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 751 to 775 of 3082 results

751. Accusations

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

After the thanksgiving in 1:3–11, the body of the letter begins with a lengthy section in which Paul seeks to deal with various accusations the Corinthians have made against his character and conduct (1:12–2:13). By the writing of 2 Corinthians, Paul has heard the good report from Titus that most of the Corinthians have been reconciled to Paul (cf. 7:6–7). Yet, because of the discrepancy between Paul’s written word and his actions, the Corinthians have become suspicious of Paul’s motives, accusing him of ...

752. Pressing on Toward the Goal

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Paul's Ambition Whatever others may claim for themselves, Paul knows that he has not attained perfection yet. So long as mortal life lasts, there is further progress to be made. Not until the end of the race is the prize awarded. 3:12 Paul now passes from the language of accountancy to that of athletic endeavor (cf. 2:16). He is running a race; he has not yet breasted the tape or won the prize, and he must keep on running until he does so. Some of his converts elsewhere imagined that they had attained ...

753. Solomon's Adversaries

1 Kings 11:14-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Opposition and Death: A divided heart will lead to a divided kingdom: that was effectively God’s promise to Solomon in 11:9–13. This last section on the great king pursues this theme of division. It tells us of still further seeds of destruction that were planted in the earlier part of his reign and have now grown into plants whose shadow looms darkly over the kingdom. It tells of opposition on the edges of the empire, and it introduces for the first time the man who will be the focal point of that same ...

754. Egypt

Ezekiel 29:1-21, Ezekiel 30:1-26, Ezekiel 31:1-18, Ezekiel 32:1-32

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

The last four chapters of Ezekiel’s oracles against the nations consist of a loose collection of seven prophecies, all concerned with Egypt: an allegorical oracle depicting Pharaoh as a dragon in the Nile (29:1–16); a late appendix to the book promising Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar (29:17–21); a lament over Egypt (30:1–19); a second oracle against the Pharaoh (30:20–26); an allegory depicting Egypt as the World Tree (31:1–18); a lament over Pharaoh, recapitulating the dragon allegory (32:1–16); and a funeral ...

755. Government and Marriage

Mark 12:18-27, Mark 12:13-17

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Two critical issues for all believers come out of the attempt of the leaders to entrap Jesus: (1) submission to government; and (2) the doctrine of resurrection, grounding our faith and hope in the reality of Christ’s resurrection and the certain afterlife that God’s people will enjoy. Understanding the Text David Daube has shown that the next four passages (12:13–37 = Matt. 22:15–46) correspond to the four major types of rabbinic questions: (1) of wisdom, on a point of Torah regarding taxes (12: ...

756. The Boy Jesus in the Temple

Luke 2:41-52

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Already in his childhood Jesus is aware both of a special relation with God as his Father and of a special calling. Understanding the Text With this unique glimpse into the period of Jesus’s adolescence, Luke bridges the thirty-year interval between Jesus’s infancy and the beginning of his public ministry. His special relationship with God that is revealed in this story begins to fill out the promises associated with his birth. Mary and Joseph remain central to the story, as Jesus is still in ...

757. Jesus and John the Baptist

Luke 7:18-35

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Jesus affirms the exceptional importance of John as the prophetic herald of the kingdom of God. Understanding the Text John’s public activity had ended with his imprisonment (3:20), though we have heard since of his continuing influence (5:33). Now Luke invites us to consider how the ministries of John and Jesus relate to one another, and he ensures that his readers will not devalue John. This is important in the developing story, as Jesus will be perceived by others as John’s successor (9:7–9, ...

758. The Purpose of the Law

Galatians 3:15-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Now Paul attempts to show that one subsequent covenant cannot violate the provisions of a previous covenant (3:15–18). Specifically, another agreement, made some 430 years later (3:17), cannot alter the provisions of the covenant made earlier with Abraham. The NIV’s “let me take an example from everyday life” (3:15) is a rather free rendering of the Greek “I speak as a man”; yet the idea that Paul is drawing an illustration from human relationships is a valid description of these verses. Covenantal ...

759. Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

1 Kings 11:26-40

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

760. Solomon's Death

1 Kings 11:41-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

761. Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold

Isaiah 37:1-13

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Hezekiah’s Great Political Crisis Confronts Him (37:1-7) We may be surprised to find the introduction to the second half of the book in chapters 34–35 followed by four chapters of prose stories about Hezekiah, the last of the kings of Isaiah’s own lifetime. One reason for this surprise is that they also appear in 2 Kings. As with 2:2–4, we do not know which is the more original version. But Isaiah is prominent in the stories and they incorporate some of his prophecies, so it is reasonable enough that they ...

762. The Challenge Of Simplicity

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

The crowds had grown. Jesus had been in Galilee for a while now, speaking, healing, and calling his disciples to follow him. The leaders from Jerusalem certainly had their spies keeping an eye on him, but with the crowds he was gathering, all they could do right now was watch and listen. Wherever Jesus went, there were always a few Pharisees and Sadducees in the crowd looking for things he might do or say they could use against him when they did finally get the chance. His disciples occasionally reminded ...

763. Assured by the Certainties of Faith

1 John 5:13-21

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

The Elder concludes his message of exhortation to the remaining faithful members of his community by assuring them of several certainties of the Christian life, with regard to possessing eternal life (13), asking and interceding in prayer (14–17), not sinning (18), being God’s children in an evil world (19), and knowing Jesus Christ, the true God (20). In the light of these great realities comes a final warning (21). 5:13 Continuing his style of linking the beginning of a new section with the end of the ...

764. Two Sons: A Parable

Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:23-27

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

In the current vernacular people speak of those who "talk the talk" in contrast to those who "walk the walk." Those who "talk the talk" are persons who recognize a problem and analyze the situation. They may rant and rave about the difficulties and the need for change. They make accusations against those whom they believe to be responsible for the situation. But they do not move to action to do anything about it nor do they assume responsibility themselves for the existence of the problem when they may be ...

765. He Brings Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old vaudeville joke that goes like this. What is worse than a oneweek vacation in Philadelphia? The answera twoweek vacation in Philadelphia. The reason: Philadelphia rolls up its sidewalks after dark. It's unfair, of course, to label Philadelphia in this way. In the years preceding and immediately following World War II, most American cities were like Philadelphia. Almost everything in them, from retail outlets to radio stations, was packed away for the night. The idea of stores and ...

766. Is Conscience the Best Guide?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Some time ago I read in the paper that the United States Treasury has a "conscience fund," which was created for those who have lied, cheated or stolen, and who now wish to salve their consciences by returning to someone the money which they had gotten dishonestly. The "Conscience Fund" was established by Congress in 1811 when an anonymous donor who claimed to have defrauded the government sent five dollars to the Treasury Department. He said that he could not live with his conscience until he had paid the ...

767. Easter and a Lost World

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

James Merritt

Not long ago a lady wrote Dear Abby a letter, and in this letter this is what she said: Dear Abby: Your answer to the woman who complained that her relatives were always arguing with her about religion, was ridiculous. You advised her to simply declare the subject off- limits. Are you suggesting that people talk only about trivial meaningless subjects so as to avoid a potential controversy?…It is arrogant to tell people there are subjects that they may not mention in your presence. You could have suggested ...

768. The Apostles Persecuted

Acts 5:17-42

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Such was the impact of the Christians on the city (they were not necessarily numerous, but they were in the public eye; see note on 4:4), that the city fathers, chiefly the Sadducees, decided again on overt action against them, or at least against their leaders. The broad similarity between the arrest and trial of the apostles described here and the earlier arraignment of Peter and John has already been noted, as has the parallel between their escape and Peter’s escape in 12:6–19 (see disc. on 3:1–11). ...

769. In Athens

Acts 17:16-34

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

The great interest of this section lies in Paul’s speech to the council of Areopagus. It provides us with a paradigm of his preaching to pagans, where, rather than “beginning with Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27), that is, with the “revealed theology,” his approach was by way of “natural theology.” An earlier example of this method was seen in 14:15–17. But Paul was here facing a very different audience from the Lystrans. With them he had spoken of God as the one who gave the seasons and the crops ...

770. Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Faith

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Address and Greeting 1:1 Paul frequently associates himself with others in the prescripts of his letters (cf. 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1f.; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1; Philem. 1). In most cases it must be doubted that the others made any material contribution to the letters, being named simply out of courtesy, and so in this case. The letter bears all the hallmarks of a Pauline epistle (see Introduction on The Authenticity of 1 Thessalonians and disc. on 3:1), such that it is difficult to ...

771. Jesus the Bread of Life

John 6:25-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The discourse begins as a dialogue between Jesus and the crowd, and becomes more and more of a monologue as it continues. The crowd had begun following him because of the miracles he had done (cf. 6:2), but since the multiplication of the loaves, they have been pursuing him as one who can satisfy their physical hunger and (they hope) their political ambitions as well (cf. 6:15). They think they have found him, but they have not. They have been fed, yet they have not begun to receive what Jesus has to give ...

772. The Impending Departure II

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

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The second farewell discourse runs most closely parallel to the first precisely where it is most properly a “farewell” (i.e., where it addresses directly the question of Jesus’ impending departure; cf. 13:33). Here, inevitably, is also where the differences between the two discourses become most noticeable. Whereas the first discourse was largely structured around a series of questions by various disciples, here the question-and-answer method seems to be consciously abandoned. The earlier discourse began ...

773. The Four Horsemen

Revelation 6:1-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: As Christ opens the first four seals, God allows human sinfulness to run its course, resulting in warfare, violence, bloodshed, economic hardship, and death. Understanding the Text Just as the vision of the glorified Christ in Revelation 1 leads into the messages to the seven churches in chapters 2–3, so the throne-room vision of Revelation 4–5 prepares the way for God’s righteous judgments that commence in chapter 6. Jesus, the worthy one (5:2–5), now begins to open the scroll by breaking the ...

774. God’s Protection Takes the Form of a Faithful Friend

1 Samuel 20:1-42

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: Sometimes God protects his chosen servants through other faithful servants who are willing to put God’s agenda above self-interest. Understanding the Text Saul persisted in his efforts to kill David, but Jonathan saved David again, risking his own life in the process. David was finally forced to run away, setting the stage for the next part of the story: David needs to wander from place to place to escape Saul’s hostility. As in the previous chapters, the narrator presents contrasting responses ...

775. Bildad Has the Answer (He Thinks!)

Job 8:1-22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Bildad so focuses on God’s justice that he is blind to Job’s blamelessness. Understanding the Text In contrast to Job’s passionate speech in Job 6–7, Bildad’s first speech, in chapter 8, is calm and analytical. With an almost unfeeling tone, Bildad is more the lecturing professor than the comforting pastor. Unlike Eliphaz, who at least began by affirming Job (4:3–4), Bildad is caustic from the start, dismissing Job’s words as a “blustering wind” (8:2). Bildad intensifies the retribution principle ...

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