Sermon and Worship Resources

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Antonyms: bad feeling, acrimony, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, bitterness, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, enmity, friction, grievances, grudges, hatred, hostility, loathing, malevolence, malice

Showing 2251 to 2275 of 4943 results

2251. Judgment and Salvation

Isaiah 65:1-16

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... prayed (vv. 1–2). The context again makes clear that when the OT talks about seeking Yahweh, it refers not to seeking a religious experience but to asking God to do something—here, asking for the restoration of city and community. Given the comment above concerning the possible date of 63:7–64:12, historically it may be that quite an interval has passed since the prayer, enough time for the promises in chapters 40–55 to have been delivered. Yahweh’s response then implies, “OK, I have done what ...

2252. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... prophet’s experiences. We see what Ezekiel sees and hear what he hears. Ezekiel was a priest. We know this not simply because the editors of the book tell us so (1:3), but also from the numerous priestly features evident throughout the book. Everywhere, Ezekiel is concerned about right worship and ritual purity (e.g., 8:1–18; 18:5–6). We find many close parallels between the book of Ezekiel and priestly texts from the Torah (that is, the first five books of the Bible, also called the books of Moses or ...

2253. An Unholy History

Ezekiel 20:1-29, Ezekiel 20:30-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... that child sacrifice has any place in Israel’s traditions. Though he is no less horrified by this practice than his contemporary, Ezekiel will not simply set Exod. 22:29–30 aside. His problem is this: Why did God give these laws concerning the sacrifice of the firstborn in the first place? He concludes that God commanded these “statutes that were not good” because of Israel’s history of rebellion. Ezekiel’s approach here, asking after the purpose of the law, is comparable to Jesus’ reading ...

2254. Egypt

Ezekiel 29:1-21, Ezekiel 30:1-26, Ezekiel 31:1-18, Ezekiel 32:1-32

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... of Ezekiel’s oracles against the nations consist of a loose collection of seven prophecies, all concerned with Egypt: an allegorical oracle depicting Pharaoh as a dragon in the Nile (29:1–16); ... and gloom (v. 3; compare Joel 2:2, and see also Amos 5:18–20). It is a time of doom for the nations (v. 3, compare Isa. 13:6, 9 concerning Babylon; and Jer. 46:10, where as here Egypt and its allies are the target; see also the Additional Notes). More commonly, though, God pronounces the doom upon Israel and its ...

2255. Epilogue to the Law of the Temple: River, Land, City

Ezekiel 47:1-12, Ezekiel 47:13-23, Ezekiel 48:1-29, Ezekiel 48:30-35

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... land among the tribes. This division is based on the ancient priestly traditions reflected in the wilderness battle camp (Num. 2; 3:21–28; 35:4–5). In Ezekiel as in Numbers, the placement of the tribes relative to the sanctuary reflects old conceptions concerning their relative sanctity, according to the birth order of each tribe’s ancestor as well as to whether that ancestor was born to a wife or a concubine of Jacob. So, in the land allotment, those descended from the handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah are ...

2256. Sermon on the Mount: Praying, Not Judging

Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 7:1-6

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... in our practices of prayer and our interactions with others. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus illuminates a wrong view about God (and the actions that it produces) as one who shows favoritism (5:45) or as one who is distant and prone to ignore human concerns (6:7, 32). To counter this wrong theology, Jesus affirms a knowledge of Israel’s covenant God, who cares, listens, is quick to act, and will answer prayer. Such a message is a crucial one for teaching and preaching in a culture and a world that think ...

2257. Jesus, Isaiah’s Servant of the Lord, Heals Many

Matthew 8:14-17, Matthew 8:5-13, Matthew 8:1-4

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... under my roof. Does this statement illuminate the cultural realities between Jews and Gentiles in the first century, or does it reflect a more general deference on the part of the centurion toward Jesus? Scholars who suggest the former highlight the purity concerns that Jews would have about entering a Gentile’s house. Yet these issues should not be exaggerated. Most Jews would be ritually unclean regularly in the course of their lives, since ritual impurity was caused by many common life occurrences (e.g ...

2258. Sabbath Controversies with the Pharisees

Matthew 12:1-14

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... –13) and his healing activity (9:34). In chapter 12 the conflict arises from his interpretation of Sabbath regulations (12:1–14) as well as the origins of his healing power (12:22–29). In subsequent chapters Matthew will introduce oral traditions concerning the law as another point of conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus (15:1–20). In these various debates Matthew emphasizes that Jesus rightly interprets the Torah through the lens of mercy (9:13; 12:7), a theme that Matthew connects closely with ...

2259. Community Discourse: Care for Others in the Kingdom

Matthew 18:1-9, Matthew 18:10-14, Matthew 18:15-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... James reminds readers that their favoritism toward the rich actually belies God’s decision to choose “those who are poor . . . to be rich in faith” (2:5). Teaching the Text 1. Becoming like children involves turning away from preoccupation with status concerns and self-promotion to care for others. Views of children were substantially different in the first-century world than in our contemporary Western context, so we are prone to import into this passage qualities of children as we perceive them. We ...

2260. Jesus, Messiah and Lord, Is True Interpreter of the Torah

Matthew 22:15-22, Matthew 22:23-33, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ), we may presume that they are associated with and supporters of the Herodian dynasty. If so, they provide an unlikely pairing with the Pharisees (though united in their antagonism toward Jesus), who were more likely to critique Herodian leadership and practices as lax concerning the law. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. This description of Jesus by his opponents helps to define their reference to him as “a man of integrity.” As such, Jesus is quite different ...

2261. The Jewish Leaders as Negative Foil for Jesus’ Followers

Matthew 23:1-39

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ., 4:23; 5:2; 9:35). 23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant. This teaching parallels Jesus’ teaching about discipleship at 20:26: “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” Jesus calls his followers to renounce status concerns and to live a life focused on the benefit of others in the believing community and not on self-aggrandizement. 23:12 those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. This concluding statement about the ...

2262. The Authority of Jesus over Sickness and Death

Mark 5:21-43

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... , said, “You obviously don’t love me!” The mom had told her daughter that she could not attend the middle-school party. The child had begged to attend; everyone was going to be there, and all the other parents had given their consent. But the mom had other concerns. She was not confident in the supervision of the party. She also knew that her family would pay a price for a few days if her daughter did not get a good night’s sleep before they left the next day for a family vacation. The mother made ...

2263. God’s Miraculous Provision: Caring for the Needy

Mark 6:30-44

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... cast all [our] anxiety on him because he cares for” us (1 Pet. 5:7). Jesus, like Yahweh, is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his flock and then leads it to greener pastures (Ps. 23; John 10:1–18). Moreover, this care and provision concern not just spiritual needs but material needs as well. God and Jesus care for the whole person. Of course, this does not mean that hard times will never befall us. Note, for example, the numerous hardships endured by the apostle Paul (2 Cor. 6:3–10; 11:21 ...

2264. Spiritual Hypocrisy—Living by the Rules, Not by the Heart

Mark 7:1-23

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... the heart, but food (even unclean food) enters only the stomach and the digestive tract. It moves from the plate to the toilet, passing through a person without affecting the spiritual side. Physical food concerns that part of a person that relates only to this world, and people need to be more concerned with what affects the “heart” (their thoughts, words, and actions), for that is where true defilement takes place. 7:19 Jesus declared all foods clean. This is another of Mark’s editorial comments ...

2265. Realizing the True Nature of Jesus the Christ

Mark 8:27-30

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... ta n) of God’s will for Jesus. “Get behind me” could be a command to fall back in line with the other disciples,5but more likely it is a strong dismissal, “Get out of my sight!”6 You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. This is a key discipleship saying and is similar to Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Peter was following a human understanding of the messianic path rather than God’s true will as just expressed in Jesus ...

2266. Prophetic Actions—The Temple Condemned and the Fig Tree Cursed

Mark 11:12-19

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... the temple of the Lord is no longer described as a building, but the bodies of individual Christians are now seen as the temple, for this is where the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor. 6:19). As Jesus was concerned with what was happening in the temple in Jerusalem, so God is concerned with what is happening with our bodies. When we allow that which dishonors God to enter our lives (foul language, pornography, gossip, etc.), then we are polluting our hearts and God’s house. Like a sentry, we should guard ...

2267. The Messianic Anointing of Jesus

Mark 14:1-11

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... 7 the church’s task is ministering to the poor; now it is preaching as divine heralds the message of salvation. As a “truly” (am?n) saying, it has special importance (see 3:28). what she has done will also be told. The second aspect concerns Jesus’s commemoration of her “beautiful deed” (v. 6). She has become a model for all believers in her sacrificial and loving service to Jesus the Messiah, so her act will be retold throughout the history of the church “in memory of her.” Her preparatory ...

2268. The Baby Messiah Recognized

Luke 2:21-40

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... Isaiah 40–55. Interpretive Insights 2:21 he was named Jesus. For the commonness and the possible significance of the name, see above on 1:31. The words “Savior” (2:11) and “salvation” (2:30) show that Luke was aware of this meaning. But Luke’s concern here is primarily to inform us that, as in the case of John (1:59–63), the angel’s instructions were faithfully carried out. 2:22 to present him to the Lord. Luke does not mention the redemptive payment required in Numbers 18:16, and it ...

2269. Sabbath in Capernaum

Luke 4:38-44, Luke 4:31-37

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... before his dramatic “call” while fishing (as John 1:40–42 also indicates). The low-key domestic nature of this miracle, which contrasts with the spectacular and very public exorcism in the synagogue, is underlined by the delightfully down-to-earth observation that the immediate concern of Simon’s mother-in-law upon being healed was to fulfill her duties as host. 4:40 At sunset. The Sabbath finished at sunset. The legitimacy of healing on the Sabbath will be a matter of dispute in 6:6–11; 13:9 ...

2270. Feasting and Fasting

Luke 5:33-39, Luke 5:27-32

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... a particular sector of society, with Jesus as the guest of honor. This is the first of several scenes in Luke’s Gospel set at meals. 5:30 Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Maintaining ritual purity was a central concern of the Pharisees. To enter a tax collector’s house was perhaps a formal breach of purity, and certainly no respectable religious teacher would mix socially with such people (note the addition of “and sinners” to underline the point). Sharing a meal was an ...

2271. Lord of the Sabbath and Appointing the Twelve

Luke 6:12-16, Luke 6:1-11

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... Have you never read what David did? An argument drawn from outside the books of Moses (1 Sam. 21:1–6) does not formally solve the legal question, but Jesus’s argument is not at that level. What David did is not a straightforward precedent because it concerned a different law. (It was on the Sabbath that the sacred bread was changed and so became available for eating [Lev. 24:8], so this incident may have occurred on a Sabbath day; but the text does not say so.) Jesus cites David’s action not simply ...

2272. Jesus and Women

Luke 7:36--8:3

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... table; that is the scenario envisaged in 7:38. 7:37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life. This is probably a euphemistic way of referring to a town prostitute; hence the host’s scandalized reaction in 7:39. Given the Pharisaic concern for ritual purity, she “comes into this scene like an alien, communicable disease.”1 an alabaster jar of perfume. Luke does not mention the value of the perfume, which is the central motif of the other anointing story. This is simply a woman’s more lavish ...

2273. Jesus’s Fallible Followers

Luke 9:51-56, Luke 9:46-50, Luke 9:37-45

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... Samaritan territory. Mark never mentions Samaritans, and Matthew does so only once, to exclude them from the disciples’ mission. Jesus’s involvement with Samaritans in John 4 is narrated as a daring breach of protocol. Luke, however, presents Samaritans as the objects of God’s concern here and in 17:11–19, and he will go on to speak of a successful apostolic mission among them in Acts 8; and most famously, a Samaritan will be the unlikely hero in one of Jesus’s best-known parables (10:25–37 ...

2274. “Love Your Neighbor”

Luke 10:25-37

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... , offered ample opportunity for bandits. The audience would assume that the unidentified traveler in this area is Jewish. 10:31 A priest . . . passed by on the other side. Coming away from the temple in a state of ritual purity, the priest perhaps was concerned to avoid contracting impurity by contact with what looked like (or might soon become) a dead body. In any case, it is always safer not to involve oneself in another person’s problems—and besides, the bandits might still be lurking nearby. 10 ...

2275. Lessons on Devotion and Prayer

Luke 11:1-13, Luke 10:38-42

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... (an idea that has no parallel in Luke’s Gospel before 24:49, though it might anticipate what he will record in, e.g., Acts 1:4; 2:1–4). Theological Insights The story of Martha and Mary is one of the most prominent examples of Luke’s concern to emphasize the role of women among Jesus’s disciples. If 8:1–3 might have suggested that their sole function is to look after the material needs of Jesus and the disciples, Mary represents a less mundane calling; she is a disciple in the fullest sense, and ...

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