Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 151 to 175 of 972 results

151. An Appeal for Full Allegiance to Apostolic Authority

2 Corinthians 10:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... -serving, allowing them only to “compare themselves with themselves” (10:12). Similarly, they refuse to recognize that the limits of Paul’s work and reputation are not due to any lack of eminence but rather to the fact that he has devoted himself exclusively to the field that “God has assigned” him, including the church at Corinth (10:13–14). Accordingly, because he has received his own divine commission (Acts 9:6, 15; 26:16–18; Gal. 2:11–17), Paul does not attempt to bolster his authority ...

152. Second Meeting with Jerusalem Leadership

Galatians 2:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.” Surely Paul viewed the issue that plagued Jerusalem then, and is plaguing Galatia as Paul writes, to be pivotal in one’s inclusion or exclusion from the faith. Clearly, in Paul’s view, these opponents are at least in danger of exclusion. While Paul was satisfied by the decision of the Jerusalem council, he is just as concerned to show the Galatians that the leadership in Jerusalem made a specific point of also recognizing the apostolic authority ...

153. Love without Limits

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... Gentiles, as well as God’s chosen people. I imagine Jesus had wished it to have been as easy to convince people of God’s boundless love. Unfortunately, Jesus was unable to avoid the wrath of those who felt that they and they alone were the exclusive recipients of God’s love. It all began when Jesus re- turned to his hometown of Nazareth. It appeared to be a regular Sabbath service. Jesus opened up the scriptures and read these liberating words from the prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon ...

154. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Luke 3:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... Isaiah quotation may have held special significance for Luke, who frequently refers to obedience to the gospel as following the “Way” (see Luke 20:21; Acts 9:2; 16:17; 18:26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). all mankind: This does not imply the exclusion of the Jewish people. On the contrary, the expression is universal and inclusive. Jews and Gentiles alike will see God’s salvation. On the meaning of Isa. 40:3–5 in Luke and the NT see Klyne R. Snodgrass, “Streams of Tradition Emerging from Isaiah 40:1 ...

155. Paul's Longing to Visit Rome

Romans 1:1-17

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... a variety of roles of servitude, constituting perhaps one-fourth of the population. In referring to himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, Paul does not desire to conjure up abject associations of subjugation, drudgery, and cruelty. His intention rather is to assert his exclusive allegiance to God’s absolute sovereignty. As a slave, Paul belongs to God. It is not Paul who determines what he will say and do; God’s sovereign decision determines who he is and what he must do. In this respect Paul’s use ...

156. Abraham Justified by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... until age 99. Thus, circumcision cannot be a prerequisite for righteousness. Otto Michel correctly notes that Paul’s strategy here is exactly the opposite of that at 3:10–18: there he faced the danger that the Jews would shift the sentence of judgment exclusively onto the Gentiles; here he faces the danger that Israel will reserve God’s blessings solely for itself (Der Brief an die Römer, p. 119). The conclusion that Abraham was blessed before he was circumcised was like a sonic boom in a china ...

157. Life Through the Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... , spirit and matter, etc.). But Spirit and flesh are not descriptive of a theological or ethical schizophrenia, or of higher and lower principles in the same person, one Christian, the other unchristian, or one saved, the other unsaved. Spirit and flesh are rather two exclusive realms, two authorities or governing powers. One is either in the Spirit or in the flesh, but not in both at the same time. The language indicates a sense of sovereignty and totality of the one or the other: to live according to the ...

158. The Lamb and the 144,000

Revelation 14:1-5

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... undermine the community’s covenantal relationship with God. In line with this conclusion, the women symbolize opposition to God (Schüssler Fiorenza, Revelation, pp. 190–91). To view them literally would require us to think of the church as exclusively male and of celibacy as a condition for Christian discipleship. The interpreter can more precisely equate the women to the evil women of Revelation: the false prophetess, Jezebel, who misleads immature believers in the congregation at Thyatira into sexual ...

159. The Purity of the Camp

Numbers 5:1-4

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... with a holy God. 5:11–14 The text, operating from a social context that assumes that a wife is dominated by the husband, makes use of an ordeal procedure that seems most foreign to modern customs. The first four chapters of Numbers have concentrated almost exclusively on males. In 5:1–10, women have been treated equally in the cases considered. A wife now comes to the fore, but not in an equal status. The text considers the case of a wife suspected of adultery. Olson provides a clear outline of the ...

160. Water from the Rock

Numbers 20:1-13

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... the Priestly tradents included this account as an example of a failed mission and further delay that is part of the death of the wilderness generation? 20:22–29 The concluding section of the chapter recounts the death of Aaron at Mount Hor. Aaron’s exclusion from the promised land is tied to his and Moses’ “rebellion” recounted in verses 2–13 (see 27:12–14). Aaron’s death is near, and God will work through Aaron’s older son Eleazar to provide a successor for the high priesthood. Moses is ...

161. The Penitential Psalm

Psalm 51:1-19

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... to sin and forgiveness as their chief issue. (Psalms 6 and 102 make no explicit mention of sin. Most of the verses of Ps. 38 concern sickness and enemies and those of Ps. 143 concern being near death and under enemy attack.) Only Psalm 51 gives sin exclusive attention apart from other distresses such as sickness (implied in 32:3–4) and the judgment of the exile (see on Ps. 130). In other psalms, the awareness of sin appears to be prompted by circumstances, but in Psalm 51 it is prompted by the inner ...

162. Restitution for Wrongs

Numbers 5:5-10

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

163. The Test for an Unfaithful Wife

Numbers 5:11-31

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

164. The Death of Aaron

Numbers 20:22-29

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... of Moses and Aaron from the land. The movement of the wilderness generation is slow and painful, and frequently interrupted by trouble. 20:22–29 The concluding section of the chapter recounts the death of Aaron at Mount Hor. Aaron’s exclusion from the promised land is tied to his and Moses’ “rebellion” recounted in verses 2–13 (see 27:12–14). Aaron’s death is near, and God will work through Aaron’s older son Eleazar to provide a successor for the high priesthood. Moses is to take Aaron ...

165. Forgiveness for the Sinner

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph. 2:2). There can be no fellowship between the realm of Belial and unbelievers, on the one hand, and the realm of Christ and believers, on the other; for they are as mutually exclusive as darkness and light (2 Cor. 6:14–16). Nevertheless, Satan tries to thwart believers at every point, either by leading them astray to “another gospel” (11:3–4) or by tempting them (1 Thess. 3:5; 1 Cor. 7:5). Likewise, Satan tries to thwart the ...

166. Accusations

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

167. Israel Exiled because of Sin

2 Kings 17:7-23

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 ...

168. Samaria Resettled

2 Kings 17:24-41

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

169. Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes

Ezra 4:6-24

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... in the early exile in Jeremiah 41:5. The narrator, by identifying the newcomers as the exiles and Judah and Benjamin (v. 1) and Israel (v. 3), reaffirmed the dominant message of the earlier chapters—that the people of God had to be defined in exclusive terms and differentiated from self-professed aliens. It is sometimes necessary for a group of believers to stand uncomfortably alone as the trustees of divinely revealed truth. To decide who is “for us” (Mark 9:40) or who “belong to us” (1 John 2:19 ...

170. Restoration of Israel

Isaiah 49:8-26

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... return home. We now have to ask: how does that look from mother’s angle? We begin to find an answer here, in But Zion said. . . . We have noted that chapters 40–48 center on Jacob-Israel, a term that suggests directly, though not exclusively, the Judean community in Babylon. At the same time, those chapters occasionally referred to Jerusalem-Zion, a reminder that this is that community’s home and destiny. Chapters 49–55 center on Jerusalem-Zion. Instead of telling Jacob-Israel “you are free to go ...

171. The Sign of Jonah

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Mountain coffee bean. It will only pick the most perfect coffee beans. It eats those coffee cherries and digests them. In the morning the locals harvest these beans. After every one of these beans has passed through the dung of a Civet cat. The most expensive and exclusive coffee in the world has come through the dung of an animal. Isn't it amazing how God works! See, in nature you see this over and over again. What is honey? The nectar of nature. But what? Bee “dung.” That is what honey is. In Asian ...

It is a strange fact that freedom and equality, the two basic ideas of democracy, are to some extent contradictory. Logically considered, freedom and equality are mutually exclusive, just as society and the individual are mutually exclusive.

Thomas Mann

173. We Would Like to See Jesus

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... bid on a private tour of the Vatican, or a golf game with a professional golfer and caddies, or a behind-the scenes tour of Conan O’Brien’s show with Conan himself as your tour guide. In the past, CharityBuzz has offered exclusive experiences like dinner and courtside tickets to a Dallas Mavericks game with Mark Cuban, attending a Hollywood movie premiere with Denzel Washington, a private meeting with soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo before one of his games. You can even bid on a personalized lullaby ...

174. Tales from the Field

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... within the sheepfold. But during the day, the shepherd would call them out to join the flock grazing on the hillsides. Sometimes, many folds might join into one flock. Sheep were meant to roam the hills. Whereas a fold is a place of exclusivity, a flock is not a defined place but an inclusive community. Jesus’ address to the Pharisees clearly was naming Israel under their thumb the “fold.” No longer a place of protection, the “fold” had become a kind of restrictive, homogenous club, excluding many ...

175. The Heart's Deceit

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , of oppression, even of disdain comes from our fear of others, whom we believe do not fit into our “code of rules,” our “code of conduct,” our “code of sameness,” our code of “protection.” Bias and exclusion are our own greatest forms of hiddenness, fear, mistrust, and self-isolation. Today in our scriptures, Jesus deals with fellow Pharisees, whom he realizes have shut themselves off from the people they are supposed to help, guide, and teach. Instead of forging relationships with the ...

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