Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1376 to 1400 of 4943 results

1376. Negative Responses to Jesus

Luke 11:33-36, Luke 11:29-32, Luke 11:14-28

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R.T. France

... .” The Old Testament is familiar with the idea of miraculous events to authenticate prophetic utterances (e.g., Exod. 4:1–9; 1 Kings 18:36–39; Isa. 7:10–14; 38:7–8), though such signs alone are no guarantee (see Deut. 13:1–3). Such “signs” continued to be claimed by “prophets” in Jesus’s day (see, e.g., Josephus, Ant. 20.97, 168, 170). But in view of all the miracles already recorded in Luke’s Gospel, it is not obvious what more they wanted (as Jesus will point out in 12:54–56 ...

1377. Interpreting the Times

Luke 12:54-59, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:35-48

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R.T. France

... collection of sayings that follows in 12:49–59 does not relate specifically to that theme, but it does add further to the sense of crisis: Jesus’s arrival has confronted people with serious and difficult choices that will have eternal consequences. This theme will continue in the call to repentance in 13:1–9. All this is to be understood against the background of 12:1: Jesus has attracted a very large crowd, but he speaks primarily to his disciples. However, what he says has relevance to all who hear ...

1378. Jesus Takes the Initiative

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

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R.T. France

... to speak at length about the parousia (using that Greek word) of the Son of Man. There is no such clear change of subject here in Luke, and these verses can be read as still warning the disciples to be ready for the destruction of Jerusalem; the continuing direct second-person address suggests this. But the idea here of a sudden event that catches people unprepared also recalls 12:39–40; 17:26–35, and it may be that the thought in Luke, as in Mark and Matthew, here moves on to the eschatological “day ...

1379. The Story of Israel and the Story of Gentiles

Romans 1:18-32

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C. Marvin Pate

... the Gentiles minces no words concerning homosexual behavior; it is the product of the wrath of God. It may be that we are to see a connection between the general immorality mentioned in 1:24 and same-sex relations detailed in 1:26–27; the continual abandoning of oneself to immorality in general can be a slippery slope to more perverse sexual activities. And, for Paul, all of this starts with idolatry: to exchange worship of the Creator for worship of the creature is to invite the exchange of normal sexual ...

1380. Adam, the Law, and the Curse of the Covenant

Romans 5:12-21

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C. Marvin Pate

... . (1) Verses 13–14, as we saw in the previous unit, specify the relationship between the sin and death Adam bequeathed to the world (v. 12). (2) Verses 15–17 qualify how it is that Adam is a type of Christ (so v. 14): both committed actions that continue to have universal consequences. Beyond that comparison, however, Adam and Christ have nothing in common. Second, Paul uses qal wahomer (see the sidebar in the unit on Rom. 4:1–8) in verse 15 and verse 17 (as he did earlier, in vv. 9–10), which is ...

1381. The Christian’s New Dominion: Dedicated to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

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C. Marvin Pate

... rescue from sin, which leads to death, but the grace of God in Christ engenders righteousness, which leads to eternal life. The new component of this contrast in 6:15–23 is Paul’s usage of the metaphor of slavery. Understanding the Text Romans 6:15–23 continues Paul’s enumeration, begun in 6:1–14, of the blessings of the new dominion as a part of the new covenant. Romans 6:1–14 was devoted to the believer’s deliverance from the law, sin, and death by virtue of union with Christ’s death ...

1382. Witnesses of the New Covenant

Romans 12:1-8

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C. Marvin Pate

... is based on God’s mercy. The imperative proceeds from the indicative. Second, serving Christ is a sacrifice; it means a daily decision to part company with this age and to align oneself with the age to come, the kingdom of God. Third, the key to it all is to continually renew one’s mind to think the thoughts of God. Fourth, doing the will of God is worth the effort, for God’s will is the only way to go. Teaching the Text I would preach/teach Romans 12:1–2 by following the four points of the outline ...

1383. The New-Covenant Ethic of Love

Romans 12:9-21

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C. Marvin Pate

... . Mandela spent twenty-seven years in jail as a result of his attempts to end apartheid in South Africa. He was released in 1990. In 1994 he was elected president of the country in the first open election, and his mission to end apartheid continued. Mandela said, “If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of those roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.” Here is a powerful example for Christians to aspire to in forgiving others for ...

1384. Being Wronged versus Claiming One’s Right

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

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Preben Vang

... with the strongest disdain. The word he uses (exouthen?menous) refers to those who are considered to have no merit or worth—those who should be beneath consideration.10 The perfect tense only exacerbates this perception.11 Paul’s irony may continue here. Whereas many of the Christ followers are poor and consequently looked upon with disdain by the Corinthian elite (and by the magistrate’s court), things should be completely different in the church. God makes important what the world despises and ...

1385. Unity and Community (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

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Preben Vang

... It is far from certain, however, that Jesus is the object of the curse. If the Corinthian believers time and again tried to find room for their pagan (or cultural) practices within the Christ community (see chap. 11), it is quite likely they also tried to continue their pagan practice of cursing their opponents. The “Christian” change from their pagan days was that they now cursed in the name of Jesus, who had more power than any of their former gods (cf. 1 Pet. 3:19). Jesus, then, may be not the object ...

1386. Resurrection and Christian Living

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

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Preben Vang

... life (15:53; cf. 1 Tim. 6:16). 15:16–19 if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. Refuting the resurrection includes nullifying Christ’s work on the cross. Believers’ faith is empty and meaningless (15:14, 17), and their sins continue to define their life and identity. Both the living and the dead are affected by the resurrection. If resurrection does not occur, the living remain in sin (15:17) with no hope of ever experiencing anything different (15:19). The Christians who have already ...

1387. Resurrection and Transformation (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

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Preben Vang

... be, but just a seed. Building on his argument that God grants bodies fit for their purpose, Paul draws an analogy from the well-known link between seed and plant to the relationship between natural and resurrected body. This allows Paul to stress continuity without rejecting transformation. And it affords him an illustration of how God turns death into a seedbed for new life. The analogy proves brilliantly helpful for Paul’s argument. The seed must die before new life can come from it. Still, what comes ...

1388. The Celebration of the Great Multitude in Heaven

Revelation 7:9-17

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J. Scott Duvall

... and by imitating his manner of life. The Lion conquered as a Lamb—through a willingness to suffer and die. We are an army of potential martyrs. This way of winning must define our lives and our churches rather than allowing secular definitions of power to continue to hold sway. To put it another way, God’s strength is made obvious through our weakness (Rev. 12:11; 2 Cor. 12:9–10). 3. The only proper response to God’s sustaining presence and protection is worship. Finally, this passage reminds us of ...

1389. The Seventh Trumpet (Third Woe)

Revelation 11:15-19

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J. Scott Duvall

... :18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth. The elders continue their thanksgiving with language from Psalm 2:1 (cf. Ps. 99:1) to indicate that God’s “wrath” (the noun org?; cf. Rev. 6:16, 17; 14:10; 16:19; 19:15) will decisively overpower the nation’s “anger” (the verb orgiz?; cf. Rev. 12:17 ...

1390. The Nazirite Vow

Numbers 6:1-21

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... Queen Helena’s Nazirite vow was violated near the end of the vowed seven years, so it was reset. But then it was again violated toward the end of the second seven years, so she ended up being a Nazirite for twenty-one years. Although Nazirite vows continued to be made into the Christian era, neither Christians nor modern Jews make them today. Interpretive Insights 6:2 If a man or a woman wants to make a special vow . . . as a Nazirite. Unlike the priesthood, which is limited to male descendants of Aaron ...

1391. Israel Celebrates the Passover

Numbers 9:1-14

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... prepared Israel to go forth for God. Before the Israelites journey on to the future events of taking the promised land, they must prepare themselves by reflecting on what God has already done for them in the past. Subsequently, every generation of Israelites is to continue remembering that event annually. We too need a reminder of what God has done for us in the past before we are ready to march forth on the journey of life that God has in store for us. 3. Remembering God’s salvation was indispensable ...

1392. Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Obedience

Num 15:1-41

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... their consciences on this matter. He writes, “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind” (Rom. 14:5). For Paul, there is nothing wrong with Jewish Christians continuing to keep the Sabbath on Saturday or with gentile Christians making Sunday special in honor of the Lord’s resurrection on the first day of the week. But when one sets aside time for God is less important than that one sets aside time ...

1393. The Lord Chooses a Prophet

1 Sam 3:1--4:1

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... fail, for such failure would call Samuel’s authority into question (cf. Deut. 18:17–22). (3) All Israel, from the far north (Dan) to the far south (Beersheba), recognizes his authority (v. 20) and receives his prophetic word (4:1a). (4) The Lord continues to reveal himself to Samuel at Shiloh (v. 21). 3:20 Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. Here the word translated “attested” (ne’eman) means “confirmed” or “validated” (Gen. 42:20; 1 Kings 8:26). Later the Lord promises David ...

1394. Defeat, Death, and Departure

1 Sam 4:2-22

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... because prophetic revelation was rare in those days (3:1–9); and (4) now he is one of the last in the town to discover the news of Israel’s defeat (4:12–14). His blindness (3:2; 4:15) may epitomize the fact that he is continually “in the dark” about people and events. In the same way, the references to his sitting on his chair at both the beginning and end of the story epitomize the fact that he is a relatively passive and ineffective leader, always waiting to receive information from others ...

1395. Saul Forfeits a Dynasty

1 Samuel 13:1-15

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... he went into business and also became a lay pastor. Eventually he gave up business to go into full-time ministry. Moody was one of the great personalities of the nineteenth century, Christian and secular; his Christian influence was widespread, and his name continues to be remembered through the institutions of which he was a part. He knew many of the prominent Chicago businessmen of his time, and some of them contributed to his ministry. He carried on notable revival meetings in England and America and ...

1396. Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

1 Samuel 15:1-35

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... , Eliphaz, fathered Amalek through his concubine, Timna (Gen. 36:12). The Amalekites eventually settled in the south of Canaan in the Negev (Num. 13:29), though some also lived in the hill country of Ephraim (Judg. 12:15). They have opposed Israel from its beginning (Exod. 17:8–16) and continue to be a thorn in Israel’s side on into the period of David (Num. 14:43–45; 24:20; Judg. 3:13; 6:3; 10:12; 1 Sam. 14:48; 30:1; 2 Sam. 8:12; Ps. 83:5–7). Moses expected Israel to wipe out the Amalekites as ...

1397. Job Considers a Legal Dispute with God

Job 9:1–10:22

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Daniel J. Estes

... up, but he gave his life for others. In his poems, he is always honest and sometimes expresses the hiddenness of God in his life. What Job Wants to Tell God Big Idea: Job wants to tell God how he feels wrongfully judged. Understanding the Text Job is continuing the response to Bildad that he began in chapter 9. In chapter 10, Job speaks out of the bitterness of his soul (10:1), and he expresses what he would say to God if given the opportunity (10:2–19). Job, however, is pessimistic that God would acquit ...

1398. Elihu Makes His Appearance

Job 32:1--37:24

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... God are prompted by a spirit of rebellion. Theological Insights In Genesis 2:7, the creation of the first human is described as God forming the physical body out of the dust of the ground and then breathing into it his breath of life. This divine breath continues to sustain humans throughout the duration of their lives (Eccles. 3:19–21; 12:7), until it is withdrawn at the time of death. Elihu refers to this in 34:14–15, when he argues that if God intended to withdraw his spirit and breath, then all ...

1399. “Your Love, Lord, Reaches to the Heavens, Your Faithfulness to the Skies”

Psalm 36:1-12

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C. Hassell Bullock

... of living water” (Jer. 2:13). Perhaps the reference to “light” is also an allusion to Genesis 1:3–5, the primordial light by which the whole world is lighted. Note also that “light” and “life” are parallel terms, light being a symbol of life. 36:10 Continue your love to those who know you . . . to the upright in heart. The two groups, “those who know you” and “the upright in heart,” are synonymous (Pss. 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; Deut. 9:5). 36:11 the foot of the proud. The anatomy of ...

1400. “Create in Me a Pure Heart, O God, and Renew a Steadfast Spirit within Me”

Psalm 51:1-19

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... . 5:20), or in the words of our psalm, the sufficiency of God’s unfailing love (v. 1). As Christian is on his way to the Eternal City, Interpreter leads him to a place where there is a fire burning against a wall. And there at the wall is someone continually throwing water on the fire, trying to put it out, while the fire just burns higher and hotter. When Christian asks the meaning of what he sees, Interpreter leads him around to the other side of the wall, where he sees a man with a vessel of oil in his ...

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