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 51 to 75 of 80 results

51. Lent 2

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27:1-14, Luke 13:31-35, Philippians 3:17--4:1

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... the human path Jesus walked; grant us insight to be faithful. Amen. Sermon Idea A title/theme for Luke 9:28-36 might be Talking With the Past While Looking Ahead. Another idea to play with could be Mysterious Sky Lights; another might be Personal Auras. Apparently, Peter, James, and John found it boring to stay alert for history lessons and for esoteric conversations. Jesus asked his friends to be with him emotionally and mentally as he made a journey into the past for strength. They couldn’t do it. Some ...

52. Blessed Are the Abnormal

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... middle class; with a middle class hair style, a middle class dress on; and with middle class shoes on. He says the shoes and the hairstyle were a dead giveaway as to her economic status, or, at least, so he was told. This first woman gave off the aura of being middle class. The second person from their parish did not have very much money and her dress, hair style and shoes revealed that she was financially poorer. The face of the clerk at the counter was bland and expressionless as she looked at the poorer ...

53. The Transforming Power of Grace

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... the corner and coming in my direction. The aroma of rotting garbage stopped me in my tracks. The heat of the day made the smell more offensive than expected. I looked up to see that the angle of the morning sun seemed to form a shimmery aura of unpleasant fragrance around the truck. "Like flies darting in and out of open garbage cans, random thoughts flitted through my mind. I first offered a prayer. 'Thank you God for calling me into pastoral ministry and not garbage collection.' "I then moved quickly to ...

54. The Decree of Darius

Ezra 6:1-12

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... celebrations of verses 16–22, one specific and the other seasonal, the keynote is joy, sounded at beginning and at the end. This joy expresses the fervor of the community’s gratitude to God. In the temple they had a symbolic center that covered them with an aura defining them as the people of God. So it is not surprising that Israel occurs twice in verses 16–17, and the God of Israel twice in verses 21–22. In verse 16, Israel stands for all the returned exiles in their religious and lay groupings ...

55. List of the Family Heads Returning With Ezra

Ezra 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... precious metal, was derived from the record eventually deposited at the temple (v. 34). In a charge to the religious guards (vv. 28–29), Ezra spoke of the sacred trust assigned to them. Both the conveyors and what they conveyed were covered with an aura of holiness during the interim period before they reached the holy temple. This was both an assurance of divine protection and a challenge to honesty in protecting other people’s offerings to God. They were playing a vital role in the ongoing spiritual ...

56. Not Because of Israel's Righteousness

Deuteronomy 9:1-6

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... ’s own cause the name and support of the God otherwise excluded from all consideration. Recent history has given us, in the Falklands and Gulf Wars, for example, some disturbing examples of military victories being decked out with all the aura of self-righteous self-congratulation that deserves to be publicly challenged with the prophetic “NO” of these verses: NOT because of your righteousness or your integrity . . . ! Additional Notes 9:2 Anakites: Cf. 1:28. 9:3 Quickly: In this context, “quickly ...

57. The Authority of Jesus over Sickness and Death

Mark 5:21-43

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... Mishnah), we are told that a woman with menstrual flow is unclean for seven days, and anyone touching her will be unclean for an entire day. In Ezekiel 36:17 Israel’s unholy conduct was likened to “a woman’s monthly uncleanness” in its defiling aura. This was exacerbated by the belief that blood was the basis of life, so menstruation symbolized life leaving the body. She had lost all her possessions searching for a cure, and now she was a pariah, a virtual leper, to everyone around her. We cannot ...

58. The Sin Offering

Leviticus 4:1--5:13

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... and community, the blood is brought into the holy place and sprinkled “seven times” before the “curtain” or veil dividing the holy place from the most holy place. Blood serves as a purifying agent that purges the sanctuary of the priest’s impurities. “Seven” derives an aura of holiness from God’s seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:3). 4:7 put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense. The “altar of fragrant incense” (cf. Exod. 30:1–10; 37:25–28) is in the holy ...

59. The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons

Leviticus 8:1-36

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... oil, myrrh, cinnamon, and cassia (Exod. 30:22–25) used to dedicate objects and persons to God’s service. That priests are anointed like kings (e.g., 1 Sam. 10:1; 2 Sam. 2:4) indicates their high status.4The number “seven” has an aura of holiness derived from the seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:1–3). 8:13 put tunics . . . tied sashes . . . fastened caps. Aaron’s sons wear simpler garb than their father, the high priest. They lack the high priest’s robe, ephod, waistband, breastpiece, turban ...

60. The Day of Atonement: Preparation

Leviticus 16:1-34

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... ), referring either to the law’s witness or to those tablets as a symbol of the pact between God and Israel. 16:14 sprinkle some of it . . . seven times before the atonement cover. The number “seven” is ubiquitous in the rituals, conveying an aura of holiness derived from the seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:3). On the “atonement cover,” see verse 2. The tabernacle is purged by blood of priestly defilement as far as the high priest goes, to the throne of God itself. Theological Insights Rituals ...

61. Holy Days and Festivals

Le 22:17–23:22

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... that month. After Old Testament times, this minor holiday developed into the major Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). The number “seven,” associated with God’s rest on the seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:1–3), conveys an aura of holiness. Various holidays involve sevens: the Sabbath, the Festival of Weeks (seven weeks after the Passover Sabbath), the Festival of Trumpets (the seventh month), the Sabbath Year (Lev. 25:2–7), and the Year of the Jubilee (every 7 × 7 years [Lev ...

62. A Prodigal Son Comes Home in Body, but Not in Spirit

2 Sam 14:1–15:12

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... sparing the murderer is purely pragmatic: to ensure the continuation of the father’s name (v. 7b). 15:1 Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses. According to the standards of the culture, Absalom’s acquisition of a chariot and horses gives him a royal aura (see 1 Sam. 8:11; 1 Kings 1:5). 15:3 but there is no representative of the king to hear you. David’s paralysis undoubtedly colors Absalom’s view of his father’s ability to reign. He apparently views David as a dismal failure in ...

63. Vision and Exhortation about the End

Amos 8:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... was to be a holy day (Exod. 20:8–11), and the celebration at the New Moon feast (Lev. 23:23–25; 1 Sam. 20:5; Isa. 1:13–14) was to be a day dedicated to God, so no work was to be done. Although the nation maintains the aura of orthodoxy by not having businesses open on holy days, the merchants are more interested in making more money than in worshiping God. Elsewhere God swears by his own holiness (4:2) or by himself (6:8), but in Amos 8:7 he swears by his name, the “Majestic/Glorious ...

64. Struggling with Sin

Romans 7:7-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... failures in human “oughtness,” but the apostle is thinking of the higher summit of divine righteousness. It means that the law is God’s ideal, an ideal which people acknowledge and affirm, but which no one can attain. At the very point where the divine aura of the law becomes apparent, human fallenness (which Paul describes in 8:18ff. as part of the tragic pain of creation itself) wells up and frustrates all obedience to it. It is not a matter of trying harder. Indeed, the harder people try the more ...

65. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... God’s method in physical terms (“he cut Rahab to pieces,” his hand pierced the gliding serpent), suggesting actual combat, he introduces a moderating emphasis on God’s effective wisdom as the force behind creation stability (“by his wisdom”). The aura of conflict and the subjugation of chaotic powers emphasize the fearsome nature of God’s sovereign control over the universe—power that should give any human considerable pause. And these are but the outer fringe of his works. Job concludes ...

66. Nathan Rebukes David

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... ) whereas David took a great quantity of plunder from the city. The difference is that Saul had been told in advance that all the plunder from his campaign was to be dedicated to the Lord and destroyed. David’s campaign did not have the aura of the herem instruction, and taking booty was not forbidden. 12:31 The Hebrew in this verse is unclear. It may refer to the torture of Ammonite men using the implements mentioned or making them “pass through” brick kilns. However, such torture would probably have ...

67. Completion and Dedication of the Temple

Ezra 6:13-18

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

68. The Passover

Ezra 6:19-22

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

69. The Return to Jerusalem

Ezra 8:15-36

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

70. Chaos and Solitude

Mark 6:30-44, 53-56

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... . During a storm on the Sea of Galilee "... they were filled with great awe and said to one another, 'Who then is this that even the wind and waves obey him?' " (Mark 4:31). No one was like him, before or since. There was a powerful aura around him. People sensed it and saw it. When Jesus spoke, people heard truth spoken with authority. People were attracted to Jesus' message of love, hope, and compassion. He not only taught that we should love God above everything else and our neighbors as ourselves; Jesus ...

71. Higher Ground

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... few “hidden” metaphors, such as “light,” high ground/mountain,” and “high priest/Melchizedek.” This particular mountain has a rich history in Israel’s past, as a holy place. And as the site now of the ascension, it takes on an even more “mysterious” aura. Jesus, as the “high priest’ of the most high God (as seen in Joshua) is taken up into the clouds while the disciples watch in awe. Then, they worship him. They realize that their teacher is not just bodily resurrected, but now will ...

72. Living in the Shadow of Jesus' Resurrection Glory (Chiaroscuro)

Acts 12:1-19a, Acts 5:17-42, Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... /shadow appears again and again as the “ruach” or spirit of God. When the spirit of God moves across the deep, God’s close and immanent presence is like a shadow of the LIght. The ruach or tzelem is the shekinah of God, the shroud or cloud of God, the aura or cloak of God, the holy and moving presence of God. “In the shadow of His Hand He concealed me,” says the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 49 and 51:16). I want to be “In the shadow of your wings,” longs the psalmist (Psalm 17:8 and 63:7). “The ...

73. A Supernatural Leap

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the story of our scriptures today. Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel who tells her she will be “overshadowed” by the Most High God and impregnated by the power of the Holy Spirit, a mysterious force that can’t be defined but only recognized by its aura of light and shadow, and of course by its resulting fruit! Mary carries the Son of God. When she goes to visit her aunt Elizabeth, who is already six months pregnant with the prophet John, Elizabeth’s baby is said to “leap” for joy in her womb ...

Class is an aura of confidence that is being sure without being cocky. Class has nothing to do with money. Class never runs scared. It is self-discipline and self-knowledge. It's the sure-footedness that comes with having proved you can meet life.

Ann Landers

At the moment of childbirth, every woman has the same aura of isolation, as though she were abandoned, alone.

Boris Pasternak

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