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 2076 to 2100 of 2273 results

2076. Individual Responsibility

Ezekiel 18:1-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Through his prophet the Lord rebuts a popular proverb that God holds the succeeding generation accountable for the sins of the previous generation (18:2). If the children’s teeth (those in exile?) are set on edge, it is because they have eaten sour grapes, and not their fathers. After disposing of this misconception, Ezekiel constructs a theological/legal argument in support of the thesis of individual responsibility. To establish his case, he uses a three-generational model. The first generation is ...

2077. The River of Life

Ezekiel 47:1-12, Ezekiel 47:13-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In the first twelve verses of chapter 47 Ezekiel is shown water coming out of the temple’s south side. From there it flows for four thousand cubits through a desert and eventually empties into the Dead Sea. For this to happen, God must perform a geophysical miracle by making the temple site in Jerusalem a source of freshwater. A celestial man leads the prophet on a tour of this river. At one thousand cubits it is ankle-deep. At another one thousand cubits it is knee-deep. At another one thousand cubits it ...

2078. The Siege and Destruction of Nineveh

Nahum 2:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Nahum 2:1–2 marks a transition and is the third in the series of contrasts in God’s dealings with Nineveh and Judah. Verse 1 begins the description of the fall of Nineveh that is taken up again in verse 3 and then developed in the rest of the book. Verse 2 concludes the promises of the benefits that Israel will enjoy as a result of the defeat of her enemies. The result of the attack on Nineveh will be a scattering to the winds of her inhabitants (cf. Nah. 3:18). The words “Guard the fortress” (2:1) are ...

2079. Jesus’s Birth

Matthew 1:18-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The narration of Jesus’s birth is closely tied to the preceding genealogy by the repeated Greek term genesis, translated as “genealogy” in 1:1 and “birth” in 1:18. Both accounts provide an important aspect of Jesus’s “origin,” another possible translation of genesis. These two passages provide the question and answer to Jesus’s connection to Joseph’s lineage, with Joseph as a focal character in 1:18–25. Matthew narrates that Joseph is engaged to Mary when he discovers her pregnancy. Because of his ...

2080. The Escape to Egypt

Matthew 2:13-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The Magi are a part of Matthew’s literary landscape for only twelve verses, but their presence has had an influence that exceeds Matthew’s brief reference to them. Church traditions have cast them as three kings. Yet no indication of their number is provided, and they were most likely royal servants or astrologers who came from the East, possibly Persia or Babylon (Powell 2001, 146–47). Matthew probably draws attention to them in chapter 2 to emphasize Gentile inclusion as he has already done by including ...

2081. A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

Matthew 9:18-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The final set of three miracle stories again highlights Jesus’s authority to heal and also focuses on faith that often precedes healing (9:22, 29) as well as Jesus’s growing notoriety in the Galilean region (9:26, 31, 33). The first miracle story involves the healing of a bleeding woman and the raising of a dead girl. A ruler approaches Jesus, asking him to come to his daughter who has just died and expressing his faith in Jesus’s ability to raise her (9:18). On his way to their home, a woman who has been ...

2082. Jesus on Trial

Matthew 26:57-68, Matthew 26:69-75, Matthew 27:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

26:57–27:10 · Upon arrest, Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council that, according to Matthew, comprised chief priests, Jewish elders, and some teachers of the law (26:57–68)—in other words, the Jerusalem elite. The high priest Caiaphas (whose tenure spanned AD 18–36) leads the proceedings, which consist of a search for and examination of testimony against Jesus by others and by Jesus himself. Their intent is to bring charges against Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor (the prefect ...

2083. Jesus’s Crucifixion, Death, and Burial

Matthew 27:27-31, Matthew 27:32-44, Matthew 27:45-56, Matthew 27:57-61, Matthew 27:62-66

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

27:27–66 · The crucifixion scene begins with Pilate’s soldiers mocking and humiliating Jesus as they dress him in “kingly” fashion (robe and crown of thorns; 27:28–29) and hail him as “king of the Jews” (27:29). They intend these royal accoutrements and words to show Jesus’s messianic pretensions to be ridiculous. Matthew, however, wants his readers to hear irony. What the soldiers ridicule, Matthew shows to be utterly true—Jesus truly is king of the Jews. The theme of Jesus’s kingship permeates the ...

2084. A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

Luke 8:40-56

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The next two stories are deliberately interwoven; Luke begins with the request of Jairus for his dying daughter, inserts the story of the bleeding woman, and then returns to the story of Jairus (8:40–56). The ruler of a synagogue (8:41) arranged synagogue services. The accomplishment of Jairus’s request is delayed by the throng that surrounds Jesus and is then interrupted by the woman who “touched the edge of his cloak” (probably his tassel; cf. Num. 15:38–39). This woman has been hemorrhaging for twelve ...

2085. In Lystra and Derbe

Acts 14:8-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

After leaving Iconium, Paul and Barnabas travel to Lystra (14:8–20). Their ministry in Lystra begins with the healing of a crippled man (14:8–10). In numerous ways, this account recalls the earlier miracle performed by Peter in 3:1–10: both men are crippled “from birth” (14:8; cf. 3:2), and in both accounts the apostle looks directly at the man (14:9; 3:4). After being commanded to stand, both men “jumped” up and “began to walk” (14:10; 3:8). Through this account, the connection between Paul and the ...

2086. Worship Interlude and the Seventh Seal

Revelation 7:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

After the sixth seal is broken, there is an interlude of worship. The eschatological end is delayed by four angels (7:1), who—symbolizing a restraining force on lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7)—hold back the winds on which the four demonic cavaliers ride (cf. Zech. 6:5). These angels also operate in conjunction with the worship and witness of the church. When the veil is lifted, we see that the church’s presence in human history has had a sanctifying effect on the world. The angel who rises with the sun commands ...

2087. Dr. Jekyll Meet Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote an unforgettable story about a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde. Most of you know the story well. Dr. Henry Jekyll was respected in his community--a gentleman in every respect. But Dr. Jekyll had some secret vices which he kept carefully hidden from public view. Thus Dr. Jekyll had a dilemma faced by some people today--he wanted to maintain his reputation in the community, but be free to practice the vices that he knew would be repulsive to his neighbors. So Dr. Jekyll hatched a ...

2088. When Heartbreak Turns to Heartburn

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Here again we find Luke the physician at his best. Although not one of the original twelve, in his own exquisite and unique way this doctor-disciple of Jesus gives us details with clarity indicating that he is close to Jesus and the disciples and can speak with the authority of an eyewitness to the things he tells us. In his opening phrase in the passage, Luke tells us that "two of them were going to a village called Emmaus." Just a few verses earlier in verse 10 of this chapter, Luke indicates that the ...

2089. Fix It, Daddy

John 11:17-45

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book Father Care, Charles Paul Conn tells about his two-year-old daughter Vanessa who was given a helium-filled balloon at Sunday School. It was bright blue and seemed almost alive as it danced and floated on the end of her string as she ran through the halls of the church pulling it along behind her. But the inevitable happened. The balloon bumped into the sharp edge of a metal railing and popped. With a single, loud “bang,” it burst and fell to her feet. She looked down and saw what had been her ...

2090. Three Things You Can Count On

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Charley Reeb

One summer I took a month off for a much needed time of renewal. During my time off I decided to do a little research. I wanted to get the perspective of folks who don’t go to church. Preachers are very insulated in a church bubble. Everything we do revolves around church culture for the most part and that is not all bad. But here is the thing — if the church’s main task is to reach those outside of it then it would be wise for me to get the pulse of those outside the church bubble. How can we be effective ...

2091. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

John the Baptist: At the close of chapter 2, Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus returned from Egypt and took up residence in the Galilean town of Nazareth. The time would have been shortly after the death of Herod in 4 B.C. Chapter 3 begins with the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist some twenty-five to thirty years later. What had been going on in the life of Jesus during this time? Except for one incident, the Gospels remain silent. They were never intended to be taken as biographies. The only thing ...

2092. Israel's Unbelief

Romans 9:30--10:21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Righteousness: Gift or Reward? So far Paul has considered the case of Israel from God’s side. God made choices from among Abraham’s descendants to create a peculiar people for himself. The election of Jacob over Esau was independent of human merit or responsibility, since the choice was made when both were still in Rebekah’s womb. If in subsequent generations God hardened Pharaoh and blessed Israel, it was “in order that [his] purpose in election might stand” (9:11), a purpose rooted in mercy and directed ...

2093. Personal Greetings

Romans 16:1-27

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

At first glance the final chapter of Romans offers little more than a list of names, of interest to Paul and his readers perhaps, but of doubtful consequence for modern readers. Of what significance after all, is a list of unidentified names? Is not a name about which we know nothing really no name at all? Is not our commentary reduced to an exercise in historical trivia at this point? Does not the strangeness of the names remind us how foreign and remote Paul’s world really is from ours, lessening the ...

2094. Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

God’s Peculiar, Powerful Way This paragraph is crucial, both in the context of this particular letter and for the overall understanding of Paul’s theology. Here he delivers the heart and essence of the gospel he believed and proclaimed. Paul’s lines reveal that God works in a most peculiar way—first, God works in defiance of the standards of this world as they are understood or construed by humanity, and second, God’s work is powerful so that it incapacitates, reverses, even turns upside down the values of ...

2095. The Resurrection of the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Controversy in Corinth These verses move from the foundational issues to a controversy in the Corinthian church, and the verses articulate a tough-minded logic that proves the error of the position taken by some of the Corinthians. The problem was that some of the Corinthians said there is no resurrection of the dead. The statement as Paul reports it could mean that they said there is no resurrection at all, or they advocated “immortality” (survival of the spirit) rather than “resurrection” (new creation ...

2096. Final Greetings

1 Corinthians 16:19-24

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Paul passes closing greetings in verses 19–20. Then, the last lines open with Paul’s autograph before issuing a quick series of energetic final declarations. These verses could be viewed as six or more separate but related statements, since Paul does not string the statements together with a series of conjunctions. Such a serial closing is not in strict keeping with the normal conventions of ancient letter writing, although Paul’s letters generally demonstrate a penchant for ending with a set of brief ...

2097. 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 ...

2098. Jesus Is Coming

Revelation 22:7-21

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

The concluding section of early Christian letters often contains the author’s benediction, typically expressed as a prayer or doxology, but often accompanied by many other pastoral conventions as well. In his letters, for example, Paul sometimes closes his correspondence by greeting various acquaintances in a particular congregation (cf. Rom. 16), perhaps to encourage them in their faith (cf. 1 Cor. 16:19–20) or to give them instructions (cf. Col. 4:15–16). In several of his letters, he includes a list of ...

2099. Redeeming What is the Lord's

Leviticus 27:1-34

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

Redemption and Vows: This final chapter of Leviticus is a kind of appendix, treating the matter of redemption which was covered in chapter 25, but here concentrating on the redemption of vows. The chapter is of a piece with the book of Leviticus but supplements the instruction. It may be that in chapter 26, with the articulation of consequences of obedience or disobedience, we see the kinds of settings in which people make vows and so this instruction follows. Or perhaps the divine promises in chapter 26 ...

2100. Exploring Canaan

Numbers 13:1-25

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

Of Spies and Rebellions: Numbers 13–14 constitutes one of the central narratives in the book, a kind of watershed that determines the course of a generation in Israel. The narrative is complicated and carefully constructed, taking a variety of turns along the way. Since the census in Numbers 1, readers have been prepared for some military encounter. As chapter 13 begins, the people in the Desert of Paran appear on the verge of the land they have been promised and are preparing to take possession of it. 13: ...

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