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 526 to 550 of 633 results

526. Yahweh Speaks as the Master Teacher

Job 38:1--41:34

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... human concerns, so humans like Job are not in a position to speak definitively about how Yahweh must govern his world. 39:13–18 she cares not that her labor was in vain. Yahweh’s description of the ostrich in 39:13–18 reveals a bird that seems so bent on inefficiency that it makes us laugh.1The mother ostrich lays her eggs in the sand, which can place her young at risk (39:14–15; cf. Lam. 4:3). She is easily distracted, so she appears to neglect her young (39:16), although this could also be ...

527. “Their Violence Comes Down on Their Own Heads”

Psalm 7:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... when the victims appeal to his name and reputation. “Arise,” “rise up,” “awake,” and “decree justice” (7:6) are imperatives that engage the divine will in prayer, and God stands ready like a warrior whose sword is sharpened, his bow bent, and his arrows kindled, to accomplish his purposes against evil. While this may sound like a radical program to some, radical evil may require radical solutions, and David is not timid about prescribing them. The preacher/teacher may engage this thought to ...

528. “Your Love, Lord, Reaches to the Heavens, Your Faithfulness to the Skies”

Psalm 36:1-12

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... 3 explains, “the words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful.” The process begins in their self-deception, is expressed in their words, and perverts their actions (“they fail to act wisely or do good,” 36:3), culminating in a life totally bent to their wicked way of thinking (“on their beds” and “a sinful course [or “way”],” 36:4a, b).[7] The final disposition, parallel to their failure to “do good,” is that they “do not reject what is wrong” (36:4c). The progression then ...

529. “Within Your Temple, O God, We Meditate on Your Unfailing Love”

Psalm 48:1-14

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... and its idyllic location in Zion are both a memory and a present reality. Even Psalm 45, while not focused on Jerusalem as such, is set in this city. Psalm 48 gives us a picture of the beauty of Zion, with its impenetrable fortresses that can repel kings bent on conquest and send them in terrorized retreat (48:4–6). Yet those who look on the city as the place where the Lord dwells see the beauty of “its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth” (48:2), the security of her towers and citadels, and a ...

530. Claiming Hope

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

James L. Killen

... ourselves. It may happen when our world seems to be falling apart. When the economy is failing or when everything seems to be shallow. When the political processes that we have trusted seem to be failing, or when the world seems to be full of violence and bent on self-destruction. In certain situations, we become aware of our need to recover hope. There are some of us who feel a deep need for some belief that things can be better, for ourselves, for those whom we love, and for our world. The truth is ...

531. David, Nabal, Abigail

1 Samuel 25:1-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... men he has sent, he refuses to give him anything, calling David a nobody, a deserter. News of Nabal’s insulting remarks spurs David to action. If Nabal will not pay willingly, David will take his pay by force and kill Nabal’s family in the process. Bent on revenge, David sets out with four hundred men. Nabal has an intelligent and beautiful wife named Abigail who is wiser than her stingy husband (25:14–22). When she hears what Nabal has said to David, she follows the advice of one of the servants and ...

532. Trouble from the North

Jeremiah 4:5-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... four mentions of life (humanity, birds, fruitful land, cities). Behind that army is God’s wrath. God is fully committed to this action of judgment and will not be dissuaded. This description of devastation is bracketed by expressions of pain and hurt. Jeremiah is bent over with pain, as with prophetic perception he hears the war trumpet and sees the war flag. The invaders are like murderers who will strangle Judah to death. God complains that his people are as those who have not known (i.e., experienced ...

533. To Abide in Christ Is to Attain Victory over Sin

1 John 2:28--3:10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of options, he seeks to bolster believers’ commitments to right living commensurate with their right believing. Those who are born of God do not sin because the “seed” of God abides in them (3:9). To be born of God is to eradicate the human bent toward sinning. Parallel to the stories in the Gospel, where a person’s response to the revealer exposed whether one was rooted in light or darkness (John 3:18–21), here the measure of one’s spiritual condition is whether that person does what is ...

534. Do You Have Your Key Ready?

John 20:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... of their homes. Mary was alone now with her grief. She stood weeping quietly just outside the door of the tomb. In vain desperation she stooped and allowed herself one last look down inside the burial vault. Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb. Imagine her dismay when she saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away ...

535. Dying To Live

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... to be baptized by immersion. This is a problem with a church which only has a bird-bath baptismal font. Still, the priest agreed and came up with a 36-gallon garbage can decorated with ivy. It was not pretty, but it suited the purpose. When the priest bent down to pick Ellen up, she screamed, “Don’t do it!” She planted her feet against the garbage can, causing the water to spill on the floor. Again, she screamed, “Don’t do it!” Taylor does not remember whether or not Ellen did it, but she can ...

536. A Vexing Vision

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... we were studying was Jesus’ plea, “Love your enemies; do good to those who persecute you.” As we began our discussion of the verse, a lady in the back of the room stood up and exclaimed, “That’s stupid! I think that is just stupid!” Then she bent down, grabbed her black, leather-bound King James Bible, stormed out of the room, slammed the door behind her, and sat in the sanctuary and waited for worship to begin. Many of us are prepared to love the lovable, but we are not prepared to love the ...

537. Good to Great

Ezekiel 45:3-5

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... will call and send letters asking for money and we feel good about supporting them. We will go to charity events and cheerfully give to worthy initiatives. But the moment a preacher gets up and asks people to give to God and his church people get all bent out of shape. Help me understand this logic! I will never apologize for asking you to give generously to God and his church. Why should I be ashamed of that? I know pastors who are scared spitless (I said spitless) to preach about money. They will hide ...

538. No Longer Orphans

John 14:15-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... to me,” comments Mitchell on his experience, “that a lot of people, more than you might think, feel like this. Whatever the reason, things they’ve done, things life has done to them, things beyond their control, have made them feel like damaged goods . . . bent out of shape, crushed, of little value to themselves or anyone else.” (3) To use Jesus’ metaphor, they feel like orphans. They feel that no one cares for them. But someone does care. God cares. God doesn’t want any of His children to ...

539. Abraham Justified by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... God (Gal. 4:5). These are not abstract qualities but characteristics of Jesus Christ in whom the promises of God take on human form (15:8). “All the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Cor. 1:20, RSV). God is not a divine killjoy, a cosmic sadist bent on “getting even” with the world. God says Yes to the world in the promise to Abraham, even before Abraham knows God’s name, his person, or his will. To say that the world is fallen and sinful is to say that it is the object not of God’s ...

540. Life Through the Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... law was rendered ineffective because of the “flesh.” Paul does not say the law was unable to condemn sin; that it could do because it was “holy, righteous, and good” (7:12). The law is not bad, but its good counsels are undermined by a bentness and gravitational pull in human nature toward evil. The law offers a proper diagnosis of the disease, but no cure. To accomplish what neither the law nor human will could carry out, God entered decisively and historically by sending his own Son. God had, of ...

541. The Resurrection Body

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... the victory given through the Lord Jesus Christ recognizes the present significance of what God is already doing and mitigates against the misperception that what God is doing in Christ has little to do with life in this world. Yet, the dominant future bent of Paul’s reflections is an important corrective to the denial of the resurrection of the dead. 15:58 At last, verse 58 follows, issuing a final admonition (therefore) that Paul appears to base on the traditional materials he presents throughout this ...

542. The Narrow and Wide Gates

Matthew 7:13-14

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... to eternal life. The saying is primarily eschatological, although it speaks as well of life here and now. It describes two ways to live: two ways that separate and lead to two distinct destinies. The choice is clear: follow the crowd with its characteristic bent toward taking the path of least resistance, or join the few who accept the limiting demands of loyalty. The easy way will turn out hard (it ends in destruction), whereas the hard way will lead to eternal joy (life). Amazed: ekplēssō means (lit ...

543. God's Chosen Servant

Matthew 12:15-21

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... of considerable scholarly debate. Matthew records five occasions on which Jesus commanded silence (8:4; 9:30; 12:16; 16:20; 17:9). It may have been that he wanted to avoid further trouble with the Pharisees. No sense in antagonizing those who are already bent on doing you in. Some have felt that Jesus wanted to direct attention away from himself and to his message. Phillips translates, “that they should not make him conspicuous by their talk.” Many have explained the injunctions to silence as a way of ...

544. The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:2-35

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... , he had perhaps been controlled too much by his advisers. Antiochus now proceeded to subdue Egypt, professing that he was securing it for his nephew, Ptolemy. This is probably what the book of Daniel means when it says that the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other (11:27). Antiochus pretended to have an avuncular concern, while Ptolemy had to express false gratitude (Driver, Daniel, p. 184). However, the meetings and lies were to no avail (11:27); the ...

545. Jesus Clears the Temple

Mark 11:12-19

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... , and so Jesus’ action is not without parallel as an example of abrupt protest against the temple authorities. Jesus may have felt that the presence of the commercial activities in the temple areas was the last straw, indicating, to his mind, the utterly unspiritual bent of the priestly leadership in Jerusalem; and so he took this dramatic action. The quotation of Jeremiah 7:11 in verse 17, accusing the priests of having turned the temple into a den of robbers, was not only the use of sharp language to ...

546. More Than Conquerors

Romans 8:28-39

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... is as invincible as Christ’s reign in heaven. These powers, however mysterious and menacing, cannot overwhelm God’s love. The cross of Christ was the decisive defeat of all mutinous authorities (Col. 2:15; Eph. 1:21; 1 Pet. 3:22). Though the universe is bent in hostile and savage rebellion, Paul asseverates that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In this chapter, as we have seen from chapter 5 onward, the lordship of Jesus Christ ...

547. The Woman on the Beast

Revelation 17:1-18

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... secular rule. Any historical construction of John’s comment is fraught with enormous difficulty; and he has consistently employed seven as a symbol of totality or completion. The addition of an eighth king would seem to indicate that there will always be a ruling elite, bent on evil, governing Babylon—at least for a little while. In that the meaning of the beast in verse 8 seems to refer to ruling elite of the anti-Christian kingdom, John’s purpose is not to confuse but to collapse king and kingdom as ...

548. Elijah on Mount Carmel

1 Kings 18:16-46

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 ...

549. We've Got a Friend in High Places

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... the barracks and noticed a light on in the young man’s room. The czar found the young man asleep with the letter of confession next to him. He read the letter and instantly understood what the young man had done. Then the czar did something quite stunning. He bent over, wrote one word on the bottom of the letter, and left. When the young man woke up, it was past midnight. He took up his gun in order to follow through with his plan to end his life, when he noticed that someone had written something on the ...

550. Where It Ends

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

John Jamison

... the ritual went. Instead of the servants coming in to wash everyone’s feet, it actually appeared that — no — of course not — it was just too nonsensical to even consider. Jesus walked along behind the table and stopped at the outstretched legs of a disciple. He bent down on his knees and carefully cupped water from the bowl with his hands. He poured it over the feet of the startled disciple. He slowly wiped the water away with the towel, and then reached for the small vial of perfume oil. He poured ...

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