James Wharton concludes that the function of Job never has been to provide answers but to keep the questions urgent and contemporary for all who set out to honor and serve God. James A. In this insightful, informative, and easy-to-read volume, James Limburg takes us into the world of the Psalms and brings their world to us.
Limburg studies each Psalm and shows how the Psalms confront the issues of our contemporary culture, transcending time, and transforming our faith and experience. These books of the Bible, despite their differences, all treat the phenomenon of what it means to live wisely before God.
In this readable commentary, Ellen Davis points out that the writers of these books considered wisdom—and the fruits of wisdom, a well-ordered life and a peaceful mind—to be within the grasp of anyone wholeheartedly desiring it. Ellen F. In this volume, Walter Brueggemann writes on Isaiah 1—39, which many scholars believe had a single author, Isaiah, of the eighth century BCE, who wrote in the context of the Assyrian empire between and In this volume, Walter Brueggemann focuses on Second Isaiah Isaiah 40—55 , believed to be written by a second exilic poet, and Third Isaiah Isaiah 56—66 , a third group of texts that rearticulate Isaianic theology in yet another faith situation.
Brueggemann discusses both the distinctiveness of the texts and their canonical relatedness. The prophet Jeremiah declared the word of the Lord at a critical time in the history of ancient Israel. In the first volume of a two-part commentary on Jeremiah, John Bracke provides a powerful interpretation of the prophet's message to a nation that refused to listen to the call to repent and to renew covenant living in obedience to God's commandments.
Readers encounter God's anguish and pain over both the failure of the people and the suffering that they and Jeremiah were forced to endure. John M. In part two of his commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations, John Bracke provides a powerful interpretation of the prophet's message to a nation refusing to repent and obey God and points beyond exile and suffering to God's restoration of the people and renewal of the covenant.
The book of Ezekiel was written during a tumultuous time in Israel's history. It follows a period that began with Ezekiel's warning of Jerusalem's fall and his prediction of the destruction of the temple—a sanctuary regarded as so holy that its destruction was unimaginable. The period continues with Ezekiel's and others' exile to Babylon. Although much in the book of Ezekiel focuses on the consequences of Israel's rebellion against God that lead to the destruction of Jerusalem, even more deals with the hope of Israel's rebirth with divine assistance.
Tuell , Review of Biblical Literature. Ronald E. The book of Daniel is concerned with religious persecution. Daniel's message in this apocalyptic text, however, assures that God will deliver those who trust God, refuse to worship other Gods, and keep Jewish tradition in the face of persecution.
Seow examines this difficult and provocative book and explores its relevance to faith and the church today. Often called "minor prophets," these first great classical prophets spoke to issues that dominated their times—love, redemption, fidelity, renewal, authority, justice, righteousness, and inclusivity—and that continue to have great relevance today.
Bruce C. Taken together, the nine prophets found in the books Obadiah through Malachi lived during a tumultuous two hundred years of Israelite history. Their communities dealt with the crisis of the impending Assyrian threat in the eighth century and the Babylonia exile in the sixth, as well as the hopeful age of restoration in the late sixth and early fifth centuries. Intimately connected to the travails and needs of their communities, these prophets had the responsibility of bringing God's message of hope—even in the bleakest times—to their people.
William P. The original audience for the Gospel of Matthew included converts from Judaism who wrestled with how to be faithful to Jesus Christ under difficult circumstances in a changing world. The Gospel of Matthew became a first-aid manual for this church in the midst of a struggle. Thomas Long identifies this first audience and its faith within the social and religious context of the day and clarifies the structure of the Gospel.
Providing examples of contemporary relevance, Long helps today's reader discern the significance of this guide for faithful living in today's church. Thomas G. Long is one of the most popular preachers in the Presbyterian Church, as well as a premier teacher of preachers. Mark, often eclipsed by the other Synoptic Gospels, is now considered by many biblical scholars to be the earliest written gospel.
This conclusion would place Mark closest to the historical Jesus. In his book, Douglas Hare examines Mark for modern Christians who are in search of the Jesus portrayed in these earliest known writings. What emerges is a Jesus whose moral and religious teachings are of secondary importance to the very fact of his life, death, and resurrection.
For it is the Jesus depicted in Mark that serves as the window through which we may see God. God's love for humankind, Hare contends, is made visible through Mark's Jesus. Douglas R. Currently, he is an adjunct instructor at Bangor Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous books on New Testament topics, including Matthew Interpretation series. The Gospel of Luke is arguably the most recognizable and beloved of the Gospel writings.
It contains familiar stories such as the birth of Christ, and the parables of the good Samaritan and the prodigal son. Its message about inclusivity and economic justice continue to empower many in their struggles for liberation.
Luke is also noted for the prominence of women in its narrative. The general familiarity with Luke, however, may impede a true sense of what this Gospel is about as a whole.
Thus, New Testament scholar Sharon Ringe offers readers a thorough introduction to and a critical reading of Luke. Readers will gain a renewed understanding of this Gospel in light of its whole message. Sharon H. To make this book as user-friendly as possible, each entry provides: A description of what the form looks like.
A summary of what it does--its main functions with examples from the Greek New Testament. An "Exegetical Insight" to show how understanding the grammar helps you interpret the text. The Biblical Greek Companion for Bible Software Users is ideally suited for: Pastors and ministry leaders who may have learned Greek at one time but have experienced the loss of much of that learning. Give witness of the resurrection - the primary proof that Jesus is the only way is the fact that He alone rose again!
Have great grace with each other - focus on the real enemy! This is the greatest need right here - how much grace? Put up with things - rather love and enjoy the things of God.
The way to get grace is by humility Ja Take care of one another - the fruit of grace is giving! Financially ,35; - This was not mandatory, but voluntary - a Christian family member who wont help out is worthless!
People sold extra houses and lands. Kill the pride, and forget about class-systems! Be a family! Emotionally , He was an exhorter ; , He got people excited about living for God, and giving for souls! An exhorter advises, warns, cautions, stirs up Christians! People need encouragement to follow and serve God- so we should work to become good examples.
At this point, Acts 5 matches the instruction of Joshua 7. Dealing with the sin unto death 1 John ,17 - Six instances:. Direct disobedience to a clear command of God - as with Jonah. Murmuring and complaining to God about His care - as with Israel in the wilderness - caused them to disregard His instructions and plan - they rebelled, and it cost them dearly!
Taking what belongs to God as Achan and his family did in Joshua 7. Putting on a religious show of hypocrasy as a Christian - as with Ananias and Sapphira here in Acts 5. The principle is that it only takes one person who does not want to follow God, to hurt the whole body of believers.
The Deceit of Ananias and Sapphira They wanted the kind of acclaim that Barnabas was getting for his generosity. Be real. They agreed together that it would not hurt anyone Our sin hurts more people than we know! They were not demon-possessed, but sin-filled instead of Spirit-filled Eph Peter one time had trouble with this Matt , as did James and John Luke , The Death of Ananias and Sapphira It was not wrong to own property - the best thing. God did! Peter pointed out that Ananias had not lied to people, but to God - specifically, to the Holy Ghost - Deity of the Holy Ghost - proof of the Trinity!
Produced great fear - it is right to fear the consequences of sin - as a Christian, or unsaved! This is the first death in Christianity like the children of Israel having to die in the wilderness due to disobedience. The Lord next has Peter identify whether Sapphira was an innocent party, or an accomplice.
She was an accomplice , and she dies as well. Two types of sins:. Signs and wonders included:. Healing, raising the dead, giving sight. Speaking in tongues. Prophesying - telling the future. The sun darkened, and moon turned into blood Act , The Purpose of Signs and Wonders. To prove that Jesus was God Acts To back up the word of God Mark To deceive people and get them against God Rev The Producers of Signs and Wonders.
Prophets - Moses and Aaron Ex , and the prophets. Apostles - By the hands of the apostles Acts ; ; ; ,4; ; Ro ; 2 Cor They got this personally from the Lord Jesus Mt ,2. Deacons - By the first deacons Acts ; - they were given this power by the apostles Acts ,6. The Proofs of True Signs and Wonders. They worked every time - with and without faith by the recipient Acts ; ,8.
They worked until the end of the apostolic age 2 Tim ; 1 Cor They never contradicted the word of God - always were subject to verification 1 John The Problem with Signs and Wonders. An adulterous people look for them - not true seekers of Christ Mt , but of more sources of power!
The devil can easily counterfeit most of them Ex The Lord will allow signs and wonders to confound the rebellious 2Thes , and test the Christian Dt Miracles are to be subject to the word of God Isa People are only to believe the word - not miracles John The miracles were to get people to believe the word Mk !
Primarily in Israel. To the Jews throughout the world - to get them back to God. To some of the Gentiles - but not as a general rule. Paul was restrained in using miracles outside Israel Cf 1Cor Were finished at the completion of the Bible 1 Cor They will occur again in the Tribulation manna from heaven feeding the Jews; water from the rock; earthquakes, sun being turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, etc. These miracles will once again be directed at the Jews!
The Proper Results of Signs and Wonders - The apostles demonstrated authority over laying the foundation of the church. Produced unity in the church - already had it. Seriousness about being a part of the New Testament church. People getting saved - consistent focus! People getting healed - every one! Everybody was ready for the coming of the kingdom of Heaven- Millennium.
The assault on the Apostles ,18 - this is the natural result of revivals ; , Go Mt ; Mk Stand Eph , Speak - not just living the Gospel, but preaching it.
Speak ALL the words of this life 2 Tim ,2. The Clear Goals of the Apostles - not to heal everyone. To obey God, over man - in everything Prov ,6; Ex To fill Jerusalem any area with the doctrine truth of Christ - not satisfied with 11, , , , ,! To convince sinners of their responsibility for the murder of the innocent blood of Christ.
The Effect of the preaching of the word of God Causes people to want to kill the messenger Mt and stop the message. Religion is the source of all killing Rev throughout history! Without Christ, religion is only the love of money!
Causes people to think As with:. But if it is of God, then they had better be careful to not be found fighting God - guilt is showing up here!
Causes joy in life of the Christian ,41; 1Cor ,23, Should it ruin our attitude? Encourages Christians to just keep on going for the Lord, and being faithful doing what God tells them to do ! No one person can do all the work involved in the church ministry. God designed Christianity like a family, with more than just a few helping out. There is not to be welfare , with the majority reaping the benefits of the work of the few! There needs to be delegation - the appointment of helpers, fellowlabourers , fellowservant.
Not power-hungry leaders! Reaching the Limit With over 15, new Christians, the 12 apostles were well beyond their abilities in trying to minister the word of God to people.
They had become overwhelmed by handling all the donations, coordination of housing and feeding the widows. It was getting to where they had no time to teach the Scriptures. People who depended upon the Christians for food were being left out and were going hungry! They had no other source of help. Definitely the primary work of the Apostles was to teach the Scriptures ; Eph ,21 , and to pray get ability to teach. But some others had to take over handling the ministration of food, and other help.
Leads to murmuring Cf Ex ; ,8; , and to big trouble - there needed to be a balance! Called delegation, commission, ambassador. Moses and his 70 elders Ex Jesus and His 12 apostles Mt Jesus and His 70 disciples Luke Jesus and all of Christianity Mt ,20; 2 Cor The Pastor, and his Teachers Eph , Delegating Pastoral Responsibilities These are the four qualifications of Godly servanthood :.
Men of honesty - their character is well known. Spiritual men, full of the Holy Spirit - obedient to God Acts - doers of the word, and not hearers only Jam Wise men having wisdom; experienced.
Not novices or people playing games. Servants - who will accept assignments and serve, instead of always trying to lead! All of us ought to have the desire to be these kind of Christians! Resolve to keep things proper ; 1Cor - maintaining the priority tasks - the Apostles would give themselves to labouring in prayer, and in the word 1 Tim ; 2 Tim Seven men are chosen He is well known for his faith in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
He is the primary person in Acts 7. He then gets stoned by the religious rulers! Philip - not the Apostle by this name. He is the primary person of Acts 8 with Samaritans getting saved, and then the eunuch. Notice how they were chosen. Was it anarchy people fighting to be picked? It was by congressional choice - the choice of the congregation both OT and NT truth. This is the basis of democracy - people chose within the limits of law.
Authorising the servants The laying on of hands had no miraculous power - just authorisation to serve in the name of the Lord with the backing of the church as with Joshua; Num This is where maverick, and rogue Christians have the problem: ie , working under someone Luke This is why the modern church makes God sick - there are very few servants!
Some Areas of Service in a local church:. Sunday School teaching, and class helpers. Mailing Birthday Cards, and Visitor letters. Book table - organising and handling books, tracts, videos. Tea table - purchasing, organising the table, washing cups. Weekly Bible Club leader. Discipler - teaches someone through the discipleship course. Reaping a Greater Harvest Christianity was back in action. Things were as they should be. People were sharing the work-load.
More involvement. The word of God spread out as the apostles now spent more time on getting it out. The number of people getting saved also increased. Those who had been opposed to Christ the most the priests , were surrendering to the truth - Satan was losing ground!
Stephen Stands on His Own He enters into battle! We are in the apostolic age of the church. The apostles have extended powers to these deacons. The deacons not only served tables, but preached the Gospel. Wonders and miracles will always be associated with those full of faith, and power. Not by the laying on of hands, but by the closeness of the walk with the Lord! Five synagogues take on Stephen. If people would just do this today!
They were not able to win against his wisdom depth and spirit attitude; confidence, correctness. Jesus was accused by false witnesses. The second coming of Christ was imminent - at any moment! Jesus was coming back, and they could die at His return - not talking about something way off in distant future! Not looking for signs either - signs already fulfilled enough! Jesus, not a nuclear bomb will Himself destroy this Temple, and place 2 Thes They already had been as far as a Christian was concerned:.
The Bible stands alone in its ability to teach people how to understand its contents! People are supposed to be Bible readers! The Bible is its own interpreter, and explains itself better than any theologian or scholar! Here in Acts 7, God reviews history, and shows us some great truths that maybe we miss when we go through the Bible!
What you are about to see is how God presents truth. He uses preachers - not great educators or teachers. He teaches history - HIS-story. There is one thing that we learn from history - and that is, as a general rule, people never learn from history! Those who do not learn the lessons of history, are destined to repeat them!
Israel going around in the wilderness for 40 years History is usually the most boring subject taught in school - but only because people believe there is no meaning to history - no God behind the scenes. But when you see the Author of history at work behind the scenes, it comes alive. Jesus, not a nuclear bomb will Himself destroy the Temple!
That Jesus changes lives! Not the catechism class! The high priests asks Stephen to begin his defense History begins with GOD, not with man Stephen focuses on Jewish history to make it relate to the Jews. Started while he was in Mesopotamia - unsaved, surrounded by an ungodly society.
God calls Abraham to leave everything: home, family, religion, plans. God challenges Abraham to follow Him to a land he had never seen before - real faith. Abraham obeys, and arrives in Canaan - the promised land. The covenant of circumcision - God made a promise to Abraham and to his children forever that was identified by the act of circumcision - a mark of ownership Christians also are owned; 1 Cor , God was with him when he was sold into slavery God was with him when he was delivered from all his afflictions God was with him when Joseph was made governor The time of the promise Gen drew near God allowed persecution to begin in order to prepare the hearts of Israel to rely on the Passover Lamb!
Mind control. God provided a deliverer - Moses -always does! Man seems to either get ahead of God - usually happens at a young age, and produces disillusionment. We totally reject God - never listening to God at all! Moses supposed people would understand his intentions Moses feared man Pharaoh more than he feared God Moses shut out God for 40 years - out of bitterness, and disappointment - he let 40 years go wasted because of his own attitude he supposed that things should have been different - we all think this same thing!
This is a great sin! He tried to Save Israel through Moses God always goes looking for us - calling us back ; Gen God cares and is well aware of the events in our lives ; Heb God can use anyone who allows God to transform them; Rom ,2 :.
A murderer here - Moses - if he would get saved - trust the Lord instead of his own intelligence, and abilities. A liar - Abraham - if he would just learn his lesson. A brawler - Peter - if he would just devote all his energy to serving his risen Lord! God uses some people ,35; like Moses here simply because He knows that it will require faith on the part of the Jews to follow him stammering, unsure, not quite polished.
Moses prophesied of a coming Prophet like himself that people are to hear, and follow ; Dt ,18, This Prophet would deal directly with the Jews Mt ; ,6.
This Prophet would have a Church like Moses did This Prophet would deliver lively oracles - Scriptures - N. The worst place to be is without God! Still going on today! The Tabernacle It was to be the place that all sacrifices were brought; all tithes; and all worship was to be held.
It had the following components:. Carried by Joshua Jesus into Canaan. King David wanted to make God a permanent testimony of His power and presence in Jerusalem - a Temple , But Israel wanted to build it anyway.
People are consistent - always resisting Notice it is the Holy Ghost that has been at work All the prophets were persecuted and hated by the Jews! The Jews even killed the very prophets who foretold of the coming Just One the Messiah. Just like they murdered and betrayed the Messiah Himself They were cut to the heart - not just an intellectual exchange.
They were only full of anger - either make people glad, or mad! But Stephen remained full of the Holy Ghost - never lost his temper. He saw the glory of God - Moses saw this; David saw this. He saw Jesus there next to God the Father.
So the crowd stones Stephen - the first martyr of Jesus Christ. He did not fight with swords and guns! This turns out to be the influencing of the greatest Christian to ever live - Saul of Tarsus ! His whole focus was continually on the Lord. He wished that Israel would not reap anymore for their sins! They were finally in motion! Chapter 8 outlines why a church grows, and how it all happens! Preaching is fueled by the following ingredients. Prayer - much prayer 10 days of it in the upper room.
The power of the Holy Spirit Eph Faithfulness to the message 2 Cor Bible preaching focuses on the following topics:. The Fulfillment of Scripture ,16 - prophecy, lives transformed, demonstration that God is involved in life! The Lessons of Scripture.
The Work of Scripture. The Author of Scripture 1 Cor , YTD Video Downloader. Adobe Photoshop CC. VirtualDJ Avast Free Security.
WhatsApp Messenger. Talking Tom Cat. Clash of Clans. Subway Surfers. TubeMate 3. Google Play. Canon ink cartridge. Beanie Babies movie on Apple.
0コメント