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 501 to 525 of 633 results

501. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... . 24:18 It was while he was making these offerings, and in particular after he had undergone the rites of purification (21:26), that they had found him in the temple. Did his accusers really think that under these circumstances he would also have been bent on desecrating the place? There was no crowd … nor … any disturbance, none, that is, of his own making. He had simply been going about his legitimate business. 24:19 But some Jews from the province of Asia—NIV supplies the verb are to complete the ...

502. Paul Before Agrippa

Acts 25:23--26:32

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... to the narrative of his early life. His purpose was still to establish his credentials (see disc. on vv. 4ff.) and perhaps to make the point also that it had taken the most compelling of reasons to make him other than the zealous Jew he had been, bent on persecuting the church. Here a note of shame creeps into the narrative. By the emphasis of the opening words of verse 9 (in the Greek), Paul showed that he now regarded his opposition to Jesus as an act of utter self-delusion. The emphatic I of verse ...

503. Paul’s Second Visit to the Jerusalem Church

Galatians 2:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... poverty was an ideal that signified piety and purity. For instance, in the War Scroll we find the prophecy that God will “deliver into the hands of the poor the enemies from all the lands, to humble the mighty of the peoples by the hand of those bent to the dust” (11.9–13; quoted from G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English [New York: Penguin, 1984], p. 117). See also Commentary on Habakkuk 12.3, 6, 10; Rule of the Blessings 5.21. The Jerusalem Jewish Christians may have been appropriating for ...

504. The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-20

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... position (stand your ground). Moule reminds readers that the picture of the battle in Ephesians is not a “march” but “the holding of the fortress of the soul” (p. 151). Here, “The scene is filled with the marshalled host of the Evil One, bent upon dislodging the soul, and the Church, from the one possible vantage-ground of life and power—union and communion with their Lord” (p. 154). 6:14 Having discussed the benefits and the need for preparedness, the apostle finally describes the individual ...

505. Rules for Christian Households

Colossians 3:18-4:1

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... reveals that the writers of the NT did not take a negative attitude toward the practice of slavery in the ancient world; nor did they attempt to abolish it. Several factors may lie behind their approach: First, Christianity was not a revolutionary movement bent on destroying the existing world order. To do so would have been suicidal, for what effect would a small and powerless group of Christians have had upon the might of Rome? Any attempt at revolution would have been met with severe persecution and ...

506. Submission to Rulers and Masters

1 Peter 2:13-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... 88. Considerate (epieikēs): gentle, fair; in the moral sense, reasonable; applied to authorities, lenient, equitable; applied to God, it refers to his gracious forbearance (1 Kings 12:22–24; Ps. 85:5). Harsh translates skolios, which strictly speaking means crooked, bent; metaphorically, awkward to deal with (“you never know which way he is going to turn”). Used again by Peter in his address in Acts 2:40 (“this corrupt generation”). 2:19 Commendable: “a fine thing” (NEB). The Greek is charis ...

507. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 26:1-28

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... return). There is no need to postulate an inflexible law of act/consequence, as if the direct agency of God has to be excluded. The NIV translates the verbs in the indicative. This can be justified by the context of verses 23–26, which is bent upon punishment for the malicious person. Even if one knows that the action in verse 27 is not inevitable, it expresses a kind of “poetic justice.” 26:28 Synonymous parallelism. Those it hurts is a doubtful translation of “its oppressed ones,” but there is ...

508. Habakkuk’s Complaint

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... anyone. The parallel line so that justice is perverted then restates verse 4a, repeating the noun but introducing to close the subsection a new verb that comes only here in the OT (ʿaqal). Decision-making authority does go out, but it goes out twisted, crooked, bent out of shape. And Yahweh does not respond to pleas about this iniquitous state of affairs. Additional Notes 1:2–4 The portrayal of this argument between prophet and God would not be affected if Hab. 1:2–4 protests about the Assyrians, so ...

509. Does Jesus Care?

Luke 7:11-17

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... age is to count the rings--one for each year. You can tell some other things about the tree this way. Wider rings may mean that the tree got more rainfall those years than others. Rings that are wider on one side than the other probably mean that the tree bent in one direction or another as it grew. Sometimes you will encounter scars on the tree's rings. This means that the tree might have been damaged by fire that year. From its rings you can tell if the tree had a good year or a bad year. All of ...

510. Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... that it was truly Jacob in his presence? When would Esau return? Isaac also remained somewhat skeptical. Having finished eating, he asked Jacob to come near and kiss him, wanting further evidence that this was Esau before pronouncing the blessing. When Jacob bent over, Isaac smelled his clothes; being Esau’s, they smelled of the field, not the barnyard. Sufficiently persuaded that this person was Esau, Isaac spoke his patriarchal blessing. 27:27–29 In his blessing Isaac began by referring to his son’s ...

511. Elijah and Obadiah

1 Kings 18:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... an absolute absence of water? The authors clearly do not elsewhere in the narrative presuppose an absolute absence of water throughout the land (cf. 18:4–5, 13, 41–42), and they are certainly aware that there is water in the sea (18:43ff.). 18:42 Bent down . . . face between his knees: The significance of the action is not made clear in the text. Is Elijah simply exhausted? Or is he praying for rain (as Jas. 5:13–18 might imply, in its exhortation to Christians to pray, like Elijah, with faith)? 18 ...

512. Woe to the Obstinate Nation

Isaiah 30:1-33

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... word occurs elsewhere only in Proverbs, so once again Isaiah is asking his hearers to take seriously that strand of Scripture to which they were in any case inclined, and to note that it combines a moral commitment with a pragmatic bent. Fraudulence and deceit involve a cynicism that seems in radical tension with anything to do with relationships, yet oddly they presuppose trust (NIV relied on) and dependence—fundamental features of relationships. Once again blasphemy is involved. Instead of trusting and ...

513. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... for their freedom. Jesus’s purpose here is to show everyone the nature of the forces arrayed against them. The thrust of “Legion” is not the exact number of the soldiers but rather the large number (“we are many”) and the image of a hostile army bent on destruction.6It is possible also that the name is meant to picture the demons (like Rome in Palestine) occupying the man. 5:12 Send us among the pigs. The presence of a large herd of unclean pigs provides a perfect abode for “unclean spirits ...

514. The Path of Discipleship

Mark 8:31--9:1

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... denial of self. The very meaning of discipleship centers on the absence of self and the centrality of Christ in every area of life. However, we must separate the denial of self from self-denial. The latter involves refusing certain aspects of life, an ascetic bent that rejects certain experiences and pleasures in life. That can be important, but what Christ was talking about in 8:34 is the ascendancy of self over him. The worship of self is basic idolatry, and Jesus demands to be in absolute control of our ...

515. God and Mammon

Luke 16:16-18, Luke 16:1-15

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... Mammon was more caught up with the streets of gold than with the Divine (book 1, lines 678–90): Mammon led them on, Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fell From Heav’n, for ev’n in Heav’n his looks and thoughts Were always downward bent, admiring more The riches of Heav’n’s pavement, trodden gold, Than aught divine or holy else enjoyed In vision beatific: by him first Men also, and by his suggestion taught, Ransacked the centre, and with impious hands Rifled the bowels of their mother Earth ...

516. The Coming of the King

Luke 19:45-48, Luke 19:28-44

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... , the cowboy hero (such as in the movies Shane or Pale Rider) or lawman (such as Wyatt Earp) often find themselves in situations beset by oppression and injustice, often at the hands of powerful ranchers or a group of villains. These heroes are bent on righteousness above all and often show tremendous courage, defying the forces arrayed against them. Shane, the main character in a movie and a popular novel by that name, is often seen as a Christ-type. Westerns could provide useful parallels to Jesus ...

517. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... in these well-known films (or others like them) and then ask the audience if they think that Christ could forgive a cannibal (The Silence of the Lambs [1991]), a psychopathic killer (No Country for Old Men [2007]), a human being relentlessly bent on destruction (The Dark Knight [2008]). In these films (widely viewed by young people, especially The Dark Knight) the lead characters are purely evil. The much earlier one, The Silence of the Lambs, is included because of the public’s widespread knowledge ...

518. Exile for National Israel, Restoration for Spiritual Israel

Romans 11:1-10

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... and Isaiah’s worst fear has come true. Israel is spiritually blind to God’s law, and that is why they are about to be judged and sent into exile—the covenant curses. 11:9–10 “May their table 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 ...

519. Message to Laodicea

Revelation 3:14-22

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... t want to hear what is in their long-term best interest, they need someone to speak truth into their life. When people are hurting and broken and aware of their need of God, Jesus speaks kindly and compassionately to them. But when people are bent on self-reliance, Jesus shocks them through rebuke and discipline in order that they may recognize their need of God. To demonstrate love as his true motive, Jesus offers renewed fellowship as the goal of his chastisement. He doesn’t rebuke in order to destroy ...

520. The Four Horsemen

Revelation 6:1-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... living creature command the first horse to come forth (cf. the “voice like thunder” in Rev. 14:2; 19:6). 6:2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. Although Jesus rides a white horse later in the book (19:11), the immediate context demands that this rider be connected to the other three horsemen as a symbol of divine judgment. This white horse has a bow and a crown and rides out to conquer, an ...

521. The New Heaven and New Earth

Revelation 21:1-27

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... beautiful. Quote: “Is This Life All There Is? Why Heaven Is Worth the Wait,” by Joni Eareckson Tada. Eareckson Tada shares this powerful, personal reflection on the wonder of the new creation: I still can hardly believe that I—with atrophied muscles, shriveled, bent fingers, and no feeling from the shoulders down—will one day have a new, dazzling body that’s in wonderful working order and clothed in righteousness. Not to mention, I’ll also have a mind that doesn’t want to resign or quit ...

522. David Runs for His Life—Again

2 Samuel 15:13-37

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... the action necessary to use his gift greatly in the years that follow. When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest he returning chide; “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best ...

523. The Lord Chooses a Prophet

1 Sam 3:1--4:1

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... Beersheba” (v. 20) recognizes Samuel, not Eli, as the Lord’s chosen servant through whom he reveals his word to Israel. From this time forward, Samuel, not Eli, will lead Israel. The text makes it clear that Samuel does not represent a minority faction bent on imposing its will on the nation. Interpretive Insights 3:2 he could barely see. Eli’s blindness mirrors the situation in Israel under his and his sons’ leadership; prophetic visions are rare (v. 1). By way of contrast, Samuel is depicted as ...

524. Saul on the Rampage

1 Samuel 22:6-23

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... David by name (cf. 20:27–28). The inclusion of Ahimelek’s defense is important to the narrator’s strategy, for he, like Jonathan, testifies to David’s loyalty to Saul (cf. 19:4–5). 22:17 kill the priests of the Lord. Once again the narrator depicts Saul as bent on murder. In addition to his attempts on David’s life (see esp. 18:11; 19:1–2, 10–11, 15), twice Saul has tried to kill his own son (14:44; 20:33), the second time because of his loyalty to David. As noted above, that attempt on ...

525. Job Considers a Legal Dispute with God

Job 9:1–10:22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... he has fashioned prompts the psalmist to turn toward God to appeal for his intervention during a time of affliction (Ps. 139:19–22). By contrast, Job’s experience of adversity has caused him to recoil from the God who fashioned him but who now seems bent on destroying him. Teaching the Text When people are upset about an injustice, they may well rehearse in their minds what they would say if given the opportunity to speak to someone who could make a difference. That is what Job does in chapter 10, as ...

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