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 1226 to 1250 of 3082 results

1226. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 26:1-28

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

These chapters are introduced by a superscription indicating that they are from Solomon by way of the “men of Hezekiah.” The sayings break from the admonitory style of 22:17–24:34 and resemble those of chapters 10–22:16. However, these sayings are much more vivid, and in chapters 25–27 they form larger units (“proverb poems,” as they have been called). Explicit comparisons are frequent. We are unable to say much about the general setting of the collection, but the ambience of the court predominates in ...

1227. The Empty Tomb and the First Appearance

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The story of the empty tomb is Mary Magdalene’s story. To this point in the Gospel, Mary has been mentioned only once, with no further identification (19:25), probably because she is presumed to be well known to the Gospel’s readers. In Mark, Matthew, and Luke she is mentioned first among the women who came to the tomb on Sunday morning, but here she seems to come alone. Only her statement that we [plural] don’t know the whereabouts of Jesus’ body (v. 2) betrays a consciousness of others present with her ...

1228. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

Cain Slays Abel and Lamech Boasts: The first siblings are unable to live in harmony. Hatred propels Cain to murder his own brother. The tragic, brute power of sin also finds expression in Lamech’s boasting song, in which he brazenly gloats over a wanton killing while pronouncing threats against others. These incidents illustrate how Adam and Eve’s disobedience unleashed sin as a destructive power in society and brought death into the world. This chapter has four parts: the births of Cain and Abel (vv. 1–2a ...

1229. Joshua to Succeed Moses

Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

A Song for the Future: At this point we move finally to the “outer frame” of the book, composed of chapters 1–3 and 31–34. The links between the two sections are very clear, and they could be read together continuously. The common theme, especially at the “join” (cf. 3:21–28), is the commissioning of Joshua to lead the Israelites into the land, in view of the fact that Moses would not do so but would die outside it. However, whereas chapters 1–3 focus primarily on the past, chapters 31–34 shift to the ...

1230. Two Adulterous Sisters

Ezekiel 23:1-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

A Tale of Two Sisters: The allegory of the two sisters in Ezekiel 23 is clearly related to the story of the foundling bride Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16. This can be seen not only in explicit terminological links (e.g., the expression translated “naked and bare” appears only in 23:29 and 16:7, 22, 39), but also in the broad outline and theme of the story. Both chapters personify cities as women and graphically depict their unfaithfulness to God through foreign alliances and idolatry as adultery (for the ...

1231. Jesus Begins His Ministry to Israel

Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew 4:18-22

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus announces the arrival of God’s kingdom by preaching and healing and calls disciples to follow in his mission. Understanding the Text This passage begins a new section of Matthew’s story of Jesus in which Jesus begins to minister to the people of Israel in the area of Galilee (as signaled by the narrative formula at 4:17; 16:21). The inaugural message of Jesus—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (4:17)—is identical to John’s earlier preaching (3:2). Jesus’ preaching of the ...

1232. Sermon on the Mount: Giving, Prayer, and Fasting

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus expects his disciples to practice a covenantal piety that centers on a longing for God’s kingdom to arrive and strives to please God, not humans. Understanding the Text Following on the heels of Matthew’s instructions about keeping the law, this passage indicates right ways of enacting religious practices of giving, prayer, and fasting. In each case, believers ought to act “in secret” to receive divine rather than human approval. Their behavior is to contrast with “hypocrites” who care ...

1233. Jesus as Isaianic Messiah and Wisdom Embodied

Matthew 11:1-19

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew demonstrates Jesus to be the Messiah, who signals the kingdom’s arrival by his acts of healing and preaching of good news and confounds human expectations by embodying the wisdom of God. Understanding the Text This passage begins a two-chapter account of various responses to who Jesus is and to his kingdom message among the Jewish people of Galilee. Beginning with John the Baptist’s wonderings about Jesus, the reader hears of various responses, from the very negative responses of Jewish ...

1234. Jesus, Messiah and Lord, Is True Interpreter of the Torah

Matthew 22:15-22, Matthew 22:23-33, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: When his authority is tested, Jesus is shown to be the true interpreter of the Torah, amazing people with his answers, calling people to absolute loyalty to God and love of neighbor, and showing himself to be Messiah and Lord. Understanding the Text In response to Jesus’ three provocative parables, various groups of Jewish leaders initiate confrontations with Jesus (see 22:15, 23, 34). These revolve around Torah adherence and how to live out faithful allegiance to Yahweh, similar to earlier ...

1235. The Jewish Leaders as Negative Foil for Jesus’ Followers

Matthew 23:1-39

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: For Matthew, the Jewish leaders are disobedient to the Torah and pursue the honor of their positions, providing a foil to Jesus’ followers, who are to renounce concern for status and live in community as brothers and sisters. Understanding the Text Matthew concludes his narration of confrontation between Jesus and the Jerusalem leaders with a series of judgment warnings upon the Pharisees and teachers of the law (23:1–36). The chapter begins with a call to Jesus’ followers to avoid the motivation ...

1236. Testing in the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The Son of God is tested in preparation for his mission, and he defeats the devil’s attempts to drive a wedge between him and his Father. Understanding the Text The devil’s proposals echo and depend on the declaration that Jesus is God’s Son, which has just been made in 3:22. This scene, still set in the wilderness where John has been baptizing, now completes Jesus’s preparation before his public ministry begins in 4:14. That ministry will take him back up north to his home province, among the ...

1237. Two Memorable Healings

Luke 5:17-26, Luke 5:12-16

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Jesus brings not only physical healing and social restoration but also spiritual liberation by the forgiveness of sins. Understanding the Text These two episodes develop Luke’s portrait of Jesus the healer, a theme that was alluded to in 4:23 and spelled out in 4:40, and that will remain a prominent feature of his ministry throughout the time in Galilee and on the road to Jerusalem. In 4:40 we learned of Jesus’s ability to heal “various kinds of sickness,” and here that bald statement is filled ...

1238. The Mystery and Mercy of God

Romans 11:25-32

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul merges two grand themes: mystery and mercy. The mystery of God is that the end-time conversion of the Gentiles will occur before the restoration of Israel, the reverse order of the Old Testament prophecies. God’s mystery involves his showing mercy to both Gentiles and Jews in these last days. Understanding the Text Romans 11:25–32 is the grand conclusion to chapters 9–11, showing that God has not cast off Israel, all the while showing mercy to the nations. Romans 11:25–32 divides into two ...

1239. The Burnt Offering

Leviticus 1:1-17

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: God is receptive to the petitions of those totally consecrated to him. Understanding the Text Leviticus continues the story of the book of Exodus. Eleven and a half months after the exodus, Israel completes the tabernacle, and the “glory of the Lord” takes up residence there (Exod. 40:1, 17, 34–38). Leviticus instructs Israelites on using that tabernacle for burnt offerings (Lev. 1), grain offerings (Lev. 2), fellowship offerings (Lev. 3), sin offerings (Lev. 4:1–5:13), and guilt offerings (Lev. ...

1240. You Reap What You Sow

2 Sam 13:1-39

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord ensures that justice is satisfied, sometimes by allowing one’s children to repeat the parent’s sins. Understanding the Text The Lord confronted David with his sin and announced that he would severely punish him. Through Nathan’s entrapment technique, he even maneuvered David into imposing his own penalty. David must pay fourfold for his theft of Uriah’s wife (2 Sam. 12:6). The first installment of this payment came almost immediately, as the first baby born to Bathsheba and David died. ...

1241. David Spares Saul’s Life

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord vindicates his chosen servants when they look to him for justice. Understanding the Text Chapter 23 ends with David’s escaping from Saul, yet one suspects that this is but a respite in the unfolding conflict. Indeed, once he has dealt with the Philistine problem, Saul resumes his pursuit of David. This time divine providence hands David an opportunity to kill Saul, yet he refuses to do so. Instead, he confronts Saul, protests his innocence, and appeals to God for justice. Throughout this ...

1242. “You Are Not a God Who Is Pleased with Wickedness”

Psalm 5:1-12

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God and evil are mutually incompatible, and on the human level, that is effectively demonstrated in the harmful results of evil perpetrated on others. Understanding the Text Psalm 5 is an individual lament (see “The Anatomy of Lament” in the introduction), issuing a complaint that the psalmist’s enemies cannot be trusted (not unusual for one’s enemies!) and affirming trust in the Lord. So far we have seen a lineup of psalms (2–5) that deal with David’s enemies. His reign was one of war and ...

1243. “Ascribe to the Lord the Glory Due His Name”

Psalm 29:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God has many voices, sometimes proclaiming his majesty and power through nature, while his people acclaim the message in worship. Understanding the Text In this beautiful psalm of praise, the “voice of the Lord,” the central thrust of Psalm 29, heard in the frightful storm, announces in nature’s accent the lordship of Yahweh, ending in the peaceful lull of the storm. In Psalm 96 (v. 10a) the announcement of the Lord’s reign sends the heavens and the earth and all creation into passionate ...

1244. “In God I Trust and Am Not Afraid. What Can Mere Mortals Do to Me?”

Psalm 56:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: To ask God to store our tears “in his bottle” is to affirm our trust in God’s attentive care to the detail of our miseries. Understanding the Text Psalm 56 is an individual lament that, suggested by the Greek and Aramaic translations of “A Dove on Distant Oaks,” came to be used as a community lament (see the comments on the title below). As is often the case with laments, the psalm is tempered by statements of trust (56:3, 4, 11), so much so that we would not go entirely wrong if we called it an ...

1245. “When You Ascended on High, You Took Many Captives”

Psalm 68:1-35

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: The story of God’s redeeming grace gives us the sense of being present on the journey. Understanding the Text There is no virtue in trying to make a difficult psalm sound easy. It is widely agreed that Psalm 68 is textually and theologically one of the most difficult psalms in the Psalter. Yet most scholars agree that there is a story line that stretches through the psalm, a condensed history of Israel—or we should probably say, of Yahweh’s presence with Israel—from Egypt to Zion. The action on ...

1246. The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

Zechariah 8:1-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Chapter 7 ends with a description of the desolation of the land brought about by Israel’s disobedience. Now God takes it upon himself to bring about a change despite Israel’s failure. This is the outworking of God’s grace and his faithfulness to his promises. The depth of God’s emotion is very evident here. In 1:14 his zeal is aroused by the sight of a Gentile world that is secure and prosperous while Israel is in distress. There his zeal brings about the destruction of the godless nations and a restored ...

1247. Jesus Made Like His Brothers

Hebrews 2:5-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In the next section (2:5–18) the contrast between Christ and the angels continues. The assertion of the sovereignty of the Son over the world to come may be a direct rebuttal of such speculation regarding the role of angels in the coming kingdom now known to have been entertained among the Essenes. “The world to come” is the author’s theme and thus may be identified with the salvation just mentioned in 2:3 (cf. 9:28). Throughout Hebrews, the author views salvation in terms of its future consummation. Its ...

1248. Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

Mark 1:21-28

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

1:21–28 It is significant that the first scene of Jesus’ ministry (after the calling of the four disciples) is one in which Jesus teaches and performs an exorcism. Both actions are emphasized in Mark’s Gospel as characteristic aspects of Jesus’ ministry, and by placing this account in the opening of Jesus’ ministry, Mark shows the reader immediately a representative scene. Although Mark says that Jesus “proclaimed” (1:14), more characteristically he describes Jesus as teaching, as here in the present scene ...

1249. Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

Luke 4:31-37

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

Jesus Casts Out Demons: With the exorcism in 4:33–36 we have the first of some twenty-one miracles performed by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. These miracles may be assigned to four basic categories: Exorcisms, healings, resuscitations, and nature miracles. (1) In addition to the exorcism of the demon-possessed man in the synagogue, Jesus exorcises two other demon-possessed persons (the Gerasene “demoniac” in 8:26–39 and the mute man in 11:14). Luke 4:41 refers to exorcisms in general, while elsewhere in ...

1250. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Luke 9:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

This section is made up of the sending of the Twelve (vv. 1–6) and Herod’s perplexity about Jesus’ identity and the meaning of his ministry (vv. 7–9). It is probably legitimate to combine these two parts (derived from Mark 6:7–29 and portions of the sayings source) since Luke may have intended Herod’s question to be viewed against Jesus’ Galilean ministry as it reaches its climax in the sending of his men to preach and to heal, the very things that Jesus has been doing since Luke 4. Luke 9 is for the ...

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