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 651 to 675 of 4947 results

651. Gift

2 Corinthians 8:16--9:5, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... but rather solidarity that comes to expression in tangible deeds. 8:9 Paul supplies the christological reason (For, gar) the Corinthians should excel in the grace of giving to the collection for Jerusalem. The illustration turns on the word grace (charis), in the sense of self-sacrificial giving. The Corinthians are to abound in the grace of self-sacrificial giving to the Jerusalem saints, because Christ gave himself. As often elsewhere, Paul’s admonition is based on the example of Christ (e.g., Phil. 2:5 ...

652. Identification and a Wish for Grace and Peace

Galatians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... . 6) and another word also meaning “different” (allo) in the phrase translated really no gospel at all (v. 7). Some scholars have argued that the word in verse 6 has the nuance of “difference within the same kind,” whereas the one in verse 7 has the sense of “difference of kind.” Paul’s use of these two words meaning “different” in 1 Corinthians 15:39–41 is taken as evidence for such an interpretation. It is possible that Paul had this nuance in mind, in which case in verse 6 he would be ...

653. Warning Against False Teachers of the Law

1 Timothy 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... . 4:2 and Titus 1:15–16). It is clear from this context and from 1:19 that a pure heart and good conscience are synonymous ideas. The qualification of faith as sincere is comparable to his qualifying love in the same way in Romans 12:9. In a sense, neither can be so qualified. Either you have faith, or love, or you do not. But the word faith has a broad usage in Paul, ranging from “trust in God” (most common), to a Christian virtue coming very close to the idea of “faithfulness” (e.g., 1 Thess. 3 ...

654. The Lord's Grace to Paul

1 Timothy 1:12-20

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... him despite his sin. It should also be noted that he says I am, not “I was.” Even one like Hanson who believes the letter to be a forgery admits that this is a “truly Pauline touch.” But it is so, not because of Paul’s abiding sense of sinfulness (as Bernard and others), but because he recognized himself as always having the status of “sinner redeemed.” With the addition of that last word, of whom I am the worst, Paul is now in position to make his final point in this testimony to God’s ...

655. Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... Laws 1.294–95, where he expresses himself in terms very close to Paul’s and then supports it by alluding to Job 1:21). Paul’s emphasis is on the second clause, we can take nothing out of the world; in light of this eschatological reality, greed makes no sense at all. But, Paul adds as a second reason, if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (the verb of the same noun as in v. 6). Again, it is argued that this “reflects the spirit of Stoicism” (D-C, p. 85), which indeed it does ...

656. Godlessness in the Last Days

2 Timothy 3:1-9

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... . 23–43, reprint from the Quasten Festschrift, 1970. Because the names of Jannes and Jambres were such a widespread phenomenon in antiquity, both Jewish and pagan, the suggestion by Kelly that this may belong to the elaboration of Jewish legends about Moses makes a lot of sense. The names are mentioned in the Damascus Document 5:18; Targum Ps-Jonathan 1.3 (on Exod. 1:15) and 7.2 (on Exod. 7:11)—although there is some debate on the dating of this source; Menahoth 85a; Midrash Rabbah Exodus 9:7; and Pliny ...

657. Jesus Greater Than Moses

Hebrews 3:1-6

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... :7), in a passage where Moses is exalted as the only one with whom God speaks “mouth to mouth” and not indirectly. God’s house, as we shall see in verse 6, where the same passage is quoted, is not to be understood in any literal sense—not even in the sense of the temple itself. It refers instead to the purpose or work of God as it finds expression first in Israel and then in the church. 3:3 In addition to the similarity between Moses and Jesus, however, there is also an important difference between ...

658. Praying for Endurance and Healing

James 4:13-17, James 5:1-6, James 5:7-12, James 5:13-20

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... are more likely to turn to prayer and humble dependence upon God. The wealthier person, however, may be lulled into a false sense of security and trust in money by the relative comfort of his or her station in life. It is this problem that ... 8; Jer. 23:17; Ezek. 33:10; 34:4. It is similarly used in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. This sense of a moral departure from the faith (often due to demonic entrapment) also is frequent in the New Testament: Matt. 18:12–13; 24:4–5 ...

659. Naomi and Ruth

Ruth 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... to return home. There a Bethlehemite father-in-law pleads with an out-of-town son-in-law not to return home. Both parent figures fear for the safety of those in their care. One tries to reason with a son-in-law who is sorely lacking in common sense. The other tries to persuade a loyal daughter-in-law to become something she will not. Orpah’s Decision and Ruth’s Decision 1:14a Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by. By deciding to follow Naomi’s advice, Orpah does nothing immoral or unethical; she ...

660. Ezra's Prayer about Intermarriage

Ezra 9:1-15

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... . Lev. 5:15, where the NIV renders the Heb. as “violation.” The term will also be used of intermarriage in Neh. 13:27. J. Milgrom, Cult and Conscience (SJLA 18; Leiden: Brill, 1976), pp. 16–35, 71–73, has helpfully defined the cultic sense of the Heb. term maʿal, and also Ezra’s hermeneutic in terms of a fusion of priestly and Deuteronomic concepts. Good analyses of the hermeneutic have been made by Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation, pp. 114–23, and by Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, pp. 130–32 ...

661. Esther Made Queen

Esther 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem (v. 9). “Favor” is the concrete expression of the actions of others on her behalf. Esther benefited from a select group of palace maids as she began her preparation. Passive (Niphal) verbs reinforce the sense that Esther is not in control of her fate but is being specially cared for by others. She is taken and entrusted (v. 8), “provided” for, with maids “assigned to her,” and she is “moved” to the “best place in the harem” (v. 9 ...

662. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 14:1-35

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... the reader to the mixture of joy and sorrow that the sages recognize in life’s activities. 14:14 Antithetic. This is another statement of traditional retribution for the good and the bad people. See the Additional Notes. 14:15–17 Antithetic. In a broad sense, cautious action is the topic that binds these sayings together. In regard to verse 15, the simple person is gullible in contrast to the wise. Though in verse 16 the NIV supplies the term LORD and makes 16a equivalent to Job 1:1 (a description ...

663. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 20:1-30

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... . 20:11 In the MT, Hb. gam (even) modifies actions, not child; it is conduct that reveals good character. There is no need to emend v. 1lb (cf. 21:8b, which is almost identical). The Hb. verb nkr appears in Gen. 42:7 in the Hitpael in the sense of “dissemble” (cf. the NJPS, which indicates that the correct action of a child may be a case of dissembling). 20:20 The NIV follows the Kethib reading (pupil) in v. 20b instead of the Qere (“in the hour”). Verse 20a is grammatically a casus pendens that is ...

664. Sayings of the Wise

Proverbs 22:17--24:22

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... He imagines himself lying down “in the heart of the sea"—perhaps experiencing something like sea-sickness, or even already drowned in the depths of the sea (cf. Jonah 2:4). The other comparison is lying atop the rigging. This loss of balance and the sense of uncontrollable motion lie behind his inability to really feel the wounds inflicted upon him (v. 35). But he acknowledges that all this does not quench his thirst; he will be looking for another drink as soon as he sobers up. See Additional Notes. 24 ...

665. All Night Long

Song of Songs 3:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... rare in the Song and are lacking in the section corresponding to this one, 5:2–8. The temporal link suggests a conceptual one as well. If in 2:17 the woman invited the man to stay until daybreak or warned him not to go away until nightfall, it makes sense that she is surprised and disappointed to find him absent in the night. If, on the other hand, one takes verse 17 as a request for the man to stay until evening or to leave only until morning, she should not have expected to find him with her at night ...

666. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... idea of righteousness is conformity to God’s person and will in moral uprightness, justness, justice, integrity, and faithfulness. Behind the many and varied uses of righteousness language in the OT stands the presupposition that God himself is righteous in the ultimate sense (e.g., Ezra 9:15; Isa. 45:21; Zeph. 3:5). Righteousness is the expression of his holiness in relationship to others (Isa. 5:16), and all other nuances of righteousness in the biblical texts are derived from this. Related to humans ...

667. Habakkuk’s Complaint

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... all have the same concern. They all aim to inculcate faithfulness and fairness in the community, but the actions that verse 3 has described frustrate those aims. So justice never prevails. Here the noun is mishpat, which denotes decision-making authority. There is a sense in which mishpat does prevail in the society; authority is exercised. But it is not exercised (lit., it does not go out) in accordance with torah. As is often the case, the two parallel lines in verse 4a need to be interwoven to understand ...

668. Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Habakkuk 2:2-20, Habakkuk 1:12--2:1

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... proper direction. When Isaiah 2:4 and 11:4 speak of putting things right in the way nations and peoples relate to each other, they use in parallelism the verb for “exercise authority” (shafat, usually translated “judge”) and this verb for “punish” in the sense of “correct,” and this connotation in respect of the way nations relate fits well here. The rationale for that is that such action on Yahweh’s part is an expression of Yahweh’s moral nature (v. 13a). Again Habakkuk picks up his own ...

669. Habakkuk’s Prayer

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... and what he does next about communicating it (Dan. 2:19–28) before telling us what it is (Dan. 2:29–45). So Habakkuk has moved from dispute to submission, like Job. Yet this does not mean he simply yields to silence (any more than Job does?). There are two senses in which he declines to do so. First, he is not keen on the idea that Yahweh’s action might have to wait a long time (it will actually wait many decades, of course), and he wants to make sure that does not happen. Rhetorically, this will be a ...

670. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 2:4-7, Zephaniah 2:8-11, Zephaniah 2:12, Zephaniah 2:13-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the heights to the depths. Nineveh has been a carefree or exultant city, like Tyre before it falls (Isa. 23:7)–and like Jerusalem before it falls (Isa. 22:2). It could be exultant because it lived in safety or in confidence (labetakh), lived secure or with a sense of security, as the unfortunate people of Laish did (Judg. 18:7), and as Babylon will (Isa. 47:8). In its confidence it said, “I am, and there is none besides me”; again these are words that will be put on Babylon’s lips (Isa. 47:8, 10 ...

671. The Impending Departure II

John 16:5-16, John 16:17-33

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... . The prayer is part of the once-and-for-all priestly work by which Jesus consecrates himself to death and his redeemed followers to their world mission (cf. 17:17, 19). Additional Notes 16:4b Because I was with you: Jesus’ language implies that in a certain sense he is no longer with his disciples, for he is already on his way to the Father (cf. v. 5: “Now I am going”). The impression of distance is stronger in chapter 17, where consistently Jesus speaks of the disciples in the past tense (e.g., 17 ...

672. Pilate and the Condemnation of Jesus

John 18:28-40, John 19:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... He chooses not to make the answer explicit, and in fact gives Pilate no answer at all. Yet when Pilate makes the claim that Jesus’ fate is in his hands (v. 10), Jesus responds significantly that not only his origin but his destiny is from above, in the sense that it rests with God and with him alone. Pilate’s claim of authority over Jesus, when translated literally, sounds like a feeble echo of Jesus’ own claim in 10:18. The similarities can be shown as follows: 10:18 19:10 (lit.) No one takes it from ...

673. Joy at Believers’ Walking in the Truth

3 John 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... 14). Third John 14 adds the nuance that is not merely the Elder who will talk, but that we will both talk together. There is in 3 John, however, a note of greater urgency. The Elder wants to come and see Gaius immediately (eutheōs; this sense is not well conveyed by the NIV’s soon). Given the spread of the schism through the Johannine churches perpetuated by the ongoing efforts of the traveling false teachers (2 John 7–11) and now the defection of the church of the independent Diotrephes, the author ...

674. Isaac and Rebekah

Genesis 24:1-67

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... , she not only would give him a drink but also would water his camels. Such an extraordinary response to a stranger would tell him that this girl had a wonderful spirit of hospitality. His prayer shows that in those days people prayed directly to God, sensing no need for a priest, and that they expected God to answer specifically in the flow of daily events. 24:15–27 Even before he had finished praying, the servant saw Rebekah approaching the well with her jar on her shoulder. The author introduces her ...

675. Driving Out the Nations

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... initiative of Yahweh (cf. 4:38; 9:3; 11:23). When Yahweh had done his part, however, the Israelites were to do theirs—destroy them totally. As the NIV footnote informs us, the Hebrew word translated here “totally” (heḥ e rîm) had a technical sense. The common explanation that it meant “devoting” things or people to Yahweh is probably not the best. A better explanation seems to be that it is an absolute and irrevocable renouncing of things or persons, a refusal to take any gain or profit from ...

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