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 387 results

251. What's It Take to Be A Saint? (All Saint's Day)

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... did these saints in heaven get that way? “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” We don’t talk in the church today about being washed in the blood of the lamb. It’s a little graphic for our modern sensibilities. In Revelation, it is simply a symbolic way of saying these saints have been made worthy to inherit that which was promised by the Father because of Christ’s death on the cross. In other words they are standing around the throne the same way all of us ...

252. The Law of Unintended Consequences

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... of paper!” Today New York City alone goes through more than 5 billion plastic bags each year, which pollute the seas and highways, and endanger fish and wildlife. The law of unintended consequences people start out with an idea that sounds quite sensible save the trees but something unexpected and quite undesirable results. We’ve seen it happen in the medical field. The advent of antibiotics saved millions of lives, so doctors began freely prescribing antibiotics at the sign of a sniffle. But germs are ...

253. The Outlandishness of Lent

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... divine craziness is that God’s language of love is you and me. The early church father Origen demeaned the pagan philosopher Celsus who had tried to humiliate Christians by quoting Jesus’ followers as saying “Let no one educated, no one wise, no one sensible draw near. For these abilities are thought by us [Christians] to be evils. But as for anyone ignorant, anyone stupid, anyone uneducated, anyone who is a child, let him come boldly (Origen in “Contra Celsum,” 3;44; PG 11, 981). Origen and other ...

254. Poem: Aye, But To Die, And Go We Know Not Where

Eulogy

William Shakespeare

Aye, but to die, and go we know not where; To lie in cold obstruction and to rot; This sensible warm motion to become A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice; To be imprison’d in the viewless winds, And blown with restless violence round about The pendant world; or to be worse than worst ...

255. Barking Like A Seal

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... to bed like a good girl, please? Just for Papa.” The third year: “Maybe you’d better lie down, honey; nothing like a little rest when you feel punk. I’ll bring you something to eat. Have we got any soup?” The fourth year: “Look, dear, be sensible. After you feed the kids and get the dishes washed, you’d better hit the sack.” The fifth year: “Why don’t you get yourself a couple of aspirin?” The sixth year: “If you’d just gargle or something, instead of sitting around barking like a ...

256. The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 Chronicles 5:2-6:11

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... the musical interludes, with the appearance of the glory cloud in 5:13b–7:2 forming the centerpiece of this chiastic construction. Again, one should be careful not to force literary units into a rigidly chiastic structure. It rather seems more sensible to take the narrative structure itself, with its temporal and spatial markers, as the point of departure for the analysis of subunits. The division suggested in the commentary (based on McKenzie, 1–2 Chronicles, p. 243) works within the wider narrative ...

257. Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

Acts 7:1-53

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Stephen’s Alexandrian background? see note on 6:9). He was with Joseph in Egypt and rescued him from all his troubles (vv. 9, 10; cf. Gen. 39:2, 21). He gave him “grace” or “favor” (Gk. charis) and wisdom to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams and to propose sensible measures against the famine of which the dreams were a warning (v. 10; cf. Gen. 41:37ff.; Ps. 105:16–22). It was of God, therefore, that Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt (v. 10) and that Joseph was able to succor his family (vv. 11–14 ...

258. Peter’s Vision

Acts 10:9-23a

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... know what the dream meant (see disc. on 2:12), but just then the men sent by Cornelius arrived at the house. The exclamation “Look!” (not represented in NIV) signals that Luke saw this as providential (v. 17; see disc. on 1:10). Being aware of the sensibilities of the Jews, they remained outside the gate that led from the road through the front part of the house to the inner court, and from here they inquired after Peter (v. 18). With this, the vision began to be explained. The Spirit brought it home to ...

259. Paul Before Agrippa

Acts 25:23--26:32

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... longer simply a question of law, “but of the relations between the emperor and his subordinates, and of that element of non-constitutional power which the Romans called auctoritas, ‘prestige,’ on which the supremacy of the Princeps so largely depended. No sensible man with hopes of promotion would dream of short-circuiting the appeal to Caesar unless he had specific authority to do so.… To have acquitted him despite the appeal would have been to offend both the emperor and the province” (Sherwin ...

260. The Credibility of the Gospel Paul Proclaims

Galatians 1:11-24

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... speaks of them as Gentiles. “Gentile” was a Jewish designation for non-Jews and so more than likely the one used by the rival evangelists. At this point Paul may be echoing his opponents so as to resonate with and then reshape the Galatians’ current sensibilities. Paul affirms that as soon as God called him he separated himself from Judaism so completely that he did not even go to see those Jews who had become believers in Jesus. Paul’s claim of independence from the Jerusalem church may be a subtle ...

261. Hagar and Sally

Galatians 4:21-31

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... tradition, for in the Septuagint the same word appears in the story of God establishing his covenant with Abraham and requiring from Abraham circumcision (Gen. 17:7–14). Paul’s statement concerning two covenants would have been shocking to Jewish sensibilities. First, while the Jewish tradition held that God had made several covenants with Israel, among them the covenant with Noah, the covenant with Abraham, the covenant with Moses, covenants with Josiah and Nehemiah, the covenant with David, and the ...

262. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... But Paul recognizes that his understanding of freedom may differ from that of others. For him it is clear that the freedom of the gospel is not the freedom of self-indulgence but the freedom to serve one another. For those with philosophical or religious sensibilities, then as now, Paul’s statement is a truism. Self-indulgence is slavery of a sort, and the capacity and opportunity to love is freedom. The command to be slaves to each other is, however, a strikingly dramatic way of expressing the nature of ...

263. The Coming of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... urges his disciples to be watchful (cf. also Rev. 16:15), just as does Paul: let us be alert (gregoreō, cf. 5:10) and self-controlled. Watchfulness in this instance particularly concerns the Parousia. This should result in the believer’s living a sane, sensible, and holy life (cf. Luke 21:34–36; 1 Pet. 5:8). The verb nephō (cf. 5:8) can mean “sober” as opposed to “drunk,” but the thought in this case is probably of a more general sobriety. Nevertheless, the association of ideas leads ...

264. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... , on the other hand, argues that it means “propitiation,” i.e., reflecting action directed toward God in the “appeasement of wrath.” RSV (“to make expiation”) and NEB (“to expiate”) reflect Dodd’s perspective. KJV (“to make reconciliation”) and NIV sensibly reflect what can be called a neutral position, without specifying how reconciliation or atonement is accomplished, and yet retaining an active statement of the work of Jesus. See the full discussion of the debate in H.-G. Link and C ...

265. Ehud

Judges 3:12-30

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... as a surprise to people who are at most embarrassed and at the least puzzled that the story is even in the Bible. They are put off by its graphic character. Its sanctioning of deception and murder stretches to the limit most modern Christian sensibilities regarding proper moral conduct. Despite its David-and-Goliath storyline, the story of Ehud has not found its way into many children’s Bible story books. To appreciate the story we must put ourselves in the place of those who first told and first heard ...

266. The People's Confession of Sin

Ezra 10:1-17

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... that it should be regarded as a negative factor here. Doubtless these men advocated a liberal stand and condemned Ezra’s harsh and innovative measure as too extreme, perhaps citing other OT texts that permitted intermarriage. Following the assembly’s sensible proposals, the matter was not resolved but was delegated to a commission. Ezra set up this commission, which consisted of family heads representing the various clans. Their names were originally recorded but have been dropped, as in 5:10 and ...

267. The Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 10:1-32

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... for all human prosperity. Others, with the NRSV footnote, consider verse 22b in antithetic parallelism: Without the divine blessing, human toil will not be enough for success. 10:23 Antithetic. Wrongdoing is the delight of the foolish, whereas wisdom satisfies the sensible. 10:24–25 These verses deal with retribution. The wicked will receive what they fear, while the righteous achieve their desire (v. 24). However, the fear is not specified; perhaps it is the fear that they inspire or with which they ...

268. How the Lord has Covered the Daughter of Zion

Lamentations 2:1-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... , and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.” The first woman did as the second suggested, but then the next day she discovered that the latter had hidden her son. Even though personified Zion makes just such a plea (and it appeals to our modern sensibilities), one cannot help but think that the poet would know that this consequence rose from the announced punishment for the sin of rebellion and not from God’s excessively harsh judgment. After all, we read the following in the covenant curses from the book of ...

269. I am the Man Who Has Seen Affliction

Lamentations 3:1-66

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... toward the enemy. These imprecations arise from a sense of justice. They have acted wickedly and have so far gotten away with it, so the poet calls God’s attention to the inequity and he calls on God to rectify the situation. Modern sensibilities struggle with imprecations because they seem so self-centeredly vengeful, but then most commentators who so hesitate are typically themselves not subject to the type of exploitative behavior that elicits such a response. The poet calls on God to put a veil over ...

270. People Who Procrastinate

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

King Duncan

... answer, Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said to him, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Again, it sounds like a sensible response, but remember, Jesus could see into people’s hearts. He knew when someone had a legitimate concern or was simply using a delay tactic. Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God ...

271. Obedience Commanded

Deuteronomy 4:1-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... people of God are an open book to the world, and the world asks questions and draws conclusions (see the introduction, on the missiological dimension of Deut.). So the point of verse 6 is not merely that obedience to God’s law is a sensible result of your wisdom and understanding. This Wisdom perspective that keeping God’s law is beneficial for the one who does so is certainly a thread running through Deuteronomy. But by suddenly introducing the nations as observers and commentators, the text opens up ...

272. Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

1 Kings 20:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... do as he is told (cf. 1 Kgs. 18:19–20, 41–42, 44–45), Ahab sends out his forces to make a preemptive strike (vv. 15–17). The plan benefits from Ben-Hadad’s drunkeness (vv. 12, 16) and apparent inability to utter coherent or sensible instructions (v. 18). It is a tricky enterprise, when an army is approaching with hostile intent, to take people alive. While attempting to put this impractical plan into practice, the Arameans in the front line are struck down. The remainder flee (vv. 19–21), along ...

273. Woe to David’s City

Isaiah 29:1-24

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... verse 18 made metaphorically. Chapter 29 thus ends as chapter 28 did, as if this book belonged to Proverbs. It thus again illustrates Isaiah’s two-sided relationship with the teaching of Israel’s sages. He is against their pragmatic insight that thinks the sensible way to formulate policies is to leave God out. He believes in real insight that keeps God at the center. The concrete reference to people who complain stands out here. In Proverbs 16:28; 18:8; 26:20, 22 this verb denotes people who criticize ...

274. Sermon on the Mount: Jesus Teaches on the Torah

Matthew 5:17-48

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... the command to love one’s neighbor is clearly from an Old Testament text (Lev. 19:18), its companion, “hate your enemy,” is not. Its idea may be extrapolated from certain passages (e.g., Deut. 23:3–6; Ps. 139:21–22). Or it may reflect contemporary sensibilities, such as those found in the Dead Sea Scrolls: “Hate all the Sons of Darkness each according to his guilt” (1QS 1:10; also 1:3–4; 9:16, 21–22).6Jesus broadens the command to love one’s neighbor to include love of enemies and prayer ...

275. Sermon on the Mount: Allegiance and Trust

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:25-34

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... promises about God’s ability and desire to meet needs of daily food and clothing are powerful words for those in our congregations who are poor and struggle to make ends meet. And we should not be afraid to preach both messages, even if we risk offending sensibilities on this touchy subject. And we would be wrong to think that worry about daily life eludes the rich and those with enough to live on. Rather, worry about daily life plagues the rich as well as the poor, even if the worries may not be about ...

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