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 1251 to 1275 of 1400 results

1251. The Divine King Comes to Judge the Earth

Psalm 96:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... ) to all creation: the heavens, the earth, the sea, the fields, and the forest. Here, the OT anticipated by millennia the modern discovery of the ecological connectedness of the natural and human worlds. Yahweh’s “setting things right” among the peoples has its effects among all God’s creatures (this notion underlies Rom. 8:19–23). Social order and creation order are inevitably intertwined.

1252. A Prayer for the Afflicted and for the Ruins of Zion

Psalm 102:1-28

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... taunt me, but they are not this psalm’s chief concern. They simply exacerbate an existing condition (note the logical connective for in v. 9), one that may ultimately be traced back to God: because of your great wrath. A literal translation brings out the notion that God’s treatment has a note of cruelty: “you have picked me up and cast me away/down.” 102:12–22 This section consists of hymnic praise blended with promises and assurances for the future. But in this lament psalm this is not praise ...

1253. The Creator and His Providential Ordering of Creation

Psalm 104:1-35

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of the God of the skies begun in verses 1–4. There, attention was given to his activity in the skies; here, it is given to the earth’s quaking response (cf. 18:7; 68:8; 77:18; 97:4; 144:5). Although modern readers may enjoy the notions of singing and meditation in verses 33–34, the wish expressed in next verse seems to spoil an otherwise pleasant psalm: may sinners vanish from the earth. But a distinctive and constituent part of the OT theophany tradition of the God of the skies is that his appearance ...

1254. The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

Matthew 16:5-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... entire point of God’s intention (cf. Matt. 5:20). Fenton writes, “The band of disciples must be on their guard against a self-conscious religiosity that demands guarantees, when it is God’s desire to break in unexpectedly through the fixed notions of their system” (pp. 333–34). The Sadducees were guilty of identifying the kingdom of God with material possessions and pinned their hopes on achieving it by political action (Barclay, vol. 2, p. 132). Rigid legalism and political opportunism are twin ...

1255. Meditating on the Lord’s Instruction: From A to Z

Psalm 119:1-176

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... , 11, 32). And here the speaker has zeal for your words (v. 139), instead of “zeal for your house” (69:9). Like Psalm 15:4, a psalm of temple entry, it promotes association with all who fear you (v. 63) and indignation against the wicked (vv. 53, 158). But the notion of “walking with integrity” (Hb. hlk tmym, which the NIV renders, “to walk blamelessly”), instead of being defined by the rites of temple entry (15:2; 26:1, 11), is defined by “the law of the LORD” (vv. 1, 80).

1256. The Maker of Heaven and Earth Watching Over His Pilgrims

Psalm 121:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of the journey to Jerusalem. 121:1–2 The psalm begins with a testimony from a liturgist. What is the significance of the hills? Are they a threat or a potential source of my help? There are three possibilities. First, in keeping with the notion of pilgrimage, they may represent hiding places for dangers en route (cf. the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10). Second, they may represent touchpoints of divine help, as symbolized by shrines on the “high places.” Third, they may be symbolic of natural ...

1257. The Davidic Mercies and Deliverance from Foreigners

Psalm 144:1-15

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... be like . . .” As the blessing progresses it moves through ever widening circles: first for the family, then for the agricultural produce of the land, and then for national security against foreign invasion. As such, the entire psalm opens and closes with the notion of blessing. At the first, Yahweh is “blessed” (the NIV’s “Praise be to the LORD” is lit., “Blessed be [Hb. bārûk] Yahweh”), and at the end the people are blessed (Hb. ʾašrê). This psalm’s use of earlier scripture ...

1258. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Daniel 2:1-23

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... the king (Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar) the future (Gen. 41:25, 28; Dan. 2:28). Both have the hero promoted as a reward for his service (Gen. 41:40–42; Dan. 2:48; also note the gold chain of Gen. 41:42, paralleled later in Dan. 5:29, and the notion that the Spirit of God dwells within Joseph [Gen. 41:38], paralleled in Dan. 4:8, 9, 18; 5:11, 14). There are differences as well as similarities. Daniel might be considered to be greater than Joseph, because he not only interprets the dream but is able to reveal ...

1259. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... and to praise God (4:1–3, 34–37); Nabonidus was instructed by the Jewish diviner to record his story and to glorify God. Finally, both texts tell of a polytheistic king who learns something of the Jewish God. Further support for the notion that chapter 4 was originally about Nabonidus comes from other texts and from other places in Daniel. We know nothing from Babylonian records of a seven year hiatus in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. However, records exist corroborating that Nabonidus was away from Babylon ...

1260. The Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5:1-31

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... weighed on the scales and found wanting (5:27). Belshazzar is not substantial enough to rule; lacking gravitas, he is too light. In fact, the writer may have had in mind the verb qelal, “to be light,” as a further wordplay on teqel (Collins, Daniel, p. 252). This notion of being weighed by God is also found in 1 Samuel 2:3; Job 31:6; Psalm 62:9; and Proverbs 24:12. The third term that Daniel interprets is Peres (5:28), not parsin. As already noted, this suggests that parsin is not original to verse 25 ...

1261. Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel 8:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... to Joshua, the earthly commander, at the beginning of the conquest. At other times “host” simply means the heavenly bodies—the sun, moon, and stars, or just the stars (Gen. 2:1 [NIV “array”]; Ps. 33:6). Yet there is a connection between these two notions. The stars are part of God’s host, fighting for Israel from heaven in the story of Deborah (Judg. 5:20). It is well known that people in the ancient world worshiped the stars as heavenly beings, something that the Israelites were warned not to ...

1262. The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:2-35

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... ; 10:14; 11:27, 40, 45; Hab. 2:3). This was a word of comfort, because the persecution could not continue any longer than God permitted (Hartman and Di Lella, Daniel, p. 301). Included in the end would be the death of Antiochus Epiphanes (11:40–45). This notion of an appointed end is mirrored in the NT in the teaching of Jesus that the Father has determined a time for the return of Christ, which no one knows—not the angels and not even the Son (Matt. 24:36). For those who are troubled about the doctrine ...

1263. John the Baptist Beheaded

Mark 6:14-29

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... all three opinions are wrong in Mark’s view; yet he cites them to show, not only that people were blind to Jesus’ true significance, but also that the people did recognize in Jesus some sort of special significance like that of the OT prophets. The notion that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead (v. 14) may have been meant literally or figuratively, but in either case what is indicated is that Jesus seemed to be proclaiming the same message of the coming kingdom of God as John did, with ...

1264. Peter's Confession of Christ

Mark 8:27-30

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... and their demand that he come down from the cross illustrates that their definition of Christ (Messiah) does not involve one who suffers and dies in shame. (The difficult passage 12:35–37, where the term Christ appears, also shows the reader that popular notions about the Messiah were inadequate. See the comments on this passage.) At first glance, it would appear that at last Peter and the Twelve have broken through their dullness of mind and are able to perceive who Jesus really is, but the reader is ...

1265. Jesus Clears the Temple

Mark 11:12-19

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... Mark’s readers may have been prepared by Christian teaching to see it. Specifically, there is evidence that from the early years of Christianity the church was seen as the new temple of God (the people, not any building; cf., e.g., 1 Cor. 3:16–17). This notion may have been connected with the idea that Jesus’ resurrection body was the new temple (John 2:13–23) and that the church, which was his “body” in a spiritual sense (e.g., 1 Cor. 12:27), became the new temple by union with the risen Christ ...

1266. The Death of Jesus

Mark 15:33-41

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... of the sinners for which he died (thus, Lane, pp. 572–73). But to take one view against the other would be to miss part of what Mark intends here. Mark surely wants his readers to understand that Jesus’ death was genuine suffering and shame, and any notion of a serene Jesus on the cross does not do justice either to what we know about crucifixion or to Mark’s narrative. However, the quotation of this cry of Jesus also shows that Jesus’ death was the fulfillment of the suffering of the righteous man ...

1267. Who Will Be the Greatest?

Luke 9:46-50

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... and lowly, is to be considered great. To welcome the insignificant and the humble is to welcome Jesus himself. This idea is part of Jesus’ unusual and unexpected criteria of evaluation, criteria which were unacceptable to many of the religious authorities of his time. The notion that the weak and the lowly will more readily gain admission into the kingdom of God than the rich and the mighty is stressed throughout Luke’s Gospel (e.g., 14:15–24). 9:49–50 From openness and tolerance for the weak and ...

1268. More Than Conquerors

Romans 8:28-39

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... not as bad as they seem and that everything “will work out in the end.” But this is to confuse wishful thinking with Christian faith. The first part of verse 28 was in fact an axiom in both Hellenism and Judaism. Plato says in the Republic: This must be our notion of the just man, that even when he is in poverty or sickness, or any other seeming misfortune, all things will in the end work together for good to him in life and death: for the gods have a care for any whose desire is to become just and to ...

1269. Personal Requests

1 Corinthians 16:5-18

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... literally Paul writes, “for to me opened a great and effective door.” Orr and Walther (I Corinthians, p. 357) note that this figure is fairly common in the NT (see Acts 14:27; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3; Rev. 3:8). Indeed, the notion of God’s opening doors and the believers’ being responsible to perceive and pass through such doors is a theological cliché in Western Christianity. 16:10 Paul’s imperative, see to it (Gk. blepete, from blepō) is direct and forceful, not merely polite and encouraging ...

1270. To the Church in Pergamum

Revelation 2:12-17

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... powerful demonstration of God’s rule, on the other hand, is the transformation of faithful people for the good. The effects of God’s grace within the church may well be obscured by the effects of living within a society at odds with the notions of divine truth and the character of divine love. Conflict is therefore the necessary result of fidelity to God’s gospel. Even though such faithfulness results in affliction, it is nevertheless motivated by the reality of Christ’s resurrection and the hope of ...

1271. To the Church in Thyatira

Revelation 2:18-29

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... . Ps. 2:9), are now understood as referring to the products of the city’s industry. Thus, Christ’s lordship over the faithful assures for them their final vindication over those whose values are shaped by economic rather than by biblical notions of power. 2:19 Christ commends good works that deepen the congregation’s love and faith, your service and perseverance. These deeds form relationships within a spiritual congregation that provide its foundation for “the long obedience in the right direction ...

1272. The Harvest of the Earth

Revelation 14:14-20

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... measured by God (Revelation, p. 282). But surely the focal point of the vision is the blood that flowed out of the press and not the Lamb. This blood is the “death-blood” of God’s judgment and not the “life-blood” of God’s Lamb. In fact, because the notion of “life-blood” is linked by tradition and scripture to Jerusalem’s temple and specifically to its altar, the kind of blood that is shed outside the city of Jerusalem indicates death and judgment rather than life and salvation.

1273. Cities of Refuge

Numbers 35:6-34

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... is to extend out fifteen hundred feet, while verse 5 designates that the area is to be a square three thousand feet on each side. These numbers seem to assume that the size of the town is but a single point, perhaps not an uncommon notion in Jewish tradition. Joshua 21 also recounts the assigning of the towns for the Levites. These settlements are distributed widely in the land, so that those who care for the sanctuary and guard the holiness of the divine presence will also be distributed throughout the ...

1274. The Fellowship Offering (II)

Leviticus 7:11-21

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... this instruction with that in Leviticus 5:11, in which oil is prohibited from those grain offerings associated with purification rites. The oil dedicates the offerings to God and so makes them offerings of thanksgiving. As we have seen, the Hebrew notion of thanksgiving is closely tied to praise. The worshiper recounts the story of how God has delivered or blessed, and in rejoicing brings a fellowship offering along with grain products akin to those used in the grain offering. The priest who officiates ...

1275. The Priests' Share

Leviticus 7:28-38

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... in Genesis 1 is also determinative for much of the sacrificial code. Exodus 19:6 says, “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” and these chapters direct the Israelites to incarnate that authorization. As Scripture, Leviticus again challenges our notions of God, worship, and atonement. The NT picks up the image of sacrifice in a variety of places. Notable also is the image of God as a consuming fire in Hebrews 12:28–29: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be ...

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