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 4026 to 4050 of 4653 results

4026. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... was seeking to protect precisely the second marriage by preventing any further interest in the woman from the former husband. As far as he was concerned, she was now “defiled”—i.e., not immoral, but “out of bounds,” not to be touched again. Wenham, “Restoration,” suggests further, in comparison with Lev. 18 and 20, that marriage was deemed to produce a bond equivalent to kinship. Therefore, remarrying a former wife would be tantamount (under such a perception) to marrying one’s sister—one ...

4027. Solomon's Throne Established

1 Kings 2:13-46

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... have been carried out; Solomon has proved himself to be a “wise” king. And his kingdom remains, inevitably, firmly established in his hands. As we look back over 1 Kings 1–2, what do we see? We see, first, a dying king, now out of touch with reality, now fully in control, with a selective memory and a curiously ambivalent attitude to oaths. His oath to Bathsheba he stands by; his oath to Shimei he chooses to “interpret.” The loyalty of Barzillai he remembers, for it costs him nothing to do ...

4028. The Ark Brought to the Temple

1 Kings 8:1-21

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... ark may, indeed, lie behind the very large number of (precautionary) sacrifices described in verse 5 (cf. 2 Sam. 6:1–19, esp. vv. 13, 17). The priests and Levites carry the Tent and its sacred furnishings (v. 4; cf. Num. 4 for the regulations about who can touch these). We are not told what becomes of these after their journey. The ark, however, is duly placed beneath the cherubim (1 Kgs. 6:23–28), and we are assured that its poles are still there today (v. 8), which was no doubt true for some earlier ...

4029. Ahijah's Prophecy Against Jeroboam

1 Kings 14:1-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... ignorance of reality. He is ignorant even of Ahijah’s human condition. There is little point in disguising yourself to visit a blind man (v. 4)! He is also ignorant, however, of his spiritual condition. There is no point in disguise when the blind man is so in touch with God that he can see through deception with ease (v. 5). God cannot be frustrated by human stratagems; God’s ways cannot be diverted by cakes and honey (v. 3). 14:6–11 So it is that although Jeroboam’s wife thinks she has been sent ...

4030. Elijah Flees to Horeb

1 Kings 19:1-8

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... fairly pronounced egocentricity that Elijah displays throughout the story that he should have thought himself much better than his ancestors up until this point, only now to be reduced to the self-loathing of the high achiever who thinks he has failed. 19:5 An angel touched him: Hb. malʾāk is an ambiguous term. It can mean simply a human messenger, as in 19:2. Frequently, however, it refers to beings who are clearly not of this world (e.g., Gen. 21:8–21, with the very theme of miraculous provision in ...

4031. Moab Revolts

2 Kings 3:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... Jehoshaphat has committed to the campaign in v. 7. 3:11 An officer: The Hb. is lit. “one of the servants.” It is a pronounced feature of the Elisha stories in 2 Kgs. 3–8 that it is characteristically the politically powerless who are in touch with and open to what God is doing through Elisha, while the powerful (especially the kings) reveal only ignorance and arrogance, refusing to adopt a humble and respectful attitude towards him. Thus it is the maidservant of 2 Kgs. 5 who opens the way for Naaman ...

4032. Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

2 Kings 18:17-37

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... powerless gods and cannot deliver Jerusalem (vv. 33–35), and to offer oneself in the LORD’s place as the true provider of material blessings and life itself (vv. 31–32). It is the Assyrian, and not Hezekiah, who thus reveals himself to be out of touch with reality. 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 ...

4033. The Song of the Vineyard

Isaiah 5:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... be an image for courting someone (see Song 2:15; 7:8–9, 12; 8:11–12). Isaiah appears before his audience as a minstrel singing a love song on behalf of his best friend, perhaps as his best man. It appears at first to be a touching song about the man’s efforts to cultivate a fruitful relationship or a fruitful marriage, yet worryingly its lines have the short second half characteristic of the limping lament form, which suggests that it will turn out to be a sad song. The effort involved in cultivation ...

4034. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

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

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... holy is that area which is God’s alone. God commands that Israel take strict care that the holy and the common do not mix (in Ezek. 42:20, the wall around the temple complex is meant “to separate the holy from the common”). The story of Uzzah, who touched the ark and was struck dead (2 Sam. 6:7//1 Chr. 13:10), provides a grim reminder of the dangerous power of the holy. The clean and unclean relate to the realms of the permissible and impermissible: what Israel can or cannot eat, drink, plant, use, or ...

4035. Oracles of Restoration

Ezekiel 34:1-31, Ezekiel 35:1-15, Ezekiel 36:1-38, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... 18:24–30; see the discussion of Ezek. 18:6, 19, above). Extending a metaphor we have encountered before in this book (most forcefully, in chs. 16 and 23), Ezekiel imagines Israel as a menstruating woman, who passes her uncleanness to whatever she touches, and with whom her husband (that is, the Lord) can have no intimate relationship. However, as the medieval Jewish commentator Kimchi observed, this simile also expresses hope for Israel’s future: Israel “is compared in her sinful state to a menstruant ...

4036. Jesus Eats with Sinners and Heals the Sick

Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:14-17, Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:27-34

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ritually unclean (see Lev. 15:25), it is not clear that she would have caused impurity to those with whom she came in contact.1In any event, Matthew does not highlight purity concerns in this passage; instead, he accents faith in Jesus’ authority to heal. touched the edge of his cloak. The word “edge” represents the Greek word kraspedon, which here refers to the tassel (Heb. tsitsit), which a Jewish man wore on the corners of his outer garment in accordance with the Torah (Num. 15:38; see BDAG 564). 9 ...

4037. Jesus Warns of Presuming Reward and Status

Matthew 20:1-16

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... bounty of a gracious God. While there is much we may have earned—our degree, our salary, our home and garden, a Miller Lite, and a good night’s sleep—all this is possible only because we have been given so much: life itself, eyes to see and hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, and a heart to beat with love. . . . My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.3

4038. Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a Peaceable and Humble King

Matthew 20:29-34, Matthew 21:1-11

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... the way for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, where the crowds escort him into the city acclaiming him “Son of David.” Children will also join this refrain in the temple courts in 21:15. 20:34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Jesus’ compassion is thematic in Matthew. Jesus has healed people because of his compassion already at 9:35–36; 14:14 (see also 15:32). This passage provides a fitting conclusion to Jesus’ compassionate healing ministry in Galilee. they . . . followed ...

4039. Caring for the Needy and Commissioning Apostles

Mark 3:7-12, Mark 3:13-19

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... “all” (the parallel Matt. 12:15 says “he healed them all”), so Jesus had healed everyone who came to him. The result is that the crowds fall over themselves to get to Jesus, realizing that his power is so great that they can be healed merely by “touching him” (proven true with the hemorrhaging woman in 5:25–29). 3:11 the impure spirits . . . cried out, “You are the Son of God.” As in 1:24, the demons utter the true identity of Jesus, once more not to reveal who he is to bystanders but ...

4040. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... the lordship of Christ over his creation (for Christ as Creator, see John 1:3–4; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16–17; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 3:14). As creator and sustainer of this cosmos, Jesus has authority over every part of it, so his miracles touch every aspect of creation—the power of nature, the spirit world, human illness, and even death itself. Since the Enlightenment it has been common to doubt miracles as a violation of natural law and thus as impossible. Yet we must ask, Who is sovereign: God or the natural ...

4041. Spiritual Hypocrisy—Living by the Rules, Not by the Heart

Mark 7:1-23

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... ” probably is deliberate hyperbole for effect. The issue is purity and defilement. There were two parts: if they were home and about to eat, they would simply douse their hands in a bit of water (v. 3), but if they were outside in the marketplace, they might have touched something truly unclean (e.g., a Gentile) and so would immerse their arms, perhaps even their whole body, in a ritual bath (note the use of baptiz? in 7:4). 7:6 their hearts are far from me. Mark has a different order than Matthew 15:1 ...

4042. Family in the New Kingdom Community

Mark 10:13-16, Mark 10:1-12

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... turns from suffering and servanthood to the Haustafeln (social codes), or family relationships: marriage and divorce, children (vv. 1–16), and then to the cost of discipleship (vv. 17–31) and back to suffering and servanthood (vv. 32–45). This is very holistic, touching on family, possessions, and ultimate destiny. Interpretive Insights 10:2 Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem (the normal route was to cross the Jordan to the eastern shore to avoid Samaria ...

4043. Jesus Proclaims Judgment on the Temple and the Nation

Mark 13:1-31

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... that Christ will return, but not when, so we must live at all times in readiness for that unexpected event. Illustrating the Text The warning against false teachers Human Experience: In order to identify counterfeit money, bank tellers are encouraged to study, touch, and handle real money. The more comfortable tellers are with the real thing, the more likely they will be to identify counterfeit bills. Every generation of Christians is confronted by those who claim to know the truth but are actually teaching ...

4044. Jesus Is Crucified

Mark 15:21-32

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... by the Jewish spectators and leaders and the two bandits (15:29–32), and the death of Jesus (15:33–37). Mark centers on the horror of putting to death the royal Messiah, and negative elements predominate (compare the prayers in Luke 23 and the personal touches in John 19). Structure There are three parts to this scene: (1) Jesus is taken to Golgotha, with Simon bearing the cross (vv. 20b–22); (2) Jesus is nailed to the cross, and the soldiers offer him a pain-numbing drink and gamble for his garments ...

4045. The Supernatural Witness to the Significance of Jesus’s Death

Mark 15:42-47

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... . The first step in preparing the corpse was the ritual washing of the body, followed by the wrapping of the corpse in a lengthy linen cloth with spices and perfumes (seventy-five pounds of it [John 19:39]). Finally, a face cloth was wrapped around the head. Touching Jesus’s corpse would have rendered Joseph unclean for seven days (Num. 19:11), certainly undesirable at Passover, so it is possible that Joseph had the work done by his servants and oversaw it all.7 placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Jesus ...

4046. The Resurrection of Jesus and the Promise of Victory

Mark 16:1-20

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... are hardly thinking logically. Note that the events of Jesus’s death are framed with two anointings (14:3–9 and here) of him as the royal Messiah and Suffering Servant. 16:3 Who will roll the stone away? There is a tremendous dramatic touch in the women’s question, which continues the misunderstanding theme. The women are still thinking on the purely earthly level, expecting nothing. They also have not been thinking clearly, for they had seen the stone rolled over the entrance (15:46). They knew ...

4047. The Birth of John

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... of the birth of John (1:57–66) focuses on the themes of the faithfulness and obedience of his parents in naming the child and the recognition by all that God is uniquely at work in this child. A sermon or lesson on this material could touch on Zechariah’s obedient response and “recovery” after his initial skepticism and the ensuing discipline by God (1:18–20). We all have times of doubt and skepticism that can give way to faith and obedience. The greater theme, however, is the special role that ...

4048. Feasting and Fasting

Luke 5:33-39, Luke 5:27-32

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... but rather those who recognize their need of him. Invite your listeners first of all to recognize that all of us should fit into the latter category. We all must come to God as sinners, desperately in need of the Divine Physician’s healing touch. We are saved by his grace alone, apart from anything we have done to earn that salvation (Eph. 2:8–9). Listeners could then be invited to think about how Jesus’s involvement with people outside respectable religious circles might appropriately be followed in ...

4049. “Love Your Enemies”

Luke 6:27-38

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... us, as they would have struck those who first heard them, as profoundly “unnatural” in that they challenge the essentially self-centered way human society operates. A man who taught like this would easily be dismissed as hopelessly otherworldly and out of touch with real life. In the Greco-Roman world of that time this might have placed Jesus in a similar light to the Cynic philosophers, who were famous for their countercultural challenges to social convention, though there is little evidence for the ...

4050. Affluence and the Afterlife

Luke 16:19-31

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... of fifteen, Martin fulfilled the requirement of joining the cavalry and was stationed in France, where he had the famous vision that is most often told in connection with his name. As the story goes, he ran into a beggar who, in need of clothing, touched Martin’s heart. He then cut his military garment in half and gave the beggar the other part. That night he dreamed of Christ, who was wearing the half-garment that he had given away. According to the story (and there are several variations), Jesus said ...

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