Sermon and Worship Resources

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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 ...

2. Keeper of the Keys

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder, so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” Isaiah 22:22 Remember those old, beautiful “master keys” that used to unlock every door in the house? The old doors had a large, fish shaped opening filled with secret crevices, and the master key was a large, ornate device with unique edges that would somehow activate each one. I’m including an image of one here: Because it could open any door, the master key was ...

3. Love the Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... the law to the present generation that is launched at 6:4. Since it has now been established that Moses is God’s authorized spokesman, then the people’s obedience to what he tells them is effectively obedience to God, and any deviation to the right or ... would probably have been expressed differently in Hb. (“we shall be righteous [ones], ṣaddîqîm”). The Hb. text is (lit.) “and righteousness (ṣ e dāqâ) there will be for us.” The construction normally expresses a possessive relationship, as ...

4. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

5. Jonah Flees from the Lord

Jonah 1:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... (cf. MT of Josh. 1:1; Judg. 1:1). Verse 2 begins with “arise” (RSV; NIV: go; qûm), and this verb is repeated at the beginning of verse 3: “But Jonah rose (qûm) to flee to Tarshish” (RSV). He obeys the Lord’s command to arise but goes in ... . Fourth, Ezekiel 27:3–9 gives a description of a Phoenician ship in the sixth century BC. It is very likely that the ship that the author of Jonah had in mind was similar, made of pine, cedar, and cypress, and that it had oars as well as sails (cf. Jonah 1:13 ...

6. Hot Tubs and Fishing Trips

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Thomas Long

... starring role in a one-person play with no audience. One of the sociologists who authored the book Habits of the Heart reported the following interview with a professional woman in her early thirties: Q: So what are you responsible for? A: I’m responsible for my acts and for what I do. Q: Does that mean you’re responsible for others, too? A: No. Q: Are you your sister’s keeper? A: No. Q: Your brother’s keeper? A: No. Q: Are you responsible for your husband? A: I’m not. He makes his own decisions ...

7. Elijah Flees to Horeb

1 Kings 19:1-8

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... and face God (vv. 11–13)—does he fear that reality will interfere with conviction? 19:12 A gentle whisper: The Hb. is lit. “a voice/sound, a barely audible whisper” (qôl demāmâh daqqâh). For a summary of views on the meaning and import of this phrase, see B. P. Robinson, “Elijah at Horeb, 1 Kings 19:1–18: ... 4:43; 6:15). In neither of these cases is succession in view. The authors leave us guessing, therefore, about what is going to happen. There is uncertainty about Elisha’s precise status.

8. The Lord Appears to Elijah

1 Kings 19:9-18

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

9. The Call of Elisha

1 Kings 19:19-21

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

10. Marketplace Christianity

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Do you employ a “market mentality” or a “relational mentality”? What does this mean? Put simply, a market mentality sees things in terms of transactions and commodities, resources, and dispensability. A relational mentality however sees things in terms of developing partnerships, relationships, long-term collaborations that benefit both parties and share a vision. The former can easily fluctuate. The latter, however, requires time and effort to develop and cultivates trust, loyalty, and commitment over ...

11. Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 Kings 1:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... n, “be of use or benefit to,” similarly leaves the precise nature of the use and benefit open. The combination šḵḇ beḥêq, however, certainly has sexual overtones (e.g., Gen. 16:5; 2 Sam. 12:3, 8; Mic. 7:5). The courtiers thus seem ... and Absalom are both the kind of stereotypical hero-figures considered by the people (or many of them) to be the stuff of kings. The authors of Samuel, however, go out of their way to stress that God looks on the heart and not on the external appearance of things (1 ...

12. David Makes Solomon King

1 Kings 1:28-53

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

13. Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

2 Kings 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... n, “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 divine judgment for their sins. Whether there is something more specific to the taunt you baldhead is not clear. It ...

14. Healing of the Water

2 Kings 2:19-22

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

15. Elisha is Jeered

2 Kings 2:23-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

16. Unreasonable Mercy

2 Kings 5:1-27, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... without it! Remember the old skit from Abbott and Costello? https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiF3Pbq8bHVAhUrjFQKHYsfDPIQ3ywIIDAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww ... is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does ...

17. Moab Revolts

2 Kings 3:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... that it is the LORD’s fury that is meant (cf. qeṣe p in Deut. 29:28; Josh. 22:20) is to accept that the authors are allowing for a link between child sacrifice and divine action—as if this practice, which other passages describe as abhorrent to the LORD (cf. 2 ... much more likely that the fury is thought of as in the first instance human (cf. both the other places in Kings where Hb. qṣ p, “to be angry,” appears, 2 Kgs. 5:11; 13:19). Having failed to “break through to the king of Edom” (v. 26, ...

18. The Beast from the Earth (The False Prophet)

Revelation 13:11-18

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... equals 666 when the final “n” is added (Neron) and the name is translated into Hebrew: N R O N Q S R (N = 50, R = 200, O = 6, N = 50, Q = 100, S = 60, R = 200). To identify the beast with Nero is not to exclude the possibility of future beasts and ... religion. The Scriptures prohibit the worship of anything that is not God (e.g., human-made images, creation, secular authorities, human philosophies, pagan deities). It’s important to remember that not all religious movements or religious leaders are sent ...

19. Determined Discipleship

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Fact is often stranger than fiction. When authorities in Baldwin, Wisconsin finally caught some local cattle rustlers recently, it turned out that the men had been carrying ... was delighted," reported his wife, Gweneth. "He said to win a Nobel Prize was no big deal. But to win it with an I.Q. of 124 that was something." (2) That is something. Richard Feynman did not let an average I.Q. hold him back. He took hold of the opportunities that life presented him and gave his best. He fought a good fight. Think how ...

20. Everything Is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... as well as the four elements are included. Some interpreters suppose that this passage comes from a hand other than that of the author of the rest of the book. If so, it is well chosen: the poem introduces key terms and concepts to be developed later ... verses 10 and 11. Additional Notes 1:1 The Teacher: The word used here (Hb. q?helet) occurs only in this book of the Bible, although its root is familiar from q?h?l (“gathering” or “assembly”). The form is a feminine participle, which may refer to ...

21. Hezekiah King of Judah

2 Kings 18:1-16

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the temple). The OT tradition does not present Nehushtan as having originally been made for worship. It is unlikely that the authors of Kings mean us to understand that it was worshiped continually, even in the monarchic period (cf. the additional note). It ... This evidenced itself in the way that he held fast to God (Hb. ḏḇq) and kept the law of Moses throughout his life, in contrast to Solomon, who in his old age “held fast” to foreign wives (Hb. ḏḇq, 1 Kgs. 11:2; cf. also Jehoram in 2 Kgs. 3:3) ...

22. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... 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 ... covenantal status as Phillips argues, Criminal Law, p. 152. Cf. Moran, “Conclusion.” 5:22 Your whole assembly: Deut. likes to use the word qāhāl to signify the wholeness and unity of the people of Israel, just as it frequently uses “all Israel.” It uses it ...

23. Inward, Upward, Outward

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... top-of-the-heap to look for another higher heap to climb. The devil directed Jesus' gaze downward from some bird's-eye view of the world and offered him authority over all of it. The devil promises Jesus this authority and "glory" what today we would call fame and power over all that lay beneath his feet. The devil said it was his to give. At ground level the devil was ... It GROW! Sister and brothers, LET IT GROW. Let it GROW Inward, Upward and Outward. 1. http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?r=2&q=despot

24. Ehud

Judges 3:12-30

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... Israel to its knees, but not necessarily in repentance. The text states only that the Israelites cried out to the LORD (Hb. z’q; cf. Exod. 2:23). Out of sheer grace, the Lord responded to their cry for help and gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a ... pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. Such excessive description is unusual in Hebrew narrative and thus expresses the author’s desire to savor every detail of the climactic moment. 3:24–25 The next scene must have been purely for entertainment’s ...

25. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... the poor and oppressed, its worship is not acceptable to its God. The Lord wants mišpāṭ (justice) and ṣedāqâ (righteousness) literally to “cascade” through Israel’s daily life like a mighty river; God does not expect them to dry up ... light (1 John 1:5). The predicate appropriates the intrinsic beauty of light, a quality that draws people’s hearts back to the author of beauty. For the apostle, light represents truth and signifies God’s will in opposition to the deception of the world (John 1: ...

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