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Showing 126 to 150 of 4937 results

126. Deliverance of Israel

Isaiah 27:1-13

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... link with each other so as to form two sequences on parallel tracks. The theme of devastation in 24:1–13 continues in 24:17–23, whose ending is then the starting point for 25:6–12. The equivocal response of 24:14–16 gives way to unequivocal praise in 25:1–5, whose theme is then taken up in 26:1–19. Because of their visionary portrayal of world judgment, heavenly conflict, and a radically new day, the chapters have been described as a “Little Apocalypse.” “Apocalypse” is another word ...

127. Light In Darkness, Speech From Silence

Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:19-23

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... darkness in our emotional lives when we are burdened with worry, confusion, fear, grief, guilt or hopelessness; when we live with violence or addiction or both. We know darkness in our social lives when relationships fail, when the blessing of solitude gives way to the burden of loneliness, when we cannot make meaningful connections with other human beings. We know darkness in our political lives when we cannot organize our communities and our society in ways that are just and equitable to all, when nations ...

128. Light In Darkness, Speech From Silence

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Mark Radecke

129. Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

2 Kings 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Elijah Gives Way to Elisha: Elijah’s days have been numbered ever since 1 Kings 19:15–18. The end of the war with Baal-worship will not come about, we know from that passage, until Elisha has succeeded his mentor and Hazael and Jehu have appeared on the scene. We are now to ...

130. Healing of the Water

2 Kings 2:19-22

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

131. Elisha is Jeered

2 Kings 2:23-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

132. The Need for Transfiguration

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Hubert Beck

... Father as we have known him to be is immune to the whims of men," they must have surmised. And so perhaps more even than the other disciples their dismay must have grown as they watched the rapidly disintegrating safety of their Master give way to full scale rejection by the people. One can understand Peter and John’s concern about following Jesus into the courtyard where his judgment was taking place. They had seen him glorified, and now they saw him humiliated and scorned and rejected. Do you remember ...

133. Judgment on Israel's Enemies

Zechariah 9:1-8

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... conditions God will overcome in order to incorporate the Philistines (v. 7). According to Deuteronomy 23:12, a mamzer and his descendants to the tenth generation were excluded from Yahweh’s congregation. Third-person references to God in verses 1 and 3 give way to the first person in verses 6b–7a. God promises to cut off the pride of the Philistines. In Amos 1:8, God threatens to “cut off” (NIV “destroy”) Ashdod’s king, suggesting that “pride” here refers to Philistine rulers (cf. “pride ...

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

Psalm 53:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... be considered as such. The theologians and moralists believed, rightly, that in the long run those who are moral and ethical are also happier. Conversely, by succumbing to immediate gratification of our impulses, usually injuring others in the process, we may experience pleasure. But in due time the pleasure will give way to unhappiness because it alone cannot sustain us spiritually.7

135. The Man Among Myrtle Trees

Zechariah 1:7-17

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... the Lord also “was standing among the myrtles.” The “man” in verse 10 and the “angel” in verse 11 could be the same individual. Other OT narratives begin by describing a “man” who turns out to be the angel of the Lord, as appearance gives way to recognition (e.g., Judg. 13:6–23). It is not crucial to decide this question. The role of each one, both man and angel/messenger, is to communicate an explanation to Zechariah. The important matter is the content of what is spoken, not the speaker ...

136. Discipleship and Mission

Luke 10:1-24, Luke 9:57-62

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... an “unsuccessful” ministry is a reason to move elsewhere? The disciples’ message “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” What does this teach us about priorities in our ministry? Illustrating the Text Personal security and even family duties must give way to the demands of discipleship. Hymn: “Take My Life and Let It Be,” by Frances Ridley Havergal. In this beloved hymn (1874) Havergal (1836–79), a poet and hymnist who suffered greatly in her life, spells out the kind of dedication and ...

137. Judgment Against the Nations

Isaiah 34:1-17

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... are not sacrificial animals, and such animals are used as figures for powerful human beings (e.g., Ps. 22:12; Lam. 1:15), so verse 7a pictures the fall of the Edomite leadership and military. 34:9–17 Once again the images of judgment and sacrifice give way to the image of devastation, as we saw between verses 1–3 and 4–5a. Here the devastation consists in natural disaster in Edom. While Yahweh is no doubt assumed to be the agent of disaster, there is no mention of this (NIV’s reference to “God ...

138. Song of a Prophet

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... chariots with fire! (Psalm 46:9) The psalmist is well aware, of course, that God’s drastic actions here represent far more than the desire for an uneasy peace. The end of strife is not necessarily the end of striving, and open warfare may only give way to wars of the heart. As Samuel Butler was to put it centuries later, he recognizes that He that complies against his will Is of his own opinion still. Accordingly, the poet follows the prophecy with an invitation to friend and foe alike to join a Kingdom ...

139. Where Does One Go When Darkness Floods One’s Life?

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

James Cobb

... set it straight then come and offer your gift to God. You see it works both ways. Relationships with God are dependent on your attitudes and relations with your fellowpeople. These facts demand that we be sincere on our meetings with God. Good intentions often give way to dismal failure. The road to hell is paved with good intentions; no matter how sincere they are, good intentions are not enough when it comes to your dealings with God. That means that we must be tenacious in our wrestling with God. We must ...

140. The High Priest of a New Covenant

Hebrews 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... has made the first one obsolete. The same God who brought the old covenant into existence in anticipation of the new has now brought the fulfillment of the new. But the new, in turn, is so much better than the old that the old must give way to it. The purpose of the old has been accomplished, and hence it will soon disappear. This statement that the old covenant is near to disappearing probably implies the continuance of the cultic ritual of the levitical priesthood at the time the author writes. From his ...

141. The Lord's Devastation of the Earth

Isaiah 24:1-23

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

142. What Would Jesus Say About Me?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... gets distorted into promiscuous sex, pornography, and power plays between people. Like God, we were made to be free moral agents, with the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong, truth from falsehood, temporal from the eternal, but choosing vice over virtue, freedom gives way to slavery. Though we err and stray from God's ways like lost sheep, and follow too much the devices and desires of our own heart, we are really not very happy with it and fail to find satisfaction in it. Steven Spielberg's ...

143. Jesus and John the Baptist

Luke 7:18-35

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... seen in the view of salvation history Jesus expresses in 7:26–28. Though John is the greatest human being ever born up to that point, he is still the least in the kingdom of God. This is because everything is now changing. The age of promise is giving way to the age of fulfillment; the old covenant is about to be superseded by the new, when God’s people will receive complete forgiveness of sins and will truly know God through the abiding presence of his Spirit (Jer. 31:31–34). This is why John—who ...

144. The Lord Appears to Solomon

1 Kings 9:1-9

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... about the inevitability of sin (cf. esp. v. 46). To read 9:1–9 in the light of 8:22–53 is to see immediately, then, the inevitability of disaster. The if of verse 6 cannot in reality be anything other than a when (8:46). Obedience will inevitably give way to apostasy. If this is truly the basis of God’s dealings with Israel, there can be no other outcome but tears. A dark cloud now looms quite visibly over the Solomonic empire, for all the glory of 1 Kings 3–8. The temple is no sooner built than we ...

145. Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

1 Kings 8:22-61

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

146. The Dedication of the Temple

1 Kings 8:62-66

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

147. Christmas Every Day

John 1:1-18

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... its share of wonderment at Christmastide, but all too often during the rest of the year Jesus is presented only as the Master Teacher whose precepts we are to learn and practice, as the Model Man whose example we are to follow. The enmanment of God gives way to men’s efforts to realize their own divine potentialities. God’s way to man is abandoned in favor of man’s way to God. Ideas and ideals, programs and policies, take the place of the word that became flesh. The Christian message must never lose ...

148. Where the Scary Things Live

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... hues right in front of you. First crimson, then pink, then finally pale yellow appears above the horizon. Then almost without warning the sun bursts into the sky! Color and light invade the shadowy world you were sitting in, the hazy shapes of darkness give way to clear impressions, and right there, before your wondering eyes, a new day is born. Don’t you know that the light of Jesus Christ – which is the LOVE of Jesus Christ – is every bit as real as a sunrise? Hear the good news: "The people ...

149. Proper 15

2 Samuel 18:19--19:8, Ephesians 4:17--5:21, John 6:25-59

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... The tone here is ethical, with at least a hint of eschatology in the background. The exhortation to make the most of the time in "wise" (i.e., spiritual) pursuits appears to be made with an expectation that the present evil days are about to give way to something else. Though that expectation has largely faded for most modern Christians, or at least become less urgent, the advice itself would appear still timely and sound. Call to Worship Leader: It should come as no surprise to you to hear that we live in ...

150. From Self-Help to God-Trust

Hebrews 7:11-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... C. Laubach (1884-1970) missionary to the Philippines who wrote a book on prayer as “The Mightiest Force in the Universe.” He was famous for a prayer: “What are you doing in the world that I can help you with?” In a disciple of Jesus, self-help gives way to God-trust. In his book, Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning speaks of a man named John Kavanaugh who sought clarity about what to do with his life. As part of his search, he volunteered to work for three months at "The House of the Dying" in Calcutta ...

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