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 4901 to 4925 of 5000 results

4901. God’s Saving Righteousness and the Restoration of Israel

Romans 3:21-31

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... answer is that at the cross of Jesus Christ, the judging righteousness of God (his holiness) is reconciled to God's saving righteousness (his mercy) such that God is at once both just and the justifier of him whose faith is in Jesus. Understanding the Text Romans 1:17–18 signaled two aspects of divine righteousness: saving righteousness and judging righteousness. Paul has dealt with the latter in 1:19–3:20, demonstrating that even attempting to obey the law brings about divine wrath and spiritual exile ...

4902. Adam, the Law, and the Curse of the Covenant

Romans 5:12-21

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... that Christ has inaugurated the new humanity, a blessing of the new covenant. In doing so, Christ has defeated the sin and death that characterized the old humanity and the old covenant. Christ has secured the life of the new covenant for those who believe in him. Understanding the Text Romans 5:15–21 qualifies Paul’s concluding statement in 5:14 that Adam is a type1of Christ. Thus, on the one hand, Adam is a type of Christ in that his action, like Christ’s, has had a universal impact (v. 14). On the ...

4903. The Christian’s New Dominion: Dedicated to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... 6:15–23: the law of Moses cannot rescue from sin, which leads to death, but the grace of God in Christ engenders righteousness, which leads to eternal life. The new component of this contrast in 6:15–23 is Paul’s usage of the metaphor of slavery. Understanding the Text Romans 6:15–23 continues Paul’s enumeration, begun in 6:1–14, of the blessings of the new dominion as a part of the new covenant. Romans 6:1–14 was devoted to the believer’s deliverance from the law, sin, and death by virtue ...

4904. Exile for National Israel, Restoration for Spiritual Israel

Romans 11:1-10

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... become a snare . . . and their backs be bent forever.” Here Paul quotes from the Writings, at Psalm 69:22–23. The reference is to King David’s enemies, who one day will be judged by God for betraying David. Psalm 69 played a prominent role in the early Christians’ understanding of Jesus (cf. Mark 3:21; 15:23; Luke 13:35; John 2:17; 15:25; Acts 1:20; Rom. 15:3; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 16:1). The nuance here is that Jesus, the true Davidic king, has been betrayed by his people Israel. Consequently, God ...

4905. The Kindness and Sternness of God

Romans 11:11-24

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... hopes, will stir Jews to jealousy and thus to accept their Messiah. God is showing kindness to Gentiles but sternness to Jews who have not accepted the Messiah. In the future, however, God will show kindness to Israel but sternness to Gentiles who fall into unbelief. Understanding the Text Romans 11:11 picks up the theme of 11:1. Has God finished with Israel? Verses 1–10 provided Paul’s first answer to that question: no, because not all of Israel has rejected the Messiah; that is to say, the remnant has ...

4906. The Mystery and Mercy of God

Romans 11:25-32

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... existing in a created order to whose laws we freely respond, then what he sees on the surface will be of interest to him only as he can go through it into an experience of mystery itself. . . . Such a writer will be interested in what we don’t understand rather than in what we do.9 The mercy of God is an unending reality. Bible: The greatest display of mercy in the Old Testament is that of David to Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9. The customary practice of victorious kings was to kill the descendants of the ...

4907. The New-Covenant Ethic of Love

Romans 12:9-21

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... . Love should be shown toward God, fellow believers, and even nonbelievers who persecute Christians. Thus, Paul’s ethic continues the radical call by Jesus to his disciples to love one another. To love others is to sacrificially accept the new-covenant stipulation to love. Understanding the Text Romans 12:9–21 continues the theme of being a living sacrifice (12:1–2) by loving others. Romans 12:9 and 12:21 form an inclusio for the intervening verses: to love is to avoid evil and cling to good. Although ...

4908. God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... . He provides two reasons why believers should do so: fear of punishment for wrongdoing, and obedience for conscience’s sake. The specific form that this submission should take is paying taxes. Thus, obeying the authorities is another expression of being a living sacrifice to God. Understanding the Text Even though Romans 13:1–7 is a part of general Christian exhortation (cf. 1 Tim. 2:1–3; 1 Pet. 2:13–17) and therefore transcends the immediate context, it is connected to 12:9–21 and 13:8–14 and ...

4909. Paul the Apostle of the New Covenant to the Gentiles

Romans 15:14-22

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... and thus hastening the parousia. Verses 20–21 spell out the principle of Paul’s calling. He was a pioneer for the gospel. He therefore did not duplicate the efforts of other apostles in areas already reached for Christ. It may be that we are to understand Paul to say here that he reached out to Gentiles while leaving Peter and the other apostles to reach out to Jews (see Gal. 2:7–8). Paul roots his call to the Gentiles in Isaiah 52:15. Like the Suffering Servant, Paul will proclaim the goodness ...

4910. Christian Maturity

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... with ancient rhetorical conventions,[1] and he can use rhetoric as effectively as anyone—even to chastise those who consider themselves spiritually mature (teleiois [2:6]). Since the Corinthians are claiming allegiance to various human leaders, their understanding of maturity demonstrates more influence from the popular Corinthian sophists than from God’s Spirit.[2] They may claim grand spiritual experiences, but their behavior proves they have not grasped God’s wisdom. Spiritually speaking, they are ...

4911. Separation of Faith and Life

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... ”) will inherit the kingdom of God. Pornoi often references premarital sex; moichoi includes extramarital sex and incest. The person in question here fits under both terms. The inner workings of ancient Roman societal structures are intricate and not immediately understandable to modern Western society. In an honor-shame society, a husband, or a father, may be hesitant to bring marital matters to court, in order to avoid public humiliation. It could expose him as an incompetent paterfamilias (the head of ...

4912. Trust versus Self-Reliance

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... mature must be careful not to confuse trust in God’s grace with self-reliance. Rather than putting God’s forgiveness to the test, they should focus on passing God’s test, which will reveal that their primary and most trusted relationship is with him. Understanding the Text The key verse in this unit is verse 12: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” Using an example from the Hebrew Scriptures, Paul compares the self-confidence of the “strong” (chap. 9) to ...

4913. Imitation and Role Modeling

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... coupled with Paul’s endearing relational reminder “my dear friends” gives the opening command to flee idolatry a passionate, pastoral tone. Paul is not dealing with a minor issue but is touching on the core of the Christ community’s covenantal understanding. The parallel structure of the command to “flee idolatry” with “flee from sexual immorality” in 6:18 brings a comprehensive quality to this text. I speak to sensible people. What Paul says should be obvious, and he relies on their ability ...

4914. The Focus of Christian Worship

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

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... analogous to the situation in Isaiah’s context. God uses foreign tongues to speak to unbelievers, and intelligible prophecy to speak to believers. In Paul’s argument, tongues are God’s negative sign to expose unbelievers’ alienation from God (they do not understand God), while prophecy is God’s positive sign[3] to reveal his gracious forgiveness and restoration offered to those who believe.[4] 14:23–25 if the whole church comes together. Paul refers to the “whole church” only here and in ...

4915. John’s Introductory Vision The Risen and Glorified Christ

Revelation 1:9-20

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... , by John Calvin. Calvin once wrote that “man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.”9In other words, when we see God, we come to understand ourselves better, opening the door to repentance, inspiration, and transformation. Worship opens our eyes once again to the wonder and majesty of the God we serve. Like nothing else, a vision of the Lord can move us out into mission. Isaiah had a ...

4916. Message to Ephesus

Revelation 2:1-7

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... word, people will likely benefit from learning how memory can facilitate repentance and how an examination of resulting behavior can gauge its authenticity. One primary caution is in order. Many people in our day have a cultural, rather than a biblical, understanding of love, confusing it with sentimentality or merely being nice. When we teach about the importance of returning to love and defending truth in love, we should carefully define and clarify what love is and isn’t (see 1 Cor. 13). Otherwise ...

4917. Message to Smyrna

Revelation 2:8-11

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... obedience. 3. Jesus comforts his suffering people. It’s important not to miss the encouragement Christ gives to his church in this message. First, we can take comfort in who he is—the Lord of life (v. 8). Second, we know that he knows and understands our plight (v. 9a). Third, he acknowledges the spiritual state of those who persecute his people (v. 9b). Fourth, he encourages us not to fear, a theme found throughout Scripture (v. 10a). Fifth, although the devil is the prime persecutor, God is still in ...

4918. Message to Laodicea

Revelation 3:14-22

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... Bible. What happened in Laodicea can easily happen in the churches today, leading us to trust more in the gifts and to ignore the Giver. Teaching the Text 1. Jesus is the only reliable source of life. This text offers an ideal place to help people understand how they can actually grow and change. In their book How People Grow, Henry Cloud and John Townsend elaborate on what the Bible says about this process. At its core is the recognition that we change not simply because we are supposed to (i.e., trying ...

4919. Worthy Is the Lamb Who Was Slain

Revelation 5:1-14

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... the phoenix as a symbol of Christ. In Jesus, they met the Savior who fulfilled and surpassed any myth devised by the imagination! God and the Lamb Are Worthy of Worship Big Idea: God and the Lamb are worthy of worship for devising and accomplishing the redemptive plan. Understanding the Text After the Lamb takes the scroll from the hand of God in 5:7, the focus shifts to heavenly worship in 5:8–14. The falling down of the elders in 5:8 and 5:14 brackets the unit. The Lamb’s worthiness, demonstrated at ...

4920. The Four Horsemen

Revelation 6:1-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... hearts will be fulfilled. The Fifth and Sixth Seals Big Idea: The plea by the martyrs to judge evil and avenge their blood will be answered when God’s people complete their suffering and God and the Lamb pour out their wrath on the wicked world. Understanding the Text The seal judgments of Revelation 6 flow directly out of the throne-room vision of Revelation 4–5, as Jesus, the worthy one, begins to open the scroll by breaking its seals. The first four seals (6:1–8) function as preliminary judgments ...

4921. Faithful Witnesses Who Proclaim God’s Word

Revelation 11:1-14

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... could be supplemented by having a chair on stage to serve as the seat in your “sports car” and, if possible, displaying a beautiful automobile on the screen.) God promises to rescue us from the greatest enemy—death. Human Experience: Every person understands what it means to face an uncertain, frightening, or even threatening situation. In moments like these, it is easy to let fear dominate, but we have a powerful comfort in the gospel. Sometimes, it helps simply to ask, “What’s the worst ...

4922. The Seventh Trumpet (Third Woe)

Revelation 11:15-19

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... in our common cry: Even so, come Lord Jesus!5 We should live faithfully, aware that we will one day give an account to God. News: We live in a day of investments gone wrong. In stories like the Bernie Madoff scandal, we understand the reality of accountability. Countless lives were impacted when this white-collar criminal used his position of responsibility to build a Ponzi scheme that eventually defrauded investors of $18 billion dollars. For his crimes, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison. The ...

4923. The Beast from the Sea (Antichrist)

Revelation 13:1b-10

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... had not actually died. Rather, he had escaped to the east and would one day come back with an army to return to power. Others believed that Nero had died and would rise from the dead (the Nero redivivus myth). The most viable attempts to understand how this text communicates beyond the first century include (1) the repeated rise of pagan political, military, and economic powers that oppose God and his people, and (2) the death and apparent resurrection of the antichrist himself at the end of the age. 13:3b ...

4924. The Lamb and the 144,000

Revelation 14:1-5

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... blameless. The redeemed are now described in terms of their character and behavior. First, they are virgins. On the surface it appears that John is condemning both women and marriage, but he is speaking figuratively about spiritual truths. Given the symbolic understanding of the 144,000, the contrast in Revelation between godly women and evil women (e.g., the great prostitute Babylon/Rome vs. the bride of Christ), and the enormous problems associated with a literal reading, the term “virgins” should be ...

4925. Proclamations of Judgment and Reward

Revelation 14:6-13

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... a year, the groom would focus on preparing a home for his future bride. That period between betrothal and wedding was a season of preparation. During an engagement, our priorities begin to shift. We no longer make decisions as independent agents. We understand that our time, living space, finances, and location are tied to another person. But these sacrifices in personal autonomy are made easy by the anticipation of a coming joyous union. In the same way, our anticipation of Jesus’s return should lead ...

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