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 1301 to 1325 of 5000 results

1301. The Living Stone and a Chosen People

1 Peter 2:4-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... had to be purchased. Did such a thought cross the mind of early Christian preachers as they pondered Peter’s letter? 2:5 Spiritual house: The concept of the believing community as a building is common: the house of Israel (Ruth 4:11; Matt. 10:6); the Lord’s house (Num. 12:7); built together to become a dwelling for God (Eph. 2:22); God’s house (Heb. 3:6). In Rev. 21:3, the new Jerusalem, the beloved community, constitutes God’s dwelling. The concept appears also in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The council ...

1302. Northern Kings Defeated

Joshua 11:1-23

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... land, Joshua is able to move on to the second task, dividing the land among the tribes according to lots and their inheritance. The primary point made here by the narrator is that Joshua took control in the land of Canaan to a sufficient degree as the Lord directed Moses. In this achievement, Joshua is faithful and God gives him the land. Additional Notes 11:5, 7 At the Waters of Merom: The waters of Merom have been identified with the village of Meirom on the eastern slopes of Jebel Jarmaz in upper Galilee ...

1303. Gideon's Ephod

Judges 8:22-27

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... the first time we have met the idea, although not in the exact words, that Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord before the judge’s death (8:27), which marks a significant turning point in Israel’s history. The two major judges who follow, ... prostituted themselves” recalls the author’s summarizing description in 2:17, and “snare” recalls the prophecy of the angel of the Lord at Bokim (2:3). What is so reprehensible is that these things happened during Gideon’s lifetime, which represents a ...

1304. Rend Your Heart

Joel 2:12-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... God, for it is the religious leaders who have been set apart by special call and office to lead the people in the way of the Lord (cf. Exod. 5:22; 33:12). Priests in Israel were to “distinguish between the holy and the common” (Lev. 10:10) in a society very ... is its prow.” Where the preacher leads, the church will follow, toward either the holy or the common. In the name of the Lord, Joel therefore commands the priests to blow the trumpet, this time not to warn of war (cf. 2:1), but to declare a holy ...

1305. The Gift of the Spirit

Joel 2:28-32

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... good act that accords with the will of God except through Christ. And so we call on him constantly to guide and empower us, not only when we are in difficulty, but every day, consistently, in order that we may be obedient. Finally, to call on the name of the Lord means, according to the Bible, to tell others what God has done (cf. Ps.105:1; Isa.12:4), to be witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In that witness, we proclaim a total worldview that sees everything in terms of God’s working in this ...

1306. Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Amos 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... us citizens of Israel’s commonwealth (Eph. 2:11–22), and allowed us to share the name of “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), we Christians can now claim to be among the elect (cf. Rom. 8:33; 2 Tim. 2:10; 2 Pet. 1:10). But as our Lord tells us in Luke 12:48, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Election carries with it responsibility. We have been chosen by God not merely to enjoy the privilege of ...

1307. A Widow at the End of Her Rope

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to his own room, and laid him on the bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” You think because Elijah is a ... her faith in Elijah’s God. She says to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” I don’t believe it was an accident that God sent Elijah to the widow at Zarephath. Did it ...

1308. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... as a witness to the resurrection of Christ sharing life (1:30; 15:45). Although Paul is unworthy, his experience of the resurrected Lord has made him an apostle (15:3–11). This, and nothing else, is the basis for his missionary call to Corinth and all ... understands his calling and knows he is not fit to be a leader. He knows that all he can do is pray, and he says to the Lord, “I have been blind to many things. My intellect is weak. I have not seen how many-sided is this world in which you have placed me ...

1309. “I Confess My Iniquity; I Am Troubled by My Sin”

Psalm 38:1-22

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.18 The discipline of the Lord can be painful, but if only we understood the potential God sees in us, then with joy we would lay ourselves before him and invite him to do his work. God’s discipline works through us. Scenario: Ask your listeners to imagine that they have a Christian friend who ...

1310. Rahab and the Spies

Joshua 2:1-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... justification that otherwise the local population would lead Israel astray with their idolatry (Deut. 7:4; 20:18). But in the case of Rahab, she has already placed her faith in the Lord and backed it up by hiding the spies from her own people. Her turning to the Lord thus effectively eliminates the threat of her turning Israel away from the Lord and, hence, the reason not to show mercy. The fact that Rahab and her family later become part of the covenant community (cf. 6:25; Matt. 1:5) only proves the ...

1311. The Gibeonite Deception

Joshua 9:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... breaking an oath they swore in his name (9:19–20). Is this the right decision? There are reasons to believe so. First, although the Gibeonites did use deception to secure a treaty with the Israelites, their action seems to be motivated by a proper fear of the Lord and his people. For in contrast to the other Canaanite kings who reacted to the Israelite threat by waging war against her and her allies (cf. 9:1–2; 10:1–5; 11:1–5), the Gibeonites, who are actually known to be good fighters (10:2), come ...

1312. Spiritual Failures

Judges 2:6–3:6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the cycle itself breaks down as it progresses. Thus, beginning with the Jephthah cycle, the land is no longer said to be at rest after each deliverance, and in the Samson cycle, there is no longer any report of the people crying out to the Lord when they are oppressed. (Instances of this deteriorating trend in the narratives of the various judges will be pointed out in the relevant sections of the commentary that follows.) As in 2:1–5, where Israel’s military failures result in rebuke and the withdrawal ...

1313. The Song of Deborah

Judges 5:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... that the focus of the song is not just on the victory but also on the theme of participation. In the first part, the call for praise (5:2) is followed by a call to foreign kings to listen (5:3). Then 5:4–5 describes the appearance of the Lord in a thunderstorm, apparently marching ahead of his people into battle against the enemy. Storm imagery is commonly associated with the appearance of a deity in both Canaanite literature and the Old Testament (cf. 2 Sam. 22:10–15; Ps. 68:7–8; 77:16–18; 97:2–5 ...

1314. The Man of Lawlessness

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Paul speaks of this desertion from God as one of the signs of the end times (Matt. 24:10–13). The apostles expect that the Thessalonian believers will not participate in this rebellion (2 Thess. 2:13–14). The other event that will occur before the day of the Lord is that the man of lawlessness is revealed (2:3b; see 2:6–8). The name is a variant of the title found in Psalm 89:22 and Isaiah 57:3–4. This person is characterized as one without law and whose character is therefore the personification of ...

1315. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... life-giving light down on him. It was by his light that Job walked. The “lamp” here is primarily a source of guidance rather than blessing. It lights Job’s way in darkness, much as David recalls in 2 Samuel 22:29: “You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.” In Psalm 119:105, God’s word is a “lamp” to the psalmist’s feet “and a light for [his] path.” Elsewhere, however, God’s “lamp” is a means of scrutinizing the inner recesses of humans: “The lamp of the ...

1316. Be Holy

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... way of life? But it will be only too easy to do so unless they continue to grow in the faith and the knowledge of their Lord (2 Pet. 3:18). Such development will not follow automatically. They must play their part by taking in spiritual food. It will not have taken the ... , to redeem, pay ransom (Ps. 34:22) occurs in 1 Pet. 1:18 and is a key term in NT thought; cf. also awesome fear of the Lord (Ps. 34:7, 9, 11; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:17); lions lack, but not the godly (Ps. 34:10; 1 Pet. 4:11); afflictions of the ...

1317. The Plague of Flies

Exodus 8:20-32

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... than Pharaoh does. Theologically speaking, if the pharaoh could be shown that Yahweh is God of all the earth, then the exodus is more than a story of some Hebrew slaves escaping from Egypt. The text points to this with the words so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. The Hebrew touches a more universal theme. A better translation would be “that you will know that I am Yahweh, in the midst of the earth.” The word for earth here (ʾerets) is the same word used in Genesis 1:1. This is the ...

1318. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... not allow his monotheistic denial of the ultimate reality of any idol to imply that worship of idols is therefore either neutral or acceptable as de facto worship of the one true God. There is only one God, but there are many so-called gods and lords, which can include demons. The facade of idolatry can therefore mask the demonic, and Christians need to be aware of both in their choices and actions (1 Cor. 8:5f.; 10:19f.). The Second Commandment 5:8–10 You shall not make for yourself an idol . . . The ...

1319. About Donkeys and True Greatness

Mark 11:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... the angel, it lay down under Balaam, and again Balaam was angry and beat the donkey with his staff. Then, according to the story, the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me three times?” Balaam ... angel, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were blocking me. If you are displeased, I will go back.” The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” And that is what Balaam did. I don’t know what ...

1320. The Sign of Jonah

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... reminds them in that “teachable moment” what they must be and do, who they are and must be. The “feast” of the Lord, in which the disciples are nourished body and soul by Jesus, prepares them to go out and “feed” others in a similar ... our righteousness, and in Him we are consecrated and set free. And so, in the words of scripture, if you must boast, boast of the Lord." The gospel is about the way in which what is most weak, what is most despised, what is most contemptible in your life, in this ...

1321. Godstruck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... still. I see my people falling in darkness and despair. Whom shall I send to shatter the fetters which they bear?" 3. We heed, O Lord, your summons, and answer: Here are we! Send us upon your errand, let us your servants be. Our strength is dust and ashes, our years a ... freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, For he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; Therefore my heart was glad, and my ...

1322. The Master's Voice

Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Voice” –“God’s voice!” The voice of the prophet is the voice of God. And the voice of the Son is evenmore so, endowed and immersed with the presence and glory and holiness of God! Jesus was not rejected as a man. God was rejected as the Lord spoke as Jesus the Son! The people of Nazareth did not recognize, did not honor, did not revere, nor even respect God’s voice, let alone His message. Jesus tells us, “a prophet is not without honor (nonhonor) in his native land, among his own kind, in his ...

1323. The Light That Dwells Among Us

Matthew 16:13-20, Matthew 16:21-28, Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three sukkots (tabernacles)—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is ...

1324. Judgment on Israel

Amos 2:6-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... And its “no” is symbolized by the fact that it has debauched the Nazirites and silenced the prophets, verse 12. Nazirites, two of whom are named in the OT (Samuel, 1 Sam.1:28; Samson, Judg. 13–15), were those set apart by special vows for service exclusively to the Lord. As a mark of separation, they vowed not to cut their hair; as a mark of self-denial, they abstained from wine; and as a mark of purity, they did not go near the dead (Num. 6:1–21). They thus bore witness to Israel’s early life in ...

1325. In Those Days: The Voice Of The Time Keeper

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... God’s viewpoint, whether a day is like a thousand years or vice versa, is the one that counts. When in Matthew’s gospel, John the Baptist burst upon the scene “in this day” to tell us it was time to make straight a path through the desert because the Lord’s anointing was coming, he was right on time. God’s time. Time was not to be measured. Time was urgency. We only have today. We live in the moment. We remember the past, but we can’t get back to it. We foresee the future but only hazily, and ...

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