Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 1876 to 1900 of 4942 results

1876. The Letter to Philadelphia

Revelation 3:7-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Legend has it that Philadelphia was named after two rulers of the Attalid dynasty, the brothers Eumenes II and Attalus II Philadelphus. Philadelphia was known as the “gate” or “door” because it stood at the juncture of two major road systems. One road ran north from Ephesus and through a pass above the Cogamis Valley, while the other road ran east of Philadelphia through the Phrygian province. Philadelphia experienced the benefits and burdens of living in a volcanic area called the Katakaumenē(literally “ ...

1877. The Seven Seals: Where is God When His People Suffer?

Revelation 6:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

6:1–8 · The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: In this next set of visions, the slain Lamb breaks the seals on the scroll (6:1) one by one to unveil the contents of God’s redemptive plan. The breaking of the first four seals follows a set pattern: the Lamb opens a seal, the cherubim issue the command, “Come,” and a demonic rider on a colored horse proceeds to carry out the scroll’s contents. Revelation’s portrayal of riders on white, red, black, and pale green horses is taken from Zechariah 1:8–15 and 6:1–8 ...

1878. The Beast of the Sea

Revelation 13:1b-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In Revelation 12, Satan was unveiled as the force of evil in our world, the phantom menace behind human history who wages war against God’s people. In Revelation 13, the dragon calls forth two legendary creatures, Leviathan from the sea (13:1) and Behemoth from the earth (13:11), as its agents of suffering and sin. According to Jewish tradition, these beasts were created on the fifth day, and their separation between the sea and the land was symbolic of God’s establishing order to the primordial chaos (Gen ...

1879. Mount Zion Descending

Revelation 14:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

It often seems that the dragon and his beasts are winning the war against the saints (13:7). But in Revelation 14, we are asked to take a sacred pause and place our immediate disheartening experiences within a larger, more epic story. The church has been riding the ripple effects of the cross and resurrection for the past two millennia, and this victorious journey will reach its zenith when the followers of the slain Lamb celebrate the end of evil and the beginning of eternity. The Lamb standing on Mount ...

1880. The Fall of Babylon Rome

Revelation 18:1-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Revelation 18 continues narrating the destruction of the Roman Empire due to its own political corruption, economic injustice, moral decadence, and idolatrous values. In the second of two complex metaphors on Roman power, the once-great city of Babylon is in complete ruin. The readers are not told exactly how the city falls, only that it does (“She fell! Babylon the Great fell!” [18:2, author’s translation]; cf. 14:8; Isa. 21:9), and what follows is a detailed description of the grisly aftermath of Rome’s ...

1881. The Return of the King

Revelation 19:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

From this point onward (19:11–22:5), John narrates eschatological events surrounding the parousia of Jesus Christ. The Greek term parousia can be translated “return” but literally means “coming” or “advent” (see Matt. 24:36–42; 1 Cor. 15:21–28; 1 Thess. 4:14–17). In 19:11–16, John focuses on a particular aspect of the parousia, that is, the final defeat of God’s enemies. When the skies split apart and heaven opens up (19:11; cf. 4:1), a glorious rider appears on a white horse. This rider, with eyes “like a ...

1882. The Time Is Now!

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Unlike John or Peter, the gospel writer Luke was a cool-headed intellect. Luke was a physician. As a physician, he was trained to keep his emotional distance from the events he saw. Nobody wants a physician who lets emotion run ahead of intellect. We want our medical doctors to be able to confront the most remarkable experiences and stay calm; to analyze, decide the best course of action, and prescribe whatever it takes to get the patient well again. Above all else, "Keep calm and carry on." That is, do ...

1883. Elephants in the Room: Addiction

Romans 7:15-22

Sermon

Charley Reeb

As kids we often wondered if monsters existed. We would look under our bed to be sure there wasn’t one hiding there. Well, a monster does exist and it is often kept hidden. That monster is addiction. That’s how Hunter Thompson described it. Thompson was a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. He had a wonderful job and all the opportunities a person could ask for. The problem was that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol for most of his life. He committed suicide in 2005. Shortly after his death, his first ...

1884. Pop Verses!: Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4:13

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Good morning! It is great to see everyone. I am excited because I begin a new message series today! It’s called “Pop Verses!” meaning “popular’ verses of scripture. It was tough for me to whittle down this list to seven. There are several popular Bible verses. However, I think I picked the ones that most people are very familiar with. And some of these may be your most favorite of all. In this series we are going to take a closer look at these pop verses and the context in which they appear. We are going ...

1885. The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

4:1 The baptism of Jesus, which culminated with the voice from heaven declaring divine approval, is followed immediately (Mark 1:12 has “at once”) by a time of temptation. The parallel account in Luke indicates that Jesus was tempted by Satan throughout a forty-day period (Luke 4:22). Matthew describes the dramatic conclusion of this period (“after [Jesus fasted] forty days and forty nights … the tempter came to him,” vv. 2–3). It is not at all uncommon for temptation to follow closely our times of ...

1886. Clean and Unclean

Matthew 15:1-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

15:1–2 Knowledge of Jesus and his ministry had by this time spread throughout Palestine. Scribes and Pharisees came all the way from Jerusalem to question him about his activities. The scribes were Jewish scholars who copied the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament and consequently became the professional interpreters of Scripture. The Pharisees were a religious order, primarily laymen, who devoted themselves to strict adherence to the law. Most scribes were Pharisees, but not all Pharisees were scribes ...

1887. Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

Mark 1:21-28

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

1:21–28 It is significant that the first scene of Jesus’ ministry (after the calling of the four disciples) is one in which Jesus teaches and performs an exorcism. Both actions are emphasized in Mark’s Gospel as characteristic aspects of Jesus’ ministry, and by placing this account in the opening of Jesus’ ministry, Mark shows the reader immediately a representative scene. Although Mark says that Jesus “proclaimed” (1:14), more characteristically he describes Jesus as teaching, as here in the present scene ...

1888. Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Mark 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

2:1–12 Up to this point Mark has introduced us to Jesus and given us samples of his ministry, showing us the effect of his teaching (1:21–22, 27) and his powerful works of exorcism (1:23–28, 34) and healing (1:29–34, 40–45). In chapter 2 we have further glimpses of Jesus’ ministry of miracles and teaching, but we should really think of Mark 2:1–3:6 as a single unit of the narrative, for each of the incidents described here involves some controversy between Jesus and various critics. The incidents in Mark 1 ...

1889. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

Mark 2:18-22

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

2:18–22 Another issue surfaces between Jesus and his critics; in this case the question concerns why his disciples do not observe fasts like those of the other religious groups named. The fasting in question was a weekly exercise (for the Pharisees, on Mondays and Thursdays) and seems to have been intended as an expression of mourning over the sins of Israel and over the fact that the longed-for salvation of prophetic hope had not appeared (on fasting in Mark, see note). The fact that the question emerged ...

1890. Jesus Before Pilate

Mark 15:1-15

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

15:1–5 In this passage the Jewish leaders meet to make a formal decision about Jesus (v. 1) and they hand him over to Pilate, the Roman governor, whose interrogation of Jesus is then briefly described (vv. 2–5). All three Synoptic Gospels record a morning meeting of the Jewish Council to deal with Jesus (cf. Matt. 27:1; Luke 22:66), which is further evidence that any hearing held during the night must have been either an interrogation or some sort of pretrial hearing, not a formal trial. Otherwise no ...

1891. The Resurrection

Mark 16:1-20

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

16:1–8 The resurrection of Jesus was the single most important event in the formation of faith in Jesus in the early church. The resurrection not only overturned the effects of the crucifixion, giving life where there was death, but more importantly, signified that Jesus had been vindicated by God and made the prince and pioneer of salvation for anyone believing in him. In 1 Corinthians 15:12–28, Paul gives a concise description of the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection, portraying the risen Jesus as the basis ...

1892. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Luke 3:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

3:1–6 Luke relates the appearance of John the Baptist to the political and religious authorities of the time, just as he did in the infancy narratives of John (1:5) and Jesus (2:1–2). (For details regarding these authorities see notes below.) The second half of v. 2 brings John back into the story: The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert (see 1:80). The expression is reminiscent of the calls that God extended to the OT prophets (Isa. 38:4; Jer. 13:3) and is actually borrowed from the ...

1893. The Parable of the Ten Minas

Luke 19:11-27

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

The Parable of the Ten Minas (or “Pounds”) provides a transition from the visit with Zacchaeus (19:1–10), in which the proper use of wealth was thematic, to the Triumphal Entry (19:28–48), in which Jesus enters Jerusalem as its king. Both aspects of stewardship and kingship are seen in the Parable of the Ten Minas. The Parable of the Ten Minas bears an uncertain relationship to the similar parable found in Matt. 25:14–30 (cf. also Matt. 25:14 and Mark 13:34 with Luke 19:12–13). In the Matthean version a ...

1894. The Resurrection

Luke 24:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

Luke 24 consists of a series of resurrection appearances of Jesus to various of his followers and culminates in his ascension (v. 51). Unlike the passion narrative, where there is fairly close agreement, the resurrection narratives of the Gospels diverge widely. Where the Gospels come the closest is in the telling of the discovery of the empty tomb (Luke 24:1–12). The reason for this is that this is the part of the narrative that Mark preserves (16:1–8). Since Mark breaks off rather abruptly with the ...

1895. The Jews and the Law

Romans 2:17-29

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Psalm 51 records the confession of David when the storm of guilt from his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah broke upon him. Psalm 51 is, in fact, descriptive of the human condition, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.… Surely I was sinful at birth” (vv. 3, 5). It may be possible to maintain confidence in one’s virtue if one limits or controls the field of comparison. It is common, for instance, in comparative studies of various kinds, to compare the strengths of one system ...

1896. Food Sacrificed to Idols

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Contrasting Knowledge and Love At this point in the letter to Corinth Paul enters into the discussion of an issue that will engage him, in one way or another, through 11:1. While the concrete concern that calls for his attention is the issue of “food sacrificed to idols,” at a theological level his focus is Christian rights and responsibilities, especially regarding “knowledge” and “freedom” in lifestyle practices. Interpreters trace the course of Paul’s reflections in slightly different ways, for at one ...

1897. Idol Feasts and the Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Paul returns here to the topics he dealt with in 8:1–13. There he touched on two related items, eating meat from idol sacrifices and participating in pagan cultic banquets. At this point, however, Paul reverses the order of his discussion and takes up the Christians’ eating at the table in a pagan idol’s temple in 10:14–22 before returning to the issue of eating idol meat per se in 10:23–11:1. In the present verses Paul elaborates and makes even more explicit application of his warning to the Corinthians. ...

1898. The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Problems in the Assembling These few lines are vitally related to the verses that follow, verses 23–26 and verses 27–34, although the weighty traditional nature of the ensuing verses distinguishes verses 23–34 from verses 17–22 and suggests the separation of the discussion of the Lord’s Supper into smaller, more manageable parts. Paul’s words and his concerns are straightforward, nearly self-evident, although the energy of his argument causes the discussion to shift about in a way that might be difficult ...

1899. To the Church in Ephesus

Revelation 2:1-7

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

In the first chapter, John introduced himself and his composition (1:1–3; 1:9–10) and then greeted his readers who belong to seven different congregations of the Asian church (1:4; 1:11). Chapters 2 and 3 expand upon this introduction in continuation from the preceding commissioning vision (1:12–20). In this way, John’s own perceptions of his audience are conveyed through the authoritative voice of “the First and the Last,” who instructs the seer to write the Lord’s greetings to the angelic representatives ...

1900. The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

A clear break in John’s book of visions is indicated by the events of 4:1. The seer sees an open door, and he hears the angel’s trumpetlike voice summoning him to enter through heaven’s portal. This passage into the visionary world will lead John to understand what will take place on earth. This is not to say that what follows in this chapter is unrelated to what precedes it; in fact, the various visions of this book are interrelated according to the seer’s own commission (cf. 1:19). In our view, it is ...

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