Sermon and Worship Resources

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James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... particular, some identical phrases are used. The saying appears to have been widely and loosely used within the early church, which means that each author felt free to adapt it to make his own point. The basis of the structure is probably some statement of Jesus similar to that ... the testing tradition in general see B. Gerhardsson, The Testing of God’s Son. 1:14 The citation of desire as the tempter draws upon a major Jewish tradition concerning the evil impulse in humanity (the evil yêṣer The yêṣer ...

2. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

3. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... he gain if your ways were blameless?” The verb normally used in Job to mean “receive profit” is yʿl, and the verb skn is never found on Job’s lips, so this is not a direct ... opening scenes between God and the Satan why Job suffers—it is an extreme test of his willingness to fear God for nothing. We are now in the final ... the next line confirms that it is the distinctive growl of thunder (NASB; NRSV) the author has in mind. He unleashes his lightning. The storm arrives with a vengeance, with lightning ...

4. Y'all, What's in Your All?

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... standing at a taste-testing fair in the middle of the Gator Bowl, that y'all sounds like it is addressed specifically at you (second person singular). Y'all makes you feel less like a crowd and more like a team. Y'all includes everyone ... What would you have said to her? What did she need to hear the most? Isn't it this: Christ is ALL and IN ALL. Like the author of Ecclesiastes, you can travel many paths in search of pleasure, fulfillment, and meaning only to conclude that 'all is vanity' (Ecc, 1:2). But if ...

5. Walking in the Light

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

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... Qumran and R. E. Brown, “The Qumran” Scrolls and the Johannine Gospel and Epistles,“New Testament Essays (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968), pp. 138–73. The other occurrences of the contrast between truth and its opposites are in 1:8 ... 14:15, 21–25). “Keeping his commands is the sure test that we have come to know God” (Culpepper, 1 John, p. 25). One’s claim must be validated by one’s conduct. The evidence is obedience. What commands does the author have in mind? In the context of 1 John ...

6. 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

7. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... no clues as to the location of Mount Moriah save the three-day journey. The author of Chronicles may have understood Mount Moriah and the Temple mount as possessing the same ... proficiently reflect his thoughts and feelings,” according to Y. Mazor (“Genesis 22: The Ideological Rhetoric and the ... to offer up Isaac and God’s offering his own Son on the cross provides insight into why God tested Abraham in this manner. It informs us that God was just in making this request of Abraham, for God asked ...

8. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... place among the parts of the body may be a reference to the evil impulse (Hebrew yêṣer hâ-râ’), first cited in James 1:13, which the Jews spoke of as ... later calls on people to resist the devil (4:7) and because of the connection between testing and the devil (e.g., Matt. 6:13) to which Hermas also witnesses (Similitude 9.12 ... ) is not surprising. Yet disorder is the primary mark of demonic activity. God is the author of peace and order (1 Cor. 14:33). The demonic realm is characterized by restlessness ...

9. Two Kinds of Wisdom

James 3:13-18, James 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

10. Daniel’s Training in Babylon

Daniel 1:1-21

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... date of the first deportation, we can stretch the time to fifty-nine years. It is possible that the author of Daniel wanted to move the beginning of the exile back to an even earlier year so that the ... they will agree to eat the same food as the others. Fortunately, the guard agrees to this and tests them for ten days. 1:15–16 The youths succeed in proving that their diet is superior: ... Lella, The Book of Daniel [AB 23; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1978], p. 129) or “lodging” (Collins, Daniel, p. 134), ...

11. Three Promises

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... was authorizing some expensive purchases without the proper authority to do so. Before Jesus ascended into heaven ... authority. These were promises you could take to the bank. The whole meaning of the ascension is that Christ has been given authority ... us. This is an important promise. The critical test in life is not what happens to us. The critical test is how we handle the things that ... is not a counterfeit lord. He has the authority to grant us three promises: presence, power and a priesthood. ...

12. A Squirrel Crossing a Busy Street

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... of our struggles in life are designed not to defeat us, but to make us stronger. One author compares the Christian’s response to suffering to the term Y-A-C which is a designation used in the National Football League. It means “Yards After Contact.” ... disservice. In a sense they are stunting their growth. We learn our greatest lessons and experience our greatest growth during times of testing, during times of pain. Marilyn J. Abraham wrote a book titled First We Quit Our Jobs. In it, she makes a ...

13. A Way of Seeing

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... along, but because your tongue did. In the words of Paul Bach-y-Rita, professor of rehabilitation medicine and biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, " ... image to the brain. This device is still in a primitive stage, but in lab tests, blind people using it have been able to "recognize letters, catch rolling balls, and watch ... priest in the novel, The Diary of a Country Priest,2 "Grace is everywhere." As the author of Hebrews says, "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of ...

14. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... his own commitment to do the will of his Father. The narrative of his testing in the wilderness records that all of his scriptural answers to Satan come from ... 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 ... will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. “Likewise, in Lev. 19:3, the verb yārēʾ (“to fear, respect”), which even more commonly is used of God, is used of ...

15. Elijah Fed by Ravens

1 Kings 17:1-6

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... LORD, and not any other, who is God—as Elijah’s name (Hb. ʾēlîyāhû, “the LORD is God”) itself proclaims. 17:1–6 In Canaanite religion it was Baal who had authority over the rain. Its absence meant the absence of Baal, who must periodically submit ... the end of the matter (v. 18), while Elijah is not content to let it rest (vv. 19ff.). Here is the ultimate test of the LORD’s authority. It is one thing to rescue people from the jaws of death, but can he do anything when death has clamped tight ...

16. The Widow of Zarephath

1 Kings 17:7-24

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

17. An Illustration from Marriage

Romans 7:1-6

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... which is consonant with Paul’s analogy. The analogy is not exactly appropriate to illustrate the point of verse 1, however, because it fails the test of logic at the end. In verses 2–3 the husband (= law) dies, whereas in verse 4 it is the believer (= wife) who dies ... 6 and 7, e.g., katargeisthai (“be done away with,” 6:6; “released,” 7:6), kyrieuein (“master[y],” 6:9, 14; “authority,” 7:1), karpos (“benefit,” 6:21, 22; “bear fruit,” 7:4, 5), doulos—douleuein (“slaves,” 6:20 ...

18. The Law and the Promise

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

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... Liberating Paul: The Justice of God and the Politics of the Apostle [Maryknoll, N. Y.: Orbis, 1994], p. 227). That is, Paul became at once committed to Christ ... a covenant with him; he certified the covenant in his flesh, and when he was tested he proved faithful” (Sirach 44:19–20). As this final citation demonstrates, the covenant was ... as elsewhere, Paul interprets Scripture with the understanding that he has been granted authority to see clearly its meaning since, as he says in 1 Corinthians 10:11 ...

19. Faith or Observance of the Law

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

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

20. Body / Ambassador

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... As Paul explains it, believers are not free to live as they wish, but are under the authority of a new master and are controlled by the power of the indwelling Spirit. This is Paul ... concept, and only a very brief sketch can be given here (see further H. F. Fuhs, “yārē’,” TDOT, vol. 6, pp. 290–315). The presence of God is considered a terrifying sight ... is to be excluded from the latter.” Paul calls for the Corinthians to test the genuine nature of their faith by their stance toward him, whether or ...

21. Moving Toward Sainthood

Isaiah 26:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... themselves into character and character into destiny. OF COURSE, THE FINAL TEST OF SAINTHOOD IS WHETHER OUR LIVES ARE GRADUALLY BECOMING FASHIONED AFTER ... grandma or grandpa was like Jesus. Think what an influence such folks would have on our society. Author Kurt Vonnegut, of all people, said it best sometime back in USA TODAY'S "Opinion Line." He ... thing to happen to a person at any age of life. 1. John Pullman, Tonawanda, N.Y., THE LUTHERAN, Nov. 1994, p 6. 2. KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS, 11-29-91, "Dear Abby," p. ...

22. I Am the Keeper of the Zoo

Isaiah 11:1-9

Sermon

... the churches." Then he went on to describe snake-handling rituals during public worship, where people regularly test the depth of their faith and the power of biblical prophecy by allowing poisonous vipers to crawl ... is a literal prediction of Jesus Christ), I make no comment here. While the author may be referring to a forthcoming king in the tradition of David, the language ... of lesser interest to congregants. Concerning Isaiah 11:6-8 of R. B. Y. Scott writes: "The state of peace and well-being to follow is ...

23. Praying In Jesus' Name

John 14:5-14

Sermon

David O. Bales

... irate father. No one seemed to notice until the child cried out in a Southern accent, “Y’all pray for me now!” Worship can be different. It can even be funny. I’m ... Open up in the name of the law,” which meant they acted in a manner duly authorized by law. Jesus offers a promise in today’s text: “I will do whatever you ask ... us of his unconditional love, but he puts a condition on our prayers. We have a test for our prayer: Can we make our requests in Jesus’ name, which means in his personality ...

24. Are Ye Able?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... had been speaking very openly about his coming arrest and death at the hands of the authorities, but the two did not seem to have understood what Jesus was talking about. Neither had the ... and a little code that’s attached to the end. Before all things I pray to the Lord God y’all are healthy. I want you to know that we arrived on the eleventh and it was made ... to a pagan god or to the emperor as a god. It was a loyalty test. Christians could not perform such an act and this could lead to arrest, loss of ...

25. With Your Head In The Clouds

Exodus 24:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... experience years later gave them unusual power, unusual confidence, unusual authority to proclaim the newly born Christian faith. And such ... " (a favorite ploy of numerologists, whereby the alphabet is numbered backward from zero; Z=0, Y=1, X=2 . . . ) and multiplying each letter-value by 6 (whew!), fundamentalist leader Jerry Falwell ... 7) And that's our lesson for the day! People experience God in different ways. But the test is ” are we bearing fruit? If we are, our Christian faith is just as valid as Peter ...

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