Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: sacred song, hymn, song of praise, religious song, anthem, carol, chant, plainsong, canticle, antiphon, introit, prayer, psalter

Showing 1 to 25 of 67 results

1. Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem

Nehemiah 12:27-47

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

The Grand Finale: It was time for a celebration. We need to remember that the edited account continues from 11:1–20, and what intervenes is a compilation of supplementary material. The first half of chapter 11 briefly told the story of the repopulation of Jerusalem and enumerated the families who were involved in it. It used a source other than Nehemiah’s memoirs—one that focused on the role of the people and their leaders, not Nehemiah. The editor used this same source from 12:27 to 12:30. In verse 31 we ...

2. Seven Angels With Seven Plagues

Revelation 15:1-8

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

According to the apocalyptic view of history, the spiritual and societal conditions of human existence will continue to deteriorate, and there is nothing any sociopolitical institution can do to reverse them. Salvation comes from outside of history, from God’s heavenly abode. In returning to the theme of divine judgment, already so vividly drawn in his visions of seven seals and trumpets, John is making this same point more keenly: salvation is from God and not from Babylon’s rulers. John’s is an ...

3. Restoration of Israel

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

30:1–3 The Book of Consolation begins with a general statement of hope for the people of Judah who have so far heard a message predominantly of judgment. It is identified as a divine oracle to Jeremiah (This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD and This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says, vv. 1–2a). Jeremiah is further instructed not only to speak this message, but to write in a book all the words that God has spoken to him. Such a command underscores the importance of the message as well ...

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

Ezekiel 40:1--43:12

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

The Law of the Temple – Intro to Ezek. 40–48: The book of Ezekiel ends as it began: with a vision of the Glory of the Lord. Like all four visions in the book, this one begins with Ezekiel’s favorite expression for entry into the visionary state, “the hand of the LORD was upon me” (40:1; see the discussion of 1:3, and compare 3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1). However, chapters 40–48 are linked particularly with chapters 1–3 and 8–11, the other two visions of the Lord’s Glory. Not only theme, but also structure join ...

5. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 21:1-32, Ezekiel 22:1-31

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

In the Hebrew Bible, a new chapter starts at 20:45—appropriately, as 20:45–49 is less in continuity with the preceding judgment God pronounced on the leaders of the exilic community than with the following oracles God directed against Jerusalem (21:1–17, 18–24; 21:1–16; 22:1–16) and its leadership (21:25–27; 22:23–31; see the discussion below of the curiously-placed oracle against Ammon, 21:28–32). While it is difficult to find unity in this section, there are clear signs of intentional arrangement here: ...

6. How the Gold Has Lost Its Luster

Lamentations 4:1-22

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

The Luster Has Faded for the People of God: The fourth poem of the book is also an acrostic, but of a different structure than the previous three chapters. Each verse starts with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and in this way is similar to chapters 1 and 2. But a simple comparison of the verses in English or Hebrew shows that the verse-stanzas thus formed are much shorter (comprising two rather than three bicola per verse). Thus, this chapter is about a third shorter than chapters 1 and 2 and ...

7. Rebuilding the Altar

Ezra 3:1-6

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Making a Start: Here the first of the two implementations of the divine mandate given through Cyrus is completed. A nucleus of the exiled people had come home in order to rebuild the temple. To this end they brought with them Gentile gifts and recovered vessels from the first temple (ch. 1) and then added gifts of their own (2:68–69). Now they were to take the first step of reestablishing the worship of the Jerusalem temple by restoring the sacrificial system on a reconstituted altar (3:1–6) and laying ...

8. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

Daniel’s Success and Darius’s Decree (6:1-9): Big Idea: God may allow those who remain faithful to him and his word to experience jealous opposition from unbelievers in a hostile environment. Understanding the Text Daniel 6:1–28 is woven into the book’s overall literary structure in two ways. First, it advances the narrative of chapters 1–6, in which the first four focus on Nebuchadnezzar (chaps. 1–2 with historical markers and 3–4 without) and the last two show the transition from Belshazzar of Babylon to ...

9. Rebuilding the Temple

Ezra 3:7-13

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

10. In Celebration of the Ritual Procession of the Cherubim-Ark

Psalm 68:1-35

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 68 is notoriously difficult to interpret, especially if one tries to explain its unity and development solely by literary means. The key to its interpretation lies in recognizing its original use as a liturgical text accompanying a ritual. Its composition, therefore, is governed primarily by ritual factors, not simply by literary and thematic considerations. There are at least four allusions to the cherubim-ark throughout the psalm. We should probably imagine Psalm 68 sung alongside a ritual ...

11. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

Ezekiel’s Message of Judgment – Intro to Ezek. 1–33: The first major section of the book of Ezekiel is an unstinting portrayal of God’s judgment, communicating this message in seven parts. First, in chapters 1–3, God calls the prophet and gives him the message he is to bear through a shattering vision of the Lord’s Glory. Second, in chapters 4–7, a series of sign-acts and oracles of judgment convey the inevitability of Jerusalem’s destruction. Third, in Ezekiel’s second vision of the Glory (chs. 8–11), ...

12. Imitating Christ's Humility

Philippians 2:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Call for Mutual Consideration Paul’s concern for unity of mind and mutual consideration among the members of the Philippian church need not imply that there was an atmosphere of dissension there. The fact that two members are singled out by name and urged to agree in 4:2 could suggest (unless 4:2 belongs to an originally separate letter) that theirs was an exceptional case of conflict. We do not know what Epaphroditus had told Paul about the state of the church, but at this time Paul found sufficient ...

13. “Ride Forth Victoriously in the Cause of Truth, Humility and Justice”

Psalm 45:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Great value is put on leaders who, by their own lives, exemplify the virtues of truth, humility, and justice. Understanding the Text Psalm 45 belongs to the genre of royal psalms, which celebrate the king and his reign, not as a lone-standing king, but as a stand-in for Yahweh as king. It is better to think of these psalms as constituting two subgenres, psalms of the heavenly King, which celebrate Yahweh as king, providing the model for all kingship, and psalms of the earthly king, which shine ...

14. Seven Angels with Seven Plagues

Revelation 15:1-8

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: Because of his holy and righteous character, God will finalize his wrath against evil, resulting in justice and vindication for his people, all to the praise of his glory. Understanding the Text Revelation 15 introduces the bowl judgments of chapter 16, the third and final series of seven judgments (seals in 6:1–8:1, trumpets in 8:2–9:21; 11:14–19). The unit of 15:1–8 is marked off by the inclusio (“bookends” marking the beginning and the end) of seven angels with seven plagues completing the ...

15. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

Cain Slays Abel and Lamech Boasts: The first siblings are unable to live in harmony. Hatred propels Cain to murder his own brother. The tragic, brute power of sin also finds expression in Lamech’s boasting song, in which he brazenly gloats over a wanton killing while pronouncing threats against others. These incidents illustrate how Adam and Eve’s disobedience unleashed sin as a destructive power in society and brought death into the world. This chapter has four parts: the births of Cain and Abel (vv. 1–2a ...

16. The New Covenant Acted Out

Hosea 3:1-5

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

3:1–5 This short prose piece, composed by Hosea himself (in contrast to 1:2–9, which comes from another hand) is really an explication, through a symbolic action on the prophet’s part, of the meaning of 2:2–23. It spells out in relation to one individual wife what Yahweh will do to his wife Israel as a whole, and indeed, it initiates that action. Thus, it may have been performed at the same time that the pieces in 2:2–23 were delivered, so that word and symbolic action together began to set in motion the ...

17. Sexual Discharges

Leviticus 15:1-33

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: God wants to promote life, virtue, and an awareness of his holiness among his people. Understanding the Text Leviticus 15 completes the section in Leviticus on uncleanness (Lev. 11–15). The preceding chapters have treated unclean animals (Lev. 11), uncleanness due to childbirth (Lev. 12), and uncleanness due to “leprosy” (Lev. 13–14). The present chapter (Lev. 15) treats uncleanness due to sexual emissions. All this prepares the way for Leviticus 16 on the Day of Atonement, a chapter that will ...

18. Oracles of Judgment against Jerusalem and the Nations

Zephaniah 3:1-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Though no direct reference is made to Jerusalem, it is clear that Zephaniah focuses on the capital city of Judah in chapter 3. As an insider familiar with the corrupt and tyrannical regimes of Manasseh and Jotham, Zephaniah charges Jerusalem with faithlessness. The oracle is a woe oracle of judgment. Jerusalem will fare no better than the surrounding nations. The charges are essentially three: Jerusalem is corrupt; it has forsaken Yahweh; its leaders are hopelessly evil. Zephaniah paints a portrait of an ...

19. The God of Zion Breaks the Weapons of War

Psalm 76:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

This is another of the Songs of Zion (see the Introduction and the comments on Ps. 46), which celebrate Yahweh’s dramatic protection of the temple and its sacred mountain from foreign invasion. Yahweh’s deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyrian invasion in 701 B.C. may be a case in point (Isa. 36–37). 76:1–3 The psalm begins with Judah’s special knowledge of Yahweh. His name, or self-revelation, is great in Israel. The terms chosen to designate Yahweh’s dwelling in Zion point to the antiquity of the tradition ...

20.

Psalm 76:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The God of Zion Breaks the Weapons of War This is another of the Songs of Zion (see the Introduction and the comments on Ps. 46), which celebrate Yahweh’s dramatic protection of the temple and its sacred mountain from foreign invasion. Yahweh’s deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyrian invasion in 701 B.C. may be a case in point (Isa. 36–37). 76:1–3 The psalm begins with Judah’s special knowledge of Yahweh. His name, or self-revelation, is great in Israel. The terms chosen to designate Yahweh’s dwelling in ...

21. Repentance to Bring Blessing

Hosea 14:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

The God of Free Grace: We can reasonably consider this oracle to be the last message delivered by Hosea in his prophetic career, and therefore to be properly placed by the redactor at the end of the Hosianic collection. The NIV paraphrases verse 1b. The Hebrew of that line reads, “You have stumbled in your iniquity.” Israel has stumbled. It is already falling, and its end is near. Hosea has announced that inevitable end in the oracles that have gone before. The plagues of death and the destruction of Sheol ...

22. Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

Luke 4:14-30

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

4:14–15 This brief summarizing section, probably derived from Mark 1:14–15, represents the beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry (so Fitzmyer, p. 521; Ellis [pp. 33, 98–99] and Schweizer [pp. 96–97], however, see the beginning at 4:31). Luke wishes to make it clear that Jesus’ ministry begins in the power of the Spirit as he taught in their synagogues (see 1:35; 3:22; 4:1), which parallels the inauguration of the apostolic preaching and teaching in Acts 2. These verses establish the context for an expanded ...

23. The Divine King Comes to Judge the Earth

Psalm 96:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Divine King Comes to Judge the Earth The liturgy of this psalm celebrating Yahweh’s kingship opens with calls to praise stated in general terms (vv. 1–3). Reasons for the praise are then stated in terms of Yahweh’s incomparability among those claiming divine status, his past act of making the heavens, and his royal attributes (vv. 4–6). The liturgy then moves to another section calling for praise but this time specifying how and where (vv. 7–9). The final section specifies the content of this praise, ...

24. Revelation 7:9-17

Revelation 7:9-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Revelation is a book full of secrets and symbols, dreams and visions, strange creatures, scary predictions, and sealed scrolls. The mysterious nature of all the details John records in his final book have challenged each new generation of believers to come to grips with this unique message. The first few chapters in Revelation, with its letters to the churches and the sequential unsealing of the seven scrolls, is an unveiling of sacred information. This vision is filled with both words of praise and ...

25. Gideon

Judges 6:1-40

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

The Call of Gideon: The forty years of peace under Deborah’s leadership passed quickly, and before long the Israelites found themselves in bondage again, this time to the Midianites. The reason for their bondage? As always, “they did evil in the eyes of the LORD.” But here the intensity of Israel’s enslavement was much worse than ever before, so much so that any semblance of normal life was lost. The downward spiral toward chaos hastened to its goal. But God set aside his anger, and in his compassion he ...

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