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 326 to 350 of 409 results

326. Biting Oneself

Illustration

Michael P. Green

It is said that a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so upset that it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is—a biting of oneself. We think that we are harming others in holding these grudges and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves.

327. Examining Ourselves with the Lord's Prayer

Illustration

Staff

... . I cannot say “on earth as it is in heaven” if I’ll not serve him here and now. I cannot say “give us this day our daily bread” if I am dishonest or am seeking things by subterfuge. I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against anyone. I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path. I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I do not put on the whole armor of God. I cannot say “thine is the kingdom” if I do not give the King ...

328. Ashore on Malta

Acts 28:1-10

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Paul and his companions, is uncertain. Since it was only for three days and he probably had a large establishment with many slaves, he may well have been able to provide for the whole number. But it was done hospitably and there was nothing grudging in his hospitality. And his kindness was justly rewarded (cf. Matt. 10:40ff.). 28:8–10 Publius’ father was sick in bed, suffering from [gastric] fever and dysentery, which are said to be endemic as “Malta fever.” Luke uses the plural “fevers” of ...

329. Gift

2 Corinthians 8:16--9:5, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... is a prime example of giving that one decides in the heart (cf. Exod. 25:2; 35:5, 21, 22, 26, 29). Likewise, 1 Chronicles 29:16–22 speaks of a freewill offering for the temple that is given freely and joyously. Someone who gives grudgingly cannot expect a blessing from God in accordance with the wisdom principle. To establish this point, Paul gives a modified citation of Proverbs 22:8 LXX: “God blesses a cheerful and generous man.” In the previous line, this same proverb states that “he who sows ...

330. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... as now, accepted retaliation as the norm. Injustice done, injustice returned. Dirty tricks done, dirty tricks done in return. Violence suffered, revenge paid back in kind. The Christian norm, however, is to do good. A Christian congregation that tolerates the harboring of grudges or the intention to retaliate is a contradiction in terms. In the second half of the verse Paul reverts to the plural, making the complementary point to the singular noted above, that we are all expected to act in this way. The ...

331. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... face. God gives it, for God is a good giver; God gives generously, which means that he gives without mental reservations, that he gives simply, with a single heart. He is not looking for some hidden return from believers; he does not have mixed motives or grudging feelings. In fact, he gives not just generously but without finding fault. That is, he does not complain about the gift or its cost. He is not a “fool,” who “has many eyes instead of one. He gives little and upbraids much, he opens his mouth ...

332. Taming the Tongue

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

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... these more formal curses on people who do certain things are hardly the curse of anger, jealousy, or rivalry used as a weapon to separate or reject groups within the church in interparty strife, much less the casual curse of someone with a personal grudge. James points out the inconsistency of such cursing by adding, who have been made in God’s likeness. Although a saying of Jesus forbidding cursing may be his deeper emotional basis (e.g., Luke 6:28), James uses instead this theological argument to drive ...

333. The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-21

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... principle, and the courts adjudicated it. The second response of the biblical community to unlawful death was the early call to practice a better justice: “I am the LORD. Do not hate your brother in your heart . . . Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:16b–18). The underlying principle is theological: “life belongs to God” (Lev. 17:11; Gen. 9:6). God admonished individuals and the community not to seek revenge ...

334. Protection of Property

Exodus 22:1-15

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... “bailee,” was innocent of theft or abuse of the animal(s), he took an oath before the LORD (i.e., using the name of the Lord). The first party is to accept this, and no restitution is required. The law required that the injured party keep no grudge. The law offered a contingency if the animal was known to be stolen by an unknown third party. Then the second party was liable for the value of the animal since he was responsible for its safekeeping (v. 12). The rabbis assumed that the first party had paid ...

335. A Woman Burdened with Guilt

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... going to the gallows he whispered those famous words, “There but for the grace of God go I.” George Whitefield knew, in Barth’s words, that he lived solely by forgiveness. Many of us do not want to forgive. We nurture and nourish our resentments, our grudges. But Jesus comes to us and says, “You are forgiven,” and suddenly we realize that we, too, can forgive. Someone has said that a person who knows himself to be a sinner avoids church like an overweight person avoids the scales. But, if we could ...

336. Jacob Meets Esau

Genesis 33:1-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... relationship with God and fulfilled his earlier vow to worship God (28:21). Additional Notes 33:4 The narrative does not address the reason for Esau’s conciliatory attitude. Although he did get very angry, there is no evidence that he bore grudges. More importantly for the narrator, the outcome of Jacob’s struggle with the angel paved the way for reconciliation with Esau. Because Jacob had wrestled (’abaq) with God (32:24–25), Esau embraced (khibbeq) him instead of attacking him. The similarity in ...

337. Exclusion From the Assembly

Deuteronomy 23:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... and the ninth commandments. 23:24–25 This law is another example of the OT’s characteristic priority of needs over rights. Neighborly hospitality should allow a hungry traveler to have something to eat from one’s crops without charge or grudge. On the other hand, this ancient (and still common) privilege should not be abused by actions tantamount to theft (the use of a basket or sickle). Laws like this, deliberately imprecise, require considerable maturity and social trust and presuppose a people ...

338. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

339. A Call to Servanthood and Suffering

Mark 10:46-52, Mark 10:35-45, Mark 10:32-34

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... but not the two seats of power. 10:42–44 rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them . . . Not so with you. The rest of the disciples undoubtedly are jealous of the request for power and become angry (“They would rather bear a grudge than a cross”),6so Jesus repeats the warning against selfish ambition from 9:35–37; 10:14–15, 31. They are acting like the despised Gentiles (especially the Romans), who in a patron-client society identified importance and status with absolute authority, “lording it ...

340. Diagnosing “Leprosy”

Lev 13:1-59

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... homiletical-exegetical commentaries known as the midrashim (Leviticus Rabbah 17.3.1–3) identify ten causes of leprosy: idolatry, promiscuity, murder, profaning God’s name, blaspheming God’s name, robbing from the community, stealing, arrogance, gossiping, and grudging (“the evil eye”).2 It was widely assumed in rabbinic Judaism that leprosy was a punishment from God. Lepers were socially ostracized from the community and consequently often were impoverished. This backdrop shows how remarkable it ...

341. Job Feels under Attack by God

Job 16:1-17:16

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... divine condemnation. 16:9–12 God assails me and tears me in his anger. Instead of coming to Job’s defense, God seems to be fighting as a warrior against him. The vivid language Job uses describes God as assailing him, that is, hating or bearing a grudge against him (cf. Gen. 27:41). Also, God seems to stalk him as a fierce animal preparing to maul him with a lethal blow. With these descriptions Job echoes the intense language of the imprecatory psalms as the psalmists cry out to God to protect them ...

342. Job Hears the Whispers of God’s Works

Job 26:1--31:40

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... in this grace (Lev. 19:34; Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2). Job is renowned for his generosity to strangers, even serving them meat (31:31), which was typically reserved only for special occasions of celebration. It is evident that Job has given from the heart, not grudgingly. 31:35–37 I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me. Job is steadfastly confident of his innocence, so he imaginatively signs his name to this final legal argument, and then he calls on God to break his silence and to rule in Job ...

343. “In the Lord I Take Refuge”

Psalm 11:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... idea (Lev. 19:18) that Jesus taught as part of the second great commandment (Matt. 22:39). Moreover, we might observe that the love of oneself is a reflection of God’s own personality, for after the commandment against taking vengeance and bearing grudges in Leviticus 19, he says: “but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (ESV). We are never whole in God or complete in Christ until we have a proper attitude toward ourselves, which should be confused with neither an inferiority ...

344. Unnoticed at Your Own Party

Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2-11, James 5:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... s will for the boy, but he wanted it now. When his father resisted his demands, the son simply broke off the relationship. He seldom came home for a visit. One Christmas his mother did convince the young man to spend Christmas at home with the family. Grudgingly he did, but he kept an aloof distance from his father. With grief that mother described to Ogilvie the time of exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve. Her son opened all of his presents except the one from his father. It was a tie-shaped box, carefully ...

345. Various Laws

Leviticus 19:1-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... fear God Verse 15: Judge fairly Verse 16: No slandering (see Exod. 20:16) Verse 16: No seeking to profit by another’s death (see Exod. 20:13, 15) Verse 17: Reprove rather than hate Verse 18: Love your fellow rather than get revenge or bear a grudge Agricultural Life Verse 19: No mixtures in animal breeding, sowing, or garments Verses 20-22: Reparation offering to remedy sex with betrothed slave girl (see Exod. 20:14; Lev. 6:1-7) Verses 23-25: No eating fruit of new tree until fifth year after fourth-year ...

346. No Greater Love

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... More important, he promised the helpful family that he would start attending church again. What does "everyone," those people outside the church, see in each of us? Do they see people who are forgiving? Do they find people who hold on to old wounds and grudges? Do they see a sincere interest in the well-being of other people? Or do they see indifference to the needs of others? Do they see the church divided against itself, or its people standing together in unity and love? Methodist bishop William Willimon ...

347. How Much Are You Worth?

Matthew 10:29-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... you cannot believe that God is using some adverse circumstance to punish you. The two are mutually exclusive. There is a story about actor Henry Fonda that can help us here. Fonda’s father disagreed with his son’s decision to become an actor. Only grudgingly did he attend his son’s debut performance with the rest of the family. After the performance, Fonda’s mother and sisters glowed with pride and were effusive in their praise. His father, however, said nothing--until one of his sisters made a tiny ...

348. Jesus' Teaching on Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... entails the third part of the prayer. We may ask God to forgive our sins because we forgive everyone who sins against us. The idea is that it would be impossible for one to ask God properly for forgiveness if at the same time one harbored grudging and unforgiving feelings toward another person (cf. Matt. 5:23–25). The prayer closes with the petition that God lead us not into temptation. What is probably in view here is the temptation that will come upon all of those who follow Jesus, particularly during ...

349. The Rich Man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... intensified. The hearer of the parable now learns the lesson that the rich man unfortunately had not learned in his lifetime. After death there is no longer any opportunity to change one’s condition. Although Lazarus may not have borne the rich man any grudge and would have been willing to aid his former neighbor, there is no opportunity (in contrast to the rich man who had had every opportunity to aid the poor Lazarus). Once again Jesus’ teaching strikes at the heart of theological assumptions held by ...

350. The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Luke 18:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... point of comparison as seen in vv. 7b–8a: Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. That is, whereas the unjust judge had to be nagged over a long period of time before he would finally, and grudgingly, act, God will not delay but will act promptly. The presence of v. 8b is something of a puzzle. Commentators have pointed out that it would have found a more suitable context in 17:20–37, perhaps after v. 35 or 37, since that section is concerned with ...

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