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 351 to 375 of 439 results

351. A New Kind of Authority

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

King Duncan

... Israel. Undoubtedly this New Testament Saul was named by his parents after this first king of Israel since they were both of the tribe of Benjamin. There was just one thing wrong with King Saul he was a big disappointment. He was driven by his ego and became desperate to maintain his position, finally being driven mad in his determination to destroy young David who, you’ll remember, was becoming more popular than he was. Maybe Saul’s name was part of the problem ”asked for,” “prayed for.” Such a ...

352. On the Ropes: Round 2 - Debating God

Habakkuk 1:12--2:1

Sermon

James Merritt

... two kinds of people who have ever lived. On the one hand, you’ve got those who He says in verse 4 are “puffed up-his desires are not upright.” This is a person who cannot be right with God, because he is so puffed up with pride that his ego gets in the way. Then, you have the righteous. What makes them righteous is not what they do, but who they believe. You have two kinds of people: people who trust themselves and people who trust God. In essence, what God is saying to Habakkuk is, “If you want to ...

353. All In: Betting the Ranch

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Today, Jesus would have said, “Take up the electric-chair” or “Take up the gas chamber.” If you ever saw anybody carrying a cross they were going to die. When you take up the cross in your life it means you are having a funeral. You put yourself, your ego, your desires, your wants, your ambitions and you put it in a casket. You close the top and you bury it. If you are going to follow Jesus, you’ve got to have your own personal Gethsemane, you’ve got to go to your own personal cross, and you ...

354. Building a New Team

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... that could visualize the prize. “Winning isn’t everything,” he was often quoted as saying, “It’s the only thing!” And his Packers proved him true, time and again. Coaching is nothing without a team that responds. Leaders are merely overblown egos if there is no one who will follow. During the tumultuous French Revolution of 1789, mobs and madmen rushed through Paris streets. One journalist reported a wide-eyed, wild-haired wastrel lumbering along one day, feverishly demanding from all he saw ...

355. The Loser

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

James Merritt

... that many people today when they get baptized they don’t hold up a sword, but they hold up their wallet. They hold up their laptop. They hold up the title deed to their house. They hold up their 401K. They hold up their pride and their ego. You must determine the cost of eternal life and that cost is simple. It is complete, absolute, unequivocal, unconditional, total surrender and it is only when you say to Jesus, “I surrender all” that you not only never become the biggest loser, but you really do ...

356. Death Is Unnatural

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... colors all of his life.… behind the will to relate is man’s existential loneliness and anxiety—the normal, nonpathological anxiety which is a part of what Paul Tillich once called man’s “heritage of finitude.” Erikson calls this form of anxiety the “ego chill.” It slips up on a self-aware human being whenever he becomes conscious of his fragile position in the face of sickness, nature, fate, and, ultimately, death. There are echoes of such anxiety in any depth study of life or time. Consider ...

357. Self-pity: The Devil's Comfort

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... on the sympathy. You will find me a never-failing source of the meanest attitudes and the most selfish sort of misery. At my altar you may feel free to fail and fall, and there to sigh and fret. There I will feed your soul on fears, and indulge your ego with envy and jealousy, bitterness and spite. There I will excuse you from every cross, duty, and hardship, and permit you to yield unto temptation.”

358. The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:1-14

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... : Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1955], p. 285). In a somewhat similar vein D. P. Fuller suggests that the phrase “represents an all-out rebellion against God” because the law could be “in service of sin (and cause) a man to sin and gratify his ego” (Gospel or Law: Contrast or Continuum? [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980], p. 96). L. Gaston suggests that” ‘works of law’ is a normal subjective genitive” and so means that the law is the means by which works are done (“Works of law as a subjective ...

359. Paul's Labor for the Church

Colossians 1:24--2:5

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... in his relationship to the Colossians and the other congregations in the Lycus Valley. Paul has worked as hard—literally, agonized (1:29)—for those whom he has never seen as for those to whom he has personally ministered. But he does not develop an inflated ego; nor does he sink into self-pity. He simply ties his labor in with the specific goals that he has sought to accomplish. 2:2 Paul’s ultimate goal is to encourage his readers (that they may be encouraged in heart). Encouraged in heart is a ...

360. Crossing the Sea

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... NIV translates “And I, Behold me . . .” present in the Hebrew text simply as “I.” God uses this exact expression only two other times, both in transformational events related to the flood (Gen. 6:17; 9:9). Jesus uses the parallel expression in Greek, idou ego (“behold, I”), when sending his disciples out for the first time (Matt. 10:16), promising to be with them forever (Matt. 28:20) and in promising to send the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49). 14:19 This is a “theophany” or “appearing of God ...

361. Queen Vashti Deposed

Esther 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... queen. Ironically, while treating the king with unequivocal deference, Esther will prove to be more independent than Vashti. Xerxes is the king of a vast realm, unprecedented in scope and power. He is also, we learn, a king with a “dangerously tender ego” (Fox, Character, p. 26). This enormously powerful Gentile monarch is a weak man. He is quickly enraged and easily consoled. He seems unable to make decisions without his band of advisers, who provide just-in-time solutions for his dilemmas, and he ...

362. Esther Made Queen

Esther 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... as an alarming revelation of fragile emotions at the highest levels of decision making. The Persian court is not a safe place. It is a place of power and intrigue (as is clear also in 2:19–23); a place with unstable relationships and fragile egos; a place with unresolved crisis. Vashti must be replaced by a “better” queen—one who must prove herself as beautiful, but more diplomatic, in this vortex of circumstances and emotions. The two Jewish heroes of the story enter into a world rich with power ...

363. Esther's Request to the King

Esther 5:1-8

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... have to make his personal animosity public if he just waits for the edict to have its way. Patience, patience . . . Haman comes home drunk (NIV in high spirits, v. 9; see also 1:10; Judg. 16:25; 1 Sam. 25:36; 2 Sam. 13:28), with his ego in an excited and unstable state. After calling his family and friends together, he reports the recent events that have brought him both joy and anger. The queen singled him out for special attention in the court, but Mordecai dishonored him in the gate. How ironic that the ...

364. Timothy and Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:19-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... in soul”). In Ps. 55 (LXX 54):13 the psalmist’s “companion” and “close friend” is called isopsychos, rendering Heb. ke’erkî, “my equal” (lit., “according to my valuation”). Erasmus paraphrases the present passage, “I will send him as my alter ego.” G. B. Caird (ad loc.) suggests that there is much to be said for taking isopsychos to mean “in sympathy with your [the Philippians’] outlook.” Who takes a genuine interest in your welfare: this was no doubt true, but the verb ...

365. Zophar’s Final Words for Job

Job 20:1-29

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... and shame does not allow them to accept a rebuke silently or graciously. As a result, as the book progresses the tone of the conversation rapidly degenerates into meanness and ridicule. In this passage, Zophar seems much more concerned about his own wounded ego than about Job’s grievous pain and humiliation. 20:4–5 the mirth of the wicked is brief. Zophar cannot tolerate even the flickering ray of hope that Job expresses in chapter 19. Seeking to quench what he considers unwarranted optimism, Zophar ...

366. “In the Lord I Take Refuge”

Psalm 11:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... of the lie.”[13] It is about both Israel and the world where lies and deceit displace truth, a time that qualifies for the adage, “Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a-begging.” The rhetorical powers of individuals sometimes inflate their egos and make them feel that they are the master of their own souls (“By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?” 12:4). In fact, the word “lord” is the same word often used in place ...

367. “The Lord Looks Down . . . to See If There Are Any Who Understand”

Psalm 14:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... .”9 Interestingly, in the same magazine, author George Saunders was also honored as the “Life Coach of the Year 2013.” In response to the question, “How to Be Decent?” Saunders responded, “The big kahuna of all moral questions, as far as I’m concerned, is ego. How do you correct the fundamental misperception that we are all born with, i.e.: I am permanent, I am enduring, I am central. All of the nasty stuff in this life comes out of that misunderstanding.”10 God’s Word has the power to ...

368. The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... in your heart. Popular Culture: Associated with numerous American Western films since the 1930s (and later borrowed for the rock single by American pop group Sparks in the 1970s), the cliché “This town ain’t big enough for both of us” indicates that the egos of two persons are so inflated or so incompatible that both of them residing in the same town is impossible. Trying to embrace the one true God and false deities at the same time tears apart the hosting heart. God jealously refuses competition ...

369. Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

Numbers 12:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . Moses does not attempt to defend himself against Miriam and Aaron, due to his extreme humility (Num. 12:3—not likely written by Moses to honor himself). He is not confident in himself but is completely confident in and zealous for the Lord, under whom his ego is subsumed. Undoubtedly this was a key to his unique access to God and his unparalleled career as a leader whom the Lord was able to use in order to accomplish his purposes. God does not deny the prophetic gifts or leadership roles of Aaron and ...

370. The Advice of Hushai and Ahithophel

2 Sam 16:15–17:29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and bloody civil war. It is a good plan, but Hushai tries to buy time for David by pointing out the fallacies in Ahithophel’s suggestion. He refers to David’s reputation as a fighter and warns that he will not be captured so easily. Appealing to Absalom’s ego, Hushai urges him to gather a huge army and make sure that he can defeat David’s men. As the historian asserts, it is in accord with God’s planning that Absalom chooses to follow the bad advice of Hushai and in doing so brings ruin on himself ...

371. Queen of Sheba's Visit

1 Kings 10:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is known about her, and the location of Sheba—possibly in Arabia—is uncertain (mentioned in the gospels as “the ends of the earth,” e.g., Matt. 12:42). An exotic visitor of immense wealth and stature, the queen is almost an alter ego of Solomon himself. She comes to test Solomon with “riddles” (NIV “hard questions”), a term most recently seen in the Samson story; Israel’s urbane monarch passes the test with flying colors. Her theological affirmations on one level are astonishing, but on ...

372. An Illustration From Marriage

Romans 7:1-6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... sin, not to stimulate sin. Paul will explain in verses 7–11 what he means. When the fundamental self-centeredness of human beings encounters the law, which formulates God’s will and which demands unconditional love for God and neighbor, the sinful ego reacts and asserts itself; and thus sinful passions are stimulated and sinful actions ensue. The phrase “but now” marks the change of ownership that has taken place (7:6). Believers have died with Christ; they are thus freed from the condemning power ...

373. Introduction and No Other Gospel

Galatians 1:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Paul opposes these false teachings. The use of anathema reflects the concept of eternal damnation. (Literally it referred to the dedication of an object, usually in pagan temples, for the purpose of its destruction.) Paul is not venting anger from the perspective of a wounded ego; he merely states the fact that those who are found to be advocating a false view of the work of Christ are not just mistaken; they are lost. Quite simply, nothing and/or no one had the authority to override the truth of the gospel ...

374. Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... it concerns inward change, he sums up as a three-step progression, in which the focus is on newness. First, with respect to their previous habits of life (4:17–19), they are to lay aside the “old self,” the ignorant, insecure, self-centered ego rotting away from entanglement in the deceitful (futile) values of this world (4:22). Removing the old, dying self is nothing less than the act of repentance, the death of the sinful nature, repeated again and again throughout life whenever conviction of sin is ...

375. Paul’s Teaching

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... .” Paul resumes the sober “latter day” thoughts of 1 Timothy 3:1–5, 12–13. Timothy should expect to encounter people who become discontent with sound teaching and who seek teachers who merely satisfy spiritual lusts. The false teachers specialize in ego-gratifying, speculative storytelling. “Itching ears” (4:3), it would seem, are eager to hear that resurrection life is all in the “now.” In contrast with all counterfeit gospels and all false approaches to what it is for God to refashion us ...

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