Sermon and Worship Resources

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1. Three Parables about the Unfaithfulness of the Jewish Leaders

Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 21:33-46, Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:23-27

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... Jewish leaders with a riddle (22:41–46). 21:25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Wisely, Jesus counters with a question not directly about his own authority (21:23) but about the origin (i.e., authority) of John’s baptism. Jesus is asking if the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem recognized that John’s baptizing ministry was authorized by God. By focusing his question on John, Jesus situates the contest between the crowds and the leaders, since the crowds honor the martyred John as a prophet (21 ...

2. God Disciplines His Sons

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

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... the spirits of all mankind” in Num. 16:22 and 27:16 (cf. “the Lord of spirits” in the Similitudes of Enoch, 1 Enoch 37ff.; cf. 2 Macc. 3:24). No anthropological dualism (wherein God is the creator only of our spirits) is intended by our author. See E. Schweizer, TDNT, vol. 7, pp. 141f. In v. 9 human fathers are described as “correctors” (paideutēs), a word that occurs elsewhere in the NT only in Rom. 2:20. The future tense of the verb live orients the reader to an eschatological expectation, as ...

3. Warning Against Refusing God

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

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

4. By Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... directed is not convincing. Rather, when Moses suffers the reproach of Pharaoh’s court, he suffers the reproach of God’s people and thus of the Messiah who is one with his people. Clearly the use of the word Christ (i.e., “Messiah”) here is a deliberate device employed by the author with his readers in mind. For they indeed are called to suffer reproach for the Christ (13:13), whose coming is already an event of the past. Any abuse they may suffer is not significant when compared to what God has ...

5. Boasting

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

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... ). In the end, however, this angel of light is brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit (Isa. 14:12, 15; cf. L.A.E. 12–16; 2 En. 29:4–5). Those who try to usurp Paul’s apostolic authority and ministry will meet a similar fate, a fate that Korah and his followers met when they sought equality with Moses, the Lord’s servant, and tried to usurp his authority (Num. 16:31–33). Paul warns ominously that his opponents’ end will be what their actions deserve. In light of the allusions of the text ...

6. Boasting

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

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

7. Concluding Exhortations

Hebrews 13:1-25

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... up a number of the key motifs in the epistle. The prayer is notable for its beauty and comprehensive scope. Its powerful impact will be apparent to all who have read the letter and noted the deep pastoral concerns of the author’s heart. 13:20–21 The address the God of peace is a formula common in the Pauline epistles (e.g., Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:16). God is further addressed as the one who raised Jesus from the dead, although in the original the phrase ...

8. God’s Love and Ours

1 John 4:7-21, 1 John 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... –28), or perhaps to the “new commandment” of John 13:34? Or is the Elder referring to God as the origin of this teaching on love for God and neighbor in the Torah (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18)? While the author does not always separate clearly between God and Jesus in his writing, as we noted earlier in several passages (e.g., 1 John 1:5–7; 2:3–6; 2:26–29; 3:2–3; 4:17), the context here points to God as the source of the command to love one’s brother or sister. Indeed, it is God ...

9. Faith in the Son of God

1 John 5:1-12, 1 John 4:7-21

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

10. The Blood of Christ

Hebrews 9:11-28

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... and the fact that Christ’s sacrificial work depends upon his own blood (cf. 7:27; 9:12). Where sin has been definitively canceled, as it has in Christ, the aeons have reached a turning point (cf. 1:2; 1 Cor. 10:11). 9:27–28 The author here draws a parallel between the experience of man (i.e., humankind) and that of Christ. In both instances, death can occur only once but is not the end of the story. After death human beings face judgment; after his death, Christ will return to bring salvation, i ...

11. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... make any image of Yahweh in the form of anything in creation. For what reason was the faith of Yahweh to be imageless? One view (e.g., Mayes, Deuteronomy, p. 166) is that the use of an image of deity makes the deity subject to human manipulation, and so is an ... Human beings are made in God’s image, an image that no human has the right to destroy without the maker’s authority. But God does have that authority. Human life is a gift from God and belongs to God, and no human has the right to destroy the gift ...

12. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... who participate in the salvation Jesus has accomplished are here called sons and thus they share in Jesus’ own title (cf. v. 11) and relationship to the Father. The only other place in the book where “sons” is used absolutely is in 12:5–8. The author shares this concept with Paul (e.g., Rom. 8:14, 19; Gal. 3:26; 4:6f.). To be “sons” means to be those who enjoy and are on the way to salvation and glory. It is ambiguous in the Greek whether God or Jesus is to be understood as the one who brings ...

13. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

Today is the last day of the church year. The church year starts four Sundays before Christmas, so next week when I wish you all a happy new year, I hope to get a better response than blank stares. The last Sunday of the church is called both “Christ the King” Sunday, and “Reign of Christ” Sunday. This festival goes all the way back to 1925, when Pope Pius XI added it to the calendar. It was set as the last Sunday of the church year in 1970. When I learned this I was a little surprised. I love looking into ...

14. Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... their lack of help for Christians in need (3:17–18), by their denial of the fundamental christological belief of the community, Jesus Christ come in the flesh (4:2; 2 John 7), and perhaps by their refusal to accept the Elder’s authority in matters of faith and practice (e.g., 3 John 9–10). The Elder adds the little phrase heōs arti, translated by the NIV as “still” (NASB, “until now”). Those who live in hatred for their brother and sister Christians have yet to experience the light of the new ...

15. Walking in the Light and the Problem of Sin

1 John 2:15-17, 1 John 1:5--2:14

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

16. “I Am from Him and He Sent Me”

John 7:25-44

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... crowd’s reaction in v. 31 is apparently based on his reputation, now that they know who he is (cf. 3:2; 6:2). 7:35 The Jews, a term that in this Gospel frequently refers to the religious authorities (cf., e.g., 7:15), here refers instead to the guards sent by the authorities to arrest Jesus. Their reaction is described further in v. 46: “No one ever spoke the way this man does.” Since they are messengers of the Pharisees and chief priests, however, it is possible that the misunderstanding attributed ...

17. The End Times

Daniel 12:1-13

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... pork that had been sacrificed to Zeus, and worshiping the Greek gods, in order to save their lives (1 Macc. 1:41–52). Therefore, it seems reasonable to follow a number of modern scholars (e.g., Collins, Daniel, p. 392; Anderson, Signs and Wonders, p. 149; Seow, Daniel, p. 188; and Towner, Daniel, p. 167) who argue that the author of Daniel understood the ones raised from the dead to be only Jews and only those who died during the time of conflict during Antiochus IV’s reign. Those who had been faithful ...

18. The High Priest of a New Covenant

Hebrews 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... only anticipates the content of the quotation from Jer. 31, which follows, but also alludes to such eschatological realities as true sabbath rest (4:3, 9), an unshakable kingdom (12:28), and the heavenly Jerusalem (12:22). See E. Hoffmann, NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 68–74. The Promise of a New Covenant The author now cites an OT passage of major importance in the epistle, Jeremiah 31:31–34. The explicit reference to the new covenant in this text makes it ideal for his purpose. The internalizing of the law and ...

19. Daniel’s Vision of a Man

Daniel 10:1--11:1

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... in Daniel 2:28, where the NIV translates, “in days to come.” Indeed, it can at times be general in reference to the future (e.g., Gen. 49:1; Num 24:14; Deut. 4:30; 31:29), but here and in Daniel 2:28 it is eschatological, meaning “in the ... one unit (Porteous, Daniel, p. 155). If so, this individual also made the mistake of going back in time, for in the mind of the author of Daniel, Darius the Mede ruled before Cyrus. So, the progression is from the first year of Belshazzar (7:1) to the third year of ...

20. The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the longest coverage. (b) Only before making humans does God take counsel. (c) Humans are created in the image of God. (d) Three of the seven occurrences of the nodal term “create” (bara’) occur with humans. (e) God pronounces a blessing on humans, and (f) God invests them with authority over other members of the created order. Three features give the seventh day secondary emphasis: first, its pattern is different from that used for the other days; second, God rests; and third, God declares it holy ...

21. The Old Testament Ritual Described

Hebrews 9:1-10

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... the old levitical ritual and the priestly work of Christ in considerable detail. Much of the argumentation up to this point has had precisely this goal in view. Indeed, the argument of this major section has already been anticipated (e.g., 7:23–27). The first task the author undertakes is to describe the physical setting of the tabernacle (vv. 1–5) and the sacrificial ritual associated with it (vv. 6–10). He does this by drawing upon the descriptions provided in the books of Exodus and Leviticus ...

22. The Healing at the Pool

John 5:1-15, John 5:16-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... is meant, some have assumed that Jesus was in Jerusalem for three Passovers (chaps. 2, 5, and 12–19) and spent one other in Galilee (chap. 6). Others have suggested the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Weeks (i.e., Pentecost). But the author has left the festival anonymous, either deliberately or because the story was handed down to him without an exact temporal setting. If it was left anonymous deliberately, it may have been to conceal a departure from chronological order. Possibly the story ...

23. Life Through the Son

John 5:16-30, John 5:1-15

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

24. The High Priesthood of Jesus

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... those who are being tempted” (2:17–18). 4:16 If the readers are to “hold firmly to the faith” (v. 14), they will need to avail themselves of the help that comes from the very presence of God. Using imagery drawn from the temple cultus (e.g., approach), the author encourages boldness: with confidence (cf. 10:19). It is no light matter to draw near to the throne of grace. But there the readers will find the mercy and grace they need, and just at the time of need. In keeping with the language of the ...

25. Encouragement to Be Faithful

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... ). As will be articulated in 3:12, such suffering for the gospel has for Paul always been a part of the ongoing proclamation of the gospel (cf., e.g., 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 3:4; 2 Cor. 4:7–15; Rom. 8:17; Col. 1:24; Phil. 1:12, 29). In Paul’s ... metaphors in the present context. Such an interpretation is the result of their view of authorship and their subsequent fascination with the author’s “sources” (here, 1 Cor. 9:7 and 24–27) while paying little or no attention to the point of the metaphors in ...

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