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 376 to 400 of 5000 results

376. Sermon on the Mount: Allegiance and Trust

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:25-34

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... God. In fact, according to Jesus, it is not possible to live in service to both God and money (6:24). 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The reference to a person’s treasure and heart being in the same location reflects the understanding of the heart as the seat of allegiance and affection. It is “a term for what is of central importance in a person, what constitutes their true character” (e.g., 15:18–19).1 6:22–23 The eye is the lamp of the body. This saying is ...

377. Jesus Announces His Impending Suffering and Death

Matthew 16:21-28

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... of self-denial (16:24–26; cf. 10:37–39), renunciation of status preoccupation (18:1–5; 19:30; 20:16, 25–28), and valuing those most on the margins (18:6–14; 19:13–15; cf. 10:42; 25:40, 45). Yet the Twelve struggle to understand the ways of discipleship that Jesus proclaims, often showing an inordinate concern for status categories and their own elevated position in the kingdom (e.g., 18:1; 19:13–15, 27; 20:20–28). Interpretive Insights 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to ...

378. “Weak and Strong” Should Get Along

Romans 14:1--15:13

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... of the weak can clearly be seen in the term koinos (“unclean” [14:14]), which had become a semitechnical way of proscribing certain foods under the Mosaic law (see Mark 7:2, 5; Acts 10:14).6It is probably in that light that we are to understand the references to the abstention from meat and wine (14:3, 6b, 14b, 21) along with the observance of special days (14:6) on the part of the weak in faith.7These considerations effectively eliminate the first, second, and fourth options above. Third, Paul’s plea ...

379. Applying God’s Wisdom to Life’s Issues

1 Corinthians 2:6-16, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... but one that has been true since before time began. Even then, God willed for it to be revealed in Christ. 2:9 What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard.6 Human senses may instruct human judgments, but they are not reliable alone as instruments for understanding God’s heart and will. 2:10 things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. For Paul, as for all Christians, life guidance comes from God’s Spirit, not from human orators. Only God’s Spirit can grant the power needed for a person to live a ...

380. Unity and Community (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... Phil. 2:27; 2 Tim. 4:20; 1 Cor. 11:30; Gal. 4:13).[7] The “miraculous powers” clearly include healings but are not limited to these. They stand in contrast to the activities of God’s adversary (2 Thess. 2:9). 12:10b prophecy. Paul’s understanding of proph?teia ties directly to the Old Testament. Prophecy is a message from God to his people. The new covenant promise that the Spirit will come upon all flesh potentially makes all Christians prophets (Jer. 31:33–34; Ezek. 36:26–27; Joel 2:28–29 ...

381. Bildad Has the Answer (He Thinks!)

Job 8:1-22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... is so frustrated with him! In trying to give the right answer to others, we must be careful to give answers that are truly relevant to their situations. It might be tempting to write off Bildad and the other friends as worthless because they fail to understand Job’s special situation. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that Bildad does present a lot of good theology in what he says, particularly when he expounds on the justice of God. Bildad’s problem is that he takes good theology and mixes it with ...

382. “The King Rejoices in Your Strength, Lord”

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing?[16] “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” Big Idea: Even when God seems to have forsaken us, he is still present in the praises of his people, so our worship should continue. Understanding the Text Psalm 22 is an individual lament that covers the spectrum of complaint: against God (22:1–2, 15c), against the psalmist himself (22:6–8), and against his enemies (22:7–8, 12–13).[1] The title of this poem contains what is most likely a ...

383. “No One Can Redeem the Life of Another or Give to God a Ransom for Them”

Psalm 49:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... every person who ever lived will encounter the power of God and fall to his or her knees before him in complete submission. Regardless of our perceptions of God while we are living in this world, the truth will be revealed, in no uncertain terms, at death. Understanding this reality should not only encourage those who put their trust in the Lord but also move them with a sense of desperation to proclaim the truth about the Lord to every person! Wealth can’t buy off death—but God can. News Story: In 2013 ...

384. Epilogue

Job 42:7-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is derelict about injustice (Job 24). Yet the friends are rebuked, and Job is exonerated. Why this is so is not crystal clear. The bookends alone give us a story arguably more simple. The bookends with the poetic core throw complexity our way. It is understandable to feel frustrated. We leave the book uncertain why a heavenly dare had to be so cruel to Job and why the book, in its epilogue, reaffirms the principle of retribution, for which the friends have argued, against which Job has fought, and which God ...

385. Opposition from Pharisees and Disciples

Mark 8:14-21, Mark 8:22-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... declares that unbelief will not be honored by a sign; he will not grant by empirical means what can be granted only by faith and trust. Jesus resolutely “left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side” (8:13). The lack of understanding that Jesus encountered in Dalmanutha now accompanies him in the boat (8:14–21). Jesus warns the disciples, who have only one loaf of bread with them on the voyage, to “watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod” (8:15). “Yeast ...

386. Elephants in the Room: Sexploitation

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... that, but it needs to be said from the pulpit. Why? Because over the years the church has done a pretty terrible job teaching a healthy understanding of sex. I remember the first time I heard about sex in the church. I was a kid in a junior high Sunday school class and ... sense to you. Maybe you are a teenager dating someone, and it is so hard to control your urges, and you really don’t understand what the big deal is. As long as you are careful, what’s the problem? Maybe you’re a guy who likes to look ...

387. Pop Verses: Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah 40:28-31

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... and with Clarence and with the great cloud of witnesses who have gone on before” (nextreformation.com). We have a God who is greater than evil and death. This is why Isaiah then tells us next this empowering truth: He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. –Isaiah 40:28 We faint and grow weary, but our Lord does not! We may get tired and feel hopeless but God does not! We may get discouraged, but God does not! And why ...

388. Pop Verses: John 3:16

John 3:16

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... Nicodemus, so Jesus told him that he was going to be lifted up for all the world to see and then he would understand. Jesus was referring to his crucifixion. Jesus believed that once Nicodemus saw him on that cross and opened his heart he would experience ... us. Which is it?” If you have ever felt that way you are not alone. I am going to make it plain and easy to understand. It’s all about the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We don’t believe in three gods. The Trinity is a way of expressing the ...

389. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Mark 6:30-44

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... and significance. That is, the feeding miracle is really more about Jesus than bread and, like everything else in Mark, it presses the reader to consider who Jesus, the Son of Man, really is. When, later, the disciples are said to have failed to understand the feedings (6:52; 8:17–21), something peculiar to Mark’s Gospel, the author means that the disciples failed to see the divine sonship of Jesus disclosed in these miracles. Additional Notes 6:30 The apostles: The Twelve are called by their official ...

390. The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit

Luke 9:37-45

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... that all these things were according to the Scriptures (24:25–27). Additional Note 9:45 hidden from them: Luke has added this phrase (see Mark 9:32) to explain why the disciples did not understand the meaning of Jesus’ statement. It was God’s purpose that they not fully understand until the resurrection. Luke may be reacting to Mark’s negative portrayal of the disciples. they were afraid to ask him about it: This probably means that the disciples feared that further questioning and explanation ...

391. Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... . Paul declares this way of God’s working as a fact—it is God’s saving activity that amounts to the soteriological reality of the cross of Jesus Christ. 1:18 Paul sets up a rhetorical contrast scheme that captures the heart of the gospel as he understands it. He begins the sentence with the word For, showing that it is an extension of his statement in verse 17. Now Paul explains that declaration more precisely in relation to the theme of “the word of the cross,” or the message of the cross. In ...

392. On Divisions in the Church

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... . 41–60) observes, Paul’s use of nēpioi does not refer to a stage of development or growth in Christian faith that is to be outgrown as one moves on to deeper matters; rather nēpios names immaturity that is incapable of spiritual understanding. Thus, the problem is lack of understanding, not lack of growth. 3:2a G. D. Fee (Epistle, p. 126) sums up Paul’s argument in this sentence: “The problem, he insists, is not on his side, but on theirs. ‘I could not’ (explain the cross as God’s wisdom in ...

393. Sexual Immorality

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... is both brief and clear, “Flee fornication!” The sense of the words that follow are not, however, so easily discernible: All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Part of the problem for understanding this statement is that in Greek the word “other” does not occur in the sentence. Quite literally Paul writes, “Every sinful act that a person does is outside the body, but the one fornicating sins in/into one’s very own body.” While few ...

394. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... Job as one who sets up his own insights as the ultimate measure of true wisdom. Eliphaz accuses Job of thinking he has knowledge of the very mind of God in these matters. That is pretty ironic, since Job claims to be utterly at a loss to understand what God is doing in his case. Job does not claim to know what is, but he always confidently declares what he knows cannot be! The friends are unwilling to follow the logic of Job’s observation and experience to its ultimate conclusion—the usual methodology ...

395. Bildad's Second Speech to Job

Job 18:1-21

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... are considered senseless (Pss. 49:12, 20; 73:22) or resistant to instruction. While not a reference to “cattle,” Psalm 32:9 offers a similar sentiment in its reference to horse and mule: “Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” Bildad accuses Job of calling the friends stupid, when they are really established sages of reputable insight. He is not far from wrong, of course, because Job has disparaged ...

396. Two Kinds of Wisdom

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

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... in the community of 4:1–12. Just as there were two births, two inspirations, in 1:12–18, so there are two “wisdoms,” two Spirits, here. 3:13 James has already argued for simple, sincere speech; now he makes an appeal. Who is wise and understanding among you? At one level this is a question that simply asks if someone fits the description, but at a deeper level one remembers that 1 Corinthians 1–3 describes a church in which rival teachers claimed superior wisdom, and perhaps that was happening in ...

397. Faith in the Son of God

1 John 5:1-12, 1 John 4:7-21

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... that the presence of the unseen God among us is the result of our love for one another. The second result of love among Christians is that God’s love is made complete among us. The same expression was used in 2:5, and we face the same problem in understanding exactly what the author meant. Does his love (hē agapē autou, lit., “the love of him”) mean God’s love for us, our love for God, or God’s kind of love? In 2:5 the last fits the context best. Here God’s love for the community has been ...

398. The Offer of Life or Death

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... is important to recognize that Paul’s use of these verses in Rom. 10 is intended not to negate the law as such, but to affirm that the law, as something good, was always intended to be lived out by faith in the God who gave it. On the paradoxical understanding of the law in Paul, see N. T. Wright, Climax, and especially his discussion of Rom. 9–11. 30:15 Derrett, “Power of Choice,” finds in the question of Jesus to the synagogue in Mark 3:4 a midrash on this verse (“good or evil; life or death ...

399. A Mystery

John 16:12-15

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... we pray to the Father through the Holy Spirit. What should we do? I think we should take Pastor Marty’s advice and seize the opportunity we have been given to enjoy God, to delight in the Lord, to dance in the Spirit. You don’t have to fully understand something to love it. The late Cardinal Cushing once related that, when he was a parish priest, he was summoned to a store to give last rites to a man who had collapsed. Following custom, he knelt by the man and said, “Do you believe in God the Father ...

400. Peter the Petulant

Mark 14:1-11, Mark 14:12-26, Mark 14:27-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example ...

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