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 451 to 475 of 2275 results

451. God’s Love and Ours

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

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... . Membership in God’s family means having become God’s children by God’s will (John 1:12–13). The power of the new birth is present within them as they seek to “obey his commands.” Indeed, the neuter phrase “everyone begotten by God” points to the quality and inherent power of everyone who is born of God (Brown, Epistles, pp. 541–42). Doing what is right (2:29), not continuing to practice sin (3:9; 5:18), and loving one another (4:7) also arise out of the power of the new birth. What would ...

452. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... lie arbitrarily in God’s freedom, for after the offerings God graciously spoke to Cain about how he could be accepted (v. 7). One can conclude only that God was responding to a difference in the attitudes of the brothers. The text lauds the high quality of Abel’s offering with two phrases, “the firstborn” and “the fat.” These terms convey that Abel gave the best to God; he acknowledged God’s lordship over his flock and the increase of his labor. He also anticipated the later legislation that ...

453. Parables Discourse: The “Already and Not Yet” of the Kingdom

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ). In Matthew the use of this psalm highlights that Jesus teaches in parables in line with the prophets of the past, and that, as has always been the case, it takes eyes of faith to see and interpret rightly the works of God. Without faith, there is a hidden quality to God’s revelation (see 13:12–13). 13:36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. This verse acts as a hinge in the Parables Discourse. According to 13:2, Jesus has been teaching the crowds; now he turns to teach his disciples and ...

454. Three Parables about the Unfaithfulness of the Jewish Leaders

Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 21:33-46, Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:23-27

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Jeannine K. Brown

... hunt” consists of following various cluesto locate a prize at the end of the game. Players begin with a single clue that leads them to the next clue and to the next, with the final clue leading to the treasure. This kind of game has a transactional quality to it. The person who finds all the clues first wins the prize. The game “follow the leader” is quite different. In it, the leader is the focus throughout. There is no mapping of clues to get to a prize; instead, to be successful, the players must ...

455. The Model of Jesus for Discipleship Service, Not Self-Seeking

Mark 9:33-37, Mark 9:38-41, Mark 9:42-50

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Grant R. Osborne

... salt as a preserving agent, often used to keep food fresh as well as to flavor it. Also, here it depicts the believer per se, as in the parallel Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth.” Strictly speaking, salt never loses its saltlike qualities, but this could refer to the salt from the marshes of the Dead Sea, which contained many impurities; moreover, if a farmer put too much salt on land, it became infertile. Jesus’s point was not scientific but ethical, warning that God has placed his people ...

456. Jesus Defines Himself as Lord in Contrast to the Leaders of Israel

Mark 12:41-44, Mark 12:35-40

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Grant R. Osborne

... of all we have to God? The answer is obvious, but we conveniently ignore the lesson of the widow here. She is an example of true discipleship, characterized by the sacrificial surrender of all she has to Christ. God is more concerned with our hearts (the quality of our lives) than our goods (the quantity of our lives). He will never be satisfied with our giving a “tithe” of our lives; he wants all of us. When Paul commanded, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), he did not mean that at conversion ...

457. Jesus’s Manifesto

Luke 4:14-30

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R.T. France

... suggested that they “bore witness” against him—i.e., they were hostile from the start). How has a local boy (“Joseph’s son”) turned out to be such an impressive speaker? The Greek phrase translated “gracious words” could be understood either of the quality of Jesus’s speaking or of its content: he has been speaking about the grace of God, which it is his mission to promote. 4:23 Physician, heal yourself. Jesus quotes a proverb that picks up the comment about “Joseph’s son.” If he ...

458. Marriage, Sexual Intimacy, and Spiritual Devotion

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

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Preben Vang

... the responsibility of the family concerns belonging to the married. The same holds true of “pleasing” (aresk?). Paul’s paralleling of pleasing God and pleasing the wife does not suggest that he sees them as mutually exclusive or somewhat similar in quality. The distinction is one of unitary focus versus being pulled in several directions. There is nothing wrong with being married (7:28).8 Paul’s reference to both unmarried women and virgins is not to make a sharp distinction between two groups ...

459. Many Parts, One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

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Preben Vang

... ; Joel 2:28–29).[1] The unity believers have with Christ and each other is guaranteed by the Spirit, who has made them “one body.” Furthermore, given the parallelism of 12:13 with 6:15–16, where the allusions to Genesis 2:24 are unmistakable, the quality of this union almost carries a sense of corporeality in Paul’s thinking. Analogous to a husband, who joins his wife and becomes one flesh with her, believers, who are joined by the Spirit, become one body—Christ’s body (cf. Eph. 5:28–30). 12 ...

460. Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Growth

1 Corinthians 14:1-25

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Preben Vang

... in the Spirit: it fulfills the law (Rom. 13:8, 10). Spiritual gifts gain their usefulness in the church from the Christlikeness of their recipients. In Paul’s mind, this is not an either/or proposition but an expression of the dynamic more-or-less quality of a Christ follower’s commitment to the kyrios (patron). The problem with tongues was not God’s gift but the believers’ use of the gift. They used it as a platform for pride and considered it a sign of spiritual superiority. Such an understanding ...

461. The Focus of Christian Worship

1 Corinthians 14:26-40, 1 Corinthians 14:1-25

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Preben Vang

... , it must guide these lest they become expressions that grieve or insult the Spirit (Eph. 4:30). Paul’s teaching aims to keep a balance between order and passion. Order without passion lacks the quality that confirms the presence of God’s life-giving Spirit; passion without order lacks the quality that confirms the power of God’s Christ-revealing Spirit. 3. In line with the synagogues, the Corinthian worship services were events designed to teach and educate the members (and visitors) about God’s ...

462. Resurrection and Christian Living

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

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Preben Vang

... the need for God’s direct intervention (as if his view is a mere variant of the Corinthians’ view). That it is God who actively raised Christ and who actively will raise believers becomes unquestionably clear from verse 15. Eternal life is not an inherent quality of human life (15:53; cf. 1 Tim. 6:16). 15:16–19 if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. Refuting the resurrection includes nullifying Christ’s work on the cross. Believers’ faith is empty and meaningless (15:14, 17), and ...

463. Last Encouragement and Final Greeting

1 Corinthians 16:19-24, 1 Corinthians 16:5-18

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Preben Vang

... ; cf., e.g., 1:2; Phil. 4:21; Titus 3:15).6They all belong to the same patron and thus are all connected as if in the same family. By adding the adjective “holy” to the customary “kiss” greeting, he gives it a distinct relational quality with roots in common relationship to God (see the sidebar “Holiness and Sanctification” in the unit on 1:1–3). Whatever the specific form, or whether Paul by use of this term refers to an element in the Lord’s Supper celebration, seems less significant ...

464. Message to Thyatira

Revelation 2:18-29

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J. Scott Duvall

... ve been deeply influenced by the notion of progress, we sometimes assume that we need to be doing new and different things to please God. But often what God expects is for us to hang in there by doing what we’re already doing. The four character qualities mentioned in 2:19—love and faith, service and perseverance—are central to the Christian faith. There is no need to move away from what is central even when it doesn’t seem novel or cutting edge. 3. When we dabble with false teaching, we are playing ...

465. Following God’s Leading

Num 9:15–10:10

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... it also needs the practical help of the silver trumpets (Num. 10:1–10). The trumpets sounded by the priests call tribal leaders or larger groups to the tabernacle for prayer, revelation, and worship at the festivals (vv. 3–4, 7, 10). Or, with a different quality of sound, the trumpets set the Israelite camps into formations to travel on the journey (vv. 5–6). In war the trumpet blasts serve as a prayer appealing to God for help in the battle (v. 9). So it is that Christian ministers, like the priests ...

466. Joshua Appointed as Moses’s Successor

Numbers 27:12-23

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... there) suggests that “the spirit” here is Joshua’s human spirit rather than God’s Holy Spirit (against NASB, NIVmg, ESV), though the interpretations need not be mutually exclusive: personal qualities such as wisdom and counsel can come from God’s Spirit (see Isa. 11:2). Joshua’s spirit shows the character and leadership qualities necessary to be qualified to replace Moses, including “the spirit of wisdom” (Deut. 34:9), and strength and courage (cf. Josh. 1:7, 9). The Bible says that one ...

467. Be Careful What You Ask For

1 Samuel 10:9-27

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... no hesitancy (1 Sam. 17). Historical and Cultural Background Verses 23–24 focus on Saul’s physical attributes, especially his height (cf. 9:2). This stands in marked contrast to the account of David’s anointing, where the Lord focuses on David’s inner qualities (16:7). It also suggests that the choice of Saul reflects the people’s, not the Lord’s, standard, for human beings tend to judge on such a superficial basis (see 16:6–7 and “Theological Insights” below). In the ancient Near Eastern ...

468. The Lord Chooses a New King

1 Samuel 16:14-23, 1 Samuel 16:1-13

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... 54 with 1 Sam. 31:4), suggesting that the narrator is casting Saul in a negative light by associating him with a villain from the past. 16:18 And the Lord is with him. Through the mouth of Saul’s servant, the narrator emphasizes David’s many positive qualities. Perhaps most important, the Lord is “with him,” a fact that links David with Samuel (3:19). The reality of God’s presence with David reappears in the story (18:12, 14, 28; 2 Sam. 5:10; 7:3), while it also becomes apparent that the divine ...

469. David Listens to the Voice of Wisdom

1 Samuel 25:1-44

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... rare Hebrew word (ta‘am) refers to discernment, in this case in the moral and ethical realm. Such discernment is a characteristic of the wise (Ps. 119:66; Prov. 26:16). According to Proverbs 11:22, a beautiful woman’s attractiveness is negated if this quality is absent. But Abigail is both wise and beautiful (see v. 3). 25:39 who has upheld my cause. The language used here of God’s judgment upon Nabal echoes the description of the demise of Abimelek (Judg. 9:56–57), another evildoer who acted ...

470. Job Hears the Whispers of God’s Works

Job 26:1--31:40

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Daniel J. Estes

... . Atticus Finch is the kind of man one imagines Job was. Biography: Sam Walton. While it is very common to hear the rich as a group vilified and generalized as greedy, mercenary, and lacking in generous impulses, this is a great overstatement. Those qualities can mark anyone. On the other hand, particularly well known for his philosophy of helping his employees is Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. His profit-sharing program helped those who worked for him to benefit from the store’s success. He wanted ...

471. “In the Lord I Take Refuge”

Psalm 11:1-7

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C. Hassell Bullock

... unless “holy temple” is the earthly one, which reflects God’s “heavenly throne,” a symbol of his universal authority (see also 22:3; 99:2; 123:1). Reference to God’s “eyelids” or “eyes” also appears in Jeremiah 9:18. The verb “examine” (bhn) implies testing the quality of an object, as one tests metals (Ps. 66:10; Job 23:10). Here and in 11:5 it means “to subject to close scrutiny.”2 11:5 he hates. The Hebrews thought in terms of opposites, as in Malachi 1:2–3. When the Old ...

472. “Truly My Soul Finds Rest in God”

Psalm 62:1-12

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C. Hassell Bullock

... the view that “God alone” is his hope, but he knows rather that “God alone” is the only thing left when he has considered all his options. His “God alone” position is a faith of desperation rather than our psalmist’s faith of affirmation. But the quality of such a faith, whether it grows out of desperation or affirmation, is of substantive value when it matures to trust in God alone. Only the path that leads to it is different. Thus, Psalm 62 may not strike the theme of “vanity of vanities ...

473. Hermeneutical Reflections

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... typical wisdom form of address, “my son,” which does not occur elsewhere in Ecclesiastes but is prevalent in Proverbs 1–9 and 23–24. He warns the “son” against devoting equal attention to the countless other books that are not of similar origin, quality, or benefit. The NKJV offers a different suggestion: “Be admonished by these” (i.e., the texts of 12:11), unlike the king described in Ecclesiastes 4:13. In 12:13–14 is a summary of Qoheleth’s basic message, the “bottom line” after ...

474. The King and the Maiden Banter

Song of Songs 1:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 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-female relationship merits more praise than wine. 1:5–8 · Perhaps the interjection of the harem women reminds the maiden of her visage in contrast to theirs (1:5–7). Unlike the soft and white-skinned harem ...

475. Sin and Punishment

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... lies as arrows. Equally possible and more stinging (and more in line with 9:8) is the translation that makes the lies the bow and the tongue the arrow. Out of a false person come falsehoods. In any case, lies have a lethal quality about them. Verse 4 has a clever turn of phrase: “Jacob” is synonymous with “deceiver”; hence, literally, everyone deceives (“Jacobs”) his brother.For any other nation such flagrant violation of truth and integrity would mean God’s punishment. Should Israel be spared ...

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