Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2201 to 2225 of 3852 results

Luke 12:49-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to discern what type of weather may be expected. They know that certain signs on earth and in the skies indicate what kind of weather approaches. A cloud from the west meant that the weather was coming from the Mediterranean Sea, where the rains originated. A wind from the south would come blowing up from the barren Negev, bringing scorching heat in its breath. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning; Red sky at night, sailors delight. If people can discern weather patterns from such obvious signs, Jesus ...

2202. Luke 17:11-19

Luke 17:11-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . In 5:15, Naaman responds to his experience of healing with faithfulness, not just gratitude. This Samaritan leper also responds to his healing with faith that results in authentic worship. Second, the healed leper's Samaritan identity could suggest that he originally "turned back" for an entirely different reason. Jesus had commanded the 10 to go to the priests - for the nine who apparently are Jews, this still means journeying to Jerusalem. But for a Samaritan, the center of worship and the location ...

2203. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The phrase translated "give you an example" is literally "in order that we might give ourselves" as examples - suggesting that Paul and his co-workers gave not just the message they preached, but that they gave themselves as well. There are mixed reviews about the origins of the proverb-like "rule" Paul states in verse 10. Some scholars suggest that it is a traditional Jewish saying, while others claim it is derived from an established Greek provenance. It may be that the truth of its roots is less in any ...

2204. Jeremiah 23:1-6

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... are once again displayed in the close of verse 4 when he insists that none shall be "missing." What the NRSV translates here as "missing" is none other than that same Hebrew verb (paqad) that had been used to designate the "inadequate supervision" of the original shepherds and the judgment Yahweh had "visited" upon them. The author, then, is not simply stating that no one sheep will be missing, so much as he is testifying that Yahweh will never again judgmentally "attend to" or "visit" the flock and its new ...

2205. Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... those left in the dark about the precise timing of the Messiah's return, there are several Greek manuscripts that omit this reference to "the Son." Although the Greek sentence structure, even in those manuscripts, suggests that the phrase "nor the Son" was originally present, scholars suggest that it was the surprising Matthean theology that caused the phrase to be omitted. Matthew's text clearly testifies to a difference in knowing that existed between the Father and the Son on the issue of the Messiah's ...

2206. Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to further verify the miraculous events that are unfolding. Isaiah 7:14 is the basis of Matthew's text here, although he substitutes "they shall name" for the Septuagint's "you shall name." There is also a variance between the Greek in the Septuagint and the original Hebrew of Isaiah's text that lends strength to Matthew's use of this scripture text for the cause of Mary and her yet unborn son. The Hebrew term 'almah is used in Isaiah 7:14 and is usually rendered as "the young woman." The Septuagint ...

2207. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... The gospel text from John relays Jesus' promises about the Holy Spirit - the "Advocate" or "Counselor" - in greater detail. The John text read this week is part of a larger section (15:26-16:33) believed to be an insertion made by a later editor of the original work. This portion of John, then, repeats but also expands on the themes of the Counselor, Jesus' impending departure, asking in Jesus name, and the gift of peace. In 15:26-16:4 the editor reveals that a time of persecution is coming, but he softens ...

2208. 2 Samuel 7:1-17

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , God's covenant with David, the promise of an enduring Davidic dynasty, gave reassurance and hope to the people. Verses 10 and 11, therefore, speak both to David and to the exiled Israelites hundreds of years later. Verses 12 and 13 return to the original question David had posed about a permanent temple. God reveals that not David, but his offspring, will have the honor of building a "house" for the Lord. The nature of God's enduring relationship with David's ancestors is magnificently unique for the near ...

2209. Genesis 2:18-24

Genesis 2:18-24

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Nevertheless, all created beings receive the gift of life from God's own hand. As all these living things come together after their creation, God's first act is to establish them in relationship. In a sense, however, this very activity undermines the original motive behind the explosion in diversity. As the man names each of the creatures brought to him, a hierarchy of types is imposed on their relationships. In naming these birds and animals, their essential difference from the man is revealed - with each ...

2210. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... -crust and replaces it with an entire pie? The elegant mystical language Paul uses in verses 11 and 12 is some of the best loved and most quoted - by the religious and non-religious alike. As moving as Paul's illustration is, it was hardly original. The contrast between child and adult was a common rhetorical analogy of Paul's day, and the image of the dark, distorted reflection seems to have its basis in another analogical root, Numbers 12:8. When God confronts the grousing Miriam and Aaron, God discloses ...

2211. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... eschatological future when he emphasizes that the First Adam was, the Second Adam is, and we are physical creatures who will be re-created at the time of resurrection. For Paul the convert, resurrection is a necessary rebirth that returns humanity to its originally intended state of glory (before Adam's fall). Thus the spiritual is the way we will experience the risen Christ, and that experience will begin the process of our own transformation into heavenly bodies. Yet the culmination of this process (v. 49 ...

2212. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the established guidelines of all the "call narratives," the face-to-face quality of Moses' experience remains unique. Despite the miraculous nature of the vision, Moses does not immediately associate it with the presence of God. It is curiosity more than awe that originally draws Moses to the burning bush. Not until verse 6 is it made clear that this is a confrontation with the divine. Identified as the God of his own ancestors and history (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), Moses knows he is in the presence ...

2213. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that a scribal error in transcription has occurred. Indeed in the Syro-Sinaitic palimpsest text it matter-of-factly "corrects" this text to read that Mary "recognized him," instead of "turned toward him." (See T. Baarda, "'She Recognized Him': Concerning the Origin of a Peculiar Textual Variation in John 20,16 sys," Text and Testimony Essays in New Testament and Apocryphal Literature [Kampen: Uitgeversmaatschappij J. H. Kok, 1988] 34-35). But the third explanation for this extra "turning" in v. 16 was ...

2214. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the expected diatribe and denunciation, this amazing master praises the steward for his shrewd dealings! Apparently we are not the only ones brought up short by such an outrageous action. Many scholars suggest that Luke 16:10-13 was added on to the original ending of Jesus' parable by the early church as it struggled to deal with "dishonest stewards" within its own walls. Finding the perfect lead-in to this issue with Luke 16:1-7, the first Christian communities supposedly skipped over the problematic verse ...

2215. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Focusing on the strength and faithfulness that come from tradition and Scripture, Paul urges Timothy to remember the sound teaching he has received from his devoted teachers and family members. Paul is here preaching an unmitigating message of Scripture's divine origins and unquestionable worth. As Scripture, all the words of God, no matter how hard or bitter, how amazing and triumphant, are to play a part in faithfulness - "for teaching, for re- proof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (v ...

2216. Mark 9:2-9

Mark 9:2-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... without the passion events. However, it may be that we give Peter less credit than he deserves. The term used here skene or "booths" refers primarily to those structures built during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot the festival of booths. Originally an agricultural celebration of the harvest, by Jesus' day Sukkot had taken on significant eschatological meaning. Gathering under the shelter of the Sukkot symbolized the gathering together of all the righteous in their heavenly tents. Yet, while this heavenly ...

2217. John 2:13-22

John 2:13-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . All four of the gospels tell the story of Jesus' "cleansing" the temple, but the synoptic writers place this combative encounter at the end of Jesus' ministry. Yet John introduces this story at the very beginning. Some scholars have suggested that the pericope originally appeared at the end of John's gospel but became misfiled by a later editor. However, in John's gospel, Jesus' Jewishness, and the opposition of a group of antagonists the writer identifies only as "the Jews," is a central recurring theme ...

2218. John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... later" addition to the text. If this were the case, the resurrected Jesus' first appearance to his disciples (vv.19-25), coupled with his return appearance "a week later" (v.26) before the doubt-ridden Thomas, constitutes the whole of John's original resurrection tradition. Instead of focusing on the popular story of what doubting Thomas did, this week we want to look more closely at what Jesus said. Jesus' first resurrection appearance to all his disciples (except the absent Thomas) witnessed his suddenly ...

2219. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that the list of nationalities Luke records in verses 9-11 probably derived from another source. Luke's definitive linkage between the arrival of the Holy Spirit's power and the rich diversities of the group addressed may not have been part of the original telling of the church's birthday party. Luke's emphasis on the various nationalities represented by the Pentecost-day crowd often clouds our image of a basic homogeneity that ran through this group. This crowd was made up of Jews, of God-fearers who ...

2220. Mark 2:23-3:6

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... disciples' behavior. However, scholars have noted that this illustration is in many ways strangely unrelated to the situation the Pharisees are concerned about. Some scholars are convinced, therefore, that verses 25-26 are added explanatory verses. If they are correct, and the original consisted of verses 23-24,27, it was actually a much stronger, more radical incident than the text we now have presents it. Verses 23-24 and 27 make Jesus' response to the Pharisees' quite legitimate question stand out as a ...

2221. Mark 3:20-35

Mark 3:20-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... disarms the barbed accusations of "blasphemy" that the scribes hurl at him. His logic shoots down their attack ("How can Satan cast out Satan?") and sinks them deeper into shame. If regaining lost honor and making Jesus look bad were the scribes' original intentions, they failed miserably. Shame and honor can also be used to explain the outer pericope in today's text. Here the issue of kinship and blood loyalty makes honor an even more crucial commodity. The flagrantly dishonorable action of one family ...

2222. Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The epistle reading for this week gives us one of the longest continuous sentences found in ancient Greek literature. Ephesians 1:3-14 is only one complete sentence in its original Greek, although nearly all translations now break it down into several shorter sentences to make it an easier read. Some scholars suggest that this lengthy unit should be seen as a doxological hymn that may even have been a liturgical prayer. They recognize an identifiably Trinitarian focus in this text ...

2223. Mark 7:24-37

Mark 7:24-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... But suddenly the focus of this story shifts from her faith to her identity. No longer is this story about what this woman believes. It is obsessed with who she is. Mark describes her as a "Gentile" and further defines her racially as "of Syrophoenician origin" (v.26). The point the text is anxious to make is that she is a Gentile, a pagan, a non-Jew. If our "politically correct" sensibilities are not irritated by the edginess with which this information is suggested, our hackles are certainly raised by the ...

2224. James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that is "earthly" (v.15). Earthly "wisdom" is sensual, even "animalistic" everything that is not spiritual. Earthly "wisdom" is inspired by demons, devilish everything that is not of God. James' conviction that there is a discernable difference in spirit and origin between human wisdom and "wisdom from above" is a concept drawn directly from rabbinic wisdom literature. In that tradition, there are numerous references to wisdom or teachings communicated directly to human beings by the angels of God. In a ...

2225. Mark 10:2-16

Mark 10:2-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... marriage partners. Significantly, Jesus' words in verse 12 are offered as a statement of fact, not a "thou shalt not" commandment. Jesus identifies divorce as yet another sign of human sinfulness, moving it from the realm of legal particulars to reveal it as evidence of human brokenness marring God's original vision of creation.

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