Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: thirstiness, dryness, parched, craving, strong desire, longing, yearning, avidity, hunger, voracity, keenness, eagerness, lust, appetite, passion, love, crave, want, covet, desire, hunger for/after, lust for/after, hanker for/after, have one's heart set on

Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 2501 to 2525 of 5000 results

2501. The Man Among Myrtle Trees

Zechariah 1:7-17

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... like the psalmist (Ps. 88:1–2), Zion personified (Lam. 1:2; 2:19), the prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 15:11), or Israel in the wilderness (Num. 14:1). Isaiah 26:9 quotes such a prayer, “My soul yearns for you in the night; / in the morning my spirit longs for you.” What Zechariah reports having seen and heard during this night brought good news to a people who had many questions. The NIV uses the singular “vision” to introduce all the reports in Zechariah 1:9–6:8. Zechariah saw all of the episodes in a ...

2502. A Man With a Measuring Line

Zechariah 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... measuring line laid the foundation for hope before any stones were set in place. Zechariah enters the vision by speaking to the man, asking, “Where are you going?” The man answers the prophet directly, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.” Zechariah 1:16 promised that “the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem”—a promise to rebuild the city as well as the temple. The man’s interest in the size of Jerusalem and its layout anticipates its future extent ...

2503. The Flying Scroll

Zechariah 5:1-4

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... angel/messenger is still present, and he asks Zechariah to say out loud what he sees. The prophet’s answer gives the exact dimensions of the scroll (information that one would expect to hear from the angel/messenger). “I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.” What did the flying scroll look like? Calling the object a scroll implies that it was still, or had been, rolled up. Its length, twenty cubits or thirty feet, is comparable to the length of the oldest known scroll of a ...

2504. The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

Zechariah 8:1-23

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... Jerusalem will grow old and will see their grandchildren. People in every generation hope to enjoy the blessings of long life and offspring. The least productive members of the household will be honored and cared for. (The elderly will ... s robe. This physical action lays claim to a desired relationship (cf. Ruth 3:9; 1 Sam. 15:27; Ezek. 16:8). By faith the woman suffering a long-term hemorrhage touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed (Matt. 9:20–22; Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:43–48). The hem of a ...

2505. The Lord Will Care for Judah

Zechariah 10:1--11:3

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... to you.” God’s answer could also be in the form of a prophetic oracle (e.g., Jer. 33:3). Although separated by hundreds of miles and hundreds of years, Zechariah 10 affirms that God will not forget the descendants of the northern kingdom exiles. The long-lost Ephraimites, like the Judahites (v. 5), will also become like mighty men (v. 7). Zechariah 9:13 had joined Judah and Ephraim together as God’s weapon, yet here in verse 7 this development is not followed by battle, as in verse 5, but by rejoicing ...

2506. A Peaceful Mind

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... word, he identified it as tomorrow. The word tomorrow is a thief, he said, that robs dreamers of their dreams and the talented of their greatest achievements. It keeps men and women from coming to Christ and discovering the kind of life God longs for them to have. The prince of preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon, agreed. “Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow!” he wrote. “Alas, tomorrow never comes! It is in no calendar except the almanac of fools.” (6) The secret of abundant life is to entrust the future to ...

2507. The Healing at the Pool

John 5:1-15, John 5:16-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... City of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), pp. 79–83. 5:6 And learned: There is no reason to think (with GNB, “and he knew”) that Jesus’ knowledge at this point was supernatural (as, e.g., in 2:24–25). The aorist tense implies that Jesus found out how long the man had been sick, presumably by being told. 5:10 The law forbids you to carry your mat. Ironically, it would not have been against the Sabbath law for someone to carry the man on his mat or couch (cf. Mark 2:3). See Mishnah Shabbath 10:5 ...

2508. Jesus Teaches at the Feast

John 7:14-24

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... ). Their seeming lack of awareness of what the narrator and the readers have known all along is puzzling and incongruous. As early as 5:18 the religious authorities in Jerusalem had made up their minds to kill Jesus. This was why he remained in Galilee as long as he did (7:1). When he finally decided to go to Jerusalem, “at the Feast the Jews were watching for him” (7:11), apparently with hostile intent. Even the crowds knew that Jesus was a wanted man, though “no one would say anything publicly about ...

2509. The Impending Departure I

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, John 14:15-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (v. 17). Again in verse 19 he had picked up the language of his opening pronouncement in 13:33, but now with a crucial qualification: Before long [Gr.: eti mikron; cf. 13:33], the world will not see me any more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. This was what called forth Judah’s question. The world will not see Jesus after he departs. As far as the world is concerned ...

2510. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... desire,” which Paul mentions only to condemn it. But the context alone can determine whether the sense of epithymia is bad or good, and it is as likely to have its good sense here as in 1 Thess. 2:17, where it denotes the great longing of Paul and his companions to see the Thessalonian Christians again. To depart: Gk. analysai, of a ship weighing anchor or an army striking camp. And be with Christ, immediately on dying, he implies. Against this O. Cullmann denies that the NT countenances “the view that ...

2511. Walking in the Light

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

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... if the pronoun is translated as “it” instead of him (see NIV footnote), the meaning then would be that there is no cause for stumbling in it, i.e., in the light. Loving others is living in the light, a condition in which there is no cause for offense as long as one stays there. You can see where you are going morally and spiritually and, as a result, don’t fall yourself or cause others to do so (Smalley, 1, 2, 3 John, pp. 61–62). 2:11 Verse 11 directly contrasts to v. 10 and returns to the negative ...

2512. From Adam to Noah

Genesis 5:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... his son would comfort (nkhm) humans burdened by labor and painful toil (’itsabon) as a result of working the ground that Yahweh had cursed (3:17). This is the first statement in Genesis that humans experienced such agonizing pain and distress that they longed for relief. It also discloses that even those who worshiped God were experiencing God’s curse on the ground. Such agony resulted from God’s general curse; it was not punishment for specific wrongdoing by members of Seth’s line. Lamech’s hope ...

2513. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Genesis 19:30-38, Genesis 19:1-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Lot suffered great trauma. He left Zoar and with his two daughters went to live in a cave in the mountains of Moab. Lot’s inability to cope with his losses greatly distressed his daughters. They were in their prime childbearing years and had no idea how long they would live as refugees in a cave. The elder complained that there was no man around. In desperation, she concocted a scheme by which both of them might become pregnant by their father. After getting him drunk with wine, at night one of them would ...

2514. Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to the blessing he had lost. 27:30–33 As soon as Isaac finished the blessing, Jacob left. For him the tension was over. For the reader, however, the suspense increases. What will be the reactions of Isaac and Esau on finding out that a long-cherished dream has been shattered? At the beginning of this scene the narrator identifies Isaac as Jacob’s father and Esau as his brother to underscore that Jacob’s deception had been against the closest members of his family. Soon after Jacob left his father ...

2515. Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

Genesis 28:10-22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... 28:10–11 Because of Esau’s threats and in order to find a wife, Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. It was a long journey, especially by foot. As the sun set, Jacob picked a place to spend the night. The NIV understands the text to say that taking ... sacred from primordial time, but in Scripture a site never became endowed with sacredness; a particular place was holy only as long as God chose to reveal himself there. 28:13–15 Yahweh gave Jacob the Abrahamic promises by reiterating three of them ...

2516. Jacob’s Children

Genesis 29:31--30:24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... not loved. The verb “heard” implies that she had been lamenting to God about Jacob’s attitude toward her. Leah again conceived and bore a third son. She named him Levi (lewi, from the root lawah, “be joined to”) as an expression of her longing that her husband . . . become attached to (lawah) her. Again she conceived and bore a son. This child she named Judah, meaning “praise.” She looked beyond the distress caused by Jacob’s lack of affection and focused on God’s fulfilling her desire for ...

2517. Dinah and the Shechemites

Genesis 34:1-31

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to move Jacob and his sons to agree to the proposed accord. He assured them that his heart was set on Dinah by offering to give them any price they asked for Dinah’s becoming his bride. He encouraged them to set the price high as long as they truly permitted the marriage. Although Shechem did not admit that he had done any wrong to Dinah, he essentially offered compensation to Jacob’s family for the damages he caused them. Only later does the audience learn that these two men were negotiating from ...

2518. The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Genesis 35:16-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... old and full of years (25:7–11). On the basis of this age, he lived approximately twelve years after Joseph was sold into servitude in Egypt (Sarna, Genesis, p. 368a, n. 17). The phraseology “old and full of years” means that he had lived a long, happy life under God’s blessing. His two sons Esau and Jacob buried their father in the Cave of Machpelah (49:29–32). Reconciled, the two brothers joined in honoring their father with a proper burial (25:9). Additional Notes 35:16 Scholars dispute the ...

2519. Joseph’s Dreams

Genesis 37:1-11

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... “he was a helper (na’ar, lit. ‘a youth,’ which may mean here ‘servant boy’ [Wenham, Genesis 16–50, p. 346]) with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.” 37:3 The precise meaning of ketonet passim, rendered in NIV “a richly ornamented robe,” is uncertain. It may have been a long coat with long sleeves (2 Sam. 13:18–19, as Josephus understood it [Ant. 7.8.1]). Based on the LXX and Vg., it may have been a cloak of many colors. There are Egyptian pictures of Semites wearing ...

2520. Jacob Goes to Egypt

Gen 46:1–47:12

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... seventy nations at the close of the primeval narrative (ch. 10). 46:28–30 Judah went ahead to meet with Joseph to learn where they were to settle in Goshen. Joseph went to Goshen in his chariot. On meeting his father, he embraced him and wept for a long time. The only way Israel could respond was to say that he was ready to die, having been comforted in seeing Joseph again. 46:31–34 Joseph informed his whole family that he was going to report their arrival to Pharaoh. He then instructed them on what to ...

2521. The Death of Joseph

Genesis 50:22-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... life. Joseph saw his grandchildren to the third and fourth generation. The ancients viewed such a privilege as the reward for righteousness. 50:24–25 Before his death Joseph wished to give his extended family a word of promise that would sustain and guide them as long as they remained in Egypt. He reiterated the promise that God would surely bring them out of this land to the land that God had sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Israel is especially known as the God of these three patriarchs (e ...

2522. Wanderings in the Desert

Deuteronomy 3:21-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... of Moses’ encouragement to Joshua, placed this time in the mouth of God (Josh. 1:1–9). 3:23–25 There is a touching pathos in the way Moses turns from his encouraging words to Joshua, who has a bright future ahead of him, to his own sad longing to be allowed to share that future. I pleaded is a strong expression meaning to beg for grace and mercy out of desperation (cf. Ps. 30:8–10). Moses’ plea is an impassioned one. He addresses himself personally to the God he knows by name: Sovereign LORD—a ...

2523. Joash Repairs the Temple

2 Kings 12:1-21

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... has been the priest Jehoiada. Now we begin to hear of his own activities, as the “highlights” of his forty-year long reign over Judah are described to us. They do not make particularly inspiring reading. 12:1–3 The introductory regnal formulas for ... told exactly when his building plan was initiated. It either takes him a long time to begin to think about the temple (cf. the twenty-third year of v. 6), or an incredibly long time to “discover” that nothing is being done about his instructions for its ...

2524. Jehoahaz King of Israel

2 Kings 13:1-9

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... . the Hb. root yšʿ underlying the name “Elisha” and the words “deliverer” in v. 5 and “victory” in v. 17), even in the midst of great sin (cf. 13:1–7, 14–19). With the passing of that era, Israel has entered a time in which devastating judgment will not long be held at bay. They are shortly to enter the tomb of exile, to be cast out of God’s presence with not so much as a remnant left (cf. Ps. 88:3–12, and see the additional note on 1 Kgs. 13:33 for another place where death appears ...

2525. The Book of Law Found

2 Kings 22:1-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... 28:61; 29:21; 30:10; 31:26; cf. also Josh. 1:8; 8:30–35; 23:6; 24:26). It is Deuteronomy that is read to the king and that provides the basis for his actions in the remainder of the narrative. A more difficult question is this: How long is the book envisaged as having been out of the public domain? We are not explicitly told, but the impression throughout Kings has been that it was available to the various rulers of Israel and Judah. They did not conform themselves to its laws by chance, nor did they fail ...

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