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 4051 to 4075 of 4770 results

4051. Love

Romans 12:9-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and esteem for the other believers (12:9–10). The basic attitude and behavior of Christians must be determined by diligent discipline and earnest eagerness, by an enthusiastic spirituality, by the consistent commitment to serve Christ as Lord, by rejoicing in view of the hope of sharing the glory of God, by patient endurance in suffering, by perseverance in prayer, by helping to alleviate the practical needs of other believers, and by providing hospitality in their homes for strangers (12:11–13). In ...

4052. A Report of Factions within the Community

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to Peter for leadership, or to teachers who used his name (for though it is possible that Peter himself had been at Corinth, it is not necessary to think of this as being the only way a group associated with Peter’s Jewish Christian views may have come into existence at Corinth). The final slogan, “I follow Christ,” has always proved difficult to interpret. Although it seems to designate a fourth group (whose apparent claim was allegiance to Christ’s teaching alone), it could denote the common claim ...

4053. Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... s power” (2:4) evident in Paul’s preaching despite his weakness, fear, and trembling (2:3), and eloquence, “persuasive words,” and wisdom (2:1, 4–5). The contrast implies that those searching for wisdom at Corinth have begun to view eloquence and persuasive words as authenticating signs of divine inspiration, perhaps even judging Paul’s teaching inferior on these criteria to that of others (see 1:12, 17). Paul, however, makes plain that the definitive “demonstration” (the word is a technical ...

4054. Apostles of Christ

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 4:8–21). Both Paul and the other apostles have been “put on display” and held up to ridicule, “like men condemned to die,” who indeed were brought into the arena “at the end of the procession” (4:9). Those to whom the apostles preach view them as a spectacle to be seen but not taken seriously. And so together they have become fools in the eyes of the world (but fools for Christ!), while the Corinthians prefer to be seen and regarded as wise. Similar contrasts are apparent between the apostles ...

4055. Questions about Food, Idolatry, and Freedom

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of . . . freedom” and knowledge lead them to ignore the effect of their behavior on the faith of the weak. Finally, Paul applies what he has said to the situation in Corinth. Some have already accepted invitations to dine in pagan temples in public view and are in danger of leading those with a weak conscience to disregard it and act insincerely. Thus the weak, for whom Christ died, will be led to abandon action that matches their convictions and perhaps even to depart from any attempt at morality ...

4056. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the experience of seeing the same thing face-to-face. For now, then, these analogies should caution us that our present knowledge of God (and, by implication, the worship such knowledge initiates) will change and pale when we come to know God as completely as he now knows us. In view of this, three things can be trusted to “remain” unaltered by the enlargement of our knowledge: “faith, hope, and love . . . but the greatest of these is love” (13:13).

4057. Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

1 Corinthians 14:1-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... prefers “in the church” to speak words that are few but meaningful to all as opposed to words that may be numerous but do not promote corporate understanding or response (14:18–19). The Corinthians are exhorted to have a mature evaluation of the gifts by keeping in view a passage from Isaiah (Paul uses the term “law” as it was used among the rabbis, to refer to any part of the Old Testament). In context (Isa. 28:11–12) these words come in response to the mocking of the form of speech used by the ...

4058. Questions about the Resurrection and Life in the Age to Come

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to do the work of an apostle. In response, he expended more effort in travel and ministry and reaped more success (because of the “grace of God that was with me”) in the founding of churches than any other (15:10). So whether the Corinthians wish to view Paul’s preaching, or that of those whose witness formed the tradition behind his preaching, as the source for their knowledge of Jesus’s death and resurrection, it makes no difference to the content of the gospel or the substance of their faith.

4059. The Cost of Paul’s Ministry

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... compensation. It is the confidence that even should death prevail, “the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence” (4:14). Such compensatory thoughts, kept ever more securely in view because of the inexorable renewal of his inner self, prevent Paul from despair and provide him with a new perspective on his present afflictions. Paul, of course, has spoken to the Corinthians before about the hope of resurrection, but now he sees an ...

4060. Our Heavenly Dwelling

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 5:4). The transformation will take place when our bodies receive a new “clothing” (5:2; see also 1 Cor. 15:53). But rather than suggest that such a “clothing” implies the death of the mortal body and the “unclothing” of the immortal soul (a view that appears to have been favored by some at Corinth [5:3; 1 Cor. 15:12, 35]), Paul asserts that the “clothing” process of resurrection takes place when our current “clothing” is “overclothed” “so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by ...

4061. An Appeal for Complete Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 6:3-13, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is characterized by the conjoining of proclamation and power [Luke 7:22–23]), and the weapons of righteousness (2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:14). Then, in a series of contrasts, Paul brings the paradoxical experience of the apostle fully and realistically into view. In external appearance Paul’s apostolic ministry may indeed at times have seemed to some, not the least of whom were Paul’s opponents, to be characterized by marks of ineffectiveness and failure. But Paul makes his appeal with the eye of faith ...

4062. An Appeal for Complete Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 6:14--7:1, 2 Corinthians 6:3-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

4063. Support for the Appeal

2 Corinthians 11:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... this matter as effectively as was Eve (11:3; Gen. 3:1–7). The crux of his concern is the immaturity of the Corinthians’ faith and their consequent childlike acceptance of those who claim authority in the name of the Lord but whose views about Jesus, the nature of the gospel, and the experience of the Spirit are significantly different from those that were originally proclaimed at Corinth. Consequently, since the comprehension of the gospel is at issue, Paul will not permit the church to entertain even ...

4064. The Conclusion of the Appeal

2 Corinthians 12:11-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of motives or actions contrary to those of his emissary (12:18). Paul reiterates, however, that his primary purpose is not his own defense. Instead, he has written in an attempt to bring the truth—which alone can be spoken in the sight of God—plainly into view, and to strengthen its hold on the minds of the Corinthians. The apostle’s fear is that upon his return, both he and his converts may find that the lies of his detractors have worked so well that neither of them will be happy to learn the ...

4065. Paul Called by God

Galatians 1:11-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ) had as its purpose the consecration of an individual to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. This is a decisive calling for Paul, one that allowed him to claim an equality of apostolic standing with the leader of the disciples, Peter, who in Paul’s view was specifically chosen to lead the mission to the Jews (2:8). Acts 26:17 fully records God’s commissioning of Paul to the Gentile mission. His response to this dramatic change was not to seek counsel or explanation from Jerusalem or from anyone else (1 ...

4066. Sons of God

Galatians 3:26--4:7

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to full participation in the newness of life found in Christ (see Snodgrass, 167). 4:1–7 · Maturing into sonship: Paul builds on the dual images of kinship and covenantal inheritance from the previous climactic section (3:26–29) to point out an important truth in his view of salvation history. Just as the kinship of a child in a wealthy family is never in dispute, although that one must await the time of maturity to assume the control of the estate, so also the kinship of the Gentiles has never been in ...

4067. An Allegorical Appeal

Galatians 4:21-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... above, free The major difference between the two is of “kind,” not circumstance. Paul appears to be relying on the Galatians’ acquaintance with the historical narrative to point out the major factors in the story. One factor, which is unstated but certainly in view, is that the Hagar incident was not a necessary part of God’s plan and had not been included in the promise to Abraham (see Genesis 16). So also, the covenantal promises to Abraham had not included the law (which he already stated to ...

4068. Freedom in Christ

Galatians 5:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... conversion for Gentiles who want to come into the covenantal relationship with God through faith in Christ. Yet one might ask, “What’s left? If you take away law, by what standard will a person live?” In addressing this type of question, Paul reasserts his view of the purpose of redemption in Christ (see Gal. 5:1) with the emphatic “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free” (5:13). This freedom does not induce license (indulging the sinful nature, 5:13), since it is not the absence of ...

4069. Prayer for Enlightenment

Ephesians 1:15-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of this power that raised Christ from the dead and secured for us our hope and inheritance has also seated Christ at the place of supreme honor in the universe, the right hand of God (1:20); this is what the gospel is about. Consequently, whether viewed from below or above, Christ supersedes all competitors, potential or real, for power (1:21). Rule and authority, power and dominion, and titles upon titles are given both in this doomed evil age and in the glorious, unending age to come. But neither they nor ...

4070. Redemption: Clearing the Ground

Ephesians 2:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , the Jews are by nature under the wrath of God, just like the rest of humanity, namely, the Gentiles. This is no insignificant remark! First, it clearly precludes any human beings from supposing that they are exempt from judgment. From a Jewish point of view, the entire human race is either Jewish or Gentile, and both groups are by nature condemned. Second, this statement of a redeemed Jew to Gentiles embodies the humility characteristic of the newly created family of God (see Eph. 2:11–22). The human ...

4071. Digression: Paul, Outsiders, and God’s Glory

Ephesians 3:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to the entire universe (3:10). This age-old, unanticipated plan he carried out in the person and work of Christ, Lord of the universe (3:11), in whom we have full confidence, by faith, to come freely and boldly into the presence of God (3:12). In view of all this, Paul begs them not to be disheartened about his incarceration and other afflictions. As a servant of the gospel (3:7), he obeys its purposes whatever the cost. Moreover, it is for their benefit that he suffers; it leads to their glory (3:13) no ...

4072. Follow the Example of Paul As He Follows the Example of Christ

Philippians 3:12-4:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... here he urges them to join him in allowing Christ to claim their lives. The Greek phrase touto phroneō of 2:5, translated as “your attitude should be the same,” is echoed in the touto phroneō of 3:15, translated as “all . . . should take such a view of things.” This echo is not accidental. Paul wants the Philippians to have the mind of Christ and is so certain that his message and his life exhibit the truth of the gospel that he can confidently exhort them to join in imitating him as he imitates ...

4073. Encouragements, Appreciations, and Greetings

Philippians 4:2-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and action in the community, as Paul hopes, then the Philippians need to set their minds on heavenly things and not “on earthly things” (3:19–20). They must “think” about these heavenly virtues, or better yet, allow these virtues to shape the way they view and move through the world even now. Paul calls them not only to ponder these concepts but to put them into action. Instead of giving an exhaustive list of virtues, Paul just gives the Philippians examples of what it would mean to set their ...

4074. Rules for Christian Households

Colossians 3:18-4:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... percent of the inhabitants.) It was possible for a household slave to have a better quality of life in terms of shelter, food, and clothing than a poor freeborn person. A well-ordered home was sought by Gentiles and Jews alike. Aristotle’s views carried the day—the home was the foundation of the state, and the home must be organized hierarchically and harmoniously (Politics 1.5). The vested interests of those at the top of the hierarchy—husbands, fathers, slave owners—were protected and increased. A ...

4075. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... that they be found blameless before him. In this last time, the Lord Jesus will come “with all his holy ones.” These may be deceased Christians (1 Thess. 4:16) or angels (2 Thess. 1:7). The verse is an allusion to Zechariah 14:5, where celestial beings are in view (see Deut. 33:2; Ps. 89:5, 7; Job 5:1; 15:15; Dan. 4:13; 8:13). The New Testament often speaks of the angels or the saints who will accompany the Lord in his coming (Matt. 13:41; Mark 8:38; 13:27; 2 Thess. 1:7; Jude ...

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