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 2851 to 2875 of 4947 results

2851. The Boy Jesus in the Temple

Luke 2:41-52

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... the dutiful son. Objectively, his behavior appears at least thoughtless, but here, as later in 8:19–21, Jesus sets the natural expectations of family loyalty in contrast with a prior commitment to the service of God. In 14:26 he will demand the same sense of priorities from those who follow him, using the uncomfortably exaggerated language of “hating” parents. 2:49 I had to be in my Father’s house. “House” is not in the Greek, which literally says “in the things of my Father,” hence the ...

2852. Two Memorable Healings

Luke 5:17-26, Luke 5:12-16

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... claim, but rather reaffirms it and offers as proof an undeniably visible healing. His power over physical illness is thus paired with his spiritual authority, and the reader (and the crowd whose awed reaction is noted in 5:26) is left with a sense that Jesus really is “God with us.” Teaching the Text These two healings may be taught separately, since they represent two episodes, or together, since both illustrate Jesus’s extraordinary power to heal. Below are teaching points for each. 1. In teaching ...

2853. Divided Loyalties

Luke 12:1-12, Luke 12:13-21

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... to be what you are not. That is the essence of hypocrisy. Our true nature, even if we succeed in hiding it from other people, will eventually be revealed by God’s judgment. 12:4 do not be afraid of those who kill the body. Martyrdom makes sense only if there is a firm conviction of life after death. In that perspective, even physical suffering and death are the lesser evil. 12:5 Fear him who . . . has authority to throw you into hell. That is, of course, God (not the devil, as some have imagined ...

2854. Priorities

Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:22-34

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... seek his kingdom. “The kingdom of God” means his effective rule (see on 4:43). To “seek” that rule is to place oneself under God’s control and to allow one’s priorities to be molded by his values and purpose. There may also be the sense of being eager to see God’s rule effectively established in society (as in the Lord’s Prayer [11:2]), but that seems a less central idea in this context. these things will be given to you as well. “These things” are food and clothing, the necessities ...

2855. “Unless You Repent . . .”

Luke 13:10-17, Luke 13:1-9

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... Sabbath should be a day of joy rather than of suffering; it is the day to celebrate God’s triumph over Satan, and it is a day for doing good, not harm (6:9; cf. Matt. 12:12). The woman’s release from bondage echoes the sense (though not directly the wording) of the Messiah’s mission of deliverance declared on an earlier synagogue visit in 4:18. 13:17 all his opponents were humiliated. Jesus’s uninhibited stance on Sabbath observance struck a chord with ordinary people. The religious leaders, even ...

2856. Table Talk

Luke 14:1-14

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... world upside down. 14:11 all those who exalt themselves will be humbled. This concluding summary (which will be repeated in 18:14; see also Matt. 23:12) confirms the subversive, rather than merely prudential, interpretation of the “parable” in 14:8–10. It repeats the sense of Jesus’s maxim in 13:30: “There are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” The kingdom of God is full of surprises. 14:12 Jesus said to his host. His host was an important person, “one of ...

2857. The Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14:25-35, Luke 14:15-24

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... a point forcefully, and few interpreters have supposed that actual hatred is meant here. It is a matter of priorities: even the most basic of human attachments must give way to the demands of God’s kingdom (cf. 18:29). For a similar use of “hate” in the sense of “love less,” see 16:13, and compare Genesis 29:31–33; Malachi 1:2–3. The Matthean parallel here has “love more than” (Matt. 10:37). 14:27 whoever does not carry their cross. See on 9:23. Jesus’s own crucifixion will not be ...

2858. Lessons in Discipleship

Luke 17:11-19, Luke 17:1-10

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... the fact that this gratitude is shown by an “outsider,” a Samaritan rather than a Jew. In the overall scheme of Luke-Acts, the self-righteous in Israel reject the gospel, while outsiders receive it—sinners, tax-collectors, and eventually, Gentiles. In this sense the story parallels 7:36–50, where the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’s feet shows more love than Simon the Pharisee because she has received much greater forgiveness. On the fact that the man is a Samaritan, remind listeners of Luke’s ...

2859. A Blind Beggar and a Rich Scoundrel

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... the Pharisee in 18:12) is boastfully claiming that these are already his regular habits, but not only is it difficult to see how one could regularly give away half of one’s possessions, but also the sequence of the story better suits a performative sense: this is a decisive, one-time response to the presence of Jesus. Luke records no explicit statement of repentance, but the reader assumes, and Jesus’s comments in 19:9 will presuppose, that so radical an act of restitution must spring from a fundamental ...

2860. Getting Ready for the Passover

Luke 22:7-38, Luke 22:1-6

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... surprising that Jesus is also a king, and that the Twelve are to share that kingship (see also 12:32)? What might the Twelve have made of 22:29–30 at the time? Are these verses expressing what is to be true only of them, or is there some sense in which it is true of all disciples? Compare, for example, Ephesians 2:6; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 3:21; 5:10. Illustrating the Text Jesus’s words over the bread and wine inaugurate a new covenant to be commemorated faithfully by his followers. Hymn: “We Gather ...

2861. The Roman Verdict

Luke 22:66--23:25

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... 15]) came to this conclusion, but the dialogue recorded in John 18:33–38 reflects the sort of issues likely to have been in mind: Jesus’s “kingship” was nonpolitical. 23:5 He stirs up the people all over Judea. “Judea” may be used here in the broader sense of the land of the Jews (and so including Galilee), but even so, this is something of an exaggeration, at least as far as Luke’s record goes. But it was as a teacher with a following of enthusiastic disciples, whom he had also sent out to ...

2862. The Risen Jesus Revealed

Luke 24:13-35

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... . 15:5–8); but this is the only one that describes how such an appearance ended. Jesus’s resurrection body apparently could relocate and/or become visible/invisible at will. 24:32 Were not our hearts burning within us? Their mounting sense of excitement now made sense. It is surprising that Jesus could explain his own scriptural credentials so fully without their guessing his identity; perhaps the idea of his being alive again was too improbable for them to accept, but 24:16 also indicates a divine ...

2863. The Commissioning of the Disciples

Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... a sudden “materialization” among them. Peace be with you. Compare John 20:19, 21, 26. This is the normal Jewish greeting (cf. 10:5), but in this highly charged context it goes beyond social convention. The presence of the risen Jesus brings reassurance, a sense that after the trauma of the last few days all is now well. 24:37 They were startled and frightened. Not only was Jesus’s appearance sudden and unexpected, but it also raised questions that they had not yet resolved fully. Despite their ...

2864. The Faithfulness of God and the Covenantal Curses on Israel

Romans 3:1-8

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... 2 that Israel’s attempt to keep the law is the very reason that they are still in exile and under divine judgment. 3:1–2 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew . . . ? Much in every way! The Jewish interlocutor’s protest in 3:1 makes sense if Paul has been arguing since chapter 2 that Israel’s very attempt to obey the Torah is the reason that they are still in exile and under divine judgment. On that reading, the question of the advantage of being a Jew with the law as the stipulation of ...

2865. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... (9:24; 10:12). But he predominantly uses the name “Israel/Israelite” in Romans 9–11 (9:6, 27, 31; 10:19, 21; 11:1, 2, 7, 25, 26). This is because in Romans 9–11 Paul is speaking as an insider, and the name “Israel” evokes his people’s sense of being God’s elect, the covenant people of the one God.3 Interpretive Insights 9:1–3 I speak the truth in Christ . . . I could wish that I myself were cursed. Verses 1–3 express Paul’s deep concern for his Jewish kinsfolk. No doubt Paul is ...

2866. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... his career, it has never occurred to him that his life will have to be laid on the line for the God he loves. He is devoted to God and the church, is not particularly proud, and certainly is not evil. But he is detached and in no sense connected to the people he serves. He is more concerned about his people’s stability than about their spiritual needs. He conducts his life on a higher level than they will ever attain. He asks to be called “Your Reverence”; he is given preferential treatment; his food ...

2867. Church Divisions and Confusion of Allegiance

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... to a mere religious expression of the culture that surrounds it. Although the purpose may be noble (to win more people to Christ) and biblical arguments may be found (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:20–22), the church ceases to be church in the true sense of that word when the larger culture around it sets its agenda and determines its methods. As a Christ community, the church must testify to a reformation of values and a reconstruction of priorities in order to accomplish its Christ-empowered purpose. In other words ...

2868. Imitation and Role Modeling

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... just as the beauty of a rose entices the beholder to grab onto it, only to discover an untold number of thorns. 2. Cutting straight to the point, Paul explains his warning through the use of the Greek word koin?nia. Koin?nia means fellowship in the sense of significant participation. People who have joined their financial fate in a common business venture are said to have koin?nia; people whose lives are joined in marriage have koin?nia—they have become one, so to speak. Paul’s point in 10:16–21 is to ...

2869. Greeting, Doxology, and Confession

Revelation 1:4-8

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... desperately need to know both realities—that God is in control and that God is with us. The Lord of the past, present, and future is “I am who I am,” and “this act of divine self-naming brings God dangerously close.”3Sometimes the only way to make sense of our individual circumstances is to see them in light of God’s larger purposes. We can remain faithful as we join in what God is doing since we know his plans will never fail. Revelation offers us a full and complete picture of God’s plan. 3 ...

2870. The Coming Judgment Calls for the Saints to Leave Babylon

Revelation 18:1-24

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... .3Yet the “torment and grief” she will receive is measured in terms of her treatment of God’s people (i.e., “what she has given”) and her own self-deification (i.e., the “glory and luxury she gave herself”), which were disproportionately large (v. 18). In this sense the principle of lex talionis holds true. Just as Babylon made the nations drink her wicked brew (14:8; 17:2, 4), so now she will be forced to drink the cup of the wrath of God. 18:7 Give her as much torment and grief as the ...

2871. The New Heaven and New Earth

Revelation 21:1-27

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... of Jesus (Luke 24:39; John 20:27; Acts 1:4) and the promised resurrection body for the believer (e.g., Rom. 8:11; Phil. 3:21) serve as the primary pattern for the “resurrection” of creation (Rom. 8:18–23). It is a new (kainos) creation in the sense of a new kind or quality, not that it must bear no resemblance whatever to the present creation. Our best guess as to what the new creation will be like is to imagine the present creation in all its beauty, glory, and power without evil of any sort. That ...

2872. The Guilt Offering

Leviticus 5:14--6:7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... confiscation is fully justified. 6:3 find lost property and lie about it. The rule of “finders keepers, losers weepers” makes sense where an owner of lost property cannot be found, but here the culprit refuses to return a lost item even after ... a sacred object; the latter involved the sacrilege of taking God’s name in vain by a false oath. Sometimes people have a vague sense that they have offended God (Lev. 5:17–18). What can they do to remove that guilt, real or imagined? At other times people ...

2873. The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons

Leviticus 8:1-36

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... as God’s ministers both in Old Testament times and today must be people of integrity who firmly uphold God’s word and live lives of purity consistent with its teaching. What is especially true of church leaders is also true of ordinary Christians, who also, in a sense, function as priests (see “Theological Insights” above). All Christians are called to moral purity (Matt. 5:8; 2 Cor. 6:6; Phil. 1:10; 2:15; 1 Pet. 3:2; 1 John 3:3). All Christians are called to be devoted fully to God and his people ...

2874. The Horrific End of Nadab and Abihu

Leviticus 10:1-20

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... intoxicated while on duty (cf. Lev. 10:9). But laypeople likewise are responsible for properly regarding God’s holiness in worship. Catholic and Orthodox Christians continue their traditions of maintaining a sense of sacred space in worship, whereas services at evangelical Christian churches typically lack a profound sense of the holy. Evangelical places of worship generally lack the feel of holiness that the tabernacle/temple had. Part of this may be justified: the sacred space of the tabernacle/temple ...

2875. Holy Days and Festivals

Le 22:17–23:22

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... with holy priests and holy offerings. Now the text moves on to holy days and festivals used by God to instill in Israel a sense of being a holy people in proper relationship with himself. Interpretive Insights 23:3 sabbath. The Hebrew word shabbat is from a root meaning ... , called by God. Cultural Institution: The national holidays of the United States have been created to inculcate a sense that America is a remarkably good country. The Fourth of July celebrates America’s unique liberties gained when ...

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