Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 126 to 150 of 972 results

Jeremiah 23:9-32, Jeremiah 23:33-40

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... at first is general. They are described as adulterers who fill the land. Adultery here is likely meant literally of those who break their marriage vows in pursuit of illegitimate sexual relations, but also metaphorically of those who depart from their exclusive relationship with Yahweh to pursue other gods (see also 3:1–5; 9:2). The NIV clarifies what the Hebrew text leaves unidentified until verse 11 by supplying prophets in verse 10. But whoever specifically are the adulterers the results include ...

127. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... as well (2 Pet. 2:3; Jude 4). James points out that not many should presume to be teachers, because they will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). Justice The concept of justice pervades the Bible, especially, though not exclusively, the OT. The biblical concept of justice is an embodiment of two contemporary concepts: righteousness and justice. The former designates compliance with the divine norm, while the latter emphasizes conformity to a societal standard of what is right and equitable. Focusing ...

128. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... and hope are caught up into the prospect of that consummation; indeed, Paul knows that his ministry has a special part to play in speeding its arrival. Therefore he hopes and prays that I will in no way be ashamed. Christian hope and being put to shame are mutually exclusive (cf. Rom. 5:5). The only thing that could put Paul to shame would be failure to win his Lord’s approval; that is why he kept “the day of Christ” before him in all that he planned and did. The declaration of the gospel is the duty ...

129. Thanks for Their Gifts

Philippians 4:10-20

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... hapax kai dis, lit., “both once and twice,” an idiomatic expression for “more than once”; cf. L. Morris, “Kai hapax kai dis,” NovT 1 (1956), pp. 203–8. It occurs also in 1 Thess. 2:18. For the view that the phrase does not have exclusive reference to Paul’s visit to Thessalonica see the same article by L. Morris (p. 208) and R. P. Martin, ad loc. 4:17 What may be credited to your account: Gk. karpos, “fruit,” perhaps meaning “interest” (if so, Paul continues to use the language of ...

130. Love the Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... as easily have been at home in Deuteronomy. So here in verse 5, the affirmation about Yahweh is followed by the claim upon Israel’s total allegiance. The two halves of the Shema thus mirror the opening of the Decalogue, with the declaratory preface followed by the exclusive claims of the first two commandments (5:6–10). The command to love God is one of Deuteronomy’s favorite ways of expressing the response God expects from the people (10:12; 11:1, 13, 22; 13:3; 19:9; 30:6, 16, 20). It features also ...

131. Clean and Unclean Foods

Deuteronomy 14:1-21

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... 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 head of this chapter (v. 2) as an introduction to some domestic matters that must also conform ...

132. Hoshea Last King of Israel

2 Kings 17:1-6

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... of whom the remainder of Kings knows, on the other hand, is the LORD of all peoples and all history. This God does sometimes use lions as emissaries (1 Kgs. 13:24ff.; 20:35–36) but is not confined to a single territory. As the only God, the LORD claims exclusive worship. It is impossible that the authors who have told us all this should now be telling us that a broad pantheon of gods is acceptable—that this new use of the high places, with its new priesthood (vv. 29, 32; cf. 1 Kgs. 13:33), is any less ...

133. Jesus Announces His Impending Suffering and Death

Matthew 16:21-28

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... dying seed producing life to speak of his own coming death and the way to life for his own followers. Life emerges from the other side of death. The nature of Jesus’ role as Messiah necessarily and profoundly shapes Christian discipleship as cruciform. Quote: Miroslav Volf, in Exclusion and Embrace, writes of dying to self in this way: “The Spirit enters the citadel of the self, de-centers the self by fashioning it in the image of the self-giving Christ, and frees its will so it can resist the power of ...

134. A Sick Woman and a Dead Girl

Luke 8:40-56

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... discharge and, more seriously, through touching a dead body. For defilement through touching a corpse, see Numbers 19:11–16; for the law regarding a woman with an abnormal flow of blood, see Leviticus 15:25–30. The latter condition led to social exclusion (a Qumran text prescribes segregated areas in a town for menstruating women as for lepers [11Q19 48.14–17]). Each of these two incidents raises at least the possibility of ritual defilement for Jesus. For a similar issue, see 5:13. For Old Testament ...

135. Jesus Takes the Initiative

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... (e.g., Isa. 13:10; 34:4, the passages more explicitly alluded to in the parallel Mark 13:24–25). Interpretive Insights 21:7 when will these things happen? And what will be the sign? This question, which sets the agenda for Jesus’s reply, is exclusively concerned with the prediction that he has just made of the destruction of the temple. It does not (as the equivalent question in Matt. 24:3 does) prompt any reference to the second coming (the parousia). 21:8 many will come in my name. These are ...

136. Paul Reinterprets the Story of Israel

Romans 2:17-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... Jews are, and continue to be, saved by practicing the law, while Gentiles are saved by faith in Christ.3 Paul surely argues in 2:25–29, as he will throughout Romans, that there is only one covenant relationship with God, and it is based exclusively on faith in Jesus Christ. The new covenant in Christ has permanently replaced the old covenant, whose stipulation is the law of Moses. Second, faith in Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit fulfill the requirements for which the Torah was first given. Paul will ...

137. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... apostle is taking issue with individual legalism as the means of acceptance before God, even as he did in 3:27–31. But the New Perspective on Paul argues to the contrary that “works” in 4:2 are Israel’s covenant markers that manifest an exclusivity toward Gentiles. This school of thought bases its case on two points: (1) since Paul is talking about Abraham in 4:1–23, beginning with 4:1–8, he must be attacking Jewish nationalism, not individual legalism; (2) Paul’s discussion of circumcision in ...

138. Imitation and Role Modeling

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... is moot. They are not bound by Jewish food laws and are free to eat. “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it. If the unbeliever accentuates the origin of the meat, eating it becomes a matter of testimony to the exclusivity of Christ. The believer need not be confused, but the unbeliever apparently is (10:29). The fact that the meat’s origin is mentioned signifies that the unbeliever considers eating it a matter of idol worship. The believer, then, must consider the conscience of the ...

139. God’s Judgment of Babylon Calls for Celebration

Revelation 19:1-10, Revelation 18:1-24

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... lamp . . . The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. The violent defeat of the wicked city results in the loss of the city’s life. Just as Babylon (first-century Rome) had persecuted Christians economically (e.g., exclusion from the trade guilds), so God’s judgment of Babylon now affects the entire economic system. Six times the phrase “never . . . again” occurs in 18:21–23 to depict what has been taken from the city: music, commerce, food, light, and marriage. Resseguie ...

140. Diagnosing “Leprosy”

Lev 13:1-59

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... to determine, though hygiene and symbolism may be involved. 1. God wants to protect people from disease. A popular explanation for these laws is that they concern health and hygiene. There is an incidental contribution to health in these rules. The exclusion from the camp of those with certain skin diseases in effect quarantined these persons and contributed to public health. Similarly molds not only can mar fabric and leather but also can harm the health of people (see “Illustrating the Text” below ...

141. Priesthood Confirmed and Its Mediation Duties Specified

Num 17:1–8:7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... s tribe (symbolized by the rod that has blossomed) can thrive in God’s presence (Num. 17:1–11), the risks become clear. The Israelites now see how dangerous it is to dwell in the presence of the holy God. So they go from coveting the Aaronites’ exclusive access to God to the opposite extreme of being afraid of God’s presence and crying, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!” (Num. 17:12). The holiness of God elsewhere in the Bible evokes, if not terror, at least reverential fear (Pss. 34 ...

142. Bildad Has the Answer (He Thinks!)

Job 8:1-22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... :1–9). Teaching the Text It has often been observed that error frequently creeps in when one aspect of the truth is emphasized to the detriment of other aspects. This can happen in theology when, for example, God’s sovereignty is exalted to the exclusion of any human responsibility, or when human will is focused on to the point that it diminishes God’s plan and control. This also occurs when people try to understand and respond to human experiences, as Bildad’s first speech (Job 8) demonstrates. In ...

143. Bildad’s Final Attempt to Answer Job

Job 25:1-6

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... Bildad ends up offering the opposite. According to Bildad, no human, including Job, is able to satisfy God’s righteous standard. By speaking about the awesome dominion of God and his powerful angelic forces, Bildad emphasizes that God is great. However, Bildad focuses exclusively on the transcendence of God, so he misses other aspects of God’s nature that are recorded in the Bible. Bildad’s God is so exalted that he is distant and remote from humans. His God demands justice to such an extent that ...

144. Yahweh Speaks as the Master Teacher

Job 38:1--41:34

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... of all, and he will not share his glory, authority, or worship with anyone else. That is why every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:9–11). Teaching the Text The final chapter of Yahweh’s speeches focuses exclusively on the great sea animal, Leviathan. As Yahweh directs Job’s attention to Leviathan, describes the animal in detail, and asks Job questions about it, it is clear that though Leviathan cannot be controlled by Job, it is firmly under Yahweh’s control. Job ...

145. “Lord, I Love the House Where You Live”

Psalm 26:1-12

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... struggle with sin and sinners. He fights on level ground, where his moral innocence provides him great advantage, as would level ground for warriors, as opposed to a rocky landscape. Theological Insights Except for the title and final verse, this psalm is exclusively a prayer to God. While David does not underscore the judgment of God that accrues to doing evil, his plea for divine scrutiny of his character, and his prayer that God not “take away” his soul with sinners (26:9), implies a consciousness ...

146. “The Lord Most High Is Awesome, the Great King over All the Earth”

Psalm 47:1-9

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... to the Abraham story as well: “Praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand” (Gen. 14:20); “I am your shield [magen]” (Gen. 15:1). But here it is a reference to kings. Theological Insights With the widespread exclusiveness that we find in the Old Testament, Psalm 47 is a welcome acclamation of God’s universal reign, a sovereign reign of saving proportions. Psalm 87 shares this saving perspective, as it reorients Israel’s cantankerous neighbors to Zion, the city of God ...

147. “God Looks Down from Heaven . . . to See If There Are Any Who Understand”

Psalm 53:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... so on. What do these sins say about your heart for the Lord? From God’s perspective there really is no such thing as a “respectable sin.” We must acknowledge our own sinful nature and seek the Lord with our heart, soul, and mind. Is sin exclusively a religious thing? Quote: The Seven Deadly Sins, by Solomon Schimmel. The subjects of Psalm 53 have practically or intellectually cut themselves off from God (“There is no God,” 53:1), but the psalmist knows that denying God does not remove him from the ...

148. Focusing on the Core of God’s Guidance

Deut 4:44–5:33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , so prevalent was this pagan practice of false worship. Forms of idolatry, however, can be material and external as well as spiritual and internal The penalty or sanction for this commandment comes with the magisterial reminder that God is a jealous, zealous God who demands exclusive worship (5:9). His anger is roused by all that opposes the good, right, fair, and just, rather than by envy or a spirit of getting even; it is an emotion roused by evil and sin to take up the cause of righteousness. Often ...

149. Marriage at the Resurrection

Mark 12:18-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... reliance on the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) and allegiance to Rome resulted in theological and political conservatism. Pharisaism on the one hand was a lay movement neither interested in political rule nor exclusively associated with the temple. Sadducees, on the other hand, constituted a clerical and lay aristocracy closely associated with the priesthood and temple, and although they were fewer in number than Pharisees, they dominated the high priesthood and Sanhedrin and collaborated ...

150. Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

Acts 4:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is emphasized: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (4:12). The phrase “under heaven” underlines this exclusive and universal claim. Death is but the process through which Jesus can be enthroned as the king of all. This exclusive claim directly challenges the Jewish leaders, who see the temple cult as their base of power. Peter and John make it clear that one can no longer rely on the sacrificial system in seeking ...

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