Sermon and Worship Resources

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Ruth 2:1-23

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... of his servant girls is an act of grace. Boaz is trying to help Ruth, not manipulate her. His intention is to move Ruth away from the precarious role of “foreign woman” (nokriyyah) toward the more socially centrist role of “young (servant) girl” (na’arah). Boaz is no Gibeahite gangster. 2:9 Boaz explains his actions by assuring Ruth, I have told (lit. Have I not commanded?) the men not to touch you. Apparently Boaz has the authority to enforce such commands, in contrast to Nabal’s relationship ...

2. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... it is. The book of Job is not about whether systemic social evil exists—it certainly did exist, and it still does. Nor is the book concerned with whether the powerful elite like Job (and most of us) are complicit with that evil in ways they are naïvely unaware—Job was, and so are we. Other books in the OT (e.g., Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) do focus on these issues and offer sweeping condemnation of such entrenched evil. However, Job is, at the core, concerned with whether or not God is worth holding onto ...

3. Schadenfreude

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Rev. Dr. S. Ronald Parks

... to detect, and somewhat unsettling to identify. The Germans have a word for it. Schadenfreude. What is it? Walk by an elementary playground and listen to the children for a few minutes. Have you ever heard this? (Sung in a whiney voice) "Na-na-na-na-na-na." Fans of The Simpsons will recognize Nelson Munn as the poster boy for Schadenfreude: "Ha-ha!" (An imitation of Nelson's voice is essential) Still not sure you're familiar with the concept? Schadenfreude is the perverse glee that you experience when ...

4. Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

1 Kings 20:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... narratives of this sort is so deliberately avoided (cf., for example, the complete helplessness of Israel in the exodus story, and esp. Exod. 14:14; and the requirement that Gideon should divest himself of warriors before the battle of Judg. 7). It is, moreover, the case that naʿar elsewhere in Kings never requires such a military sense and is, in fact, never translated in such a way by the NIV. Thus far in the narrative of 1 Kings, for example, it has been rendered as “child/boy” (3:7; 11:17; 14:3, 17 ...

5. Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad

1 Kings 20:13-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

6. A Prophet Condemns Ahab

1 Kings 20:35-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

7. Naaman Healed of Leprosy

2 Kings 5:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... is transformed, in the course of the story, from someone under the king of Aram’s authority, standing on his own dignity, into someone under prophetic authority, humbly acknowledging his new faith. He, much more than Gehazi, is now a servant of Elisha (cf. naʿar in v. 20) and of the LORD. See further R. D. Moore, God Saves: Lessons from the Elisha Stories, JSOTSup (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), pp. 71–84. Various NT themes are evoked here, all clustering around the question of conversion. New birth is ...

8. Eliphaz

Job 4:1-5:27

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... , Eliphaz demurs, and trouble is the inevitable result of errant human nature. Trust in a Merciful God 5:8 The only hope for Job now, according to Eliphaz, is to acknowledge his innate sinfulness and its destructive consequences. Imaginatively (but rather naïvely, perhaps) placing himself in Job’s position, Eliphaz describes a course of action in which humans should appeal to God and lay [their] cause before him. Ironically, with one qualification, this is exactly what Job comes to desire in his demand ...

9. Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

2 Kings 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... ʿar alone would allow the NIV’s translation (cf. the additional note to 1 Kgs. 20:14), but the appearance of qāṭān, “small, young,” precludes it. The NIV in fact translates naʿar qāṭān in 1 Kgs. 3:7 and 11:17 (correctly) as “little child” and “boy” respectively (cf. also na‘arâ qeṭannâ, “young girl,” in 2 Kgs. 5:2). The translator has apparently had more difficulty than the authors here in coming to terms with the idea that young persons as well as old should be subject to ...

10. Healing of the Water

2 Kings 2:19-22

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

11. Elisha is Jeered

2 Kings 2:23-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

12. Noah

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... have you been working on that ark? \nNOAH: One hundred and nineteen years. \nGERHON: One hundred and nineteen. Don't you think you could take \na few days off for your friend's wedding? \nNOAH: You have been a good friend, Gerhon, but I just can't do \nit. \nGERHON: I ... 119 years to change. \nSHEM: The time the ark was being built. \nNOAH: That's right. Whenever someone obeys the Lord, it becomes \na judgment for all those who don't obey. \nSHEM: Oh, I get it. The Lord would save all the people if He \ncould ...

13. Alesander The Mediocre

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... the gods to inform me of such a responsibility. \nIACATA: Others have told you before. You would not listen to \nthem. \nALEXANDER: So, you come into the presence of the King to tell \nhim what others have already said? By the girdle of Kronos, what \na royal waste of time you have perpetrated upon this court. Get \nyou hence. Return to your wifely duties. \nIACATA: I perform one of them this very moment.\nALEXANDER: By vexing me. Am I not vexed enough?\nIACATA: Not enough to act, it seems.\nALEXANDER: When ...

14. Eager For The Journey

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

... years ago claimed to be God, died on a cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is coming back one day to judge the living and the dead. Let’s see you do that? My friends, Christianity is a challenge. The world thinks we are naïve. They have gotten the impression, I think from the television evangelist, that we are all a bunch of dunderheads that think Jesus is going to solve all our problems and that life will be full of sandy white beaches, juicy fruits, foreign peoples, priceless treasures ...

15. Giving Dangerously

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the careless Scotch Presbyterian who tossed a crown, thinking it was a penny, into the collection plate, and when he saw his mistake, asked to have it back. The usher refused, and then the Scot grunted, "Aweel, aweel, I'll get credit for it in heaven." "Na, na," responded the usher, "ye'll get credit for the penny." There is one more danger in giving only in response to a perceived need - the danger that the need will not be met. In the case of the church, the work of evangelism, outreach, missions, the ...

16. Working Together with One Heart and One Mind

Illustration

Staff

I've never lifted a barn, but Herman Ostry, a farmer in Bruno, Nebraska has. Shortly after buying a piece of land and a barn, a nearby creek rose, and the barn was under twenty nine inches of water. He half-jokingly said to his family, "I bet if we had enough people, we could pick up that barn and carry it to higher ground." To his surprise, one of his sons, Mike, started thinking about it, and by counting the number of boards, timbers, and nails, he estimated that the barn weighed about 19,000 pounds. ...

17. Will It Last?

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... seeming arbitrariness of this destruction sometimes makes it even harder to take. A group of students and I were in Phang Na, Thailand, in May 2005 following the awful Boxing Day tsunami of the previous December. The area had been virtually flattened. ... often all that is left is the foundation, and that is a mixed metaphor. The most concentrated loss of life in Phang Na, Thailand, was at a brand new resort geared to Scandinavian visitors (this part of Thailand is sometimes called "Scandinavia's Hawaii"), ...

18. When There’s Nothing Left To Do But Mourn

Jeremiah 8:18—9:1

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

... from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, "As the Lord lives!" in truth, in justice, and in uprightness, then nations shall be blessed by him, and by him they shall boast. For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to ... or at the very least, she will be severely debilitated. She will eventually fall to the forces of Babylon. The treaties previously forged with neighboring nations will do her no good. Even her claim of holiness as the place that is home to the temple of the Lord will ...

19. Jesus Prays for Us

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... might be like without the influence of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught us compassion and understanding and acceptance. He taught us mercy and forgiveness. He taught us to love our neighbor as he first loved us. We respect people of all faiths, but it is horribly naïve to say that all faiths and all philosophies are the same. No other faith, for example, teaches people to love their enemies. Think what a difference it would make in the world today if all nations, including our own, adopted that creed. We would ...

20. Eastern Tribes Return Home

Joshua 22:1-34

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... eastern tribes threaten the unity of the tribes. Oblivious to the implications such an altar would present to the western tribes, they naïvely build a large, striking altar on the Canaan side of the Jordan. The western tribes interpret that altar as one providing ... an altar from an act of rebellion into a witness of religious unity and a source of revival. Although the eastern tribes are naïve to believe that the western tribes will not see the altar as a violation of the command to worship in one center, ...

21. A Message About Egypt

Jeremiah 46:1-28

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... divided in the MT. The MT has madduaʿ niskhaf ʾabbireka and taking niskhap as a niphal of a verb sakhap and ʾabbir as “warrior,” the NIV comes up with its translation. NRSV, taking its cue from the Greek, takes the first colon as madduaʿ nas khaf. The verb is nas from nus meaning “to flee,” while haf is a reference to Apis, the divine bull that represents fertility. All in all, NRSV has the strongest textual argument and produces a text that makes a lot of sense. 46:25 The god Amon of Thebes ...

22. A Victory Procession and Instruction for Temple Entry

Psalm 24:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... inquire about his identity (vv. 8a, 10a). Once he is identified as “Yahweh of hosts, the warrior” (lit., vv. 8b, 10b), the procession proceeds. 24:1–2 Modern readers are bound to look at verse 2 as prescientific naïveté. But this reaction, in fact, reflects on our own naïveté regarding ancient imagery. This poem employs the ancient Near Eastern motif of the divine warrior who becomes king by virtue of his victory over chaotic waters (see the Introduction). This background helps us to make sense of ...

23. Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

William G. Carter

... always works for good. It works for God’s good, and it works for the public good. We must never be naïve and declare “everything is beautiful.” Neither must we give in to the evil and say with cynicism, “There’s nothing ... that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard. We cannot swing from naïve idealism to bitter realism.”21 I was thinking about all of this while I was mowing my heavily weed-filled lawn. It gave me a lot ...

24. Sketch Practice

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... \nSetting The church\nProps None\nCostumes Lisa -- pajamas, robe, scuffs, and "gunk" on face\n Ben -- pajamas, robe\n Director -- clipboard, script\nTime The present\nCast BEN -- husband\n LISA -- wife\n DIRECTOR\n(IT'S NIGHTTIME AND EVERYONE IS ASLEEP. WELL, ALMOST EVERYONE. \nA WOMAN WANDERS ON STAGE IN A PENSIVE-DREAMY MOOD. SHE IS \nDRESSED IN HER PAJAMAS AND ROBE WITH HER HAIR UP IN CURLERS, BIG \nSCUFFS ON HER FEET AND COLD CREAM PACKED ON HER FACE. SHE SITS \nAND LOOKS DREAMILY INTO THE NIGHT AIR ...

25. Reward Time

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... . Just punch up the good things I \nhave done. \nRIDGE: I'm afraid there aren't any listed for you, Mr. Reaver. \nGEORGE: There must be. I thought it was a cut-and-dried thing. \nI thought I just did such and such a thing and get such and such \na reward. \nRIDGE: No, no. That is a common misconception. No, no, not at \nall. \nGEORGE: How does it work, then? \nRIDGE: This is a kingdom. God is the King. That's how it \nworks. \nGEORGE: God is the King? This is all new to me. I don't quite \nget ...

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