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 513 results

351. Israel Punished and Restored

Hosea 2:2-23

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... of his people, which fulfills the demands of his covenant relation with them. Justice signifies the fulfillment of those legal rights and claims appropriate to the relationship. Ḥesed is that steadfast love and devotion given within a covenant relation. “Mercy” is sympathy and help toward the dependent. Faithfulness or ʾemûnâ comes from the same stem as our word “amen,” and is unswerving, day-by-day, step-by-step obedience, devotion, and affirmation of one’s ties to another. With such gifts ...

352. People Who Are Down on Themselves

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

... . He really hadn’t known anything about his Dad’s upbringing. His grandfather had been a tough lumberjack. He was known for his quick temper. He was also known for regularly beating his son, Dave’s Dad. This information caused Dave Simmons to feel more sympathy for his Dad. As he put it, “Knowing about my father’s upbringing . . . helped me see that, under the circumstances, he might have done much worse.” By the time his father died, Dave and his Dad were friends. (1) How grand. I’m thankful ...

353. The Last Day of the Feast

John 7:45--8:11, John 8:12-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... . When their opinions are gently questioned even by one of their own, they are quick to brand the questioner, half in mockery, as a Galilean (v. 52). The intent is not to probe seriously Nicodemus’ family background but to rebuke his apparent sympathies with Jesus the Galilean. The Pharisees’ parting shot is a corollary of verses 41–42: If the only prophet expected is the Messiah descended from David and born in Bethlehem, then there are no authentic Galilean prophets. Only those ignorant of the ...

354. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... so energetically were animated by a spirit of fellowship with Paul. 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 ...

355. Imitating Christ's Humility

Philippians 2:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14) or their joint participation in the Spirit. The tenderness and compassion that they have in Christ are felt for one another. J.-F. Collange (ad loc.) thinks the reference is to the bonds of affection and sympathy between Paul and the Philippians. Paul was very much aware of those bonds, but his present concern is more for the maintenance of loving fellowship within the Philippian church. Behind tenderness lies Gk. splanchna (“bowels”), translated “affection” in 1:8. Behind ...

356. Timothy and Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:19-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... 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 is future (Gk. merimnēsei, “will care”) and refers to practical help that Timothy will willingly give them when he visits ...

357. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 21:1-32, Ezekiel 22:1-31

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... orders. The siege of the city commences (compare 21:22 with 4:2), and can have but one outcome: Jerusalem is doomed. Of course, for Ezekiel this result does not represent the will of the gods of Babylon, who are not gods at all. We might expect, then, that his sympathies would lie with those who reject this pagan act as a false omen (v. 23). But for Ezekiel, God is at work in all of this. Verse 23 is difficult and ambiguous. Just who is it to whom oaths have been sworn: the king of Babylon, or the Lord ...

358. Peter Denies Jesus

Mark 14:66-72

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... their hearts in the wrong place (Matt. 6:19–21). Teaching the Text 1. Peter is a model of discipleship failure and restoration. David Garland writes, “The sad plight of Peter, the rock who disintegrates into a pile of sand, evokes our horror and sympathy.”2There have been many during the history of the church who have triumphed in terrible circumstances (read John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs), but many others have been abject failures. In our honest moments we admit that we can identify with Peter all ...

359. Luke the Historian

Luke 1:1-4

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... declaration “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:9–10). Zacchaeus was a successful financier, but a social outcast. Others were “lost” in many different ways, and Luke’s story is famous for its broad sympathy with the marginalized and the disadvantaged—the poor and the sick, the harassed and the demon-possessed, widows and bereaved parents, women and children, the social underworld of tax collectors and sinners, the Gentiles and even the Samaritans. To all, in their ...

360. Power over Illness and Death

Luke 7:11-17, Luke 7:1-10

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... an unpopular Hellenistic ruler. His good relations with the local Jewish community (7:3–5) are an important counterbalance to the general impression of an oppressive Roman occupation of Palestine. In Acts 10 Luke will tell of another centurion with strong Jewish sympathies. Nain is located some twenty-five miles from Capernaum, in the plain of Jezreel south of Mount Tabor and about six miles from Nazareth. Jesus’s ministry is not confined to the area around the lake. Both Elijah and Elisha are credited ...

361. A Blind Beggar and a Rich Scoundrel

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... he reaches the open space in front of the pulpit. He faces the people, confronting them directly but inoffensively, telling them the story of his job loss, of the death of his wife, and of his having “tramped” through the city without finding any “word of sympathy or comfort except from your minister here, who said he was sorry for me and hoped I would find a job somewhere.” He says about himself, “I’m not an ordinary tramp, though I don’t know of any teaching of Jesus that makes one kind ...

362. The Spirit and the Glory of the Age to Come and the New Covenant

Romans 8:28-39, Romans 8:18-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... for his resistance to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. He is known for his unflinching courage while in a concentration camp where he died, but this poem candidly and poignantly expresses his anguish and self-doubt in the midst of suffering. Poetry: “Sympathy,” by Paul Dunbar. Dunbar (1872–1906) was the first African American to gain national recognition as a poet. Maya Angelou (b. 1928), a contemporary African American writer, titled her autobiography with a line from this poem, “I know why the caged ...

363. Paul the Apostle of the New Covenant to the Gentiles

Romans 15:14-22

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... all—officers and other ranks alike—that the law of the jungle is not the law for man. . . . We were seeing for ourselves the sharp contrast between the forces that made for life and those that made for death. . . . Love, heroism, self-sacrifice, sympathy, mercy, integrity and creative faith . . . were the essence of life.”7 Later, Gordon says, “Through our readings and discussions we gradually came to know Jesus. He was one of us. . . . We understood that the love expressed so supremely in Jesus was ...

364. Marriage, Sexual Intimacy, and Spiritual Devotion

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... that situation and its effects to birth a testimony that is able to bless others in unexpected ways. Contrasting Concept: In a psychological phenomenon known as the Stockholm syndrome, hostages being abused and even tortured by captors develop feelings of empathy and sympathy with their captors. People have tried to explain this in many ways, but the bottom line is that these feelings are an irrational way in which the human psyche attempts to survive trauma by bonding with one’s tormentor and mistaking ...

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

Revelation 18:1-24

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... . They will weep and mourn and cry out. Following the list of goods and services, the funeral dirge resumes. Like the kings (18:9–10), the merchants now stand at a safe distance to weep and mourn. This is more self-preservation than genuine sympathy. They observe her sudden and dramatic downfall and fear they too will suffer the same fate. “Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has ...

366. Priesthood Confirmed and Its Mediation Duties Specified

Num 17:1–8:7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... and his sons. But in the contest between Aaron and the followers of Korah, God shows Korah to be wrong by sending fire to consume the 250 non-Aaronites who have come to offer incense to God. A challenge also comes from Reubenites, who in sympathy with Korah claim that “the whole community is holy” (Num. 16:3b), not just Levites. They do not believe that God has appointed Moses and Aaron to their leadership and priestly positions (Num. 16:3c). These Reubenites maintain that the priesthood ought to be ...

367. A Failure of Leadership

Num 20:14-29

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... exodus story—Israel’s long sojourn in Egypt, Egypt’s oppression of Israel, Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel out of Egypt in answer to Israel’s prayers—to update personified Edom on its “brother” nation Israel. The real purpose is to elicit sympathy before requesting passage through Edom’s territory,1and perhaps also to evoke fear of Israel’s assisting “angel.”2 20:16 the Lord . . . sent an angel. This is a manifestation of divine power associated with the pillar of cloud/fire that ...

368. A Prodigal Son Comes Home in Body, but Not in Spirit

2 Sam 14:1–15:12

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... misrepresenting the real situation (cf. 2 Sam. 8:15). After all, the woman of Tekoa has received a hearing with the king and a favorable response that shows sensitivity to her plight.4 15:6 so he stole the hearts of the people. By demonstrating sympathy for the people’s needs, Absalom wins their loyalty (“stole their heart,” a Hebrew phrase that occurs elsewhere only in Gen. 31:20, 26, where, as here, it refers to deceitful behavior). 15:8 If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem. Absalom may be ...

369. The Lord Guides, Encourages, and Protects David

1 Samuel 23:1-29

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... thinking they are objects of his favor. Literature: The Deputy, by Rolf Hochhuth. Just fourteen when Hitler died, Hochhuth (b. 1931), a German author and playwright, wrote this play as a statement of moral outrage against what he considered Pope Pius XII’s sympathies for Hitler’s atrocities against the Jews. Much revered, this pope was/is considered a great pope, but Hochhuth savaged him for what he perceived to be his indifference toward, even abetting of, the genocide of the Jews for the sake of the ...

370. “I Waited Patiently for the Lord; He Turned to Me and Heard My Cry”

Psalm 40:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... you.This is the opposite request of 40:14. Theological Insights When it comes to the value and meaning of sacrifice, there is a parallel theme of ostensible disparagement that runs between the Prophets and the Psalms, with some expression of sympathy in the Wisdom books. Even though some would insist that this negative attitude toward sacrifice was exilic or postexilic, most likely it belongs to the preexilic period, when Israel often used sacrifice as a manipulative tool, to get something from God without ...

371. “Blessed Are Those Who Have Regard for the Weak; the Lord Delivers Them”

Psalm 41:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... and Cultural Background This psalm may arise out of David’s conflict with his son Absalom, at least that general period, especially in view of the betrayal of his close friend who ate bread with him (41:9). Perowne suggests that the friend was Ahithophel, whose sympathies in fact turned to Absalom (2 Sam. 15:12).4 An interesting word picture occurs in 41:3 with the use of two phrases: the phrase “sickbed” (lit., “bed of illness”) in the first line and “his whole bed you turn over when he is ill ...

372. “Cast Your Cares on the Lord and He Will Sustain You”

Psalm 55:1-23

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... 55:22). For this speaker, as the king, supposedly has access to resources that the common people do not. But in a crisis situation like that described in Psalm 55, his resources are greatly reduced by the personal threats and the general lack of public sympathy that his city has exhibited. Yet this psalm does not capitalize on the privileges and powers of kingship but presents the problem of betrayal as a common crisis that many people encounter in life, probably no greater in the ancient world than in our ...

373. Good for Nothing

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... their conviction that the victims had induced this violent death by their sins. It was a current doctrine that misfortune was the nemesis of transgression…the theory is inviting—at least to those spared by adversity, for it exempts them from the pain of sympathy and reckons them among the virtuous. No form of self-complacency is more noxious. Jesus meets it with a ruthless truth: “Think ye these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans? I tell you Nay: But except ye repent, ye shall all likewise ...

374. How to Escape Being Possessed By Our Possessions

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ask: Where do I place my security? The second question: Do I include the fact of God in my planning? “The rich man reached affluence mainly by reason of the common wealth…(the gifts of God – the land and the seasons, yet he had no gift of sympathy). ‘What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?’ Was there no sickness to heal, no nakedness to clothe? Were there none on whom a sharper problem pressed, who were compelled to ask, ‘What shall I do, because stark poverty has come to ...

375. Prologue

Job 1:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... (42:7–9). (2) “A foolish woman” is Job’s indictment of his wife’s response (2:10); folly is in view in Job 42:8. (3) The banquetlike gathering in the epilogue (42:10–11) has the thread of similar feasting in the prologue (1:4–5). (4) Sympathy and comfort recur (2:11; 42:11). (5) The number of livestock is precisely doubled in the epilogue (1:3; 42:12).(6) A baseline of the number of children is in mind in both (1:2; 42:13). From another angle, in the introduction, under “Composition” and ...

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