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 1801 to 1825 of 2275 results

1801. Community Discourse: Care for Others in the Kingdom

Matthew 18:1-9, Matthew 18:10-14, Matthew 18:15-20

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Jeannine K. Brown

... involves turning away from preoccupation with status concerns and self-promotion to care for others. Views of children were substantially different in the first-century world than in our contemporary Western context, so we are prone to import into this passage qualities of children as we perceive them. We might, for example, highlight the innocence of children, when in a first-century Greco-Roman context children were viewed as less reliable than adults, who had the full measure of logos or rational ...

1802. Community Discourse: Lavish Forgiveness in the Kingdom

Matthew 18:21-35

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Jeannine K. Brown

... owed only heightens the servant’s plight in the story line. 18:26 Be patient with me . . . and I will pay back everything. Given the magnitude of his debt, the plea for patience to allow time to pay back “everything” comes across as rash. This quality of the servant will be confirmed when another servant who owes him money will use the same plea but without its reference to “everything” (18:29). 18:27 took pity on him, canceled the debt. This is the first of two points in the parable at ...

1803. Jesus Demonstrates Status Inversion in the Kingdom

Matthew 19:1-12, Matthew 19:13-15, Matthew 19:16-30

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Jeannine K. Brown

... inappropriate reliance on riches (Prov. 11:28), but it also shows that wealth comes from living wisely in the fear of the Lord (Prov. 8:18–21; 22:4). Jesus turns the latter notion on its head. The disciples’ response confirms the surprising quality of Jesus’ teaching. 19:25 Who then can be saved? The disciples’ question implies incredulity at anyone being saved if this rich person cannot. Their question implicitly raises the issue of status, since a wealthy person would have greater status and so ...

1804. Jesus Warns of Presuming Reward and Status

Matthew 20:1-16

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Jeannine K. Brown

... 15). Biblical theology rightly emphasizes God’s generous nature. God’s self-revelation in the covenant with Israel is marked by grace from the start: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God” (Exod. 34:6). This parable emphasizes that same quality and indicates that God’s deep generosity toward others can actually trip us up if we think of the kingdom in terms of limited amounts of grace being distributed based on “deservedness.” Moving beyond the details of the parable (which ...

1805. 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

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Jeannine K. Brown

... Tiberius Caesar, son of the Divine Augustus” on the image side and the words “High Priest” on the other.1 22:21 So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. This saying has a riddle-like quality because it plays on more than one possible configuration of lordship. On its surface, it seems to divide the world neatly into two categories of authority: Caesar’s authority as Roman emperor (presumably the political sphere) and God’s authority over the rest (presumably ...

1806. Jesus Is Anointed and Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples

Matthew 26:1-5, Matthew 26:6-13, Matthew 26:14-16, Matthew 26:17-30

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Jeannine K. Brown

... –23; 20:17–19), Matthew narrates the plot against Jesus by the Jewish leaders (26:3–5; also 12:14; 21:45–46). The woman who anoints Jesus (26:6–13) is the first of a number of women highlighted in the Passion Narrative who display discipleship qualities or remain with Jesus when the Twelve desert him (27:19, 55–56, 61; 28:1–10). The scene in which Jesus shares the Passover with his disciples (26:17–30) highlights Judas’s betrayal (26:23–25; see 26:14–16, 47–50) and Jesus’ sacrifice ...

1807. Jesus Is Tried before Pilate and Sentenced to Death

Matthew 27:1-10, Matthew 27:11-26

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Jeannine K. Brown

... the Messiah) in a Roman context, demonstrating that “messiah” is a kingly category and claim in the first-century world. You have said so. Jesus’ response here (sy legeis) is very similar to his answer to Caiaphas at 26:64 (sy eipas). It has a cryptic quality to it that does not allow Pilate to level a clear charge of treason, although Matthew’s audience can hear the messianic affirmation in it, given the broader context of the Gospel. 27:12 he gave no answer. As in his trial with Caiaphas, Jesus ...

1808. Parables of the Kingdom

Mark 4:1-20

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Grant R. Osborne

... dedicated to Christ is never acceptable. 2. Discipleship and commitment are not optional. We live in a time when shallow commitment has all too often been regarded as the “normal Christian life.” Although “seeker-sensitive” ministry has many good qualities, one of its great dangers is the tendency to allow seekers to be comfortable with mere interest in Christ. The crowds are the seekers in Jesus’s ministry, and clearly they remain unbelievers throughout. Until interest turns into commitment ...

1809. More Parables of the Kingdom

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:21-25

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Grant R. Osborne

... speak of “Pastor So-and-So’s church,” and both the responsibility and the glory belong to the pastor. A friend of mine was told by a publisher that he would be published only if he was the pastor of a megachurch or was a television personality. Quality has been replaced by fame, and the glory all too seldom goes to the only one who deserves it, God. Throughout Scripture God chose the weak and the outcast through whom to bring greatness. It was not the great king Saul but a small shepherd boy, David ...

1810. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

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Grant R. Osborne

... hear” (4:9, 23), but most will hear yet be unable to perceive (4:12). Interpretive Insights 4:36 Leaving the crowd behind. This event seemingly takes place on the same day (“that day”) that Jesus finished his discourse on parables. Jesus wants to spend quality time just with his disciples, so he “leaves the crowd,” and to ensure that no one follows, he has them pile “in the boat” to go to the area of Transjordan. The boat in this story was likely very similar to one recently discovered (see ...

1811. The Path of Discipleship

Mark 8:31--9:1

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Grant R. Osborne

... them forever. 8:37 what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? God alone can make a “soul” or create life. Such is not for sale in any store, and one cannot order it online. Everything that one does purchase has only a single purpose: to improve the quality of life. But only God can extend one’s life/soul into eternity, so Jesus is saying that the soul is of inestimable worth, and thus everyone must turn to God. 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words. This was an honor-shame culture ...

1812. The Messianic Anointing of Jesus

Mark 14:1-11

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Grant R. Osborne

... it was worth three hundred denarii (a denarius was one day’s wage), “a year’s wages,” equivalent to thousands of dollars today. The perfume itself consisted of “pure nard,” made from spikenard probably imported from India, with its purity emphasizing the high quality of the perfume. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Breaking the jar was not necessary. It likely was a spontaneous act, stressing the completeness of the gift; her intention was to use all of the perfume on Jesus ...

1813. Jesus Is Crucified

Mark 15:21-32

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Grant R. Osborne

... Jerusalem, since the Romans always chose the main thoroughfare so that executions provided a warning for all. 15:23 they offered him wine mixed with myrrh. Many think this was a mild narcotic and painkiller, but Evans asserts that there is no evidence myrrh added such qualities;2 Matthew 27:34 uses “gall” to bring out the allusion to Psalm 69:21: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst,” where David’s enemies plot against him. So this is a hostile act from the soldiers (Ps ...

1814. Mary’s Song—the Magnificat

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

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R.T. France

... out and set apart is what it means to be part of the church (“the called ones”), to be made holy (“set apart for special purposes”), and to be called a saint (“holy one”). Point out that, while contests are often about superficial qualities or skills that mark a person as comparatively unique, the specialness a saint feels is simply based on God’s undeserved and gracious call. Quote: John Lennon is quoted as saying, “Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them ...

1815. Hearing and Responding

Luke 8:19-21, Luke 8:16-18, Luke 8:1-15

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R.T. France

... this parable, as a “parable about parables.” Several of Jesus’s parables draw on imagery from farming, a familiar scenario for his Galilean audience. This parable reflects the agricultural practice of a Palestinian peasant farmer, whose ground is not of uniform quality, and whose broadcast sowing inevitably results in some of the seed falling into unsuitable places. The sobering experience of Isaiah’s mission to an unresponsive people (Isa. 6:9–10) was taken by the early church as a precedent for ...

1816. Jesus’s Fallible Followers

Luke 9:51-56, Luke 9:46-50, Luke 9:37-45

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R.T. France

... lack of faith (9:40), lack of spiritual discernment (9:45), pride (9:46), and exclusivity (9:49). In what ways do believers today manifest these same failings? Notice how Jesus responds in each case. What does this teach us about the ideal qualities of Christian leaders? What contemporary Christian figures do listeners most admire? Is there a danger of unrealistic hero worship? Do you know of examples of Christian leaders with “feet of clay”? If so, what is the right response to this? Who is in ...

1817. Discipleship and Mission

Luke 10:1-24, Luke 9:57-62

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R.T. France

... God. There is a similar radicalism about Jesus’s instructions to those whom he sends out as his emissaries. There is no scope for conventional politeness; both the task of proclamation and the response that it demands have an “all-or-nothing” quality that sits uncomfortably alongside many people’s experience of discipleship today. The missions of the Twelve (9:1–6) and now of the seventy-two show that what began as Jesus’s solo messianic mission is becoming a sizable movement with a potentially ...

1818. Divided Loyalties

Luke 12:1-12, Luke 12:13-21

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R.T. France

... 9:14). But the disciples are carefully differentiated from the wider crowd, whose loyalties are not yet determined. the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Yeast (which actually refers to leaven, a small portion of dough that contains yeast), because of its pervasive quality, and because it was removed in preparation for the Passover festival, was sometimes (but not always [see 13:20–21]) a symbol for evil influence (cf. 1 Cor. 5:6–8; Gal. 5:9). For “hypocrisy,” see on 6:42; the term has not ...

1819. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

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C. Marvin Pate

... (God’s summoning of that which does not yet exist—the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham was still future for him), not the actual (the world that God has already brought into existence). But the words h?s onta can be used of an actual quality or reality (see BDAG, III.1). Interpretive Insights 4:17b–19 the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Romans 4:17b–22 begins Paul’s experiential argument in 4:17b–25 to the effect that Abraham (vv. 17b ...

1820. The Spirit and the Glory of the Age to Come and the New Covenant

Romans 8:28-39, Romans 8:18-27

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C. Marvin Pate

... believers to the image and glory of Christ (8:29).2 2. Romans 8:22, at first glance, is enigmatic: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Moreover, Paul attributes humanlike qualities to creation when he asserts, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed” (8:19 [cf. the similar description in 8:21]). The longing of the cosmos for the final glorification of the people of God and the simultaneous ...

1821. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

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Preben Vang

... gift, Paul here warns against using knowledge as a lever for self-elevation (8:1). Skilled speakers can sound wise yet be without the depth of knowledge that God’s Spirit grants to those who are mature in Christ. The test of spiritual quality for both speech and knowledge is love (13:1–3). 1:6 confirming our testimony about Christ among you. The church was enriched because the members responded to Paul’s proclamation of the gospel, not because certain members claimed superior speaking ability and ...

1822. Unity of Life and Faith

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

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Preben Vang

... a prostitute? The abhorrence of taking holy vessels (that which belongs to Christ) and using them in the service of the unholy (porn?, “prostitute”) is to Paul self-evident. His triple use of “members” (mel?) is to highlight the relational quality of the Corinthian believers’ actions—they are taking the limbs (mel?) of Christ’s body and making them limbs of a prostitute.4 Never! Paul answers his own question with the strongest negation possible—m? genoito! The best modern English translation ...

1823. Consider Others Higher Than Yourself

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

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Preben Vang

... . Paul’s ingenious insertion of “all” into the pithy gn?sis claim (we all have knowledge) levels the playing field within the Christ community. Everyone knowing the teachings of Christ can claim gn?sis. The gn?sis of Christ, however, is of a different quality. The gn?sis generally claimed by Corinthian elites aimed to destroy community—it puffs up.2 The gn?sis of Christ, on the contrary, generates love and aims to build up the community. 8:2 Those who think they know something do not yet ...

1824. Trust versus Self-Reliance

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

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Preben Vang

... argument in these verses leaves the not-so-subtle impression that Old Testament Scriptures remain authoritative for New Testament followers. They are not only informative for religious understanding but instructive for Christian living. Paul’s vehement rejection of the saving quality of the Mosaic law does not equal a refutation of God’s character as revealed through his actions prior to the cross. New Testament Christians are not free to take a few grand ideas, like love, grace, forgiveness, and Spirit ...

1825. Imitation and Role Modeling

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

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Preben Vang

... is not dealing with a minor issue but is touching on the core of the Christ community’s covenantal understanding. The parallel structure of the command to “flee idolatry” with “flee from sexual immorality” in 6:18 brings a comprehensive quality to this text. I speak to sensible people. What Paul says should be obvious, and he relies on their ability to recognize it. Calling them phronimos (“discerning,” “thoughtful”; NIV: “sensible”) is a simple request for them to use their common ...

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