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Showing 151 to 175 of 2404 results

151. “Love Your Enemies”

Luke 6:27-38

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... of the Spirit, can break the cycle of hate and violence and produce authentic reconciliation. Share with your audience examples from your life or the life of others where authentic self-giving resulted in reconciliation. Suggest some practical ways that this might be achieved in their own lives. It might also be instructive to suggest some examples where turning the other cheek (6:29) or allowing someone to take what belongs to you (6:30) would be wrong or unjust. What are the key principles enshrined in ...

152. Getting Ready for the Passover

Luke 22:7-38, Luke 22:1-6

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... to take the place of a servant. Luke does not record Jesus’s washing of his disciples’ feet at this meal (see John 13:2–17), but it vividly illustrates his teaching here. 22:28–30 I confer on you a kingdom. In contrast to humanly achieved greatness, loyal disciples can look forward to a different kind of kingship. The present Passover meal is a foretaste of the ultimate heavenly banquet, where Jesus will again be the host. But there, when the kingdom of God is finally established (22:16, 18), God ...

153. The Reversal of the Deuteronomic Curses and Blessings: Replacing Law with Faith

Romans 9:30--10:21

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... to disassociate wisdom from the law, with two results: he replaces nomism with the principle of faith alone, and particularism with universalism. I conclude my comments on 10:6–8 by noting that even Moses himself, according to Paul, apparently had doubts that Israel would achieve God’s righteousness by obeying the law. Thus, if Leviticus 18:5 (see Rom. 10:5) and Deuteronomy 30:12–14 (see Rom. 10:6b–8) dictate that Israel needed to obey the law in order to have the covenantal blessing of life, then ...

154. Everything is Ephemeral

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is like a breath [hebel]; his days are like a fleeting shadow.” Hebel is also the Hebrew spelling of Abel, the first human to die (Gen. 4:8), and all humans have experienced similarly the transient or otherwise insubstantial nature of their life and achievements. Since all human endeavors under the sun are stamped with a t for temporary, such pursuits often seem to be futile or even senseless, but this gives no warrant for translating the word consistently as “meaningless” in the book, as the NIV does ...

155. Less Is More

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... and joy until you appreciate yourself and are grateful for who God made you to be. Back in the 80s there was a popular song sung by Whitney Houston titled “The Greatest Love Of All.” It is a beautiful song. It tells that the greatest love is easy to achieve. It is learning to love yourself. Why is this the greatest love of all? Learning to love yourself is learning to see yourself the way God sees you. Saint Bernard lived hundreds of years ago. He was a very wise man. He took all of the lessons he had ...

156. Defeating Discouragement

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... hoping hard enough that things turn out the way we want. And when they do, well, we had faith. That’s not faith. Someone once said that “faith is not the means by which we achieve victory; faith is the victory itself.” Victory is achieved when we trust God’s timing and wait hopefully for him. Victory over discouragement is achieved when we stop rushing ahead of God, quiet our hearts before him, and wait for his strength. Some of you may be thinking, “Okay, I’ve got my Bible open on my lap and I ...

157. Slaves to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... in obedience to grace is one free. The auto racer who drafts or slipstreams a car in front of him experiences this freedom in a rough sort of way, for by pulling into the wind pocket of the car ahead and “obeying” it, the second car achieves a speed and economy of fuel impossible on its own. It is neither the dispassionate ascetic nor the supposedly unbiased critic who exemplifies grace, but the individual indebted and bound to righteousness. Had not the Incarnate One taken the form of a slave (Phil. 2 ...

158. Job's Third Reply to Eliphaz

Job 23:1--24:25

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... their ways and will ultimately bring them to justice—at least, Job hopes so! 24:24 Since God is the one who lifts up (they are exalted) and brings low (they are brought low; see also Ps. 75:7), the rise of the wicked to power is no independent achievement but remains subject to the permissive will of God. When God decides to act, those who are at the peak of their human power will be gone. God is the true actor behind the seeming vagaries of human existence. The phrase and gathered up may also be taken as ...

159. The Lord, the Builder of the House(hold)

Psalm 127:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... . It is impossible to say whether or not these proverbs had a life of their own before their combination here. But whether the psalm is an act of authorship or editing, it has certainly become more than the sum of its parts. A unity is achieved—whether by an author or editor—by several threads. Both sections share the distinctive theme of Yahweh’s hidden, though decisive, involvement in house and home. In the Hebrew text, there is a wordplay between the “builders” (Hb. bônāyw) in the first half ...

160. Faith or Observance of the Law

Galatians 3:1-14, Galatians 3:15-25

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... law in a general sense to be that which reflected justice. As Aristotle says, “ ‘The just’ therefore means that which is lawful or that which is equal and fair” (Eth. nic. 5.1.8 [Rackham, LCL]). Law was a way of measuring and achieving justice. By broadening the field to speak about law in general Paul asserts that the Galatians have already followed the law. This is an effective rhetorical strategy, for the conclusion is plain that through believing in Christ crucified (cf. 3:1), the Galatians ...

161. Wives and Husbands

1 Peter 3:1-7

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... forward his work—in this instance, of winning unbelieving husbands to faith in Christ. 3:5–6 The advice to wives on how to be truly beautiful is not just some man’s well-meaning opinion. Scripture itself reveals that this is the way it was achieved by the holy women of the past, that is, by those who demonstrated by their lives that they truly belonged to the holy people of God. Such women put their hope in God, and women believing in Christ through their new birth have similarly embraced a living ...

162. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... need to be afraid. Nor are they to be frightened—the word means to be greatly disturbed in spirit (“stormtossed”). Their spirit is the very place where they are to maintain the divine peace, for it is that which will carry them through. And how is that peace achieved? The way to counter fear is to displace it with a greater power. The believer is to submit wholeheartedly to the lordship of Christ and let him be the garrison of the heart (Phil. 4:7). 3:15b The calm poise of a Christian in the midst of ...

163. The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:1-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... all humans would strike the serpent, the representative of the forces that oppose God, with a fatal blow. That victory would put an end to the enmity between the serpent and humankind. As Scripture unfolds God’s design, it becomes clear that the one to achieve such a major victory is the Messiah (Rom. 16:20), but it would take centuries before any audience would see that meaning in this text. 3:16 To the woman God said that he would greatly increase her pains (’itsabon) in childbearing. In giving birth ...

164. To Us a Child is Born

Isaiah 9:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... righteousness (see on 1:21) and a bringer of peace (see on v. 6b below), one who will bring a fulfillment of the vision underlying chapters 1–8 as a whole. Yet that also means that the promises go far beyond anything that any king ever achieved, or even sought. They are “messianic.” The basis for conviction that the vision will be fulfilled lies in the son’s name (v. 6b). Hebrew names of the kind that we have already met in Isaiah, such as Isaiah, Uzziah, Hezekiah, Shear-Jashub, MaherShalal-Hash-Baz ...

165. Sennacherib's Fall

Isaiah 37:21-38

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... scenario to encourage Hezekiah at a moment when the pride and scorn are on Sennacherib’s side. In between verses 22 and 29 comes the familiar double critique of Sennacherib which makes the scenario not merely possible but inevitable. Sennacherib has forgotten who is God. His achievements have made him talk and think as if he is (vv. 23–25). He has behaved as if he could stand tall and look God in the eye. It is the standard temptation of national and international powers. He has taken no account of the ...

166. Flying High

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... Robbins tells the tragic story of a man much loved by millions of people all over the world. His name was Robin Williams. Remember him? Robin Williams was one of the most admired entertainers of our time. Robbins points out that Robin Williams was a master achiever. “[Robin Williams] started out with nothing,” writes Tony Robbins. “But then he decides that he wants to star in his own TV show, and he does it. Then he decides that he wants a beautiful family, and he creates it. Then he decides that he ...

167. Scrubbing Our Social Media Accounts

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... -seven years after he published this novel, a museum put on a display of all the alternate endings to his book so Hemingway fans could see how much work he put into his writing. (5) God only wrote one ending to the story of humanity. God knew we could not achieve holiness on our own. We cannot earn a place in God’s kingdom on our own merits. So before the creation of the world, God knew He would come Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and give us His holiness in place of our sin. He would die to ...

168. The Art of Following

Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... is to follow him, so that’s what we do. First, we idealize him. We set him up as an ideal that can never be achieved. We place him so far above us, so high on a pedestal of admiration that we know that we will never be able to do ... we do. We idealize him. That’s Tiger Woods, the ideal in golfing, an ideal that I have neither the talent nor the inclination to achieve for myself, an ideal that is just out of reach for people like me. Normal, semi-talented, quasi-committed, duffers like me. And that’s ...

169. Faking It or Making It?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... experiencing. Know anyone like that? The truth is that all of us to one extent or another are self-involved. Forgetting one’s self is difficult. But what if we could forget ourselves entirely? What if our thoughts weren’t focused on ourselves and our need to achieve, to belong, to be happy or significant? What if we could change our mind’s focus from ourselves and our needs to God and His plan for the world? What if we could surrender everything we have and everything we are to God and His will for ...

170. Wisdom to the World, but Foolishness to God

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , but things might be even more challenging now. In many ways society measures our value to the world and our success by the amount of power, wealth, and prestige we obtain. We are considered important if we hold positions of power, amass great wealth, and achieve worldly prestige for our accomplishments. Yet, if Paul is right and the great wisdom of the world is foolishness to God, then our society is moving in the wrong direction. If you read the daily paper, or listen to the news from radio or television ...

171. Sacrifice Leads to Life

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... our very individualistic self-serving twenty-first century American society, it is not a value that is held in high esteem by many. We are schooled from our earliest days to do whatever is necessary to get ahead, to move past the competition, to achieve to the highest levels. The social Darwin principle of “the survival of the fittest” is alive and applicable in every day society. We are bombarded from every side with the message that we must never stop moving forward; self-sacrifice and holding back so ...

172. Knowledge

Genesis 3:1-19 · Psalm 90

Sermon

Will Willimon

... should also die? With all that we know, can it be that there is something left which we cannot or should not know? Did God really say that we should not eat of the fruit of the tree of good-evil, life-death? 1300 on the SAT is a great achievement, but only average around here. If you can do that, then while you are here, we'll teach you to split atoms, clone genes, translate Sanskrit, macromanage the economy. And when you know that, we'll give you a degree and you'll be like unto -- gods. "Did God say ...

173. Driven to Complete

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... me following Jesus Christ. Follow me only that far.” (6) “. . . follow me only as far as you see me following Jesus Christ.” Pastor John Robinson knew that the secret of greatness lies in following Jesus’ example. People may be impressed by our achievements, but they will be inspired by our service. Pastor Edward Markquart saw this kind of greatness in a member of his congregation, a man named Bill Grant. Bill and his wife Mary had raised 24 foster children during their marriage. After retiring from ...

174. The Organic Gospel

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... fill us and use us as nurturers and seeders of God’s vineyard/garden kingdom. To walk with God is the ultimate compliment as one living a life in faith and love. Notice that the scriptures don’t say, reaching God, attaining grace, achieving recognition, growing the church. Even Paul never speaks about growing the church. He only speaks about spreading the good news and loving each other. The growth of the kingdom, the growth of the church, happens organically when disciples and apostles take their role ...

175. The Song of Servanthood

Luke 1:39-45 (46-54)

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... to the reporter, Mother Teresa turned to the head priest and said, “You have all this, but do you really love them?” This is the ultimate virtue of servanthood. It is not about social programs, numbers of things we accomplish, funds that we raise, or achievements we produce. It is about the love of Christ that we instill into all of those projects. It comes through our happiness, glorifying God and faith in Christ. Let us praise God together in whatever language we speak as his servants. Alaba Dios, a ...

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