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 2601 to 2625 of 4770 results

2601. God’s Greatest Gamble

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... his birthday is a national holiday. “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.” But there is a fifth act in the story. The quotation of Psalm 118:22-23, triumphantly affirms the vindication of the Son, Jesus, who was viewed by the early Church as “the stone which the builders rejected.” So the writer of the First Letter of Peter says: “Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious....”(I Peter 2:4) So the entire ...

2602. On the Singing of Hymns

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... committee, that the Bishop heading the committee actually suffered a heart attack during the enterprise! Our religious feelings are deep feelings, and when they are tampered with, we become upset. But those who know something of the evolution of our present hymnal tend to view the whole flap about the new one as a tempest in a teapot. The hymns which we now sing are not sacrosanct. Some of us can remember what a battle the 1968 hymnal had in replacing the 1935 version! Hymn-changing and tampering with ...

2603. Where Is My Guest Room?

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the man’s name. God knows. In Arlington cemetery there is a monument which we call “The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.” It was erected not in honor of one person, but in honor of all those unknown persons whose names are lost to the honor rolls of history. Viewing the tomb, a small girl once said to her father: “It’s not right, is it?” “What’s not right, my dear?” said her father. “The name they give to this place. It’s not right. That soldier is not unknown. Look at what it says on the ...

2604. Holy Tuesday

Mark 11:27-33

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ’s Bible points out, these words of Jesus have been used “as a divine injunction to support any government, however unjust, vicious, and oppressive.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, New York and Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1951, Vol. 7, p. 841) Many people view these words—indeed, much of the Bible—according to the principle of interpretation laid down by Mark Twain: “Get the facts first; then you can distort them as you wish.” Jesus was not here giving His sanction to any and all ...

2605. Blessings Beyond Our Dreams (Part 2 )

1 Chronicles 4:1-23

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... was this world. So the reward for righteousness was a long and prosperous life. When he asked God to bless him, Jabez was asking for no more than what was due him under the covenant. To get the blessing from this verse for our lives, though, you and I must view it through the eyes of Jesus. Let’s consider what a blessing is and is not. A blessing is not a ritual or a mere courtesy. As when someone sneezes and we say, "God bless you." Henny Youngman says, "God sneezed. What could I say to him?" A blessing ...

2606. Called by Life ( I Am the Resurrection and the Life)

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... than we want to give. This might surprise you, but one of the most deeply spiritual movies I have seen was Shawshank Redemption. I even purchased the video. I watch it two or three times a year. I learn something new every time I see it. The last time I viewed it I was gripped by the line that Andy Dufresne tells Red, played by Morgan Freeman: "You can get busy living--or you can get busy dying." It makes a world of difference which of these options prevail in your life. There is a story about a man whose ...

2607. The Lord's Prayer: Our Father

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

When Jesus prayed, "Our Father," which is pronounced in the Aramaic language as "Abba." It started a revolution in our understanding of God and, more importantly, the way in which we viewed our relationship to God. According to Kittel''s Dictionary of the Bible, "The Word Father, 'Abba,'' tells us that God is not a distant ruler in transcendence, but ONE who is intimately close." (Volume 5, page 988.) As I write this sermon, I can still remember Dr. Edward Long, our ...

2608. The Lord's Prayer: Thine Is the Kingdom

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... hazardous ascent. But he felt secure with one guide ahead and one following. For hours they climbed. And now, breathless, they reached for those rocks protruding through the snow above them--the summit. The guide ahead wished to let the stranger have the first glorious view of heaven and earth, and moved aside to let him go first. Forgetting the gales that would blow across those summit rocks, the young man leaped to his feet. But the chief guide dragged him down. "On your knees, sir!" he shouted. "You are ...

2609. GIVE ME YOUR SINS: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... of sin and guilt through the gift of forgiveness. Max Lucado tells of the first time he was privileged to see with his own eyes the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. No magazine picture he had ever viewed in his childhood came close to capturing this impressive work of art. However, when he got close to the statue he noticed two things about it. First, Christ had no eyes. He thought, "What kind of Christ was this that refused to see the masses of people ...

2610. When It Is Tough to Follow Jesus: The Third Word

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ." I want to do exactly that today concerning Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, as we set the stage for the "Kodak Moment" that is before us today. During the summer of 1984, John & Lauretta Reynolds were in Rome touring St. Peter''s Basilica. As they viewed the immortal Pieta, in which Mary is holding the body of her crucified son, the reverent hush was interrupted by the voice of a troubled little girl. She too saw the famous sculpture but was bothered by what she saw. Turning to her mother, the child ...

2611. Living the Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to the fullest in the new millennium, for they contain the necessary ingredients for a good life. On the campus of Ohio State University there is a building called the Wexner Art Center. It is a unique building designed to represent the Post-Modernist view of reality. The building has no pattern to it. Staircases go nowhere. Pillars support nothing. The architect designed the building to showcase our modern values in life. To this architect modern values go nowhere and are senseless. As H. G. Wells puts it ...

2612. The First Commandment: Who's on First?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... of Jesus. One of the pictures portrays Jesus as a kind, gentle person knocking at a door. The other picture portrays Jesus as the Troublemaker, overturning the tables in the Temple. Both are correct, both are biblical, both pictures represent the ways in which God in Christ would view my actions in my journey of faith. God does not cease to be God and we do not cease being human. Only a God who cannot be molded and shaped by human beings can enter human history to mold and transform it. Dr. A. W. Tozer, in ...

2613. The Second Commandment: What Is Your Golden Calf?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... Pasadena, California. He tells of the first time he and his wife attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D. C. He wrote, "It is always an exciting event. We were sitting at a table near the front of the large banquet hall, and we had a great view of the impressive lineup at the head table on the platform: the Bushes, the Quayles, General Colin Powell, members of Congress, and others. All the people who were in power at that time. "I was seated next to a young Muslim, a diplomat from one of the ...

2614. Don't Let Your Tongue Bite You

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the vulture looks for. They thrive on a diet of dead and decaying things. The hummingbird flies over the same desert and past the same dead carcasses and sees instead the tiny blossoms of the cactus flower. They buzz around until they find the colorful blooms hidden from view by the rocks. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do. The same can be said for our words and the destination and purpose we have for them. Don''t let your tongue bite you--or anyone else. Use it for the Glory of God. Amen ...

2615. Trouble: A Required Course in LIfe

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to focus on the trouble, but to focus on how best to overcome the reality of trouble. This morning I want to offer three further insights on how we can face and overcome the reality of trouble. First, troubles are part of our growing up and maturing. In View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond tells about the birth of a giraffe: "The first thing to emerge are the baby giraffe''s front hooves and head. A few minutes later the plucky newborn calf is hurled forth, falls ten feet, and lands on its back. Within seconds ...

2616. Honestly, Are You Worried about Tomorrow?

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... fall back on. This is what believers must do when the pressure comes. When we feel like complaining and murmuring, let us remember who we are in Him and what He has promised us for times of stress. (1) The perspective and resources with which we view our burdens and fears will determine the condition and response of our hearts. We find peace of mind not by cowering away from all the pressures of life, not by taking more stimulants or depressants, not even by looking for peace itself. It is our perspective ...

2617. Blank Walls or Filled Lives (Part V)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... . The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man said. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon, the man by the ...

2618. Facing Difficult Decisions in Life! Part VI

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ''t go through life like Mr. Magoo, myopically missing the brilliant hues, interesting sights, and exciting occurrences in their environment. Instead, they are like Zorba, in Kazantzakis'' novel who sees everything as if for the first time, and is always thrilled at viewing the shimmering sea in the early morning or encountering an absurd-looking donkey on a mountain road." Paul testifies in one of his other great writings that "all things work to the good for those who are called according to his purposes ...

2619. The Power of Encouragement (Part VIII)

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... Prayer. The fishermen were poor but willing learners. And before the bishop sailed away the next day, they could recite the prayer with no mistakes. The bishop was proud. On the return trip the bishop''s ship drew near the island again. When the island came into view, the bishop came to the deck and recalled with pleasure the men he had taught and resolved to go see them again. As he was thinking, a light appeared on the horizon near the island. It seemed to be getting nearer. As the bishop gazed in wonder ...

2620. Emptying and Exalting (Part XI)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the privilege of attending the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. We spent the good part of a day climbing up one of the majestic mountains that filled the landscape of this historic camp. From the top of the mountain, we had a gorgeous view of the countryside. Many of the scouts, including myself, attempted to take a number of "pictures" with our cameras to capture the beauty and inspiration of the moment. After we got back to New Jersey and developed our pictures, we all agreed that even the ...

2621. Peace or Pieces

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... for itself." How essential it is for us to embrace this truth in 1993. Notice in verse seven Paul shares, "The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." The perspective and resources with which we view our burden and fears will determine the condition and response of our hearts. We find peace of mind not by cowering away from all the pressures of life, not by taking more stimulants or depressants, not even by looking for peace itself. It is our ...

2622. God's Timing or Our Timing -The Tension of Time

James 4:13-17

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... time is limited to the clock and therefore, is fragmented and finite compared to God''s sense of time, which is eternal. I believe the Bible teaches us in this scripture lesson and in other places of sacred scripture that because we are the "People of God," we are to view time from a different perspective. We are to use time, not allow time to use us. We are not at the mercy of a secular society because we are to move to the beat of a different drummer. We seek wisdom from above. We learn to lean on the ...

2623. A Rod And A Staff

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... on the everlasting arms of God. As I close today, I''m going to share a writing that I penned about two weeks ago as I sat at my desk. I wrote the 23rd Psalm the way an atheist, pagan or someone who is hostile to our faith tradition would view it. It is one of the most pathetic writings I have ever seen: "The Lord is NOT my shepherd--I am the Captain of my soul. I shall always want, but since I am a self-made person I will make out okay when necessary. I have no need of ...

2624. Goodness and Mercy

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... be done before the second section was built. An ingenious plan was arranged. The largest safety net in the world (it alone cost $100,000!) was made out of stout manila cordage and stretched out beneath the work crews. It proved to be an excellent investment in view of the fact that it saved the lives of at least ten men who fell into it without injury. Interestingly, the work went 25 percent faster, since the workers were relieved from the fear of falling to their deaths. God's great net of security spans ...

2625. The Longest Table in the World

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... over the right interpretation of the Bible. In the United Methodist denomination, we are often besieged by caucuses so intent on seeking to implement their agendas on the church that they turn their eyes from Jesus to narrow agendas and push their view on other people by pointed communication rather than communion. Recently the Secretary General of the United Nations said, "There is more conflict, hostility, and open division in the world today than there has been at any other time in history." Deep down ...

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