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 2051 to 2075 of 2669 results

2051. The Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... part, as in the matter of the second coming (v. 4). With the Lord a day is like a thousand years was evidently a saying that registered with the apostolic age, for it is quoted in Barnabas 15.4–7. Peter’s words gave rise to Millenarianism (or Chiliasm), the belief that at the end of the present age Christ will reign on earth for one thousand years (Rev. 20:1–10); see NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 52–53. 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise about the second coming. The delay in the Parousia worried ...

2052. The Sin and Doom of Godless Men

Jude 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... . Jude’s readers are exhorted to engage in a determined and costly struggle to maintain the faith (pistis). Here pistis is a reference not to the personal faith of the individual, its usual sense in the NT, but to the body of Christian truth. This body of belief, Jude says, was once for all entrusted (paradidōmai, to commit, hand over) to the saints, to the people of God as a whole, not just to apostles or to later leaders. The faith is not something we discover for ourselves, still less is it something ...

2053. A Call to Persevere

Jude 1:17-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... messianic kingdom and the return of Christ in glory. A sign of their nearness will be attacks on the Christian faith by those Jude calls scoffers. In the parallel passage in 2 Peter 3:3–4, the scoffing takes the form of scorning the orthodox belief in the second coming. Jude applies the scoffing to libertines who deride believers that refuse to join them in taking advantage of their Christian liberty to follow their own ungodly desires. Jude had made the same point earlier in his letter when he described ...

2054. The Israelites Oppressed

Exodus 1:1-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... to escalate his policy to infanticide. The midwives feared God (vv. 17, 21). They believed that the murder of infants was wrong in God’s eyes. The phrase feared God announces an important theme for the book of Exodus. The “fear of God” (yirʾat ʾelohim) was the belief that certain things were wrong simply because they were contrary to the order of the life God had woven into the fabric of the created world (see 9:30; 14:31; 18:31; 20:20; also Gen. 20:11). When Pharaoh asked, “Why have you done this ...

2055. Aaron to Speak for Moses

Exodus 6:28--7:7

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... of Exodus 6, these verses reintroduce the action of the plagues that are about to commence. The Lord told Moses, “I have made you like God to Pharaoh” even as he has been to Aaron (4:16). This might have been a response to the Egyptian belief that the pharaoh was divine. In any case, Moses’ faltering lips (6:12, 30) would be inconsequential, since it was not by Moses’ or Aaron’s strength, magic, or authority that God would act. God had established Aaron as Moses’ prophet, and Aaron acted as the ...

2056. Crossing the Sea

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... the Egyptians lying dead on the shore that they feared and put their trust in the Lord (see the comment on “fear of the Lord” at 9:20). The demonstration of the great power of the Lord against their enslavers was an antecedent to their belief. When they were free, they believed and they sang (15:1–21). Additional Notes 13:15 Present Jewish practice is to redeem the firstborn son by giving five monetary units (euro, dollar, shekel) to a descendent of a priestly family (kohen). This follows the “five ...

2057. The Song of Moses and Miriam

Exodus 15:1-21

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... new people in a new place. A longer conclusion of praise celebrates these themes, including the summarizing bicolon (v. 17): You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance. The final stanza begins as the others did, with a witness of belief in the Lord’s deliverance, past and future (vv. 12–13). The first line looks back; the second and third look forward. They add witness to their hope for the future to their praise for the past victory. Faith had been created in the midst of ...

2058. Manna and Quail

Exodus 16:1-36

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... : you will see the glory of the LORD (v. 7); You will know that it was the LORD (v. 8); Come before the LORD (v. 9); there was the glory of the LORD (v. 10); and Then you will know that I am the LORD your God (v. 12). Belief in the Lord’s presence and provision is a primary theological problem throughout the book of Exodus. People set free from bondage are at risk of misunderstanding their freedom and turning to new forms of self-chosen bondage. At Sinai the primary issue would be their freedom to worship ...

2059. Crossing the Jordan

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... God, and begin the march, the people then follow at least two thousand cubits behind the ark. (A cubit is about eighteen inches or half a meter.) The ark will guide the march through the river for possessing the land. Marching behind the ark reinforces the theological belief that God as supreme commander leads Israel. Only the Lord knows the future and can guide the people to victory in the land of Canaan. The people remain a half-mile behind the ark in respect of the power of God, because the Lord is holy ...

2060. Northern Kings Defeated

Joshua 11:1-23

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... enemy hearts is another way of saying that when an enemy opposes the tribes—the people to whom God promised the land—that enemy must be destroyed. Those who asked for sanctuary, as Rahab and the people of Gibeon, received it. Also, in the OT, belief in the sovereignty of God attributes all events to God. The Lord initiates everything. God uses the resistance of groups in the land to underline the importance of removing from the land aliens who resist the directives of Israel’s God. Additional study in ...

2061. The Genealogy of Saul

1 Chronicles 9:35-44

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... house is the divinely elected line of kingship stands in the background here. And, finally, the strong focus on Jerusalem and the cultic staff (the Levites in particular) would recall Zion and the temple of Solomon. The temple on Zion—so was the belief—was the dwelling place on earth of Yahweh and his name. Even before the Chronicler starts his historical narrative in 1 Chronicles 10, the genealogies prepare the way for a deeply theological understanding of the book. But these name lists also emphasize ...

2062. David Numbers the Fighting Men

1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... indication that the personification of evil had already started during the time of the Chronicler, a trend that is also visible in late literature such as Job 1. Whereas supernatural dualism was not customary in earlier forms of Israel’s belief systems (with good and bad being attributed to Yahweh), this tendency started developing in the late postexilic period, probably under the influence of Persian Zoroastrian dualism. We know from the Christian writings in the New Testament that the personification of ...

2063. The Decree of Darius

Ezra 6:1-12

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... , who is often named in the inscriptions of Darius. He would have regarded Yahweh as a lesser deity, but the theological similarity may have encouraged Persian support. For worship of Ahuramazda by the Persian monarchy, see M. Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979), ch. 5. For Darius’ support of local cults in general, see de Vaux, The Bible and the Ancient Near East, pp. 74–79. 6:10 According to Herodotus (1.132), it was a Persian custom ...

2064. Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help

Esther 4:1-17

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... refers to the dwelling place, not “another place.” It would be very unexpected for a subtle reference to Zion to surface in this story that otherwise has such an exclusively Diaspora perspective. It is still likely that Mordecai is expressing his belief that God will deliver through some means, whether through Esther or not. The whole Jewish community has been fasting and mourning, presumably in prayer for deliverance. Esther fasts for three days in preparation for her role as the chosen deliverer. It ...

2065. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 22:1-16

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... Plöger (Sprüche). 22:12 Some commentators (Gemser, Sprüche; H. Ringgren, Sprüche [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1962]) take the abstract for the concrete: “the one who is knowledge,” or the wise person. McKane (Proverbs) stoutly defends the MT “as a basis for belief in the operation of a theodicy in much the same way as 15:3.” 22:16 The Hb. lô (to bring increase—to him) of the MT seems to refer back to the oppressor—but this hardly squares with sapiential teaching. The ambiguous text ...

2066. False Religions Worthless

Jeremiah 7:1-29

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon (7:1-15): Jeremiah’s temple sermon is one of his most famous speeches. The core of its message attacks those who appear religious by participating in religious ceremonies, while not backing up their apparent beliefs with ethical lives. In other words, this sermon is an attack on the hypocrites of his day. We do not know the exact time before the destruction of the temple when this sermon was delivered. However, its strong conditional tone holds out hope that God’s judgment ...

2067. Jeremiah’s Prayer

Jeremiah 10:23-25

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

10:23–25 The chapter ends with a prayer to the Lord. The most natural reading is to take the prayer as that of Jeremiah, who first voices his belief that the Lord is sovereign over the affairs of humankind. His language here is very similar to that found in Proverbs 16:9: In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. This sovereignty works itself out in God’s punishment, and Jeremiah requests temperance ...

2068. The Recabites

Jeremiah 35:1-19

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... us. He then further argues that this illustrates the need to adjust one’s ethical principles in the light of circumstances. However, there is no good reason for his statement that it was obvious “they could not pitch tents in the city.” Why not? There is no necessity to the belief that they were living in houses.

2069. Disaster Because of Idolatry

Jeremiah 44:1-30

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... also yielded a memorandum of an oral response from the Judean governor and from the son of the Samarian governor to the effect that they gave permission to rebuild the temple, though permission to offer animal sacrifices is conspicuously absent, perhaps indicating a belief that this should be done only in Jerusalem. There is a contract from the Anani archive, a collection of thirteen documents found at Elephantine that relate to a family of that name, that indicates that the temple was up and operating by ...

2070. How the Gold Has Lost Its Luster

Lamentations 4:1-22

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... time that Sennacherib of Assyria had to withdraw from the walls of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. during the reign of King Hezekiah (2 Kgs. 18:17–19:37; 2 Chr. 32:1–23; Isa. 36–37). While the psalms do express the inviolability of Jerusalem, that belief was connected to the benevolent presence of God (Ps. 48:1–5). 4:13–16 Mem/Nun/Samek/Pe. Though unexpected and shocking, the devastation of seemingly impregnable Jerusalem (see v. 12) was the result of the sin of its religious leaders. The prophets and the ...

2071. A Call to Repentance

Joel 1:13-20

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... to whose aid Israel merely lent its service. God fought in the battles at the head of supernatural hosts (Josh. 10: 11; 24:7; Judg. 5:4–5), often instilling in the enemy terror and panic (Exod. 15:14–16; 23:27; Josh. 2:9, 24; 5:1; etc.). The belief therefore arose in Israel that God would always be on its side, and that when God came on the day of the Lord finally to destroy all enemies and to inaugurate a kingdom over all the earth, Israel would enjoy a blessed peace and prosperity as the favored and ...

2072. Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence

Amos 5:18-27

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... employing cosmic weapons (Josh. 10:11; 24:7; Judg. 5:4–5; 1 Sam. 7:10, cf. Exod. 14:24–25) and by bringing terror and panic upon the enemy (Josh. 2:9, 24; 5: 1; 7:5; cf. Exod. 15:14–16; 23:27; Zech. 14:13). The optimistic belief therefore arose in Israel that God would always fight for it and that on a climactic day, when God came to establish a kingdom over all the earth, he would destroy all of its enemies and exalt Israel above all nations. It is that confidence in the day that Amos ...

2073. Jonah Flees from the Lord

Jonah 1:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... Yahweh and then gone soundly to sleep, with not a disturbing worry. So Jonah is an Israelite who knows all the right words but who pays his God lip-service only (cf. Isa. 29:13). He is an orthodox believer who is not acting according to his beliefs, a message that the author undoubtedly wants to convey to his readers. That Jonah is disobeying the Lord of heaven and earth terrifies the pagan sailors; they stand more in awe of that supreme God than does Jonah. And through the words of pagans, God confronts ...

2074. The Coming of Zion's King

Zechariah 9:9-13

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... image of the cosmic river flowing out from the temple to the extremities of the world (haʾarets; Ezek. 47:1–12; Zech. 14:8) expresses the same worldwide realm. The former interpretation fits the geography of Zechariah 9:1–8, but the latter reading corresponds to the belief in the Lord’s universal reign, centered in Jerusalem (Zech. 8:20–23). The king riding on a donkey may be the most familiar and beloved picture in the book of Zechariah. Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15 cite Zechariah 9:9 as a prophecy ...

2075. The Lord Comes and Reigns

Zechariah 14:1-21

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... to the eastern sea, the Dead Sea, and half will run to the western sea, the Mediterranean. The elimination of darkness and drought, those forces of death, will maximize the productivity of the land and promote life. 14:9 The prophet succinctly states two core beliefs about God that are central and pervasive in the OT; the Lord is king, and the Lord is one. The consummation will come, as the prophets have declared, because these things are true. And when it comes, these truths will be known everywhere. The ...

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