Sermon and Worship Resources

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Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and universality of God to the whole. As large as this Holy City may be, it requires no holy space because the Holy One is everywhere in its midst. Not only does this city have no need of a temple. It also has no need for lights - it is illumined by the High Light, the "glory of God" whose "lamp is the Lamb" (v.23). The second-hand lights that creation has depended on since its inception - the very sun and moon - are no longer needed to act as incandescent intermediaries. The sun and moon, though they have ...

2. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Ephesians 1:15-23

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... NT, human beings are often depicted as living in darkness and needing the light of Christ or the light of the gospel to change their lives (cf. John 1:9; Acts 26:18; Eph. 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 1:7; 2:8ff.). This illumination takes place—literally—in the eyes of your heart. In biblical language, the “heart” is a comprehensive term used for the entire inward self or personality of an individual, including intellect, will, and emotions (Matt. 5:8; Rom. 10:8–10). Being enlightened by the light of ...

3. The Lamp of the Body

Luke 11:33-36

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... message about the kingdom (11:33). Also, the eye functions as a lamp because it is the organ by which light enters the body; however, if one’s eyes are unhealthy, then light cannot enter (11:34). The point is that those who are in darkness have refused to be illumined by Jesus. They may think they are illuminated by light, but actually they are in darkness because they have rejected the path of obedience (11:35). Only those who have responded obediently to Jesus’s message will be fully ...

4. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... The Hebrew word for lightning here is not the common baraq, but the more general term for light (ʾor). Rather than the destructive force of a lightning strike, the emphasis here seems to be on the blinding flashes associated with lightning—flashes that illuminate the entire landscape. The translations offer a variety of interpretations of the phrase bathing the depths of the sea, which literally means “covers the roots of the sea.” The most popular options are to read the verb kissah as meaning the ...

5. The Breastplate

Exodus 28:15-30

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... beryl; a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper (see Osborne and Hatton, Handbook, pp. 660–61, for full lists of options). 28:30 Scripture does not mention the Urim (“light,” or “truth”) and Thummim (“integrity,” or “illumination”) after David’s reign (ca. 1000 B.C.) until briefly in the time of Ezra (4th c. B.C.; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65). There is no biblical description of them. Josephus believed that God ...

6. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... along with the father as the recipient of honor; cf. Lev. 19:3 where she is named first). Rather, we can understand it as a witness to the seriousness with which Israel was to take the covenant and protect it for the sake of the nation. This perspective also illuminates the motive clause for this commandment: so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you. The promise and hope for long life in the land is common in Deuteronomy, but it is specifically ...

7. Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... true disciples. The church, it would seem, is to be the hill-top night light for the world. But the corporate candlepower of this image in no way suggests that individual wattage is unimportant. Verse 15 continues this "light" image by focusing on the illuminating quality found in each lamp. The ludicrous notion of lighting a lamp and then hiding it under a modios, a common wooden grain measure, is ridiculous on two counts. First, light is useless as light when it is covered up. Second, as any householder ...

8. Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... they are “the salt of the earth,” they must keep their original sharpness and flavor or they will be useless, something that might as well be thrown out on the ground. Jesus’ next images for the people are of those of light the city on the hill, the lamp illumined in the house. Jesus’ Jewish audience would certainly have heard in his words the echoes of Isaiah 2:2-5, where Israel is invited to “Walk in the light of the Lord.” In Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, it is Israel herself who is to be a “light ...

9. Revelation 22:12-14; 16-17; 20-21

Revelation 22:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... trials and tribulations that the faithful will face, the rising of the morning star means hope and final deliverance from a dark night. Just as the stars shine down upon the whole world, so the appearance of Jesus, the “bright morning star,” is a transforming illumination offered for all people. The universal nature of the invitation in v.17 is clear: “And let everyone who is thirsty come, Let anyone who wishes to take the water of life as a gift.” The Lord invited Adam and Eve to “eat” of all ...

10. Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... the works of darkness. In that process, people will come to see the true nature of evil and, it is hoped, turn to the light. As stated by Beare, “The power of light not only reveals, but penetrates and transforms into its own likeness whatever it illumines” (p. 711). 5:14 The continuing emphasis in the first part of this verse is that darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. It appears that the most reasonable way to understand the imagery of darkness and light and the quotation that follows is ...

11. Prophecy of Scripture

2 Peter 1:12-21

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... blazes forth. The inspired authority of Scripture is totally sufficient for this present life, until the Parousia, when the day of the Lord dawns (3:10) and the morning star (Christ, Rev. 22:16) rises in your hearts. Prophecy’s function for this life is to illuminate the darkness of ignorance. But at the Parousia prophecy will be superseded (1 Cor. 13:8–10) as the full light of God’s glorious revelation in Christ floods the hearts of his people. A lamp is no longer required once the sun is up. 1 ...

12. Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Amos 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... their meat, and so in Amos’s thought, Israel is as good as dead. It is the same daring figure that Amos employed in 1:2; it further illumines the meaning of that verse, and it is picked up again in 3:12. Hosea then employs the figure in 5:14 (cf. Hos. 6:1) and ... participles. Verse 12 should thus be seen as an independent unit. The oracle is an expanded māšāl, a wisdom saying, which illumines one thing by comparing it with another. The form is often found in the book of Proverbs (Prov. 25:25–26; 26:7 ...

13. The Year of the Lord’s Favor

Isaiah 61:1-11

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... (and not merely the king, Israelite or foreign) could be Yahweh’s anointed. Whether we think of the prophet as claiming David’s mantle or Cyrus’s, the task it implies is indeed the king’s task. We have noted how Psalm 72 illumines chapter 60, and it now illuminates chapter 61 as well (see also 11:1–9). Psalm 72 assumes that the king’s calling involves a particular commitment to the afflicted and the needy (vv. 2, 4, 12; see on 32:1–8). Here the anointed Preacher takes up that commitment ...

14. Sermon on the Mount: Praying, Not Judging

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

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... , where each line is essentially synonymous with and, in this case, builds upon the previous line. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Jesus then provides an analogy with human parenting to illuminate God’s great willingness to answer prayer and “give good gifts to those who ask him” (7:9–11). The argument moves from lesser to greater. If a human parent is more than willing to give what a child asks for, much more so will God as ...

15. Three Parables about the Unfaithfulness of the Jewish Leaders

Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 21:33-46, Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:23-27

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... They prove themselves unfaithful to lead Israel and will not receive the kingdom (21:43). But all who respond to Jesus in repentance, trust, and covenant loyalty will be welcomed into God’s kingdom. So does our preaching center on Jesus and his teachings? Does it illuminate who Jesus is, so that people have a clearer picture of him after hearing what we have to say? It is easy to preach about all sorts of things besides Jesus—life lessons, how-to sermons, and the like. These topics have their place, but ...

16. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... Perhaps the best way to teach/preach Romans 16:21–23 is simply to expound upon each of the eight names that Paul mentions and then conclude with the two theological insights that I just presented. But here I think that it might be illuminating to provide an itinerary of Paul’s mission after his first captivity in Rome. Those who assume Pauline authorship in some measure for the Pastoral Epistles (1–2 Timothy and Titus) typically envision the following scenario. After his house arrest in Rome (Acts 28 ...

17. Preparations for Worship (Part 2)

Num 8:1-26

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... gold. It requires carefully extracted, pure olive oil (Exod. 27:20), since only the best of oils is appropriate for the holy place. It is important for Aaron to arrange the lamps on the lampstand so that they illuminate in the right direction (Num. 8:3). Part of this arrangement is to illuminate the other items in the holy place, especially the table of the bread of the Presence, which contains twelve loaves, symbolizing God’s blessing and provision for all his people. But the fire of the lampstand serves ...

18. “The Heavens Declare the Glory of God”

Psalm 19:1-14

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... . light to the eyes. The word “precepts” (piqqudim) carries the meaning of “regulations” (see, e.g., Ps. 103:18). These precepts are morally right and bring joy to the heart. The Lord’s “commands” (sg. “commandment,” mitswah) illuminate one’s understanding (“eyes”) just as the sun illuminates the world. 19:9 The fear of the Lord is pure . . . The decrees of the Lord are firm . . . righteous. Now David turns to the human response to God’s law and describes it as “pure,” with ...

19. “May All the Peoples Praise You”

Psalm 67:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... to acknowledge Yahweh as God, but the prayer is to that effect. The appeal is not to them but to God, who makes known his salvation to the nations (67:2). With God’s shining face (“make his face shine on us,” 67:1), this psalm illuminates the landscape of grace and, like a sudden flash of lightning, exposes its extremities. One, of course, is “salvation” (67:2), which is the highest peak of the topography of grace, and in this case, all the more “amazing” grace because it is the salvation of ...

20. Proverbs of Solomon

Proberbs 10:1--22:16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , surpassing human comprehension (20:24). Those making hasty vows set a trap for themselves (20:25). The wise king separates out the wicked as chaff and gives them a good “threshing” (20:26; cf. 20:8). The Lord’s searchlight shines through (or illumines) the king, exposing the “inmost being” of individuals to him (20:27; cf. 20:5). It is the king’s “steadfast love” (NIV “love”) as ruler, however, that stabilizes his rule, not the delegated authority he wields (20:28). Youth and old age ...

21. The Validity of Jesus’ Testimony

John 8:12-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus announces, “I am the light of the world.” “Light” is a frequent metaphor for Jesus in the Gospel (see 1:5; 3:19; 12:46; 1 John 1:5). As light, Jesus discloses the person of God for us; illumines life and gives us meaning and purpose; and also exposes sin, judging those who dwell in darkness. These are persistent themes in the Fourth Gospel. Here the pilgrims at the Feast of Tabernacles recognize something authoritative in Jesus’s words but demand legal substantiation ...

22. Job's Second Reply to Eliphaz

Job 16:1-17:16

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... suggesting no escape even in the dark when the mockers cannot be seen. The Hebrew word translated hostility is mar, an adjective meaning “bitter; bitterness.” 17:4 Triumph: others understand that God will experience no exaltation through the humans’ lack of illumination. See the discussions in Hartley, Job, p. 266, and Clines, Job 1–20, p. 373. 17:5 Another understanding is that someone has spoken “flattery” to friends. How this would fit into Job’s context is unclear. Clines, Job 1–20, p ...

23. Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... cf. 42:6). The servant role of Israel is taken over by Jesus (John 8:12; 9:5) and passed on to his followers. Light is intended for illumination. It is for seeing. Cities built on hills cannot be hidden. How foolish it would be to light a lamp and then place it under a tub. ... metaphors of salt and light correct such a misunderstanding. Salt permeates and performs its vital function in society. Light illumines the darkness and points people to the One who is the source of all light and life. Additional Notes ...

24. Daniel’s Prayer

Daniel 9:1-19

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... is the case, then while he did not compose the prayer, it is still “original” in the sense that it was not added by a later redactor but was part of the first edition (Collins, Daniel, p. 347). Next, one might expect a petition for illumination, since the angel brings a new explanation of the seventy years. Yet surprisingly, we find a penitential prayer that makes no reference at all to Jeremiah or to the seventy years. On the other side, one might counter that this charge is unwarranted, because Daniel ...

25. Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

Mark 10:46-52

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... sight act like bookends to hold this material together. How appropriate also these miracles are as symbols, because this central section of Mark is devoted to the disclosure of Jesus’ destiny in Jerusalem, the true significance of his mission, and the attempt to illumine the disciples (and the readers) about Jesus’ person and their role as his followers. All three versions of the story (cf. Matt 20:29–34; Luke 18:35–43) link the incident with Jericho, which alerts the reader that Jesus is now coming ...

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