Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 151 to 175 of 189 results

151. The Biggest Prayer Ever Prayed Under Heaven

John 17:1-11

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... and said, 'Father'... I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do" (vv. 1, 4). From Bethlehem to calvary, the Lord's ministry on earth has a singular emphasis. He reveals what God is like to people. Before Jesus, the best representation the people have is through the message of their religious leaders. It is harsh and judgmental and is essentially lacking in hope. Jesus brings a new vision of what God is like. John in the opening of his gospel says, "No one has ever seen God. It ...

152. Weeping at Christmastime

Matthew 2:13-23, Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... friend who comes to you and tells you to stop feeling sorry for yourself and to get up and get busy living may be an agent of the God of high expectations. That may seem harsh at the time, but if it is done in love it may be a representation of God. And know for certain that the friends who are beside you as you cope with the trials of life are agents of God's salvation. Look for those whom God may be using to make life possible for you. Then look for those situations in which God may ...

153. The Demand for a Sign

Matthew 16:1-4

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... so far from Jerusalem and the temple. One’s response to such conjectures is determined by the larger question of textual reliability. It seems perfectly reasonable to accept the text as it stands and understand the two groups together as a sort of official representation of Judaism. Most English translations note that verses 2b–3 are missing in a number of early manuscripts. Some scholars see the verses as a later addition from a source similar to Luke 12:54–56. Others argue the deletion of the verses ...

154. The Believer's Freedom

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... the author and agent of salvation. 11:1 In saying “Imitators of me become,” Paul uses the Gk. word mimētēs, a term from the representative and performatory arts. In a negative usage the word connotes “fake,” but in a positive usage the word seems to refer to a “representation.” It is the representative aspect of behavior—the believers represent Christ—that Paul has in mind.

155. The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... Mark 14:22–24; Matthew 26:26–28; and Luke 22:17, 19–20 is imperative for development of theology of the eucharist, but that larger project is both unnecessary and impossible in the context of this commentary. What seems most important in Paul’s representation of the tradition of the Lord’s Supper is that he emphasizes that the supper is the Lord’s and that he calls the Corinthians to an involvement with the Supper that will take any inappropriate focus off themselves as they remember that their ...

156. Zophar

Job 11:1-20

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... however, marks a turning point in the book. From here on, Job begins increasingly to contemplate the possibility—however fearful—of carrying his case directly to God. Zophar assumes that God’s speech would certainly be against Job, and would set his distorted representations straight. If Job’s comments in chapter 9 are any indication, he would probably agree that any hope for vindication by God is tenuous at best. On the other hand, Zophar’s sarcastic explosion has planted a seed in Job’s heart ...

157. Bildad's Second Speech to Job

Job 18:1-21

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... of one’s efforts had left a mark on the world and were thus of no consequence. This conclusion is much in line with Ecclesiastes’ pessimistic evaluation of human endeavor as hebel habelim, “utterly worthless.” The name of an individual is the public representation of his personhood. It is the means by which “memory” is carried on. Often the “name” indicated the character of, or at least the hopes attached to, the person, and many names expressed one’s trust in the saving power of God. For ...

158. Epilogue

Job 42:7-17

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... the view of God Job articulated during the dialogue is an accurate portrayal of divine reality, while the friends’ words lead astray. Thus we must always be careful how we use the friends’ words to inform our worldview, since they have been declared inaccurate representations of God. As much as we might be tempted to pull nuggets out of the verbal mother lode of the friends’ speeches, this verse cautions us that God himself has weighed these words and found them wanting. God affirms Job’s words, but ...

159. The Escape to Egypt

Matthew 2:13-18

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... cf. 1:22; 2:5, 17, 23). As spoken by the prophet, the statement “out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1) referred to God’s deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. Matthew interprets the Christ child as the embodiment or representation of the true Israel. Consequently, a number of parallels exists between the life of Jesus and the history of the nation. For example, Jesus is a second and greater Moses, who will lead his people out from spiritual bondage as his predecessor led the Israelites ...

160. The God of the Thunderstorm and the Proclamation of His Righteousness

Psalm 97:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... wings formed the throne. At the temple’s dedication after the ark entered the darkness of the Most Holy Place (1 Kgs. 8:12), Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud (Hb. ʿarāpel).” This earthly representation had a counterpart in the heavens (also “skies,” Hb. šāmayim signifies both). In another thunderstorm theophany, we read, “dark clouds (Hb. ʿarāpel) were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew” (Ps. 18:9–10). An allusion to the cherubim-ark ...

161. The Maker of Heaven and Earth Praised and Invoked to Bless Israel

Psalm 115:1-18

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... :37–38; Judg. 10:14; Isa. 44:9–20, esp. v. 17; 45:20; 46:1–2, 6–7; Jer. 11:12; also Deut. 4:28; Jer. 10:1–16; Hab. 2:18–19). In light of the above, Psalm 115 is not against symbolism as such but against direct representations of Yahweh. Thus, Yahweh’s presence is located in the temple and over the ark of the covenant, but the presence itself always remains invisible. We are now in a better position to understand verse 1, the only one addressed explicitly to God. The psalm as a whole makes us ...

162. The Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5:1-31

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... grave” (Isa. 14:13–15). He also anticipates the evil king Antiochus IV, “the little horn” who “grew as high as the host of heaven” (Dan. 8:9–11) and who “shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god” (Dan. 11:36). Though the representation of Belshazzar is perhaps not quite so dark as the one in Isaiah 14 or the ones in Daniel 8 and 11, he is similar to the evil kings in those passages in incurring God’s wrath for his overweening pride. Belshazzar’s offenses against ...

163. Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

Daniel 7:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... how he was shaping the tradition to fit his larger apocalyptic purpose (for more detail, see the Additional Note). The notion that there would be a succession of three or four empires could date from the Persian or early Greek period. The representation of Greece as the worst and most destructive kingdom could stem from Alexander’s conquest. In the second century B.C., the extreme antipathy Antiochus IV showed the Jews could have provided impetus for the composition of this apocalypse. Antiochus pushed ...

164. The Woman on the Beast

Revelation 17:1-18

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... . 164–65, 185–86). Many scholars, however, have understood this riddle in terms of actual Roman rulers, who once was, now is not, and yet will come. This smacks of historicist reductionism and fails to appreciate fully the transhistorical thrust of symbolic representation. John is not engaged in a polemic against the Roman Empire per se; rather, his polemic is against the anti-Christian kingdom of which Rome is but the best current example. 17:15–18 Beasley-Murray’s unsuccessful efforts to apologize ...

165. The Glory of the New Covenant

2 Corinthians 3:7-17; 4:1-6

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... Damascus, God revealed his Son to Paul (Gal. 1:16). At that time, Paul saw Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 9:1), and this made Paul an eyewitness apostle (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1–11). In the previous context of our passage, much has been said about “glory” as the representation of God’s presence. Thus, Moses’ face so shone with the glory of God that the Israelites could not gaze at it (2 Cor. 3:7). The glory of Christ is likewise a manifestation of God’s presence, for the text goes on to describe Christ as the image ...

166. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... there is nothing in all creation to compare with who Yahweh is or with what he has done, then it is futile to imagine that anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below could be an adequate representation. No created thing can funetion satisfactorily as an alternative to the living God—a lesson that human beings have not yet learned in spite of countless generations of trying. Modern investment of ultimate value in our own ideological, economic, political, and techno-scientific ...

167. Ahaziah King of Israel

1 Kings 22:51-53

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... ). Both Matt. (3:4) and Mark (1:6) portray John the Baptist (as “Elijah”) wearing both this kind of garment and a leather belt (cf. the additional note to 1 Kgs. 19:16). 1:10 / Fire fell from heaven: The figure of Elijah appears to stand behind the representation of the two prophets in Rev. 11:1–6, who stop the rain and kill with fire those who try to harm them (cf. also the allusions to Moses here, and the connections between Elijah and Moses in the commentary on 1 Kgs. 19 in particular). Fire is a ...

168. Jerusalem's Deliverance Foretold

2 Kings 19:1-13

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the LORD, who brings or withholds fertility, creating springs (not digging wells) and drying up rivers (Ps. 36:8–9; Jer. 2:13; 17:13; 51:36; Ezek. 31; Hos. 13:15). 19:28 My hook . . . my bit: The metaphor may reflect actual Assyrian practice, if their own pictographic representations of conquest are to be taken as referring literally to the past. The LORD will lead the Assyrian, like an animal, back to his own land (cf. Ps. 32:9; Prov. 26:3; Ezek. 19:1–9). 19:35 The angel of the LORD: There is a play on ...

169. Hezekiah's Prayer

2 Kings 19:14-19

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

170. Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall

2 Kings 19:20-37

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

171. Completion and Dedication of the Temple

Ezra 6:13-18

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... in 5:13–15. Readers are left with no doubt that, in basic format and in ongoing function, the second temple had the same value as the first. It was an essential part of the narrator’s agenda that the postexilic community was an authentic representation of the Israel of God. 6:6–12 The text continues with the actual letter, with its direct address to Tattenai and his “inspectors” (REB). The edict of Cyrus was allowed to stand, and Tattenai’s policy of noninterference (5:5) was approved, with the ...

172. The Passover

Ezra 6:19-22

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

173. The Return to Jerusalem

Ezra 8:15-36

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... are not told how many priests returned with Ezra. In the list of Nehemiah 7/Ezra 2, they made up a tenth of the immigrants. In that list a Davidic group was not singled out, although Zerubbabel’s leadership bore implicit witness to its representation. Here explicit mention attests the continuing honor paid to the preexilic royal line. Later the Chronicler would reflect such honor by tracing it down to his own era (1 Chr. 3), seemingly with an eschatological interest, but Ezra-Nehemiah as a whole displays ...

174. By the Sea

Matthew 4:18-22, John 1:35-42, John 1:43-51

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , the divine communication, the Word, the link of the covenant. His incarnation is the mediator between God and God’s lost children of Adam. Just as Jacob realized he was in the presence of God, so did Nathanael! As Jesus calls his disciples to himself (his representation of the 12 tribes), he is symbolically getting ready to call to all of God’s people, those who have intermarried and those who have been lost to the faith. On behalf of God, Jesus is getting ready to call all of God’s people home ...

175. Moving On

Luke 6:12-16, Luke 9:1-9, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . It means “to send from.” In Jesus’ day, it was a maritime term which referred to a cargo ship or naval fleet sent out with power and authority. In the Hebrew testament, the word used was salah, meaning a sending or commissioning, an empowering, representation by proxy. The word in Hebrew for example was used by rabbis who were sent out to represent the authority of the Sanhedrin. The messenger or representative (saliah) bore the authority of the one who sent him. In the case of Jesus (the messiah ...

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