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 251 to 275 of 323 results

251. Jephthah and Ephriam

Judges 12:1-7

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... of war ready to be deployed against their “brothers.” The author does not need to tell us explicitly that things had deteriorated significantly; beginning the new episode with this word and juxtaposing the two episodes is enough to clue us in that the moral climate was grave indeed. It is not clear how long after the battle with the Ammonites the Ephraimites mustered for battle. The text implies that they waited two months (11:37, 39), as does Jephthah: Why have you come up today? (12:3, Hb. emphatic ...

252. Israelites Fight the Benjamites

Judges 20:1-48

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... got together and united as one man against the city (v. 11). They jointly called upon the Benjamites to hand over the men of Gibeah. After the story of Samson, whom the Judahites extradited without batting an eye (15:9–13), and in the present climate in which it was every person for himself or herself, we naturally expect the Benjamites to comply with the majority decision. 20:13b–17 But the Benjamites surprise us. They refused. Moreover, they began preparations to go to war against the rest of the ...

253. Opposition to the Rebuilding

Ezra 4:1-5

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... from the imperial archives or “annals” (NRSV). What it would learn was that in the Assyrian period the Judean king Hezekiah had rebelled, while in the Babylonian period Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the capital for rebellion. While this was true, the historical climate was now completely different—and Judah was in no shape to secede from the Persian empire. The nightmare of a bid for independence by withholding imperial taxes or, worse, a takeover of the whole western satrapy, existed only in the ...

254. The Decree of Darius

Ezra 6:1-12

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... therefore to begin v. 2 with “But” (NRSV). The search proved fruitless until it was extended elsewhere. Ecbatana, the capital of the earlier Median empire, was used as a summer residence because it was in a mountainous region and had a more temperate climate. Cyrus left Babylon in the spring of 538, and it is feasible to assume that he issued the edict from Ecbatana and so it was recorded there. “Memorandum” evidently refers to a brief record of an oral decision written on a leather or papyrus ...

255. Repentance to Bring Blessing

Hosea 14:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... below). They are images of Yahweh wooing this people (cf. 2:14), speaking tenderly to them, loving them as a young man loves his betrothed. God will be like the dew to Israel. The abundance of dew was absolutely necessary to life and growth in Palestine’s arid climate (Deut. 33:13). In fact, dew was later used as a symbol of God’s power to raise the dead (Isa. 26:19). As the dew grants life, God will give new life to this people, verse 5. Consequently, they will blossom like the large-flowered lilies ...

256. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... the Day of Atonement, one goat was sacrificed to atone for the people’s sin, and another was sent off, likewise to atone for sin. The scapegoat was released into the desert, where it would encounter certain death, either by succumbing to the climate or through wild animals. On the other hand, it is precisely in this uninhabited land that God also showed his faithfulness to his people, despite their prolonged punishment. He miraculously supplied bread (manna) and meat (quail) (Exod. 16; Num. 11), as well ...

257. Pressing on Toward the Goal

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... of circumcision; a specific example of the situation deplored by Paul is provided in 1 Corinthians 5:2, where an irregular sexual union within the church that not only contravened Jewish law but also shocked the pagan sense of propriety (even in the permissive climate of Corinth) was regarded by some church members as rather a fine assertion of Christian liberty. “Your boasting is not good,” said Paul in that situation (1 Cor. 5:6), because they were proud of what they should have been ashamed of. A ...

258. “Love Your Neighbor”

Luke 10:25-37

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... out in relation to the four aspects of human life listed: “heart,” “soul,” “strength,” and “mind.” And what are the implications of loving your neighbor “as yourself”? Is Luke 6:31 relevant? Can the way we use the word “love” in our modern climate of thought become a hindrance to grasping the full implications of the dual love command? The congregation or group could be invited to consider how far Jesus’s story reflects the nature of his own mission as Savior, coming to a lost and ...

259. A Blind Beggar and a Rich Scoundrel

Luke 19:1-10, Luke 18:35-43

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... s understanding of the mission of Jesus, already powerfully illustrated in the parables of chapter 15. Historical and Cultural Background The ancient city of Jericho was by this time an affluent settlement, recently elaborately expanded by Herod; its warm winter climate made it a favored place for leading citizens of Jerusalem to have a second home. Such an administrative center was a suitable location for a “chief tax collector” (the term occurs nowhere else), not an ordinary local official like Levi ...

260. At the Tomb

Luke 24:1-12, Luke 23:50-56

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... for a number of bodies (so that a previously unused tomb was unusual), but with a single large stone blocking the low entrance to the complex. Spices were used not to embalm the body but to counter the effects of decomposition in a warm climate. Jewish convention did not much value the testimony of women (as is reflected in 24:11). The choice of women (exclusively) as the first witnesses of Jesus’s resurrection is a striking divine challenge to human prejudice (and also an indication of the authenticity ...

261. Personal Rights and Christian Testimony

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... all means we might reach some, we become one thing to our people that by no means shall we be disturbed. The sincere worship of selfless servants acting as winsome ambassadors for the God who seeks and saves lost people is quickly endangered in this climate. Biography: Father Damien. Father Damien was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest who took on a mission to an isolated colony of exiles on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, from 1873 to 1889. He was the first priest to volunteer to live and minister there among ...

262. The Celebration of the Great Multitude in Heaven

Revelation 7:9-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water” (Isa. 49:10). These promises are especially meaningful to people living in a hot, dry climate where water and shelter are prized. This protection and care comes from the Lamb at the center of the throne (again, unity with God) who now shepherds his people. The unusual image of a Lamb serving as a shepherd echoes the biblical motif of the Lord ...

263. Immorality and Apostasy

Numbers 25:1-18

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... attempt to get Yahweh to curse Israel (see Num. 31:15–18). The Moabites (Num. 25:1–2) and their Midianite allies (Num. 25:6, 14–15) have intentionally and with hostile intent “deceived” Israel (Num. 25:18). The rebellion of this chapter forms the climatic conclusion to the story of the old generation.1 It ends with a plague that kills twenty-four thousand (Num. 25:9), and then is followed by the census of the new generation (Num. 26). With this plague the old generation has essentially been wiped ...

264. “Lord, Who May Dwell in Your Sacred Tent?”

Psalm 15:1-5

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... Key Themes” is the security this lifestyle will bring. Perhaps in the larger sense of the word, our world is no less a changing one than that of ancient Israel, but with modern technology the changes seem so rapid. And with the changing climates—social, political, economic, and so on—we desperately need a sense of stability. We have to acknowledge that family stability in our modern world, for example, is quite a different social spectrum than Israel’s tight sense of family loyalty. But even that ...

265. “Trust in the Lord and Do Good”

Psalm 37:1-40

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... of the land of Canaan (“inheriting” the land). Perhaps in a historical context in which Israel was still threatened with dispossession, the lesson of the psalm is to trust in the Lord, and “he will do this”—give them the “land” (37:5). The climate of threatening war, or at least social violence in the nation, hangs about this psalm with plotting (37:12), violence against the poor (37:14–15), and hunting down the righteous to kill them (37:32). The social injustice of the ancient world was ...

266. “In Your Heart You Devise Injustice”

Psalm 58:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... , already buried in the subconscious mind of the psalmist’s community of faith, takes the form of a confession, even if begrudgingly, when the world sees that God does indeed reward the righteous and judge the world (58:11). If the climate of our world remonstrates against this principle, especially the principle of divine judgment, we must insist that this is nonetheless the ethical principle by which the Western world operates. As believers committed to the authority of Scripture, we cannot affirm the ...

267. Keeping the Faith Vital

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , and agricultural fecundity—is responsible for the fertility of Canaan. While we are not taught that prosperity always proves obedience to God, neither can we prove that suffering necessarily implies personal guilt. Nevertheless, God does remain in control of even the climate, fertility, and all that affects human life (11:16–17). Verses 18–32 conclude this section of chapters 5–11 and draw the major themes of this section together. Moses’s teaching is to be impressed on their hearts and souls ...

268. Assyria

Zephaniah 2:13-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... great Assyrian power will come to nothing. It will be like a “desolate” place, a “desert.” Assyria’s power will be dried up like a brook without water. The presence of animals (2:14) indicates that life is possible in Assyria; its climate is not altered. Flocks, herds, and wild animals will inhabit Assyria’s ruins. The fall of Nineveh is sarcastically portrayed by a hyperbolic description of its greatness (2:15). By exaggerating the greatness of Nineveh, the prophet heightens the effect of its ...

269. Oracles of Judgment against Jerusalem and the Nations

Zephaniah 3:1-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Jerusalem is, moreover, a foolish city. She digs her own grave because she is unresponsive to the call of wisdom. Zephaniah charges the leaders—the officials, rulers, prophets, and priests—with ruling like gangsters. The political, social, and religious climate of Jerusalem is corrupt. Their ferocious appetite for self-enrichment makes the officials behave like tyrants. They are like “roaring lions” (cf. Amos 3:8). The officials thwart justice by shedding innocent blood. Human life has been reduced ...

270. Prayer and Worship

1 Timothy 2:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . Paul wants the best platform possible for pressing upon all people that God “wants” them “to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (2:4). As inevitable as persecution is (2 Tim. 3:12), Paul nonetheless believes that a better climate for the church’s witness is one of political and social peace. Paul differs from his opponents in seeing the scope of Christ’s mission, and thus the church’s, as being worldwide. That difference comes to elegant expression in the theological support ...

271. False Teaching and Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:3-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... addressed their speculations and their wrong use of the law. In chapter 4, he addressed their nonbiblical self-denial. Here in chapter 6, he speaks to the ill effects of their teaching and to the teachers’ unworthy motives. The false teaching creates a climate of spiritual disease that has three elements: godlessness, social strife, and a corrupt inner life (see Titus 1:12; 2:12). First, the teaching is contrary to true godliness, pointing people to a focus on something other than Jesus Christ (6:3–4 ...

272. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in the New Testament, this expression describes conversion, but this cannot be the meaning here, since James addresses people who already are Christian. What he means is well illustrated in Jesus’s parable of the sower (Mark 4:1–9): believers have to provide the right climate for the growth of God’s word in their lives—they have to be fertile soil. Thus there is need to clear out the weeds of moral filth and evil. James’s reference to the word as being “planted in” us may allude to Jesus’s ...

273. The Resurrection

Mark 16:1-20

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... had no expectation of a resurrection of Jesus. They waited until after Sabbath, going early on the Sunday morning (v. 2) because the strict rules of Sabbath observance made it improper to perform such rites on the holy day. In the Jerusalem climate during the late spring (when the execution and burial took place), dead bodies decompose quickly, and so the women would have been prepared for an uncomfortable experience in the tomb. The reader, however, knows that earlier Jesus received the act of devotion ...

274. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... to previously. “Fall on the earth.” I have seen snow blanketing Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside and it is, indeed, an unusual marvel in such a consistently temperate and desert location. Equally wonderful in such an arid climate is the unusual downpour of rain that replenishes water sources and makes agricultural productivity possible. God directs this marvelously unexpected natural phenomena by imperative demands that they “Fall on the earth” and be . . . mighty. The translation, “he ...

275. The Calling of the First Disciples

Matthew 4:18-22

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

4:18–22 The Sea of Galilee (also called Gennesaret, Luke 5:1, and Tiberias, John 21:1) is a pear-shaped lake measuring 13 miles north to south and eight miles east to west. It lies 680 feet below sea level in a very warm climate. The surrounding countryside is fertile. Josephus reports that in the time of Christ nine cities lined its shores and its waters were crowded with fishermen. Walking along the lake Jesus sees two brothers, Simon and Andrew, at work casting their net for fish. Simon (who was given ...

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