Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1451 to 1475 of 1795 results

Hebrews 2:1-4

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

These four verses provide a parenthetical exhortation, the first of a series of such exhortations following the author’s well-designed style and method. He will not discuss theology in the abstract, but constantly calls his readers to its practical significance and to the appropriate response. He writes indeed as an accomplished theologian but also as a preacher with distinct pastoral concerns. 2:1 If the Son is the one of incomparable ...

1452. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... creation, not just humanity (Rom. 8:18–25). The present rebirth of believers promises more to come. But the first are the best, the specially holy portion. Thus James underlines God’s good gift and intention in the lives of the Christians. 1:19 Deliberately paralleling the style of 1:16, James warns, My dear brothers, take note of this. James 1:16–18 discussed wisdom as a gift of life descending from God (cf. 1:5–8); now comes the related topic—the wise person controls his or her speech (cf. 3:1 ...

1453. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... organized without God and thus the antithesis of the kingdom of God; James always uses it with this meaning (1:27; 2:5; 4:4), and the adjectival phrase “unrighteous” clinches this meaning. James is very close to 1 John in his thought, although different in style. See further J. Guhrt, “Earth,” NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 524–26 or H. Sasse, “Kosmos,” TDNT, vol. 3, pp. 868–96. That the world occupies its place among the parts of the body may be a reference to the evil impulse (Hebrew yêṣer hâ-r ...

1454. Praying for Endurance and Healing

James 4:13-17, James 5:1-6, James 5:7-12, James 5:13-20

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... were commonly saved. First, moths have eaten your clothes. They have had closets full of clothing, which might have been used by the poor, but before they look worn the moths get to them. Today one might as easily say, “Your clothes are hopelessly out of style.” Second, your gold and silver are corroded. They have stored their wealth, but it helps neither them nor the poor, for it is saved for “a rainy day.” Its very tarnish shows it is not needed. Today, when money is stored in banks, one might say ...

1455. Living for God

1 Peter 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... powers of evil? Recalling the opening of this section, back in 3:18, Peter reverts to the death of Christ. This is the example that believers should follow. They must turn their backs on the immoral practices of their pagan neighbors, formerly their own life-style, and wholeheartedly follow their Master by copying him. Christ suffered in his body, that is, he gave his all, including his very life, in carrying out the will of God. His followers must resolve to go to the same lengths: Arm yourselves also with ...

1456. False Teachers and Their Destruction

2 Peter 2:1-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... Prov. 26:11) or of a sow remains unaffected by any occasional cleansing action of their own. Both slip back into their familiar old habits, even after liberal applications of pure water. Similarly, these men, whatever temporary outward changes in life-style there may have been, are not demonstrating the transformation of the inner person, which is the hallmark of a true Christian. Peter clinches his earlier comparison of the false teachers to unreasoning animals (“brute beasts,” 2:12), by likening them ...

1457. The Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Writer’s Purpose Restated 3:1 After his lengthy tirade against the false teachers and their perverted life-style so dangerous to the well being of his readers, Peter turns—one senses, with warm relief—to address his dear friends directly. He now reverts to his opening exhortation to them to foster their spiritual life (1:5–8). This is now my second letter to you, he declares, although ...

1458. The Birth of Moses

Exodus 2:1-10

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... that this was intended as a means of saving, not exposing, the baby. The irony, of course, is that he was put into the river as an act of literal obedience to Pharaoh’s death order with the intention of preserving his life. The narrative style is masterful in describing the daughter of Pharaoh and her young women finding the basket. The NIV does not express fully the detail of the discovery present in the original language. Verse 6 could instead be translated, “She opened it and saw him. The little ...

1459. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... the women’s response to, and the text’s opinion of, Moses’ actions. The daughters had been living under the domination of pushy men. They appreciated his “rescue,” and Moses came home to a place he had never been. A strong rhetorical style communicates the warm excitement of the father’s three questions. The tone moves from suspicion to hospitality, salvation, and welcome. “Why have you returned so early today?” . . . “And where is he?” . . . “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have ...

1460. Signs for Moses

Exodus 4:1-17

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... . It was a sign of power because he would appear to control, with God, his own health and illness. The phrase inside your cloak is, literally, “on your chest,” meaning “on the skin of your chest.” The rhetoric follows an oral storytelling style, using extreme repetition to heighten the suspense. Verses 6–7 repeat “on your chest” five times. The word leprous refers to skin diseases described in Leviticus 13–14, significantly different from what we think of as leprosy today (Hansen’s disease ...

1461. Bricks Without Straw

Exodus 5:1-21

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... :2–3). In verses 6–9 the pharaoh issues a new order to the Egyptian slave drivers (who had a job description similar to modernday project managers) and the foremen in charge of the people. The foremen are identified later, in good narrative style, as Israelite foremen, when they are beaten and bring their complaint to Pharaoh (vv. 14–15). The taskmasters (translated in the NIV as “slave drivers”) are identified as Pharaoh’s (v. 14). They drove or enforced the work while the foremen organized the ...

1462. Bazalel and Oholiab

Exodus 31:12-18

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... tablets.” The following texts also refer to the tablets: 24:12; 31:18; 32:15–16, 19; 34:1, 4, 28–29. Exodus 32:16 associates the “finger of God” with the “writing of God.” It marks God’s personal investment in the law. The narrative style of the first part of Exodus resumes in this last verse and continues in the crisis at Sinai (32:1–34:35). If not for the golden calf, the text could have moved directly and smoothly to 35:1. Instead, Scripture reveals how vulnerable the emerging people ...

1463. Sabbath Regulations

Exodus 35:1-3

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... , the building of the tabernacle. The first time these details occur in the text, the Lord was giving Moses instructions (chs. 25–31). Here, the text describes the people accomplishing the task in joy and voluntary obedience. There is an abrupt change of style from the narrative of Exodus 32–34 to the Sabbath law and tabernacle lists of Exodus 35–39. In addition, the return to long detailed descriptions that the text of Exodus 25–31 has already provided is enough to end readers’ (and scholars ...

1464. Southern Cities Conquered

Joshua 10:29-43

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

Report on Southern Victories: 10:29–43 Reports of victories in the southern part of the land follow a form common in the ancient Near East. As in the book of Joshua, those reports vary in size and style. Reports on crucial victories or important conquests are long and involved, whereas routine raids are described in stereotyped summaries etched on a stele or standing stone. Southern campaign summaries begin with Makkedah and move city to city until Debir (10:29–39). Then the narrative summarizes Joshua ...

1465. Allotment for Benjamin

Joshua 18:11-28

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... boundary coincides with that of Ephraim and its southern one with that of Judah. On the east is the Jordan River, and on the west its boundary stops in the hills overlooking the Aijalon Valley. Boundary lists of northern tribes follow the style of abbreviated summaries, not repeating boundaries that are held in common with another tribe (Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography [rev. ed.; trans. A. F. Rainey; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1967], p. 250). With the exception of the detailed ...

1466. Joshua's Farewell to the Leaders

Joshua 23:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... summons the local leadership of the tribes—elders, leaders, judges, and officials—to hear his final words. He begins by calling them to reflect on what they had seen the Lord God do for them. Joshua delivers this speech in first-person autobiographical style. He speaks of his audience of western tribal leaders as you (second person plural). The speech points out the value of life review for both elders and the generation left behind. Joshua gently reminds his listeners that it was the LORD your God ...

1467. Jephthah and Ephriam

Judges 12:1-7

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... and leading tribe, complain that Jephthah had not included them in the battle against Ammon. But Jephthah has little patience left to stroke inflated Ephraimite egos and does nothing to diplomatically resolve the crisis. There is a great difference of style between him and Gideon, who in a similar crisis was able to negotiate a peaceful settlement by skillful diplomacy. The fact that Jephthah does not attempt to solve the crisis diplomatically, given his past performance, and the fact that the Ephraimites ...

1468. Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines

Judges 15:1-20

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... and not rock the boat. Although Samson was not the paragon of virtue, he at least was willing to fight the subjugating power—God’s enemy—even if the fight was mostly in his selfinterest. Although we cannot condone much of Samson’s attitudes, style, and methods, we can be thankful that he, if not anyone else, stood up to the power that sought to annihilate God’s covenant people. Samson’s only request was that they (Hb. emphatic), his fellow Israelites, not kill him (v. 12), a statement ...

1469. Boaz Marries Ruth

Ruth 4:1-12

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

Boaz’s Transaction: 4:1 Boaz does not go directly to Elimelech’s kinsman’s house, nor does he summon him to his own. Instead, he goes to the town gate. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along (lit. “wandered by,” ’abar), Boaz says, Come over here, my friend, and sit down. The narrator portrays this all-important meeting like the chance meeting of Ruth and Boaz in 2:3, but events only seem to happen by chance in Ruth. Boaz’s patient anticipation at Bethlehem’s gate contrasts sharply with the ...

1470. Levi

1 Chronicles 6:1-30

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... segmented, taking the priestly line from Kohath (6:2) through Amram (6:3a) to Aaron (6:3b). From Eleazar (6:4), the son of Aaron, the presentation becomes linear, running to Jehozadak (6:15), who comes last in the lineage. The change from the segmented style to the linear form after 6:3 emphasizes the leading position of Aaron, who, according to the Priestly tradition in the Pentateuch, was the founding father of the Israelite priesthood. One of the well-known figures mentioned is Zadok (6:8, and again in 6 ...

1471. Issachar

1 Chronicles 7:1-5

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... our disposal in the Hebrew Bible (mostly from Gen. 46 and Num. 26). From some he quotes selectively, while of others he makes no use at all, such as sections in Numbers 26 and Joshua 16–19 dealing with the tribes under discussion. The style of the majority of genealogies provided here (with the exclusion of those of Ephraim and Manasseh) is different from what we have seen thus far in the Chronicler’s genealogies. For example, the inclusion of the numbers of “fighting men” in the different families ...

1472. The People's Confession of Sin

Ezra 10:1-17

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... The REB, implicitly following the LXX, has revocalized it as a plural noun, “(as) guilt offerings,” understanding a carryover of the verb in the preceding clause. The NRSV and NJB (“their guilt offering”) have revocalized to ʾshamam, which nicely accords with the style of the underlying Lev. 5:15. The sin was unintentional (Lev. 5:15) in that the marriages were contracted before their illicit nature was realized. The Torah text applied to the entire community, not just priests. 10:24 As in the list ...

1473. Builders of the Wall

Nehemiah 3:1-32

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... guideline for a new one. Second, the topographical sections are now defined in terms of existing adjacent structures. Probably only the southern half of the east wall had to be rebuilt from scratch on a more westerly line; the text simply continues in the same style even when the old line of the wall was resumed. Groups of Levites were involved from verse 17, probably as far as verse 20. 3:32 The listing concludes with work on the eastern stretch of the north wall, which brings the reader back to ...

1474. Opposition to the Rebuilding

Nehemiah 4:1-23

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... the remarks fall flat. Nehemiah, writing these memoirs, had the last laugh. Nehemiah’s response took seriously the religious expectation of the third question, Will they offer sacrifices? although he opted for prayer rather than sacrifice. The prayer is in the style of a communal lament, like those found in the Psalms (e.g. Ps. 79), which combine lamenting and praying. Israel objected to the ridicule and consequent loss of face. The lament typically appeals to God to providentially intervene with merited ...

1475. Nehemiah Helps the Poor

Nehemiah 5:1-19

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... of God’s people. Additional Notes 5:1 For a defense of ch. 5 in its present setting, see Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, pp. 235f. Throntveit, Ezra-Nehemiah, pp. 61, 123f., regards it as originally following ch. 13 on the grounds of content and style, but that chapter’s chronological setting of Nehemiah’s second term of office does not favor his view. The men and their wives would be better translated as “the people and especially their wives” (Vogt, Studie, p. 111; compare the NRSV). Wives were ...

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