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 1001 to 1025 of 1153 results

1001. The Little Children and Jesus

Mark 10:13-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... orders, “for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (10:14). Jesus’s attitude toward children is remarkable—and unprecedented—in the ancient world. In Jewish and Roman societies, childhood was not regarded with the same tenderness as in modern Western societies. It was typically regarded, rather, as an unavoidable and uncelebrated interim between birth and adulthood. In blessing and embracing children, Jesus was not acknowledging their innocence, purity, or spontaneity—for that would imply ...

1002. Jesus Arrested

Mark 14:43-52

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and clubs” (14:43). As a disciple, Judas knew Jesus’s daytime movements and nighttime lodgings, and he gives a prearranged sign to the authorities, lest in the darkness of an olive grove at night they fall upon the wrong person. The sign is a kiss—a tender or passionate kiss, according to the Greek of 14:45. Why Judas chose this sign is unclear—although it had been similarly used at least twice in the Old Testament (Gen. 27:26; 2 Sam. 20:9–10). Betrayal by an intimate act of affection, and by ...

1003. Zechariah’s Hymn

Luke 1:67-80

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... s ministry will be a spiritual one, for the people will learn the saving message that consists of the forgiveness of their sins (cf. Jer. 31:31–34). The last two verses (1:78–79) are particularly difficult. The salvation John proclaims is due to the tender mercy of our God, and that same mercy also explains the advent of the rising sun. The Greek word for “rising sun” may also be translated as “root” or “branch.” In either case it probably expresses a messianic title (cf. Num. 24:17; Mal. 4 ...

1004. Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ” or “understanding” here, as if they refer to separate compartments in a human being). The natural result of such a state is alienation from the life of God. The progression is downward. Out of basic human need for sensitivity and tenderness, those with hardened minds turn to sensuality. Rejecting the one in favor of the other, and with calloused sensitivity, they practice incredibly inventive impurity, with neither end nor satisfaction in view (4:19). This pagan lifestyle formerly followed by the ...

1005. Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... contract to breast-feed another person’s baby, but she could also be in charge of the child and his or her education. As such, she was a person of great confidence and affection. But here Paul compares his nurture of the Thessalonians with the tenderness of a wet nurse who feeds and cares for her own children, not those of another. The apostles shared their lives with the Thessalonians because of their care for them (2:8). They longed deeply for the Thessalonians and committed themselves to them (cf. 3 ...

1006. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the apostles, and Timothy noted that they truly did “long to see us, just as we long to see you.” There were no hostile feelings or bad memories, but rather their memories of the apostles were “pleasant” in the sense of “good,” “friendly,” or “tender.” The longing for reunion was mutual. Friendly letters often included a comment that the separation was only physical and not emotional, and also expressed the desire to be reunited (1 Thess. 2:17; cf. 2 Cor. 1:16; Philem. 22; 2 John 12; 3 ...

1007. False Teaching

2 Timothy 3:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Scriptures to see the implications of the opponents’ teaching. Paul traces these women’s gullibility to their being “loaded down with sins” and being “swayed by all kinds of evil desires.” It is unclear whether he means simply that they have tender consciences making them vulnerable to wrong solutions (e.g., the asceticism of 1 Timothy) or, more sinisterly, that they are involved in illicit relations with the false teachers (the latter may explain Paul’s concern with sexual purity in these two ...

1008. The Gate to Grace, Goodness, and Glory

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... other parts of the world, the shepherd walks ahead of his sheep and not behind them. As he walks, he talks to the sheep, giving them commands. The sheep may not immediately understand the shepherd's words but they know his voice. It is the voice of tender authority and caring. They have come to learn that he will take them to good pasture and will lead them into safe places. And when the people hear Jesus say, "I am the gate for the sheep" (v. 7), they understand what that means. Now, the imagery shifts ...

1009. Elephants in the Room: Addiction

Romans 7:15-22

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... could ask for. The problem was that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol for most of his life. He committed suicide in 2005. Shortly after his death, his first wife Sandy said: “I will never forget something Hunter once said to me. In one of his tender moments I asked him if he knew when he was about to become The Monster. He said, ‘Sandy, it’s like this. I sense it first, and before I have completely turned around he is there. He is me’” (Sondi Wright, “He Was Full Spectrum,” Rolling Stone ...

1010. Signs of the End of the Age

Matthew 24:1-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... ) to gather God’s elect (for Old Testament parallels, cf. Zech. 2:6 and Deut. 30:4). The scene depicted is clearly that of the return of Christ at the end of history as we know it. 24:32–35 The fig tree has a lesson to teach. When its tender shoots appear and begin to open into leaves, then you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all the things just described, know that the end is near, right at the door. The fig tree shed its leaves in winter and budded late in spring ...

1011. As You Go, Remember…

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... of grace to do its work. I often think the crucial issue in life is this: "How much or how little will we settle for?" The great enemy here is not God's wrath or impatience, but our timidity and fearfulness, our unwillingness to expose ourselves to that tough and tender mercy that has it in its power to bring us to fullness. C.S. Lewis used to say that whenever he got a toothache as a child, he was always faced with the painful dilemma of whether or not to tell his mother. On the one hand, if he told ...

1012. A Dead Girl and A Sick Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... this dead child can be “awakened” again to life. There is a similar figurative expression attributed to Jesus concerning Lazarus in John 11:11–15. 5:41 Talitha koum is an Aramaic phrase (the everyday language of Jewish Palestine in Jesus’ time) and literally means “Arise, lamb,” reflecting affection and tenderness.

1013. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... the darkness” (Heb. loʾyaʾamin shub minni khoshek), while now the impossibility of escape is declared an inevitable reality (Heb. loʾyasur minni khoshek). The darkness appears to be metaphorical, since the destruction continues in terms of flame and wind. Like a tender tree overwhelmed by a raging fire, the shoots of the wicked wither. This reference to “shoots” is a direct response to Job’s earlier dismal evaluation of human vulnerability to death in 14:7–10. Eliphaz takes Job’s image, of a ...

1014. Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

Romans 15:23-33

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... suppose that he hoped for representative missionaries (proficient in Latin?), rather than simply for financial assistance. But, in fact, Paul leaves his plans decidedly ambiguous, stating only that he hopes to have enjoyed your company for a while. At the very least, this is a tender admission of his need for spiritual nurture from Rome. Paul does not write as one who has arrived (Phil. 3:12). He too is part of the body of Christ, which means that his life is incomplete apart from other members of that body ...

1015. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... term philadelphia occurs in 1:22. Compassionate: The Greek eusplanchnoi (only elsewhere in the NT at Eph. 4:32) is derived from eu, well, and splanchna, the internal organs that were viewed as the seat of the emotions. As attempts at translation, “a tender heart” (RSV) and “kindly” (NEB) are passive, and “pitiful” (KJV) is condescending. The NIV’s compassionate is probably as near as English can get to a word so replete with feeling. The corresponding verb refers in the NT to the actions of ...

1016. The Three Annual Festivals

Exodus 23:14-19

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... to bring “the best of the firstfruits of your soil” all year, but this was especially important during the Feast of Harvest (Lev. 23:16–20; Deut. 26:1–11). The final law may refer to the preparations for the final harvest feast, during which the tenderizing effects of milk may have been sought as a special contribution to the festival. The Sinai laws repeat the injunction “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk” twice more (34:26; Deut. 14:21). It shares a common concern with other laws ...

1017. The Song of Moses

Deuteronomy 31:30--32:47

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... behalf as a backdrop to the charge of infidelity. Here the full story is told, starting even before human history with the divine election of Israel as the special portion of Yahweh (vv. 8f.), moving on to the historical events of exodus and God’s tender care in the wilderness (10–12), and climaxing in God’s abundant generosity in the land (13f.). Election, redemption, and land-gift embodied the essential acts of God on which the covenant with Israel is founded, and therefore the grounds on which the ...

1018. The Fall of Babylon

Isaiah 47:1-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... as woman than does Lamentations. At the moment, the city is like a woman of power and refinement. She is to become instead an ordinary working woman, fulfilling the ordinary tasks of a peasant, with nothing dignified about her. The descriptions of her as tender and delicate (v. 1) “conjure up the idea of luxury, the refinements of the court, the elegant life of carefree enjoyment” (Westermann, Isaiah 40–66, p. 190). She is everything that the most ambitious Judean might want to be. It is all about to ...

1019. Something is About to Happen!

John 1:1-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... being. And if you don’t get it, your parents will just have to live with the consequences of your future pain and dysfunction—Kids, I am trying to help you out! Others of you are expecting to sit around a beautifully decorated table and savor the tender turkey, the creamy mash potatoes, and the warm homemade bread. Some of you can almost taste it. Some of you are expecting to sit around a living room and hear the voices and laughter of your family and friends, feel the warmth of a loved one’s hug ...

1020. We've Got a Friend in High Places

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... that. If we could discern in the Old Testament a perfect representation of God’s character, there would have been no need for Christ. But the representation of God’s character in the Old Testament is a mixed bag. In some places, He is a tender shepherd, but, in other places, He calls for innocent people to be slaughtered. Christ’s life and teachings present a different kind of God altogether. We see in Christ’s life and death agape love being lived out--love that is unconditional and never-ending ...

1021. His Name Is John

Luke 1:57-66, 80

Sermon

King Duncan

... is part of what he sang: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Then Luke adds, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and ...

1022. The Three Bs

Luke 3:1-22, Psalm 29

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... Lord Jesus Christ!” This didn’t help the pastor much — but at least this guy understood the meaning of baptism![2] What is most important about our text for today is how it ends. After this remarkable transformation from thunder theology into tender theology — after the metamorphosis of this abstract, awesome God into a fragile, flesh and blood God — after the heavenly one decided to become earthy — to become concrete in bushes that burn and babies that burp and birds that baptize — it is then ...

1023. Blessed Among Women

Luke 1:39-56

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... to Mary, that she has found favor with God and is blessed among women -- and she says so. Again, men will hardly offer that gentle kind of affirmation to other men. We might slap each other on the back, but there won't be much tenderness about it. Not so with women. Mutual support, cooperation, kinship, gentleness often lie at the heart of their important conversations -- not competition, who is the stronger, richer or smarter. In the musical, My Fair Lady, the leading male character asks, "Why can't a ...

1024. What to Do With Human Failing

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... can cut it down.” (Luke 13:6-9) Notice what is happening in this story. A backyard fig tree has yet to produce figs. The owner suggests giving up and cutting the tree down. The gardener suggests another way. Give it more time and a little tender loving care. Loosen the soil and apply some fertilizer. Give it another year. If it still doesn’t produce figs, the option of cutting it down will still be available. Rather than offering a benign smile and nod and moving to the next question, Jesus turned the ...

1025. Ten Commandments for Parents

Illustration

Kevin Leman

... the world as yours have; let me explore it safely; don't restrict me unnecessarily. 3. Housework will always be there; I'm little only for a short time. Take time to explain things to me about this wonderful world, and do so willingly. 4. My feelings are tender; don't nag me all day long (you would not want to be nagged for your inquisitiveness). Treat me as you would like to be treated. 5. I am a special gift from God; treasure me as God intended you to do holding me accountable for my actions, giving ...

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