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 2351 to 2375 of 3082 results

2351. The Test for an Unfaithful Wife

Numbers 5:11-31

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

Priests, Purity, and the Camp: Chapter 5 returns to the twelve tribes in the camp. The common thread throughout the chapter is a concern with purity. 5:1–4 These verses report divine instruction to ensure that the camp is clear of those who have contracted contagious impurity. The impurity could spread and threaten the divine presence. These verses are a kind of extension of the Manual of Purity in Leviticus 11–16 (see the commentary there). The three groups to be excluded from the camp are anyone who has ...

2352. The Journey to Moab

Numbers 21:10-20

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

Of Snakes and Victories: Chapter 21 begins a new movement in the book of Numbers. The deaths of Miriam and Aaron and the sin of Moses in chapter 20 mark milestones, and the camp is again on the move. In the final chapters of the book, the action moves to the Transjordan plateau and the journey to the land of Canaan. Chapters 11–20 have been dominated by rebellion, death, and defeat. In chapter 21 are the first signs of military success. Although another rebellion story follows the first victory (vv. 1–3), ...

2353. David at Gath

1 Samuel 21:10-15

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

David’s Flight – The Priests at Nob: 21:1–9 Having accepted that Saul’s enmity was fixed and that exile was the only option, David sought initial supplies from the priest at Nob. Ahimelech’s wariness on David’s arrival may have reflected an awareness of Saul’s antipathy toward David and a fear of getting involved in a power dispute. However, it is equally possible that Ahimelech’s expression of ignorance in 22:14–15 was the truth and his fear was that David would bring Philistine troops in his wake. David’ ...

2354. David at Adullam and Mizpah

1 Samuel 22:1-5

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

2355. Nathan Rebukes David

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

The Lord Is Not Pleased: In Chapter 11, David's actions toward Bathsheba and her husband displeased the Lord 12:1–6 The Lord therefore takes action. It was important that David and the readers of this account should realize the significance and unacceptability of what he had done. Hence, the LORD sent Nathan. What happens may be a working out of the “discipline” for David’s dynasty that had been described in 2 Samuel 7. Monarchy was new to Israel, and it was vital that standard relating to God’s ...

2356. Marrying a Captive Woman

Deuteronomy 21:10-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Rectifying Public and Private Wrongs: Each of the five sections of this chapter deals with a situation of human distress or misconduct and seeks either to rectify the wrong or to mitigate its worst effects. We have seen already that this is a characteristic feature of Deuteronomy—part of its “pastoral strategy.” Another feature is that the first and fifth of the laws both require actions that involve removing pollution from the sight of God and from the land. 21:10–14 The female prisoner of war. Here we ...

2357. The Right of the Firstborn

Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

2358. The Offer of Life or Death

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Summary and Renewal of the Covenant: In terms of the rhetorical nature of the book, Moses’ third speech to Israel begins at 29:2 (which is 29:1 in the Hebrew text). In terms of the concentric structure of the book, we are still within what Christensen calls “the inner frame” (chs. 27–30), which is in a position corresponding to chapters 4–11 (cf. introduction, p. 4). And in terms of the message of the book, this section picks up and summarizes much of the earlier material, setting it once again within a ...

2359. The Death of Samson

Judges 16:23-31

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

Samson’s Downfall and Death: Few stories in the Hebrew Bible have more recognition factor than the story of Samson and Delilah. It is a gripping, poignant drama brought to life by a gifted artist who has skillfully combined plot and characterization to present a classic story whose elements, if not the whole, have been told and retold in many cultures through all varieties of media, whether story, song, art, or film. But as we turn to this famous story, we must remember that it is part of a whole and thus ...

2360. Jehoiakim King of Judah

2 Kings 23:36--24:7

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The End of Judah: Josiah, like Ahab, humbled himself before the LORD, and judgment, as in Ahab’s case, did not fall during Josiah’s reign. The implication of the analogy is that we may expect it to fall during the reign of Josiah’s son (cf. 1 Kgs. 21:28–29). This is exactly what we find now, as the story of Kings comes to its end. It is not, however, the first of Josiah’s sons to sit on his throne (Jehoahaz) who experiences the full force of God’s wrath (cf. 1 Kgs. 22:51–2 Kgs. 1:18), or even the second, ...

2361. Jehoiachin King of Judah

2 Kings 24:8-17

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

2362. Zedekiah King of Judah

2 Kings 24:18-20a

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

2363. The Fall of Jerusalem

2 Kings 24:20b--25:26

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

2364. Josiah Celebrates the Passover

2 Chronicles 35:1-19

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

Josiah Celebrates the Passover: 35:1–19 This section presents the most remarkable expansion of source material in this chapter (if not in the whole book). The Deuteronomistic version reports in 2 Kings 23:21–23 (only three verses!) that, following Josiah’s cultic reform measures (2 Kgs. 23:4–20, 24a), the king commanded the people to celebrate the Passover. The Chronicler expanded this description, however, into an elaborate narrative of nineteen verses, which follow after the account of the covenant ...

2365. The Return to Jerusalem

Ezra 8:15-36

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Bringing Glory to the Temple: Ezra was given two mandates in chapter 7. The first was to lead a party of immigrants back to the homeland and to take along the sacred contributions of the Persian court, the Babylon satrapy, and Jews remaining in exile, and deliver them to the temple authorities in Jerusalem. This first assignment is accomplished here. Apart from the conclusion in verses 35–36, this section comes from the Ezra memoirs and falls into three parts: 7:28b–8:20; 21–30; and 31–34. Each part has a ...

2366. A Prophecy Against Jerusalem

Isaiah 22:1-25

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

22:1–14 Again the enigmatic title comes from the body of the poem (v. 5), though in this case the location of the Valley of Vision becomes explicit (vv. 8–11). We have to accept that many of the poems in these chapters do not tell us their historical background, so that reading them is a little like reading a parable, or understanding a film when you arrive halfway through. While the prophet’s first hearers would probably have known more than we do and therefore would have understood his words in a more ...

2367. Searching for Happiness

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Many people today spend their lives in a desperate search for happiness, for pleasure, for fun. Many people in our society are simply bored. They mope around, fantasizing about some secret joy that lies out there somewhere. “I’m looking for adventure, excitement, and beautiful women,” said the young man to his father as he was leaving home. “And don’t try to stop me!” “Who wants to stop you?” said his father. “I’m going with you!” The ironic thing about seeking such pleasure, however, is how little joy it ...

2368. A Remedy for Rejection

Luke 4:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been rejected? Have you ever had a door shut in your face? Welcome to the real world. Parents spend years grooming their children for success. Perhaps it would be more profitable to train our children to handle failure and rejection because everyone faces these unhappy experiences sooner or later. Go to Google. Type in the words “famous rejections.” If you do, you will learn that J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of novels, was rejected by 12 different publishers before her work ...

2369. Are You Suffering from FOMO?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

I hate to admit it, but I admire advertisers and their ability to sell us products we didn’t even know we needed. Some of these advertisers are geniuses at convincing us that if we just had their product, it would fill some hole in our lives and would bring us complete satisfaction. One of the more famous ads along these lines came out in the early 1970s. It was an ad for Schlitz Beer. The ad implied that Schlitz Beer was the ultimate beer experience. The tagline went like this, “You only go around once in ...

2370. Saved By the Light

Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 Rev. Richard Fairchild tells the harrowing story of an event that occurred on Sunday afternoon, June 1st, 1975. A man named Darrel Dore was on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly the rig wobbled, tipped to one side, and crashed into the sea. Darrel was trapped inside a room on the rig. As the rig sank deeper and deeper into the sea, the lights went out and the room began to fill with water. Thrashing about in the darkness, Darrel accidentally found a huge air ...

2371. Caesar or God?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Let’s talk about leadership for a few moments. It is an important subject in today’s world. There is a professor from University College London who has written many books on personality and leadership. And he has some strong views concerning incompetent leaders. He says incompetent leaders create a toxic corporate culture that drags everybody in their sphere of influence down. And he claims that the number one trait that incompetent leaders possess is arrogance. According to this professor’s studies and ...

2372. Rule of Love

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? — Matthew 22:36 In one of her books, the eloquent Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor, wrote these words about the Bible: “My relationship with the Bible is a marriage, not a romance, and one I am willing to work on in all the usual ways.”1 What she meant, of course, was that her relationship with the Bible was like any other serious relationship; it included good days as well as challenging days, days of clarity and days of confusion, days of joy ...

2373. The Sign of Noah

Mark 1:4-11 · Song of Songs 6:9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“My dove, my perfect one, is unique.” Song of Songs 6:9 If you’ve ever spent time in any large city, no doubt, you’ll at some point find yourself amidst a bevy of pigeons. In our city culture, we often see pigeons as an annoyance, somewhat dirty birds that leave droppings all over our sidewalks and strut leisurely across our path. And yet, we honor the “dove” as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, a sign of peace, restoration, and love. These birds, all species of the Columbidae[1] family, are one and the same. ...

2374. When You Know How It Ends

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

If you are a big sports fan then you know how frustrating it is when your favorite team is playing in a different time zone. You can’t watch the game on live TV because it either takes place during your workday, or way past your bedtime. A pastor in Hawaii shares how he deals with this issue. Depending on where you live in the continental U.S., Hawaii is three to six hours behind. If it’s 10 p.m. in New York, the time is 5 p.m. in Hawaii. Because of this time difference, the Monday Night Football game is ...

2375. Jesus' Tears

John 11:32-44

Sermon

King Duncan

Today on this All Saints’ Day, we remember those who have served God on earth and now enjoy His company in Heaven. This is not a day of sorrow, but a day of gladness, for we know that because Christ lives, we, too, shall live with the company of all those who are part of the family of Christ. We remember the words of St. Paul when he instructed the church at Thessalonica with these words, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve ...

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