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 1626 to 1650 of 2036 results

1626. Rebuilding the Altar

Ezra 3:1-6

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... burnt offerings made each day, morning and evening, as verse 3 elaborates. These verses reflect Numbers 28:2–4. The new altar is carefully built on the “site” (NJPS) of the old altar of burnt offering, a huge structure that had pride of place in Solomon’s temple court. Sacred text and sacred tradition are the two religious foundations that provide continuity and authenticity for the contemporary task of worship. Verse 3 translates the intention of verse 2 into satisfying fact. Religious celebration ...

1627. List of the Family Heads Returning With Ezra

Ezra 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... pattern after the first three cases. It supplies the name of the clan to which each group belonged, the name of the patriarchal family head together with his father’s name, and the number of male members of the extended family who returned with him. Pride of place is given to two priestly groups. This is not surprising, since a priest was leading the party; it was also warranted by the religious nature of Ezra’s mission. This whole account is dominated by the temple (”house”), which will feature in ...

1628. Builders of the Wall

Nehemiah 3:1-32

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... (2:20), and who proudly exercised their privileges by rebuilding its wall. Nehemiah evidently persuaded them that the “welfare of the Israelites” (2:10) was at stake. This section seems to have originated as a separate list found in the temple archives: it gives pride of place to the high priest (v. 1). Instead of first-person references to Nehemiah, he is probably mentioned in the third person in verse 5. Chapter 3 describes the complete rebuilding of the wall, including the gates, and so it does not ...

1629. Nehemiah Helps the Poor

Nehemiah 5:1-19

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... and their oppressors. The ideal of the chapter is the expression of communal brotherhood, which emerges from a term used in verse 5, “brothers” (NJB and NJPS, in place of countrymen). Nehemiah borrowed the term from the cry of v. 5 and gave it pride of place in the narrative of verse 1 (their Jewish brothers). Three reported statements tell the story of the crisis. These remind us of the three negative statements, each from a different quarter, in 4:10–12. Here, however, the reported speech is a ...

1630. Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem

Nehemiah 12:27-47

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... gatekeepers could continue a tradition that went back to David and Solomon, founders of the temple. So two traditions could be honored—that of the Torah and that of the first temple. The editor expands the latter theme in verse 46, with the same pride in religious origins that traced Zechariah’s origins back to Asaph in verse 35 (compare 7:44). Members of each generation were stewards responsible for keeping up this spiritual heritage. The survival of temple worship in the editor’s day was taken as ...

1631. Nehemiah's Final Reforms

Nehemiah 13:1-31

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

1632. Esther's Request to the King

Esther 5:1-8

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... all his friends said to him: Zeresh consoles her pouting husband in much the same way that Jezebel comforts Ahab in 1 Kgs. 21:7. Both devise a scheme to use the law (grounded in a false accusation) to satisfy the sulking ruler and get him what he wants. However, pride goes before a downfall, not permanent happiness. For this insight, see Jobes (Esther, p. 145).

1633. Mordecai Honored

Esther 6:1-14

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’” (vv. 7–9). Surely, “A fool’s mouth is his undoing” (Prov. 18:7a). The prayer of many a lament is, “for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride” (Ps. 59:12). Haman has made the equation between honor and royalty. His description of this ceremony uses the terms “king” (melek) or “royal” (malkut) eight times. Haman is so consumed with royal honor that some ancient commentators connect him with the attempted coup ...

1634. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 11:1-31

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... from cultic usage; cf. 11:20. In both lines, subjects and predicates are simply juxtaposed. 11:2 There is alliteration in the Hb. v. 2a: bāʾ-zādôn wayyābōʾ qālôn that is almost impossible to produce in English. The REB has, “When pride comes in, in comes contempt.” 11:3 Read the Qere in v. 3b, “[it] destroys them.” 11:7 The LXX translates: “When the righteous person dies, hope does not vanish / and the presumption of the wicked is destroyed.” Any translation of v. 7 remains uncertain ...

1635. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 21:1-31

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... that is taken up by lamp in verse 4b. Thus the hubris of the sinner is the guide to wrongdoing. This interpretation of the NIV rests on the reading of lamp for “tillage” of the MT; see Additional Notes. Perhaps the MT can be explained in the sense that pride is the tillage, the preparation for, or undertaking of, sin. 21:5 Antithetic. The diligent are always praised (e.g., 10:24; 14:23), and their work leads to wealth (10:4). The sages usually look askance at hasty action, as in 19:2 and 29:20, and ...

1636. A Message About Ammon

Jeremiah 49:1-6

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... reflects the practice of a victorious army that steals the statues of the defeated’s gods and places them in their own temple. Not only will the god be taken away, but so will the priests and officials. Verse 4 questions Ammon’s propensity to have pride and confidence in its fruitful valleys and riches. These will not help when God himself attacks that nation. 49:6 Yes, they will be exiled, but as with Egypt and with Moab (but not Philistia), God also declares that the Ammonites will survive (I will ...

1637. A Message About Edom

Jeremiah 49:7-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... of this section. There seems to be a staccato-like series of taunts against Edom. It begins with a picture of God rallying the nations through an envoy to come together and attack Edom. There is no escape from Edom who thought itself large because of the pride of its heart, but now is small among the nations. In fact, Edom was not a large nation. However, its cliffs and mountains made it a relatively easy place to protect. But these defenses will be of no avail. Edomites could build a refuge high in caves ...

1638. Judgment Against Israel

Hosea 5:1-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... free to walk by the Spirit (Rom. 6; Gal. 5:22–24). 5:5–7 Before this act of salvation, God will judge Israel’s faithlessness, however, verses 5–7. Though helpless in sin, Israel does not recognize its own corruption and takes great pride in its syncretistic and lavish worship (v. 5), flocking to the high places to offer multitudinous sacrifices (v. 6). That very action condemns Israel, however, testifying to its faithlessness, as in a court of law. Israel worships Baal under the guise of worshiping ...

1639. Israel Unrepentant

Hosea 6:1--7:16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... remarkable fact, however, is that Israel does not realize it is dying. Twice in verse 9, the prophet repeats the phrase, “and he knows it not,” a repetition obscured by the NIV translation (see the RSV). Israel is totally without understanding and sense. In pride, Israel does not turn to the Lord (a flat cake not turned over); Israel does not even realize her fatal condition. Because he is dealing with the issue of life and vitality, Hosea repeatedly uses figures that depict Israel’s sin in terms of ...

1640. Judgment of Israel's Neighbors

Amos 1:1-2:5

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... much to do with shaping Amos’s thought, but it is bad theology to ascribe a prophet’s words to the influence of his surroundings. Calvin (Joel, Amos, Obadiah, p. 149) finds that the “poor shepherd” from a “mean village” who is sent to challenge the pride of the king of Israel and the wealth of Israel’s inhabitants is prophetic of 1 Corinthians 1:27–28 (“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise . . .”). But while Tekoa may have been lowly, it is doubtful that Amos was ...

1641. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... , Amos will also deal with two other aspects of the day of the Lord that became traditional; namely, with the facts that wealth cannot save and is useless before God’s wrath (6:4–7; cf. Isa. 2:20; 13:17; Ezek. 7:11; Zeph. 1:18), and that human pride is destroyed (6:1–3, 8; cf. Isa. 2:11–17; 13:17; Ezek. 7:10, 24; Obad. 3–4; Zeph. 3:11–12). 5:21–24 The purpose of worship is to nurture the relationship with God by means of praise and prayer, offering and intercession and petition. Israel ...

1642. Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

Amos 7:1-9

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... of his people correctly. “Jacob,” Amos’s favorite name for the northern kingdom (3:13; 6:8; 8:7; 9:8), is “so small,” he says (7:2, 5). That is, Jacob is so weak, so helpless, so pitiful. But this is the people who boasted in their pride of their security and wealth, their military prowess and their lavish cult (see the comments on 5:18–6:14). In the light of God’s word, Amos sees their true condition; they are pitiful and small. We can be grateful that God saw our real natures behind all ...

1643. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 2:4-7, Zephaniah 2:8-11, Zephaniah 2:12, Zephaniah 2:13-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the use of it? To judge from what follows (v. 10), however, the significance of this is that it all serves to underline hyperbolically the completeness of the calamity that Yahweh brings on Moab and Ammon. “This is what they will get in return for their pride” or “in place of their majesty” (gaʾon), their insulting and mocking (but the word is the one translated “threats” in v. 8, their big ideas about what they were going to do to Judah). Again their un-wisdom lies in their planning to attack ...

1644. Symbols of Love

Luke 2:1-20

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... was born-- the star the wise men followed to find the new born King. Why do I say that it is a symbol of love? It symbolizes God's love, doesn't it? "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." We have been talking about pride the last three Sundays--about the danger of thinking that we are better than other people. All children are God's children. But there is another side to this. Christmas shows us how important each of us is to God. He loves us so much that He gave us the ...

1645. Shining as Stars

Philippians 2:12-18

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... exertion; Paul uses it again in Gal. 4:11 to express the idea of toiling in vain. “I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.” For the day of Christ see 1:6, 10, with comments; for the association of pride or boasting with that day see 1:26 with comments. Additional Notes 2:14 W. Schmithals considers that the warning against complaining or arguing is intelligible only as a reference to “the dissension brought into the community by the false teachers” (Paul and the Gnostics, p ...

1646. Pressing on Toward the Goal

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... ” of the advent see A. L. Moore, The Parousia in the New Testament, pp. 108–74; also S. S. Smalley, “The Delay of the Parousia,” JBL 83 (1964), pp. 41–54. Exhortation to Stand Firm 4:1 Paul once more expresses his joy and pride in his Philippian friends and encourages them afresh to be steadfast in their Christian life (cf. 1:27). More particularly in the present context he encourages them to be steadfast in resistance to those influences against which he has just warned them—influences that ...

1647. Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... us from all sin. The closer one’s fellowship with God and with those who walk with God, the more aware one will be of sin in one’s life. The secessionists fled the light (cf. John 3:19–21), claiming continuous fellowship with God, while their pride, dishonesty, and lack of love belied them. They could not “own up” to their sins. But, the Elder teaches, if we persist in the light (confessing our sins, v. 9), we will discover that God loves us and has sent his Son to be “an atoning sacrifice ...

1648. Children of God

1 John 2:28--3:10

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... as God’s children is unknown to the world; the surrounding culture does not see it and confirm it. The Johannine Christians must hold on to their true identity “against the stream.” But, in being unknown to the world and in having a secret identity, the community can take special pride, for prior to them Jesus (NIV, him) was also “unknown” to his contemporaries John 1:10–11; 8:19; 14:7, 9; 15:18–21; 16:3; cf. 3:32; 4:10; 7:27–28; 14:17; 17:25). 3:2 The emphasis in v. 2 falls on the temporal ...

1649. The Table of Nations

Genesis 10:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... figures like Naram Sin, grandson of Sargon I of Akkad, who ruled for fifty years in the second half of the third millennium B.C., to legendary figures like Gilgamesh. A mighty hunter, Nimrod was typical of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian kings who prided themselves on their hunting feats. The text states twice that Nimrod achieved fame as a hunter “before Yahweh.” This phrase elevates Nimrod’s achievement to a superior level. It also shows that Yahweh was involved in the course of the development of ...

1650. Dinah and the Shechemites

Genesis 34:1-31

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... this agreement, namely, their gaining access to the livestock, . . . property and . . . animals of Jacob’s family. In addition to the issue of honor, this narrative treats settlement and accommodation (Brueggemann, Genesis, pp. 272–73). Skillfully Hamor played on the pride and greed of the Hivites as he pictured them dominating the new alliance. He ended his speech with a fervent plea that they all consent to this condition. Being persuaded, the assembly willingly agreed to the proposal. In preparation ...

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