Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: thirstiness, dryness, parched, craving, strong desire, longing, yearning, avidity, hunger, voracity, keenness, eagerness, lust, appetite, passion, love, crave, want, covet, desire, hunger for/after, lust for/after, hanker for/after, have one's heart set on

Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 4101 to 4125 of 4959 results

4101. Jesus Teaches at the Feast

John 7:14-24

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... reason he can teach so well without formal education is that he himself is “taught by God” (cf. 6:45). Those who choose to obey God are those who will recognize that God speaks through Jesus. They will know that Jesus is God’s true messenger, desiring glory for God and not himself. The reverse is equally true: Those who do not see Jesus in this way show by their rejection of him their disobedience to God. Focusing his attention on the religious authorities, Jesus puts them in the second category. They ...

4102. The Last Day of the Feast

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

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... emissaries but directly. Yet his pronouncement I am the light of the world …, the sequel to 7:37–38, is not for them exclusively but for whoever follows me. It is universal in scope and probably, like 7:37–38, future in its orientation. The desire of Jesus’ brothers that he “show himself to the world” (7:4) is coming to realization but with the outcome Jesus foresaw, that the world “hates me because I testify that what it does is evil” (7:7). Only when the Spirit comes will the outcome ...

4103. Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

John 13:1-17, John 13:18-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... is just as direct. If Peter does not let Jesus wash his feet, he is no disciple. Without explaining precisely what it means, Jesus here states unmistakably that footwashing (i.e., having one’s feet washed by Jesus) is not optional but a necessity for anyone desiring to follow him. To be a disciple, one must be clean. Peter grasps the point at last, and begs to be clean all over (v. 9), but Jesus makes a distinction based on the metaphor of someone returning home from the public baths (v. 10). Such ...

4104. Jesus’ Love and the World’s Hatred

John 15:1-17

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... might remain” (Gr.: menēi, the word used throughout the chapter for “remaining” in Jesus). The hope expressed is that the disciples’ converts will be firmly established in their new faith and will realize among themselves the same mutual love that Jesus desires for the first generation of believers (cf. 17:20). Then the Father will give you whatever you ask. This expression of Jesus’ intent is probably to be taken as synonymous with the immediately preceding intent that the disciples go and bear ...

4105. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... the prayer in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that God may keep his people “blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” involves his making them “holy in every way” at this present time. 1:11 The fruit of righteousness that Paul desires to see reproduced in the Philippians’ lives is essentially identical with those graces which, according to Galatians 5:22, 23, make up the “fruit (or ‘harvest’) of the Spirit.” These qualities are the spontaneous product of the new life implanted within them ...

4106. Test the Spirits

1 John 4:1-6

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... the church. Their “ministry” is “successful.” Their teaching is popular; it has accommodated to what the world wants to hear (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear”). 4:6 Including himself this time, the author repeats his affirmation of 4:4: we are from God. He reemphasizes that his community and its opponents ...

4107. God’s Love and Ours

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

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... is in the perfect tense indicating that the secessionists have known well, over a period of time, the needs of the brothers and sisters they are rejecting. The textual variant, substituting “how is he able to love” for “he” cannot love arose due to the copyists’ desire to make this verse conform more closely in style to 3:17. Cannot love is also the better attested text. 4:21 Verse 21 reinforces the teaching of v. 20 by citing a divine command which links love for God with love for one’s brother ...

4108. The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... creatures like dinosaurs, which are otherwise unaccounted for in Scripture. This interpretation, however, stumbles over the grammar of verse 2, which is not structured as an independent sentence in sequence to verse 1. Moreover, this theory leaves much to be desired in that the grand creation is recounted in a single short verse while several verses describe the restructuring of the world. Furthermore, there is no other scriptural support for this position. A second theory, chaos before creation, holds that ...

4109. The Flood

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... state of wickedness. 6:5–8 In this second section Yahweh expresses his resolve to wipe out all humans and animals because of the gross wickedness on earth. Although God’s goal that humans fill the earth was being realized, his desire that they live together in harmony had been shattered. Humans hurt humans, and people satisfied their own pleasure by oppressing others. These terrible conditions required the Creator to intervene with judgment. The starkcontrast between God’s coming in both judgment and ...

4110. God’s Covenant with Noah

Genesis 9:1-17

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the NIV has this only six times). As a sign and guarantee of this covenant God placed a rainbow (qeshet, three times) in the clouds (be’anan, three times). The interweaving of these pivotal terms evokes the image of a beautiful tapestry of God’s desire that all humans have confidence in divine mercy as they populate the earth. Moreover, in this way God fulfills the promise made to Noah before the deluge (6:18). Whenever he sees the rainbow, God will remember (keep in force) this covenant. It is implied ...

4111. The Table of Nations

Genesis 10:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... ideology found among other peoples of the ancient Near East. Many people had a story in which their god founded them first; afterward the gods founded the other nations. Such a story elevated that people far above the other peoples on earth. This table shows God’s desire that there be a multitude of nations as a result of his blessing Noah and his sons (9:1, 7). Later God would elect one nation from Shem’s line. That election, however, is the means by which God’s blessing would reach all tribes and ...

4112. Hagar and Ishmael

Genesis 16:1-16

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... , a city of Asia Minor, from the nineteenth century B.C. contains the stipulation that if a wife does not have children two years after the wedding, she has to provide a slave for her husband. That slave is to be sold after delivering the desired child. A text from Egypt recounts that a childless couple took a slave who bore three children to the family (A. Gardiner, “Adoption Extraordinary,” JEA 26 [1940], pp. 23–29). The laws regulating the lines of authority over such children and their inheritance ...

4113. The Birth of Isaac

Genesis 21:1-7

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Abraham a son when he was old. She who had laughed in disbelief at the angel’s announcement that she would bear a son (18:12–15) now laughs in joyful glee for her son named “laughter.” 21:8 Delighted at finally having a son by Sarah and desirous of cherishing the stages of his son’s growth, Abraham held a great feast when Isaac was weaned. Although weaning took place at different ages, Isaac must have been older than three (1 Sam. 1:22, 24; 2 Macc. 7:27). 21:9–10 At this feast Sarah became ...

4114. The Treaty of Beersheba

Genesis 21:22-34

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... occur seven times (Sarna, Genesis, p. 148). 21:22 Abimelech, the local Philistine chieftain, noticed Abraham’s increasing prosperity. To protect his own family, flocks, and access to the wells of the desert, and also to participate in Abraham’s blessing, he desired to establish peaceful relations with Abraham. Abraham is pictured as a sheik or local king on par with Abimelech. At that time ties this account into the Abrahamic cycle. Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces (ch. 20) went from ...

4115. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... 20; Deut. 8:12–16; 13:1–3; Judg. 2:21–22; 3:1–4). God’s test of Hezekiah is another reference to an individual being examined (2 Chron. 32:31). God examines people not only to discover their true character but also to develop in them certain desirable qualities. On this occasion God called Abraham, speaking his name a single time. This style contrasts with the times God repeated a name to get a person’s attention (e.g., v. 11; Exod. 3:4, the call of Moses; 1 Sam. 3:10, the call of Samuel). The ...

4116. Isaac and Rebekah

Genesis 24:1-67

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... expeditiously and diplomatically. This servant relies heavily on God’s direction, praying before each major decision and then praising God openly for his guidance. A master of words, he skillfully and politely directs conversations to the outcome he desires. This servant acts deliberately in hastening the outcome, yet he displays restrained patience. The second main character is Rebekah. She is a generous, energetic woman whose beauty is complemented by a gracious, hospitable manner. With self-confidence ...

4117. Jacob and Esau

Genesis 25:19-34

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... for game but had found none. When he arrived at the tent, he found the smell of food cooking too much for him. He pleaded with Jacob to give him some red stew (’adom) right away. A wordplay establishes a connection between Esau’s desiring this reddish-brown stew and his getting the nickname Edom, “reddish brown,” which is also the name of his future homeland. Jacob, seeing an opportunity to take advantage of Esau, responded by proposing that Esau sell him his birthright in exchange for some stew ...

4118. Isaac and Abimelech

Genesis 26:1-35

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... , and servants. His success, however, aroused the Philistines’ envy. They began to be concerned that the increase of Isaac’s flocks endangered their access to the scarce water supply of that region. Furthermore, they feared that he might take over land they desired. To curtail Isaac’s success they stopped up all the wells his father’s servants had dug. This report indicates that Isaac’s shepherds grazed his flocks over a large area. Even though these wells were crucial to his increasing flocks ...

4119. Dinah and the Shechemites

Genesis 34:1-31

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Inexcusably, these two Shechemites displayed no remorse or any hint of contrition for the grave wrong that Shechem had done. Their cavalier attitude increased the fury of Dinah’s brothers. 34:13–19 Aggravated by Hamor’s patronizing approach and yet desiring to recover their sister, the sons of Jacob answered deceitfully. The author discloses their pretense in order to prepare the reader for the tragic outcome. In the Jacob narrative “deceit” (rmh) is a crucial term. It describes Jacob’s stealing ...

4120. The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Genesis 35:16-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to influence leadership in the clan. Perhaps he did not want Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, to become the matriarch of the family in place of Leah, his mother (Sarna, Genesis, p. 244), especially since Leah had never received from Jacob the affection she desired. Another interpretation posits that Reuben asserted his leadership over the family by taking advantage of his father’s sorrow. In either case, Bilhah was reduced to living widowhood, because she could not be legitimately joined to a man again (2 Sam. 15 ...

4121. Judah and Tamar

Genesis 38:1-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... that it could be worn around the neck. Other seals were in the form of a ring. Tribal leaders carried a staff, which often had carved heads depicting the symbol of that tribe. These three items unmistakably identified their owner. Judah was so filled with desire that he handed over these personal items to her, apparently without any second thoughts. He slept with her, and Tamar conceived. Tamar left that place, went home, took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes. Having no intention of living as a ...

4122. Jacob Blesses His Sons

Genesis 49:1-28

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... off its rider. This imagery suggests that this small, weak tribe would use stealth tactics to overcome stronger foes. 49:18 At this point Jacob inserted a brief prayer asking for Yahweh’s deliverance. Perhaps, after the word regarding Dan, he felt the need to express his desire that God would deliver the weaker tribes through the obstacles they were to face. 49:19 Gad would have to deal with attacks by a band of raiders. But he would be able to stand them off and then pursue them as they fled. Since this ...

4123. The Death of Jacob

Gen 49:29–50:14

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... preparation of a mummy took forty days. Because of Joseph’s high status, the whole nation mourned for Jacob seventy days. 50:4–6 At the end of the time of mourning, Joseph asked Pharaoh’s court for permission to bury his father in Canaan, stressing his desire to carry out the oath he had sworn to his father to bury him in the tomb he had dug. The Egyptians placed the highest importance on providing a person of honor with a proper burial. Joseph emphasized that he would return after the burial, making ...

4124. Wanderings in the Desert

Deuteronomy 3:21-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... (3:12–20). It is time now to move forward and cross that boundary, because you have stayed long enough on this side of it (1:6; cf. 2:2). Additional Note 3:26 A stark contrast between the Deuteronomic explanation for God’s denial of Moses’ desire to enter the promised land and the one given in Num. 20 is argued by Mann, “Denial of Moses,” linking it questionably with reflection on the death of Josiah. The severity and apparent injustice of God’s refusal to allow Moses to enter the promised land ...

4125. Do Not Forget the Lord

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... –12. The description of the land is rhetorical and poetic but the main point, in view of the previous context, must be the expectation that bread will not be scarce (v. 9). Whatever lessons God may have taught through hunger in the wilderness, God’s desire for people is not scarcity but sufficiency. And you will lack nothing; the verb is the same as expresses the psalmist’s familiar confidence that, with Yahweh as his shepherd, he would lack nothing (Ps. 23:1). 8:10 The experience of God’s blessing ...

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