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 2076 to 2100 of 4988 results

2076. Jonah's Anger at the Lord's Compassion

Jonah 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... basic meaning of ḥûs is “to act with tears in one’s eyes.” Jonah has gotten all worked up over a plant for which he did not labor, which he did not cause to grow, and which is here today and gone tomorrow. The plant has been solely an undeserved gift from God, its creator and owner. Jonah has had no claim on it whatsoever. Yet Jonah has had not a shred of pity for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are 120,000 people too ignorant and helpless to know their right hand from their left, not to ...

2077. Mourning for the One They Pierced

Zechariah 12:10-14

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... people will be able to regret their sin and look to the Lord, because God will pour out on “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem” a spirit of grace and supplication. God’s gracious gift will come first, and repentance will follow. Pouring out implies a generous gift, distributed to all. The concept of “spirit” includes both desire and ability. God will inspire and empower the people to pray for God’s merciful acceptance and help. “Supplication” is the kind of prayer uttered by ...

2078. In the Valley of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... 't be able to sit up or walk and all kinds of things. I'm glad for my bones. But I'm also glad for my skin and muscles that cover my bones. But, you know what's even more amazing than skin or bones or muscle? It is the gift of life. My bones are part of my living body, and I am up here sitting with you and you are here and smiling and beautiful and it all happened because there is a loving God who gives us the ...

2079. God Loves an Underdog

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... from the smallest birds? Think about it. An eagle can screech; a turkey can gobble; an ostrich makes no sound at all. But a tiny canary or a little wren can make some of the most beautiful music ever heard. You see, God gives every creature its own gift. The mighty eagle may appear majestic as it soars gracefully overhead, but it would never win a talent contest. The little canary sing a beautiful song, but wouldn't have a chance in a tug of war with the eagle. God has made everything beautiful and special ...

2080. Babushka

Isaiah 2:1-5, Matthew 2:1-12; 24:37-44

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... the king. In fact, sometimes Babushka would go into the nursery of some home to see if the baby sleeping there was the new-born King. She would leave a treat on the pillow beside the child's head. Years later, Old Babushka continues her search. In Russia today a gift appears near a newborn baby as a sign of Babushka's presence, evidence that she is still seeking the child who was born a King.* I am glad, aren't you, that we don't have to search for the King that was born in Bethlehem? His name is Jesus ...

2081. The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... again didactic and impersonal, like that of verses 1–13, as the writer undertakes to explain concretely the puzzling phrase “grace upon grace” (v. 16, RSV). God’s gift of the Jewish law, he says, makes way for grace and truth, the gift of the Spirit through Jesus Christ. The distinction is not between law and grace as contrasting ways of salvation, but between two gifts of grace: the law and the Spirit (cf. Paul in 2 Cor. 3:7–18). When the writer adds that no one has ever seen God, he apparently ...

2082. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... Spirit (in that order) becomes in the book of Acts the normative way of initiation into the Christian community: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you,” said Peter on the day of Pentecost, “so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). In a similar way, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that he cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he takes the step of initiation into the new community of faith forming itself around Jesus. He must leave the group he ...

2083. The Unbelief of the Jews

John 10:22-42

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... common the revelatory “I” -style in which the speaker is the Shepherd/Son. As to content, they have three features in common: (a) the mutual knowledge of sheep and shepherd (based in section I on the mutual knowledge of Father and Son), (b) the shepherd’s gift of life to his sheep (based in section I specifically on his death), and (c) the shepherd’s ministry to his sheep (in section I a mission to “other sheep” and the achievement of unity; in section II the security and protection of the flock ...

2084. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... and grain. The term “an offering” (minkhah) is used for both presentations; thus the narrator makes no qualitative distinction between the offerings. Therefore, the reason God accepted Abel’s offering and not Cain’s had nothing to do with the nature of the gifts. Neither did the reason lie arbitrarily in God’s freedom, for after the offerings God graciously spoke to Cain about how he could be accepted (v. 7). One can conclude only that God was responding to a difference in the attitudes of the ...

2085. Abraham and Abimelech

Genesis 20:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... inflicted the members of Abimelech’s household with infertility. As God had warned Abimelech in the night, he humiliated the Philistine god Dagon in the night by causing him to fall prostrate before the ark of the covenant. And, parallel to Abimelech’s gifts to Abraham, the Philistines gave the Israelites an offering with the return of the ark. 20:9 The phrase “a great sin” for adultery has been found in marriage contracts from Ugarit and Egypt (J. Van Seters, Abraham in History and Tradition [New ...

2086. Isaac and Rebekah

Genesis 24:1-67

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... for the best effect on his audience. In his account of giving Rebekah the jewelry he made a significant change by reversing the actual order to maintain a sense of propriety. That is, he related that he had asked her identity before presenting the gift. Then he had praised Yahweh for leading him. The inclusion of this note about praising God underscores his conviction that God had appointed Rebekah as Isaac’s bride. 24:49 The servant then asked if they would show kindness and faithfulness to his master ...

2087. Offerings for Priests and Levites

Deuteronomy 18:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... on God’s own initiative—God will raise up for you a prophet. At the same time, by recalling the request of the people at Mt. Sinai (vv. 16f., This is what you asked of the LORD), Moses makes the people responsible on one level for the gift of prophets. The verse obviously recalls 5:22–29, when the people had been afraid to hear the voice of God so directly. They had accepted, however, the mediatorial role of Moses. Here, God promises to extend that role by raising up a prophet like Moses, to continue ...

2088. Renewal of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 29:1-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... grace, at the same time as they are matters of human choice and response. In some sense, therefore, however mysterious, the persistent and wholly culpable failure of Israel to make the right response to God and to live accordingly was indeed because the gift was not yet fully given. Thus, the words of Moses on the boundary of the promised land gather eschatological force as they echo through later generations, until they are eventually taken up into more explicit prophetic visions of the day when God would ...

2089. Personal Accountability

Ezekiel 18:1-32, Ezekiel 19:1-14

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... escape from Jerusalem’s siege and fall was a reward for their righteousness—as though they were more righteous than those who had died. In Israel’s faith, the promise of life and salvation “was not primarily the promise of a specific, and materially defined, gift, but more broadly a promise that ‘God will be with you’” (Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, p. 382). Christian readers will recall the promise of Jesus in John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” To live in ...

2090. Sermon on the Mount: Praying, Not Judging

Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 7:1-6

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... 7:7–11 Jesus invites his disciples to enter boldly into prayer, asking God to grant their petitions for God’s “good gifts” (7:11). The three lines that make up 7:7 are formed in Hebraic parallelism, where each line is essentially synonymous with ... opened to you. Jesus then provides an analogy with human parenting to illuminate God’s great willingness to answer prayer and “give good gifts to those who ask him” (7:9–11). The argument moves from lesser to greater. If a human parent is more than ...

2091. Caring for the Needy and Commissioning Apostles

Mark 3:7-12, Mark 3:13-19

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... the physical, mental, and social needs of people as well as the spiritual side. 2. God-chosen leaders are important. Ephesians 4:8, 11 makes this point clearly. In verse 8 Paul adapts Psalm 68:18 to say that God “gave gifts to his people” (the psalm says, “received gifts from his people”). This points to verse 11, where Paul writes, “Christ himself gave the apostles . . . the pastors and teachers.” In other words, the leaders of the church are called by God and given to the church as his grace ...

2092. God’s Miraculous Provision: Caring for the Needy

Mark 6:30-44

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... until he comes. Second, all that we do, he does through us. The Spirit in us (John 14:16–17, 20) is the Spirit of Christ, so we serve him under his authority and with his power behind us. Therefore, we do not need to worry about how gifted we are (or are not), for we are his agents with his authority. Illustrating the Text The provision of daily miracles Biography: Seeing through the Fog, by Ed Dobson. In the fall of 2000 Pastor Ed Dobson was diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease ...

2093. Jesus Defines Himself as Lord in Contrast to the Leaders of Israel

Mark 12:41-44, Mark 12:35-40

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... , and so on, you are simply living for God. How would your life be different if your single-minded focus was glorifying the Lord in your life? Worship as an act of the heart Parable: There once was a rich man who gave his wife expensive and wonderful gifts. She never lacked for any material possession, as her husband provided all she ever wanted—except his time, energy, and focus. In order to gain and maintain his riches, the man worked long hours, and even when he was home, his focus was not on his wife ...

2094. Mary’s Song—the Magnificat

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... and power as conveyed by the Holy Spirit. (1) Pour a little olive oil into the wine-filled glass, comment on how little room there is for God’s gifts, and point out how they won’t mingle with the rich things already there. The gift of God becomes a superficial layer that never penetrates to the depths of that heart. (2) Pour oil into the empty glass and point out that there is room to receive the oil but that heart is a dead-end for those blessings. The empty but proud heart is willing ...

2095. The Birth of Jesus

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... families may claim they are experiencing a “happy, peaceful home,” but one is defining peace and happiness as the mere absence of chaos and struggle, the situation that settles in when people stop caring and live in spite of each other. The other is defining these gifts as the hard-won fruit that blossoms when people live for God and each other. This fruit is messy and costly, but precious. Explain that peace on earth is not a matter of God and others merely leaving us alone and free to do as we please ...

2096. Rejecting or Responding to Jesus

Luke 10:1-24

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... “the contest between the personal Source of evil and Jesus was fought out by the principals, not by their subordinates, and it is already victoriously decided in Christ’s sight.” He concludes that what Jesus is saying is that “gifts and powers are good, and may legitimately be rejoiced in; but to possess eternal life . . . is better than all gifts and powers.”1 There is no relationship as mutually empathic and as profound as the one between the Father and the Son. Biography: George MacDonald. A ...

2097. Lessons in Discipleship

Luke 17:11-19, Luke 17:1-10

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... help. At the end of the movie, she is not on the path of healing. This is a chilling metaphor for the seriousness of prompting another’s failure. We should be ready to forgive someone who is truly repentant. Anecdote: The Gift of Peace, by Cardinal Bernardin. In these personal reflections (published in 1997) as he was dying of pancreatic cancer, the devout Chicago cardinal Bernardin (1928–96) tells about being falsely accused by a troubled young man, Steven. Bernardin, full of compassion, reaches ...

2098. Christian Maturity

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... as judge over everyone and everything else. Paul’s eschatological focus is never far from the surface of his discussion. God has gifted his church in order to enable and protect believers as they wait for Christ’s return (1:7–8). When that day ... be tested. God will test the quality of each member’s work (3:13). Each one is responsible for utilizing his or her gift(s) to build God’s building on the foundation of Jesus Christ (12:7). Illustrating the Text Christians whose decisions and behavior seem ...

2099. Leadership and Servanthood

1 Corinthians 4:1-21, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... speaks to that exact situation when he reminds the Corinthians that bragging about such things does nothing but reveal how they have missed the gospel (3:21). A proper understanding of accomplishments and relationships recognizes that all things come as undeserved gifts from God. Among Christians, therefore, there is no room for boasting or bragging (Eph. 2:6–10). Illustrating the Text The Christian community, the church, is God’s temple, where he dwells and reveals himself and where its members receive ...

2100. The Conclusion

Revelation 22:7-21

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... ’s eternal reign, bringing an end to the long night of tribulation.5 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. It seems more natural in the immediate context to interpret all four imperatives of verse 17 (“come” and “take”) as invitations to the hearers to respond positively to Christ, rather than as calls for Christ to return. Both the return of ...

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