled as an agent of Satan:The scene opens with a great sign: a woman pregnant with a son (12:2). This child will become the messianic savior of humankind (12:5; cf. Ps. 2:9). The reader familiar with the nativity story may be tempted to identify this woman as Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26–35). But a closer reading shows that the woman is a heavenly personification of all God’s people throughout the history of Israel and the church. Clothed with the sun, moon, and twelve stars, the ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
Paul now launches into the body of the epistle with an indictment against humanity. He will maintain the charge until 3:21, at which point he will return to righteousness by faith which he introduced in 1:16–17. Romans 1:18–3:20 is a sobering exposé of the dark side of human nature. Throughout the attack Paul labors to demonstrate that there is no distinction between Gentile and Jew in the matter of sin and guilt, a point reasserted in 3:10–12, 3:23, and 11:32. Gentile and Jew are equally guilty before God ...
Understanding Series
W. H. Bellinger, Jr.
Daily Worship: Chapter 24 continues with matters associated with worship, but the focus shifts from the special feasts to the regular or daily worship carried on at the tabernacle. The concern here is with two matters related to the sanctuary: lights and bread. 24:1–4 God commands Moses to instruct the people. These verses then specify the oil to be used in the lamps in the sanctuary and the care to be taken with them. Apparently some kind of lighting in sanctuaries was a quite ancient practice. While ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Victory and Defeat: 30:1–5 Although a small group could have traveled more quickly, it took David’s army of about six hundred men three days to travel the fifty or so miles back to Ziklag. They almost certainly would have been away for at least a week, leaving plenty of time for the Amalekites to take advantage of their absence. David’s previous activities against groups including the Amalekites (27:8) must have been noted, but his policy of destruction meant that there was no evidence against him. This ...
Understanding Series
Iain W. Provan
Opposition and Death: A divided heart will lead to a divided kingdom: that was effectively God’s promise to Solomon in 11:9–13. This last section on the great king pursues this theme of division. It tells us of still further seeds of destruction that were planted in the earlier part of his reign and have now grown into plants whose shadow looms darkly over the kingdom. It tells of opposition on the edges of the empire, and it introduces for the first time the man who will be the focal point of that same ...
1108. Solomon's Death
1 Kings 11:41-43
Understanding Series
Iain W. Provan
Opposition and Death: A divided heart will lead to a divided kingdom: that was effectively God’s promise to Solomon in 11:9–13. This last section on the great king pursues this theme of division. It tells us of still further seeds of destruction that were planted in the earlier part of his reign and have now grown into plants whose shadow looms darkly over the kingdom. It tells of opposition on the edges of the empire, and it introduces for the first time the man who will be the focal point of that same ...
Understanding Series
Leslie C. Allen
The Green Light: This chapter draws to a triumphant close the accomplishment of the first mission given by God through the Persian king Cyrus in 1:1–4. Stage one was realized by chapter 3. Now stage two is brought to a satisfying finale in the completion of the temple-building project. The temple represented the heart of Israel’s spiritual life as the sign of God’s presence with the people, the focus of their worship and the source of divine blessing. Now, in principle, the postexilic community stood on a ...
1110. The Passover
Ezra 6:19-22
Understanding Series
Leslie C. Allen
The Green Light: This chapter draws to a triumphant close the accomplishment of the first mission given by God through the Persian king Cyrus in 1:1–4. Stage one was realized by chapter 3. Now stage two is brought to a satisfying finale in the completion of the temple-building project. The temple represented the heart of Israel’s spiritual life as the sign of God’s presence with the people, the focus of their worship and the source of divine blessing. Now, in principle, the postexilic community stood on a ...
Sermon
King Duncan
It was the day after Thanksgiving. A woman caught her husband weighing himself on the scale. He was sucking in his stomach. “That won’t help you, Fred,” the woman said. “You know that, don’t you?” “Oh it helps a lot,” said Fred. “It’s the only way I can see the numbers!” I hope you’re ready for Thanksgiving--and not just for the turkey and all the trimmings. Giving thanks is important to a successful life. A growing body of research is indicating that a sense of gratitude is vital if we are to be happy and ...
Sermon
Ron Lavin
There are two stories in John 6:1-21 -- the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water during a storm on the Sea of Galilee. These two stories answer two important questions. First, when does 5 + 2 x 1 = 12? Mathematically, never. But in the story of the feeding of the 5,000, the multiplication formula works just like that: five loaves of barley bread, plus two small fish, times Jesus, the one man who is in control, equals twelve baskets of leftover bread. The key ingredient in that multiplication ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 Anyone here ever been involved in planning a wedding? Have you ever noticed that there are so many details involved in planning a wedding that brides and grooms tend to get really stressed out in the weeks leading up to the big event? Bride-to-be Cassandra Warren was so hurried to get things done that she accidentally sent an invitation to her wedding to a wrong address. The wedding was to have a Star Wars theme and she was excited about it, but this one invitation ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Story Lectionary: Hebrew Scriptures for Post Resurrection Week Two: The Book of Jonah (you will find a complete image exegesis of the Story of Jonah in Giving Blood by Leonard Sweet. Reading this exegesis first will help in your image exegesis of the post resurrection text for this week regarding Peter known as Simon bar Jonah) The Song of Jonah Psalm 51 Psalm 139 Acts Chapter 10: The Story of Peter’s Conversion of the Gentiles The Gospel of John: Jesus’ Seaside Appearance and the Call of Peter Jesus ...
1115. Soul Food
Luke 9:10-17, Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, John 6:1-15
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“I am the Bread of Life.” (John 6:35) Prop: a puppy or kitten; recipe for barley flat bread I have with me a little friend today [allow for the oohs and aahs]. Who would like to come and pet him? I know last Sunday was World Animal Sunday. But every Sunday should be World Animal Sunday, our pets are such an important part of our families. [No rushing, give people time … especially children to come up front or walk about the congregation with him….allowing people to see him and touch him. Consider letting ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
‘The Lord is like a song to which you sing along!’ In a way, that’s what being a disciple is really about. Singing along to the Lord’s Song, and being an original version of that song.* When a young child hears music for the first time, the response is to sing and dance. It’s automatic. No one has to teach them. They simply hear the music, and then they bob, they sway, they bounce, they sing along, “la,la,la,la,la!” Even in the womb and in the crib, we love music. As parents, we encourage this as we ...
Sermon
Brett Blair
You probably do not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin. During his day he was as powerful a man as there was on earth. A Russian Communist leader he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth), and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today. There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism ...
Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
Erma Bombeck
We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up.
Phyllis Diller
1120. Caesar or God?
Matthew 22:15-22
Sermon
King Duncan
Let’s talk about leadership for a few moments. It is an important subject in today’s world. There is a professor from University College London who has written many books on personality and leadership. And he has some strong views concerning incompetent leaders. He says incompetent leaders create a toxic corporate culture that drags everybody in their sphere of influence down. And he claims that the number one trait that incompetent leaders possess is arrogance. According to this professor’s studies and ...
Sermon
Timothy W. Ayers
It was Samuel’s twelfth birthday and for the first time in his life, he would accompany his Father Lemuel to the Passover in Jerusalem. Every Jewish male from twelve years on was to make the pilgrimage to the Holy City and to the temple to make their Passover sacrifice. It was a long journey so Lemuel traveled it without his family - until this year. Samuel was twelve and had to accompany his father. He and his father traveled with a caravan of pilgrims for safety. The roads were rough and dusty and the ...
1122. Good Show
Revelation 5:11-14
Sermon
Will Willimon
It was meant to be a put down, a remark aimed to put me in my place. In a way, it did, but not as he intended. Why is Duke Chapel so often full when many university Chapels or local churches are so often empty·? He said, "Well, Duke Chapel puts on such a show on Sunday morning. And there are always those who want church to be nothing but a good show." The buildings, the windows, the great choir, music from two organs, and sermons by two adorable ministers -- Humph! It's all just a show. And I, not one to ...
Sermon
Will Willimon
At the end of this service last Easter, after the glorious music, the majesty of it all, throngs of people were surging forth after having sung their ''Alleluias'' and their ''Hosannas," shaking my hand, telling me how beautiful everything was, how well I did, how great it was to be here. And then there was this young man, surely a student, who filed through the door, shaking my hand, saying only, ''I don't know. I just don't know." As we all danced forth into the warm glow of Easter, the certainty of our ...
Sermon
King Duncan
I’m sure most of you have heard of an oxymoron. It’s a Greek word that means “pointedly foolish.” You make an oxymoron when you put two words together that are complete opposites. They contradict each other. Some of my favorite oxymorons are “clearly confused,” “act naturally,” “open secret,” and “jumbo shrimp.” (1) What’s even better than an oxymoron phrase is an oxymoron statement. Artist Andy Warhol was famous for the statement, “I am a deeply superficial person.” Samuel Goldwyn, a famous movie producer ...
Sermon
Dave Zuchelli
Some people get distracted by almost anything. As focused as I can often be, I’m also one of those guys who can walk from one room to another and forget why I went in there. I remember once, when I was about twelve years old, my Dad gave me some money to go pick up a loaf of bread. I hopped on my trusty bike with the basket on the handlebars and set out for the convenience store a mile or two down the road. When I got there, I looked around to grab the… Uh oh! I couldn’t remember what my Dad had sent me to ...
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