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 2826 to 2850 of 4947 results

2826. The Servant of the Lord

Isaiah 49:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... gives us more to think about. At some stage, the prophet tells us, Yahweh said to me, “You are my servant.” In one sense there is nothing surprising about this. Isaiah had been designated Yahweh’s servant (see 20:3), as had prophets in general (see, e.g ... are perhaps two reason for contesting it. Until the late nineteenth century, Christian interpretation saw it as a messianic prophecy. In some sense it is that, though it is remarkable that the only actual quotation from it in the NT applies it to Paul ...

2827. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... eyes all around (v. 18). Thus is absolute freedom joined to perfect knowledge and perception, omnipresence to omniscience. Already, we can sense where this vision is taking us. Above the creatures and the wheels, Ezekiel sees what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ... 1, pp. 101–6) miss the point. This is a “vision,” after all; its images and ideas need not correspond to our sense of logic (see R. R. Wilson, “Prophecy in Crisis: The Call of Ezekiel,” in Interpreting the Prophets [ed. J. L. Mays ...

2828. The Glory Departs

Ezekiel 8:1-18, Ezekiel 9:1-11, Ezekiel 10:1-22, Ezekiel 11:1-15, Ezekiel 11:16-25

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... the north gate into the temple court, God shows Ezekiel a hole in the wall of the gate complex and tells him to burrow into it. He does so and finds a doorway that opens into a chamber in the gate complex (vv. 7–8). Obviously, this makes little rational sense: If there is already a hole there, why does God tell Ezekiel to dig? If he must dig, why is there a doorway into the chamber? Attempts to resolve this oddity go back at least to the translators of the LXX—a text which says nothing of the hole in ...

2829. Signs, Sayings, and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 12:1-28, Ezekiel 13:1-23, Ezekiel 14:1-11, Ezekiel 14:12-23

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... ); others present problems (26:16; 30:13; 38:2–3; and 39:1 will be discussed in context) but we can still understand them in that sense. Certainly the most distinctive feature of Ezekiel’s use of nasiʾ is in reference to kings in Jerusalem (in addition to the 2 citations in vv. ... 94) argues, the most likely cognate is the Akkadian word karu, “most commonly used of binding in a magical sense.” Most probably, then, the NIV is correct to see these as magical amulets worn as wristbands (compare the NRSV ...

2830. An Unholy History

Ezekiel 20:1-29, Ezekiel 20:30-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... own circumstance. They have continued to act as their ancestors did, and so they have no right to seek any word from the Lord at all. Therefore, God’s promise to save and restore Israel (vv. 32–44) comes as a complete surprise. In no sense does anyone either expect or deserve that restoration. God acts, here as throughout this book, for the sake of God’s name (that is, to manifest God’s own identity and character), and not because of Israel’s righteousness or repentance: “You will know that ...

2831. A Prophecy Against Gog

Ezekiel 38:1-39:29

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... attack. Just as, in the final form of Ezekiel, the battle with Gog comes after Israel’s restoration and renewal in chapters 34–37, so in Revelation, Gog and Magog emerge after a thousand years of Christ’s rule on earth. How can we make sense of this bizarre claim? In Revelation as in Ezekiel, Gog stands as a rebuke to complacency and misplaced confidence. On a personal level, these stories address a universal experience: everyone knows what it is like to be blindsided by failure or tragedy at the very ...

2832. Jesus the Messiah from Joseph’s Family Line

Matthew 1:1-17

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... us to focus on major junctures of the genealogy. By attending to the broad strokes of the genealogy, we also get a sense of the full sweep of Israel’s history portrayed in it. In the genealogy we “enter the narrative world,” hearing how Jesus ... common way of introducing oneself in our day and age. Yet we routinely ask the question “Where are you from?” to get a sense of who a person is—their identity. The genealogy of Jesus is an answer to this question “Where are you from?” in Matthew’ ...

2833. Sermonon the Mount: The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12, Matthew 5:13-16

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... and metaphors for who they are in relationship to the covenanting God, then we do a disservice to God’s people. Offering people the pictures that Jesus provides here (and others that help them to understand their new identity) can give them a deeply connected sense of who they are in Christ and why who they are matters for the world that God has created and loves. Illustrating the Text The beatitudes are a pronouncement of blessings and reversals. Children’s Book: Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne. The ...

2834. Sermon on the Mount: Praying, Not Judging

Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 7:1-6

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... calling to account another believer for little or no reason. 7:6 Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. This teaching provides a point of balance to the strong admonitions against judgment of others. In its general sense, it exhorts Jesus’ followers to discernment, that they might avoid giving what is holy to whatever or whoever is unclean. The contrast seems to be taken from purity concerns, though these might be part of the image or metaphor rather than tied to referents ...

2835. Jesus as the Isaianic Servant of the Lord

Matthew 12:15-21

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... 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 not snuff out. These two images from Isaiah are ...

2836. Pharisees Reject the Divine Origin of Jesus’ Power

Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:38-45, Matthew 12:46-50

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... is blind and mute evokes this response from the people looking on. Although the use of meti with a question can imply that a negative answer is expected (“He’s not the Son of David, is he?”), this particle is also used in the sense of “perhaps” to signal that those asking the question are unsure of its answer (BDAG 649). The latter fits better with the astonishment that Matthew attributes to the crowds (rather than unbelief, which better characterizes the Pharisees in 12:24 and following). Matthew ...

2837. Parables Discourse: The “Already and Not Yet” of the Kingdom

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... $5,000 to acquire—a large amount of money to him—is worth at least $1 million. The appraiser notes how, simply by pursuing something he loves, the man has gained a fortune.2 Quotations: If the kingdom is in a real sense hidden in the present, then there continues to be a sense of mystery or ambiguity to our walking by faith and not by sight. Luke Johnson speaks of this ambiguity of “learning Jesus,” by which he means living in relationship to “the mystery of a living person in the present.”3For ...

2838. Jesus, Not Jewish Leaders, Interprets the Torah Rightly

Matthew 15:1-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... sidebar “Jewish Purity Considerations and Regulations”), which are central to the Pharisees’ question in 15:2. 15:12 the Pharisees were offended. The term used here for “offended” is skandalizo, which can refer to taking offense or falling away. Matthew uses both senses in the course of his story, the former to describe Jesus’ hometown and the Pharisees (13:57; 15:12) and the latter to describe Jesus’ disciples (26:31; see also 13:21). 15:13 Every plant that my heavenly Father has not ...

2839. Eschatological Discourse: Prediction of the Temple’s Destruction

Matthew 24:1-35

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... the temple by Rome. As David Garland notes, The breakout to the mountains whose caves provided traditional hideouts . . . makes sense only to escape the temporal dangers of a brutal war. The disciples need only worry about those things that ... (NIV footnote). If the discussion of the fall of the temple continues through 24:35, then the latter rendering makes more sense. The people (tribes) of Israel will mourn the vindication of Jesus’ prediction about the temple’s destruction, as pictured in Zechariah 12 ...

2840. The Actions of the Triune Godhead Prove Jesus’s Divine Office

Mark 1:9-15

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.” President Obama planned, in his words, to lead the nation to meet the demands of a new age. The inauguration of a president is in some limited sense the turning of a page of history and the beginning of a new reality. When Jesus was baptized and the heavens split apart, Jesus was inaugurating a new age in which God’s kingdom would reign (1:15) and the Spirit would empower the church. God testifying from ...

2841. Caring for the Needy and Commissioning Apostles

Mark 3:7-12, Mark 3:13-19

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... the crowds, and the leaders). William Lane makes a convincing point that the first two sections begin the same way, with a summary statement (1:14–15 = 3:7–12) followed by the election of the disciples (1:16–20 = 3:13–19).1In this sense, there are two cycles in this section, 3:7–4:34; 4:35–6:6, and in both the themes of commitment and mission (disciples), popularity and healing (crowds), and rejection and opposition (leaders) develop further. This first section is the positive side, centering on ...

2842. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... :24b–34), and his power over death (5:21–24a, 35–43). The action takes place around the Sea of Galilee, and these are in a sense “boat” stories. In them Jesus, who is Lord of the Sabbath (2:28), is shown also to be Lord over creation. The key question is “Who is ... them along as he ministers to Gentiles, undoubtedly to prepare them for their later mission to the Gentiles.4In this sense, the Gentile mission begins here. As in 1:23, Mark uses his basic phrase for demons, “impure [unclean] spirit,” ...

2843. The Rejection of Jesus in His Own Hometown

Mark 6:1-6

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... between two rejection stories, first the opposition of Jesus’s hometown (6:1–6) and second the arrest and death of John the Baptist (6:14–29). After the triumphs of his succession of miracles and the wonder that this caused among the people, we are in a sense back to the real world of mixed reactions and rejection. We should note the contrast between the “faith” of the woman in 5:34 and the complete lack of faith of the townspeople of Nazareth in 6:6. Jesus’s call for faith in 5:36 is answered ...

2844. The Path of Discipleship

Mark 8:31--9:1

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... emulate his life. (1) Following Jesus demands a Christlike lifestyle, and that can only occur when we refuse to elevate ourselves over Christ but rather rely entirely on him. (2) We begin to live for eternal rather than temporary things, realizing there will never be any lasting sense of satisfaction or true gain from earthly reward. (3) The way this is done is by dying to self, that is, “taking up our cross” and dying to the things of this world. (4) The final goal of all this is the coming of God’s ...

2845. The Model of Jesus for Discipleship Service, Not Self-Seeking

Mark 9:33-37, Mark 9:38-41, Mark 9:42-50

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... echo of Daniel 7:25, which speaks of the delivery of “the holy people” into the hands of the “little horn.” 9:32 they did not understand . . . and were afraid to ask.Incomprehension (8:32) and fear (9:6) continue. Some call it a “holy fear,” a sense of wonder,1but that does not fit well. More likely, they are afraid to ask Jesus further and are unwilling to face the implications of what he is saying.2 9:34 argued about who was the greatest.It is astonishing that just after Jesus has taught ...

2846. Prophetic Actions—The Temple Condemned and the Fig Tree Cursed

Mark 11:12-19

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... begin to develop a green knop called “early figs” (paggîm), edible though not very tasty fruit buds that apparently are what Jesus expected to find. he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. This is a difficult portion, for in one sense it was the season for “early figs,” though the ripe figs did not appear until May. So Mark’s added note (not found in Matthew) refers to the fact that the early figs were not yet ripe enough to eat. Mark is saying that Jesus knew this ...

2847. Praying in Faith

Mark 11:20-25 (26)

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... Mount of Olives, on which theywere standing and which carried apocalyptic symbolism (cf. Zech. 14:4), or (2) the Temple Mount, which would fit Jesus’s prediction of the destruction of the temple here and in the Olivet Discourse;4 the latter makes better sense here, though it could also simply be (3) a general “metaphor for accomplishing great things.”5 I would combine the second (demanded by “this mountain”) and third. As Jesus had given his disciples power to cast out demons (3:15; 6:7), he now ...

2848. Government and Marriage

Mark 12:18-27, Mark 12:13-17

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... God’s power is such that the afterlife will lift God’s people above earthly things, even marriage and family. like the angels in heaven. The risen dead will be “like the angels” in the sense that they will be eternal beings who will not need to marry or bear children to continue the race. In another sense, we will not need to marry because we will know our current spouses (and everyone else) infinitely better than we know them now. It is often said that Jesus was also correcting the Sadducean denial ...

2849. Jesus Proclaims Judgment on the Temple and the Nation

Mark 13:1-31

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... history. 13:13 one who stands firm to the end will be saved. In the face of universal hatred, Jesus asks for endurance, a “firm” trust in God and the perseverance that results. It is debated whether “the end” is the end ofthe persecution (perhaps in the sense of “endure completely”), the end of life, the destruction of Jerusalem, or the end of the age. I prefer to see a double meaning: the end of life for individuals and the end of the age (as in v. 7) overall. In light of this, “saved ...

2850. The Birth of John

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... mission. 1:68 he has come to his people. The Greek word translated here as “come” (episkeptomai) echoes the frequent accounts in the Old Testament of how God “visited” his people in order to save and bless them (cf. 7:16). It is a term full of the sense of divine grace. It occurs again in 1:78 in reference to how the rising sun will “come” from heaven. It is in the coming of Jesus the Messiah that God will come to his people. But the past tense here indicates that already in the birth of ...

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