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 4526 to 4550 of 4952 results

4526. Separating Defilement from Sanctuary and Community

Leviticus 16:1-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... s own performance but because works provide evidence of faith, by which believers receive God’s gift of grace (Eph. 2:8–9). This evidence of faith does not inform God, who already knows everything and can read thoughts (1 Cor. 4:5); rather, it demonstrates to his created beings, who cannot read thoughts of faith, that he is fair when he extends mercy. Thus the judgment in the New Testament has the same function as the ancient Day of Atonement judgment: to vindicate the character of God, which perfectly ...

4527. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... pastors or you will become rough and without kindness and gentleness in your personality, like the miserly farmers who muzzle their oxen. The tenth and last commandment, about not coveting, is applied in 25:5–16. Thus, all acts beginning even with the thoughts of coveting and all mental processes leading up to it are forbidden here. The opposite of coveting is set forth first in the case of levirate (from Latin levir, meaning “a husband’s brother”) marriage (25:5–10). In this case, the brothers ...

4528. Prologue

Job 1:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... refuses the reader’s desire for closure to the story and a definitive resolution of the issues it has raised” (Newsom 1996, 634). A reader is thrown toward more contemplation about the book’s issues. The story is merely a morsel for a reader’s thought process, not a full meal. 1:1–5 · The scene: Earth. Here we are introduced to Job and his exemplary piety, which even embraces actions on behalf of family. Prologue: Job’s name (Hebrew iyyob) appears to be not uncommon. W. F. Albright suggested ...

4529. Eliphaz

Job 4:1–5:27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . We will say more below (under “Job’s Words”) about Job’s character throughout the dialogues. Suffice it to say here that he is on a journey, one that revisits a couple of prominent themes while at the same time moving forward in thought and understanding. The dialogues through the first two cycles establish a symmetry: friend followed by Job. In the third cycle, however, the symmetry is disrupted, particularly after the final Eliphaz-Job interchange (22:1–24:17). From there, the text as we have ...

4530. Job's Reply to Bildad

Job 9:1–10:22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... judge of judges is guilty of subverting justice among humanity, blinding justice in a land filled with wickedness. Job turns to himself, contemplating how swiftly the days of a life pass and how joyless his are (9:25–35). He then returns to the nagging thought of court. Job truly is a moth to a flame. Job is disadvantaged, condemned guilty by God, frightened silent by his terror. If only there were someone else who could arbitrate justly, Job could speak and defend his innocence. But such is not the case ...

4531. Job's Second Reply to Bildad

Job 19:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... end He will testify on earth— This, after my skin will have been peeled off. But I would behold God while still in my flesh, I myself, not another, would behold Him; Would see with my own eyes: My heart pines within me. Job has been developing this thought about an advocate. These verses are the strongest expression we hear from him. Job hereafter will never again mention such a figure. Here on out, when Job returns to the courtroom with God (Job 23; 31), he speaks only of wanting to be in front of God ...

4532. Time and Eternity

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 4. Here Qoheleth describes something that does not appear to be very “beautiful in its time.” In the place where justice should be administered, wickedness is being perpetrated instead (3:16). He offers two responses to this dilemma, each introduced by “I thought.” First, he is confident that God has set a time for executing judgment. (The Hebrew phrase for “a time for every activity” in 3:17 is identical to 3:1.) Furthermore, God temporarily allows such wickedness to prevail in order to “test ...

4533. One Should Embrace Wisdom and Avoid Folly

Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , perhaps prompted by the preceding portrait of administrative failure (10:20; cf. 10:4; 5:8; 8:3). Since nothing is to be gained thereby, avoid cursing or denigrating (Hebrew qillel, as in Eccles. 7:21–22) the all-powerful king even in your thoughts (contra NASB’s “bedchamber,” which imposes synonymy), since such thoughts may ultimately find expression in words. You may think you are safe from the influential rich in the privacy of your bedroom, but be careful—the room may be bugged (or birded)!

4534. The King and the Maiden Banter

Song of Songs 1:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... her from the royal harem before Solomon violates her sexually and destroys their relationship. The shift to the first-person plural (1:4b) marks the end of the maiden’s speech and may represent a dramatic interjection in the poem. The “we” is thought to be the women of the royal harem. Apparently they recognize the unique nature of the maiden’s love for her absent shepherd, and they extol her sincere affection and faithfulness. Indeed, this admixture of these qualities in the chemistry of a male ...

4535. A Story of Two Sisters

Jeremiah 3:6-4:4

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 24:6; 30:1–3; 31:17; 32:37). God advances further motivations for the people to return to God (3:19–4:2). Verse 19 is not so much a statement as it is a thought, a dream. For a moment we see inside God’s mind. He schemes how he can give his people the very best, and he has pleasant thoughts of how in response Israel would in love call out “My Father” (cf. 31:9). Imagery moves between marriage and family. The dream is shattered, yet it continues. Hypothetically, we must understand, God envisions a ...

4536. Plot Against Jeremiah

Jeremiah 11:18-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... by Jeremiah to God for him to deal with the plotters. As a righteous God, he tests “the heart and mind” (11:20). The Hebrew word the NIV translates as “heart” is literally “kidneys,” which were thought to be the seat of emotion. The heart (NIV “mind”) symbolized thought and will. Together, the two terms represent a person’s internal motives. Commendably, the prophet refrains from retaliation. His prayer is in accord with the teaching, “‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord ...

4537. Jesus Arrested

Mark 14:43-52

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the transgressors.” “Then everyone deserted him and fled” is Mark’s bitter climax to the arrest. All have drunk the cup (14:23), all have pledged to die with him (14:31)—and all flee! The young man who flees the mayhem of the arrest is sometimes thought to be Mark himself, author of the Gospel. We have no certain knowledge that Mark was present in Jesus’s earthly ministry; but if he was—and if he wished to confess his own flight at the arrest—would he have expressed it so opaquely? The lack ...

4538. Conflict with the Pharisees

Luke 5:17-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God has the prerogative to forgive sin (5:21). A prophet could also forgive sin in God’s name (2 Sam. 12:13), but Jesus’s answer in verse 24 implies that on his own authority he is pronouncing forgiveness. Perceptively reading his opponents’ thoughts, Jesus responds by arguing that the visible act of healing will function as proof that he can forgive sins. The performance of the miracle stuns the onlookers, and spontaneous praise is given to God (5:25–26). In addition to forgiving sins, Jesus also ...

4539. The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... priest would probably be returning from his time of service in the Jerusalem temple. Levites aided priests in the temple by carrying out minor duties related to the temple and its cult. The priest and Levite may have avoided the man because they thought he was dead, and they did not want to become ritually unclean. More probably, they were fearful of the robbers attacking them also. Jesus surprises his listeners by saying that a Samaritan helps the wounded man, for Samaritans were implacable enemies of the ...

4540. Paying Taxes to Caeser

Luke 20:20-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... him. Their praise for Jesus’s integrity is lavish but insincere and hypocritical. Paying taxes to Caesar (20:20–26) was a volatile issue in first-century Palestine. Some Jews thought that the payment of such a tax necessarily involved compromise of their religion. Moreover, the image of the emperor on the coin was thought to be a violation of the second commandment. The questioners were probably hoping either that Jesus would disavow paying taxes and incur trouble with Pilate or that he would advocate ...

4541. The Prologue

John 1:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... from the early church, especially in Paul’s writings, and here too is an artful flowing of language and theology. The initial allusion to Genesis 1 cannot be missed (1:1). John begins by introducing Jesus as the Word (Greek logos). Here he builds on contemporary Jewish thought where the Word of God took on personal creative attributes (Gen. 1:1–30; Ps. 33:6, 9). In the New Testament period it was personified (Wisdom of Solomon 7:24–26; 18:15–16) and known by some (e.g., Philo) as the immanent power ...

4542. The Passover Meal

John 13:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... that imply the Passover has not yet happened when Jesus is crucified. 1. “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father . . . during supper . . .” (13:1–2 RSV). 2. “Some thought that, because Judas had the money box, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the feast’ . . .” (13:29 RSV). 3. “They themselves did not enter the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover” (18:28 RSV). 4 ...

4543. Jesus Prays for Himself

John 17:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... successful (17:4). Those who are chosen, who have apprehended this glory, find life (17:3); but it is a salvation strictly mediated through the Son. The Son himself possesses glory—a glory shared with the Father—and this will be reappropriated upon Christ’s return (17:5). This thought is important and draws us into the incarnational theology of John. Coming from the Father, he takes up our humanity at some expense, only to return once more to his original glory with the Father. This resembles Paul’s ...

4544. The Crucifixion

John 19:17-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 7:39; 13:31). It has also been called his “lifting up” (3:14; 8:28; 12:32, 34) inasmuch as he is returning to the Father and to his previous glory (17:1–5). Therefore, the cross is not a place of defeat or humiliation in Johannine thought. It is a further revelatory sign since it will evoke faith and create followers (12:32). If we keep this in mind, then the place of regal language (kingship) becomes clear: Christ, already crowned (19:2), is now enthroned (19:19–22). The irony of the scene fits ...

4545. Idol Feasts and the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... as the acceptance of the “cup of thanksgiving” and the “bread that we break” at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper enables a corporate and real participationor communion (Greek koinōnia) with Christ (10:16; because though many are present with individual thoughts, all “partake of the one loaf” and thus become one body [10:17]), and just as the same sense of participation or communion in the sacrificial worship going on at the altar is experienced in the life of the “people of Israel” by ...

4546. Treatise: The Efficacy of Grace over Law

Galatians 3:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 16, 18–25). The implication for the Galatians is obvious: whoever is not among “those who have faith” (3:7; as opposed to those who observe the law, 3:2, 5) is neither a child of Abraham nor a child of God. Finishing these thoughts, Paul uses an unusual expression, which personifies Scripture as being able to foresee the future when it declared concerning Abraham, “All nations will be blessed through you” (3:8). This quotation of the covenantal promise of Genesis 12:3 directs our attention to how ...

4547. Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... may imply that the Thessalonians lived out the virtues of faith, love, and hope “before our God and Father” (NKJV, NASB). However, the thought here is that their prayers are made before God, as in 3:9–10. This trilogy of virtues characterizes true Christianity (1 Thess ... sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you” (1:4). The Greek grammar connects this verse with the preceding thoughts, so there should be no paragraph break here (see NRSV, ESV). The source of the believers’ election is the love of ...

4548. Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:17--3:5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to the church (2:17–18; Acts 17:5–10). When he and his companions could no longer bear the agony and the weight of worry, they took action, with Paul in the lead (3:1; cf. 3:5): “So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.” This verse presupposes an unknown visit of Timothy and Silas to Athens while Paul was preaching there. Acts only indicates that Silas and Timothy were left in Berea, with instructions to join Paul quickly, as Paul traveled on to ...

4549. The Blood of Christ

Hebrews 9:11-28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to be that of the Day of Atonement, but Christ’s offering of himself is a transaction that transcends the earthly sphere and the potentialities of mere humans and their rituals. Though he died on a cross near Jerusalem (Heb. 13:12), his sacrifice is thought of as being offered in heaven (9:11). Text-critical considerations in 9:11 together with the author’s sustained emphasis on the futurity of salvation make the reading “the good things that are to come” (cf. 10:1) more likely than “the good ...

4550. Warning Not To Turn Away from God

Hebrews 12:14-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... terror no less the destiny of those who forsake the Lord today (Heb. 12:25, 29; see also 10:27, 30–31). Contrarily, the author is confident of better things concerning his readers, the things that are obtained by a living faith (12:22–24). The thought is similar to that of 6:9–10 and 10:39. He is persuaded that his readers are genuinely converted (the probable interpretation of Greek proserchomai, NIV “you have come to”; cf. Heb. 11:6), and thus that their situation is different from Israel’s in ...

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