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 26 to 50 of 68 results

26. Proper 8

Matthew 10:1-42, Romans 6:15-23, Psalm 13:1-6, Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... that will result in social structures, even or especially family life, because of disciples' loyalty to their master. The "normal" Jewish expectation for the coming of the Messiah was that he would bring peace. These sayings do not mean that Jesus was malevolent, but that there would be those who would reject him, his message, and in turn his disciples. Such division cuts deeply into the most personal relationships, but, nevertheless, Jesus does not change his line or accommodate those who would seek to ...

27. Proper 24

Exodus 33:12-23, Matthew 22:15-22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Psalm 99:1-9

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... the disciples of the Pharisees to question Jesus, and remarkably we learn that the Herodians are involved in the ploy. The remainder of v. 16 and v. 17 report the question put to Jesus. Verse 18 informs us of Jesus' awareness of the questioners' malevolence and how he confronted them. Then, vv. 19-21 record how Jesus turned the tables on those who would entrap him. Finally, v. 22 reports the reaction of the questioners. Significance. In writing this account Matthew gives us enough information along the way ...

28. Regret & Comfort

John 14:1-14; 1 Cor 15:8-9

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... have changed the course of a life and have left a person with a crushing burden. "I'd give anything," a man or woman says, absolutely anything, if I could take back that one day of my life." Regret. It can eat at your inward being like the most malevolent cancer, destroying by the inch and the hour. And there is no surgeon's knife, no radium or chemical that can reach it. Yet, regret can refine and improve character as only a skilled teacher can do. I venture that there are few great saints who have not ...

29. EXEGESIS: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 6:6-11

1 Peter 4:12-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Christians are called to "discipline" and counseled to "keep alert" as they confront the world (v.8). The suffering and threats encountered as disciples of Jesus come not from the Roman Empire and not from the Jewish authorities. They come from the ultimate malevolent force in the universe: the "adversary" is none other than THE Adversary, "the devil," whose entire existence is aimed against God and God's authority. 1 Peter uses yet another Hebraic image (see Ezekiel 22:25) to describe this demonic power as ...

30. Acts 14:8-18

Acts 14:8-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . So many of the Gentiles we read about in scripture are "God-fearers" and synagogue hangers-on that it is easy to forget that the vast majority of the population was caught up in worshiping a pantheon of gods - some beneficent, some malevolent, all unpredictable. Their world view was so different than that of an observant Jew or new Christian that sometimes even Paul himself was surprised by the misunderstandings that could result when these two visions intersected. After fleeing Iconium where Jews and ...

31. Acts 14:8-18

Acts 14:8-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

32. Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... v.1). This death had been brought about by humanity's natural inclination to "follow" both "the course of this world" and "the ruler of the power of the air." The "course," or more literally "the age of this world," refers to the general malevolence of the various celestial powers. In pagan cosmology, there were no such things as simply benign spirits; rather, a general animosity against humanity permeated the universe. The "prince" or "ruler" of the "power of the air" is a reference to the Devil, who ruled ...

33. Mark 13:24-37

Mark 13:24-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... light of Hebrew traditional cosmology and according to metaphorical symbolism. In Jewish thought, evil spirits supposedly ruled the stars the heavenly bodies (though note, not the heavens themselves). Thus as the stars themselves collapse and fall, these malevolent "powers of the heavens" will be shaken loose. Other interpreters insist, however, that this image isn't about celestial bodies at all. Drawing from the tradition of apocalyptic literature, the celestial bodies supposedly represent earthly rulers ...

34. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... creator-God. In Jewish apocalyptic literature the rages of the sea are specifically identified with the conflict between God and Satan. Thus the stormy sea in Mark 4:37 is much more than an uncontrollable, unpredictable action of nature. It is a malevolent expression of the power of a destructive force that stalks the created world i.e., Satan. Jesus' apparent indifference to this dangerous situation mirrors the obliviousness of another prophet, Jonah (see Jonah 1:5). But there the analogy ends. While Jonah ...

35. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... day. In Judaism the Sabbath is celebrated as the sun sets on the last workday of the week. Sunset is the beginning of a new day, and is the time to close the books on the old. Harboring anger overnight requires making room for a malevolent houseguest, hence v.27’s warning not to “make room (“topos” — literally “a place, or a room”) for the devil. As the writer is discussing what will build up a community, he warns against adding on any private space or special chamber for personal grievances ...

36. God's Plans

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Dr. Chappell said he wanted to count all the places in scripture where the phrase "but God" appeared and use them to teach divine providence, even in the face of monstrous malevolence. In Dr. Chappell's King James Bible, the phrase "but God" appears 43 times. Over and over it comes as God responds to some failure or folly and instead works a blessed outcome. The most famous of all is the one we will soon celebrate again, another ...

37. Epiphany 4

Psalm 71:1-6, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Luke 4:21-30, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... living God! Sermon Idea How many essays and sermons have people heard about love and compassion? How many brides and grooms use 1 Corinthians 13? Tsunamis and hurricanes and all natural disasters tug at our hearts and purse strings. Terrors and malevolence by humans push our anger buttons. War scenes repulse us. Poverty displays jerk our gag reflexes. Faith-based initiatives have laid societal burdens on people who take seriously 1 Corinthians 12 and 13. Where does adequate funding come from for alleviating ...

38. In Lystra and Derbe

Acts 14:8-20

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... crowd to their side because the apostles had spurned their divine honors (cf. 28:6; Gal. 1:6). Nevertheless, some persuasion was needed, and this may well have been along the lines that the two men were imposters, perhaps even that their power stemmed from some malevolent force. So, with the crowd behind them, the Jews stoned Paul, executing at last the punishment on which they had set their hearts in Iconium (v. 5). Then as a final indignity, thinking he was dead (v. 19), they dragged him out of the town ...

39. Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:17--3:5

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... –11; John 8:44; Acts 13:10; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8), the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), and the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Eph. 2:2). Like other NT writers, Paul thought of him as having real existence—as a personal, malevolent being (cf. also Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27 where he is called Beelzebub, and John 14:30, where he is called the prince of this world).

40. Doing What is Good

Titus 3:1-11

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... . 4:1–2; 2 Cor. 4:4). Because they are being led astray they become enslaved by all kinds of passions (cf. Gal. 4:8, 9; Rom. 6:6) and pleasures (interestingly, the only occurrence of this common Greek word in Paul). Furthermore, human fallenness involves us in malevolent behavior of all kinds: Like others, we lived in malice (cf. Rom. 1:29; Col. 3:8) and envy (cf. 1 Tim. 6:4; Rom. 1:29; Gal. 5:21). The self-centeredness of our sinfulness ultimately resulted in our being hated (this could mean “full of ...

41. Triumph of the Jews

Esther 9:1-19

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... To attack: In the book of Esther no ethical distinction is made between preemptive strikes and simple self-defense. The Jewish engagement is considered reactive and therefore legitimate. The phrase “seekers of harm” is used elsewhere in the Bible to describe persons with malevolent intentions (1 Sam. 24:9; Ps. 71:13, 24). The phrase “to send a hand against” is used only in Esther, twice describing the assassins (2:21; 6:2) and once describing Haman’s intent to destroy Mordecai and his people (3:6 ...

42. God and Idols

Jeremiah 10:1-16

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... ) that the false gods, represented by idols, will perish. In one sense, the gods of the nations never existed to begin with, so how can they perish? Two answers are possible. The first is that they do exist. They are not deities, but lesser and malevolent spiritual beings (the New Testament will refer to them as demons). The second answer is that even though the gods do not exist, it is their worship that will perish. In any case, it is the true Creator who deserves their worship, and this section describes ...

43. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... ” (3:5). While an explicit identity for the serpent is not given at this point, the curse pronounced against the creature (3:14 15) has transcendent implications (cf. Rom. 16:20). By the first centuries BC and AD, the serpent became linked with the malevolent figure of Satan, the devil, the great dragon. This connection is most comprehensively articulated for the Christian community in Rev. 12:9–15; 20:2. Eve acknowledged its deceptive wiles (Gen. 3:13), a point that both Jesus (John 8:44) and Paul (2 ...

44. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... consequences that grew out of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Outside the garden death becomes a part of human experience, but in a very different way than anticipated. The first generation experiences death not as a penalty (2:17) but as a malevolent force destroying the innocent (4:8, 14, 15, 23, 25). The first recorded death is inflicted by one brother against another brother. The theme of an older brother’s hostility toward a younger brother recurs throughout Genesis: Ishmael’s taunting of Isaac ...

45. Elijah and Obadiah

1 Kings 18:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... an account of a violent prophetic frenzy in the midst of a sacrificial temple ritual in Byblos, a city on the Phoenician coast to the north of Jezebel’s home town of Sidon (cf. ANET, pp. 25–29). The NT, of course, also knows of spirit possession by malevolent rather than beneficent forces, often involving violence and self-abuse (e.g., Matt. 15:21–28; Luke 8:26–39; 9:37–43), and Jesus’ own prophetic ministry was, indeed, seen as “madness” by some (e.g., John 7:14–20; 8:48–59; 10:1–21 ...

46. Negative Responses to Jesus

Luke 11:33-36, Luke 11:29-32, Luke 11:14-28

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... appellation for Satan appears in the Synoptic Gospels as well as in the pseudepigraphic Testament of Solomon (first to third century AD?), where he is referred to as the “ruler of demons” (3:1–6; 4:2; 6:1–8). In biblical thought Satan is a malevolent power, but never on a level of authority equal to God. Interpretive Insights 11:14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. The focus of attention in this passage is not on the actual exorcism but rather on the controversy for which it provides ...

47. Failure to Enter the Land

Num 13:1–14:9

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... guided by God. God directs Moses to send the scouts into the land (Num. 13:1–3), and Joshua and Caleb correctly understand that God would bring them victory over mighty enemies (Num. 14:8–9). But God’s actions can seem mysterious or even malevolent. To the people, God seems intent on killing them (Num. 14:3). The difference in perspective is faith: Joshua and Caleb view God positively through the lens of faith, the people negatively through the lens of unbelief. The importance of faith in God is also ...

48. “The King Rejoices in Your Strength, Lord”

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... future “and were, perhaps, addressed to the king by a prophet or priest participating in the liturgy.”[8] While 21:1–6 constitutes the recognition of God’s blessings on the king (a fulfillment of 20:1–5), 21:8–13 turns to the malevolent outcome of the king’s engagement of his enemies, but all brought about by Yahweh’s own power, indicated by the second person (“you”). 21:9 When you appear for battle. Hakham insists that the word “appear” (noun paneka; lit., “your face”) bears ...

49. Naboth's

1 Kings 21:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... on Naboth—does he realize that Naboth is simply following the law?—but when he is met by Jezebel (21:5–7) we immediately realize that she is not beholden to Israelite law in the same way. Her reaction to the situation again shows her malevolence, but it is unclear whether Ahab expected this kind of response and that his Sidonian wife would concoct a scheme. Regardless, Jezebel’s plan of writing deadly letters (21:8–16) evokes poignant memories of David’s dispatching of Uriah back in 2 Samuel 11 ...

50. The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit

Mark 9:14-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the disciples, for inability is not a fault. His exasperation at the crowd (9:19), however, implies more serious problems of misunderstanding and hardness of heart. In recounting the boy’s condition, the father declares his own heart. At the sight of Jesus, the malevolent spirit convulses the boy, while his father cries to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (9:22). So inseparable is the father’s desperation from his son’s condition that he begs for help and compassion ...

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