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 226 to 250 of 439 results

226. Can A Christian Brag?

Ephesians 2:8

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... tell me how to play it? That's right, every time you throw the ball through the basket, you get two points. (Demonstrate your amazing hook shot here) If you stand really far away and throw the ball through the basket, then you get three points. (Demonstrate, if your ego can stand the challenge) Whoever has the most points at the end of the game is the winner. If you practiced really hard and really improved your aim, then you could score lots and lots of points. That's the only way that you can win a game ...

227. On Picking Your Battles

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... job or a church. Yes, it sometimes happens in a church --and not only between pastors and choir directors, as in our opening story. Correct that, it OFTEN happens in a church. And no church can afford battles over what amounts to excess ego. We must choose our battles. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned in a concentration camp. One day a German officer walked by and Bonhoeffer saluted him and said, "Heil, Hitler." Bonhoeffer noticed that another prisoner next to him was refusing to salute, and whispered to ...

228. Aging Is Mandatory; Maturity Is Optional

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... that must constantly strive to appear great, or in control. Humility is threatening to those who don't know who they are. (5) Before Christ's death and resurrection his disciples were insecure men, unsure of themselves, and so they had to boost their egos by comparing themselves to others and boasting that they were Number One. They had to experience a great deal of maturing before they were ready to be fashioned into the mind of Christ. Little people serve primarily as critics. Big people humble themselves ...

229. What Love Looks Like

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... thought, word, and deed was motivated by love. He was motivated completely and without reservation by love. Whatever is most integral to our identity will be expressed in our actions, for it is almost impossible to live any other way. We engage in petty sniping, ego trips, controlling and manipulative behavior, and even violence against our closest friends and family members--and dare to call it love. The violent husband snarls, "I wouldn't have gone so crazy and done what I did if I didn't love you so much ...

230. When The World Goes Crazy!

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

King Duncan

... of overblown predictions at the birth of their children. "Feel that strong grip! He'll be a star quarterback!" "Look at those bright eyes. She'll grow up to be the first female President, for sure." That's just the way fathers are. Flush with pride, joy, ego--whatever you call it--they are likely to predict stellar futures for their children. So note the reaction of Lamech in Genesis 5, verses 28-29 when his son is born: "He named him Noah (which means rest or comfort) and said, "˜He will comfort us in ...

231. Please, I'd Rather Do It Myself

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... I am lonely. And I'm sick to death of apples." "Well, Eve, in that case I have a solution. I shall create a man for you." "What's a "˜man,' Lord?" Eve asks. "This man will be a flawed creature," says the Lord, "with aggressive tendencies, an enormous ego and an inability to empathize or listen to you properly. All in all he'll give you a hard time. But he will give you some good times, too." "Sounds great," says Eve, with some hesitation. "Yeah, well," says God, "You can have him on one condition." "What's ...

232. Where Heaven And Earth Meet

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... was a tall, muscle-bound, giant version of Richard Exley. In the dream, the giant Richard was attempting to kill the normal Richard. Exley awoke from the dream in a panic. He discerned that the muscle-bound Richard in his dream represented his ego and his ambitions. They were threatening to overtake his personality, and possibly destroy his ministry. He immediately knelt in prayer and asked God to teach him humility and servanthood. He prayed that God's Spirit in him would increase, while his own nature ...

233. THE DESIRE OF YOUR HEART

Drama

Angela Akers

... , not fame. Fame comes from sacrifice and struggle. Think martyrdom. Think Mother Teresa." Woman: "I see what you mean." Genie: "And second, have you picked up a celebrity magazine lately? They''re dripping with misery. There''s nothing glamorous about big egos and moral confusion." Woman: "Forget I asked. Now I''m stumped. I don''t know what to wish for." Genie: "Can I give you some advice?" Woman: "Is that allowed? Aren''t there some kind of Genie Rules'' about that ...

234. The Ultimate Thirst Quencher (Alternate Addition to the "I Am" series: Living water)

John 7:25-44

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the empty hole in their lives with meaning. People without embarrassment are asking questions like: Why are we here? What is the purpose of our existence? One man said: If all life is--is a paycheck--a bed partner whose name I don''t even know--an ego trip, and an empty shot glass--then life is a cruel hoax. The authors of this article in Newsweek bring it to a close by stating: "The answers change in each generation, but the questions are eternal." I think the editor should be congratulated for the article ...

235. The Second Commandment: What Is Your Golden Calf?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... calf? The shape and the size of the idol is not important--only that you substitute it for God. The door to heaven cannot be opened by idols. Anything that shifts your attention--your affection--your allegiance from God to something else is an idol. The word "EGO" stands for Edging God Out. Anything that edges God out of the center of our lives is an idol. It is a mistake. Dr. Richard Mouw is the president of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He tells of the first time he and his wife ...

236. The Other Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... Far too often we are just like him. Herod always is. We say we want God''s best dream for our life. But when the reality of God''s will becomes evident we begin to search for God''s next best dream for our life. Perhaps that is because our ego sometimes becomes an altar at which we worship only ourselves. Dr. Fred B. Craddock adds to this insight when he said, "One has but to love to arouse hatred, but to speak the truth to strengthen the networks of lies and deception...It is no mystery why Christ who gave ...

237. Feasting and Fasting for Lent (Part V)

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... no sustaining purpose." I believe worship in a very true sense determines the quality of our faith. The difference our faith makes depends primarily upon the make-up of our faith. Worship directs our faith to the altar of God rather than placing our own self and ego on the altar. Worship gives us the right focus: Christ! Our scripture lesson today from Philippians 3:8-16 exhorts us to "press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ." We cannot press on for the prize until ...

238. He Came by Night

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... our parents. That nature is related to this physical world; it possesses certain animal needs and drives. It is from below and its attitudes tend to dominate us. In fact, we often operate as if that is all there is to life; satisfying ourselves, our own ego needs, our own passions. And for some people, unfortunately, that is all there is. Surely, you know what I am talking about. It is the attitude that religious people call "sin." It ignores God, and it alienates people from God, from one another, and from ...

239. The Source

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... every name ... -- Philippians 2:5-9 (RSV) The way the writer of Hebrews puts it is he "did not exalt himself ..." but was appointed by God. So we've learned a bit about the early church's understanding of Jesus Christ, haven't we? He was not an ego maniac who volunteered to be the Messiah, like a child thrusting her hand in the air to volunteer for something in the children's moment. No, Jesus was appointed by God. I think I can relate more to someone like that, someone who is being obedient, rather than ...

240. Humility

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... bishop went in. After a few moments, he came out, got back in the car and said, “Now she’s ready for living--in this life and the next.” (2) Great people are invariably humble people. This does not mean that they do not have an ego. They do. If they did not believe in themselves, they could not achieve extraordinary things. But, because they believe in themselves does not mean they devalue others. In other words, just because their names are in lights, truly great people do not see themselves as more ...

241. Adoration And Confession

Psalm 103:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... with the list because I know the sin of my own life. And the problem and pains that are paraded before me and my pastoral relationship to you, reveal the sins of all of us, wasted talent, neurotic fear, dependency upon alcohol and drugs, jealousy, exaggerated ego that puffs self up and puts others down. And perhaps the most common of all sins - that peculiar American notion that we can and must do it by ourselves. That we can be self-sufficient, and we must achieve at any price. “Search me, oh God, and ...

242. The Secret: Christ In You

Colossians 1:24--2:5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Church of England Bishop who remarked that a sermon is something a clergy person will cross a continent to deliver, but will not walk across the street to hear. There may be more truth in that than most of us will admit. Yet, when we get beyond our egoes and our yet unredeemed arrogance, we know that preaching is an awesome responsibility. And especially is it so at a high hour such as this when we focus on the call of God to persons to give their whole lives to ministry -- when we share in the recognition ...

243. Draw Nigh To God

James 4:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . You do not have, because you do not ask." Wow! Overstated? Maybe. But look at history. What lay behind the spread of the Roman Empire -- and its fall? It was the passions of the Emperor. What about the Napoleonic Conquest? Was it not the monstrous ego of "the little general?" The Third Reich and the awful Holocaust? Hitler's maniacal passion, his lust for power, and his hatred of the Jews. The biggest factors in the Middle East crisis are undisciplined greed and the mad passions of a political leader. It ...

244. Repentance: The No That Is A Yes

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Unitarians are running a three-city advertising campaign that captures perfectly the consumer ethos: "Instead of me fitting a religion I found a religion to fit me" (page 56). One Unitarian pastor said, "We are guiltless children before God, not a guilty child of the ego." What a fallacious claim! What a lie! None of us are guiltless children of God. We are deceived when we fool ourselves in this fashion. There is a character among Charles Schulz's personalities that speaks to us here. He is the little boy ...

245. Songs of the Season

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

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... a day when God would exalt those of low degree. You and I could well be instruments of God in bringing such a beautiful thing to pass. Many people see themselves as persons of low degree because they don't receive enough attention to restore their egos. In some instances they need money, clothing, dental work, or education to restore some lost or never-possessed dignity. But in many instances they need nothing more than a caring human being. I don't want to over sentimentalize it, but I'm sure there are ...

246. We Who Are Many Are One Body

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in the graveyard, filled with a thousand conflicting voices? Filled with anger? Filled with rage? When the world hears us talking, do they hear the Savior’s voice, full of mercy, full of love, or does it hear the voice of a legion – nearly a thousand angry egos, each trying to overpower the other? Yes, we who are gathered here are many, but we’re gathered here as one body. We must not allow that to be just a slogan. Unity is a serious issue. For the Christian family, unity is both a gift given ...

247. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... with God. He was able, as we are not, to maintain full contact on two dimensions at once: with whoever stood before him and also with the Father through the intermediary ministry of the Holy Spirit. Secure in the Father’s love, Jesus did not need his ego stroked. He had lots to display, but no need for show. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.... Listen to him.”7 vv.1-4 The Spiritual Discipline of Loving Charity. Jesus assumed, as did his fellow Jewish teachers, that faith in the ...

248. Where's the Fire?

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... Pharaoh. I am not qualified to do this kind of work." The answer God gives him is, "You don't have to be." God will use you as you are. God just needs somebody to go, somebody to be there, just show up. Which is kind of deflating to your ego if you believe that you have been chosen by God because you are so capable, attractive and creative. The fact is, God can use anybody. Most of the people God uses, according to the Bible, are nobodies. They are all unlikely heroes. The fact of the matter is, the most ...

249. A Cloud of Witness

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It was baseball season in a small Pennsylvania town. If you know anything about Little League baseball, you know it is also a time when little boys’ hearts and egos are on the line. A certain ten-year-old had ridden the bench most of the season. But in the championship game, his coach finally called him up to bat. The little boy’s whole extended family had turned out for this very special game. His parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, ...

250. Discipline

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... #2--Pain clarifies our motives, driving us to take inventory of what is truly important to us and why, with the possible outcome of gaining greater clarity of purpose. Blessing #3--Pain refines like a testing fire with the possible outcome of getting our egos out of the way so we’re prepared to serve a greater good. Blessing #4--Pain defines us with the possible outcome of developing character that reflects Jesus Christ. Blessing #5--Pain teaches us what we need to learn, increasing our wisdom and ...

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