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 1400 results

251. Life Through the Son

John 5:16-30, John 5:1-15

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... life in himself” is understood within the framework of his dependence on the Father for his life. To “have life in oneself” apparently means to have God’s life as a secure possession that cannot be taken away. In itself, the phrase does not include the notion that one has the power to confer that life on others, but such translations as “source of life” (both GNB and Jerusalem Bible) can be defended on the basis of the context, especially the parallelism with v, 21. 5:27 The Son of Man: Although ...

252. The World Hates the Disciples

John 15:18--16:4

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... to the world (cf. 13:18–20). The brief positive glimpse of this mission in 15:16–17 serves as the transition to a longer and largely negative portrayal of its difficulties and dangers in 15:18–16:4a. Verses 16–17 are linked to what follows by the notion that the disciples are chosen for their task (vv. 16, 19; cf. 13:18), but even more closely to what precedes by a last reference to fruit-bearing (go and bear fruit, v. 16) and a last repetition of the command to love each other (v. 17). If remaining ...

253. The Death of Jesus

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27, John 19:38-42

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... blood” (5:6); “There are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement” (5:7–8). The testimony they bear is summed up in the words “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (5:11). The notion of water as a metaphor for eternal life is well developed in John’s Gospel (e.g., 3:5; 4:10–14; 6:35; 7:37–39; 9:7), and the purpose of the eyewitness testimony to blood and water from Jesus’ side is simply to emphasize that this eternal ...

254. The Burial of Jesus

John 19:38-42, John 19:17-27, John 19:28-37

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

255. Praise to God for a Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... :2) and related ideas, such as the believer’s new creation, are found in John 1:12–13; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:10; Col. 3:10; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18). The notion of rebirth was familiar from the mystery religions, where curiously the resultant “eternal life” was taken to last only twenty years. In Judaism, a proselyte was “like a child newly born” (b. Yebam. 48b); but this referred to the convert’s legal status. See C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According ...

256. The Branch of the Lord

Isaiah 4:2-6

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... than merely survive to appear in a political citizen-list. They appear in the book of life or the book of the living, God’s book (see Exod. 32:32; Ps. 69:28). They are invited to see God’s sovereignty in their survival, another building block for the notion of a remnant. The women of Zion will also be restored, for Yahweh will wash away the dirt of their humiliation (v. 4; cf. 3:17, 24) and/or the dirt of their own sin. Yahweh’s sovereignty is involved in this washing, too, and the promise that Yahweh ...

257. What to Give Up for Lent

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... not guarantee happiness. Even an overabundance of bread as food and money will not satisfy the underlying existential hunger for meaning and purpose. We need bread but the abundant life does not come by bread alone. Where are you on this issue? Do you harbor any lingering notion that if you just had a little more money or just acquired a few more possessions you could really be happy? If so, you might want to think about giving up that idea for Lent. You might want to commit yourself to pray and study on ...

258. Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... who rely upon God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Righteousness gets a bad rap in the modern day Christian church. We tend to associate it with self-righteousness, which is moral arrogance, the notion that I am better than, more moral than, closer to God than others who are theologically inferior to me because they believe the wrong propositions or practice the wrong rituals. And, certainly, self-righteousness or moral arrogance is a thing to be eschewed ...

259. The Catch

John 21:1-14, John 21:15-25, Acts 10:1-8, Acts 10:9-23a, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... your own corner, a place where you “own” a piece of special pie, rule your own committee, belong to a family, fit into a kitchen group of ladies. And some of those things are nice. But Jesus comes to challenge all of those things too --all of our preconceived notions about what the church is, who Jesus is, and who we need to be when we say we follow Jesus. And like Peter, we all need a metaphor to remind us to turn our attention back to Jesus. For some of us, maybe the fishing metaphor will do. But ...

260. Public Sex

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , or pointless, but that we have come to think of sex as private. Despite the Bible's up front talk of sex as early as Genesis 2, despite Jesus' willingness to buck the trend in his own society in regard to divorce; we have bought into the weird notion that sex is private, my own business, a secret exchange between me and (usually) one other person, nobody's business but my own, thank you. (We even hope to discuss abortion as a ''right to privacy issue.") I agree with those feminists who say that sex is ...

261. Greater Works Than These?

John 14:8-17

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... to us in Christ Jesus that we are saved. We wrap our hearts and our communities around this notion that when God gave God’s self for us on the cross we were redeemed. Our problem, though, is that it is at this point that we totally ... miss the boat. We take this fundamental and powerful notion and we reduce it to an article of doctrine. We ask confirmands and anyone choosing to join us if they “believe that God’ ...

262. Greater Works Than These?

John 14:8-17

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

263. How a Baby Changed the World

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... that every child bore God’s image helped fuel the move for universal literacy . . . Universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard all began as Jesus-inspired efforts to love God with all ones’ mind.” Next the notion of Compassion. “Jesus’ compassion for the poor and the sick led to institutions for lepers. These institutions were the beginning of modern-day hospitals.” Then there’s the virtue of Humility. Did you know that before Jesus came into the world, humility wasn’t considered ...

264.

Psalm 103:1-22

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... :2) and humans compared to dust (103:14 and 90:3). Rather striking, however, is their contrasting perspective on human transitoriness. In Psalm 103, it is grounds for divine mercy; in Psalm 90, it is evidence of divine wrath (vv. 7–11). Verse 18 introduces the notion of obedience, triggered perhaps by the key term remember. The human mind is to follow the pattern of the divine (v. 14). The object of people’s memory is God’s covenant, whose mention may be explained as an echo from Exodus 34:10, 27–28 ...

265.

Psalm 139:1-24

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... by adoption (vv. 21–22). They do not accuse the speaker: “they speak of you with evil intent” (v. 20). Second, there is no plea for rescue or protection, which is seen so clearly in Psalms 7 and 17. Third, if from the beginning the psalm reflects a notion of asylum or a desire that God examine the speaker and so acquit him, then it seems odd that verses 7–12 speak of flight from God. Fourth, the closing petitions are for God to search and know the speaker, which actions God has already been in the ...

266. Beware Of Your Piety

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... should govern all of our piety. Consequently, how we keep the season of Lent should be shaped by his directives. We recognize that we should avoid the legalism, superficiality, and the showiness of medieval forms of piety. Above all, we do not want to assume the notion that whatever we do will somehow earn the good favor of our Heavenly Father. Instead, we follow the guidelines our Lord gives us for the practice of our piety. When we do that we look upon the season as an opportunity. In freedom, we begin by ...

267. Take Up Your Cross

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... must employ language and ideas that are not attractive to the world either. That could not be more explicit than it is stated by our Lord in the Holy Gospel for today. In this reading we hear Jesus predict his own passion. Peter tries to reject that notion. Jesus then not only rebukes him for that, but goes on to say that all his followers should be willing to take up their crosses. The language does not appear to be attractive when Jesus talks about self-denial, losing one's life, and being able to ...

268. Easter Jogging

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... Jesus away. That was a natural deduction. Charlie Chaplin was stolen from his grave. When that happened did anyone propose that he was risen from the dead? Did his family come forward to suggest that Charlie had talked about rising from the dead or about the notion that he was immortal? Even those who suggest that the character that Charlie played in the silent movies is immortal did not suggest that his tomb is empty because he is still alive. Death Is Death Death is death. None was prepared for the event ...

269. Easter Understanding

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... . There the disciples were in the Upper Room with the Risen Christ, and they could not believe their own eyes. The problem was they could not understand with their hearts. Jesus had to address that. He volunteered to let them handle him. He had to correct their notions that he may have been some kind of apparition like a ghost. He could tell that even that was not convincing. He ate a fish which he requested of them. Luke makes the point that he did it in their presence. Jesus did everything to fill the ...

270. Living By The Calendar Instead Of The Clock (New Year's)

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

... times did Jesus say to his disciples, "Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and can rest awhile?" How many times do we read, "So they went away in a boat to a deserted place by themselves?" Have we ever entertained the notion that perhaps Jesus set the best example for our lives when he went away often to be alone and contemplate on that which was most important? When I was in seminary in the late 1960s, a question was posed to us: Because we are entering the computer age that ...

271. Love Your Enemies--It Will Drive Them Crazy

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

... of time and I still don't know if I am." I said, "Well, join the club because somewhere in what you said is my story, too." We don't so much become a Christian at one particular time in our lives as we constantly come together entertaining the notion. We are constantly in process. It is not an event that happens. Our baptism is not an end; it is a beginning that will leave us stumbling all our lives, stumbling hopefully by some mystery into doing the word that causes us so much difficulty. And still this ...

272. Weather Signs

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... . He participated in weddings. He enjoyed a good feast with other people, even in their diversity. He seemed to enjoy repartee and dialogue with people. In the Garden of Gethsamene Jesus struggled intensely with the question of death. It was difficult for him to accept the notion that he might have to die soon. That kind of person does not have a death wish or seek martyrdom. Jesus did know that he had a mission to fulfill. He knew the possible consequences of it. The fate of John the Baptist and of many ...

273. What To Do With A Self-willed Child

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... he was last seen, the temple. Sure enough, there he is. What is he up to? In our undercroft we have a large copy of a famous oil painting depicting this story, which gets it wrong. It comes from an era when religious people were still uneasy with the notion that Jesus was like the rest of us. In this picture he is standing in the midst of the elders looking very wise, obviously delivering a lecture. He is talking and they are listening. He had, no doubt, appeared to instruct them in the law, as if he knew ...

274. The Limits Of Love

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... heroic, stories were bound to foster xenophobia. The purity of religion, and the race, had to be preserved. Foreign influence was to be zealously guarded against. At the same time there were those on the other side of the argument who had a somewhat expanded notion of God's providence. While holding just as much reverence for the law as did the conservatives, these religious and cultural liberals did not believe God's grace was limited to those of their own race. They too told stories. There was the story ...

275. Why Be Good?

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... to do good, and being good merits divine favor. Why go to church, take the sacraments, live an upright life, present your tithe, feed the poor? In order to be a Christian! In order to earn God's approval! In order to go to heaven! That notion of the pious life is so self-evident nobody would dare argue, not today and not in Jesus' day. Nobody except Jesus that is. After the long Lukan Sermon on the Plain -- Jesus' plain talk -- he concludes the discourse by turning on its head this traditional understanding ...

Showing results