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 576 to 600 of 5000 results

576. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... to those not having the law he lived as they did; yet, he pauses at this point to explain that even when he was not being law-observant, he was not free from God’s law because he lived under Christ’s law. Paul does not elaborate his understanding of the law of Christ at this point, although from his subsequent discussion in chapter 13 one may suppose that Paul is talking about selfless love. Again, in a balanced set of statements (so as to win those under the law … so as to win those not having ...

577. Warnings from Israel's History

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... grumbling inappropriately as well. 10:11 Paul explicitly details the application of the exodus story to the Corinthian situation. One should notice at least two significant elements of his explanation. First, Paul’s exegesis of the OT clearly shows that he understands the Scriptures to be typological as a result of the Christ-event. Second, Paul locates himself and the Corinthians at the juncture of the ages, as the NRSV recognizes with the correct translation, “they were written down to instruct us, on ...

578. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... . He has said that the form of this world is passing away (7:31), and in listing the qualities of love he declares what will pass away (the negative) and what does and will characterize the eternal (the positive). In meditating on love Paul reveals what he understands to be the character and the goal of the eschatological work of God. 13:11 Paul adds to the images by offering a metaphor to drive home his basic line of thought. He refers to being a child (Gk. nēpios; lit. “infant” or “toddler”), a ...

579. The Woman and the Dragon

Revelation 12:1--13:1a

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... wondrous, because it testifies to the salvation of God. While some have identified the woman clothed with the sun … and a crown of twelve stars on her head with astral imagery current in Greco-Roman mythology (Ford, Revelation, p. 197), it is best to understand her by the biblical symbols known to and used by John. For example, the number twelve symbolizes the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Rev. 7); thus, the twelve stars symbolize God’s people. The crown as well as the sun … and moon symbolize either ...

580. The Rider on the White Horse

Revelation 19:11-21

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... knowledge, to which others have no access is a form or symbol of one’s “power” over them. In this same sense, perhaps John has included this identifying mark as a symbol not only of Christ’s authority but of his own. Additionally, the interpreter should understand the rider’s publicized names as related to his messianic mission as Word of God (cf. John 1:1–18), in which he is “Faithful and True” to God, and after which he is exalted to his current status as “Lord of lords” (cf. John 20 ...

581. The New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:1-27

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... angel’s pledge to show John the bride, who is now identified as the wife of the Lamb. Yet, when the angel shows John the bride, John gets a “Cook’s tour” of the Holy City, Jerusalem (21:9–10). This equation underscores John’s understanding of God’s eternal reign as a transformed people rather than as a place (i.e., heaven). His vision of the new order has been carefully crafted to underscore this foundational eschatological principle: the primary result of God’s coming triumph over evil is a ...

582. Eliphaz

Job 4:1-5:27

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... or a recalcitrant fool than the respected sage he is known to be. Eliphaz continues with an observation of the destiny of the “fool.” This kind of observation, introduced by the verb raʾiti, “I saw,” is characteristic of the Wisdom literature, particularly Ecclesiastes, where understanding is most often the result of observation and analysis of life circumstances and events (see Prov. 7:7; 24:3; Eccl. 2:13; 3:16, 22; 4:4, 15; 8:9, 10, 17). Although the “fool” may seem to be taking root, the ...

583. Job's Second Reply to Zophar

Job 21:1-34

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... the choice is between the way of God, that is known by him and leads to him, or the way of the wicked, that leads away from God. This imagery of the “ways” a human can choose to travel in life is behind the biblical understanding of repentance as “turning” or “reorientation.” The Hebrew shub, “turn; return; repent” exhorts sinners to turn away from the path of wickedness and reorient themselves to the right path that leads to God. Repentance, then, is an active turning from evil (Pss. 34:14 ...

584. The Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5:1-31

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... is so weak he cannot stand (5:6), and Daniel, who is so strong spiritually and intellectually that he can “solve difficult problems” (5:12, 16). 5:7 The Aramaic says that the individual will rule as a talti, or third. Hebrew may be helpful in understanding this verse. The cognate term shalish is translated “officer” (Exod. 14:7; 2 Kgs. 7:2, 17, 19; 9:25). It does mean third, but it referred originally to the third soldier in a chariot. Over time it came to mean an “officer” or “official.” 5 ...

585. Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel 8:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... of Daniel, it is important to see how ch. 8 follows from ch. 7 and that the little horns are identical, both representing Antiochus IV. While this identification cannot be avoided in ch. 8, some interpreters do not see this connection in ch. 7 because they understand the little horn there to be the Antichrist at the end of time when Jesus, the Son of Man, returns. A better way to read Daniel is to acknowledge that for its author, the little horn signified Antiochus IV in both chs. 7 and 8. However ...

586. Jesus and John the Baptist

Luke 7:18-35

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... eschatological threshing-floor, and burns no chaff. Instead, he cures, frees, resuscitates; he cares for the blind, cripples, lepers, deaf, and even the dead; and he preaches good news to the poor” (p. 664). John’s growing doubt had to do with his understanding of what the “last days” would bring for the righteous and unrighteous. For John it was to be a “day of vengeance” and house-cleaning. People like Herod and Pilate would have to go. Instead, while John languishes in prison, Jesus ministers ...

587. The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

Revelation 16:1-21

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... as a metaphor for evil is used elsewhere as a metaphor for divine blessing. Once again, John uses irony to evoke a sense of anticipation: what currently appears to be a foreboding and mounting evil will turn into an occasion of divine blessing. The reader understands that while the army gathers for the battle on the great day of God Almighty to exercise its miraculous power with evil intent, the outcome has already been decided in favor of God Almighty because of the Lamb’s death. 16:15–16 This brief ...

588. The Validity of Jesus' Testimony

John 8:12-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... to Jesus’ voluntary death on a cross to take away sin. Not until they have lifted up the Son of Man on that cross will they know who Jesus is and realize that he has spoken the very words of God (v. 28). The reference to a future moment of understanding only serves to accent their present ignorance. Who are you? they ask Jesus (v. 25), and they are told that all along from the very beginning of his ministry he has been making himself known, if only they would listen (v. 25). There is much he could say now ...

589. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... ’s many disguises, see T.Job 6:4; 17:2; 23:1; b. Qidd. 81ab; b. Sanh. 95a, 107a. Paul’s use of the term “minister” of himself (cf. 2 Cor. 3:6; 6:4; 11:23) may have been prompted by the opponents’ own self-understanding, for Paul elsewhere prefers the prophetic title “slave of Christ” (Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:10). If we would doubt that Paul could refer to “apostles” with letters of recommendation from the Jerusalem authorities as “servants [of Satan],” we need recall only Paul’s severe ...

590. Follow the Lord's Commands

Deuteronomy 26:16-19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... and honor are for Yahweh. The Hebrew reads “He will set you high above all the nations he has made for praise and for a name and for honor.” The NEB/REB translates this, quite legitimately, “to bring him praise and fame and glory.” This understanding of the very purpose of Israel’s existence, which will be fulfilled only by its obedience to the covenant, is expressed with the same phraseology by Jeremiah in his acted prophecy (Jer. 13:1–11; cf. 33:9). If these close parallels are allusions to ...

591. Before You Start Ripping Your Clothing

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... send such devastation upon them. The Old Testament attitude toward suffering, you’ll remember, was that it was invariably linked to people’s sin. You do wrong and God will punish you as sure as night follows day. Some of the prophets reinforced this understanding of how God works. Whether it was an invading army from Babylon or a period of drought, or in this situation, a swarm of locusts, God was in control of everything, and if you were suffering, it was because you had somehow offended God. There ...

592. Faces of Failure: Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... addressed this failure of imagination. Oh, he didn’t use those terms, but he suggested that too often our image of God limits our ability to understand him. For example, he said, if we see God as a moral policemen, we will be blind to his graciousness. Or if we see God ... worship is larger than any box in which we try to put him, and to see our God, to appreciate what he’s done, to understand what he can do requires us to look beyond the limits we would impose on him and to imagine what he can do for those ...

593. What a Friend

John 15:9-17

Sermon

John Jamison

... in mind of your friend, the chances are very good that we actually pictured two different types of friends. This is an important thing to understand, and it may help us as we look again at that promise John tells us that Jesus made. For some of us, the friend we ... of God alone? Could this be the reason that sometimes Jesus wept right along with us when the pain became so unbearable? If we only understand that having Jesus as a friend means he is some kind of a buddy or a pal we can look at as an equal, and ...

594. A Man Under Authority / A Centurion's Faith, An Elder's Love

Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... denaii per year. This is a case where Jesus is ministering not only to a gentile but to a wealthy man. It’s something that we don’t do well in our ministry today. We are geared well toward ministry to the poor. But we don’t understand ministry to the wealthy. This is a story in which Jesus ministers to the wealthy. And this man reveres Jesus far more than Jesus’ own Jewish contemporaries in the Temple. The second in command to a Centurion is an Optio. The Optio serves the Centurion, carrying around ...

595. Unreasonable Mercy

2 Kings 5:1-27, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Temple, I’ll do this healing for you.” No. Jesus only saw that this man was in pain, that he was suffering, and that he was asked for Jesus’ healing power to heal one whom he loved. And that was enough for Jesus. Now listen…we need to understand this. A Centurion –he was an enemy in Jesus’ time. This wasn’t just some guy who was a gentile or someone outside of Jewish law. This was an enemy of many Jews! An oppressor. A commander of the Roman army. Likewise, in the story of Naaman, Naaman was ...

596. Written In Stone

Luke 24:36b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of our Christian faith, declared by every creed, and believed by every follower today and throughout the history of Christianity. This is what Jesus came back to tell his disciples so urgently, to make them believe so acutely. This is what he wants us to understand still today, because you too, like all who have come before you, and all those who will still come after you, “are witnesses of these things.” Will you witness to the miracle of the resurrection? This is what Jesus asks you. [1] Karst.com [2 ...

597. A Question of Trust

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Jesus changes lives. I have that strong feeling of excitement again because I know that Jesus is living in me. Now there is no turning back.” (5) And that brings us to the central message of these verses: it is through our suffering that we truly understand the love and hope of God. Suffering, if it does not turn us away from God, leads to perseverance, and perseverance leads to character and character results in hope. And what is that hope? It is that a God who loves us so abundantly will, as Romans ...

598. Unbound

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... resurrection, and that forgiveness of sins for all people is possible with a change of heart and life. All of those things that are for people everywhere –SO unbelievable! Last week, we saw the disciples afraid and grieving. This week, after Jesus has “opened their minds” to understand the enormity of who he is and what he is doing, they are “overwhelmed with joy!” This is what God can do for each of us. God can open up our minds to the unimaginable miracle of God’s gift to us in Jesus, to the ...

599. God IS

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and the burning bush in an entirely new way. This story for Jesus is about God, the nature of God, the “out of this realm of understanding” concept of a God who is not only present and living in the symbol of the Spirit fire, but that all who have passed on before ... life, and to acknowledge life. What God has created and who God claims does not die but lives eternally with God. We don’t understand how. We can’t comprehend where or in what way this can be. We only know that it is, just as God is. “I ...

600. What About Me?

John 1:29-42

Sermon

John Jamison

... that much. I remember that John was writing his stories for people who were a part of the Greek culture, and I remember that John’s more flowery, philosophical language was what they were used to. So it really isn’t a big problem if I don’t fully understand what John is writing here; he didn’t write it for me. We are reading someone else’s mail here, and what is important is that those people understood it, not us. We’ll stick with the other three writers who wrote to people more like us. So I ...

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