Sermon and Worship Resources

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Psalm 10:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ’s the insistence of the psalmist: Sharing honestly with God how you feel. II The second lesson we learn from the psalmist is to shun the way of the wicked. One of the loyal and effective witnesses for Jesus in the social upheavals of these recent decades was A.J. Muste. A reporter once asked this gentle, but committed protagonist for Jesus, why he wasted his time in lonely vigils and obscure places in the cause of peace, and in the struggle for human dignity for all people. The reporter asked what good ...

2. To Keep the World from Changing Me

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... once asked A. J. Muste, the gentle but committed protagonist for the Christian way, why he wasted his time in lonely vigils in obscure places in the cause of peace and in the struggle for human dignity. What good did Muste think was being accomplished? Muste answered, “I don’t do this to change the world. I do it to keep the world from changing me.” It’s easy to be changed by the world. Newspapers and TV witness to it every day. A judge charged with the awesome responsibility of administering ...

3. Elihu Makes His Appearance

Job 32:1--37:24

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... great deal to his patient.” Then he quotes a Dr. Dubois who said, “The patient must be much more than just an interesting case; he must become your friend.”1 To hear details is to begin to know the person one is listening to. This is what Elihu needed to do. Those who counsel others need to be careful not to oversimplify the situation. Literature: J.B., by Archibald MacLeish. In this verse play based on the book of Job, MacLeish is responding to the horrors he saw in two world wars, the Holocaust, and ...

4. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... 6). The abiding relevance of the law is that commitments have great value and significance. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do (v. 23), is a principle that applies to many areas of life, not just promises made to God in moments of great stress or ... of human authority they should be punished for criminal acts which they have not committed (Driver, Deuteronomy, pp. 277f.; cf. C. J. H. Wright, God’s Land, pp. 224–30, 235–37). 25:3 Not . . . more than forty: Later Jewish tradition, in order ...

5. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:1-15, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... hardly persuade others of the power of his gospel. A second irritant stems from Paul’s acceptance of aid from the much poorer Macedonians (2 Cor. 11:9; cf. 8:2). This must have struck the Corinthians as a sign of Paul’s inconsistency and as demeaning to ... s statements in Gal. 4:12–20 can be interpreted as referring either to an illness or to persecution. Cf. A. J. Goddard and S. A. Cummins, “Ill or Ill-Treated? Conflict and Persecution as the Context of Paul’s Original Ministry in Galatia,” JSNT ...

6. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

7. Marriage

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... focus on the husband. Only after dealing with the wife and divorce does Paul eventually tag on the line And a husband must not divorce his wife. Whatever we are to make of the situation that lay behind Paul’s comments, we should ... language of racial slurs between Jews and Gentiles, so that Paul’s discussion(s) of this issue are scandalous and perhaps trivializing (see J. Marcus, “The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome,” NTS 35 [1989], pp. 67–81, esp. p. 78 n. 1). Both references to “ ...

8. Choices

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... that kind of love. In recent years, after giving her life to Jesus, Mary J. Blige is able to say, “It was later, when I gave my life to Jesus Christ, that I found out who I am. I’m a child of God. God is my mommy, my daddy. That’s the only thing ... not one of Jesus’ more popular teachings. But it says to us in a stark way that a choice must be made. We cannot forever straddle the fence. Are you on Christ’s side or not? Christ promises us a more effective life and the gift of eternal life. All we have ...

9. Imitating Christ's Humility

Philippians 2:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... , In lowliest adoration bends; The weight of glory bends him down Then most, when most his soul ascends; Nearest the throne of God must be The footstool of humility. 2:4 To look … to the interests of others belongs to the foundation of Christian ethics. “Carry each ... was dominated by those forces, but instead of his submitting to them, they were forced to submit to him (Col. 2:15). If A. J. Bandstra were right in taking law to be one of those forces (The Law and the Elements of the World, pp. 60ff.), ...

10. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... ; 6:11; 1 Tim. 3:7; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8). In a similar way, the NT can say that Christ “has destroyed death” (2 Tim. 1:10), and yet death continues to he a reality with which humanity must reckon. The devil and death are clearly overcome in Christ’s work, even if ... life” and Acts 5:31, absolutely, “Prince.” See G. Johnston, “Christ as Archēgos,” NTS 27 (1981), pp. 381–85; J. J. Scott, “Archēgos in the Salvation History of the Epistle to the Hebrews,” JETS 29 (1986), pp. 47–54. H. ...

11. Paul's Vision and His Thorn

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... This idea of strength in weakness must seem counterintuitive, especially to the opponents, who “take pride in what is seen” (2 Cor. 5:12). However, Paul now realizes that everything that he once regarded as a cause for boasting is nothing in ... Paul’s statements in Gal. 4:12–20 can be interpreted as referring either to an illness or to persecution. Cf. A. J. Goddard and S. A. Cummins, “Ill or Ill-Treated? Conflict and Persecution as the Context of Paul’s Original Ministry in Galatia,” JSNT 52 ( ...

12. How Do You Get To Heaven?

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

... always works with kids of any age, one young man rose to his feet, turned to A.J. and began to address the group in response to the question of the hour. "That's ... a turtledove must be sacrificed, or possibly a lamb; large sins or greater wealth demanded a bull be sacrificed. There were different classes of sacrifices that required different kinds of offerings: Olah was a burnt offering; Minha was a cereal offering; Selamim was a peace or fellowship offering; and Assam was a guilt offering, while Hattath was a ...

13. Freedom From Human Regulations Through Life With Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... deceit of human wisdom”). This is the only time that the word philosophia occurs in the NT, so it must have been a special feature of this heresy. Paul is not objecting to the study of philosophy (lit., “one who loves wisdom”), because ... and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2d ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), pp. 768–69; A. J. Bandstra, The Law and the Elements of the World: An Exegetical Study in Aspects of Paul’s Teaching (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1964); G. ...

14. Let Us Love One Another

2 John 1:1-13

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... not occur. On the limitation of love in the Johannine writings, see Brown, Epistles, pp. 269–72 and, to the contrary, J. A. T. Robinson, The Priority of John (London: SCM, 1985), pp. 329–39. On the term lives (menō, “abides”), see Brown, Epistles ... it deems out of harmony with the revelation of Scripture” (Thompson, 1–3 John, p. 156). Yet it must always teach this truth in love (Eph. 4:15), a verse which has proved easier to quote than to enact. Additional Notes 7 The NIV does not translate ...

15. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... to be left without family at the death of her husband, reflects the widow whose case does not fit verse 4. But such a widow must also be a woman who puts her hope in God. This language is obviously appropriate to widowhood, but more, it reflects the language of the psalms, ... an episkopos also being a presbyteros; but his argument is based on some very questionable exegesis. See disc. on Titus 1:5, 7. For a presentation similar to the one argued for in this commentary, see J. P. Meier, “Presbyteros in the ...

16. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... prayer over against the injunctions of the preceding verses. They speak of what we must do; this prayer concerns what God has done and will do on our behalf. God could not acquiesce in a state of affairs in which sinners were at enmity with himself. In Christ, therefore, ... . Avoid every kind of evil: Early Christian writers invariably quote these words as a comment on a logion attributed to Jesus: “Be approved money changers” (see J. Jeremias, Unknown Sayings of Jesus [London: S.P.C.K., 1964], pp. 100– ...

17. Pilate and the Condemnation of Jesus

John 18:28-40, John 19:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... own law (18:31). It also makes clear that, as far as Pilate was concerned, they had the power to carry out the death penalty if they so decided. Though they were unwilling or unable to do so, probably out of a lack of broad-based support, they remained firmly convinced that We have a law, and according to that law he must die [i.e., the law of blasphemy, Lev. 24:16] because he claimed to be the Son of God (v. 7). The mention of the title Son of God for the first time in the Passion narrative recalls earlier ...

18. Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified

John 19:1-16, John 18:28-40

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

19. Out On A Sycamore Limb

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... a plan. He would climb a sycamore tree with its low-lying branches spread out in a manner that would make it easier for him to climb and see Jesus. He must have been an amusing sight, this small man known to all the people in town, propped up on a ... as insignificant in contrast to the new life he had after seeing Jesus. Now he had assurance that money could not buy. J. Lynne Hinton, a United Church of Christ pastor living in Asheboro, North Carolina, isn’t an ardent walker. One day, she walked over to see ...

20. Sexual Immorality

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... in pagan temples, and often the food itself was from the sacrifice(s) offered to a pagan god or goddess. In this connection, some Corinthians must have maintained that it made no difference what or where they ate. The Corinthians’ claim ... of interpreters simply add the word “other” to the line (NIV: all other sins) while understanding Paul himself to be coining this phrase (see J. Murphy-O’Connor, “Corinthian Slogans in 1 Cor 6:12–20,” CBQ 40 [1978], pp. 391–96). I argued above that the words ...

21. The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:1-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... eat from any tree. But in stating the prohibition she made three small alterations. She first added the restriction that a person must not touch the tree in the middle of the garden, an addition that made God’s command appear more stringent ... , their actions, their responses, and consequently their punishments characterize the experience of all humanity. In the words of J. Walsh, “On a deeper level, every hearer identifies with this ‘man and this woman’ not finally but personally. The sin depicted ...

22. Closing

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... major concerns and themes taken up in the bodies of their respective letters (cf. J. A. D. Weima). Consequently, in important ways the letter closings aid our understanding of Paul’s purpose, arguments, and exhortation. Moreover, if, as L. A. Jervis argues, “The opening and closing sections are where Paul (re)establishes his relationship with his readers and where the function of each of his letters is most evident,” then we must pay special attention to 2 Corinthians 13:11–13, for then we may gain ...

23. Melchizedek the Priest

Hebrews 7:1-10, Hebrews 7:11-28

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... the argument that now follows. 7:12 This change in priesthood has important consequences for the law: there must also be (lit., “is of necessity”) a change of the law. Thus for all our author’s stress on the continuity between the old and ... see also the excursus, “The Significance of Melchizedek” in Hughes, pp. 237–45; A. J. Bandstra, “Heilsgeschichte and Melchizedek in Hebrews,” CTJ 3 (1968), pp. 36–41; J. W. Thompson, “The Conceptual Background and Purpose of the Midrash in Hebrews 7,” ...

24. The Legitimacy and Superiority of Christ’s Priesthood

Hebrews 7:11-28, Hebrews 7:1-10

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

25. Warning Against False Teachers of the Law

1 Timothy 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... has become complete. Additional Notes For a collection of scores of examples of salutations from letters in the papyrus finds, see F. X. J. Exler, The Form of the Ancient Greek Letter of the Epistolary Papyri (3rd c. B.C.–3rd c. A.D.), pp. 23–68. 1:1– ... in Pseudo-Philo’s Book of Biblical Antiquities or even in the Jewish haggadic tradition [illustrative commentary on the OT]). It must finally be admitted that we simply do not know, because Paul does not give us enough clues. What we do know ...

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