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 2526 to 2550 of 4456 results

2526. That We May All Be One!

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

In the nineteenth century, most American denominations felt pretty smug that theirs was the real faith. Some might have grudgingly admitted that not everyone would be cast into outer darkness for the sin of worshiping in the wrong building. But overall it was a time when theological differences as well as points of practice separated people. Having said that, some denominations had a lot in common, whether they wanted to admit it or not. Take the Mennonites and the Dunkers, otherwise known as the German ...

2527. Advent 1

Psalm 25:1-10, Jeremiah 33;14-16, Luke 21:25-36, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Greeting It’s a new season in the life of the faith, and we are confronted again with truths about Divine Presence and the stories we have learned that pass along those truths. How does the truth of Jeremiah shape our lives in a new millennium on a different continent? What does the birth of Jesus of Nazareth have to do with us? Our minds ask these questions and our souls are moving through gestation with fresh ideas of the Eternal, of embodying truth, and seeking new understandings of abundance and ...

2528. Pentecost

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, John 14:8-17, (25-27), Acts 2:1-21, Romans 8:14-17

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: It’s a good morning! We’re awake, breathing, and conversing! People: We thank God for the breath of life, for mystery and majesty and light! Leader: We are surrounded with beauty and we thank God, creator of all, for the varied manifestations of divine imagination! People: In songs, in conversation, and in silence we celebrate the Holy among us! Prayer Of Thanksgiving Energy of the Universe — your emanations amaze us. The ocean and the mountains, the birds and the whales, the moon ...

2529. When You Reach the Rejection Hotline

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Is there anything harder on the ego than being rejected? I suspect that is one reason many married persons are happy they are no longer playing the dating game. It hurts too much when someone rejects you. “What’s wrong with me?” is the question we inevitably ask. Charles R. Boatman tells about a strange, new twist on this ancient ritual. He notes that traditionally, the male of our species makes the first approach in the dating game. Men have developed all sorts of pick-up lines to interest the women they ...

2530. Paul Reinterprets the Story of Israel

Romans 2:17-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul reverses the role that the law played as the stipulation of the old covenant. He argues that the very attempt to obey the law is keeping Israel in bondage. This is because obsession with the Torah derailed Jews from accepting Jesus as the Messiah and from seeing that the law was fulfilled in him and finished at the cross. Understanding the Text Romans 2:17–24, together with 2:25–29, focuses on the twin themes of the law of Moses as the stipulation of the Old Testament covenant and ...

2531. The Grace Question: “Are You a Teacher…and Yet Do Not Understand These Things?”

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are two actors in this scene of John’s gospel: Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus is not a popular figure in the gospels. He appears only a couple of other times in John’s record. The last picture of him is in John 19. He and Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus after He was crucified in order that He might have a decent burial. One of Rembrandt’s most famous etchings portrays that scene. The limp, dead body of Jesus was slowly taken down from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea, dressed as the ...

2532. How Beautiful Your Feet

Song of Songs 7:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The answer to the maiden’s question (7:1–9) is predictable: “Dance for us because your physical beauty infatuates us.” The two-character interpretation makes this another descriptive song about the maiden by the king or bridegroom. This portrait of the maiden’s physical charms moves up from the feet instead of down from the head (cf. 5:1–5). The reference to the king as a third party in verse 5 has led many to assign verses 1–5 to the friends of the bridegroom or royal (male) onlookers. Prominent in the ...

2533. Free From What? For What?

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

Today’s readings give us a chance to talk about freedom quietly a week before advertisers and politicians can fill the airwaves with patriotic rhetoric designed to sell us everything from washers to “wisdom” from Washington. We call the Fourth of July “Independence Day” and have good reason to celebrate. We say this is the day we gained our freedom from British rule. But are the words “freedom” and “independence” really synonyms? I would maintain that, though we did gain our independence from England in ...

2534. Wicked

Luke 20:9-19, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: plant with fruit (olive tree or fig tree or grape vine) ”Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:22) "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Most of us today are not much familiar with the idea of “tenant farming.” But it was a popular practice in many countries up until the 20th century. The term referred to a landowner who hires tenants to live on and ...

2535. The Gardener

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7) “Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden.” (John 10:41) Prop: seeds This is the first Sunday after Easter. It is sometimes called “Low Sunday,” partly because of the low number of people historically attending church this day. It is sometimes celebrated as it was in the past as “Holy ...

2536. The Dean's Dilemma

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

When you were a kid did you ever fantasize about finding a magical being who would grant wishes for you? Kids see endless possibilities in the world, yet their power is fairly limited, so they get a lot of satisfaction from imagining a magical being, like a genie or a fairy or an angel, who can instantly give them whatever they desire. But the movies and stories along these lines almost always come with a moral: Be very careful what you wish for—you just might get it. It reminds me of the story I like to ...

2537. The Sweet Scent of Death

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What does death smell like? I’m guessing that many of you might say flowers. But not just any flowers. Heavily fragrant flowers. Dozens and dozens of them. Huge floral arrangements freshly plucked and designed to impress ooze that honeysuckle smell that masks the decomposition of the body. These aren’t light, wisps of perfume but a pungent, aromatic, overwhelmingly oppressive scent that chokes our senses, even as it chokes us up emotionally. Why? Because for us, this is the scent of funerals and memorial ...

2538. Lamb and Wolves

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

In last week’s lectionary passage (Luke 9:51-56), we were told that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. This didn’t mean he was making a beeline toward the city, but it was clear the Holy City was his goal. Many things happened along the way to the cross. He met hundreds of people, taught most of them, and healed many. He did this by moving from village to village, and town to town. We don’t talk about it much, but this isn’t something he did in a helter-skelter manner. It appears that, after his ...

2539. Vengeance: Human and Divine

Matthew 13:1-9 · Isaiah 44:6-8 · Psalm 1-12, 17-18, 23-24

Sermon

Will Willimon

We began this service of worship by reciting Psalm 139. Well, not really. For we only recited part of Psalm 139, the nice part. Our hymnal leaves out the last part of this psalm, the part that isn't so nice. After speaking of the Spirit of God, the wings of the morning, the precious thoughts of God, there is a jolt: O that thou wouldst slay the wicked....Do I not hate them that hate thee,... do I not loathe them that rise up against thee? I hate them with a perfect hatred! As John Wesley said, perhaps ...

2540. Investing Our Inheritance

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

A friend once told me of an experience he had as a child. When he was eight years old he went with his family to visit an uncle who lived on a farm. He always looked forward to these visits because his uncle had horses that he let the children ride. When it was his turn to go for a ride, he rode the horse until he was out of view of the house. Then he slipped to the ground. He wanted to try mounting the horse as he had seen cowboys on television do it. So he got behind the horse and took a running start ...

2541. Flashing Lights

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Flashing Lights There is a hunger in human hearts for an experience of God that transforms human life. Years ago, the shrill ring of the telephone awoke me in the night. It was a local doctor asking me to join him in the emergency room where a boy had been taken after a bad drug trip on LSD. The parents were frantic as the boy mumbled incoherently, describing bright flashing lights, beautiful colors, and a "presence" he felt must be God. As I stood there that night, I knew everyone in that room could feel ...

2542. The Risky Business of Faith

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Sometime between 1900 and 1500 years before the birth of Christ, a nomadic family, living on the socio-economic fringe of Mesopotamia and headed by a fellow named Abraham migrated from the fertile crescent of the Tigris-Euphrates River valley south through Palestine, eventually settling in the region of the Negeb desert. From one perspective, it was rather unspectacular. As Christians, however, we consider this one of history's most pivotal events. We believe that through a call issued to Abraham and his ...

2543. Responsibility And Motivation

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

John N. Brittain

Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge;your people shall be my people,and your God my God. This passage from Ruth 1, so often read at contemporary weddings, conjures up mental images of a winsome and warmhearted love story that explains how Ruth, a Moabite woman, became an ancestor of the revered King David and, later, of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a simple story that dates back to an early period in the history of Israel, the era of the Judges. But it is an early and simple story that became ...

2544. Good Friday

John 18:1-11, Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Genesis 22:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Hebrews 10:1-18, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 19:17-27

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme For Lenten Series: Christ Confronts Death. Theme: The passion and death of our Lord. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13--53:12 This sublime poem of the Suffering Servant lifts up an idea that is featured prominently in Christian theology: suffering, pain and sorrow can be redemptive. Biblical interpreters have traditionally identified the servant in this poem with the nation of Israel. The nation had undergone profound humiliation and disfigurement through their ordeal in Babylon. Yet, the ...

2545. Maundy Thursday

Lk 22:14-30 · Jn 13:1-17, 31b-35 · 1 Cor 11:17-32 · Ex 12:1-14 · Ps 116

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14 The passover marked the beginning of a new era for the Israelites. "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (v. 2). The people are ordered to set aside a flawless lamb to be slaughtered, roasted and eaten on the 14th day of the month. Everyone was to be part of the feast. The meal was to be eaten in haste because God was on the move. The people are to be ready to leave as soon as the Lord breaks the bars of slavery. The blood is to be placed on their ...

2546. The Meek

Sermon

John A. Terry

Psalm 37:1-11Matthew 5:1-12 This is not the beatitude of anyone claiming "I am the greatest." In fact, like all the other beatitudes, we have to wonder how practical these words are. What business could survive being meek? This is not a slogan you are likely to find above the door to the Stoc_esermonsk Exchange on Wall Street. Meekness will not win the play-off series between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. We tend to think of the meek as the casualties, not as the winners. "Miserable are the ...

2547. Acquaintances Or Friends?

2 Samuel 16:15--17:29

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

Let's begin by thinking about the difference between an acquaintance and a friend. There is a difference. That difference is the dimension of depth. There are those who make the acquaintance of many and count that as social success. So, one can end up with many acquaintances but no real friends, for a friend is much more than an acquaintance. The proverbial wisdom of Israel made the distinction this way. "Some friends play at friendship, but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin" (Proverbs 18: ...

2548. Easter Consecration

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

A. E. Hotchner has written an autobiographical account of his experience of the Great Depression. He titled this touching account of his boyhood experience in St. Louis King of the Hill: A Memoir. Anyone who lived through that dreadful economic period can readily recognize the painful burdens young and old had to suffer which the author describes. Anyone who did not live through that period would benefit from reading how deeply affected people were by the economic distress that appeared so relentless. ...

2549. The Meek

Psalm 37:1-40

Sermon

John A. Terry

This is not the beatitude of anyone claiming "I am the greatest." In fact, like all the other beatitudes, we have to wonder how practical these words are. What business could survive being meek? This is not a slogan you are likely to find above the door to the Stock Exchange on Wall Street. Meekness will not win the play-off series between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. We tend to think of the meek as the casualties, not as the winners. "Miserable are the meek, because they get trampled upon." ...

2550. Taking Christ's Side

Mark 9:38-41

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Greeting Leader: Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." Congregation: Lord, put the taste of Christ's love in our mouths and in our deeds. Leader: Jesus said, "For everyone will be salted with fire." Congregtion: Lord, as our love is tested, preserve us with your strength. Leader: Jesus said, "If salt has lost it saltiness, how can you season it?" Congregation: Lord, if love does not flavor our actions; then what value are we to anyone? Leader: Jesus said, "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace ...

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