Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: touch, feel, sense of touch, tactile sense, tactility, contact, using one's hands, sensation, sense, suspicion, sneaking suspicion, notion, inkling, hunch, fancy, apprehension, presentiment, premonition, foreboding, love, care, affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, warmness, emotion, sentiment, emotional state, compassion, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, understanding, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, tender-heartedness, brotherly love, sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, ego, pride, opinion, belief, view, impression, intuition, instinct, estimation, guess, theory, hypothesis, thought, way of thinking, point of view, atmosphere, ambience, aura, air, mood, climate, character, overtone, undertone, tenor, spirit, quality, flavour, colour, aptitude, knack, flair, bent, talent, gift, skill, art, trick, faculty, ability, propensity, inclination, sensitive, warm, warm-hearted, tender, tender-hearted, caring, soft-hearted, sympathetic, compassionate, empathetic, responsive, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful

Antonyms: bad feeling, acrimony, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, bitterness, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, enmity, friction, grievances, grudges, hatred, hostility, loathing, malevolence, malice

Showing 2526 to 2550 of 3285 results

2526. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... gave people the potential to use these advances in a way that threatened the very urban centers that fostered the new technology. The human proclivity to adapt their inventions to inflict harm on others might lie behind Lamech’s boasting so brazenly about his ability to kill scores of people. History attests a tribe or city-state using a new technology to make better weapons with which one people extended its control over a wider area. Disaster can also befall a city if its leaders focus the majority of ...

2527. The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-9

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the name of the temple) toward heaven” (Westermann, Genesis 1–11, p. 547). 11:6 Two rare roots, z-m-m (“purpose, devise”) and b-ts-r (“be impossible”) occur together only here and in Job 42:2. Job employs these terms to laud God’s ability to do exactly as he plans. Here they describe the hubris of humans in thinking that like God they can achieve anything they plan. 11:7 The shift to first person plural cohortatives indicates that God took counsel with the heavenly court (1:26). The fact that ...

2528. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

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

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... arranged marriages with Lot’s descendants. This scene completes the story of Lot, who had left from Haran with Abraham (12:4). In the Abraham cycle Lot serves as a foil against which Abraham’s faith and obedience shine more brightly. Having lost his ability to act clearly on his faith, Lot faded into ignominy. Additional Note 19:24–25 Sarna postulates that a fire storm resulted from a great earthquake in the Syrian-African Rift, the great rift that reaches from Syria in Palestine to Lake Nyasa in ...

2529. Jacob and Esau

Genesis 25:19-34

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... one who grabs a heel, a finagler.” His behavior at birth symbolized the strife between him and Esau throughout their childhood. At this time Isaac was sixty years old. 25:27–28 The boys grew quickly. Possessing a love for the outdoors and the ability to handle himself in the open country, Esau became a skillful hunter. Jacob, however, being quiet, preferred to dwell in tents. He was a shepherd. Each parent gravitated toward the boy closer to his or her own interests. Isaac loved Esau, for he brought ...

2530. Jacob’s Children

Genesis 29:31--30:24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... no longer slept with her. 30:1–8 Distraught at her own infertility and jealous of Leah’s fertility, Rachel lashed out at Jacob, demanding that he give her children lest she die. Jacob responded curtly by asking her if he were God with the ability to make her pregnant. Feeling worthless, Rachel decided to provide Jacob with Bilhah, her maidservant, as a surrogate, in order to build her own family. Jacob loved Rachel so much that he agreed to her plan without objection. With the words “she shall bear on ...

2531. Pharaoh's Dreams

Genesis 41:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the ancients dreaded was a seven-year drought. Conversely, seven years of plenty symbolized the richest blessing. Sternberg (The Poetics of Biblical Narrative, p. 400) points out that despite the way Pharaoh had blurred the details in recounting the dreams, Joseph’s ability to reconstruct the symmetry of details led him to interpret them correctly. 41:33–36 Joseph proved to Pharaoh that he was a skilled wise man, wiser than all those in Egypt, by ably interpreting his dreams. Joseph then boldly ventured ...

2532. Worshipping Other Gods

Deuteronomy 13:1-18

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... a war, all property and livestock was to be destroyed (v. 15). In other words, there would be no economic benefit for those who carried out the “execution.” The law could not be exploited as a “raiders’ charter,” giving one town the ability to accuse another of apostasy, attack it, and carry off its wealth (see Vasholz, “A Legal ‘Brief’ ”). The fact that the town, though Israelite, was to be dealt with through the ḥērem also shows that its idolatry effectively abolished its covenant ...

2533. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... 25:11–12 Like the previous law, this law is concerned with actions that threaten family continuity. There, the unwilling brother-in-law threatens the survival of his deceased brother’s name, since he will remain childless. This woman’s action threatens the assailant’s ability to have children, if serious damage is inflicted on his genitals. This seems a more likely reason for the severity of the law than simply that it is regarded as gross immodesty on the woman’s part. The law is unique in that ...

2534. Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 Kings 1:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the events that follow, particularly those described in 1:5–27? A number of factors combine to imply that the importance of the Abishag incident lies in its indication to the watching court (and to Adonijah in particular) that David has lost his virility and thus his ability to govern. Here is a very beautiful girl. The David of old had not shown himself to be impervious to such women’s charms (1 Sam. 25, especially v. 3; 2 Sam. 11, especially v. 2). He had been known to take great trouble to possess a ...

2535. A Wise Ruling

1 Kings 3:16-28

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... betrayed” justice in his dealings with certain of his subjects, and our reading of 3:1–15 has also suggested it. First Kings 3:16–28 now wishes us to see how the new wisdom he has just received from God makes all the difference in his ability to “distinguish between right and wrong” (3:9) and to administer justice (3:11). In this passage Solomon is much more a wise king than he was before, “winnowing out all evil with his eyes” (Prov. 20:8, 26) and searching out things that are concealed (Prov ...

2536. Solomon's Officials and Governors

1 Kings 4:1-19

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... of 4:1–20 together. First Kings 4:1 indicates that the following verses will concern the king’s rule over all Israel, and 4:20 provides a fitting climax to this initial description of his reign by telling us what the consequences of his organizing abilities were (Judah and Israel . . . were happy). Verses 21–34 then go on to speak about Solomon’s rule over “all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines” and his impact on the world more generally. Israel is seen in these verses ...

2537. Preparations for Building the Temple

1 Kings 5:1-18

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... kingdoms mentioned in 4:21 is real enough, even if he chooses (in his wisdom) to deal in friendly ways with some of the kings over whom he is dominant. Cooperation there may be, but it is cooperation between a senior partner and a junior who ultimately has no ability to resist his will. This becomes even more apparent in 1 Kings 9:10–10:29, where it also becomes obvious who is the real beneficiary of the “treaty” between the two kings (cf. the commentary on 7:13–14; 9:10–14, 26–28; 10:11–12 ...

2538. Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

1 Kings 8:22-61

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... that remind us, like the case of the foreign worshiper in verses 41–43, of the divine promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3; 17:1–8. The people . . . brought out of Egypt are Abraham’s descendants, delivered from oppression not because of their ability to keep the law but simply because of the promise. 8:52–53 It is to this question of gracious election that Solomon returns as he brings his prayer to a close, again emphasizing the choice of Israel as the LORD’s inheritance, the people brought ...

2539. Elijah Fed by Ravens

1 Kings 17:1-6

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... widow’s response to this raising of her son from the dead is faith—but faith that is focused upon Elijah rather than upon God himself. It is Elijah’s credentials as a man of God (v. 24) that have been validated by the miracle, rather than God’s ability to act. Was there reason to doubt these credentials? She had called Elijah man of God already (v. 18), and he had already proved himself to her as one who speaks the word of the LORD truly (vv. 14–16, 24). In one sense she already believed it, but ...

2540. Elijah and Obadiah

1 Kings 18:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the LORD greatly.” Like the widow of Zarephath, however, Obadiah is not entirely convinced that the fact that the LORD lives (17:12; 18:10) is of any special relevance to the question of his own grasp on life. He hangs a question mark over God’s ability or willingness to intervene. He has seen most of the LORD’s prophets killed, and those who were saved were rescued, not by God’s special intervention, but by his own more humble efforts involving the cave (cf. Heb. 11:32–38 for a description of the ...

2541. The Widow's Oil

2 Kings 4:1-7

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... 1–12, and they are told not to greet anyone on the road (10:4). They, like Gehazi, fail to fulfill their assigned tasks (e.g., Matt. 17:14–21; Luke 9:37–43) and require Jesus’ own presence. Some of Jesus’ followers invest great faith in his ability to heal—and even to raise from the dead—when present (e.g., John 11:17–37; cf. also Mark 5:21–24, 35–43; Luke 7:11–17 for resurrection stories that pick up elements from 2 Kgs. 4). Nevertheless, the highest commendation is reserved for those ...

2542. Naaman Healed of Leprosy

2 Kings 5:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... to convince Naaman that the LORD is not simply one god among many (v. 11), but is the only God: Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel (v. 15; cf. Deut. 32:39 again for the connection between God’s uniqueness and ability to kill and bring life, wound and heal). But why has Naaman come to believe this? He had been convinced all along that he would be healed; that is why he came to Israel. Why has the event, now that it has happened in the Jordan rather than outside Elisha ...

2543. God’s Judgment on Assyria

Isaiah 10:5-19

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... and destruction, and its appetite to construct an empire out of lands formerly occupied by independent peoples, in the manner of European powers creating their empires or of settlers in America (v. 7). It is proud of its own military might and confident of its ability to conquer anyone (vv. 8–9). It is unwilling to recognize that the two houses of Israel have a special significance, and ironically assimilates their religion to its own (cf. 37:10–13). On the other hand, it is to be noted that (as in ...

2544. The Helper of Israel

Isaiah 41:1-29

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... 4a. The things to come (v. 22) refers to the outcome of these events in the near future, the fall of Babylon and the freedom of Abraham’s people to repeat their ancestor’s journey. The capacity to make sense of history in the sense of the ability to show how events form part of a purposeful pattern is the capacity that provides evidence regarding who is God. The gods’ inability to make sense of events or predict where they are going is the evidence that they are no-gods. They are helpless and silent ...

2545. Egypt

Ezekiel 29:1-21, Ezekiel 30:1-26, Ezekiel 31:1-18, Ezekiel 32:1-32

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... tree; rather, he is the tree. The extravagant growth, strength, and fertility associated with the World Tree feature in a surprisingly positive depiction of Assyria’s power and influence. But none of this, according to the allegory, was the result of any hard work or ability on Assyria’s part. The Lord states, “I made it beautiful” (v. 9). 31:10–14 However, Assyria, glorying in its growth and power, was proud of its height (v. 10). For this reason, God handed it over to the ruler of the nations ...

2546. Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ’s role in ruling over creation; Jesus now rules as our representative. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews also draws on this christological category to assure believers of their present freedom from fear of death (2:14–18) and of Jesus’ ability to “empathize with [their] weaknesses” (4:14–16). Teaching the Text 1. Jesus is faithful to God in spite of temptations. As noted above, it is shortsighted to imagine Jesus being tempted only at this point in the story line of Matthew. There ...

2547. Jesus Eats with Sinners and Heals the Sick

Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:14-17, Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:27-34

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... worker comes from God and is worthy of our trust. These are not new themes; instead, they continue the motifs begun already in chapter 8: Jesus’ authority and the importance of faith in response to it. But as Matthew tells story after story about Jesus’ ability and willingness to heal and do other miracles, the reader is led to the conclusion that Jesus is truly from God (in contrast to the Pharisees’ deduction that he casts out demons by the prince of demons [9:34]). His identity as the Messiah ...

2548. Jesus as the Isaianic Servant of the Lord

Matthew 12:15-21

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... verb “hear” active rather than passive (as in the Hebrew text and the LXX), Matthew has heightened an emphasis on hearing as a human response to Jesus. In the case of the quotation and its context in Matthew, the emphasis falls on those who lack the ability or inclination to hear in a positive sense the message of Jesus.2In the immediate context, the Pharisees reject Jesus’ teaching and ministry and plot his demise (12:14, 24). 12:20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will ...

2549. Jesus Is the Example of Service for His Followers

Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 20:20-28

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... model we ought to follow. He sets the standard by turning away from self-focus and status maintenance or acquisition; we are to follow in his footsteps. It is common enough to speak about “servant leadership” in our churches, and this notion has the ability to transform our ministry values and practices. Yet the analogy provided in 20:25–27 is even more potent. The contrast that Jesus draws is between acting as master over slave and the complete inverse of this picture. Those who lead should renounce ...

2550. Jesus Is God’s Faithful Son in Gethsemane and at His Arrest and Trial

Matthew 26:31-35, Matthew 26:36-46, Matthew 26:47-56, Matthew 26:57-68, Matthew 26:69-75

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ). It can help those we minister to and with to know of Jesus’ struggle to follow an easier path and of his own desire to avoid the cross (to do what he wills [26:39]). To overcome temptation as Jesus did is not about some superhuman ability to avoid feeling deep ambivalence toward the sacrifice involved in following God’s path for our lives; rather, it is about placing ourselves in the hands of the covenant God, who cares deeply for us as we say yes to our God-given mission. 2. Matthew portrays ...

Showing results