Sermon and Worship Resources

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1. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). That term (variously translated in Rom. 4 as “credited,” “reckoned,” “counted,” “imputed,” “declared,” all of which are essentially the same) was used in commercial language to refer to payment to a ... the Torah (4:11a). Paul thus introduces a discontinuity between faith and circumcision (in the sense that circumcision was not the basis of faith but rather the later sign that faith had already occurred and that before circumcision), the likes of which ...

2. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... of good deeds. The question of whether “foot-washing” had become a rite cannot be concluded one way or the other on the basis of the evidence available. The first clear reference to such a rite is found in Augustine, Letters 55.33. 5:13 Both ... are those whose work is preaching and teaching. Not all who direct the affairs of the church are also teachers, but the teachers are counted among the leaders. The verb work was used earlier of his own and Timothy’s ministries (4:10) and is one of Paul’s ...

3. By Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... not know where he was going. Abraham leaves the known and the familiar to be led wherever God leads him. He acts on the basis of God’s promise alone, heading toward the unseen and unknown (cf. the definition of faith in v. 1). Abraham is thus controlled by ... and its disobedient inhabitants (Josh. 2; 6:17, 23). Despite her unrighteous profession to that point, Rahab manifested the faith that counts upon the reality of the unseen. 11:32–35a Realizing that he has only begun to mention examples from the OT, ...

4. Body / Ambassador

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... persuade people. The thought is, again, similar to that in 1 Corinthians 9: The Apostle Paul, who has “seen” the Lord Jesus as the very basis of his apostleship (v. 1; cf. 15:8–9), has a divine “obligation” upon him to preach the gospel, “and woe to me if I do ... second to Paul’s commission. The first participial clause states that, in reconciling the world to himself, God is not counting men’s sins against them. By this, Paul is merely reaffirming that under the new regime those who were ...

5. The New Census

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and the Universal, are not kept separate, but always held together. The way to the universal is through the particular. The whole world is redeemed one at a time, on a one-to-one, one-on-one basis. Chaos becomes cosmos where Christos reigns. Jesus counted as the new “number one” in the new divine census. Jesus counts each and every disciple who come to him as a unique and new “number one” — a wholly reborn, re-created adopted son or daughter of God, a Jesus human. In the fourth century the Roman ...

6. Abraham Justified by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... common in Jewish midrash to take a verse (sometimes out of context) to try to prove one point or another. On the basis of Genesis 15:6 alone it would be quite impossible to say whether Paul or his opponents were right. But in considering ... us are in opposition to the promises of God: He promises immortality; we are surrounded with mortality and corruption; He declares that he counts us just; we are covered with sins: He testifies that he is propitious and kind to us; outward judgments threaten his wrath. What ...

7. The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:1-14

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... of his law-free gospel. Abraham is a strategic example for Paul because he can argue that Abraham was counted righteous before the covenant of circumcision. Quoting Genesis 15:6, Paul asserts that the fact that Abraham believed God led ... Gentiles. 3:18 That Paul is shaping the argument on his terms is suggested further by the fact that here he works on the basis of a separation between law and inheritance. The following Sabbath prayer from the period of the Second Temple makes it plain that such a separation ...

8. Faith or Observance of the Law

Galatians 3:1-14, Galatians 3:15-25

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

9. Proper 5

Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:9-13, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Hosea 5:1-15, Romans 4:1-25, Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . Can God transform a life from evil to good? Faith that God can is credited to man as righteousness and on that basis he is restored to God's fellowship. This faith is based on Christ whose death and resurrection made access to God possible. ... fulfillment, as in the case of Abraham and Sarah who were promised a child though they were far past the age of childbearing. Outline: What counts with God? a. Faith in God's promises - vv. 18-23. b. Faith in God's Son - vv. 24-25. WORSHIP RESOURCES Psalm of the ...

10. Favoritism Forbidden

James 2:1-13, James 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... does it have value. Additional Notes 2:1 The term for partiality (prosōpolēmpsia) was coined by the Christian ethical tradition on the basis of the Old Testament statements about God and applied especially to God’s judgment (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. ... day as entering in the heavenly books. See further H. W. Heidland, “Logizomai,” TDNT, vol. 4, pp. 284–92. That Abraham was counted God’s friend and that this was connected to his deeds is clear from Jubilees 30:20; 2 Esdras 3:14; and ...

11. Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26, James 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

12. The Weakest Link

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... never ever forget if you intend to be right with God. You will never get to Heaven on the basis of the things you did not do. You will never get to Heaven on the basis of the things you did do. You can only go to Heaven by accepting what God has done for ... man was accepted by God and which man was not, the Pharisee would have won by a unanimous vote. But there is only one vote that counts, and that is God's. A rich man once invited many guests to a feast he was having. When they all got there they saw his ...

13. When You Are Wrongly Criticized

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... wall. He broke the skin on the tip end of his tail, making it bleed a bit. By all reckoning a “no-count” injury. Except Hannibal couldn’t let it go. He started licking his wounds and kept licking. His constant licking of the wound ... Instead he offered the world a “dream” — a new vision of justice, mercy, and love. And on what basis did Martin Luther King, Jr. build his dream? His basis was his place and participation in his first family — not his American family, not even his Baptist family, ...

14. Running the Race

Philippians 3:4-11, 2 Timothy 4:7

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... by the seas of time. They must have worked so hard to be able to afford these magnificent monuments, but ultimately it all counted for nothing. The thought of this can make us angry and bitter. It is enough to make us scream, "Foul!" This is no ... reminded, it is the Ten Commandments not the ten suggestions. God is holding us accountable for our performance. We are judged on the basis of our performance. Every day we see people suffer because they think they can thumb their nose at God's commandments and get ...

15. God Disciplines His Sons

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

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... to him. He is not only the basis, means, and fulfillment of faith, but in his life he also exemplifies the same principle of faith that we saw in the paragons of chapter 11. Thus, by faith he counted upon the reality of future joy and ... OT saints in 11:40. 12:24 The readers, finally, have come to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant. This climactic fact is the very basis of all that has been described beginning in verse 22. And the reference to the new covenant here redirects the reader to one of the author ...

16. Warning Against Refusing God

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

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

17. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... depending on whether or not one came into the faith already circumcised. If one was already a Jew, then circumcision counted for nothing (cf. 5:6). It should be the same for Gentiles. Paul clearly accepted that circumcised Jews were part ... in each case: in v. 16 the word gives the sense of continual active participation in the Spirit; in v. 25 it indicates the basis of one’s life. The phrase keep in step with the Spirit contains the verbal form of the word “elements” (stoichōmen) encountered in ...

18. Encouragement to Be Faithful

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... to be ashamed of Christ or of Paul his prisoner but, on the contrary, to be ready to join with Paul in the present suffering. The basis for such an appeal is grounded in the gospel of Christ, who has given us hope by his abolition of death and revelation of life and ... urges him, “and above all, preach the word (4:2); for it is the word alone, the message of the gospel, that counts. They may imprison us and chain us, but they cannot chain our message” (cf. esp. Phil. 1:12–18). Paul’s imprisonment, ...

19. God’s Covenant with Abram

Genesis 15:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... on Abram the vastness of the promise, God took him outside his tent and ordered him to look up at the heavens and count the stars—as though that were possible. Then God proclaimed that his seed would become like the stars in number (22:17; 26 ... that because no human can do sufficient works of righteousness to be just before God, a person can be declared just or innocent only on the basis of faith in God. Everyone who is justified by faith has peace with God (Rom. 5:1). 15:7 God’s goal in appearing to Abram ...

20. New (Testament) Math

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... account books that forget to enjoy life and to care for one another. Numbers can become more important than people. We can be so busy counting that we miss the beauty of the world around us. Have you ever known golfers who get so wrapped up in their score that forget ... of God. Like the rain waters the earth, forgiveness brings new life in the midst of dead relationships. In fact, forgiveness is the basis of our life together as a church. Now, I’m not saying that forgiveness means we ought to ignore sin or let ...

21. Unlawful Sexual Relations

Leviticus 18:1-30

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... and her children are to be his. The subordination of women and the stability of the social group appear to be the basis of the prohibition. Verse 21 forbids the people to give children to Molech. The connection with the context seems obscure. It may ... you” (Leviticus, p. 248). The point seems to be the ultimate confusing of boundaries, the ultimate incestuous act, of intercourse with what is counted as oneself. In vv. 7–8 the reference is to dishonoring the father, in v. 16 to the brother. 18:21 Molech may ...

22. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... totally new context. They would now work as free people, no longer in the indignity and insecurity of economic bondage. On that basis, they were to avoid oppressing and exploiting the weak and vulnerable in their own society. Hence the sabbath commandment is specifically for ... The commandment is not simply about telling the truth in general, but about telling the truth in the place where it counts most, because that is where lying can cost most—the court of law. The protection of the process of justice was ...

23. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... more realistic understanding of what it means to be his disciple. That is the setting for two brief parables that call his followers to count the costs of living in the kingdom in a world still filled with evil. Context of the Lectionary The First Lesson. (Jeremiah 18: ... meaning of life. It usually means a radical change of lifestyle. It is not something to which one commits on the basis of an emotional high or an impulse of the moment. Such a commitment requires a mature decision. It requires a dedication of ...

24. Count Me In!

Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... pastor asked her, "Are you a member of this Synod?" When she replied that she wasn’t, he withheld the elements and passed her by. She was excluded from the Holy Supper on the basis of church doctrine and membership. The sex of a person can close doors to serving God in some churches. Women are to keep silence in the church. This precludes them from preaching the Word. In ... tongues" are praising the Lamb of God. That dream can only come true when all of us - you and you and me - say to God, "Count me in!"

25. Proper 16

Exodus 1:1-22, Matthew 16:13-20, Romans 12:1-8, Psalm 124:1-8

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... our Lord Jesus Christ is not so much the result of our own musings as it is the outcome of the work of God in our lives. These four characteristics or dimensions of faith are the basis of the words of Jesus to Simon Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!" As we manifest the kind of faith expressed by Peter, we too can count on hearing the blessing of our Lord. Yet, Matthew structures this passage in such a way as to show us that faith is not merely static, not merely something we have that brings us a ...

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