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 2701 to 2725 of 4340 results

2701. Watchfulness

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Tim Carpenter

... Frankfort than deciding on a water fountain. But so often we can get sidetracked by things that seem important, like water fountains. The disciples were more concerned with the temple being destroyed and the world coming to an end than they were with the things that matter most in life: character, integrity, compassion, and preparedness for Christ's return. This is what Jesus means when he tells his Disciples to watch!

2702. Waiting

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Eric Ritz

... get married. C. A younger couple was waiting to have a child. D. A younger child said he was waiting for the day when his Dad no longer had to sleep on the couch and could sleep in the bedroom. Maybe his Dad would be in a better mood. A character in T. S. Eliot's play, "The Elder Statesman," shares this insight on waiting: "If I had the energy to work myself to death how gladly would I face death! However, waiting, simple waiting with no desire to act, yet a loathing of inaction. It is like sitting in an ...

2703. Prepare the Way - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Brett Blair

... did not seem to be the kind of "How to win friends and influence people" type of personality to usher in the news of the Messiah's coming. He just somehow doesn't seem to fit in with shepherds and wise men and the other characters that we traditionally associate with the Christmas story. Yet, this was God's unlikely servant chosen to herald the spectacular events that would soon follow. A most unlikely promotions man to be sure, but God's man nevertheless. From the very beginning everything about John ...

2704. Break Free From the Scrooge Syndrome

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Gregory Knox Jones

... Christmas, a great number of people find delight in the marvelous story written by Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol. There is something in the story that lures us back to it year after year; we never seem to grow tired of hearing its message. The main character in the story is a surly old man named Scrooge, who lives a miserly existence. He sees no benefit in being generous with the poor, or even providing a living wage to dedicated workers. He clutches onto his money and despises the thought of parting ...

2705. Where Is Loyalty in an Age of Immediacy?

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Elton Richards

... lottery mentality, instant information in the computer world, instant gratification in the drug culture. There is little loyalty to the past nor sacrifice for the sake of the future. Christopher Lasch in his classic, "The Culture of Narcissism," notes the forgetful character of the late twentieth century U.S. culture: "to live for the moment is the prevailing passion to live for yourself, not for your predecessors or posterity. We are fast losing the sense of historical continuity, the sense of belonging to ...

2706. Leading the Way

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Richard Gribble

... and bring freedom to the sub-continent and its peoples. In the 1960s, using similar tactics, Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke of the dream he had of a nation where people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. In the late 1970s, Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador heard the cry of the poor in his land and acted to bring hope and justice to a society dominated by wealth and power. Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa provided the light to ...

2707. The Outstretched Arms

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... God's own way of turning the other cheek. Many are those who represent God as a great Monarch whose chief aim is to defend his own honor and to pursue his own glory, but that is not the God revealed in Jesus Christ. In Christ we encounter the true character of God - his love, his humility, his meekness. Through we mock him and rail against him, though we crucify him in our hearts as if he were one of those who crucified his Son, he will never cease to forgive us. That is the God revealed in Jesus Christ ...

2708. Minding Your Heart

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and teamwork. It uses the super-hero genre, but it does so in a way that is cross-cultural (it has been translated into 85 languages), cross-generational (appealing to grades from 1-8), and cross-over (both boys and girls). The voices of the characters are familiar ones (Whoopi Goldberg, Ed Asner, James Coburn, Meg Ryan, Martin Sheen, et al.). The story line of this show contends that Mother Earth has given The Planeteers five rings, each with a special power. But the four rings of Earth, Wind, Fire, and ...

2709. Miss Manners and Mr. Goodwrench

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of disorder and give you the power to bring pleasure into other people's lives.(4) In the absence of strong ethical guidance and guidelines emanating from the religious community, it has become the role of mannerists to teach us "good character." Similarly, in her syndicated newspaper column, "Miss Manners," Judith Martin has attempted to present an overarching code of personal integrity and conduct. In both her columns and her books Martin conducts a type of remedial instruction for the American public in ...

2710. Are You a Crazy Dog?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... "Be Bigger Than You Are." Instead of teaching ways to avoid them or outsmart them, Walker recommends taking the "Crazy Dog" route and truly listening to the gripes and grinches of your co-worker, relative or neighbor. In fact, invite the most nasty-tempered, unlovable character you know to air his or her grievances to you, and then be big enough - indeed "bigger than you are" - to take it on and then let it roll off your back. Jesus called this being a "servant:" making the "last come first," exalting the ...

2711. Interior Decorations

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... existential impossibility. You just could not keep your own sadness in that kind of company. '" Elizabeth A. Johnson, Consider Jesus (1990), 55-56. 4) The Gift of the Wise Men - Service. The Magi are among the most misplaced and misunderstood characters in Scripture. We are constantly confused about who they were (kings, mystics, astrologers, counselors?) and what they thought they were doing (on a spying mission for Herod or following a divine summons?). And in Western Christianity, at least, we knowingly ...

2712. Christ the Apple Tree

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the greens remain steadfast. Where the greens are, it is not winter. They are the enemies of winter's white death" (64-66). While we have lost the medieval church tradition of celebrating "Adam and Eve Day" on December 24, we yet retain some of its character in our own Christmas tree rituals. On Adam and Eve Day common people play-acted the story of Adam and Eve. But before the presentation, the actors would parade through town with "Adam" carrying the Tree of Life on which apples were hung. Thus the first ...

2713. Welcome Home, Joseph

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... what her condition or how her pregnancy had come about. Our modern interpretations of Luke's birth narrative, which is by far the best known of the Christmas texts, has done much to color our view of Joseph as a do-nothing, ineffectual character in this whole drama. The story of the journey to Bethlehem and the birth itself, when viewed through lenses ground to focus on only Western European cultural traditions, finds this ordeal strange and cruel. We see Joseph foolishly dragging a very pregnant Mary ...

2714. Is Your Christmas Spirit a Controlled Substance?

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the conditions which cause the deaths of “Little Jos” and “Little Match Girls.” Charles Dickens’ most symbolic novel was his ninth one: Bleak House, published in 20 monthly installments between 1852 and 1853. It features one of the most memorable pathetic characters in all of English fiction, Little Jo, who tries to make a living as a crossing sweeper, catches smallpox, and eventually dies of pneumonia. Here is Dickens at his best, where Little Jo is dying, and Allan Woodcourt, a kind, caring ...

2715. A Say-so Spirituality

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

As God sent Jesus, so Jesus sends us. We minister in the world under God's "say-so." Comedians Dan Akroyd and the late John Belushi teamed up to create a host of memorably wacky characters. But few could top the absurdity of Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers. These two genially corrupt, amiably amoral bozos are sent out on an ill-fated fundraising mission for their old parochial school by a fierce old nun. As they blundered through a series of larcenous schemes and made ...

2716. Parable Power

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the midst of writing our own gospel our own Good News story. Have you ever tried to retell a funny story or joke that previously split your sides only to see it fall flat as a pancake the second time around? The same setup, the same characters, the same punch line that left yesterday's lunch crowd holding their sides and wiping their eyes, leave today's prayer breakfast yawning as they sip their coffee. We've come up with some standard comebacks to cover ourselves and explain these freakish occurrences: "I ...

2717. When Too Much Can Be Too Little

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... gum, a box of Tic-Tacs, a new TV Guide, a four-pack of AA batteries, three candy bars and a magazine for enquiring minds. If your 5-year-old is along, you may also have accumulated a new Pez dispenser, a mylar balloon with a Disney character on it and a plastic "cellular" telephone filled with tiny bubble-gum pieces. Stores purposefully pack this kind of junky, funky, consumer gunk into the narrow gauntlet we must run to get to the checkout counter. Things we would never intentionally have gone in search of ...

2718. A Concert of Prayer

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Drama

Leonard Sweet

... roles in the movies. One day, a novice actor appeared on a set to do a stand-in part. The director setting up the shot called him over: "Who are you?" he asked. The young actor obligingly gave his name. "I don't want your name. What character are you playing?" The actor hemmed and hawed and then confessed he wasn't quite sure. Finally, the exasperated director shouted back, "You'd better call central casting and find out who you are!" (Thanks to J. Walter Cross of Brandeton, Florida, for this story.) Do you ...

2719. Easter Completes

Colossians 3:1-4

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... "be fruitful and multiply" mandate. And yes, eggs are perfect, encapsulated symbols of new life to come. But rabbits don't lay eggs or make nests. Especially male rabbits. Sociologist Cindy Dell Clark has researched what she calls the "trinity" of characters in children's most important ritual systems Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Clark's conclusion, after interviewing thousands of children, is that of these "big three" so-called "children's celebrations," only the Easter Bunny is a ...

2720. Self-Fulfillment Through Self-Sacrifice

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... development. In Christ, Christians are free to discover the full extent of their selves and their gifts. But on the other side, as the 1 Peter text this week reminds us, Christians should hear another choir calling them to practice self-sacrifice. The defining character of a Christian is as a "servant," not as a master and it is only in service to others that the Christian becomes most fully Christ-like. Unfortunately, finding the right balance in our lives between these two choirs isn't always easy and ...

2721. Make Disciples

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... his calling the tax collector Matthew. We know that one of them had a temperament that Jesus felt perfectly comfortable confiding in Judas the betrayer. Oops. Perhaps not such a practically "perfect" group after all. But despite their background, profession or character, Jesus "called them too." He found ways to use the strengths, the weaknesses, the foibles and the frustrations of each of his first disciples and made them into his own authorized representatives on Earth. Jesus is still the only one who ...

2722. The Four R's

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the 'only human' excuse when he attempts to explain his prior drunken evening. Katharine Hepburn as Rosie, the missionary, peers over her Bible and aptly retorts, 'We were put on the earth to rise above nature' (How Could You Do That?!: The Abdication of Character, Courage and Conscience [New York: Harper Collins, 1996], 9). God made us a little lower than the angels, and we've been making ourselves lower ever since. It's time to claim our destiny as sons and daughters of God created in the divine image ...

2723. The Oblivious Obvious

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ecclesial hairsplitting that can sometimes lose sight of the obvious. There are so many "fuzzy" areas in contemporary living that people are longing for the freshness and straightforwardness of a direct answer. In the sequel movie, City Slickers II, the Billy Crystal character reveals that the mysterious "one thing" that is most important in life is: "Honesty!" And you know what, he's right! Knute Larson, pastor of the exploding church in Akron, Ohio, known as "The Chapel," has as a motto: "The main thing ...

2724. The Devil's Sermon

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... going to church. I belong to the First Methodist Church, Blessed Angels Catholic Church and the Mount Zion Jewish Temple. I also attend the Christian Science Church regularly, but I do take aspirin occasionally. Can you please help me find a man of good character who is interested in marriage and belongs to any of the above-mentioned places of worship? A moderate cigarette smoker is OK, but please, no beer drinkers. –Victoria This is a choice culture: Choice is no longer a choice. We expect society to ...

2725. Easter Dreams

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in a Coffin." Begin the sermon by citing John Henry Newman's Easter sermon, where he distinguished Resurrection joy from Christmas joy: "At Christmas we joy with the natural, unmixed joy of children, but at Easter our joy is highly wrought and refined in its character. It is not the spontaneous and unartificial outbreak which the news of Redemption might occasion, but it is thoughtful; it has a long history before it and has run through a long course of feelings before it becomes what it is. It is a last ...

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