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 895 results

1. Showing Respect for All Forms of Life

Deuteronomy 21:22--22:12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... there is neither male nor female refers to one’s status in God’s sight and not to matters of dress. Divine care and concern extend beyond domestic animals (22:6–7), for one is not to take the mother bird along with the young bird(s); the respect for the provision of life coming in the future, and for motherhood, are both evident in these verses. In a world of flat roofs there was always the danger someone might fall, and guilt for that person’s life might follow (22:8). Therefore, a parapet or fence ...

2. Respecting Marriage and Sexual Relationships

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Even though the only reference to adultery in this whole section, which extends to 23:14, is in 22:22, the focus is nevertheless on expanding the implications of the seventh commandment. The sin of adultery was called the “great sin” in Genesis 20:9 (KJV) and in the ancient Near East. The rest of chapter 22 in Deuteronomy is concerned with six cases of those betrothed or married and the question of chastity. The first case concerns the virginity of a betrothed woman when her new husband makes a false ...

3. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... and yet Job has been unable to find even a whisper of God’s caring presence. But, as this verse shows, divine judgment seems entirely too close, inescapable, and unrelenting. He throws me into the mud. God is the one behind Job’s decline and fall from respect and influence to ignominious ridicule and weakness. The only comparison Job can find for his extremity is dust and ashes—twin symbols of mourning and death. 30:20–23 I cry out to you. Job’s lot is not the consequence of his failure to entreat ...

4. God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... reminding the church that Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord. This is about the best that believers can hope for until the parousia and the establishment of the only perfect rule. Illustrating the Text Government is a divine institution, so we must pay taxes and respect officials. Bible: Use the story of Daniel. Daniel 6:4 says: “Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he ...

5. The Ark Heads Home

1 Samuel 6:1-7:1

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... ). The advice of the Philistine priests and diviners is as relevant for the exiles as it was hundreds of years before. Rather than hardening their hearts, they are to repent and honor their God (see Ezek. 18). Teaching the Text 1. The holy God must be treated with respect. Though the Lord is not to be identified with the ark, the people are not to disrespect it by treating it as an object of curiosity. The ark is a symbol of the Lord’s holy presence and is to be treated with honor. For the people of Beth ...

6. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... ) 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 latter Paul ...

7. Submission to Rulers and Masters

1 Peter 2:13-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... irony. For all his pomp and power, any emperor in Rome, even though he may claim divine status, is in God’s eyes on a level with all other human beings. Both the emperor and a next-door neighbor are to be equally treated by believers—with proper respect. Peter uses the corresponding noun (timē) in 1:7; 2:7; 3:7; 2 Pet 1:17. Brotherhood (adelphotēs): This term occurs in the NT only here and in 5:9. In 1 Macc. 12:10, 17, the word again describes family ties established by covenant relationship, which ...

8. Overseers and Deacons

1 Timothy 3:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... earth and heaven). The lines then form two sets of chiasmus (a b b a a b—a form of rhetoric in which the words or ideas in the second or subsequent units in otherwise parallel structures are in reverse order); the sets sing respectively his incarnation and resurrection, his ascension and proclamation on earth, his reception on earth and in heaven. As common—and in some ways attractive—as this interpretation is (RSV, Kelly, Bernard, D-C, et al.), some of the alleged parallels seem forced and probably ...

9. The Ark Finds a Resting Place

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... 18; Jer. 30:17–20; 31:38–40; Ezek. 43:1–5; Joel 3:17; Zech. 8:3). Yet the story also challenges them, for it is a reminder that the God who desires to dwell among his people also expects them to treat him with the respect that his royal authority deserves. Teaching the Text 1. The Lord’s willingness to dwell among his people is cause to celebrate. The Zion ideal of God’s residing among his people stirred the imagination of the early church. The New Testament expands the ideal to include realities ...

10. Wives and Husbands

Ephesians 5:22-33

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... : However, each one of you.… By doing this, he returns to the more practical and human considerations that initiated the discussion about husband and wife (5:22ff.): Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Respect is a translation of the Greek phobeō, which, as in 5:21, also has the meaning of reverence. It is best understood as “awe,” such as an individual would show before God (cf. Barth, Eph. 4–6, pp. 662–68 for a detailed explanation ...

11. The Horrific End of Nadab and Abihu

Leviticus 10:1-20

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... impurities from the sin offering in his own holy person through partaking of it, so Jesus Christ both as sacrifice and as priest absorbed, bore away, and dissipated our sins in his own person (1 Pet. 2:24). Teaching the Text This passage teaches us the need to respect the holiness of God. This affects how we worship him. 1. Maintain the holiness of God in worship. A key lesson of this passage is that “among those who approach me I will be proved holy” (Lev. 10:3). It is a great privilege to have God’s ...

12. A Lifestyle of Holiness and Love

Leviticus 19:1-37

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... to express neighborly love by inviting over family and friends—neighbors—so that the feast does not go to waste. Love can motivate delaying foreclosure of property even if legal (v. 13a), because love trumps legal rights. Love of neighbor is expressed by respect for parents (v. 3), the handicapped, and the elderly (vv. 3, 14, 32). Foreigners are neighbors too: “Love them as yourself,” the text says (v. 34; cf. Luke 10:25–37); help them, do not exploit them (vv. 10, 33). Animosity or taking ...

13. The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... harmony,” as the name implies, being the word from which we get “symphony.” 3:12 The expression sim teʿem in v. 10 means “to give a command,” or “to make a decree,” but here in v. 12, sim teʿem with ʿal means “to pay respect to” or “to pay attention to.” Is there some sort of wordplay here? Both expressions occur within the speech of the Chaldeans. The king makes a decree or gives a judgment (sim teʿem) that has an impact on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In response, they refuse ...

14. Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5:21-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... immediately head for this affluent man's fine house. But they are not alone. The crowd, large and cumbersome as it is, tags along. Verses 25-34 interrupt the Jairus story with the account of the hemorrhaging woman. If ever there were a direct opposite to the respectable figure of Jairus, this woman is it. First of all, she is, of course, a woman but more than that, she appears to be alone. Without the protection and position of a husband or family to support her, she is powerless in her society. Added to ...

15. Luke 7:36-8:3

Luke 7:36-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Jesus next focuses his attention on the woman, even as he focuses his words at Simon. As Jesus speaks to the proper Pharisee he reveals that Simon’s own behavior has been anything but proper. Simon had failed to offer the most rudimentary signs of respect and welcome to Jesus when he entered into the Pharisee’s home. There had been no water to bath his dusty feet; There had been no kiss of greeting; There had been no anointing with oil on his brow. None of these proper, traditional hosting obligations ...

16. Various Laws

Leviticus 19:1-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... No profaning daughter by making her a prostitute (see Exod. 20:14) Verse 30: Keep the Lord’s Sabbath (see Exod. 20:8-11) Verse 30: Revere the Lord’s sanctuary Verse 31: No turning to occult (see Exod. 20:3) The Elderly and the Alien Verse 32: Respect the elderly; fear God Verses 33-34: Love rather than oppress the alien In Commerce use Honest Scales Verses 35-36: Use honest measures for scales (see Exod. 20:15) There is a logical flow of topics, although it is not immediately apparent. The first half of ...

17. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... by it (cf. its eschatological significance for Christians in Heb. 4:1–11). Hence the sabbath could be regarded as a “sign of the covenant” (Exod. 31:16f.). The sabbath thus has the nature both of a creation ordinance and of a redemptive sign, and in both respects it directs human minds to the living God. As a creation gift it has relevance to all human beings; as a sign of redemption it has particular relevance to God’s people, who exist for the sake of the rest of the nations. Thus, in Isaiah 56 ...

18. Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 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. There was no such thing as a "professional" scribe or rabbi in the sense that it was a self-supporting ...

19. Romans 8:12-17

Romans 8:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... it, points up a deep familial connection. But it does not suggest any diminutive, childish notion. The “Abba, Father” title incorporates into it the elements of intimate-distance, of close-knit kinship and respected reverence. It is a term a grown adult would use to address a parent or respected elder, not an uninformed, infantile expression of connection. To address the Divine God as “Abba, Father” requires the connection that only the living presence of the Spirit can make real. That Spirit, Paul ...

20. Rules for Christian Households

Colossians 3:18-4:1

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... like Paul, as well as bishops (episkopos, 1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:7), deacons (diakonos, 1 Tim. 3:8–13), and elders (presbyteros, Titus 1:5), who were to teach and care for the church of God. There needed to be order in the church with respect to what was said (received tradition) and how things were done (proper offices). The delay of the Lord also raised questions about the relationship of Christians to society. What is God’s will for believers in the world? How are those who are “in the Lord” to ...

21. What Must Be Taught to Various Groups

Titus 2:1-15

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... is said of the overseers and deacons in 1 Timothy 3:2, 8. They are to be temperate (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2), worthy of respect (cf. 1 Tim. 3:8, “have a good character”), and self-controlled (cf. 1:8; 1 Tim. 3:2). This last word, sōphronas, which ... will be emphasized in verse 8. The concern is first of all that in his teaching Titus set an example of pure motive and respectful demeanor (integrity and seriousness), in obvious contrast to the “rebels” of 1:10–16. Also in contrast to them, Titus is to use ...

22. Living for God

1 Peter 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... described. 4:5 Give account is an expression used in the NT of an employee in relation to his employer (Luke 16:2) and of rioters being answerable to civil authorities (Acts 19:40); and, in the spiritual field, it can describe Christian leaders in respect of their flock (Heb. 13:17). Each individual bears responsibility for his or her life and actions and will eventually have to answer for both. The living and the dead: On whatever date in history Christ makes his return, many people will be alive on ...

23. Job Hears the Whispers of God’s Works

Job 26:1--31:40

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... setting. When he had finished his final defense speech, he lingers in the courtroom, and when it is empty, he makes his exit. The black public, confined to the balcony, have waited, and as he leaves, they all rise to show their love and respect. Atticus Finch is the kind of man one imagines Job was. Biography: Sam Walton. While it is very common to hear the rich as a group vilified and generalized as greedy, mercenary, and lacking in generous impulses, this is a great overstatement. Those qualities can ...

24. Various Laws

Leviticus 19:1-37

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... is different, and so Israel as Yahweh’s people is called to be different. This kind of holiness includes orderliness and justice. Moses again mediates this instruction for the people Israel. The first instruction (v. 3) emphasizes the importance of the extended family, and respect and care for parents. Note that the mother is listed first, which is unusual in the OT. Then there is observing the Sabbath, the prohibition of idolatry, and the ban on making images. The Sabbath was a day of rest for humans and ...

25. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... pleading” of a later redactor who inserted the Elihu material at this point. He waited because they were older than he. Since wisdom is often associated with age and experience, Elihu’s reasons for delay are linked to his relative youth and respect for his elders. His compulsion to speak at this point is thus a further testimony of the inadequacy of the friends’ arguments. It is difficult to imagine brash Elihu sitting quietly aside during the whole dialogue, and his biting sarcasm evidences little ...

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