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 2226 to 2250 of 4943 results

2226. The Impending Departure I

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, John 14:15-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... –40/Luke 10:25–28), except that in John it is love for Jesus rather than love for God that stands at the center (cf. 21:15–17). In a manner typical of this Gospel, Jesus identifies himself so closely with the Father that as far as the disciple is concerned, the two are virtually equivalent (cf. 10:30; vv. 9, 23). The Question of Judah The name Judah can be used to distinguish this disciple (cf. Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) both from Judas the traitor and from Jude the brother of Jesus (cf. Mark 6:3/Matt. 13 ...

2227. Jesus and the High Priest

John 18:15-18, John 18:25-27, John 18:19-24

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... to have put him in any particular danger. In asking Jesus about his disciples, the high priest probably wants their names, but not in order to arrest them. More likely, he wants to question them about Jesus’ teaching. The concern about his disciples and his teaching is a single concern. In reply, Jesus indicates that the identification of a fixed group of people as his disciples is irrelevant because his teaching is in any case a public matter. He has said nothing privately to his disciples that he has ...

2228. Pilate and the Condemnation of Jesus

John 18:28-40, John 19:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... virtually re-enacts their first encounter in 18:29–32. Pilate’s reply, You take him and crucify him (v. 6b) reiterates his earlier advice to take him yourselves and judge him by your own law (18:31). It also makes clear that, as far as Pilate was concerned, they had the power to carry out the death penalty if they so decided. Though they were unwilling or unable to do so, probably out of a lack of broad-based support, they remained firmly convinced that We have a law, and according to that law he must ...

2229. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... thanksgiving, which itself included an element of prayer, is now followed by an intercessory prayer (strictly speaking, a prayer report). The subject matter of this prayer is identical with the subject matter of the letter as a whole; here are concentrated the main concerns to which Paul gives fuller expression throughout the letter. 1:9 This is my prayer: which catches up “I pray” in verse 4 (although a different Greek word is now used), may mean “I am praying at this moment” (which was no doubt ...

2230. The Word of Life

1 John 1:1-4

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... speaks about it in several ways. He uses the neuter pronoun ho (which the NIV translates as that which and which in v. 1, and as what in v. 3), and he describes it primarily in terms of its appearance (ephanerōthē, twice in v. 2). He says it is concerning the Word (a masculine noun) of life. Then, in v. 2, he calls it the life, a feminine noun, and the eternal life. The original readers of the letter, who not only knew the prologue to the Gospel of John but were familiar with the author’s vocabulary and ...

2231. From Adam to Noah

Genesis 5:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Sumer for 26, 997 years. Thus both Genesis and the Sumerian records witness that after the flood people lived much shorter lives. The Sumerian King List is fundamentally different from the genealogies in Genesis in that it concerns kingship. Genesis, by contrast, is family oriented, concerned with the position of a descendant in the genealogy as a result of God’s blessing. The long life spans of the antediluvians are perplexing. Numerous studies have sought to explain these high numbers, such as Cassuto ...

2232. Obedience Commanded

Deuteronomy 4:1-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... secure possession of it, long life, and enjoyment of it were dependent in each generation on the people’s response of committed loyalty and obedience. 4:2 The warning against tampering with the law by adding or removing anything (repeated in 12:32) expresses a concern for the integrity of God’s revelation. It was not to be treated like a menu from which one could select what suited one’s taste, nor as a mere foundation for personal inventiveness. God’s word must be taken whole in its overall meaning ...

2233. Not Because of Israel's Righteousness

Deuteronomy 9:1-6

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... is the one who will destroy and subdue (v. 3a). 9:4–6 The euphoria of victory is as likely to produce moral self-congratulation as the rewards of economic labor is likely to produce imagined self-sufficiency (8:17). There is a regular concern in these chapters for what people say to themselves (cf. 7:17; 8:17; 15:9). So Moses, with characteristically sharp instincts, envisages what will be said when the campaign dust settles. At a primary theological level, these verses reinforce the point made already ...

2234. The Year of Canceling Debts

Deuteronomy 15:1-11

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... The sabbath commandment focused on the needs especially of the dependent sections of the population (5:14) and was motivated by God’s redemptive action on behalf of Israel when they were oppressed slaves (5:15). Chapter 15 is saturated with the same social concern and the same motivation. It is the flagship for a flotilla of smaller sections in a similar vein in the following chapters. There is a warmth and compassion to this chapter that we find easier to identify with than the severity of, say, chapter ...

2235. Passover

Deuteronomy 16:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... part of a covenant faith, were matters of choice and will and commitment, as the determination to rejoice even in the midst of lament in the Psalms and elsewhere (e.g., Hab. 3:17–19) shows. Thirdly, there is the note of social inclusiveness. Concern for the poor, the weak, the economically and socially vulnerable was not confined to the rhetoric of the prophets but was embodied in the seasonal round. Israel’s family festivals reached out to those without family, in an explicit demand that is echoed in ...

2236. Going to War

Deuteronomy 20:1-20

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... This chapter does not pretend to be a manual for military operations and it is hermeneutically futile to read it or criticize it as if it were. Rather, as in the law of the king (which is no manual for government administration either), it is concerned with fundamental principles, principles that must govern Israelites at war as in any sphere of life. The two most basic covenantal principles of Israel’s life under God were: love for Yahweh (6:5) and love for one’s neighbor. This vertical and horizontal ...

2237. Marriage Violations

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... did not support a double standard of sexual morality, as did those who brought only the woman caught in adultery to Jesus (John 8:2–11). 22:23–29 This series of three laws relating to unlawful extramarital sexual intercourse shows a similar concern to make important distinctions and qualifications as for the laws on homicide (ch. 19), and indeed makes that comparison (v. 26). Since betrothal is tantamount to marriage, intercourse with a woman pledged to be married (vv. 23, 25) is tantamount to adultery ...

2238. The Altar on Mount Ebal

Deuteronomy 27:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... curse is directed at those whose greed attacks the original land division and who change boundaries to their own advantage (v. 17). This is followed by two curses against those who exploit the weak and vulnerable—perhaps the second most prominent concern of Deuteronomy after its covenantal monotheism (vv. 18f.). Sexual integrity is also central to healthy family structures in society, and so four curses condemn incest and perversion (vv. 20–23). Finally, the curses return to the Decalogue with two based ...

2239. Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 Kings 1:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... Adonijah, a king not likely to favor someone from Saul’s clan. Solomon is perhaps nothing more to him than the lesser of two evils. On the likelihood that Nathan was a prophet from the pre-David city of Jebus (2 Sam. 5:6–10), concerned to ensure that the old city’s traditions maintained their part in Israel’s understanding of itself, see most recently G. H. Jones, The Nathan Narratives, JSOTSup (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990). 1:11–27 Why then has Adonijah become king?: It may be the intention ...

2240. Solomon's Throne Established

1 Kings 2:13-46

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... not a very convincing one, particularly when it is realized that Abiathar is, in fact, never described in the books of Samuel as carrying the ark before David. Joab could also have cited a long history with David in mitigation of his crimes, had anyone been concerned to listen. The authors, indeed, themselves remind us of this history with that curious phrase though not with Absalom in v. 28. Why mention Absalom here at all, if not to help us recall that this is Joab’s “first offence” in an otherwise ...

2241. Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

1 Kings 12:25-33

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... , lies in its claim that what “actually happened” (Jeroboam encouraging worship of the LORD via the calves, on this view) is not “actually” idolatry at all. From whose point of view? It is certainly idolatry so far as passages like Deut. 4:15–24 are concerned. You cannot worship the LORD using representations of him, for then you are not worshiping him at all but “other gods” (1 Kgs. 14:9). Whatever Jeroboam thinks he is doing with his calves, it is idolatry from the point of view of these ...

2242. The Man of God from Judah

1 Kings 13:1-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... false prophet who later spoke truly) can be understood in the same way (vv. 11, 15)—as an attempt to stave off the destruction of Bethel, and the desecration of his own tomb, which he knows must follow the Judean’s words of verse 2 (v. 32). It is concern about the possibility of corruption, then, that may lie behind the instructions given to the Judean about his journey. He is to go directly to Bethel and come directly back. He is not even to stop for refreshment, and he is to vary his route so that he ...

2243. Moab Revolts

2 Kings 3:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses (v. 7). Immediately, then, we are quite deliberately reminded of the earlier story and invited to make comparisons. This being so, we can hardly fail to notice that whereas, earlier, Jehoshaphat was very concerned to discover “the counsel of the LORD” before going off to war (22:5), he now moves directly from agreement to tactics (3:8, though it is not clear who is asking the question and who is answering it) and from tactics to action (v. 9 ...

2244. Naaman Healed of Leprosy

2 Kings 5:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... cf. “great [NIV’s well-to-do] woman” in 4:8; “great man” in 5:1); in both, intermediaries interpose themselves between the prophet and the great person (4:11–16, 25–27; 5:9–12, 19–22), though with varying results; in both, we find question and answer concerning whether all is well, with the answer disguising the truth (4:26; 5:21–22); in both, the king and the commander of the army appear as the epitome of wealth and power (4:13; 5:4–12). 5:12 Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed ...

2245. The Book of Law Found

2 Kings 22:1-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... cf. 23:21–25). Never had anyone turned to the LORD as Josiah did, in accordance with all the law. 22:3–13 It is nevertheless not until the eighteenth year of his reign, apparently, that the new king begins to take action concerning the apostate condition of Judean worship. His initial concern is simply to repair the temple, like Joash in 2 Kings 12:1–16 (compare 12:9–16 with 23:3–7), not to reform its cult. It is not until Shaphan, returning with his report of diligence in financial matters (v. 9 ...

2246. Judgment Against the Nations

Isaiah 34:1-17

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... begins “for” or “when” (see Additional Notes on 1:29–30), and the word see usually marks the beginning of a sentence. That suggests we should link the first line with what precedes. This also gives coherence and completeness to vv. 4–5a as concerning Yahweh’s action in relation to the heavenly army, with v. 5a pairing with the middle line of v. 4 as a bracket around the intervening two lines. “The people I have destroyed” then presumably means “the people I have doomed to destruction ...

2247. The Servant of the Lord

Isaiah 49:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... point. So far the Poet’s focus has been Jacob-Israel. Henceforth it will be Jerusalem-Zion. So far the addressee has been Jacob-Israel. Henceforth it will be Jerusalem-Zion. So far Yahweh’s promise has thus concerned the fall of Babylon and the end of the Judeans’ enforced residence there. Henceforth it will concern the restoring of the city that virtually none of the exiles have ever seen. Once more there is no need to infer that time has moved on or that the people are already back in the city ...

2248. Salvation for Others

Isaiah 56:1-8

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... to eunuchs. Sabbath observance was mentioned in order to be attacked (1:13). The attack was based on the sabbath’s being observed in a religious way, as if it had an importance independently of a commitment to right living in society. We can contrast the social concern with the sabbath in Amos 8:5 and Jeremiah 17:19–27. Here the issue is different again, for the sabbath has become a mark of Jewish distinctiveness (cf., e.g., Ezek. 20; Neh. 13:15–22). It is the very mark of “holding fast to Yahweh ...

2249. The Glory of Zion

Isaiah 60:1-22

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... as a whole. One is the theme of reversal, which was prominent in the promises of chapters 40–55. The other is the theme of the nations’ acknowledgment of Yahweh as the God of Jerusalem and of Jerusalem as the city of Yahweh. That is also a concern in Isaiah 40–55, but those chapters did not create that theme. In his use of this theme, the Preacher is appealing to very old traditions in Israel’s faith, not least to stories of the nations’ acknowledgment of Yahweh and of Jerusalem in the time of ...

2250. Praise and Prayer

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... . But that is a bidding to the people by the prophet speaking on Yahweh’s part. It is in a lament that the bidding is addressed by people to Yahweh (e.g., Ps. 6:4; 80:14). Indeed, getting Yahweh to “turn” is a basic concern of a lament, related to the notion of gaining Yahweh’s attention (see v. 15). The two possible uses of this imperative illustrate the uncomfortable place where a prophet lived—between God and people, called to confront both. The outrageousness continues in verses 18–19. Only ...

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