Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 1926 to 1950 of 2332 results

1926. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... life. . . . The task of future Christian leaders is not to make a little contribution to the solution of the pains and tribulations of their time, but to identify and announce the ways in which Jesus is leading God’s people out of slavery, through the desert to a new land of freedom.3 Followers of Jesus can live with boldness in spite of opposition because “the Spirit of [their] Father” will be with them. Quote: In her memoir The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom tells of her sister’s final days when ...

1927. The Disciples Confess Jesus as the Messiah

Matthew 16:1-4, Matthew 16:5-12, Matthew 16:13-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... and controversies with Jerusalem leadership (20:29–22:46) b. Judgment announced on Jewish leadership (23:1–39) c. Jesus’ fifth discourse: the Eschatological Discourse (24:1–25:46) 3. Jesus’ execution by Rome and resurrection/vindication by God (26:1–28:20) a. Prelude to the cross: betrayal and desertion (26:1–56) b. Jesus on trial (26:57–27:26) c. Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and burial (27:27–66) d. Resurrection as vindication and the commissioning of disciples (28:1–20)

1928. Eschatological Discourse: Prediction of the Temple’s Destruction

Matthew 24:1-35

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... number of false messiahs or zealots promising the defeat of Rome. For example, Josephus mentions “deceivers and imposters” who “under the pretense of divine inspiration foster[ed] revolutionary changes. . . . They persuaded the multitude to act like madmen, and led them out into the desert under the belief that God would there give them tokens of deliverance” (J.W. 2.259 [see also Ant. 20.97–99, 167–72]). 24:27 For as lightning . . . is visible . . . so will be the coming of the Son of Man ...

1929. Jesus Is Anointed and Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples

Matthew 26:1-5, Matthew 26:6-13, Matthew 26:14-16, Matthew 26:17-30

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... Jesus by the Jewish leaders (26:3–5; also 12:14; 21:45–46). The woman who anoints Jesus (26:6–13) is the first of a number of women highlighted in the Passion Narrative who display discipleship qualities or remain with Jesus when the Twelve desert him (27:19, 55–56, 61; 28:1–10). The scene in which Jesus shares the Passover with his disciples (26:17–30) highlights Judas’s betrayal (26:23–25; see 26:14–16, 47–50) and Jesus’ sacrifice and death “for the forgiveness of sins” (see ...

1930. The Resurrected Jesus Is Vindicated by God and Given All Authority

Matthew 28:1-10, Matthew 28:11-15, Matthew 28:16-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... in the divine identity and is worthy of worship (see comments on 28:18). 28:10 Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me. Jesus has offered future hope of reconciliation with his disciples when he predicts that they will desert him (26:32). Here that restoration is intimated by his reference to the eleven as his “brothers.” 28:12 the chief priests had met with the elders. Even at the end of the Gospel the chief priests and elders continue to attempt to derail Jesus ...

1931. Jesus’s Identity as Messiah and Son of God Established

Mark 1:1-8

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... from God through their sin and unbelief. The final promises of God are now inaugurated, and this is a kind of Roman “triumph,” a victory procession as the king comes. The wilderness is the place of testing and messianic crisis (the Essenes went into the desert to signify the necessity of purifying an unclean nation) and also of divine succor and comfort (1 Kings 19:4–18; Rev. 12:6, 14). Both ideas are part of the wilderness motif in Mark. 1:4 a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins ...

1932. Jesus’s Ministry and Popularity Continue to Grow

Mark 1:40-45, Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:29-34

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... his messianic nature from the people because they could not understand that in his first coming he is to be a suffering servant rather than a conquering king. 1:35 went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. This may be the same “wilderness” or “desert” (er?mos) where Jesus was tested by Satan (1:12–13), yet it is also a place of solitude where Jesus can gain divine solace in prayer with his Father. There is a contrast between Jesus, who wants to be alone with God, and his disciples, who ...

1933. God’s Miraculous Provision: Caring for the Needy

Mark 6:30-44

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... that they did not even have a chance to eat. This recalls the situation in 3:20, again showing such a great crowd that Jesus and the disciples are unable even to eat. As in 1:45, this leads the apostolic band to leave the town for a “quiet/deserted place” (in the wilderness, where they can get away from the great multitudes). Luke 9:10 tells us it was in the area of Bethsaida, on the northeast side of the lake. 6:34 he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus and ...

1934. Jesus Proclaims Judgment on the Temple and the Nation

Mark 13:1-31

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... latter, but the destruction of wickedness was always a necessity. The holy God must destroy evil. Thus this world was doomed once sin entered it. Two “ends” are described here: the destruction of the temple and the city of a nation that had deserted God, and the events at the “end” of history when evil will be removed and a new eternal world created. Illustrating the Text Judgment coming Human Experience: Although no one likes getting a traffic ticket, most people are happy that the authorities work ...

1935. Jesus Interprets the Passover Seder of Himself

Mark 14:12-26

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... ’s coming betrayal, whether through supernatural awareness or news that he had heard from friends in Jerusalem.7 Jesus assumes a prophetic air here, so the former is more likely. There are three prophecies here: Judas’s betrayal (vv. 18–21), the disciples’ desertion (vv. 22–25), and Peter’s denials (vv. 26–28). Each is fulfilled in verses 43–49, 50–52, 66–72 respectively. Jesus is aware and in control of everything that will transpire. He goes to his destiny alone and yet is sovereign ...

1936. The Trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin

Mark 14:53-65

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... come even as the disciples fail to support him in prayer. Then there is movement back to Jerusalem as Jesus is arrested and brought back into the city, following the same path to his trial/hearing before the authorities. Again the disciples fail him as they desert, and Peter denies even knowing Jesus. Finally, he is to be moved back outside the city to Golgotha, where he will die alone as the Suffering Servant on the cross. Interpretive Insights 14:53–54 They took Jesus to the high priest. There is a ...

1937. Peter Denies Jesus

Mark 14:66-72

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... he broke down and wept. One can only imagine how mortified Peter felt as he realized the extent of his guilt. Jesus’s prediction was fulfilled to the very letter. In fact, all of his predictions about the betrayal of Judas (vv. 18–21 = vv. 43–45), the desertion of the disciples (v. 27 = vv. 50–52), and the denials of Peter (v. 30 = vv. 66–72) have come to pass. Peter’s weeping shows his deep-seated grief and remorse. He does not expect ever to be forgiven and likely thinks of himself as another ...

1938. Jesus Is Crucified

Mark 15:21-32

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... . The crucifixion manifests both horror and judgment. David Garland says, “The account of Jesus’s crucifixion as portrayed in Mark is as gloomy as the darkness that covered the earth until the ninth hour. Jesus went to his death in utter loneliness, betrayed, deserted, and denied by his followers.”8 The horror of putting to death the Son of God is uppermost. Luke (centering on the worship aspects and the death of Jesus as innocent righteous martyr) and John (highlighting the cross as the throne of the ...

1939. On the Cross Jesus Is Mocked and Dies

Mark 15:33-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... the second half of the psalm he cries out in triumph, knowing that God will vindicate him (vv. 22–31). So some believe that this is a cry of victory rather than of agony. However, in the context it is clearly deep sorrow that predominates, culminating the desertion of his disciples, the rejection by the leaders and people of Israel, and now the absence of his Father’s presence. There is an aspect of trust and a realization that triumph will come (the whole psalm is implied in Jesus’s cry, as he utters ...

1940. The Supernatural Witness to the Significance of Jesus’s Death

Mark 15:42-47

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... had followed him and cared for his needs. Luke 8:1–3 mentions the women who were followers and patrons of the apostolic band, but Mark has not noted them until this point. In this narrative they are the only faithful followers (the disciples had deserted) and become official witnesses of the death (here), burial (15:47), and resurrection (16:1–8) of Jesus. Mary Magdalene (from Magdala on the northwest side of the lake) is always first in the lists and was likely the leader of the women disciples. Mary ...

1941. Jesus and John the Baptist

Luke 7:18-35

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... why John—who represents the old age—is the “least” in the kingdom of God. Illustrating the Text In his humanity, John the Baptist brooded about Jesus as he lay in jail. Anecdote: William Barclay. Think what was happening to John. John, the child of the desert and of the wide-open spaces, was confined in a dungeon cell in the castle of Machaerus. Once, one of the MacDonalds, a highland chieftain, was confined in a little cell in Carlisle Castle. In his cell was one little window. To this day you may ...

1942. Interpreting the Times

Luke 12:54-59, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:35-48

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... translates kairos, often used of a time of special significance, even a crisis. Jesus is now speaking to those in the crowd who have not responded to his message by becoming disciples. The common sense that underlies elementary weather lore seems to have deserted them when it comes to interpreting the equally obvious signs of Jesus’s ministry. Compare 11:20 for the visible evidence of the inbreaking of the kingdom of God. The “signs” that they had requested (11:16, 29) were already abundantly there ...

1943. The Coming of the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20-37

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... 17:23 Do not go running after them. The reference is perhaps to the sort of prophetic or messianic pretenders who were a feature of Jewish life in the period leading up to the war with Rome in AD 66, some of whom called their followers out into the desert to await a miraculous deliverance from Roman power (see Acts 5:36–37; 21:38). 17:24 the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning. It will be suddenly and universally obvious when “the Son of Man is revealed” (17:30). That is why they ...

1944. The Trials of Peter and of Jesus

Luke 22:66--23:25, Luke 22:63-65, Luke 22:54-62

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... cf. Acts 4:6) but does not name again now. As chairman of the Sanhedrin, he would supervise the action taken against Jesus. Peter followed at a distance. True to his boast in 22:33, Peter is apparently the only one of the disciples who has not deserted Jesus, though he wishes to remain incognito. John 18:15 says that another disciple, presumably John himself, went with him. 22:55 a fire in the middle of the courtyard. It can be very cold at Passover time in Jerusalem. We should probably envisage the open ...

1945. The Celebration of the Great Multitude in Heaven

Revelation 7:9-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The promises originally made to the exiles returning to Jerusalem from Babylon now provide a fitting description of how God plans to remove all pain and suffering: “They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water” (Isa. 49:10). These promises are especially meaningful to people living in a hot, dry climate where water and shelter ...

1946. The Woman, the Son, and the Dragon

Revelation 12:1--13:1a

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... 2:17; 2 Tim. 3:1–5; 2 Pet. 3:3).9 Theological Insights The woman’s location in the wilderness sends an important theological message. The “messianic community is a wilderness community,” receiving protection and provision even as it journeys through the desert to the promised land, the new Jerusalem.10 The people of God are nourished and protected by God from demonic assault, but they remain vulnerable to persecution and martyrdom. The people of God live between the “already” of Christ’s death ...

1947. Proclamations of Judgment and Reward

Revelation 14:6-13

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... . God seems unbothered by hurry. He works in deep ways over long periods of time to refine and shape our character, both individually and corporately. This text reminds us not to be duped by Babylon’s quick fixes. Every temptation Jesus encountered in the desert at the beginning of his ministry offered a shortcut to accomplishing his mission by avoiding the cross, but Jesus resisted and patiently endured in trust and obedience (Matt. 4:1–11). We are called to do the same. What do we need in order ...

1948. The Coming Judgment Calls for the Saints to Leave Babylon

Revelation 18:1-24

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... his death, Gaddafi was convinced his people adored him, famously saying, “They love me . . . they will die to protect me, my people.”6But this man who lived in opulence sustained by evil ended his days violently, buried in the desert without ceremony or memorial to mark his final resting place. Condoning and cooperating with sinful powers brings destructive consequences. History: Rome. Commenting on the opulence of Rome, Mounce notes: The excessive luxury of Rome and its passion for the extravagant ...

1949. Purification from “Leprosy”

Leviticus 14:33-57, Leviticus 14:1-32

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... land. The regulations about mold in houses given in verses 35–53 would apply only when the Israelites had entered the promised land (“When you enter the land of Canaan” [v. 34]), where they could build permanent houses. Living in tents in the desert gave no occasion to apply this law. “Mold” (v. 34) is the same Hebrew word as for “leprosy” in Leviticus 13–14 (tsara‘at), though here the term refers to mold or mildew resembling “leprosy” in humans that could occur on garments or leather ...

1950. Sabbath Year and Year of Jubilee

Leviticus 25:8-55, Leviticus 25:1-7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... a year of suspending payment of debts (Deut. 15:1–11). Without a harvest, debts, of course, cannot be paid. Nehemiah later tries to reinstitute the Sabbath Year (Neh. 10:31). 25:2 When you enter the land. Clearly, these rules are inapplicable in the desert. 25:4 a year of sabbath rest. See Exodus 23:10–11. 25:6 Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you. While sowing and pruning are prohibited, some grain will germinate from seed dropped during the harvest previous to ...

Showing results