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 2626 to 2650 of 4988 results

2626. Grace That Cost

Luke 19:1-10

Illustration

Robert Beringer

The novelist, A. J. Cronin, tells a story from his own experience as a doctor that catches the wonder of the gift of grace. The Adams family at the close of the Second World War decided to open their home to a little refugee boy with the outlandish name of Paul Piotrostanalzi. The ... trouble with Paul's name. You see, he's Paul Adams now. We've adopted him." That is a wonderful story of costly grace, and that is exactly the wonderful gift that Jesus once gave to a heart-hungry tax collector named Zacchaeus.

2627. Paul in Chains

Acts 21:27-36

Sermon Aid

CSS

... which Paul and his companions brought with them to alleviate the poverty of the church at Jerusalem. One wonders why? Perhaps those who came with Paul to bring the gifts were too evidently "Gentile Christians." These Gentiles must have felt rebuffed, finding prejudice against them where they might have anticipated brotherly acceptance. While James, the brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem church, greeted Paul, no other disciples were in evidence. By this time the original Twelve had ...

2628. Candlelighting and Prayer

Isaiah 9:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... some of us are weary with it already. Protect us, O God, from such weary living. Put a new song of joy in our hearts. For truly our lives have been blessed of thee. And we thank thee for thy graciousness toward us, for all the gifts we have received from thee and for all the gifts of love and friendship which others have shared with us. We thank thee for this old year that is fading away and for the new year that is dawning. Into this new year may we take something of Christmas with us. Bless those of our ...

2629. A Lowly Sinner

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

... God, the bishop replied, "Him I know not! Who comes?" The heralds, a bit shaken, answered, "Charles the Great, a good and honest man of the earth!" Again the bishop answered, "Him I know not. Who comes?" Now completely crushed, the heralds say, "Charles, a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ." "Him I know," the bishop replied. "Enter! Receive Christ's gift of life!" It is only when, in humility, we see ourselves as nothing that God receives us and gives us life.

2630. Christians Die Well

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... of the events that led up to his death: Stephen’s Story Being a Christian with faith, grace, power, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean you will have no problems ... and Stephen had plenty! Stephen became far more than an able administrator of gifts for the widows and needy. Signs and wonders followed his work among the people. And then he went to a Synagogue service and began to teach and preach that the Jesus of Nazareth whom they had crucified was the Messiah! No one could withstand him - his ...

2631. The Triune God

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... As Romans 11:33-36 states: O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (RSV) But what we cannot fully comprehend, the Scriptures, nonetheless, do declare. Isaiah 48:16 clearly teaches the Trinity when recording the ...

2632. Do You Have the Great Pearl?

Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... to add purity to the pearl, luster to its moonlight whiteness. Then we are trying to polish it with our clumsy, uneven, and rough grinding stone. With St. Paul we need to say, "By grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8, 9) Besides the pearl reminding us of the exotic uniqueness of salvation, as well as the fact that it cannot be tampered with by adding to it, the pearl teaches us a third thing regarding ...

2633. God Is Not Yet Finished With You

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... visit or witness or to help the poor. To enable us to render this service, God the Spirit provided us with nine gifts of the Spirit. In and through the Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit comes to motivate us to godly living. God the Spirit creates godly people. He ... continually works in us to produce character. As the Spirit gave us nine gifts, he also produces in us the fruit of nine virtues such as love, joy, and peace. Today I may be a good person, but ...

2634. Stuffed Bodies and Skinny Souls!

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... giving nations food, military equipment, and loans of billions. But when a crisis comes, we learn the money spent for friendship was wasted. The same is true with other spiritual values like faith and peace. They cannot be bought at any price. They come only as gifts flowing from spiritual food provided by Christ. They who hear God through his Word, Jesus Christ, have their spiritual hunger met. There is a hunger for God. It is expressed by Job, "O that I knew where I might find God!" Later in the chapter ...

2635. Jeopardy, by Jeremiah

Jeremiah 23:9-32

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... they bring. What joy, but for what? For what purpose, what reason? And when they burst or drift away tears flow like streams because a child never understands the value of the helium compared to the value of the parent who gave the gift in the first place. So, God gives gifts lavishly. Like children we squeal with delight over the new TV, the new home, the new car, the new "whatever" until it bursts and the bubble of gas escapes. Then comes the reckoning, the moment of grief when the pretty "things" are ...

2636. Telling the Right Story

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

George Bass

... story into the larger story of the beginning of the Christian Church? Inasmuch as John Mark wrote only one story, the gospel that bears his name, he certainly made the right choice. He chose the right story to tell the world, and that seems to be a forthright gift of grace from God. He had to be under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to make such a decision, didn’t he? That he knew and loved Christ is unquestionable - and he must have loved Jesus’ story, the gospel, with all of his heart; he certainly ...

2637. On Being Lifted Beyond Ourselves

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... the old scientist bumped into him on the campus at Princeton. Suddenly Einstein came to himself saying, "It came to me! It came to me!" Some new insight into the subnuclear world had been glimpsed through the process of his intuitive mind, as a sheer gift. Now he was ready to think about it and translate it for humankind. There is something that happens in the subconscious, the intuitive, this unconscious mind, that touches upon God and is touched upon by God. There is something in the depths of my soul ...

2638. The Impartiality of God

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Hubert Beck

... to boast, but rather humbles us that we are privileged to enter into the company of people like Peter who have received the Holy Spirit by the proclamation of the word and administration of the sacraments. This gift of the gospel is not given that we might hold it within ourselves as though we were containers for the glorious gifts of God, but it is to be poured out in turn through our lives that the love of our hands and the witness of our mouths might be, as it was with Peter, "how God anointed Jesus ...

2639. The Need for Transfiguration

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Hubert Beck

... transformation will arise from within us. Jesus himself is not spoken of as requesting the transfiguration, nor is he spoken of as doing anything to "bring it about." It was the gift of the Father, although signs are present in the text that Jesus knew what would happen and had his disciples along precisely to witness the moment. But it was a gift from the outside, the work of the Father, and not merely an inner experience or a change moving from inside out. The disciples saw what God gave to his Son and ...

2640. IN THE PROVERBIAL PITS

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... know how black and hideous our hearts are in the sight of God, we need only take a long look at the cross. God considered our sin so terrible and our lives so important that he sent his Son to the cross to die for us. Heaven is a free gift and is not earned or deserved. Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense. People are sinners and cannot save themselves. Our sinful condition will lead to eternal death if left unchecked. If we accept God’s ...

2641. The Excitement of Meaningful Living

John 10:10 · Matthew 6:33 · Ephesians 3:20

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... and direction that we discover in Scripture; a life of openness to the presence of the living God in one’s own expanding, searching life of prayer. These are the terms. Pursue them; and now let the full life flow in from the Holy Spirit. It is a gift. In Free Fall, by William Golding, Sammy is thinking, "There is no point at which something has knocked on your door and taken possession of you. You possess yourself." That is not enough. There is "nothing to mark you out from the ants and the sparrows." But ...

2642. The Miracle of Christ

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... I knew who I was, and where I was going. I wasn’t afraid of death. All of this meant peace and light, a new creation a gift, a miracle; and that is what it really was for me to be a Christian. Now let’s back up a little and look beyond my ... ; that still, small voice, that call, that challenge, that sense of eternal things! The real Christian experience is not thought out coldly. It is a gift from God, when we dare to be open to God. When we give in to him, it happens. It is, then, that intelligence is set ...

2643. In Debt Forever!

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... took the beggar’s hands in both of his and said, "Do not he angry with me, brother. I have no money with me." The beggar’s face lighted up, and he lifted his bloodshot eyes with a smile: "But you called me brother! Thank you for such a gift." Tolstoy hurried home for some money, but when he returned a short time later, the beggar was dead. On his cold face the smile still lingered. His body was dead, but Tolstoy’s kindness had made his heart warm. "Owe no one anything, except to love one another." Leo ...

2644. A Liturgical Drama For Advent

Drama

Tom Eberle

... mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall Come to Thee, O Israel. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper: The Offering: Minister: Let us move together toward the light as we gather our gifts and carry them to the altar. [Two readers gather the offering and two additional readers prepare to process with the bread and wine. The offering and the elements are brought to the altar during the singing of the Doxology.] One: We bring to the altar this ...

2645. A SERMON-DRAMA FOR EASTER

Drama

Tom Eberle

... us to his presence each time we partake of it. To worship God is not to wistfully long for some far-removed spirit. It is to taste his love shared with us now. Maria: It is time for us to offer ourselves anew to God by gathering our gifts for the altar. [Maria and Severus go to the back of the sanctuary and bring the communion elements forward to be placed upon the altar.] Narrator: [after the elements are placed] We are strangers in this catacomb, guests who may feel a bit awkward. But certainly we, too ...

2646. Must We Have All the Answers?

Gn 2:9 · Deut 30:19-20 · Job 52:5

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... her sorrow: "Pastor, give me peace." I had not said a word. Now I replied, "Yes, Madame, that is why I have come." I knelt down beside her bed and placed my hands on her forehead, and said, "I give you peace." ... at that moment I had truly given the gift of peace to one who was dying from no longer possessing it. I visited this mother again. We spoke briefly, simply. Suddenly she said to me, "In any event, I’ll never forget the moment when you gave me peace! I still have moments of rebellion. But then I ...

2647. The Circus and My Faith

Ps 139 · Mt 22:37

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... our love for God; it is a way of expressing our appreciation for what has been given us. I suppose it is much like giving another a gift of a table saw; the individual’s use of it bears testimony to his or her love for it. Our love of life and our love of ... t Harry move in some direction!" I can equally imagine Harry saying to himself, "Why on earth did I ever trade in my gift certificate to Arthur Murray’s School of Dance for two fishing poles and a tackle box!" There is something at first unsettling and ...

2648. The Therapy of Song

1 Samuel 16:14-23, Exodus 15:1-21, Psalm 5:1-12

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... of deep serenity and happiness. Listening to it, one can sense the deep feeling he must have had for his wife and child. On the day of her birthday, fifteen musicians made their way secretly into their home and Cosima awoke to the sound of her birthday gift. Of the experience, she had this to say: As I awoke, my ear caught a sound, which swelled fuller and fuller ... no longer could I imagine myself to be dreaming; music was sounding and such music! When Wagner decided that it was time to publish the music ...

2649. The Spirit Brings Life

Romans 8:1-17

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... Spirit has touched our mortal bodies with life eternal. People: Not for our sakes, but that Christ might be glorified forever. Leader: Then let our hearts sing out with praise for God's mercy and grace! All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, with the gift of the Holy Spirit You have extended to all who would receive it eternal life. Touch us anew, Lord, and help us to see the areas we need to submit to Your will. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, so often we seem to choose ...

2650. It Is Finished

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... certain that Jesus' agony is not wasted on us. How tragic is someone dies for us and we respond with a shrug. The only proper response is to reach out with humble, grateful hands and receive the gift. One does that by saying to God very simply, "I'm one of those sinners for whom you died. I accept your awesome gift. In gratitude I welcome the living Christ-Spirit as the Lord of my life." There is another appropriate response too. There is a cross out there that fits your shoulder, and one that fits mine. We ...

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