Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 1546 results

1. Sermon on the Mount: Jesus Teaches on the Torah

Matthew 5:17-48

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... himself honors and obeys the Torah (e.g., 8:4; 12:7; 15:1–20; 19:3–9, 16–19; 22:34–40). Finally, Matthew shapes his Christology to include Jesus as Wisdom, the embodiment of God’s will as revealed in the Torah and his own teaching on it (11:2–19, 28–30). 5:19 whoever practices . . . these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. The beatitudes have opened the sermon with an emphasis on God’s kingdom arriving. With the move to Torah instruction, Matthew’s Jesus deftly ...

2. Jesus Teaches at the Feast

John 7:14-24

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... was responsible for using 7:53–8:11 to split the discourse in two: “Then each went to his own home. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared in the temple courts” (8:1–2a). Instead of connecting the theme of Jesus teaching in the temple with Passion week in particular, as the Synoptics have done, John has used it as a conspicuous feature of Jesus’ ministry prior to the Passion. This is perhaps a natural corollary of the fact that in John’s Gospel Jesus visits Jerusalem several ...

3. False Teaching and Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:3-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... who do have money find there is never enough (Luke 12:13–21, and the comments below on 1 Tim. 6:17–19). In the strongest terms, Paul instructs Timothy to look for would-be leaders whose godliness produces “contentment,” drawing on a rich layer of wisdom teaching from the Old Testament (with 6:7–8, cf. Job 1:21; Eccles. 5:14). As an adage, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” can sound irrelevant and overused. However, in the case of the Ephesian church, the love of money has ...

4. Paul’s Teaching

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in Christ Jesus. In 3:16 Paul characterizes the Old Testament’s benefit using four terms that have been much discussed. It is probably best to understand them as a Jewish Christian’s use of the traditional categories of Scripture. First, “teaching”: the law told the story of God’s redemption of his people and spelled out implications for life in covenant with him. Second, “rebuking”: the prophets brought God’s covenantal lawsuit against his rebellious people; the prophets wrote in such a ...

5. False Teaching

2 Timothy 2:14-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... as illustrated by Israel’s history (Num. 16:5; Isa. 28:16; 26:13; 52:11). Likewise now, God is invested in his “large house” (2:20; cf. the image at 1 Tim. 3:15). All those in the house—but Paul is especially thinking of those who would teach—must cleanse themselves of that which is impure so that what they have to offer is noble, holy, and useful to the house’s master. 2:22–26 · How to resist false teachers: With mature gentleness:Given the severity of Paul’s words about the peril in which ...

6. Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... If imperfect (or evil, see note below) people usually do the right things for those they love, will not our Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit (the giver of “good things,” cf. Matt. 7:11) to those who ask him? Additional Notes 11:1 teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples: Jesus’ disciples wanted to have their own distinctive community prayer, as other groups had (such as John’s group of disciples, and other groups of disciples who followed various rabbis and teachers). Lachs (pp. 118 ...

7. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... are then compelled to seek intimations of these things in the Old Testament (e.g., Jer. 31:33 or Ezek. 36:25–27). But the OT plays no part in the discussion at this point, and there is no way Nicodemus can be expected to understand Jesus’ new teaching. Far from being a surprise to Jesus, his ignorance proves Jesus’ point: that spiritual things can only be grasped by those born of the Spirit (cf. Paul in 1 Cor. 2:11–14). 3:13 Except the one who came down from heaven—the Son of Man: Some ancient ...

8. Jesus Teaches at the Feast

John 7:14-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... us again at the Feast of Tabernacles. Questions that essentially misunderstand who Jesus is provoke him to respond. Irony is John’s literary device throughout. Here two Jewish objections to Jesus are central to the debate: the authority of Jesus’s teaching and the nature of his origin. Educational standards for rabbis were well established in the first century. Advanced study under a rabbinic scholar (e.g., Paul under Gamaliel) in a school was common. Jesus possessed no such credentials. In effect, the ...

9. False Teaching

2 Timothy 3:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... rather than lovers of God” (3:4). Everything in between is about building up oneself and destroying others. Religion stressing only the already with no room for the not-yet cannot help but produce a narcissistic and abusive lifestyle. Whatever appearance of godliness such teaching maintains, it has nothing of the Spirit of God about it—the only power it knows is Satan’s. Though he is to be gentle, Timothy is called to be a skillful surgeon of the soul, courageously cutting out a range of ailments that ...

10. Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Next Jesus offers teaching on prayer (11:1–13). Prayer is an important part of Luke’s Gospel, and Jesus’s example of prayer and John’s instructions on prayer stimulate the disciples to ask for help in praying (11:1). The Lukan form of the Lord’s Prayer is shorter than the Matthean ...

11. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... meeting giving advice sympathetic to Jesus’s case. And in 19:39 his sympathies become explicit: he joins Joseph of Arimathea in burying and anointing the body of Christ. This passage introduces the first major discourse so typical of Jesus’s teaching in the Fourth Gospel. In this and other such discourses, questions posed to Jesus enable him to transpose the topic to a higher plateau (e.g., chap. 14). Earthly understanding must give way to spiritual understanding. Here Nicodemus makes three comments ...

12. Additional Teachings

Luke 16:16-18

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... in these three verses are three sayings, originally independent in all likelihood (as comparison with Matt. 11:12–13; 5:18, 32 would seem to indicate). What connection these sayings have with the surrounding context is not immediately clear. In view of Jesus’ teaching about proper standards for living in the new age, Luke possibly wished to clarify how the law, the rule and guide for the old era, should be understood. In the first saying (v. 16) Jesus declares that the Law and the Prophets were ...

13. Teachings of Possessions

Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:22-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The section on possessions (12:13–34) can be divided into three subsections: (1) warning against greed (12:13–15), (2) the parable of the rich fool (12:16–21), and (3) worry over possessions (12:22–34). In the first paragraph (12:13–15) a man wants Jesus to arbitrate in an inheritance dispute between his brother and himself. This would be typical work for a rabbi. But Jesus refuses, insisting that this is not his role. In verse 15 he warns of the root problem: greed. A greedy person thinks that the good ...

14. Additional Teachings

Luke 16:16-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

It is hard to see how the statements on the law (16:16–18) in this paragraph relate to the preceding paragraph. In verse 16 discontinuity is drawn between the period of the law and the period of the kingdom. “The Law and the Prophets” refers here to the Old Testament Scriptures. Whether John the Baptist is to be included in the former or the latter is disputed. The main point of the text is that with Jesus the proclamation of the kingdom has arrived. What Luke means by “everyone is forcing their way into ...

15. Sermon on the Mount: Final Warnings and Call to Obey Jesus’ Words

Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... on the Mount warn against those who claim to belong to God but are disobeying God’s will. Those who are wise will put Jesus’ authoritative words into practice. Understanding the Text The final section of the Sermon on the Mount focuses on putting into practice Jesus’ teachings and provides warnings about those who do not obey God’s will. Jesus speaks of bearing fruit being the mark of a disciple (7:15–20; see also 12:33–37; 13:18–23; 21:18–22, 43). Bearing fruit means doing the will of God ...

16. The Jewish Leaders as Negative Foil for Jesus’ Followers

Matthew 23:1-39

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... you prophets and sages and teachers. Matthew has readily drawn upon these categories to describe Jesus himself; Jesus is prophet (13:57; 23:29–39), wise person (11:19, 28–30; 21:23–22:46), and teacher (23:10). And those who are sent by Jesus to teach and preach will have the same reception that he has had; they will be persecuted and killed (23:34; see 10:16–18). 23:35 from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah. These two phrases illustrate the full historical scope of “the ...

17. Instructions to Timothy

1 Timothy 4:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... of life is not just for him but for the church as well. Command (the same verb as the “charge” in 1:3, 5, 18) and teach these things (at least vv. 8–10; perhaps everything from 2:1; cf. 4:6). Note how this charge is repeated throughout (5:7; 6:2b; ... it is likewise a word to the community, to let them know that, despite his youth, he has Paul’s own authority to command and teach these things (v. 11). On the contrary, not only are they not to look down on him because he is young, but they are to “ ...

18. A Workman Approved by God

2 Timothy 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... grants them repentance, that also means that they will thus come to their senses (a metaphor for soberness; cf. 4:5 and also the sōphrōn words demanding clearheadedness or soundmindedness, e.g., Titus 2:2). Such a metaphor emphasizes the deceitful nature of the false teaching, which here, as before, is depicted as ultimately demonic (see esp. disc. on 1 Tim. 4:1–2). To experience God-given repentance and a return to soberness means to escape from the trap of the devil (cf. 1 Tim. 3:7; 6:9). Although the ...

19. Let Us Love One Another

2 John 1:1-13

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... . While the former is not impossible, especially if Jesus’ love command is in mind, it is more likely that the Elder means the correct doctrine about Christ, i.e., that he came in the flesh (v. 7). One who continues (menōn, “abides” or “remains”) faithful to this teaching has both the Father and the Son, since it is through the Son that the Father is accessed (John 14:6; 1 John 2:23; cf. Heb. 4:14–16; 7:25; 10:19–22), and since the Father and the Son are one (John 10:30). Doctrinally faithful ...

20. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... , he did) and winning the Gentiles to precipitate the parousia was not met; but, on the other hand, Paul’s gospel reached Gentiles far beyond Spain, and one day that will stir the Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah and thus bring about the second coming of Christ. Teaching the Text A good way to approach Romans 16:25–27 is to cover the three points that I identified therein, comparing them with Romans 1:1–7. This can be done by way of a chart, as shown in table 1, and a summary of that material. This ...

21. Praying for Endurance and Healing

James 4:13-17, James 5:1-6, James 5:7-12, James 5:13-20

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... vital to support the Christians during hard times. The reason not to complain is or you will be judged, which draws on the teaching of Jesus: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged ... Wisdom 1:18; Acts 11:5. The flesh means the whole person (Lev. 26:29; Job 4:15). Fire, as a metaphor for hell, comes from the teaching of Jesus (e.g., Matt. 25:41) and later apocalyptic works (2 Pet. 3:7; Jude 23; Rev. 11:5; 20:9). See H. Bietenhard, “Fire,” NIDNTT ...

22. Jesus Demonstrates Status Inversion in the Kingdom

Matthew 19:1-12, Matthew 19:13-15, Matthew 19:16-30

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... of the wealthy before God (19:16–26). Although the disciples and Jesus have been focal characters in the narrative since 16:21, in 19:3 a group of Pharisees makes an appearance in the story (last seen at 16:1–4), testing Jesus on his teaching about divorce (19:3–12; see also 12:1–14; 15:1–20). Interpretive Insights 19:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things. This is the fourth occurrence of this formulaic conclusion to the Matthean discourses (also 7:28 [see comments there]; 11:1; 13 ...

23. Marriage, Sexual Intimacy, and Spiritual Devotion

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... man could hint that he is hoping the wife will come to her senses and return to her husband. For that to happen, it is important that the husband not legally formalize a divorce and make such reconciliation impossible (cf. Deut. 24:1–4).7 Teaching the Text 1. If singleness can be difficult to maneuver in today’s world in general, it can at times be even more difficult in Christian circles. The strong emphasis on the Christian family in most evangelical churches gives the clear impression that singleness ...

24. Praying for Endurance and Healing

James 5:1-6, James 4:13-17, James 5:7-12, James 5:13-20

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

25. Praying for Endurance and Healing

James 5:7-12, James 4:13-17, James 5:1-6, James 5:13-20

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

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