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 1176 to 1200 of 4942 results

1176. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Genesis 19:30-38, Genesis 19:1-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Rescue of Lot from the Destruction of Sodom: God finds it necessary to execute judgment again, and as was the case in the deluge, God rescues those who are righteous. The great difference in these two accounts of judgment is that this time God punishes only a small region where wickedness had increased intolerably, rather than the entire inhabited land. The narrator tells about Lot’s fleeing Sodom (vv. 1–29) and the children of Lot’s daughters (vv. 30–38). In the first section there are five scenes, in ...

1177. Esau's Descendants

Genesis 36:1-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Descendants of Esau: Following the report of Isaac’s death (35:27–29), the narrative records the genealogy (toledoth) of his two sons, Esau (36:1–43) and Jacob (37:1–2). As with Ishmael (25:13–18) and Isaac (25:19–20), the genealogy of the son who is not the direct heir of God’s special promises to Abraham appears before that of the son who is the heir of that promise. These lists contain seventy personal names, including five women. The names are Semitic. Five different lists are divided into two ...

1178. Wanderings in the Desert

Deuteronomy 3:21-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Reminder of Past Victories: The first three chapters of Deuteronomy not only warn the people from past failures but also encourage them from past victories. The words to Joshua near the end of the section (3:21f.) give the point of the whole: God can do again what they had seen God do before, even for other nations. Their God did not lack experience! The structure of the section can be presented as follows: 2:1–8 – Encounter with Edom 2:9–18 – Encounter with Moab 2:19–23 – Encounter with Ammon 2:24–37 – ...

1179. Clean and Unclean Foods

Deuteronomy 14:1-21

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Israel’s Distinctiveness Mirrored in the Home and Farm: It might seem at first sight that the destruction of a whole apostate community and all its property (13:12–16) is worlds away from the question of what you were allowed to cook for lunch, but in fact a common principle governed both—the distinctiveness of Israel as a people wholly and exclusively committed to Yahweh. This principle, which underlies all the preaching of chapters 4–11 and finds its most succinct expression in 7:6, is repeated at the ...

1180. Firstfruits and Tithes

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Celebration and Commitment: The legislative section of the book (chs. 12–25), which flowed out of a worshipping, grateful response to the acts and gifts of God (1–11), now flows into renewed worship that sanetifies the claim to have obeyed God’s requirements (26:14b). The three sections of this chapter provide a very beautifully balanced expression of the logic and dynamic of the covenant. First (vv. 1–11), there is celebration of the vertical blessing of God that each Israelite has experienced. Second (vv ...

1181. Elijah and Obadiah

1 Kings 18:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal: Chapter 17 launched Elijah suddenly into the public arena of Israel’s politics (v. 1) only to whisk him away again into the privacy of the Transjordanian wilderness and a Sidonian home. There he has contributed in a small way to the war that the LORD is now waging upon the worship of Baal, while leaving the drought to do most of the damage. The time has now come for his reappearance on the main stage—for the great battle of the war, indeed. The drought is to end, but before ...

1182. Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

1 Kings 20:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Ahab’s War against Aram: Elijah has recruited Elisha, and we expect to read now, perhaps, of his anointing of Hazael as king over Aram and of Jehu as king over Israel (19:15–18). Instead, we find a story in which a different prophet takes up the running (Elijah does not appear at all) and in which a different king of Aram (Ben-Hadad) loses a war with Ahab. The message of chapter 19 is thus underlined. Elijah is not the only servant of God left, in spite of what he has claimed (19:10, 14), and the quiet ...

1183. Hezekiah King of Judah

2 Kings 18:1-16

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Hezekiah: Second Kings 16 and 17 have suggested that Judah, like Israel, may be heading for exile unless it heeds the prophetic warnings and turns away from its sins. It is at this point in the narrative—after reading of several kings who were not quite like David (Joash to Jotham) and one who was utterly different from him (Ahaz)—that we are now presented with a king who is not merely similar to David in the way that Asa (explicitly, 1 Kgs. 15:11) and Jehoshaphat (by implication, 1 Kgs. 22:43) were, but ...

1184. 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 key importance to the chapter. 6:1–4 ...

1185. Songs of Praise

Isaiah 12:1-6

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

A Song to Sing on the Day of Salvation: After an act of deliverance of the kind that brought the people out of Egypt, one might expect there to be a song to sing like that in Exodus 15, and so there is; indeed, verse 2 virtually repeats Exodus 15:2. 12:1–2 Israel is challenged to announce its intention to praise: the verb is the one that introduces thanksgiving, that praise that gives testimony to what Yahweh has just done for the worshiper, by making public confession of the facts—as also happens when one ...

1186. Woe to the Obstinate Nation

Isaiah 30:1-33

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Oh You Obstinate Nation: It has made sense to read much of chapters 28–29 against the background of Judean assertion of independence from Assyria and alliance with Egypt in the latter part of Isaiah’s ministry, but only in chapter 30 does reference to Egypt become explicit. While the setting might be the independence movement during the reign of Sargon in 713–711 B.C., alluded to in passages such as 14:28–32, we have separate reference to alliance with Egypt in the context of the similar events of 705–701 ...

1187. Two Adulterous Sisters

Ezekiel 23:1-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

A Tale of Two Sisters: The allegory of the two sisters in Ezekiel 23 is clearly related to the story of the foundling bride Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16. This can be seen not only in explicit terminological links (e.g., the expression translated “naked and bare” appears only in 23:29 and 16:7, 22, 39), but also in the broad outline and theme of the story. Both chapters personify cities as women and graphically depict their unfaithfulness to God through foreign alliances and idolatry as adultery (for the ...

1188. Jesus the Messiah from Joseph’s Family Line

Matthew 1:1-17

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew, in the opening genealogy, emphasizes Jesus as the Davidic Messiah, whom God has sent to enact Israel’s restoration from exile and to include the Gentiles in God’s kingdom. Understanding the Text It may seem surprising to find a genealogy at the opening of Matthew’s Gospel, but genealogies were a common means for establishing and substantiating the identity of a person. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus demonstrates that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah-King, from David’s royal line. Introducing ...

1189. Jesus Is the Example of Service for His Followers

Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 20:20-28

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus’ disciples are exhorted to renounce their concern for status, following the example of Jesus himself, who willingly suffers and dies to ransom people. Understanding the Text This passage narrates a final teaching opportunity for Jesus’ disciples before arriving in Jerusalem (20:29–21:11). The passage begins with a third passion prediction by Jesus (20:17–19; cf. 16:21; 17:22–23) and ends with the first explicit purpose statement that Jesus provides for his coming death: to be “a ransom for ...

1190. Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a Peaceable and Humble King

Matthew 20:29-34, Matthew 21:1-11

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: After mercifully healing two blind men, Jesus enters Jerusalem as a peaceable and humble king in concert with Zechariah’s vision of Israel’s king who comes to bring salvation. Understanding the Text This passage, which narrates Jesus healing two blind men outside Jericho (20:29–34) and thereafter entering Jerusalem in kingly fashion (21:1–11), introduces a new section of Matthew focused on Jesus’ ministry to crowds and confrontations with Jewish leaders in Jerusalem (chaps. 21–23). Matthew ties ...

1191. Three Parables about the Unfaithfulness of the Jewish Leaders

Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 21:33-46, Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:23-27

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: When his authority is questioned by the Jerusalem leaders, Jesus, the faithful Son of God, tells three parables contrasting those who are faithful and do God’s will (even supposed sinners) and those who disbelieve and disobey (the Jerusalem leaders). Understanding the Text Two symbolic actions of Jesus—his entry as king into Jerusalem and his temple critique (21:1–22)—provoke a contest of authority with the chief priests and Jewish elders (21:23–27). Jesus refuses to answer their question about ...

1192. More Parables of the Kingdom

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:21-25

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The kingdom is guaranteed by God to grow exponentially, and its concealed realities are soon to be brought to light; so now is the time to open our hearts and minds to its truths. Understanding the Text The basic theme for the parables in this chapter has already been established in 4:1–20: hearing and obeying the word of God by making certain that we are receptive to the kingdom truths. In the four parables that follow in 4:21–34 this is explored further in two ways. First, the lamp and the ...

1193. A Call to Servanthood and Suffering

Mark 10:46-52, Mark 10:35-45, Mark 10:32-34

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Once more the disciples fail by seeking greatness rather than servanthood, and the right “path” is shown by Bartimaeus, who centers entirely on Jesus and “follows” him “along the road.” Jesus is central, and here he reveals that his way of suffering is redemptive, providing a “ransom for many,” and ends his public ministry with a call to discipleship. Understanding the Text This is the final set of events in Jesus’s public ministry, as the rest of Mark will cover the passion week, crucifixion, ...

1194. Prophetic Actions—The Temple Condemned and the Fig Tree Cursed

Mark 11:12-19

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The withered fig tree is the only negative miracle in Mark, signifying the coming destruction of the temple due to the apostasy of the people. Both the fig tree and the temple clearing depict God’s judgment against the people of Israel who have rejected his Messiah and defiled his temple. Understanding the Text Jesus begins passion week with three symbolic actions, each of which proves that he indeed is God’s Messiah and has come with divine authority. The two themes—christological power and ...

1195. The Baby Messiah Recognized

Luke 2:21-40

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The baby Jesus is recognized as the Messiah, and two holy people speak of his role in God’s plan of salvation. Understanding the Text This scene completes the account of Jesus’s infancy. His circumcision and naming echo those of John in 1:59–63, but, as with the account of his birth, the subsequent incidents are unique, and they lift the reader’s expectations and theological understanding to a higher level. This scene provides the setting for the third of Luke’s canticles in chapters 1–2, Simeon’ ...

1196. “Unless You Repent . . .”

Luke 13:10-17, Luke 13:1-9

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: God requires repentance before it is too late, but people are more concerned with keeping the rules than with God’s agenda. Understanding the Text These are two separate pericopes, brought together here simply for the convenience of this commentary. First, repentance has been at the heart of the message of both John (3:3, 8) and Jesus (5:32), and Jesus has rebuked his contemporaries for their failure to repent in response to his preaching (10:13–15; 11:32). In chapter 15 he will illustrate God’s ...

1197. Affluence and the Afterlife

Luke 16:19-31

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Material wealth can go with spiritual poverty; in the end it is spiritual wealth that matters. Understanding the Text There has been no change of audience since 16:14: Jesus is still speaking primarily to the Pharisees. (He will return to teaching the disciples in 17:1.) Luke has characterized the Pharisees as lovers of money (16:14), so this parable is a warning to the affluent. It is thus the culmination of a theme, already set out in the blessings and woes of 6:20–26, that has run strongly ...

1198. Jesus Takes the Initiative

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The pretentious religiousness of scribes and wealthy worshipers and of the magnificent temple buildings contrasts with the simple devotion of a poor widow. Understanding the Text In place of the question-and-answer scenario of the first part of Jesus’s public ministry in the temple (20:1–40), we now have a series of pronouncements by Jesus that bring that phase of the Jerusalem story to an end. They begin with a response to the leaders’ hostile questioning, in which Jesus raises the question of ...

1199. “When Will These Things Happen?”

Luke 21:5-38

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The coming destruction of Jerusalem and its temple will mark a new phase in the establishment of God’s kingdom under the vindicated Son of Man. Understanding the Text Since Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem it has become clear that his messianic authority is in irreconcilable conflict with the existing power structure in Jerusalem. His prediction of the destruction of the temple (21:5–6) now leads to an extended explanation (addressed to his disciples) that looks beyond his own imminent death and ...

1200. The Mystery and Mercy of God

Romans 11:25-32

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul merges two grand themes: mystery and mercy. The mystery of God is that the end-time conversion of the Gentiles will occur before the restoration of Israel, the reverse order of the Old Testament prophecies. God’s mystery involves his showing mercy to both Gentiles and Jews in these last days. Understanding the Text Romans 11:25–32 is the grand conclusion to chapters 9–11, showing that God has not cast off Israel, all the while showing mercy to the nations. Romans 11:25–32 divides into two ...

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