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 251 to 275 of 352 results

251. Credible Witnesses

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... memories of the events they witnessed firsthand during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Later when they traveled from place to place teaching about Jesus they would recall their own personal experiences. The apostle Peter remembered well all the times he spent with Jesus. With great fondness he recalled the day when Jesus called him. At the time he was fishing and Jesus promised that from that moment he would be fishing for women and men for the kingdom of God. Peter willingly obeyed and began following Jesus. He ...

252. Powerless People

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Argile Smith

... and found time to rest. At seminary he really flourished. His professors taught him how to think and write theologically, and they instilled in him a love for books and articles that stretched him academically. He always looked on his days at seminary with fondness and gratitude. The day he defended his dissertation was a crowning moment in his academic life, but it proved to be a painful experience too. After he defended his dissertation for a couple of hours before a panel of professors, they invited him ...

253. A Faith to Move Mountains

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... home, and the sunset made me think of an amazing sunset my wife and I saw during our honeymoon. Now I’m looking forward to telling her about it.” They could have then turned to watch the sunset slowly fade, and leave each other with fond goodbyes. (4) In Pastor Barstow’s two scenarios we have the same sunset, but in the first one it leads to a mild argument. In the second, it leads to some positive feelings and perhaps some positive changes in life situations. Positive attitudes are important. But ...

254. Can You Hear the Music?

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Pharisees (and Scribes) have consistently been presented as a group intent upon analyzing Jesus’ adherence to the details of the Torah, and challenging his “slip-shod” interpretations and practices of Torah mandates. Jesus had also previously noted a Pharisaic fondness for higher social status (Luke 16:15). Tax collectors, on the other hand, have been prominently featured in Luke’s gospel among those who have responded immediately and openly to Jesus’ gospel and the coming of the Kingdom. And ...

255. Nothing to Hide

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Jerry White, in his book Honesty Morality & Conscience tells two memorable stories. The first is from author Mark Twain. Twain says that when he was a boy, he was walking along a street and happened to spy a cart full of watermelons. He was fond of watermelon, so he sneaked quietly up to the cart and snatched one of the melons. Holding it in his arms he then ran into a nearby alley and sank his teeth into it. No sooner had he done so, however, when a strange feeling came over him. Without a ...

256. Running over the Cat

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

... in South London to retrieve her cat. The soldiers arrived with impressive haste, very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat, and started to drive away. But the lady was so grateful she invited this squad of heroes in for tea. They enjoyed their tea. Then, with fond farewells and warm waving of arms, the soldiers started out of the driveway . . . and ran over the woman’s cat. (1) That’s a terrible story, but I have a very serious reason for telling it. I have seen very well-meaning people, while doing ...

257. Still Surprised After Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... quite a different matter from the deliberate act. The latter may be a calculation; the former is what comes naturally. And this is the great evidence of our adoption: that it becomes our reflex to cry, “Abba! Father!” Finally, sports fans are fond of borrowing one fairy tale character and applying her name and reputation to certain teams: Cinderella. A “Cinderella team” or a “Cinderella season” refers to the phenomenon of an improbable rise. Here was a team that no one took seriously, a team ...

258. Who's Your Master?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... modern Middletown moms with their emphasis on independence, tolerance, and social-mindedness. That’s fine. However, if you have ever attempted anything great in the world, and seen it through to success, you’ve learned the art of obedience. Some of you will remember with fondness a movie from the 1980s that still lives on thanks to numerous sequels. The movie is The Karate Kid. The Karate Kid is about a teenager who moves to a new community where he becomes the target of a savage bully and his gang who ...

259. Spiritual Marines

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... to have to do to follow me.” That crowd began to murmur, “Did I hear what He just said? I believe He has quit preaching and gone to meddling if He said we’re going to have to die.” Well, that is exactly what He said. You know we are fond of saying that Jesus had to die to save us, and that is true. But there is another side to that. Not only did Jesus have to die in order for us to live with Him, but we have to die in order for Him to live in us. That ...

260. Poem: Mutability

Eulogy

Percy Bysshe Shelley

... dissonant strings Give various response to each varying blast, To whose frail frame no second motion brings One mood or modulation like the last. We rest. – A dream has power to poison sleep; We rise. – One wandering thought pollutes the day; We feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep; Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away: It is the same! – For, be it joy or sorrow, The path of its departure still is free: Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but Mutability.

261. Poem: Adonais

Eulogy

Percy Bysshe Shelley

... as one of us,” they cry, “It was for thee yon kingless sphere has long Swung blind in unascended majesty, Silent alone amid an Heaven of Song. Assume thy winged throne, thou Vesper of our throng!” XLVII. Who mourns for Adonais? Oh, come forth, Fond wretch! and know thyself and him aright. Clasp with thy panting soul the pendulous Earth; As from a centre, dart thy spirit’s light Beyond all worlds, until its spacious might Satiate the void circumference: then shrink Even to a point within our day and ...

262. Poem: Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard

Eulogy

Thomas Gray

... a holy text around she strews, That teach the rustic moralist to die. For who to dumb Forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing anxious being e’er resign’d, Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind? On some fond breast the parting soul relies, Some pious drops the closing eye requires; Even from the tomb the voice of Nature cries, Even in our ashes live their wonted fires. For thee, who mindful of the unhonoured Dead Dost in these lines their artless tale relate ...

263. The Bugs of our Nature

Illustration

Michael

... purchase a microscope and take it back home. He thoroughly enjoyed using it until one day he examined some food he was planning to eat for dinner. Much to his dismay, he discovered that tiny living creatures were crawling in it. Since he was especially fond of this particular food, he wondered what to do. Finally, he concluded that there was only one way out of his dilemma—he would destroy the instrument that caused him to discover the distasteful fact. So he smashed the microscope to pieces! How foolish ...

264. Change

Illustration

Percy Bysshe Shelley

... dissonant strings Give various response to each varying blast, To whose frail frame no second motion brings One mood or modulation like the last. We rest—A dream has power to poison sleep; We rise—One wandering thought pollutes the day; We feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep; Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away: It is the same!—For, be it joy or sorrow, The path of its departure still is free: Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but mutability.

265. Crying To The Night

Illustration

In Bertrand Russell's autobiography he displays no allegiance to religion. He looks back over a life that has held little meaning for him and looks ahead to the specter of ultimate obliteration. After mentioning the wish “to see the people one is fond of,” he asks: "What else is there to make life tolerable? We stand on the shore of an ocean, crying to the night and the emptiness; sometimes a voice answers out of the darkness. But it is the voice of one drowning; and in a moment the silence returns. ...

266. Abijah King of Judah

2 Chron 13:1–14:1

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... mainly of the speech the king made. Furthermore, the sources cited by the Chronicler are the annotations of the prophet Iddo. We have seen before (with reference to Solomon’s reign in 9:29 and Rehoboam’s reign in 12:15) that the Chronicler is fond of citing a prophetic source (instead of the Deuteronomist’s “the book of the annals of the kings of Judah”). Here Iddo’s work is referred to as “annotations” (so the NIV for Hebrew midrash). The narrative ends with the note that Asa his son ...

267. Peter Addresses the Crowd

Acts 2:14-41

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... It is a kind of metaphor that is found in the poets of many nations. 2:22 Miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him: Though all three terms refer to miracles, they are by no means synonymous. The first is lit., “powers” (Gk. dynamis). Luke is fond of using this word of the inherent power of Jesus (10:38; cf. Luke 1:35; 4:14, 36; 5:17; 6:19; 8:46), so the plural is aptly applied to the outward manifestation of this power, whether in Christ himself, as in this reference (cf. Luke 10 ...

268. Hearts

2 Corinthians 6:14--7:1

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... Deities and Demons in the Bible (ed. Karel van der Toorn, et al.; Leiden: Brill, 1995), pp. 322–27. Vitae Prophetarum 4:6 reads in full: “Concerning this mystery it was revealed to the holy man [sc. Daniel] that (Nebuchadnezzar) had become a beast of the field because he was fond of pleasure and stiffnecked, and because those who belong to Beliar become like an ox under yoke.” For other references to Belial see Jub. 1:20; 15:33; Ascen. Isa. 1:8–9; 2:4; 3:11, 13; 4:2, 4, 14, 16, 18; 5:1; Sib. Or. 3 ...

269. Paul’s Second Visit to the Jerusalem Church

Galatians 2:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... this would be in disobedience to God. While Paul expresses concern that he himself could run in vain, he displays no fear that his gospel could come to naught through the actions of the Jerusalem church. Paul, like other ancient and modern writers, is fond of athletic imagery, which he uses in describing commitment to the gospel (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:24–27). Later in this letter Paul affirms that until now the Galatians had been running well (5:7). In Philippians, using almost the same words, Paul expresses ...

270. Israel Unrepentant

Hosea 6:1--7:16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... with sin. The Israelites think that God does not remember their evil deeds of the past, but God says, they are always before me, 7:2. Thus, in this short pericope, we find God regretfully lamenting the fact that Israel will not let him carry out his fond desire to forgive and restore them to his fellowship. The thieves and bandits of verse 1 refer not to robbers of goods, but to the priests who gain their own lavish lifestyle from numerous sacrifices to Baal (4:8) and who murder those who are opposed to ...

271. Jesus, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple

John 21:15-25

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... John, do you truly love me? 2. Yes, Lord … you know that I love you. 2. Take care of my sheep. 3. Simon son of John, do you love me? 3. Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. 3. Feed my sheep. There is a fondness for synonyms in this exchange—two different Greek words for love, two words for feed/take care of, and different words for lambs and sheep—yet the narrator’s interest is in the repetition of the same thought, not in subtle differences in meaning of particular words. Peter is ...

272. Timothy and Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:19-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... been associated with him in his apostolic activity or that after delivering the Philippian church’s gift to him he had stayed on and taken some share in his ministry. The strenuous character of service in the gospel is indicated by Paul’s fondness for describing it in athletic or military language. The Philippian Christians may indeed have instructed Epaphroditus to stay on after delivering their gift to Paul and give him on their behalf what help he seemed to need. This may be suggested by Paul ...

273. Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... language of the author, such fine distinctions as NT scholars make may be overly precise interpretation. This is the first use of “love” (agapē) in the letters of John, where it occurs thirty-one times as a verb and twenty-one times as a noun. The term of fond address, agapētos, also occurs ten times. It is a high frequency word in these letters (one-fifth of the entire NT usage). For a detailed study of the use of agapē in the letters of John, see Brown, Epistles, pp. 254–57 and in the Gospel of ...

274. Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

Genesis 29:15-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... the hardships Jacob endured in working for Laban. 29:15–21 While living with his uncle, Jacob began to work with the flocks. Wanting to have more authority over his nephew, Laban offered to set his wage. We can easily imagine that Laban had noticed Jacob’s fondness for Rachel and had come to realize that Jacob had nothing to offer as a bride price. It is surprising that Jacob’s parents did not provide him with any resources for a dowry, especially since they had sent him with the hope of finding a ...

275. Dinah and the Shechemites

Genesis 34:1-31

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... marriage. 34:5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, he kept quiet, especially since his sons were some distance from home tending the flocks. Jacob’s mild reaction to the abuse of his daughter may indicate that he was not overly fond of Leah’s children. It is also noteworthy that after wrestling with a man (ch. 32), Jacob acted more patiently, relying on God to work out a resolution when he faced trouble. But given the shame inflicted on Dinah, Jacob should have been more proactive ...

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