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 301 to 325 of 428 results

301. Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... too, is on the lists in Galatians 5:20 and Romans 1:29. The two words appear together characterizing Paul’s opponents in Philippians 1:15 (cf. 1 Cor. 3:3). Strife (cf. Titus 3:9) in turn brings on malicious talk (cf. Titus 3:2) and evil suspicions. How self-centered is the teaching of error—and how destructive! And how often it is done in the name of “knowledge” and wisdom (cf. 1:7; 6:20–21)! Finally, these result in constant friction. This word occurs only here in the NT and means either constant ...

302. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... ; Luke 6:43–45; Matt. 12:33–35), but this one dealt with good and bad fruit and judging a plant by its fruit. Is James suggesting that the bad fruit (the cursing) reveals the nature of the person? The third analogy confirms the suspicion: Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James has shifted his analogy. Now the spring is clearly bad, salty, but still is trying to produce sweet water. That is impossible. The evil within the person produces an “inspiration,” which is frequently well hidden ...

303. The Israelites Oppressed

Exodus 1:1-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... 30; 14:31; 18:31; 20:20; also Gen. 20:11). When Pharaoh asked, “Why have you done this?” the women responded, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” The women removed suspicion from themselves by stating what was partly true. They spared the boys through a form of “civil disobedience,” since it is unlikely they arrived too late for every birth. Pharaoh follows their impudent and courageous response with a weak one, perhaps because ...

304. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... living under the domination of pushy men. They appreciated his “rescue,” and Moses came home to a place he had never been. A strong rhetorical style communicates the warm excitement of the father’s three questions. The tone moves from suspicion to hospitality, salvation, and welcome. “Why have you returned so early today?” . . . “And where is he?” . . . “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.” He imagined “the Egyptian,” very far from home, having confronted the ...

305. Eastern Tribes Return Home

Joshua 22:1-34

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... has given land to tribes through battle and inheritance; can the tribes keep the land? Will future generations sustain their unity and faithfulness to God? Will the tribes divided by a river lose their unity of worship and fracture in suspicion and mistrust? Will people sharing a land with worshipers of idols slide into idolatry? Will strong leaders replace the obedient and courageous leadership of Joshua and his generation? Will the tribes continue their covenant relationship with their God? The chapters ...

306. Israel's Sons

1 Chronicles 2:1-55

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... similarity remains conspicuous. By adopting these names in the Judahite genealogy, the Chronicler could have intended to connect the Levites with the Judahites (from whose lineage David would come). This would have given some status to these cultic staff and would confirm our suspicion that the Chronicler himself might have had links with the Levites. Carmi, mentioned in 2:7, is not related explicitly to one of the sons of Zerah. The Chronicler took over a piece of the narrative of Joshua 7 by reminding the ...

307. Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls

Nehemiah 2:11-20

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... by a few of his staff walking with him. An emotional factor cannot be discounted: this was a matter that had weighed obsessively on his mind for months, and he needed to come to terms right away, and relatively undisturbed, with the reality. A suspicion verified in 6:17–19 also evidently colored his action—that there was a close affinity of interests between high-ranking people in Judah and outsiders who were to oppose his mission. Moreover, he had to get correct information about the state of the ...

308. Further Opposition to the Rebuilding

Nehemiah 6:1-14

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... at the local level—or else this report would get back to the Persian king. These words revived the old accusation of rebellion reported to Artaxerxes earlier in the reign and taken seriously by him at that time (Ezra 4:12–16, 19, 22). The suspicion that Nehemiah would rebel from the empire by making himself king had been expressed at the very start of the building project, in 2:19. Here his enemies claimed that it was to be an imminent event, and they alleged that they had detailed information ...

309. The Promised Glory of the New House

Haggai 2:1-9

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... . 63:11–14); it remains in their midst. The pleas in Isaiah 63:11–14 (and the promises in Joel 2:28–29) may presuppose that this seems not to be so in the time when those prophecies were given, and the people in Haggai’s day may harbor the suspicion that it is not so in their context, but if so, Yahweh reassures them. They do not have to wait until the last days for Yahweh’s spirit to be in their midst; that is a reality now. It will generate the inner strength that is a fruit of the ...

310. The Flying Scroll

Zechariah 5:1-4

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... a legal method for bringing justice against an unknown person. An ʾalah placed on an unknown person who had stolen silver brought the thief out into the open (Judg. 17:2). Numbers 5:11–31 describes a more complicated version of this procedure as a way of resolving suspicion against a wife suspected of adultery. The priest puts the woman under an oath (Num. 5:21), but the oath is also written down and then the ink washed off to become one of the ingredients in a potion that she must drink (Num. 5:23). If ...

311. Jesus Clears the Temple

John 2:12-25

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... feast. Playing on the word for “believe” or “trust” (Gr.: pisteuein), the narrator remarks that even though these people “trusted” in Jesus, he did not trust himself to them. He did not accept their faith as genuine. What is not clear is the ground for his suspicion. Did he disclaim their belief because it rested on a mere fascination with the miraculous for its own sake (cf. 4:48)? Or was it because he knew that out of fear they would fail to confess him publicly and put their faith into action ...

312. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... The house-churches of the city represented a wide variety of Christian outlook. There were Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. There were some (in both categories) who were in entire sympathy with Paul and his policy; there were some who shared the suspicion with which he was viewed by his Judaizing opponents in other places; there were some of a Gnosticizing tendency who reckoned Paul’s understanding of the gospel to be curiously immature and unenlightened. There were others, no doubt, who were not ...

313. No Confidence in the Flesh

Philippians 3:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... the experience of his death and resurrection. 3:7 It was but reasonable to take pride, as Paul once did, in such a catalogue of merit. If a reader suspects that Paul still feels some pride in being able to present such a record of past achievement, all such suspicion is swept away by what Paul now says: whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ—that is, for the sake of gaining Christ. From the credit side of the ledger they have been transferred to the debit side; they are not ...

314. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... while Isaac and he went ahead and worshiped. Abraham used an imprecise term for worship so that the servants would not surmise what he intended to do. He concluded with the assertion, We will come back to you. This statement was designed to belie any suspicion that they might have had of what he was about to do with Isaac. Abraham spoke definitively by using intense Hebrew verbal forms (cohortatives): we will go, we will worship, we will return. He was thereby expressing both his resolve to obey God and his ...

315. Jacob Flees from Laban

Genesis 31:1-21

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to leave that vicinity(12:1–3). 31:4–13 In response to Yahweh’s instructions, Jacob asked Rachel and Leah to join him in the fields. There he could speak with them about his plans without fear of being overheard or of arousing Laban’s suspicion. He was not sure whether his wives would leave their father’s house. Such a step was not only against local custom, but also these women had never lived anywhere else. The fact that Jacob conversed with his wives rather than telling them that they were ...

316. Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt

Genesis 42:1-38

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... ), fits the character of Jacob’s sons. Not wanting to explain the return of their money, they staged this discovery in Jacob’s presence so that he would be as surprised as they were. Sternberg, however, thinks that Jacob’s fear was rooted in his suspicion that the money came from his sons having sold Simeon (The Poetics of Biblical Narrative, p. 298). 42:36–38 Jacob mourned that he had lost Joseph and Simeon. He felt that everything was against him. Their taking Benjamin along to Egypt was a higher ...

317. The Second Journey to Egypt

Genesis 43:1-34

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... 14). When they arrive in Egypt, the brothers attempt to return the money to Joseph’s steward (43:15–23). During the meal at Joseph’s house (43:24–34), Joseph recognizes Benjamin and feasts with his brothers. Later the brothers are detained under suspicion of stealing the overseer’s divining cup (44:1–13); they defend their integrity before Joseph (44:14–34). Joseph then identifies himself to his brothers (45:1–24), and the brothers return to Canaan (45:25–28). 43:1–7 Since their supply ...

318. Driving Out the Nations

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... , the total exclusion of any other alliance or treaty made unilaterally by the vassal. For Israel to enter into treaties with Canaanite nations would therefore prima facie be an act of disloyalty to their own covenant commitment to Yahweh. This suspicion of disloyalty to Yahweh remained a potent theme in the later interaction between prophets and those kings of Judah and Israel who joined in the alliance-hunting politics of the ancient Near Eastern international power games. Treaties with other nations ...

319. Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

1 Kings 22:1-28

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... Kgs. 18 and 22 imply)? Is Micaiah a prophet of the LORD, even though he has apparently lied in v. 14 and uttered a false “prophecy” in v. 15 (cf. 13:18)? The ambiguity cannot finally be resolved until near the end of the story—although the reader’s suspicions about the prophets are aroused early on. 22:21 A spirit came forward: The imagery is that of a council of war, with the heavenly king sitting on his throne surrounded by his army (Hb. ṣāḇāʾ, v. 19, as in 1 Kgs. 1:19, 25 etc.; the NIV’s ...

320. Naaman Healed of Leprosy

2 Kings 5:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... in relation to the massive sum Naaman was originally prepared to pay (v. 5)—one talent of silver and two sets of clothing out of ten. Refraining from asking too much (and particularly from asking for any gold), he is unlikely to arouse suspicion. And so it proves. Unsuspecting Naaman gladly divests himself of his goods. Presumably Gehazi has calculated that Elisha will not be aware of what has happened. He knows, after all, that the LORD sometimes conceals things from him (4:27). Unfortunately for him ...

321. Famine in Besieged Samaria

2 Kings 6:24-7:2

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... , self-centered in a less damaging way. Mindful of the likelihood of punishment, whether human or divine, if they keep the good news to themselves until morning, they report to the city gatekeepers. 7:12–20 The news of the Aramean retreat is at first greeted with suspicion; Jehoram suspects a trap. Some men are sent out on what will be (if he is right) a suicide mission—though their fate in this case will be no different to that of the other doomed inhabitants of the city (v. 13). They are to find out ...

322. Jotham King of Judah

2 Kings 15:32-38

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... he exchanges the twelve bronze bulls under the Sea (1 Kgs. 7:23–26) for a stone base. Finally, he takes two actions of uncertain nature (cf. the additional note to v. 18). The motivation for all these innovations is not evident. Our first suspicion, given the close relationship between religion and politics in the ancient world, might be that there is some connection between his actions and his new vassal-status. Yet there is no suggestion in the text that any of the changes were specifically required of ...

323. Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

2 Kings 18:17-37

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... We are reminded of the similar misconception of the Arameans in 1 Kings 20:23ff., and the divine response in 20:28ff., when another vast army was given into Israel’s hand; now we understand better what the outcome of the siege is likely to be. Our suspicions are confirmed in 19:1–7. Hezekiah, attired in a suitable way for one who faces disaster (v. 1; cf. 2 Kgs. 6:30), consults Isaiah. He graphically describes the situation to the prophet as a day of great humiliation and powerlessness (v. 3). The only ...

324. Hezekiah's Illness

2 Kings 20:1-11

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... this news. A man recently rescued from death, he is content simply to have peace and security in his lifetime (v. 19), a Solomon-like existence for a little while longer (cf. 1 Kgs. 5:4). Not for the first time in the chapter, there is a suspicion of self-centeredness about this righteous king. Second Kings 20 does not explicitly announce Judah’s exile. Like chapters 16 and 17, it gives us only hints. Treasure has been carried off before; hostages have been taken before (cf. 2 Kgs. 14:14). But the hints ...

325. The Resurrected Jesus Is Vindicated by God and Given All Authority

Matthew 28:1-10, Matthew 28:11-15, Matthew 28:16-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... is resurrected and given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (28:18). We can know that Jesus is God’s true Messiah because of his resurrection to universal reign. So how does this help us preach Jesus’ resurrection? Modernist suspicions about the miraculous, including and especially resurrection, have often set the agenda for preaching Jesus’ resurrection primarily in apologetic terms, with the goal being proofs for it. This is not inappropriate, but an apologetic for the resurrection is not at ...

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