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 1976 to 2000 of 3082 results

1976. David Again Spares Saul's Life

1 Samuel 26:1-25

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

Saul’s Second Escape: 26:1–3 The Ziphites, who nearly enabled Saul to find David once before, may have looked for a second chance. However, the wording in verse 1 is the same as that used on the previous occasion (23:19), which seems strange, even given the fact that David was likely to use the same hiding places on a number of occasions. Some scholars have concluded from this, from the similarity between the two occasions on which Saul’s life was spared, and from the fact that the second account makes no ...

1977. Abner Goes Over to David

2 Samuel 3:6-21

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

The Murders of Abner and Ish-Bosheth: 3:6–11 Although Ish-Bosheth was titular head of the northern tribes and Abner seemingly made no attempt to change that, real power centered around Abner. The fate of the country lay in his hands, and verse 6 implies that he took action to ensure that this remained the case. It is not surprising that Ish-Bosheth, who seems to have left all the decision making to his general (3:8–17), felt threatened by Abner (v. 11). Whether or not Abner had a relationship with Saul’s ...

1978. Absalom’s Death

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

Absalom’s Defeat: 18:1–5 David’s forces may have been more limited than he had been used to in recent times, but he and Joab were skilled in making the most of limited resources and in fighting battles where they were outnumbered. The description of his army’s structure leaves the impression that these are well-organized professional forces, as opposed to Absalom’s perhaps more haphazard arrangements. We are given only an outline, but the campaign appears to have been well-organized. David intended to lead ...

1979. The Gibeonites Avenged

2 Samuel 21:1-14

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

The Famine, Its Cause, and Its Remedy: Chapters 21–24 form an appendix to 2 Samuel. They are distinct from the preceding narrative, which continues in 1 Kings chapter 1. They contain six independent sections only marginally related to each other. Each section includes information and incidents relating to David that the writers thought was helpful or important for their readers to be aware of but that did not fit in with the natural flow of the main narratives. A. F. Kirkpatrick (The Second Book of Samuel ...

1980. Eliphaz

Job 4:1-5:27

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Trust in Your Piety: Here what is commonly known as the “first dialogue cycle” begins, taking the reader through Job 14:22. Having been unable to find words to respond to the extremity of Job’s physical suffering earlier, the friends are much less reticent in replying to Job’s angry monologue. Job’s words, and not his situation, spark the dialogue and debate. The first to speak is Eliphaz, who appears to be the eldest and is given pride of place as well as space (regarding Eliphaz’s seniority see Pope, Job ...

1981. Epilogue

Job 42:7-17

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Intercession for the Three Friends 42:7 After the LORD had said these things to Job. This phrase connects back to the formula that introduced the theophany in 38:1. As there, this phrase makes clear to the reader that the divine interrogation in chapters 38–41 addresses Job—and not Elihu, whose speeches immediately precede God’s appearance. This editorial comment also links the prose epilogue to the theophany and demonstrates a purposeful movement to unify the various segments of the book. Stating the ...

1982. Turn Your Gaze from Me before I Am No More

Psalm 39:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 39 is most akin to the prayer psalms of the individual but it is unlike any other, as its closing petition alone shows: “Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more.” It resonates with Job and Ecclesiastes more than with other psalms. The refrain, “each man’s life is but a breath” (Hb. hebel, vv. 5, 11), echoes that of Ecclesiastes: “Everything is a breath” (Hb. hebel, NIV “meaningless,”Eccl. 1:2; 12:8). Unlike most psalms, this one has a ring of autobiography (esp. vv ...

1983. Trembling at the Appearance of the God of the Exodus

Psalm 114:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

114:1–8 This is a hymn, but a unique one. It contains no imperative call for worship. The only mention of human figures are Israel, Jacob, and Judah of the distant past. The psalm’s only imperative verb is addressed to the earth or “land.” The listeners/readers are dramatically transported back to the historical moments of the exodus, wilderness wanderings, and the entry into the promised land. This reliving of Israel’s sacred past is featured in other festival psalms (e.g., Pss. 46; 48; 66; 95). The ...

1984. A Man with Leprosy

Mark 1:40-45

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

1:40–45 Here we encounter another type of illness and Jesus’ power in the face of it. This time it is a person who has leprosy (see the notes for discussion of the term used). Such an illness rendered the person ritually and socially “unclean,” according to OT law (Lev. 13–14), meaning that he or she was not allowed in the temple or at any social or religious gathering. Furthermore, anyone who touched a person in such a condition became unclean also. This is why the man here (1:40) asks to be made clean. ...

1985. The Calling of Levi

Mark 2:13-17

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

2:13–17 Mark introduces a second example of conflict, in this section devoted to conflict stories, by means of this story of Jesus’ call of a tax collector and Jesus’ social association with such people. There are two incidents mentioned here, the call of Levi (vv. 13–14) and the eating with “sinners” (or outcasts; vv. 15–16), and the connection between them is that they both show Jesus associating closely with people deemed unacceptable by the religious purists of his day. In the one case, a tax collector ...

1986. John the Baptist Beheaded

Mark 6:14-29

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

6:14–29 It is striking that so much space is devoted to the death of John the Baptist in Mark, more space than in any of the other Gospels (cf. Matt. 14:1–12; Luke 3:19–20; 9:7–9). This suggests that this episode had a special significance for Mark, as we shall see, prefiguring the death of Jesus. We must remember that at several points in Mark, Jesus and John are closely connected. Jesus begins his ministry after John’s arrest (1:14), and Jesus links the message of John with his own ministry in 11:27–33. ...

1987. Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

Romans 15:23-33

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

15:23 For years Paul had desired to visit Rome, but had been hindered from coming because of his labors in the eastern Mediterranean. But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, says Paul, the way is clear for the long-awaited visit. On the face of it, that is an astounding claim. As we noted at verse 19, the claim that there is no more place for me to work is surely tempered by the prospect of the imminent return of Christ. The nail of Christianity had been set in the east due to ...

1988. To the Church in Pergamum

Revelation 2:12-17

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

2:12 Continuing north up the coastline of the Aegean Sea, then moving inland, brings one to Pergamum, the capital of the Asian province. The city was built around a great acropolis on which the first temple of the imperial cult was built to Augustus in 29 B.C. For Christians, Pergamum symbolized secular power and civil religion; indeed, Christ identifies it as the city “where Satan has his throne … where Satan lives” (2:13). The Lord possesses the sharp, double-edged sword, again repeating what John had ...

1989. Sabbath Offerings

Numbers 28:9-10

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

Offerings and Festivals: The structure of daily and special worship becomes the subject for chapters 28–29. The book of Numbers began with the organization of life as God’s people, emphasizing the spatial dimension as they journeyed (the divine presence at the center, then priests and Levites, and then the people). Soon, when the people enter the land, this spatial organization will be less relevant. So in these chapters, the Priestly tradents are instructing the people to order life liturgically around ...

1990. Monthly Offerings

Numbers 28:11-25

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

1991. Feast of Weeks (II)

Numbers 28:26-31

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

1992. Joab Murders Abner

2 Samuel 3:22-39

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

1993. Ish-Bosheth Murdered

2 Samuel 4:1-12

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

1994. David Mourns

2 Sam 18:19–19:8

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

1995. The King Who Exalts Himself

Daniel 11:36-45

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Final Revelation--The Body: We enter now into the body of the last main revelation of the book of Daniel. There has been some progression in the visions of the book from a more general scope, encompassing larger blocks of history, to a more narrow focus on shorter periods of time. So, for example, Daniel 2 spans four and a half centuries by outlining the four human empires of Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece, which are swept away by the fifth—the eternal kingdom of God. Aside from the fact that the ...

1996. Titus Sent to Corinth

2 Corinthians 8:16--9:5

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

8:16–24 Having exhorted the Corinthians to complete the collection that they had begun (8:7–15), Paul recommends the emissaries he will send to take it to Jerusalem (8:16–24; cf. 1 Cor. 16:3–4, where Paul’s original plan was different). In doing so, Paul takes up where he left off in verse 6, with the sending of Titus. Paul wants to send Titus back to Corinth with two companions in order to bring the collection to a fitting conclusion. Paul did not need letters of recommendation to or from the Corinthians ...

1997. The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:1-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Fall: The interchange among the man, the woman, and the serpent provides dramatic movement, and captures how motivation to disobey God rises from an inversion of the order of responsibility that God had established. 3:1–5 Act 2 of the drama begins with the introduction of a new actor, the serpent, one of the wild animals the LORD God had made (2:19). The serpent is described as more crafty (’arum) than the other animals. ’Arum makes a wordplay on “naked” (’arummim), which occurs in 2:25, and thus ...

1998. Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

Deut 2:1-23–2:37

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Reminder of Past Victories: The first three chapters of Deuteronomy not only warn the people from past failures but also encourage them from past victories. The words to Joshua near the end of the section (3:21f.) give the point of the whole: God can do again what they had seen God do before, even for other nations. Their God did not lack experience! The structure of the section can be presented as follows: 2:1–8 – Encounter with Edom 2:9–18 – Encounter with Moab 2:19–23 – Encounter with Ammon 2:24–37 – ...

1999. The Reading of the Law

Deuteronomy 31:9-13

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 ...

2000. Israel's Rebellion Predicted

Deuteronomy 31:14-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

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