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

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476. Who Is Isaiah’s Servant?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Ken Lentz

A man had three small children, all three old enough to enjoy the activities of Halloween. A coworker at the office of the father volunteered to visit his home on trick or treat night and bring sweets for the kids. The father's colleague appeared at the door dressed up as "the little green man," with an ugly green face and long, knotted, twisted hands protruding from a long coat that effectively disguised the identity of Daddy's friend. At the appearance of the mysterious stranger in the entryway of the ...

477. The Testimony of a Good Conscience

1 Tim 1:19

Illustration

C.F.H. Henry

The glory of a good person is the testimony of a good conscience. A good conscience is able to bear very much and is very cheerful in adversities. An evil conscience is always fearful and unquiet. Never rejoice except when you have done well. You shall rest sweetly if your heart does not accuse you. Sinners never have true joy or feel inward peace, because 'there is no peace for the wicked,' says the Lord (Isaiah 57:21). The glory of the good is in their consciences, and not in the tongues of others, The ...

478. Jesus Heals Body and Soul

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Two of our greatest presidents were born in February, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. One of the things I love about Lincoln was his sense of humor. Abe Lincoln laughed at himself, and especially at his appearance. He was reportedly a very plain looking man. I particularly like one story that Lincoln told on himself. He said, “Sometimes I feel like the ugly man who met an old woman traveling through a forest. “The old woman said, ‘You’re the ugliest man I ever saw.’ “‘I can’t help it,’ the ugly man ...

479. Concluding Exhortations

Hebrews 13:1-25

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

A Call to Ethical Living The author has concluded the main part of his epistle, having argued his points with convincing forcefulness, and now turns to various matters he desires to mention before concluding. chapter 13, therefore, is like an appendix. This is not to say, however, that the material in this chapter is unrelated to the main part of the epistle. Indeed, some of the author’s main concerns are again touched upon here, but in a somewhat different way, fleetingly, in order to bring out the ...

480. The Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Writer’s Purpose Restated 3:1 After his lengthy tirade against the false teachers and their perverted life-style so dangerous to the well being of his readers, Peter turns—one senses, with warm relief—to address his dear friends directly. He now reverts to his opening exhortation to them to foster their spiritual life (1:5–8). This is now my second letter to you, he declares, although whether he means 1 Peter or some other letter, now lost, is uncertain. Since Peter is evidently not able to visit his ...

481. The Greatness of Mordecai

Esther 10:1-3

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

Epilogue: Mordecai’s Greatness: The final chapter of Esther, which says nothing about Esther, is a tribute to the leadership of Mordecai. It begins with an image of the vast empire under Xerxes’ control. The second in command of this imposing realm is “Mordecai the Jew.” He has proven that a Jew in the Diaspora can serve his king and his people well. The book of Esther closes with a triumphant note of public vindication for the Jews and personal exoneration for Mordecai, their representative leader. If we ...

482. Blemished Sacrifices and Admonition for the Priests

Malachi 1:6-14, Malachi 2:1-9

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

Reverence for God’s Name: The second speech continues the theme of family relationships and domestic life as a metaphor for Israel’s life with God. Verse 6 introduces the Lord as a father figure and master of a patriarchal household. By the contempt they have shown for the Lord’s table and the food placed on it, the priests have fouled their own home, hurt the other family members, and brought the name of the Lord, their father and master, into disrepute. Yet an opportunity for restoration and renewal ...

483. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Prescript The prescript, or introductory salutation, of an ancient letter regularly contained three elements: (a) the name of the sender or senders; (b) the name of the recipient or recipients, and (c) a word of greeting or good wishes. Examples abound from letters of the New Testament period, in Greek and in Latin, both literary and nonliterary; earlier examples are the extracts from the official correspondence of the Persian court quoted in the book of Ezra; compare Ezra 7:12, “Artaxerxes, king of kings ...

484. Fear God

Isaiah 8:11-22

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Isaiah’s Significance, and the Fall of Darkness: We come to the close of the material that focuses on the crisis presented by the pressure of the northern allies (6:1–9:7). Isaiah speaks further about his ministry and its significance for Judah (8:11–22) and Yahweh offers a vision of light dawning the other side of the coming darkness (9:1–7). 8:11–15 After the twin passages 7:1–25 and 8:1–10 comes a passage twinning with 6:1–13. Isaiah again tells us of Yahweh’s word to him personally and here describes ...

485. Rejecting or Responding to Jesus

Luke 10:1-24

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: How people respond to Jesus and his ministry (and to his disciples’ message) determines their spiritual destiny. Understanding the Text The mission of the seventy-two leads to reflections on the significance of Jesus’s ministry and of the mission that he now shares with his followers. As in the earlier account of Jesus’s transfiguration, we see again here that the drama being played out on the earthly level also has a supernatural dimension, both in the conflict with and the defeat of Satan (a ...

486. Turning Up the Pressure

Job 2:1-13

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Despite increased adversity, Job reasserts his complete commitment to the sovereign Lord. Understanding the Text Job 2 completes the prologue, which sets the scene for a thorough discussion of a godly response to adversity. Much of the language of 1:6–22 is repeated and intensified in 2:1–10, as the writer uses the technique of repetition with variation to build suspense and interest. When Yahweh’s words in 2:3 are compared to his earlier description of Job in 1:8, it is evident that the first ...

487. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

Daniel’s Success and Darius’s Decree (6:1-9): Big Idea: God may allow those who remain faithful to him and his word to experience jealous opposition from unbelievers in a hostile environment. Understanding the Text Daniel 6:1–28 is woven into the book’s overall literary structure in two ways. First, it advances the narrative of chapters 1–6, in which the first four focus on Nebuchadnezzar (chaps. 1–2 with historical markers and 3–4 without) and the last two show the transition from Belshazzar of Babylon to ...

488. Focusing on the Core of God’s Guidance

Deut 4:44–5:33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Applying the Decalogue: The larger context of 4:44–28:68 is Moses’s Second Sermon and involves the application of the the Decalogue. This opening section focuses on the core of God’s guidance (4:44–5:33). 4:44–49. As in Deuteronomy 1:1 and 29:1, so 4:44 introduces the next sermon with the similar rhetorical expression: “This is the law.” It begins with a summary of the story already rehearsed in chapters 1–3, a use of repetition that is not uncommon in other ancient Near Eastern narrative texts. 5:1–33. ...

489. Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

The Nature of Enthusiasm This section addresses a new topic, namely, spiritual gifts (or the spiritual gifts of the spiritual ones). The modern reader of this passage may miss simple elements of Paul’s discussion because of the distance between the worldviews of the first century and the present day. No matter what one thinks about such matters at the turn of the twenty-first century, from what Paul wrote, it is clear that he assumed the reality of extraordinary spiritual experiences and understood that ...

490. The Fulfillment of the Law

Matthew 5:17-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Ethics and the Law: Matthew’s Gospel has a didactic purpose. Special emphasis is given to the message of Jesus. One of the distinct features of Matthew’s Gospel is that the teaching of Jesus is collected into five sections. The Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7) is the first of these blocks. The others are Instructions to the Twelve (chap. 10), Parables of the Kingdom (chap. 13), Life in the Christian Community (chap. 18), and Eschatological Judgment (chaps. 23–25). Each block ...

491. But What of Lazarus?

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

There is a cave. It is a tomb. There is a stone. It must be rolled away. And strips of cloth — cloths for burial. There is weeping. There is death. Jesus had come to Bethany. Lazarus was dead. “If you had been here,” Martha said, “If you had been here.” Her understanding of Jesus was such that from the very core of her being she trusted that had he been there, her brother would not have died. Even then she trusted Jesus could still do something, though she had no real notion of what shape that “something” ...

492. The Good Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 1 Kings 19:9-18, 1 Kings 19:19-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What kind of yoke are you wearing today? Not this kind you say! Are you sure? Indeed, we may not get up in the morning and fit ourselves into a wooden harness like the one you see here –although sometimes our clothing may feel like that if we’ve gained a few pounds, no? But we all do bear a yoke. We yoke ourselves to ideas, concepts, issues, material things, relationships, belief systems. Our yokes in a sense bear the markings of those identities that we are willing to take on as our own identity, the ...

He who despises himself esteems himself as a self-despiser.

Susan Sontag

494. Seeing the Truth of Jesus

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever met someone who claims they’re not the competitive type? I personally don’t believe anyone who says this. I think we all have a competitive streak in some area whether it’s in having the nicest yard in our neighborhood, or making good grades, or baking the flakiest pie crust or having the best-behaved dog. We all want to be the best at something. We all want to be number one. It is no surprise that Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Corp., was a hugely competitive person. Author Robert X. Cringely ...

495. The Seventy “Sevens”

Daniel 9:20-27

Understanding Series

William Nelson

Daniel’s Prayer and the Seventy Weeks: Chapter 9 is unique for three reasons. First, it starts with Daniel reading a prophetic text rather than receiving a vision as in the surrounding chapters (chs. 7, 8, and 10). Second, the particular name of Israel’s God, Yahweh, is only found in this chapter (vv. 2, 4, 8, 10, 13, 14, 20). Third, most of the chapter is taken up with a prayer. Elsewhere, the author makes clear that Daniel believed in talking to God (2:18; 6:10), but only here does he record the lengthy ...

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