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 3126 to 3150 of 4963 results

3126. Matthew 5:21-37

Matthew 5:21-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... standard ignored male sexual behavior. But Jesus addresses any man who "looks at a women" as having committed the adultery. The woman is not painted as a seductress. Indeed, she may not even be cognizant of the man's roving eye and "lookism." The responsible party, Jesus maintains, is the man. Nevertheless, women are not let off the hook. Moving from the man's offending eye to anyone's offending right hand includes both sexes under the next behavioral mandate. The "right hand" not only corresponds to the ...

3127. Exodus 17:1-7

Exodus 17:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... alone, viewing him as the one who can help them in their time of need. Moses' reply tries to redirect the people's demand toward what he knows to be the proper source - "the Lord" (v.2). However, Moses' own leadership position is upheld by his response, for Moses reveals that picking a fight with him is the same as quarreling with the Lord. Challenging Moses is akin to "testing" the Lord. The second outcry from the Israelites sounds even more like the wailing of lost slaves than did the first. Better they ...

3128. John 11:1-45

John 11:1-45

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of returning to Judea (v.8). Jesus' rather cryptic remarks in verses 9-10 assure the disciples and convey his sense that his time has not yet come and that he is not yet in any danger. But the disciples next play dumb-bunnies in response to Jesus' quite transparent remark about Lazarus being "asleep." Until Jesus blatantly tells them Lazarus is dead, they haven't a clue. In light of their previous behavior, Thomas' outburst in verse 16 appears as pure bluster. In the Lazarus miracle story, the disciples ...

3129. Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... concerns. Both are within Matthew 11 a chapter devoted to answering a single question. In 11:2, the imprisoned John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Although Jesus' first response uses positive images, he soon begins to discuss the attitudes and outlooks for those who fail to see him as "the one who is to come." Our text begins with the so-called "parable of the children" (vv. 16-17). These unusual verses seem to reflect both ...

3130. Matthew 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of outreach to these and all outcasts. Verse 17 could then be both a pronouncement of judgment by the church and a call to renewed missionary effort toward those it has justly ostracized. Clearly, though, this pericope calls the community of faith to take action in response to conflicts which erupt in its midst. The same power and authority accorded to Peter in Matthew 16:19 is now given over to individual congregations to bind and to loose as they see fit. This power is to be exercised in order to keep the ...

3131. Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... long but have caught nothing") and then by trusting in Jesus' word ("Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets"). The ensuing miracle _ the enormous catch that requires the efforts of all hands on both boats to bring it in safely _ evokes a seemingly unusual response from Simon. As he is singled out and mentioned for the third time, Luke now calls Simon by the name Jesus will give him in 6:14 when he is called as an apostle. Simon Peter's confession, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" (v ...

3132. Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in verses 27-28 to singular in verses 29-30. It reverts back to plural again in verse 31. These changes suggest Luke is combining sources here in order to expand the specificity of the general principle Jesus is teaching. Luke's text makes these difficult responses very direct and very personal: you turn your cheek; you give up your coat and shirt; you give to beggars; you don't expect the return of your goods or recompense for their loss. After these personal directives, Luke shifts back to the plural form ...

3133. Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to this earnest three fold invitation for Jesus to "come," Jesus himself affirms for a third time that he is coming soon (22:7, 12, 20). Jesus' ringing "yes" ("I will come") is answered by the only possibly appropriate human response, "Amen." For good measure and a sense of liturgical finality, the text then utters one more marana tha, "Come, Lord Jesus." John's Revelation clearly expects that Jesus will literally be returning at any moment. The struggling, persecuted, fragile churches in those first ...

3134. Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... when the test is passed. Other translations of Romans 5:4 focus on this outcome more than on the quality that makes it possible and translate what endurance brings as "God's approval." But since Paul is focused here on the believer, not on God's response to the believer, the NRSV makes good sense to describe that which receives God's approval the character of the believer. The character that is built upon endurance, in turn, is able to foster the certainty of hope. Christian hope is no fragile thing, Paul ...

3135. Acts 4:32-35

Acts 4:32-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... follows in verse 5 as the writer begins to discuss the divine in terms of lightness and darkness. When John declares as an absolute that "God is light," he is perhaps arguing against a Gnostic notion that morally ambiguous gods of darkness were more responsible for created matter than any omnipotent god of light and truth. Like the gospel writer, 1 John finds a powerful image in a God of light whose clearest and most dazzling brilliance shines forth in the incarnation of Jesus. Verses 6 through 10 spell ...

3136. Luke 24:35-48

Luke 24:35-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... this bond cuts them no slack. For Luke there is no theology of the cross to cushion the harsh reality of Jesus' death. The cruelty of the cross is laid squarely at the feet of human sinfulness (v. 14). God was not responsible for Jesus' death. Rather God's response was the miracle of resurrection. With the healing that has just taken place, Peter now calls on those gathered to take their place among the witnesses and believers in the resurrection. While ignorance may have served these people as an excuse ...

3137. John 10:11-18

John 10:11-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... not disrupt their established order. In verse 11 Jesus now proclaims that he is also "the good shepherd." As the shepherd Jesus knows each and every one of his sheep by name. The daily care and safekeeping of the sheep are his responsibility. Furthermore, this responsibility extends even to the point of death. Unlike the "hired hand" (read Pharisee) who has no personal investment in the safety and well being of the sheep, the shepherd is motivated by his very identity as their shepherd to do everything he ...

3138. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... thus presumably used to the turbulent moods of the sea, it is the disciples who grow terrified and panicky while Jesus serenely sleeps in the stern. Unable to control their fears the disciples wake Jesus up - accusing him of disregarding their safety. Jesus' response is immediate - first he attends to the physical danger confronting them. His words "Peace! Be still!" are the same words he used to banish the demon he exorcised at the beginning of Mark's gospel (1:25). The words are a command, demonstrating ...

3139. 2 Samuel 12:1-14

2 Samuel 12:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... before the court, there is no real sense here that either man supposes this parable is an actual case. Part of Nathan's talent is that despite the hypothetical nature of his tale, it so successfully involves David that it evokes a spontaneous and heartfelt response. When David condemns the pitiless behavior of the rich man in verse 5, therefore, we should not see David as a ruler pronouncing what he thinks to be an actual sentence of judgment. Rather, it is a passionate and compassionate outburst from a man ...

3140. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... his fixation on Absalom that the reminder of David's directive has absolutely no mitigating effect on him. Joab immediately races off to deal with Absalom himself, before he can escape. The argument can be made that, politically speaking, Joab was in fact acting more responsibly on behalf of the kingdom's continued well-being than was David. Consumed with the personal drama of a father and a son, David could not bear to face the truth about his son's insurrection and civil warfare, Joab, on the other hand ...

3141. 2 Samuel 18:24-33

2 Samuel 18:24-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Whether out of genuine respect for David and his impending grief or simply as an excuse to postpone dealing with the whole messy incident, Joab declares a day of mourning be observed before any runners are sent out. Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, has the opposite response. Apparently he is of the persuasion that the sooner the news of Absalom's death can be carried to David the better. His first request to run the message to the king is overruled by Joab. However, Ahimaaz's prodding does goad Joab into sending ...

3142. James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... or imagined doctrinal differences. The fluidity of interpretations and the absence of creeds and structures made community life largely dependent upon individual leaders and teachers. These individuals wielded tremendous power. James insists that it is the community responsibility of these leaders to be sensitive to the kind of spirit that guides their words and actions. James recognizes the temptations inherent in powerful positions. He begins in verse 13 by counseling "gentleness born of wisdom." True ...

3143. Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the fashion of James and John, Bartimaeus' sincere, heart-on-sleeve race to Jesus' side reveals the intensity of his need. His request is trustingly simple and direct and basic: "My teacher, let me see again." Confronted with such faith, Jesus' quick response is equally free from commentary. There are no details given - no hands laid on, or prayers spoken, or salves applied - there is only Jesus' observation that what Bartimaeus has been longing for has already occurred as a result of his faith. But in ...

3144. John 18:33-37

John 18:33-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... confront one another beginning in verse 33. The supposedly powerful Roman official begins his examination aggressively, questioning Jesus about his rumored title "King of the Jews." But Jesus' response in verse 34 turns the query back on Pilate, forcing him into a defensive posture. Pilate quickly side-steps Jesus' suggestion that he is responsible by naming the Jews and blaming them for Jesus' predicament. Thus in one line John is able to highlight the culpability of the civil and religious establishments ...

3145. Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... verse was a later insertion into this text, coming down from a time when Abram had been established as a tremendous symbol of faithfulness for Israel (see Isaiah 41:8 and 51:2), the kind of faith Abram represented to Israel is made clear by God's response to it. Abram's belief was not a passive, quiescent acceptance of his present state as an aging, childless man. "Believed" may best be understood here as an "active trust" or a "living trust." This is the kind of faith Israel came to value and esteem above ...

3146. Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:25-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... asks, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" It is Jesus' rejoinder, "What is written in the law?" that puts the story back on the same track as Matthew's and Mark's versions. But since the initial question still looms, Luke records an additional response by Jesus in verse 28: "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live." Luke now takes us further into the discussion between Jesus and this lawyer. It is evident that a kind of verbal jousting match is going on here - with the lawyer ...

3147. Philemon 1:1-20

Philemon 1:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , Paul is his elder - a quality that engendered respect and compliance at a much greater level than it does today. Fourth, Paul is currently suffering in prison for the sake of the gospel. Each of these alone gives Paul leverage over Philemon's response. Taken all together they certainly form an almost irresistible force. Finally, in verse 10, Paul mentions Onesimus by name and begins to make clear the purpose of this letter. Paul's identification of Onesimus is itself a strong message, for he calls this ...

3148. 1 Timothy 1:12-17

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... authorship, this week's text falls on the side of those supporting Pauline authenticity. 1 Timothy 1:12-17 gives a typically Pauline view of faith and forgiveness framed within a profound sense of God's grace. This section begins with praise, an appropriate response to the "glorious gospel" proclaimed in verse 11. Paul's extreme gratefulness is two-pronged. First, he is grateful for the strength God has given him so that he might carry out the divine mission he has been given. Second, his gratefulness is ...

3149. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... sounding boards - it appears to be about money, business life and dealings, professional standing and respect. Without the flexibility of familial bonds to bind this story together, we impose an entirely different set of expectations and responses on the characters in the dishonest steward parable. Responses we would find comforting at home we find threatening to our sense of order in the workplace. Jesus begins this parable by focusing on an economic reality: The steward's master is described as a "rich ...

3150. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for the maintenance of his own generation's gifts as he is indebted to the gifts of faithfulness he owes to generations past. Once you are given a life - once you "get" a life - you are constantly responsible for its care and upkeep. Paul is urging Timothy to keep his spiritual gifts "in shape." Paul's words recall for Timothy the two distinct sources that contribute to his faith - his parentage/heritage and his personal ordination experience. This spirit of "power and of love and of self-discipline ...

Showing results