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 2426 to 2450 of 4943 results

2426. God’s Salvation for the Individual and the International Manifestation of His Glory

Psalm 57:1-11

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... psalm appears to have several internal inconsistencies. How do we explain the transition from lament motifs in the first half (vv. 1–4) to hymnic motifs in the second (vv. 5–11)? How do we explain that the concerns of an individual seeking protection become overshadowed by concerns for God’s international and cosmic manifestation? How do we explain the spatial discrepancy that the speaker takes “refuge in the shadow of” God’s “wings” (v. 1) and that God “sends from heaven and saves” the ...

2427. Defeat in Battle with Edom

Psalm 60:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... delivered? Was it Yahweh’s immediate answer to the preceding petition, “answer us,” or was this a citation of an earlier oracle? Two features imply the latter is correct. First, the scope of the oracle is much broader than the psalm’s immediate concern, which is Edom (v. 9). Second, if it were Yahweh’s immediate answer to the preceding petition, the subsequent lament and petition (vv. 9–11) make little sense, because Yahweh would have just made his position clear. Thus, God has spoken (or “God ...

2428. A History Lesson: From Ephraim to Judah, from the Exodus to Zion

Psalm 78:1-72

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... crucial factor. The second level of the psalm’s teaching has to do with the fact that God’s saving activity was first centered in the northern tribes and expressed in the traditions concerning the exodus, wilderness journeys, and the conquest. But now it has shifted to Judah and the traditions concerning David and Zion (vv. 68–72). For ancient Israel, this was a striking development that demanded explanation. The OT refers to this northern region not by the designation “northern Israel” but often ...

2429. A Hymn of Yahweh’s Kingship, an Oracle of David’s Kingship, and a Lament over David’s Defeat

Psalm 89:1-52

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... with the cherubim-ark is Yahweh’s strength (vv. 13, 17; cf. 68:33–35; 78:61; 132:8), which here exhibits itself in the exaltation of the king (vv. 17–18). 89:19–37 The hymn thus makes a smooth transition to the oracle concerning Yahweh’s covenant with David and his dynasty. Instead of the normal messenger formula (“thus says the LORD” to his people) the verse introducing the oracle continues in direct address to God (you spoke and you said), thus incorporating the divine speech into the people ...

2430. A Prayer for the Afflicted and for the Ruins of Zion

Psalm 102:1-28

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... 24b–28). In each case it surfaces as a direct contrast to the impermanence of the speaker’s days. The point is to motivate the eternal Yahweh to grant the speaker to live out the full days of his generation. Another distinctive feature is the blending of concerns for the individual and for the people of Zion. The point here is also to motivate Yahweh: as he promises to respond to the prayer of the destitute (v. 17), so he should “hear my prayer” (v. 1). The destitute here are clearly God’s people ...

2431. A Brother Who Sins Against You

Matthew 18:15-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... 19 opens with the connective palin (“again”). That which two or three come to agree on (symphōneō means “to produce a sound together,” cf. the English “symphony”) has to do with the decision concerning an unrepentant member of the believing community. God will answer the united concern of praying people. In fact, wherever two or three come together earnestly desiring to know the will of God, he himself will be “right there with them” (Williams). Additional Notes 18:15 Some manuscripts omit ...

2432. The Lord, the Builder of the House(hold)

Psalm 127:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... are a reward from God might seem particularly offensive to parents struggling with infertility. But we must recognize that many biblical verses do not pretend to be the first and the last word on any subject. In several biblical passages, Yahweh exhibits his love and concern for “the barren woman” by promising her joy and a family, that is, a home—whether literal or not (113:9; 1 Sam. 2:5; Isa. 54:1). Additional Note 127:1 Builds the house, its builders: In Hb., these phrases are ambiguous, denoting ...

2433. Just Justice for the Violent and for the Needy

Psalm 140:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... issue of the psalm is that of justice (v. 12). The psalm displays both individual and corporate interests. The enemies’ attack is aimed directly at the speaker (they “have set traps for me,” vv. 4–5, 9). But the closing three verses shift the concern to a corporate level, specifically the poor and the righteous who live in the land. Psalm 140 could thus be used for situations of individual distress, in which the individual’s appeal is based on what Yahweh has promised for the group. Thus, because ...

2434. Alone and Persecuted

Psalm 142:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... that God must intervene on our behalf. According to the Psalms, there should always be a dynamic engagement in the relationship, in which we show initiative to cry aloud to the LORD (v. 1) and he is expected to respond and rescue (v. 6). The significance that no one is concerned for me at my right is explained elsewhere (16:8; 73:23; 109:31; 110:5; 121:5), where the place of the helper was at the right side. 142:5–7 Similar to verses 1–2, verse 5 is also a description of the act of praying but this ...

2435. God of Creation and Restorer of Jerusalem

Psalm 147:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of Yahweh’s actions, namely the exiles and the stars, but in the nature of Yahweh’s action. As the counter of the stars calls them each by name (cf. Isa. 40:26), so the builder of Jerusalem gathers the exiles. Summative praise then follows concerning his mighty . . . power and his limitless understanding (cf. Isa. 40:28–29). The NIV unfortunately misses a key wordplay: he is “the counter of the number of stars” but “his understanding has no number.” The transition to the human world in verse 6 ...

2436. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Daniel 2:1-23

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... the other wise men are accused of stalling for time (2:8). Following his audience with the king, Daniel enlists his friends to join him in prayer. Together they plead for mercy from the God of heaven, who they hope will supply the needed revelation concerning this mystery (2:18). This verse presents Daniel and his companions as pious men of prayer. They serve as role models for anyone facing persecution or unjust royal decrees, such as the Jews faced under Antiochus IV. But of course, they also bear witness ...

2437. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... ; the unnamed diviner (gzr) in the Qumran text. Both have the motif of sin: Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar to cease sinning and to act righteously (Dan. 4:27); in 4QPrNab, Nabonidus testifies that God forgave his sins (in the LXX, Dan. 4:30a has “I prayed concerning my sins in front of the Lord, the God of heaven”). Nebuchadnezzar inscribes a document to publish his testimony and to praise God (4:1–3, 34–37); Nabonidus was instructed by the Jewish diviner to record his story and to glorify God. Finally ...

2438. Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

Daniel 7:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... example, the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel, saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel” (Ezek. 3:17). The same usage is found in Daniel. The angel Gabriel addresses Daniel, “Son of man, . . . understand that the vision concerns the time of the end” (Dan. 8:17). The contrast is between heavenly beings (including God) and humans. That it clearly means “man” or “human” can be seen where it is parallel with “man,” as in Numbers 23:19 (“God is not a man that ...

2439. Daniel’s Prayer

Daniel 9:1-19

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... the time of restoration, which is just around the corner. He believes he understands Jeremiah quite well and has no reason to think he needs further illumination. However, heaven will reinterpret the seventy years in a way that no one could guess from reading Jeremiah. Concerning the seventy years, historians date the first deportation to 597 B.C. rather than to 605. Even so, it might be possible to use 605 as the start date for Jeremiah 25:11–12, since it mentions the time the nations “will serve the ...

2440. The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

Mark 8:14-21

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... of the passage, we must note that the NIV translation of verse 16 is unfortunately wrong. More correctly, the verse reads, “They discussed among themselves the fact that they had no loaves of bread,” meaning that the disciples could not see why Jesus should be concerned about their having yeast when they had no bread, and the only way they could have had yeast with them was in bread (see note). This failure of the disciples to see that Jesus was not really talking about literal yeast shows that they ...

2441. Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us

Mark 9:38-41

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

9:38–41 The preceding passage (9:33–37) urges a willingness to serve others instead of a concern for greatness and makes the strongest kind of identification between Jesus and his followers. In this passage, which concerns the treatment of a person who is using Jesus’ name in exorcisms but is not a member of the Twelve, the question seems to be how to recognize a follower of Jesus. This question follows naturally from the preceding discussion, for if one is to serve other followers of Jesus ...

2442. Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mark 12:13-17

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... shows each of the major Jewish groups in Jesus’ time opposing him, as the narrative builds toward the climactic scene of his trial and execution in chapters 14–15. Second, the particular matter dealt with here, taxes to Rome, was still very much a concern for Christians in Mark’s time (see notes), and Jesus’ reply must have been received as guidance in working out their own relationship to a pagan government while they were trying to be loyal above all to God. Indeed, whenever Christians have been ...

2443. Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Luke 5:17-26

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... pointed to passages in the pseudepigraphal work 1 Enoch (see 46:2–4; 48:2; 62:5–7, 13–14; 69:27–29) as examples of how the “son of man” of Daniel 7 came to designate the Messiah. See further Fitzmyer, pp. 208–10. An interesting question concerning v. 24 is whether Jesus is actually the speaker in the first part of the verse (as it is understood in most versions) or whether Luke is making his own editorial comment (as in Mark 13:14b). The primary reason for suspecting that the latter may indeed ...

2444. Blessings and Woes

Luke 6:17-26

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... advises that the followers of Christ should rejoice and leap for joy when they experience such treatment, for it puts them into the company of some of the greatest OT heroes of the faith. On the other hand, woes are pronounced upon those who are wealthy and too concerned with worldly affairs to be bothered about the kingdom of God (see also Luke 14:15–24). They may be rich and laugh now, but the day will come when they will go hungry and will mourn and weep. Though all men speak well of them, it means ...

2445. A Lamp On a Stand

Luke 8:16-18

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... and Tares, vv. 24–30, and its explanation in vv. 36–43). Luke, however, has gathered together no collection, electing to retain the Sower and Lamp parables only (8:4–17), to which he appends Jesus’ warning to heed his words (v. 18) and his pronouncement concerning his true family (vv. 19–21, taken from Mark 3:31–35). The Lucan theme has nothing to do with the kingdom. Instead, its focus is upon Jesus’ word and the urgent need to obey it. 8:16–18 Verses 16–18 contain three sayings which ...

2446. Jesus' Mother and Brothers

Luke 8:19-21

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... Wheat and Tares, vv. 24–30, and its explanation in vv. 36–43). Luke, however, has gathered together no collection, electing to retain the Sower and Lamp parables only (8:4–17), to which he appends Jesus’ warning to heed his words (v. 18) and his pronouncement concerning his true family (vv. 19–21, taken from Mark 3:31–35). The Lucan theme has nothing to do with the kingdom. Instead, its focus is upon Jesus’ word and the urgent need to obey it. 8:19–21 These verses come from Mark 3:31–35 ...

2447. Six Woes

Luke 11:37-54

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... revolving around the theme of Pharisaic hypocrisy. The first example of hypocrisy that Jesus cites is a take-off on the Pharisaic concern with washing. In actual practice the Pharisees did clean the inside of the cup and dish (see Lev. 11:32; 15:12), ... legal experts were able themselves to escape the burden of their rituals (so Marshall, p. 500), these people often had little concern or compassion on those who struggled, and usually failed, to keep the oral laws (and probably the written ones too) and ...

2448. The Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:13-21

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... 14 indicates. More importantly, and what is probably the real point underlying Jesus’ answer, Jesus’ mission is too urgent and too important for a task that just as easily could be settled by a rabbi (Ellis, p. 178; Fitzmyer, pp. 968–69). But the concern with a fair and proper division of the inheritance leads Jesus to tell a parable calculated to illustrate the folly of laying up treasures on earth (cf. vv. 15–21). Because of an abundant harvest the rich man finds it necessary to replace his barns ...

2449. Do Not Worry

Luke 12:22-34

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... is saying there is no need to worry about what you will eat or drink, things that are of great concern to those who know no better (like the pagan world). The disciples are to know that God their Father knows that they need them, and he, better than they ... , is able to provide. Rather, the disciples are to be concerned with the things of God’s kingdom. 12:32–34 In vv. 32–34 we come to a vital theme of the Lucan Gospel. Although ...

2450. More Than Conquerors

Romans 8:28-39

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... no one can survive. In Paul’s case it takes on added significance if, as tradition records, he perished by the sword in the city to which this epistle was addressed. Paul’s concern in verses 35–37 is not to argue theodicy, i.e., why suffering exists in a world made by a good and omnipotent creator. His concern is less theoretical and more practical, for within a decade of Paul’s writing to Rome believers would have to undergo Nero’s horrors. How can Christians consider themselves saved and yet ...

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