Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2251 to 2275 of 3099 results

Acts 8:4-8

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Luke’s history is anecdotal and is carried along by reference to just a handful of people and what they said and did. With his subject now the history of the church’s early expansion, Luke turns for an exemplar to Philip. One of the Seven and influenced no doubt by Stephen, Philip took the church two important steps forward. First, he preached to the Samaritans. O. Cullmann attaches great importance to this episode as marking “ ...

2252. Herod’s Death

Acts 12:19b-25

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... and had succeeded in winning over the king’s chamberlain, Blastus, and through him a reconciliation had been effected. They had not, of course, been at war in any other than a commercial sense, for both Herod and the Phoenician cities were subject to Rome. With the matter settled, Herod (dressed, as Josephus tells us, in a silver robe that caught the rays of the rising sun in a dazzling display) announced his good intentions toward the two cities. Their representatives (as we suppose) greeted this ...

2253. Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

Acts 13:1-3

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... . 9). 13:2 Having been introduced to its leaders, we are now shown the church in Antioch at worship. The word translated worshipping is that usually employed in the LXX for the service of priests and Levites in the temple (Gk. leitourgein; cf. our “liturgy”). The subject they will have particular reference to the prophets and teachers, but should not be confined to them, for the whole church will have been involved in both the worship and the decision that was taken at this time (cf. 1:15; 6:2, 5; 14:22 ...

2254. On Cyprus

Acts 13:4-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... to see that if the governor were won over by the Christians his own chance of bringing him under his power would be lost. He therefore set himself to turn the proconsul from the faith (v. 8; “faith” here means primarily the body of Christian belief, though the subjective idea of faith as trust cannot be ruled out altogether; see disc. on 14:22). Paul’s response was to look Bar-Jesus in the eye (see disc. on 3:4) and say, You are a child of the devil (perhaps in indignant contrast to his name, “son ...

2255. The Council at Jerusalem

Acts 15:1-21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Testament only in James 2:7). Second, the Masoretes (Jewish scribes) read the unvocalized Hebrew word ‘-d-m as “Edom” and made it the object of the sentence; the translators of the LXX read the same word as “man” and made it the subject (either result can be achieved by a different vocalization of the same Hebrew consonants). As a consequence, in the LXX Israel does not possess the lands, but the nations are converted. Broadly speaking, however, the result in both the Hebrew and the Greek texts ...

2256. The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

Acts 15:22-35

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... in Jerusalem, to speak in support of what the letter contained. And fourth, they set out those things that the council had agreed they should ask of the Gentiles. The “decrees” are the same as in verse 20, except for a slight change in order. The text is subject to the same variants as those discussed in the notes on that verse, with the further addition here (v. 29) in the Western text of the words “going on in the Spirit.” The letter emphasized that the council had kept its demands to a minimum (v ...

2257. In Thessalonica (Acts 17:1–9)

Acts 17:1-9

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... might not have taken his dismissal so tamely had Jason not given his word. As it was, he and Silas had no option but to abide by it. Paul’s removal did not put an end to the harassment of the Thessalonian Christians. Those who were left behind were subjected to a persecution that to Paul (who of course would know) seemed as severe as that which the Jewish Christians had endured (1 Thess. 2:14; 3:1–5; 2 Thess. 1:6). Nor did his absence lessen the calumnies of the Jews against him in particular (1 Thess ...

2258. In Corinth

Acts 18:1-17

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him (cf. v. 8). Some manuscripts give an explanation of who they were, but the best reading (adopted by NIV) leaves them unnamed. One suggestion is that, despite Luke’s failure to mark the change of subject, it was the crowd who set upon Sosthenes. Encouraged by Gallio’s attitude, they were quick to show their own contempt for the Jews. Alternatively, it may have been the Jews themselves who beat him up, as the context would suggest. On this understanding ...

2259. Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

Acts 20:13-38

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... God himself (cf., e.g., Ps. 16:5). But the themes are characteristically Paul’s (for “building up,” cf. Eph. 2:20f.; 4:12, 16, 29; for “inheritance,” cf. Eph. 1:14, 18; 5:5). Notice that the leaders, no less than the rest of the congregation, are subject to the authority of God’s message (the Scriptures). 20:33–34 As the speech drew to a close, Paul once more set before the elders the example of his own conduct among them. Far from taking a reward, he had not even coveted anyone’s silver or ...

2260. Paul Before Agrippa

Acts 25:23--26:32

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... been the victim several times of synagogal discipline (2 Cor. 11:24). 26:19 The vision: Only here does Paul describe the appearance of Christ to him on the Damascus road as a vision. But the meaning of the Greek word (optasia) is not confined to subjective experience, and in this instance must be explained in terms of the objectivity with which Paul invests the whole narrative. 26:23 That the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light: In the Greek, this is expressed ...

2261. Hearts

2 Corinthians 6:14--7:1

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... his ministry and that of Moses. In that context, Paul calls himself a “minister of the new covenant” (3:6), and his argument turns on allusions to Ezekiel 36:26–27 and Jeremiah 31:33. As we shall see, it is no coincidence that Paul now returns to the subject of the new covenant at the end of the apology, as he makes a final appeal to the Corinthians. 6:17abc After the citation of the covenant formula in verse 16, the text goes on in verse 17 to introduce a modified citation of Isaiah 52:11. In its ...

2262. Paul's Concern for the Corinthians

2 Corinthians 12:11-21

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... however, verse 14 announces the theme of the next section—Paul’s third visit to Corinth—since this announcement is repeated in 13:1 (cf. also 12:20, 21). Furthermore, the interjection “Look!” (Now in the NIV) dramatically signals the change of subject. 12:14 Paul begins this subsection with an announcement of his coming. The adverb third time indicates that Paul has made two other visits: the founding visit and the second, painful visit. Simultaneously, the apostle announces that he will not be a ...

2263. Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... , powers, and ruling spirits of the universe (stoicheia tou kosmou) was being waged. A significant part of the message in Colossians is that these spiritual forces are inferior to Christ in the order of creation (Col. 1:16) as well as subject to Christ through his victory on the cross, where Christ “having disarmed the powers and authorities, … made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:15). Ephesians continues these ideas by teaching that, because of Christ ...

2264. Made Alive in Christ

Ephesians 2:1-10

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... that dominate one’s life (Gal. 5:19–21). Thoughts includes one’s intellectual and reasoning ability (cf. Col. 1:21). The consequence of such evil and ungodly action is to become objects of wrath. Thus, by following their natural desires, people became subject to the dreadful judgment of God (“we were by nature children of wrath,” RSV). Additional Notes 2:1 On spiritual death, see e. Best, “Dead in Trespasses and Sins (Eph. 2:1),” JSNT 13 (1981), pp. 9–25. Salvation to Spiritual Life 2 ...

2265. One in Christ

Ephesians 2:11-22

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... Heb. 9:1–14). The Good News of the gospel, however, is that Christ opened up a way of access to God by removing the curtain through his death (Heb. 10:19ff.). The imagery suggested by the idea of “access” (prosag?g?) is that of an Oriental court where subjects were presented to their monarch by a prosag?gos. In the church, it is Christ who has made the way into God’s presence possible (“in him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence,” Eph. 3:12). Access to God is ...

2266. Unity in the Body of Christ

Ephesians 4:1-16

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... heavens (1:20, 21; Heb. 4:14; 7:26). The purpose of the ascension is that Christ will fill the whole universe (cf. 1:23). This could mean that Christ simply pervades everything with his presence or that, by doing so, he brings all things into subjection under his sovereignty. At any rate, the central truth about the ascension is that it makes Christ accessible “to all men everywhere at all time” (Mitton, p. 149). In the context of the gifts, this passage shows that the ascended Lord is the same person ...

2267. Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... from existing tradition. Second, the contrast between the “then” and the “now,” as has been noted on other occasions, relates to the concept of baptism as a change of status for the individual. Those who had been strangers, alienated from God (2:12–22), and subject to the powers of the world (2:1, 2) had also lived in darkness (5:8, 11). Now, however, in addition to having been brought near to God (2:13ff.), they are victorious and experience salvation in Christ (2:5–9). They are in the light ...

2268. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... they now prayed to him as Father and Son. The singular verb could be taken as further evidence of Paul’s belief that Father and Son are one. However, Greek regularly requires the verb to take its number from the first or the nearest of its subjects if there is more than one. Thus the evidence is inconclusive. The fact remains, however, that Jesus is petitioned, no less than God, and indeed, as God, “to clear the way,” i.e., to remove the hindrances to their return (kateuthynō, strictly, “to make or ...

2269. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... , and the world cannot take that joy from us (cf. John 16:22). The phrase “in the Lord” points to the objective grounds for our rejoicing in what God has done for us in Christ: “God so loved … that he gave …” (John 3:16). But this is linked with a subjective capacity to rejoice, which is no less God-given: once again a part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22; cf. Acts 13:52; Rom. 14:17). In short, joy lies at the heart of the gospel—a truth echoed in the common root, in Greek, of two ...

2270. Final Greetings

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... being understood, and in every circumstance, en panti tropō. The second prayer, the Lord be with all of you, may again reflect a liturgical formula, in this case the blessing at the end of a service (cf. Rom. 15:33; Phil. 4:9 where the “God of peace” is the subject; 2 Tim. 4:22; cf. also Matt. 28:20). The answer to this prayer is the answer also to the first, for the Lord (Jesus) is our peace, putting us at peace with each other (to the extent that we allow his influence, his Spirit, to come to bear on ...

2271. Warning Against False Teachers of the Law

1 Timothy 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... emphases of the errorists. Indeed, God our Savior could be argued to be a very Pauline idea. Only once does Paul call Christ our Savior—in the thoroughly eschatological context of Phil. 3:20 (the usage in Eph. 5:23 does not seem to be an appellation). But the subject of the verb save, or the verbal idea in the noun salvation, is never Christ, only God (1 Cor. 1:21; 1 Thess. 5:9). In Paul’s view of things, “we shall be saved [by God] through him [Christ]” (Rom. 5:9). Thus it should not be surprising ...

2272. Encouragement to Be Faithful

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... the elect” (v. 10; hence the future tense) and judgment—on those such as the Asians of 1:15 who have already deserted. The language of this line precisely reflects the saying of Jesus found in Matthew 10:33 (par. Luke 12:9). Thus the subject in the apodosis changes from “we” to an emphatic he (Gk. demonstrative pronoun, “that one”). Lines 2 and 3 together, therefore, form the basic reason for the citation: promise and warning attached to a call for endurance in the face of suffering and hardship ...

2273. Doing What is Good

Titus 3:1-11

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... Hellenistic Judaism as the highest virtues of both deities and human rulers. Paul simply presses their language into the service of the gospel. 3:5 What God did, “when” his “kindness and love” for mankind appeared, was to save us. This is the main subject and verb of the whole sentence. The rest of the sentence gives the basis (his mercy), the what (rebirth, renewal, justified), the means (by the Holy Spirit, “by his [Christ’s] grace”), and the goal (the hope of eternal life) of salvation. The ...

2274. An Exhortation Inspired by the Exodus

Hebrews 3:7-19

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... to glory” (2:10). But this new status is not to be taken for granted because of a good beginning, what they had at first. Again our author’s concern for the faltering faith of the readers is evident. Their initial confidence, that is, that subjective assurance that produces faithful obedience, must be held firmly till the end, until Jesus returns or until through death the Christian goes to be with him. 3:15 This verse presents the first of four occasions where in the ongoing exposition of the original ...

2275. The Remaining Promise of Rest

Hebrews 4:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... his people (cf. vv. 3, 6, 11). It follows that that promise cannot have referred to entry and possession of the land, but must have been a more fundamental kind of rest. The key word rest is drawn from the original quotation (3:11; cf. 3:18) and is the subject of the exposition that follows (cf. vv. 3–5, 8, 10, 11). Let us be careful (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12) is perhaps a little weak for the strong warning of phobēthōmen, “let us fear” (cf. KJV; RSV; NEB). To be found to have fallen short of the ...

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