Sermon and Worship Resources

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Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... to execute his wrath on the enslaving Egyptians and to set Israel free from her bondage. Thus from the time of Moses on, Israel has celebrated the Passover in commemoration of the Lord’s act of redeeming her out of slavery in Egypt. While originally the Passover in Exodus 12 looked forward to that redemption, in the years following, Israel’s celebration looked back to the deliverance from bondage. The exodus that Passover celebrates is the central redemptive act of God in the Old Testament, an act that ...

2. The Original "Average Joe"

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... a risk." Smart kid. Indeed, since the beginning of creation, God has been willing to risk. But I want you to note one thing, and if you take nothing else away from here this morning, take this. This very first story in the New Testament, this story about the original "Average Joe," this story...is really GOD'S story. From this first story till the last, the essence of all of them is caught in something as simple as a name we often hear at this time of year from the prophet Isaiah: Emmanuel - God is with us ...

3. Point Of Origin

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . The perspective that the universe and human beings are created sets the biblical perspective apart from other, competing perspectives in life. Consider other perspectives of human development which often translate into practical consequences. The way we theorize about our origin and purpose often shapes the way we treat others. If we view human beings solely as highly-developed animals, we can find much to back up our claim. Certainly a biological or anthropological perspective has the weight of research ...

4. God's Original Seatbelt (Mother's Day)

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... son in the passenger seat and her outstretched arm protectively flung across his chest. I've heard a great deal from my sons about my overprotective tendencies but I think that this card's message said it best. The message said, 'To Mom, the original seat belt.' " (Judith Viorst, Imperfect Control: Our Lifelong Struggles With Power and Surrender [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998] 157.) A mom's protective reach has always been the saving seat belt for her family. But this seat belt takes different forms in ...

5. Jesus: The Original Superhero?

John 18:33-37

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... was one more blatant Hollywood attempt to use pastors and churches to market a movie, complete with free screenings for pastors, sermon notes, and movie clips. Promotion aside, is it even appropriate to compare Jesus to Superman? Even if we think of him as "the original superhero," doesn't the term itself reduce Jesus from Christ the King to the level of a character in a movie? How can that possibly express the magnificence and mystery of the king of glory, who "is before all things, and in him all things ...

6. The One and Only Original Sin

1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a culture where even the atheists claim to have a "spirituality," it's time for the church to soul out. Until March of 1997, the approaching Third Millennium sneaked up on us like some great, fun adventure. For intrepid entrepreneurs, the year 2000 promises huge sales in commemorative junk. Party planners have been plotting big New Year's Eve blowouts for years. Except for those nerdy computer types who are wringing their hands and predicting crash and burn for all computer systems that use just two ...

7. Pharisees Reject the Divine Origin of Jesus’ Power

Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:38-45, Matthew 12:46-50

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Although Jesus is accused of healing by Satan’s power, Matthew shows him to be enacting the kingdom by God’s Spirit and so warns of judgment upon those who fail to accept Jesus’ identity and respond in obedience. Understanding the Text The controversy between Jesus and Galilean Pharisees intensifies in this passage. The Jewish leaders again accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of demons (12:24; cf. 9:34). Jesus addresses their accusation with a set of analogies, claiming in the ...

8. The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... four, and seven, while spatial aspects of creation are addressed in days two, three, five, and six. Furthermore, the ordering of each of the first three days corresponds to what is created on days four through six. The light-giving bodies of day four correspond to the origin of light on day one. On days five and six God fills the space defined on days two (sea/air) and three (land) with the appropriate life forms. A number of literary features point to God’s creation of humans on the sixth day as the goal ...

9. The Resurrection

Mark 16:1-20

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... of divine power, e.g., 2:12; 5:42; 4:41; 5:15, 33; 9:6. An Old Ending to Mark 16:9–20 As indicated in the discussion of 16:1–8, nearly all scholars believe that the material designated 16:9–20 is not a part of the original text of Mark (and that the same must be said for the other variant endings attached to Mark in some ancient manuscripts). However, because for many centuries the form of Mark known to most readers included 16:9–20, we shall discuss this material briefly. These verses seem to have ...

10. The Law of the Temple

Ezekiel 43:13-27, Ezekiel 44:1-31, Ezekiel 45:1-12, Ezekiel 45:13--46:24

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... of 43:11a). Eichrodt (Ezekiel, p. 553) and Wevers (Ezekiel, p. 216), on the other hand, strike the entire clause as a later insertion. With the NIV and NRSV, I propose that we follow the MT here. As in 43:7b–9, and in contrast to the original vision at 43:7a, God’s presence is conditional in 43:11: “the very possibility of experiencing reconciliation with the divine is predicated on the repudiation of past sins” (see Tuell, Law of the Temple, p. 43). The other difficulties in v. 11 all relate to the ...

11. Egypt

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

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... throughout the Mediterranean region, so that the African Ludites of Gen. 10:13 could well be the same group as the Lydians of Asia Minor. The NIV and the NRSV both follow the LXX, Syr., and Vulg., which all render the MT kub as Libya (assuming an original lub, as in Nah. 3:9). However, Hebrew k and l are not that similar, making this an unlikely scribal error. It may be better, with the NJPS, to render Cub as a place name, recognizing that its location is unknown. People of the covenant land. Block ...

12. Prologue to the Law of the Temple: The Lord Comes Home

Ezekiel 40:1--43:12

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... city B. 40:5–42:20 Temple measured C. 43:1–4 Glory enters the eastern gate D. 43:5–7a The LORD speaks C′. 44:1–2 Eastern gate closed forever B′. 47:1–12 River measured A′. 48:30–35 City called “THE LORD IS THERE” In the original vision report, a divine speech comes at the center of the text: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever” (43:7). The unconditional promise of the Lord’s ...

13. Sweet Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... us, to re-form us, and re-root us, to pull us up when we’ve become rooted in wrong places, and to re-form our identity from the inside out, removing and re-phenotyping the mutations that have become embedded in our identity, that have mutated our original identity, to infuse in us a true vine-like Jesus DNA. When we allow God to infuse that Jesus DNA within our hearts, minds, and spirits, there is no way we can bear bad fruit. The closer in relationship we are to Jesus, the harder it is for mutations ...

14. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... ) with Jesus is evident throughout the NT (see, e.g., Acts 2:21, 34f.; Rom. 10:13; Phil. 2:9–11; 1 Pet. 3:15f.; Rev. 19:16), and accounts for the OT quotations in this verse which the author attributes to Jesus. See I. H. Marshall, The Origins of New Testament Christology, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1976), pp. 104–8. It is of no concern to our author that in the quotation of Ps. 22:22 in the preceding verse it is the one who is addressed, and not the speaker, who is kyrios. (The “Lord” addressed ...

15. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... vv. 27, 33). 27:15 The men of Rhodes. The NIV has followed the LXX here; the Heb. text has “Dedan.” However, as scribal confusion of d and r is common, and as the verse goes on to refer to many coastlands, it is likely that the original referent was the island of Rhodes, rather than the inland Arabian city of Dedan. 27:16 Aram. Some Heb. manuscripts, and the Syr. Peshitta, read “Edom” instead. Again, the confusion of d and r is easy to understand (see Ezek. 16:57, where this same confusion of place ...

16. 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

... harmonizes Ezekiel 47:1–12 and Genesis 2 and captures the meaning of Ezekiel’s vision. For John, of course, the river of life flows not from the temple, but “from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1). Remember, though, that in Ezekiel’s original vision report the Lord declares of the heavenly temple in Ezekiel’s vision, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever” (43:7). The point, then ...

17. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... he not go straight to Daniel? On this puzzle the text is silent, but it may be because chapters 2 and 4 were originally independent stories that have only loosely been tied together in the larger work. Parts of chapter 4 are in poetry, but there is ... Notes 4:1–3 These verses (or variants of them) are found at the end of chapter 4 in the LXX. The MT order is probably more original. It is more likely that a scribe would move them from the beginning to the end, than that he would move them from the end to the ...

18. Paul Today

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... , Christ. He affirms that "sin came into the world through one man" but he does not teach that sin is biologically inherited. All men, beginning with the first man, are sinners but every man is responsible for his own sin. Paul refers to the ultimate origin of the rebellion against God in a transcendent demonic realm, "the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." But instead of prying into the "mystery of iniquity," whether in the fall of Satan or of Adam, he simply affirms the reality of a ...

19. The Remaining Promise of Rest

Hebrews 4:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... God still offers the promise of entering his rest to 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 ...

20. Sabbath Year and Year of Jubilee

Leviticus 25:8-55, Leviticus 25:1-7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... liberty” of Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on the bell was liberty or release in conjunction with the Year of Jubilee, the year that slaves were to be set free (Lev. 25:39–41). This use of the bell’s citation of Leviticus comes closer to the verse’s original meaning than its use in 1753. One of the few times in living memory that the bell has been struck was on D-Day, June 6, 1944, when the mayor of Philadelphia struck the bell to proclaim liberty to those oppressed by tyranny in Europe. This sounding of ...

21. Personal Greetings

Romans 16:1-27

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... (or perhaps brother and sister). If the name is feminine, then Paul’s referring to Andronicus and Junia as outstanding among the apostles, who were in Christ before I was, is very significant. It would indicate that (1) apostles refers to a group larger than the original Twelve, (2) among whom was to be counted a woman, (3) and probably a wife, (4) who had been an apostle before Paul was! In saying this we are still holding to the high ground of probability. Now to plunge to more speculative depths: that ...

22. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... also Hartley, Job, pp. 455, 458: “For it is not for a man to set a time . . .”). The awkwardness of the phrase has led NIV (and others) to its interpretive translation. The reference to God in come before him for judgment is explicit in the original text. The point remains clear: Job ought not to seek any future meeting with God to establish justice in his case. God has already seen all and will shatter the mighty without warning and replace them. Elihu intends the warning to convince Job that God’s ...

23. Daniel Interprets the Dream

Daniel 2:24-49

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... the materials in the statue. The vision indicates that the rock is cut out (2:34) but not that it is out of a mountain. The rock becomes a mountain (2:35) but is not cut out from one. This leads some commentators to think that the phrase is not original. It is quite possible that “out of a mountain” was added later. On the other hand, one might ask whether all the details must be found in the dream description. The stone was cut out (2:34) of something. It is possible that the author of Daniel left this ...

24. God Is Not Yet Finished With You

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... body with its natural functions including sex to be bad. That is not so in God’s sight. The human body with sex is very good. It is only when the body and sex are not properly used for God’s intended purpose that evil enters in. If people were originally made good, they are indeed very precious. Every person is of real worth. The value is not in the commercial cost of the body’s chemicals but in being a product and child of God. Here is the real source of a person’s dignity and true worth. It is ...

25. God Disciplines His Sons

Hebrews 12:1-13, Hebrews 12:14-29

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... all this, the readers are to be thankful for what is theirs in Christ and to put out of mind all thoughts of lapsing from their Christianity to their former way of life. Additional Notes 12:25 The a fortiori form of the argument is more obvious from the original, which reads “how much more shall we not escape.” The same verb for see to it (blepō) is used earlier in 3:12 in a similar connection. That the verb for refused (paraiteomai) is the same as that used in v. 19 (NIV’s “begged”) lends some ...

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