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 4952 results

526. Pride Is a Noxious Weed in the Garden of Life

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... a few years ago that I would steal money from the business, I would have said, ‘you are crazy. I could never do a thing like that.’” Every Sunday morning, well-educated, well-intentioned, hard working, moral people come to church without giving much thought to the fact that self-confidence and success make a near perfect soil for the noxious weed of pride to germinate, take root, and grow. The very moment we believe ourselves incapable of being tempted is the moment we are most vulnerable. Two people ...

527. Peter at Cornelius’ House

Acts 10:23b-48

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... ascribed to him a place in the Godhead (see disc. on 1:24). But always his horizons had been those of a Jew, and he had never thought of Jesus as any other than the Lord and Christ of the Jews (see disc. on 2:39). For these many years his God had been too ... our salvation—a salvation that all the prophets (spoken of collectively as in 3:18) had seen beforehand (v. 43). They, of course, had thought of God as the one who would save, but the right to have mercy and to freely pardon (Isa. 55:7) had passed to ...

528. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... to an aspiration prevalent in his culture, at least among those of a philosophical nature or blessed with the time to reflect. From what the extant texts tell us, the ancient world sought freedom within the law rather than freedom as the opposite of law. Judaism thought of law abiding as the road to freedom, as did Jewish Christianity (cf. Jas. 1:25; 2:8–13). This was also true of non-Jewish ancients. Aristotle wrote: “it is preferable for the law to rule than any one of the citizens” (Pol. 3.11 ...

529. Paul the Preacher to the Gentiles

Ephesians 3:1-13

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... out,” “beyond comprehension,” or “inscrutable.” Paul expresses this idea when he writes to the Romans: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (11:33). The same thoughts occur in Job 5:9 and 9:10 with respect to God’s creation and providence: they lie beyond human comprehension and defy description. A modern analogy may be found in the current attempt to conquer the cosmos. The present universe, as it ...

530. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... in fact standing. The verb stēkō is a late form developed from the perfect of histēmi, serving better than histēmi to express the thought of standing firm, which they did, says Paul, in the Lord (en kyriō, cf. 4:1 and see note on 1:1). There may be no ... the former “with its implementation and its working out in human conduct.” If that distinction does indeed hold true, the thought expressed in the statement that the Thessalonians were standing firm in the Lord would sit well with Paul’s earlier ...

531. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... ,” improper for Christians, could be countered by the manual work mentioned earlier in 4:18; for Paul’s concern for the church’s role in civil order, see disc. on 4:12, cf. Rom. 13:1–7; Col. 3:18–4:1). This phenomenon of culpable idleness is sometimes thought to have been the product of mistaken ideas about the Parousia, either that it was near or had come (see disc. on 2 Thess. 2:2). On the one hand, this view receives some support in the fact that Paul moves from an allusion to the idle in 4:11f ...

532. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... 23; 1 John 3:9). This statement produces a startling contrast: Desire brings to birth, but it bears sin and death; God brings to birth redemption and life. Third, God does this new act of creation through the word of truth. This expression might at first glance be thought a reference to the creative word of God (Gen. 1) or to the veracity of all he says (e.g., Ps. 119:43), but surely in this passage something more is meant. What word in the New Testament era was more “the word of truth” than the gospel ...

533. The Living Stone and a Chosen People

1 Peter 2:4-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... related terms, timē occurs in 1 Pet. 1:7; 2:7; 3:7; timios in 1:19; and timan in 2:17. The theme is clearly prominent in Peter’s thinking. The soil of Palestine did not harbor any precious stones: they had to be purchased. Did such a thought cross the mind of early Christian preachers as they pondered Peter’s letter? 2:5 Spiritual house: The concept of the believing community as a building is common: the house of Israel (Ruth 4:11; Matt. 10:6); the Lord’s house (Num. 12:7); built together to become ...

534. I am the Man Who Has Seen Affliction

Lamentations 3:1-66

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... with the metaphor of the man, this siege is accomplished not by an army but with bitterness and hardship. The final bet verse (v. 6) indicates that God consigned the man to the fate of the dead. He lives now in darkness like a corpse in a grave. The thought of the man in darkness continues into the next stanza. 3:7–9 Gimel. In the final verse of the preceding stanza, we learned that God placed the man in darkness, like the darkness of the grave. In this stanza, the man is sealed off alive in a prison ...

535. The Lord's Anger Against Israel

Hosea 13:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... In much of the OT, Sheol is beyond the reach of Yahweh, but in Amos 9:2 and here in Hosea, God is sovereign over Sheol as well as over heaven and earth. God could buy back Ephraim from Sheol—both verbs in verse 14a, b involve the thought of payment. Instead, God calls for death and Sheol, here personified, to loose all their pestilent powers from the underworld upon this faithless people, verse 14c–d. That death is treated as an objective power—an evil force let loose in the world—reminds one of the ...

536. What Can I Do With My Guilt?

Hebrews 10:11-18

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... spirits. Of course, we know that's not true don't we? We know that there are germs and viruses and that when a person sneezes, it's a reflex action. Wouldn't it be great, though, if we could sneeze out all of our bad habits? All our bad thoughts? All of our anger? All our hatred and all of our bitterness? Wouldn't it be great if somebody was acting in a way they shouldn't, all we would have to do would be to sprinkle a little bit of pepper on them and make them sneeze and they ...

537. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... ambition? They were evidently jealous of Paul’s record and prestige as a preacher of the gospel. Anything he could do they could do better; they would let it be seen that they came behind him in no respect. The news of what they were doing, they thought (and hoped), would fill Paul with chagrin and frustration. It was galling enough for Paul to be deprived of his liberty: it would be more galling still for him to learn how those who did not wish him well were forging ahead with their presentation of the ...

538. Jesus, Not Jewish Leaders, Interprets the Torah Rightly

Matthew 15:1-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ’s purity, hence the proliferation of hand sanitizers, the care taken not to eat what falls onto the bare table or the floor, and the inspection of the silverware for particles of food left from the last meal.4 Jesus teaches about how evil thoughts and actions defile a person. Quote: Parker Palmer, in A Hidden Wholeness, commends integrity to his reader—the unifying of internal and external worlds—and speaks of the problem of a divided life. In a culture like ours—which devalues or dismisses the ...

539. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... in Second Temple Judaism, and Rabbi Hillel’s rules for interpreting the Scriptures. 1. Three points about Abraham are indispensable for interpreting Romans 4. (a) Abraham was revered by Jews as the father of the Jewish people (Gen. 12–22; Ps. 105:6; Isa. 41:8). (b) Abraham was thought to have obeyed the Torah in advance and thereby to have been justified by his good works (e.g., Sir. 44:19–20; 1 Macc. 2:52; Jub. 19.8–9; 23.9–10; CD 3.2–4). (c) In a number of ancient Jewish texts, Genesis 15:6 ...

540. Applying God’s Wisdom to Life’s Issues

1 Corinthians 2:6-16, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... for wisdom in many areas, but only the Spirit can search the depth of God’s heart and reveal it to humans. That should not surprise anyone; the same holds true with the spirit of a person (2:11). No one but the person knows his or her own deepest thoughts. 2:12 the Spirit who is from God . . . what God has freely given us. God was deliberate in granting his Spirit. Although the church used the language of the Spirit, it seemed to have lost sight of why God sent his Spirit. God gave his Spirit not as a ...

541. Yahweh Speaks as the Master Teacher

Job 38:1--41:34

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... Job into new frontiers of understanding beyond anything he has comprehended before. 38:8–11 Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb? Yahweh here uses the image of childbirth to picture the taming of the sea. In ancient Near Eastern thought, the sea was often the personification of chaos, but in the Bible the sea is securely under divine control (Gen. 1:2; Rev. 21:1). Yahweh places firm limits on the sea (38:10–11; cf. Ps. 104:5–9), with the sandy shore as its boundary ...

542. “The Lord Watches over the Way of the Righteous”

Psalm 1:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... ’s Word. Understanding the Text Psalm 1 is often viewed as a wisdom psalm because it puts forth the merits of the moral life as two “ways,” the “way of the righteous” and the “way of the wicked” (1:6), which is characteristic of wisdom thought. For the psalmist the matter was very simple: one must choose between the two ways. When the final edition of the book of Psalms was forming, Psalm 1 was installed as an introduction to the Psalter. The book is an anthology that has come into existence ...

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

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... wheelchair or to her bed. One side of Mabel’s face had been eaten away by cancer so that her face was completely distorted. A seminary student regularly visited Mabel because of her evident joy in the midst of such hardship. One day the student asked Mabel what she thought about, day after day, since she was not even able to know if it was day or night. And Mabel simply responded, “I think about Jesus. I think about how good he’s been to me. He’s been awfully good to me in my life, you know. . . . I ...

544. “No One Can Redeem the Life of Another or Give to God a Ransom for Them”

Psalm 49:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... (Exod. 21:29–30; Num. 35:31; Prov. 6:35; 13:8). But faced with the ultimate reality of death, there is no one who can pay that kind of price, which is in fact incalculable. Some take verse 8 as a gloss, but it reinforces the thought in the previous verse, suggesting the incalculable worth of a human being. 49:9 so that they should live on forever.Literally, “so that they should live again forever.” The idea is to continue living in this life without experiencing death. The Hebrew word for “decay ...

545. Humanity Reaching Out

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

James L. Killen

... and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:8-10) God is always working to pull us together and to make life good for everyone. When we think thoughts like that, our hearts are often lifted up by a vision of reality that is full of hope. But too often, right after the elation a ... for hate and violence for violence. But in that, inhumanity would win its victory. In the time before Jesus came, many people thought they should be ready to fight in a battle between the sons of light and the sons of darkness. They were ...

546. One Heaven of a Party

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... their contract with the hotel was binding. They could only receive $1,300 dollars back. She only had two options: forfeit the rest of her down payment or go ahead with the reception. An incredible idea swept over this disappointed would-be bride. She thought to herself, “Why not go ahead with the reception?” But wait, whom would she invite, and what would she be celebrating? Suddenly, she knew exactly whom she would invite and why she would invite them. Ten years before, this same woman was down and ...

547. Love without Limits

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... tracks? And I am to save them for you? Lord, you must be crazy or kidding! Tell me you’re kidding. Obviously, you have mistaken me for someone who cares about those kind of people. This is where I came in, and this is where I get off!” So Jonah thought that if he left Israel he would be free of Israel’s God. He got as far as the shore of the Mediterranean, hopped on a ship, and said, “I am free at last! For I am free of God!” But soon Jonah found himself turned upside down and inside ...

548. Three Things You Can Count On

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... open I am to discovering the depth of who God is. I submit to you that all Christian growth goes in that direction. The moment we think we have God figured out, we don’t! God says through Isaiah, “My ways are higher than your ways, my thoughts are greater than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). And there is great comfort, security, and trust that come from this — that the God who created this world has got it in his hands. And this God doesn’t think like you or I do. He doesn’t respond the way we ...

549. Less Is More

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... of thinking and praying and he discovered God again. He also became aware of all the friends he had in his life. Fortunately, my friend recovered and he came to see me in my office. I prayed with him and, as I prayed, he squeezed my hand so tight I thought he was going to squeeze it off. When I finished praying, there were tears in his eyes. He looked up at me and said, “I’ve found the way to peace in my life. I don’t know why it took me so long to learn it. I’ve learned ...

550. Unstoppable Love

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... that Jesus’ love stops short of them but we are wrong. A colleague of mine loves to tell the story about a woman who was active in his church who had a husband who was an atheist. He would come to worship with her occasionally to support her but he thought faith in God was just a fairy tale. Not long after she became active in the church, her husband was stricken with cancer. She loved him and cared for him as he became weaker and closer to death’s door. Before he died he received Christ as his Lord and ...

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