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 2501 to 2525 of 4952 results

2501. Whom Shall I Send, and Who Will Go for Us?

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... . We think of the ritual uncleanness of the leper king, Uzziah. The confession suggests an uncleanness of language, an impurity of speech, pollution and contamination in our very hearts where our thoughts and values shape the words that come forth from our lips. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Jesus said that. Here is a thought to roll around in your head. When we lose a sense of the transcendent God, we also lose a vision of our own humanity. The human dimension goes into eclipse and ...

2502. Lasting Impressions

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... a bank account. "Not a penny less, not a penny more." Then Sudha remembered how it took three years to save the modest amount. "Could I give that money away?" Sudha wondered. That night sleep was difficult as Sudha wrestled with what to do. "I thought of all the times God's grace and loving-kindness had touched and encouraged me," Sudha reflected. "How could I not reach out to this family now?" she wondered. The next morning the decision was made. The struggling family was astonished at the generosity shown ...

2503. Stand Tall

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... -- and the lives of my people --that is my request." She made her petition known to the king in the presence of Haman. The scene had all the ingredients to be explosive. Everyone was having a great time at the banquet. Esther engaged the king in what he thought was light-hearted conversation, but it quickly turned deadly serious. Esther reminds us that there are times when we need to take risks. There are times when we have no other option than to stand up for what we believe to be true, even if that means ...

2504. A Blessing Behind Locked Doors

John 20:19-23

Sermon

William G. Carter

... . Then they are invited to turn to others around them and pass the peace. It has become an exuberant moment in an otherwise sober occasion. Friends leave their pews to embrace one another. Newcomers are warmly welcomed with a kind word or a hug. Nobody thought much about the weekly ritual until the pastor received a letter from a man who had recently joined the congregation. The new member was a promising young lawyer from a prestigious downtown law firm. He drafted a brief but pointed letter on his firm's ...

2505. Looking A Little Bit Crazy

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... reveal something of what it means to be the church. Mark tells us about the day when the immediate family of Jesus came to take him away in a straitjacket. The word on the street was that Jesus was "out of his mind." Taken quite literally, people thought he stood "beside himself." They claimed Jesus was possessed. And so, his family came to his house to take Jesus away, because the popular opinion was that he was insane. That might sound like an odd assessment of his ministry, but it is central to how the ...

2506. A Moment Of Decision

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... of our lives can turn on the tiniest of hinges. Life-changing Events Have you ever had a similar experience? It is not the ostentatious or the loud events, but those that are casual. At the time they are happening you don't give them a second thought. Often those are the events that bring the most profound change. Suddenly, things seem to converge and you meet new people or get a new idea or acquire a different way of looking at things. The results are life-changing. This is what happened to Jesus at ...

2507. A Hands-on Religion

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... to hear his direct response to a direct appeal. "I do choose! Be made clean!" Concern for human need that day overrode any desire to maintain legalistic concerns. Jesus was motivated by a deep feeling of compassion and pity for the leper. He gave no thought for his own safety and well-being. The Incurable Is Cured Look what happened that day in Galilee. A person who was suffering from the cruel banning from society and was made untouchable had been touched by the healing hands of Jesus. The unapproachable ...

2508. The Power Of A Rumor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... over to the side of the road and joined the crowd. The crowd that gathered around the set came just as they were. Farmers were dressed in their work clothes and housewives were holding small children. Some of them still had pink curlers in their hair. I thought to myself that somehow the word was out. All of this was the result of the power of a rumor that had traveled rapidly through this rural community. The word spread quickly. The phone lines were burning up with the news that "Kenny Rogers was down at ...

2509. God Is Down To Earth

John 1:1-18

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... bring him to Sunday School with her. On the way home she was anxious to hear what he had to say about his Sunday School experience, so she asked him, "How did things go this morning?" He thought for a moment and then he said to her, "Grandma, what's so great about Jesus?" Hearing this, I thought: that's what Christmas is all about -- telling our children and our grandchildren what is so great about Jesus. A mother told me after church one Sunday during Advent that she asked her son what Christmas was all ...

2510. Jesus Transfigured

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... frightened at the same time can come up with some form of gibberish. Yet what is obvious is that Peter felt a compulsion to try to do something with Jesus. As usual, Peter was the one to make a bold suggestion. And as he was wont to do, Peter thought that he could make the most of the situation by suggesting how Jesus could preserve the best of the scene. As earlier Peter has mentioned that Jesus should put the cross out of his mind, here he thinks that Jesus should try to stay in the mountain and prolong ...

2511. Maundy Thursday

John 13:1-17

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... Savior Where Charity And Love Prevail Maundy Thursday Lord, the words are simple, straightforward and somewhat unsettling! Jesus said: Love one another. Then he washed the disciples' feet to make the new commandment absolutely clear. The thought of Jesus washing feet makes us feel uncomfortable, especially the thought of Jesus washing our feet. Yet, this is precisely the point. Loving and serving others must go beyond words to action. So, Lord, wash our feet. Wash our hearts. Cleanse us. Teach us to go ...

2512. Passion Sunday

Matthew 26:57-68

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... us in a crowd and the emotional equation becomes even more complex and unpredictable. On the day of Jesus' arrival, Jerusalem was in a festive mood. People were excited.They thought the excitement would last. But, in a matter of days, the mood became dark and cruel. Today, our mood is mixed. We are celebrating the kingly procession while thoughtfully contemplating the meaning of the coming week. Help us to hold onto this mixture of feelings. We want the impact of this week to form a lasting impression. It ...

2513. Proper 21

Matthew 21:28-32

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... , the trees of our own wisdom and intellect grow so closely together that the light of your truth is blocked from our souls. We are unable to see that we are out of step with your plan for our lives. We lose our way. Your thoughts are not our thoughts. Your ways are not our ways. Teach us to recognize when we are lost, Lord. Bring us into the clearings where your light penetrates the pride-filled forest of our hearts. Release us from the bondage of self-deception and energize us to serve you faithfully ...

2514. I Want To Go South, Lord

Genesis 12:1-8

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... to work within our limitations to forge a life of blessing for all creation. Before examining those stories, we probably thought that those people had an easier time obeying God because God was able to speak to them directly. After watching ... want to go south. God: NOTHING HAPPENED! DO YOU REALIZE NO ONE WAS HARMED? (Nothing happened? No one was harmed, you say.) Abram: I hadn't thought of it that way. After all, the people who live there now got it by using terrorism and that made refugees and they are now ...

2515. Tall Enough

Psalm 121:1

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... the top of it was to stand on something, something like this stepladder I am sitting on. "This is a very OLD ladder. In fact, it was right in front of me all those years when I thought I wasn't tall enough to see the goal I had set for myself. Help was right there, right in front of me. However, because I thought I needed to 'do it on my own,' I didn't see the ladder. "But one day, I could stand the suspense no longer; I finally used the ladder. There really wasn't much to see on ...

2516. Helping Hands

Matthew 14:16

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... to you?" Their little heads nod agreement. "One time when Jesus was out in the countryside, a large crowd gathered to hear him speak. In fact, there were more than 5,000 people there. Do you suppose he turned his back when he talked to them?" The thought of this makes the children grin as they shake their heads to indicate no. "Well, by the time Jesus got through talking to the crowd, the disciples and all the people were getting hungry. The disciples asked Jesus to send the people away to go find food ...

2517. Strength In Meekness

Matthew 5:5

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... , like you fixed the broken stick with the grass. And you fixed the grass by tying it back together. We can be nice to Jesus and that mends his heart. When we're nice to each other, it mends his heart too." I thank the children for sharing their thoughts and bring our time together to a close: "Sometimes Jesus was called 'meek.' But, as you can see, there's a different kind of strength in being meek, a quiet strength that people seldom see. It's a strength that can bend when it needs to and bind together ...

2518. Peanuts For Breakfast

Romans 14:1--15:13

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... two possibilities include a cereal bowl and a donut. Lesson: Differences; tolerance. It seemed to me, as I thought about this text, that the best way to get its message across to young children would be to ... , what do you put on it?" "Milk," comes the again unanimous response. "I put milk on mine too. Do you put anything else on yours?" I ask. The children look thoughtful, even a bit perplexed, as they ponder what else one might put on one's cereal. "Do you mean to tell me I am the only person here who puts ...

2519. Attitudes

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... of our time. We are not in control of our lives. God is. But we are in control of our attitudes. And, if you think back to the story we began with, that was the difference between Sally and her brother and sisters. Sally thought time was going much too slowly. The others thought it was getting away from them, going too fast. The difference was their attitude. "We really do have a choice about our attitude. We can choose to be happy or sad. We can choose to be angry or forgiving. We can choose to hate ...

2520. Getting Ready

Luke 3:4-5

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... . "To get the floors clean," comes their response. "That's right," I affirm. "I was sweeping away some of the straw that has fallen out of the manger, so you wouldn't have to sit on it. I was preparing the steps for your coming." Then, changing my line of thought in order to keep their attention, I ask, "Have any of you ever cleaned a carpet?" I am surprised at the number of hands which go up, indicating which children have done so. "Wow! What a bunch of helpers you must be at home!" I tell them. Then I ask ...

2521. Least Coins

1 Corinthians 12:12

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... new, while some of them were dark from use. The shiny ones had the most recent dates. "As I looked at the darker ones, I thought about how they got that way -- from being out in the world, passed from hand to hand, dropped on the ground, or stuffed in ... me. (One never knows what is going to come out of one of these conversations with children!) "I see," I respond, trying to continue my thought as a part of my brain takes off pondering the pros and cons of giving a child a bank shaped like a tank. "Well, ...

2522. Only The Messiah

Mark 8:27-30

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... other -- so people will know we are Christians, by our love for one another.1 "Do any of you know that song?" I continue. Most of the children nod affirmation so I ask them and the congregation to sing it with me. After the song, I add this thought: "They'll know we are Christians by our love ... That's how the world will know we are Christians. That's how the world knows Jesus Christ. That's how Peter knew who Jesus was, by his love." 1. "They'll Know We Are Christians," 1996, FEL Publications, assigned ...

2523. Help Wanted

Exodus 4:1-17

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... how Moses must have felt. God was asking a simple sheepherder to go tell a king what to do! So Moses asked, 'Who am I that I should go and do this?' And God told Moses not to worry about that, saying, 'I will be with you.' "Moses thought about this for a moment, then said, 'But what if the Israelites ask me your name?' " 'My name is Yahweh,' God answered. 'I am the God of your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and this shall be my name forever.' " 'Well,' Moses objected again, 'what if they still ...

2524. Don't Run Away!

Jonah 1:1-17

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... 'm in the house and I don't think I need them!" Surprised at the absence of one particular answer, I tease the children with the comment, "I suppose you all enjoy cleaning your rooms?" "OH NO!" comes the unanimous, vehement reply. "No? Well, no one mentioned it. I just thought I'd better check. I didn't enjoy cleaning my room when I was your age either -- in fact, I still don't. But sometimes it's necessary to do things we don't want to do. The Bible contains many stories of people who were asked to do ...

2525. The Light Within Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-22

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... like to ask you to think about this morning. It may be a new word for many of you. It's 'Epiphany.' Can you all say 'Epiphany'?" Dutifully the children respond in chorus, "Epiphany!" "That's very good. Now, does anyone know what it means?" The children look thoughtful. Then two boys' hands shoot up almost simultaneously. I nod to the first, who says, "I think it has something to do with love." And so it does. "That's true, Tommy," I answer. I nod then to the second boy whose hand is still aloft. "I think ...

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