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 1 to 25 of 43 results

1. Getting Our Lives Out Of Hock

Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... themselves well. They may smile and say, "This is for your own good," while their selfish motives are hidden. They may even disguise their attacks as teasing and tell you to laugh it off, for they were "only joking." Regardless, they seem to have a knack for seeing other people's faults (and ignoring their own)." (Kenneth A. Schmidt, Ibid., p.95) The compulsion to control. Do you have that compulsion; or, are you in hock to someone else's compulsion? Two, the compulsion to rescue. "Rescuers play God, too ...

2. Get off the Throne and Learn Wisdom

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... in place and his thumb resting in his mouth; he looks troubled. Turning to Lucy, he asked, “Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?” “I just think I have a knack for seeing other people’s faults.” Linus threw up his hands, “What about your own faults?” Without hesitation, Lucy explained, “I have a knack for overlooking them.”10 Which is precisely the answer to Jesus’ question, the operative words being see and notice. One of the effects of sin is that it distorts our perception of ...

3. When You Are Wrongly Criticized

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... cartoon, little brother Linus, looking very forlorn, asks big sister Lucy, “Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?” Lucy, looking very self-righteous, replies, “I just think I have a knack for seeing other people’s faults.” Linus turns indignant. “What about your own faults?” he asks. “I have a knack for overlooking them,” says Lucy. Unfortunately, those best at hurting and critiquing us are those closest to us. In today’s gospel text Jesus is beset by critics. The first in line ...

4. When You Are Wrongly Criticized

Mark 3:21

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... Brown cartoon, little brother Linus, looking very forlorn, asks big sister Lucy, "Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?" Lucy, looking very self-righteous, replies, "I just think I have a knack for seeing other people's faults." Linus turns indignant. "What about your own faults?" he asks. "I have a knack for overlooking them," says Lucy. Unfortunately, those best at hurting and critiquing us are those closest to us. In the gospels Jesus is beset by critics. The first in line? His own family ...

5. Changing The Rules

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

... long established and understood games were constantly being changed in order to incorporate a larger sphere of players. For the same reason Jesus said, "You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching." Jesus had a knack for constantly changing the rules of the game of life in order to incorporate a larger sphere of people in his kingdom net. One such game where the rules were often changed was volleyball. Volleyball is a well-established game with rules which are basically ...

6. Lent 5

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44, John 11:45-57

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... over homosexual feelings or practices. Do it for Love. The message sent by Lazarus' sisters to Jesus was that the friend he loved was sick. Love was enough to bring help from Jesus. For years friends held a birthday party for an aged person. Each year they gave her knick-knacks for her house. On her 90th birthday a friend asked what she wanted for her birthday this year. "Give me a kiss," was the reply, "so I won't have to dust it." Just the kiss is all - a kiss of love.

7. Giving Your All

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Erskine White

... We won't be carving anyone's name over the altar or putting their bust in the narthex. Instead, we have a lot of people giving their all - giving what they can. Some bring their best dishes and recipes. Some bring homemade crafts or other knick-knacks. Many people donate their time and labor for other chores, like washing dishes and cleaning-up! When we labor together at the church like this, we see people putting in "everything they have, their whole living." Once there was a young man named Homer, who was ...

8. Tying One On

John 1:27

Children's Sermon

... shoes? Now for the practical lesson - let those children who can tie their shoes teach the younger children how to do the ob. Let them practice tying their own laces (if they have them), as well as other people's shoes. When everyone seems to have gotten the knack, it is time for another discussion. How do they feel about being able to tie their own shoes? How do they feel about tying other people's shoes, especially when the other person can tie her own shoes? Would they rather be asked to tie a friend's ...

9. Changing The Rules

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

10. The Crowing of a Rooster

Matthew 26:31-35, Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... when you hear the rooster crowing, you will realize that you have denied evenknowing me." I'm not sure Peter remembered the next morning what Jesus had said earlier. We all have a tendency to deny anything that makes us face ourselves. We also have a knack for verbalizing or affirming what we know is basically good and right. If, however, the suggestion is made that we are not living up to our proclamations, we either push it to the back of our minds or begin to rationalize. Peter had declared his loyalty ...

11. Happiness Is ... the Kingship of Jesus

John 18:28-40

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... resoundingly defeated in a stunning upset, after sixteen years in office. A newspaper columnist found little on his record that was worthy of praise. One of his weaknesses had been an inability to inspire his constituency. His victorious opponent seemed to have that knack. The columnist quoted a city official’s assessment of the successful contender: "When he walks into a room, it seems to light up. His gestures, his manner, his speech, his way, make people warm up to him. He makes people feel good, he ...

12. Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-13, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, 2 Kings 2:1-18

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... our minds and hearts to your servants in our midst; that striving to emulate them, we may by your grace exceed even their accomplishments and thus set an example and goal for generations to follow. Amen Prayer of Confession Compassionate God, we confess our knack for choosing and emulating inferior role models. We admit as well our seeming inability to follow with any consistency even these poor examples. Forgive us, we pray. Enable us to choose worthy servants of yours as models and to press to exceed even ...

13. A Prayer of Wonder

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... ; now therefore may it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord, hast spoken, and with thy blessing shall the house of thy servant be blessed for ever. - 2 Samuel 7:28-29 Children have a natural knack for acknowledging God. A young boy who had done something bad was told by his mother that he could not go to a picnic that had been planned for the next weekend. But when the day came she was sorry for him and told him that he could go. He ...

14. Home Economy

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... , the soil cracked and turned to dust, the streams dried up, and famine gripped the people - thirst, starvation, hunger, malnutrition - all words familiar in the social circumstances of the 1980s. But then, as now, not everybody suffered. There were those who had the knack of being able to convert the circumstances to their own benefit, who profited in blight. Injustices became the order of the day. Oppression was the rule of thumb, and everybody in the struggle tried to step on everybody else to get what ...

15. When You Need Help

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... be visiting a mistress. Not so. The executive explained his habit to the psychologist quite easily. Inside Apartment 2B waited, not a luscious blonde, but a professional woodworking shop that he had set up, where he labored happily to turn out furniture and knick-knacks. He kept his special appointment with himself faithfully because it was his retreat from the demands he fulfilled so carefully day in and day out. He needed this chance to be alone with himself, engaged in an activity that took his mind far ...

16. Drowning In A Sea Of Stuff

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... things changed the day a fire swept through her Hollywood neighborhood. As the fire moved ever closer to her home, Nazimova ran from room to room, searching for her most valuable possessions to save. To her surprise, none of her pretty furnishings and knick-knacks mattered to her at that moment. The only things she took with her were a few photographs. The fire never reached Nazimova's house, but when she returned to it, nothing felt the same. She began getting rid of her possessions, and reported greater ...

17. Love And Submission

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... each year as we accumulate layer upon layer of shared memories. "We all begin our married lives by making a commitment when we repeat the vows `For better, for worse;' and `till death us do part.' "Do the couples who stay together possess a special knack for translating their commitment into a code of daily behavior that keeps it strong? "The first thing I discovered was that these couples, no matter what their ages, start out with what some might call an old-fashioned idea--that marriage is forever. It ...

18. The Coming Of The Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... asked the coach what made his star halfback so good. This is what he answered: "He has speed, of course. But that's not the whole of it--there are others as fast as he is. His real secret is the way he follows his interference. He has an uncanny knack for sensing just when the hole will open up, just where the key block will be thrown. He knows where the flow of power is going and he goes with it." (3) The wisest man or woman in the world today is the one who can see where the Holy ...

19. Grace Is Not a Blue-eyed Blond

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... study the Bible and discovered that grace is not a substance at all. Grace is not a thing, but is rather a theological code word used to describe the completely undeserved and unlimited love of God. One of my favorite writers, Frederick Buechner, has a knack for translating theological terms into everyday language, and in his little book, Wishful Thinking, he describes “grace” in this way: Grace is something you can never get but only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about ...

20. Does God Give Out Blank Checks?

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Father Greeley’s writings was a book written over twenty years ago titled The Jesus Myth. I found it to be just about the most interesting one-volume introduction to the Christian Faith I have ever read. What I like especially about Greeley is that he has a knack for summarizing the good news of the Gospel in a succinct way. But I have some problems with him when he says that Jesus said “God’s love and mercy are so generous that similar generosity in human affairs would be a sign that a man had become ...

21. Hidden Treasure

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Illustration

Donald M. Tuttle

... a man comes to your office to pitch an idea. He wants to hire a handful of antique appraisers from places like Sotheby's and Christies, rent convention centers in a handful of cities, and invite John and Jane Public to bring their knick knacks, collectibles and attic treasures in for appraisal. And the real exciting part is the fact that the appraisals will be captured on film. What would you think? Can you imagine anything more boring than watching a stuffy old expert pontificate on the lacquer finish ...

22. A Little Time Alone

Matthew 15:21-28

Illustration

King Duncan

23. The Kingdom of God Has Come Close

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... for all my friends. I wish for peace in the world. I wish for great advancements in the fields of science and medicine, and.... "But by this time, Lucy is throwing away the unbroken wishbone in disgust, grumbling, "You seem to have a knack for spoiling everything." Our rigidity makes us resent those who see things differently. Rule-benders, short-cut-takers and independent thinkers make us nervous. When Christ offered people the chance to participate in the kingdom, he didn't come with the military might ...

24. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , coherent message a gospel. He opens his account of Jesus' life and ministry by designating it once and forever as "good news." Just as Mark's account of Jesus' life is the briefest version of the four, he seems to have an editor's knack for finding the most succinct way to get his message across. Jesus' mission and message are surely and summarily gospel tidings "Good News" for everyone. The opening verse of Mark's gospel appears to have been even shorter than most modern translations prefer to present ...

25. Remember Me

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:18-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... done so, they’d think they’d dragged him away from his companions, yet really they would scourge and crucify a ghost: he had hidden himself in that bread. Rather as in Galilee, when they wanted to seize him and kill him or make him king, he had the knack of hiding himself and disappearing from sight. So he stretched out his hand over the already broken bread, broke it into smaller bits and, raising it in the air, pronounced the words of the magic transition: ‘This is my body, it’s been given for you ...

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