Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1651 to 1675 of 2962 results

1 Peter 1:17-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... constantly questioned, the epistle of 1 Peter was unquestioned by first-century Christians as an example of apostolic faithfulness. Its focus on the relationship between a minority Christian population and an aggressively pagan culture in Asia Minor was designed to give strength and encouragement to neophyte believers and help them build up a genuine sense of Christian community. 1 Peter recognizes how difficult the status of the cultural outsider is. This epistle acknowledges the possibility of harassment ...

1652. 1 Peter 2:2-10

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... from those who reject him. Instead of rejecting the "living stone" who is Christ, new Christians are invited to share in being part of the construction of a new "spiritual house" (v.5). This "house" is, of course, the church itself, the God-designed community of faith which is bonded together through the cement of its commitment to Christ. For these "resident alien" Christians struggling to live out the faith in Asia Minor, the image of being part of such a secure house, a spiritual home, was especially ...

1653. 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... unmistakable eschatological edge to them. Verse 12 begins with the gentle and compassionate address that he used in 2:11 "Beloved." 1 Peter has a genuine concern for these Gentile Christians. What the "beloved" are experiencing, 1 Peter now defines as a "fiery ordeal" designed "to test" them. The use of the term pyrosis suggests the image from Malachi (3:1-5; 4:1) where the "day of the Lord" is likened to a burning "furnace" (NEB). The furnace image itself was drawn from the smelting process used to refine ...

1654. Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Matthew's gospel collects the miracle stories into chapters 8 and 9 a technique designed to emphasize Jesus' unique identity. The miracle stories demonstrate that Jesus was not just some gifted teacher or itinerant wonderworker/magician. He was truly God's Son the Messiah. Within these chapters, Matthew gathers three sets of narratives, each containing three separate miracle stories. This week's gospel reading is ...

1655. Romans 8:26-39

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18). Christ, of course, as verse 29 states, is the firstborn with all the special privileges and authority that firstborn status denotes. As God's "firstborn," Christ is prior to and supreme over all creation. But by specifically designating Christ as firstborn, the divine suggestion is that other "siblings" must follow. God's foreknowledge, the divine foreknown plan, is for the redemption of all creation, and to accomplish this, all are predestined to be part of Christ's family. This ...

1656. Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the minds of first-century Christians. Scholars also note that Jesus' list begins and ends with defiling actions that issue from the mouth. By invoking the indisputable judgment of the Ten Commandments, Jesus provides a list of actions and attitudes that God has designated wrong in every circumstance. These are not merely issues of tradition or ritual, as was the debate over hand-washing in 15:1-9. Jesus focuses on real wrongs that human beings can commit against one another and against God. The pericope of ...

1657. Joshua 3:7-17

Joshua 3:7-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Speaking under Yahweh's authority, Joshua commands the people on every nuance affecting this climactic moment. Joshua organizes the ranks, orders ritualistic sanctification, oversees the movement of the ark of the covenant, times the actual crossing and designates 12 special tribal representatives. What is more, after the crossing is completed, Joshua arranges for an everlasting memorial to be erected and honored as a reminder to succeeding generations of what God has done. With the ceremony, Joshua ...

1658. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... gifts appear faint and fragile at times, God makes them strong enough to see the faith community through to "the end" and bring it home. Note that even as Paul promises the Corinthians, that, because of their faith, they will be called "blameless," this designation does not kick in until the eschatological "day of our Lord." Just as the spiritual gifts of a community are not fully realized until the eschaton, so, too, they do not enjoy "blameless" status until that age. This leaves the apostle plenty of ...

1659. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... describes herself in this context as "the servant of the Lord." More poetic translations of this text have described Mary as the "handmaid of the Lord." But the term Mary uses could be just as correctly translated as "the slave of the Lord." This startling designation, along with Mary's plea to "let it be with me according to your word" demonstrates her complete, unyielding obedience to God's purposes. Mary gives over the very essence of her being, makes herself into a "slave," out of obedience to God's ...

1660. Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... religious reforms undertaken by the boy-king Josiah, the word of the Lord should come to boy-prophet, Jeremiah. That Jeremiah feels himself inadequate to the task puts him in good company. From the days of Moses, those whom the Lord had genuinely designated as divine spokespersons had felt ill-equipped to serve _ and often for better reasons than Jeremiah could muster. Yahweh utterly rejects Jeremiah's hesitancy and instead, goes on to recount how completely the Lord will use him. God insists Jeremiah will ...

1661. Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with the personal nature of the preceding text that apparently Luke couldn't resist placing it here. In Matthew's rendition of this sermon, this text appears much later (Matthew 7:12), not in the midst of these rules for personal conduct. This "rule" is designated as something from "the law and the prophets" in Matthew's text _ in other words, this is a mandate about correct behavior from God, not from human beings. By tying the "rule" into the string of insults and injustices the obedient may be forced ...

1662. Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... this new perception of gains and losses. Not just his particular merits of heritage or status or learning are singled out, but now "everything" is regarded "as loss" when compared to the new knowledge Paul gained of Christ. Paul may have intentionally designated this experience as one of "knowing Christ" in order to clearly distinguish Christian "knowing" from the secret gnosis or "knowledge" touted by so many of the first-century mystery religions. Paul, as a "Hebrew born of Hebrews," can lay claim to the ...

1663. Luke 10:38-42

Luke 10:38-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... followers, nor Martha and Mary themselves appear to see their presence in the midst of this discipling band as highly unusual or improper. It also appears from the context of this story that neither Martha nor Mary was married. The home Jesus enters is clearly designated as Martha's, and no mention of a spouse is ever made. If this is the case, it could be that as either widowed or unmarried women, Martha and Mary enjoyed a somewhat less-structured or defined role in first-century society allowing them to ...

1664. Luke 12:49-56

Luke 12:49-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... rather cryptic images and arcane references. Yet, everything about his language indicates Jesus' real sense of urgency for his mission and ministry. While he had made it clear that God's providence is behind all these imminent events, Jesus now claims his role as the designated agent of the divine will. Jesus speaks here of having been sent to set a fire, and he now longs to strike the spark and get the flames roaring. This reference to fire may recall John's prophecy that the Messiah will baptize "with the ...

1665. Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 22) and the power of his words, different in tone and texture from the traditional interpretations of the scribes. These professionals followed established scholarly procedures in interpretations of the Torah. They debated points of law along familiar designated schools of thought. In Jesus' day, before the full flowering of rabbinic Judaism, scribal interpretation was intellectually demanding, but not expected to be spiritually surprising. Therefore, if Jesus was speaking "not as the scribes," not along ...

1666. 2 Kings 2:1-12a

2 Kings 2:1-12a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... years of service and loyalty. Elisha's response, asking for the "double share of your spirit" (verse 9) is the customary portion given to the first-born heir. Elisha is not asking for more power than Elijah had. He is only requesting that he be designated the undisputed heir of Elijah's place and role. Elijah grants Elisha's request on the condition that Elisha witness Elijah's departure from this world - a final test, perhaps, of Elisha's loyalty and trust in the power of God. Elisha's response to Elijah ...

1667. John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ?" The synagogue wants an explicit recitation of the relationship between eternal life and belief in the person of Jesus Christ and baptism in his name. John's close-up focus on the necessity of these actions (baptism, confession of Jesus as the Son of God) is designed to prod those Jews who are attracted to the Christian church's message, but are hesitant to take that final step out of the synagogue. In Numbers 21:6-9 there is the strange story of a plague of poisonous snakes descending on the disobedient ...

1668. 2 Samuel 18:24-33

2 Samuel 18:24-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , who has the ability to give the life-loving joy that had already been mistaken for drunkenness on more than one occasion, is the only tonic believers need to imbibe. While under the influence of this affirming Spirit, Paul prescribes another practice designed to give these Christians courage and joy despite their existence during the evil end-times. Just as the drunkard "in his cups" is often found crooning an exuberant, if somewhat tone-deaf tune, so those filled with the Spirit should freely express ...

1669. James 1:17-27

James 1:17-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... chose to "give us birth," first physically (as described in Genesis) and then spiritually through "the word of truth" (the regenerative power of the gospel). James highlights the special relationship that this re-creation in the truth forges between God and humanity by designating all those reborn in the gospel as "first fruits." In the Hebrew tradition (and many others as well) the first fruits or the first-born were assumed to belong to God and so were redeemed or offered to God. Christians now are the ...

1670. Mark 8:27-38

Mark 8:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , a gift we can never repay. Following Jesus or not is left up to us. But Jesus pulls no punches when he describes the fate of those who dismiss his invitation. Verse 38 is one of the church's "sentences of holy law," designed to demonstrate that earthly doings will have eschatological results. Flexing his newly revealed authority as the re-defined but God-directed Son of Man, Jesus admonishes those who turn shamefacedly away from his challenge to discipleship. Their actions will have consequences in the ...

1671. Luke 21:25-36

Luke 21:25-36

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... discourse. Clearly it is Jesus' chosen term for himself. Perhaps it is the dual nature of this term that makes it so attractive to Jesus and to the gospel writer. The Son of Man incorporates both Jesus' present and future self. As a prophet Jesus is rightly designated as the "Son of Man" even before his crucifixion (not unlike Ezekiel). But the term neatly transfers to the resurrected Christ as well. As in verse 27 it is the Son of Man who appears now "with power and great glory" to act as judge and as ...

1672. Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... deems hollow if the gift of an heir does not materialize. What good are all his possessions and all his future plans if this most basic need - a child - is not met? Abram points out that, in accordance with the customs of his day, he will be obliged to designate a servant from his household to act as heir if he and Sarai have no child of their own. Instead of chastising him for his doubts, the Lord leads Abram outside for a little "show-and-tell" instruction. God's assurance to Abram is not only that he ...

1673. Luke 19:28-40

Luke 19:28-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... confusing Jesus' messianic identity with that of some militaristic, revolutionary zealot. But Luke's most subtle attempt at diffusing a potentially problematic issue comes in the close of the entrance hymn (v.38). While the gospel writer inserts the designation "king," he is careful to note that this proclamation is only in the mouths of Jesus' own disciples. Unlike the other gospels, which record a frenzied, enthusiastic crowd participating in the entrance ceremony, Luke specifies that only those who ...

1674. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... promised "foundational" city. The NRSV's selection of the terms "architect and builder" also seems to suggest a more literal understanding of this image. Other translators render these terms "maker and fashioner," images that suggest less nuts and bolts than a grand designer. Verses 14-16 will reveal the true nature of this "city," dispelling any physical notions that this verse seems to imply. The second area of Abraham's faithfulness lauded here is his belief in God's ability to work miracles with flesh ...

1675. Philemon 1:1-20

Philemon 1:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is part of a "beloved" community, a community identified by its love for one another. Paul not only identifies Philemon as a companionable friend, but as an equally active co-worker for the cause of Christ with Paul himself. Like Paul, then, Philemon is designated as one who is working to bring the gospel into the world through the testimony of his words and actions. By naming Apphia, who was probably Philemon's wife, and Archippus, another leader in this "house church," Paul gathers Philemon's peers about ...

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