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 2699 results

2051. The Mighty Have Fallen

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... of wood fibers in front of the saw’s teeth. Another swish of the saw, and the noises increase. The sounds, getting even more rapid, presently become a continuous roar. Then, if you are standing nearby, and the tree is large, you will get the impression that everything above is coming to earth. The great mass starts slowly to topple, crackling and exploding even louder at the base, until it comes sprawling down with a fearful momentum. The mighty can fall. The deadly saw of appetite or lust or passion ...

2052. Time Spent

Mt 16:26

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... education, and two years in studying and reading. His other four years were spent in miscellaneous pursuits. Of those four years, he spent forty-five minutes in church on Sundays, and five minutes were devoted to prayer each day. This adds up to a not at all impressive total of five months that he gave to God over the seventy years of his life. Even if this man had been a faithful churchgoer who attended Sunday school and three one-hour services per week, he would have spent only one year and nine months in ...

2053. The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 Chronicles 5:2-6:11

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will . . . reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name (7:19–20). McKenzie is probably right in remarking: “It is difficult to avoid the impression that the Chronicler here warns those in the Second Temple period by recalling the destruction of the first temple brought on by apostasy” (1–2 Chronicles, p. 250). Because Solomon’s temple was regarded as the earthly dwelling place of Yahweh in which his ...

2054. Amaziah King of Judah

2 Chronicles 25:1-28

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... marshaled his strength (Hebrew chazaq) and adds to the source text’s version another ten thousand Edomites who were captured alive and thrown off a cliff to dash them to pieces (25:12). This further elaboration ensured that the reader would be impressed by the dramatic victory that a relatively small Judahite army could achieve. 25:13 This verse, which is part of the Chronicler’s own material, forms an interlude in the description of the Edomite excursion. It presents the reader with some background ...

2055. Uzziah King of Judah

2 Chronicles 26:1-23

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... the king did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done (2 Chron. 26:4). The reader of Chronicles knows, however, that the unique account of Amaziah provided in the previous chapter leaves a very ambiguous impression of that king. The description that follows will confirm that ambiguity with reference to Uzziah. 26:5–15 The section on the successes of Uzziah (all from the Chronicler’s hand) starts with the telling remark: He sought (darash) God during the days of ...

2056. Hezekiah Purifies the Temple

2 Chronicles 29:1-36

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... (29:34). This remark is particularly interesting. It may seem that the Chronicler wants to portray the Levites and priests in a good working relationship with one another. However, the motivational clause included in 29:34 also creates another impression: for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating (qadash) themselves than the priests had been. The entire book of Chronicles provides fairly equal portrayals of the Levites and the priests, but the present text sounds another evaluative note ...

2057. The Fall of Jerusalem

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... it was the generic name God) and that prophetic terms are used here as well. The expression “the LORD moved the heart of X” is very often used in a context where a prophet is commissioned by Yahweh to speak on his behalf. This prophetic impression is strengthened by the introduction to Cyrus’s edict in 36:23: this is what Cyrus king of Persia says. The expression used here is well known as the so-called prophetic formula that normally introduces oracles in the prophetic literature. Cyrus of Persia is ...

2058. The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... readily conceivable that they were made at the time of the first Christian Pentecost” (Jesus, p. 151). He then suggests that many of those present identified some of the sounds uttered by the disciples with the languages of their homelands. The impression that they were speaking in those languages was heightened by the powerful spiritual impact of the disciples’ ecstasy, and this is the story that came down to Luke. He, for his part, gave it greater precision by clarifying the glossolalia into foreign ...

2059. Peter Addresses the Crowd

Acts 2:14-41

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... 4:28; 13:27). Peter’s reference to their nailing him to the cross may be compared with other vivid descriptions by him of the crucifixion (5:30 and 10:39), surely the language of one who had witnessed Jesus’ sufferings and on whose mind they had left a lasting impression (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1). 2:24 Thus was Jesus treated by men, but God raised him from the dead (see note on 4:10). The antithesis is stated with dramatic force (cf. 3:15; 4:10; 10:39). The resurrection, no less than his death, was God’s plan ...

2060. The Fellowship of the Believers

Acts 2:42-47

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... of the Spirit, but like much of the Spirit’s work, it is grounded in the recipient’s wholehearted obedience (see notes on 2:2ff.). 2:47 Their fellowship was further characterized by their praising God. Such a manner of life could not help but impress others, and consequently the church enjoyed the favor of all the people. There was no hint as yet of any separation of church and synagogue. In this atmosphere of acceptance and good will, the number of those who were being saved grew daily. The present ...

2061. Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1-11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Once such a spirit gains a toehold in any community, there is an end to real fellowship. For how can people speak the truth each with his neighbor except there be the sincerity of love (Rom. 12:9)? 5:11 The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira made a deep impression on both the church and the wider community—we should give to the words great fear their full force, no matter that a reference to fear was a regular feature of miracle stories (cf. v. 5; see disc. on 2:43). In bringing the narrative to a close, Luke ...

2062. The Choosing of the Seven

Acts 6:1-7

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... regard to the fund, as the apostles’ representatives (cf. 13:3; 1 Tim. 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tim. 1:6). 6:7 Thus, in a context of prayer and a spirit of good will, the church put its house in order. Unity was maintained. The impression is given that the resolution of this matter brought renewed blessing—the word of God spread; that is, the apostolic preaching of Christ (see disc. on 5:20) was heard by more and more people, and consequently the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly. The imperfect ...

2063. The Stoning of Stephen

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... ” among the bystanders “who decided the case for themselves.” They “did not trouble themselves about the judicial rule,” he says, but simply “took Stephen outside the city and stoned him.” But the text makes no mention of these people, and Luke gives the impression that at least some of the proper forms were adhered to. It seems best, therefore, to regard Stephen’s death as a legal execution. The real difficulty (and the reason most often given for regarding his death as a lynching and not a ...

2064. Simon the Sorcerer

Acts 8:9-25

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... saw being done (v. 13; see note on 2:22). This is perhaps another touch of Lukan irony, for Simon was supposed to be “the Great Power” and for a long time had astounded others (vv. 9–11). It was the power, not the holiness, of the new faith that impressed him (v. 23). 8:14–17 When news reached Jerusalem that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God (v. 14; the reference is a general one to the region), the apostles sent Peter and John to them. The fact that they were sent by the whole ...

2065. Philip and the Ethiopian

Acts 8:26-40

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... confined himself to the Jewish communities in which he may have established a number of Christian groups (or strengthened them; see disc. on 9:32ff.). The two verbs in the discussion in verse 4, used of Philip in this verse, reinforce the impression that this was a “missionary journey” (see Hengel, Acts, p. 79, for the suggestion that an eschatological motive lay behind Philip’s mission). From their position between Azotus and Caesarea, Lydda and Joppa may have been on his itinerary, as also Jamnia ...

2066. Peter Explains His Actions

Acts 11:1-18

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... he was summoned to Jerusalem to give account of his actions. However, the fact that he had his six companions with him, who could have supported his story (v. 12), may suggest that he went expecting to have to defend himself. Perhaps to avoid the impression that he was summoned by the others, the Western text has “so Peter after some time wished to go to Jerusalem.” 11:17 Us, who believed: The construction of the Greek is such that it seems best to take the participle “having believed” as referring ...

2067. Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

Acts 13:1-3

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... and Paul were later committed to the principle of self-support (cf. 1 Cor. 9:6; see disc. on 18:3), and it may have been on this basis that they began. Additional Notes 13:1 Barnabas, Simeon, … Lucius, … Manaen, … and Saul: The Greek gives the impression that there may have been two groups, Barnabas, Simeon, and Lucius in the one, Manaen and Paul in the other. Should we then regard the first group as prophets and the second as teachers? It would certainly agree with 11:26 to restrict Paul to the role ...

2068. On Cyprus

Acts 13:4-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... great deal has been made of Luke’s having mentioned the change of name in the context of Paul’s meeting with Sergius Paulus, as though Paul had taken the governor’s name. But that they shared the name may be only coincidental. For Luke gives the impression that Paul already had the two names—one Jewish, the other Roman (see note on 12:12)—but now chose to use the latter, feeling perhaps that it was more appropriate now that he had moved away from a predominantly Jewish sphere into the Roman world ...

2069. In Lystra and Derbe

Acts 14:8-20

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... so. As it was, he chose not to prosecute, but simply to leave. The next day he and Barnabas set out for Derbe (see disc. on v. 21). These experiences must have brought vividly to Paul’s mind what had happened to Stephen (7:58). They certainly left an indelible impression on Paul himself (cf. 2 Tim. 3:11)—literally, if Galatians 6:17 is a reference to the scars that still remained from his time in Galatia. He mentions stoning in Second Corinthians as part of his apostolic experience.

2070. Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

Acts 16:6-10

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... though we might guess that he had set his sights on Ephesus, the capital of the province of Asia; cf. v. 6). Instead, the emphasis is entirely on the divine guidance that took them to Macedonia. The story is told with a minimum of detail, which only heightens the impression that they were carried along, as it were, by the irresistible wind of the Spirit, much as Paul and Barnabas had been on the earlier journey (cf. 13:1–3). 16:6 The reference in verse 2 to Iconium suggests that it too was visited by the ...

2071. Before the Sanhedrin

Acts 22:30--23:11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... the council. Rather, something must have happened to bring these divisions to his attention. In this connection we should keep in mind that the narrative is probably highly condensed and that Paul may have been speaking for some time. Verse 9 gives the impression that he had again recounted the events of his conversion in which his encounter with the risen Jesus (is “spirit” equivalent to “ghost” in v. 9?) brought to the fore the whole question of resurrection. At this the Sadducees may have grown ...

2072. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... appears later in verse 26, but here Luke mentions that Felix was well acquainted with the Way. The Greek participle behind this phrase is not adjectival as NIV has it (Felix who was …), but adverbial, “because he was …” This statement gives the impression that he was sympathetic toward the Christians—or at least had no desire to see them treated unjustly by the Jews—without wanting, on the other hand, to offend the Jews by setting Paul free. An important question relating to this phrase is ...

2073. The Trial Before Festus

Acts 25:1-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... against Caesar. This specific mention of the emperor prepares the way for what follows, by showing Paul to have had as clear a conscience before him as before God or anyone else. He could appeal to the emperor with confidence. 25:9 Festus may have been no more impressed with the Jewish case than Felix had been (cf. v. 18), but he was anxious to start out on good terms with the Jews, so he proposed to Paul, in response to the Jews’ earlier request (v. 3), that he should go to Jerusalem for another hearing ...

2074. Paul Sails for Rome

Acts 27:1-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... a party to the discussion or simply made his opinion known through the centurion. In any event his advice should have been heeded. Though matters did not turn out as badly as he had expected, there was no loss of life. 27:11 Luke gives the impression that the final decision rested with the centurion, and commentators have supposed that this must have been because the ship was in the government service. But he may only have meant that the centurion deferred to the opinion of the seamen with whom the decision ...

2075. The Storm

Acts 27:13-26

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

27:13 With a light wind blowing from the south, they had high hopes of reaching the more desirable anchorage of Phoenix some forty miles to the west. At first all went well, though Luke gives the impression that rounding Cape Matala was achieved only after some anxious moments. The emphatic way in which he introduces the statement that they sailed “closer” (than was desirable) along the coast of Crete implies that their ability to weather the point was for a time in doubt. 27:14–15 But ...

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