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 4801 to 4825 of 4944 results

4801. 1 Kings 19:9-14

1 Kings 19:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , convoluted sections of 1 Kings 19 are precisely those texts assigned for this week. Despite the scrutiny of several generations of biblical scholars, there is still little consensus about what form the original text may have had - or even what was the central concern of this unit. A quick glance at these passages reveals one of the most intrusive problems. Verse 9b begins with God's question to Elijah and is followed in v.10 by Elijah's unhesitating complaint to his Lord. Instead of responding to ...

4802. 2 Kings 4:8-17

2 Kings 4:8-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... woman and Elisha have a discussion without ever actually directly conversing. This distinctly awkward communication method serves to highlight the holy distance of the prophet. She takes no offense at this, for her own architectural design has clearly defined her concern for the prophet's ritual cleanliness. The Shunammite's happiness centers on making other people happy. Her efforts on his behalf have been so unusually hospitable that this prophet feels the need to reciprocate the gift in some way. But ...

4803. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... example. Perhaps Paul is also subtly emphasizing a kind of legitimizing authority for Christianity as a faith that, like Judaism, creates a "people." Paul then shifts his focus over to the issue of Timothy's own personal gifts. Verses 6-7 address Paul's concern that Timothy "rekindle" those gifts that he received from Paul's own hands - most likely at his ordination by Paul into a specially designated ministry. Paul's message to Timothy is that he is as responsible for the maintenance of his own generation ...

4804. Ephesians 1:11-23

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and sympathies of the people. Here in Ephesians, then, we find an unhesitating proclamation of the preeminence of the Christian God's power. The Greek term used for power in verse 19 - dunamis - is one used repeatedly in all the papyri from this region concerned with magic. Thus the ensuing discussion of power, stressing how infinitely more powerful God is than all the other pagan deities, is presented using terms known and familiar to the common people. Verse 20 brings God's power down to earth and puts it ...

4805. Colossians 1:11-20

Colossians 1:11-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is first among all created things, but rather that Christ is pre-eminent over the rest of creation and testifies to the special relationship that exists between God and Christ. Verse 18 narrows the focus of this cosmic Christ into a more predictably Pauline concern by looking at Christ in relationship to the church, as Christ the Redeemer. But verses 19-20 once more expand the role of Christ to the whole of creation "whether on earth or in heaven." Paul's surprising universal hymn of praise and thanksgiving ...

4806. Isaiah 11:1-10

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The first 39 chapters of the Book of Isaiah are commonly referred to as the work of "First Isaiah," a prophet whose writings are generally thought to be primarily concerned with judgment. But as this week's text reveals, there is far more to First Isaiah's message than a cry for judgment and punishment. Despite its several authors, the book of Isaiah presents a coherent picture of God's promise of salvation - the divine determination to loose sin's ...

4807. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by falling back on two decidedly unlikely examples - words from the Old Testament and the blatant foolishness of the Cross. For his primarily Gentile audience, enamored of Hellenistic philosophies, the weight carried by Jewish scripture was slight. For a population concerned with making as much economic and social headway as possible in the relatively fluid culture of Corinth, holding up the apparently defeatist symbol of the cross seemed stupid and self-defeating. But these are exactly the two avenues Paul ...

4808. Matthew 5:21-37

Matthew 5:21-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... parallel of these prohibitions (Mark 9:43-47), however, include an example of a "foot" which, if it causes offense, should be cut off. The "foot" or "feet" is a common Hebraic euphemism for male genitalia, indicating that sexual behavior is a part of the concerns of these texts (See Will Deming, "Mark 9:42-10:2; Matthew 5:27-32; and B.Nid.13b: A First Century Discussion of Male Sexuality," New Testament Studies 36 (1990), 130-141). Jesus' words on sexual behavior are directed toward both men and women ...

4809. Romans 5:12-19

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to the cause of the universality of death among humankind. The sin of Adam did invite death into this world. But it is each new generation's original participation in this sin that continues to keep death stalking the land. In verse 12, Paul is less concerned with fixing blame on Adam than he is with setting the scene for humanity's universal need for Christ's redemptive act. Indeed, redemption is the true focus of Paul's discussion here - not sin and death. Note that verse 12 begins with the transitional ...

4810. Genesis 12:1-4a

Genesis 12:1-4a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the other popular, ancient Near Eastern religions, the numerous "gods" behaved in highly human ways. Despite a host of divinities, these religious systems were human-centered: The gods themselves behaved as people do, with human loves, hates, concerns, grievances, reactions. Yet while these gods were highly "personified," they were deficient in meaningful personal relationships with mortal beings. Only through this new notion of a pledged, covenantal relationship forged between a human being (Abram) and a ...

4811. 1 Peter 2:19-25

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... wincing. Neither Peter nor Paul calls on the church to abolish slavery or to abandon the practice of keeping slaves. What canonical writings do say about slaves and slavery reveals that the first generation of Christians were more concerned with the slaves themselves than with the existence of that long-established institution. The Christian community reveals its revolutionary perspective on slavery by the fact that slaves are specifically addressed in scriptural texts numerous times. When "slaves" are ...

4812. 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... "the end of all things is near," and the images he invokes in the first half of today's text hold an unmistakable eschatological edge to them. Verse 12 begins with the gentle and compassionate address that he used in 2:11 "Beloved." 1 Peter has a genuine concern for these Gentile Christians. What the "beloved" are experiencing, 1 Peter now defines as a "fiery ordeal" designed "to test" them. The use of the term pyrosis suggests the image from Malachi (3:1-5; 4:1) where the "day of the Lord" is likened to a ...

4813. Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's gospel reading stretches over two separate pericopes. Each has a distinct message, and each shares some common concerns. Both are within Matthew 11 a chapter devoted to answering a single question. In 11:2, the imprisoned John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Although Jesus' first response uses positive images, ...

4814. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... lengthy 'aside' in verses 10-17 that offers the rationale for this two-tiered, teaching technique. Scholars tend to view this whole construction as an answer to a felt need within Matthew's faith community. The parables Jesus preaches openly are all concerned with the kingdom of God both its actual presence and its anticipated fulfillment. The 'explanations' offered within Jesus' private discussions focus on the horizon on what may be expected as the kingdom of God comes to its fulfillment at some future ...

4815. Romans 8:26-39

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... evolving, changing and adapting throughout our lives. The goal of this relationship is also part of God's plan a plan that is foreknown and predestined from the beginning of creation. The kind of "predestination" Paul is discussing here in verse 29 is not concerned with salvation. Rather, it is God's foreordaining of believers to be gradually conformed to the image of the Son. As Christians, we have been predestined to be shaped in the likeness of Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18). Christ, of course, as verse ...

4816. Matthew 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Matthew's conspicuous concern for ecclesiastical good health and the growth of true discipleship faith is evident throughout chapter 18. While in Mark's gospel, issues of inter-disciple relations are pared down to the argument over "Who is the greatest?" (9:33-37), Matthew crafts an entire chapter around how disciples of Christ ...

4817. Romans 14:1-12

Romans 14:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 2:6-11, where Christ's right to judge is closely related to his obedience to his role as Messiah. But if, as verse 12 suggests, our accountability is before God only, this does not mean that there is a carte blanche in existence concerning acceptable Christian behavior. This is not a case of "anything goes." In Romans 1:29-31, Paul identifies many qualities that are simply anti-Christian and thus not to be tolerated. The task left to individual believers is to discern what behaviors are genuinely ...

4818. Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Those who showed up later than at dawn did so knowing that the chances of being hired were slimmer and their expected wages would be less. It seems reasonable to conclude that the later a worker showed up at the local hiring center, the less concerned that worker was with having a job and earning a living. The suggestion made clearer by the first-hired workers' outcry is that only lazy, shiftless, unconcerned individuals would show up searching for work at five o'clock in the afternoon. No wonder the first ...

4819. Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... reign in Palestine was an odd-couple arrangement, to say the least. Yet both parties apparently did have one common interest: keeping in check the growing popularity of Jesus and his message among the common people. Besides their social and political concerns, the Pharisees may also have resented Jesus' growing popularity as a teacher, a "rabbi," for another reason. Unlike the accepted Pharisaic rabbis, Jesus had received no formal education at the feet of a Torah tutor. Granted no recognized ordination to ...

4820. Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31-46

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by the world. Accordingly, on the basis of this understanding of "the least," the whole focus of this text can be shifted. Instead of presenting general readers with the possibility of universal salvation, this text points directly to the Matthean community and their concern about venturing out into the Gentile world with the gospel. Other scholars, to be sure, argue vigorously that such is not the case at all. These exegetes point to the element of surprise voiced by those who do not know that they had ...

4821. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , do not lead nowhere. Rather, in these few verses, Paul turns his thanksgiving into a thumbnail sketch of the most basic issues confronting the Corinthians. Even the typically Pauline expression of greeting in verse 3 throws a beam of light toward the concerns addressed in the body of this letter. Paul wishes for both "grace" and "peace" to a highly contentious church. Few other congregations could be more in need of this "grace and peace" and the presence of the "Lord Jesus Christ." Together these ...

4822. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Mark originally opened his gospel by declaring "Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Indeed, Mark begins his account of Jesus' life, not by focusing on Jesus, but on the person of John the Baptist. It is John's distinct identity that most seems to concern Mark at this point. Mark draws on several different Hebrew images and pronouncements to establish correctly John the Baptist's identity and the specific role he had to play in announcing the coming Messiah. Mark firmly sets up John the Baptist as the prophet ...

4823. Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... catch that results from the ensuing fishing expedition would surely have been used to feed the restless and, by now, hungry throng of listeners. John 21 reveals that Jesus becomes known through the breaking of the bread. Luke 9:10-17 demonstrates Jesus' genuine concern for the care and well-being of the crowds that follow him. Thus, the fishing trip Jesus now calls for can be envisioned as a provisioning expedition for the crowd and an opportunity for those on the boat with him to truly see and experience ...

4824. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... climax of the first half of this parable comes in verse 24, when the overjoyed father proclaims that the son who was "dead" "is alive again," that the one who had been "lost" "is found." The son's experiences since leaving and his motivation for returning are of no concern to this father _ being alive and being found are all that matter. This is hardly the case for the elder son, who finally makes his appearance in this tale in verse 25. No one had even gone to fetch this older son from the fields where he ...

4825. Acts 5:27-32

Acts 5:27-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... reason behind the universal cry of the crowd to "crucify him" was so that the religious authorities could point to the manner of Jesus' death, invoke the Deuteronomic pronouncement and cite this as one more example of Jesus' obvious discredit. But Peter is concerned more with testifying about the wondrous good news of the Savior than he is in fixing blame for Jesus' death. In verse 31, Peter offers a profoundly succinct encapsulation of the message all Israel the Sanhedrin members included now needs to hear ...

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