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 1276 to 1300 of 1400 results

1276. Unacceptable Sacrifices

Leviticus 22:17--23:2

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... may fall into the same arena as unclean animals. These equivalents mark the boundaries of graded holiness which are part of the Priestly tradition. First Corinthians 7:14 picks up some of this perspective in the NT. These instructions also operate from the notion that sacrifice should not be casual; the best is to be given to Yahweh. It is to be costly and not an opportunity to get rid of imperfect animals. The Holiness Code, in chapters 17–22, has demonstrated concerns with both ethical and cultic ...

1277. The Year of Jubilee

Leviticus 25:8-55

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... service is rather to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident . . . until the Year of the Jubilee, when the worker is released and can return to the original land. Resident alien and hired worker appear to have the same status. The notion of one Israelite owning another and putting the slave to hard service is anathema. The text speaks of the humane working off of a debt rather than enslavement, which does evoke a different image. The work is a temporary manifestation of economic difficulties ...

1278. The King Who Exalts Himself

Daniel 11:36-45

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... we know it. For this reason some understand that a major shift takes place here so that the biblical writer is no longer describing the life of the oppressor of the second century B.C. but is depicting the Antichrist at the end of time. However, the notion of the Antichrist is anachronistic, since its source is the NT in the Roman era (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7). While the author of Daniel would not have thought in those terms, Christian commentators sometimes do. This interpretation goes back at least ...

1279. The End Times

Daniel 12:1-13

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... name is found written in the book—will be delivered” (12:1). Perhaps the writer is reflecting on Jeremiah 30:7: “How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.” The notion of a great tribulation that will precede the second coming of Jesus is incorporated into NT apocalyptic theology too (Matt. 24:21–31; Mark 13:19–27; Luke 21:20–28; Rev. 7:14). “The book” is the book of life (Exod. 32:32–33; Ps. 69:28; Isa. 4 ...

1280. The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

John 4:27-38, John 4:1-26, John 4:39-42

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... were his disciples. The intent is to assure the reader that the Pharisees’ perception was incorrect. Jesus and John were not rivals and could not have been, for their roles were different and they moved in different spheres (cf. 3:27–36). Theologically, the notion that Jesus, who was supposed to baptize in the Holy Spirit (1:33), also baptized in water as John did is surprising and without parallel in the other Gospels. To the writer of this Gospel, it appears to have been a firmly fixed tradition ...

1281. “I Am from Him and He Sent Me”

John 7:25-44

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... 31 When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs? The question assumes that the Messiah is to perform miracles when he comes (cf. 2:18; 6:30; Mark 13:22), and that the sheer number or frequency of his miracles testifies to his identity. These notions, while not widely attested in Jewish sources, are assumed to be part of the Jewish expectation in 20:30, 31 as well: Jesus’ miracles bear witness that he is the Messiah, and the ones written about are but a sampling from a much larger number. In the ...

1282. The Claims of Jesus About Himself

John 8:48-59, John 8:31-41, John 8:42-47

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... of the narrator. The righteous have seen Jesus’ day—and they will live! (cf. v. 56, Mark 12:27; note also that Abraham is assumed to be alive in God’s presence in Luke 16:22–31). For an example of Judaism’s struggle with the notion that even such a great man as Abraham finally had to face physical death, see The Testament of Abraham, trans. M. E. Stone (Missoula, Mont.: Society of Biblical Literature, 1972). 8:56 Your father Abraham: Contrast v. 39, where Jesus denies that Abraham is their father ...

1283. Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

John 11:38-44

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... a message sent from a distance, neither is it said to be spoken to the disciples, and the disciples give no evidence of having heard it (contrast v. 7, where Jesus explicitly addresses “the disciples”). In any event, verses 4 and 40 are closely linked by the notion that the glory of God was displayed in the raising of Lazarus from the dead (cf. also the continuing vision promised to Jesus’ disciples according to 1:51). 11:44 Take off the grave clothes and let him go (lit., “loose him and let him go ...

1284. Jesus the Way to the Father

John 14:5-14

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... have known me, you will know” (cf. GNB). Jesus’ immediate positive statement that from now on, you do know him and have seen him (i.e., the Father, v. 7b) and his surprised question, “Don’t you know me, Philip?” (v. 9), further support the notion that Jesus is assuming knowledge—not the lack of it—on the part of his disciples. In this respect their situation stands in contrast to that of the Pharisees in 8:19. 14:11 Believe on the evidence of the miracles (lit., “believe because of the ...

1285. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-31, John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

1286. The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy

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

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... thlipsis, v. 21), suggest a revelation that is visible both to the world and the church, and one that puts the world decisively to shame—a kind of culmination of the Spirit’s ministry as described in verses 8–11. All of these factors support the notion that the first little while of verse 16 refers to Jesus’ physical departure from this world in death, and the second, to his visible return to earth at this Second Coming (or Parousia, as many early Christians called it). The first little while is the ...

1287. Jesus Prays for His Disciples

John 17:6-19

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world (v. 18). This means that Jesus’ death is the key to the mission of which he has been speaking since the beginning of verse 14 (with the words, “I have given them your word …”). The notion that the death of Jesus is the only thing that makes a world mission possible for his disciples is already familiar to the reader of this Gospel from 10:15–16 (“I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep.… I must bring them also”), 12 ...

1288. The Glory of the New Covenant

2 Corinthians 3:7-17; 4:1-6

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... the God of the age/world [ton theon tou aionos].” Hence, our passage apparently refers to God himself as the one who has blinded the minds of unbelievers, an idea supported by other Pauline passages (cf. 2 Cor. 3:14; Rom. 11:8). Such a notion, however, is as repugnant to the modern mind as the Markan explanation of Jesus’ use of parables (Mark 4:12, citing Isa. 6:9–10). Therefore, commentators usually prefer to interpret the expression as a reference to Satan, even though such a designation seems to ...

1289. Hearts / Repentance

2 Corinthians 7:2-16

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... ), Paul is in a better situation to request the completion of the collection (2 Cor. 8–9), which will demand a financial sacrifice from the Corinthians. Additional Notes 7:2 In light of the theme of the new covenant in 6:14–7:1, it becomes apparent that Paul’s notion of opening the heart in 6:13 and 7:2 can be compared to the idea in 2 Macc. 1:4–5: “May he (namely, God) open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you ...

1290. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... are servants of Christ. The apostle has already described the intruders as “servants” of Satan who disguise themselves as “servants of righteousness” (v. 15) and as “apostles of Christ” (v. 13). Therefore, it is obvious that he cannot seriously entertain the notion of their being true servants of Christ. He does so only to introduce several ways in which he is superior to the opponents as a servant of Christ (I am more). It is possible that the opponents described themselves as “servants ...

1291. Visit

2 Corinthians 13:1-10, 2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... visits: the founding visit and the second, painful visit. Simultaneously, the apostle announces that he will not be a burden to the Corinthians when he comes, just as he was not during the previous visits (cf. 11:9; 12:13). He wants to dispel any notion that he will exploit the Corinthians (7:2). Since one of his objectives in coming to Corinth is to complete the collection for Jerusalem (chs. 8–9), Paul feels he must reassure the church of his honest intentions, especially in light of their suspicions ...

1292. Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26, James 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... of the Abraham legend. In the midrash Genesis Rabba 98:3, for example, the Shema is traced back to Abraham. Josephus has his version in Antiquities 1.154–157 (1.7.1 in Whiston’s division): “[Abraham] was the first that ventured to publish this notion that there was but one God, the Creator of the universe.” Philo also refers to the legend (Legum Allegoriae 3.228; De Virtue 216). Thus all Jews in the New Testament period thought of Abraham as the first to discover monotheistic faith. 2:23 The ...

1293. Be Holy

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... divisions, a relatively modern device. The “therefore” of 2:1 looks back to the end of chapter 1, where after a reference to “purification” (1:22) the subject is the living word of God (1:23–25). Peter and his readers would be familiar with the biblical notion that the spiritual food provided by the Scriptures (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4) is pure (Ps. 12:6; 119:140; Prov. 30:5), and they appropriately likened it to milk for its life-promoting quality (Ps. 119:50, 93; Acts 20:32), especially at an early ...

1294. The Temple Musicians

1 Chronicles 6:31-81

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... whole Jerusalemite cult—with all its officials and institutions—was based on Levitical descent. The prominence of this genealogy, therefore, from the start signals the reader that the Chronicler is working from a cultic perspective. The cult forms a central notion in the identity construction he is negotiating here. Whoever wants to understand himself or herself as part of All-Israel should also be embedded in the cultic community. The Levitical genealogy is closely related in the literary structure to ...

1295. The Remnant of Israel

Isaiah 10:20-34

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... supports who eventually turn against them (v. 20). Israel will then live up to another interpretation of the name Shear-Jashub as it turns to Yahweh, holder of the designation Mighty God (v. 21) which also appeared in that other name in 9:6. If the notion of a remnant surviving had become some sort of comfort instead of being a threat, verses 20–21 take the idea of a remnant returning and do something new with it that prevents it from being a false comfort. Survival is not enough. It is still necessary ...

1296. The Branch from Jesse

Isaiah 11:1-16

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... kings. The return to that provision here thus suggests a link with the origin of the monarchy (see v. 1). It was of the essence of this coming of Yahweh’s spirit that it was tumultuous and unpredictable, as was the case with Saul. The notion that Yahweh’s spirit might rest on someone is therefore almost an oxymoron. This idea of resting features in the story of the prophets in Numbers 11:25–26 and suggests a mixing of metaphors designed to make a large theological claim. The supernatural presence ...

1297. Everlasting Salvation for Zion

Isaiah 51:1-16

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... through the section: there are four double occurrences of the verb “waken/awake” (50:4; 51:9, 17; 52:1). There is no reason to resist taking the obvious view that the “I” in 50:4–9 is the prophet, as in 40:1–6. Before the notion of “servant songs” sidetracked the interpretation of Isaiah 40–55, commentators could assume so. 51:1–3 Three times in verses 1–8 Yahweh bids the people to pay heed (see vv. 1a, 4a, 7a). Further imperatives follow each bidding, verbs urging them to look (vv. 1b ...

1298. The Cup of the Lord's Wrath

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... section: there are four double occurrences of the verb “waken/awake” (50:4; 51:9, 17; 52:1). There is no reason to resist taking the obvious view that the “I” in 50:4–9 is the prophet, as in 40:1–6. Before the notion of “servant songs” sidetracked the interpretation of Isaiah 40–55, commentators could assume so. 51:17–23 Throughout these prophecies in chapters 40–55, as far as we can tell nothing has changed. In outward circumstances the situation of the Judean community in Babylon and ...

1299. Sin, Confession and Redemption

Isaiah 59:1-21

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... so as to incline it in the direction to listen. The heavy ears sit on someone else’s head: see 6:10 (Zech. 7:11 is the only other occurrence of this expression). 59:2–8 Central to Israel’s self-understanding in the Preacher’s time was the notion of separation or the making of distinctions. It was a key feature of God’s making the world itself as a clearly-structured place (Gen. 1) and then of God’s organizing its peoples so that Israel is distinguished from other peoples (e.g., Lev. 20:24, 26 ...

1300. A Divided Family

Mark 3:20-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... of his mind.’” That’s Jesus they’re talking about, and these are his mother and brothers doing the talking. If you were a writer of a Gospel trying to convince people that Jesus is the Messiah, why in the world would you include the notion that, at the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus’ own family had questions about his sanity? Matthew and Luke, who incorporated much of the same material as Mark in their versions of these stories, have nothing to say about this alleged rift between Jesus and ...

Showing results