Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: responsibility, obligation, commitment, obedience, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, respect, deference, reverence, homage, job, task, chore, assignment, commission, mission, function, charge, part, place, role, concern, requirement, tax, levy, tariff, excise, toll, fee, imposition, impost, exaction, tithe, payment, rate

Showing 1 to 25 of 77 results

1. Haman Hanged

Esther 7:1-10

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... : “Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?” Without hesitation, she answers (with similar staccato in Hebrew), “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman” (v. 6). Her enemy is now his enemy and thus The Enemy. Esther’s extreme deference to the gracious Xerxes is matched by her open spite for the “wicked” Haman. The Hebrew adjective is the simple term for evil, the opposite of the Hebrew term for good used of Esther (1:19) and Mordecai (7:9) and the king’s choices (i.e ...

2. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... a sign of divine blessing or an outpouring of public honor and respect. In verses 7–17, however, it becomes increasingly clear that Job is focused on public acknowledgement of his wise and righteous behavior. Wherever Job appeared in public, people met him with deference and solicitude befitting his honored position in society. 29:7–8 When I went to the gate of the city. The city gate is the place where the elders, sages, or rulers decided matters of business, justice, and social order. Job goes to the ...

3. James 2:1-10

James 2:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... as an absolute rejection of this law. Favoritism rejects the law of love and so is a “sin” that is “convicted” by the law. The Torah declares such favoritism to be a rejection of the law, which declared “you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great.” Justice cannot be achieved under such partiality. The love the Torah demands of the faithful is not a response that can be piece-mealed or portioned out. Loving the neighbor is an all-or-nothing proposition. The law of love is either ...

4. Mark 10:35-45

Mark 10:35-45

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the completion of all of God’s plots and plans to . . . God. Enacting his messianic obedience, Jesus announces that seat assignments in the kingdom of heaven are not his to make. Showing traditional Jewish deference to using God’s name, Jesus merely states that these seating arrangements have been entrusted to other hands. It is little wonder that the audacity of the request made by James and John, and Jesus’ response to their rude request, causes the other disciples to be “angry.” It is hardly ...

5. The King's Edict in Behalf of the Jews

Esther 8:1-17

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... , having succeeded in that first breach of protocol, she is about to ask the king to do the “impossible,” to change unchangeable law (e.g., 1:19). The king extended the gold scepter (v. 4), a sign of his continued favor on her behalf. Esther increases her deference toward her king and husband: “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, . . .” The first phrase is a standard one used often in Esther (1:19 ...

6. The Death of Sarah

Genesis 23:1-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to buy. His reasons are unknown. A possible explanation is that he wanted to free himself from civil obligations, such as taxes, that went along with owning land and that were relieved only by selling the entire plot. 23:12–13 Again Abraham bowed in deference before the people. He pressed Ephron to accept cash for the field. Abraham agreed to buy the field, not just the cave, for whatever price Ephron would set. Shrewdly and politely he did not name a price. He strengthened his offer with an appeal that ...

7. Jacob Apprehension in Meeting Esau

Genesis 32:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... were Jacob’s flocks and that they were a gift for him. Each servant was to address Esau as lord and to refer to Jacob as servant. Jacob sought to pacify Esau by having him receive all these gifts, accompanied by words of Jacob’s deference, in several stages. He hoped the repetition would soften Esau’s anger so that he would receive his younger brother. The text reads literally, “I will see his face, and perhaps he will lift up my face” (nasa’ panim). “Face” captures the critical issue. If ...

8. Jacob Meets Esau

Genesis 33:1-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... bowed before Esau. 33:8–11 Esau asked the meaning of all the droves of animals that he had passed. Jacob answered directly, admitting that they had been placed along the way in order that he might win his lord’s favor. Relishing Jacob’s deference (Jacob addresses him as lord also in vv. 13, 14 [twice], 15), Esau declined the gifts, saying that he had plenty. Among peoples of the Near East it was not proper to accept a large present without strongly protesting. Jacob countered by pressing him to ...

9. Jesus Is Tried before Pilate and Sentenced to Death

Matthew 27:1-10, Matthew 27:11-26

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... a prisoner. While there is no external corroboration for this custom attributed to Pilate, we also hear about it in Mark 15:6 and John 18:39, which add the detail that Pilate was deferring to local custom in offering to release a prisoner at Passover. Craig Keener provides evidence of Roman officials deferring to local customs in regard to leniency.1 27:17 Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah? Some manuscripts include the name “Jesus” before the surname “Barabbas”; others do not ...

10. Whose Son is the Christ?

Mark 12:35-40

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... pay for their expertise in the law and had to support themselves or be supported through the generosity of others. Their great learning obtained for them great respect among the Jews, and as all too often is the case when religious leaders are given such deference, some scribes were not above enjoying their place far too much. Scribes wore white linen robes reaching to their feet as a sign of their devotion to the law and their special place in Jewish life. Upon their approach other Jews would stand to show ...

11. Jacob Wrestles with God

Genesis 32:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

12. Acts 5:27-32

Acts 5:27-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the apostles. The savvy leaders of the Council saw clearly how popular these men and their message had become among the crowds of people they had addressed. The authorities rightly feared a popular backlash if they dealt too harshly with the apostles. In deference to the simmering crowd, the escaped prisoners are gingerly escorted back to yet another full meeting of the Sanhedrin. For Peter and John, this is round two they had faced this audience on the same charges and with the same warnings before (see ...

13. Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... scribe and some of his pupils sitting in the best, most easily viewed seats. Similarly, the scribe's synagogue seat of honor placed him up front with the Torah, facing the congregation. The problem Jesus pinpoints is not that these scribes are accorded deference and honor. The problem is they like it too much. They have confused the respect intended for the position they hold with respect for their own abilities and advancements. As with rabbis, scribes in the first century were not paid for being scribes ...

14. Mark 9:30-37

Mark 9:30-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... only half of Jesus' message. He concludes this lesson by reminding his disciples that when they welcome him, they welcome "not me but the one who sent me" (v.37). Jewish tradition taught that a great man's messenger was to be treated with the same deference the man himself would receive. Jesus' words work double duty. They bring God's loving concern and presence down to the very lowest, weakest of human beings even a tiny child. But they also remind the disciples that nothing less than the power of God the ...

15. 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... he speaks the Lord’s words to the Israelites “because they were afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:30). Moses only removed the veil when he went in to speak with Yahweh and when he was repeating the Lord’s words to the people. Out of deference to the fearfulness of the Israelites Moses veils his face, a face gleaming with the radiance of a God’s glory, for his day-to-day interactions with the people. But here in 2 Corinthians Paul declares that there was an entirely different reason for Moses ...

16. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... rewards will far outweigh anything this earthly existence might have to offer. “Pie-in-the-sky” theology also has a checkered history of being used by the rich and powerful to keep the abused and down trodden accepting of their lot and their hope deferred. Pie of this kind is best left in the sky. Jesus preached an inside-out, upside-down, “inverted” gospel — the last would be first, the first would be last; the exalted would be humbled, the humble exalted. But the sky is important in Christian ...

17. The Apostles Persecuted

Acts 5:17-42

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... . The charge of blasphemy (if indeed that had been the charge) was apparently dropped, leaving only the lesser charge of disobedience. It was within the competence of the Sanhedrin, and also of the lower synagogal courts, both to sentence and to carry out punishment without deference to the Roman authorities in any case other than a capital offense (cf. 22:19; Mark 13:9; 2 Cor. 11:24). The maximum penalty prescribed by the law for a minor offense was forty blows (Deut. 25:2f.), though in practice this was ...

18. In Athens

Acts 17:16-34

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... (which implies moral responsibility) and the resurrection and return of Jesus (which ran counter to all their ideas of death and immortality; see note on v. 18 and Bruce, Book, pp. 363f.), he had lost them—or at least most of them. Some derided, some deferred judgment (v. 32), and only a handful made a positive response to the gospel, among them Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus (v. 34). Tradition has it that he became the first bishop of Athens (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.4.10 and 4.23.3 ...

19. Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem

Acts 21:17-26

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... a passing reference to the decrees. Alternatively, Marshall suggests that this was the first mention of the decrees in the we-source and that Luke failed to edit the source in the light of the earlier reference (p. 356; cf. v. 10). 21:26 Out of deference to the church leaders, Paul complied with their proposal and set about meeting the legal requirements. The next day he took the four men to the temple and underwent with them the rite of purification. At the same time he made provision for the sacrifice ...

20. Paul Sails for Rome

Acts 27:1-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... loss of life. 27:11 Luke gives the impression that the final decision rested with the centurion, and commentators have supposed that this must have been because the ship was in the government service. But he may only have meant that the centurion deferred to the opinion of the seamen with whom the decision finally rested. Considerations other than simply the weather would have entered into their thinking, such as the difficulty of providing for the ship’s complement in Safe Harbors, with the only town a ...

21. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... 4:13 and 6:2) him as if he were your father. In God’s household (note the “family” theme in each case) there is an appropriate way for the leader to treat people—exactly as one does in one’s own family (assuming a cultural ideal of great deference and respect in the home). Similarly with other age groups, Timothy is to treat (the next three are all objects of the verb exhort) younger men as brothers, older women as mothers (cf. Paul’s attitude in Rom. 16:13), and younger women as sisters. To the ...

22. Favoritism Forbidden

James 2:1-13, James 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... events in the church. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes: The words describe a person walking in, neatly dressed in clean (lit., “shining”) clothes. The gold ring on his finger announces his wealth. One can feel the uneasy deference of the group already present. Next, a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. He owns only one set of clothes, so they are filthy rags. Used to being rejected, he slinks in the door only to feel those assembled draw back from him as ...

23. The Sin and Doom of Godless Men

Jude 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... and corresponds to the earlier “deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (v. 4). Again, these men slander celestial beings. It is not clear in what way the false teachers were disparaging angels. Usually the NT writers are warning believers against giving undue deference to angels (1 Cor. 6:3; Col. 2:18; Heb. 1:4–5). Perhaps the men deemed themselves to be superior to mere angels, or they may have scorned the very idea of their existence, claiming to be free from such superstitious nonsense. But ...

24. Jephthah

Jud 10:6–11:40

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... to be genuine. The Lord was looking not for a superficial change of words but for a true change of heart and recognized it in Israel’s penitential action. Israel’s change of heart moved the Lord to a change of heart, or at least to defer to his compassionate side. The statement that he could bear Israel’s misery no longer (v. 16) expresses God’s heart for his people and his readiness to act on their behalf; action would be immediately forthcoming. The Bible clearly teaches that loving compassion is ...

25. Boaz Marries Ruth

Ruth 4:1-12

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... :3 The piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. According to MT, LXX, Syr, Tg, and Vg, Boaz’s first words to Mr. So-and-So focus on the problem of land. NIV, KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASV, RSV, NRSV, and NJPS, however, all defer this clause to the end of the sentence, replacing it with the secondary clause, Naomi, who has come back from Moab. The ancient versions follow MT’s order, yet contemporary English versions (with the notable exception of NEB) characteristically reshape this encounter to make ...

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