Sermon and Worship Resources

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1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... he means to use the reality of the hardships he was willing to suffer to certify the truth of the teaching about the resurrection of the dead. So Paul believed and so Paul behaved. 15:33 Paul quotes a well-known Greek proverb from the poet Menander in verse 33 to make the point that association with those in Corinth who deny the resurrection of the dead presents a danger to those forming such affiliations. This citation forms yet another volley in Paul’s campaign against the denial of the resurrection of ...

2. Paul: The Man and His Message

Romans 9:1-29

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... in the koine, the common Greek which was the international language of the day. Most of his ministry was in places dominated by Greek culture and civilization. He quotes Greek poets, Aratus, "We are also his offspring" (Acts 17:28) and Menander, "Bad company ruins good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33). He draws illustrations from Greek games, running, boxing, wrestling, the arena, and from the Groeco-Roman processes of law, such as "adoption." Unlike other New Testament writers, he uses words from Greek ...

3. The Way Up Is the Way Down

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... in spirit,” and finally 3) the reward that justifies the blessed status, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The blessing form was used for all sorts of purposes, one of which was to pass on wisdom. One of my favorites is from the pagan teacher Menander who sounds a bit like Benjamin Franklin in Sir Richard’s Almanac, “Blessed,” he wrote, “is the man who has both mind and money, for he employs the later for what he should.” 10 And for every blessing there is the implied curse, which is ...

4. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... , by the pools of the double-deep” (CTA 4.4.21–22). Secure in his opulent island sanctuary, the ruler of Tyre lays claim to godlike power and invincibility. But he is sadly deluded. In their histories of Phoenicia, the Greek historians Dius and Menander of Ephesus both relate a story (probably deriving from a Tyrian original) concerning Abdemon, a wise man from Tyre who not only solved puzzles Solomon posed in a riddle contest but also crafted puzzles Solomon could not solve (cited by Josephus, C. Ap. 1 ...

5. Resurrection and Christian Living

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... with death in Ephesus (Acts 19:1–20:1; 2 Cor. 1:8–10; cf. 2 Cor. 4:10; 11:23–27). All that would be for nothing if death could steal his life. 15:33 Bad company corrupts good character. Using a quote from an old play (Menander, Thais) that had become as common then as Shakespeare’s “to be or not to be” is today, Paul warns the Corinthians about deceiving themselves into thinking that the content of their faith can be disconnected from their lifestyle (3:18; 6:9). Hanging out with the wrong ...

6. The Resurrection of the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... enjoy the pleasures of life for as long as possible (15:32; Isa. 22:13). As they reflect on their answers to these questions, the Corinthians are not to be “misled” by the opinions of those outside the church, for as even the pagan playwright Menander said, “Bad company corrupts good character” (15:33). Instead of a life lived in sin, which results from an excessive pursuit of the pleasures of the body, prompted perhaps by the notion that a spiritual union with Christ after the death of the body is ...

7. Jesus and Beelzebub

Matthew 12:22-37

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... God is unable to forgive is the unwillingness to accept forgiveness. Thus the “unforgivable sin” is a state of moral insensitivity caused by continuous refusal to respond to the overtures of the Spirit of God. 12:33–37 Four centuries before Christ the Greek dramatist Menander noted that a person’s character reveals itself in the spoken word. Jesus put the same truth in the image of a tree and its fruit. A good tree bears good fruit, but a diseased tree bears unusable fruit. The quality of the fruit ...

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