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 2776 to 2800 of 4340 results

2776. A Powerful Sacrament

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. William Culbertson, president of Moody Bible Institute, is an Episcopalian. So naturally he enjoys a joke at the expense of his Baptist friends. He tells a hilarious story about three rather notorious characters who had been converted and were to be baptized by immersion in the local Baptist Church. The whole community turned out. The little church had only one small dressing room which opened from the baptistery (the pool in which the men would be immersed at the front of the church). ...

2777. Learning to Love Ourselves

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

James McCormick

... term, “self-centeredness”. That’s the danger. Self-centeredness is claiming a place for ourselves which belongs only to God. It is placing ourselves at the center of life and pushing God and others out to the periphery. Do you remember Narcissus, the character from Greek mythology? Narcissus was a youth who was gazing at his reflection in a well one day. The more he stared, the more enamored of himself he became. He fell in love with himself, forgot about everything else, tumbled into the water and ...

2778. John 1:(1-9) 10-18

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... community. Scholars also remind us that John is a very early Christian document, fragments of which have been discovered to be as old as the Gospel of Mark. Recent evidence suggests that John's prologue may be even older than that. Its hymnic character, its embodiment of ideas and images common to early Jewish Wisdom literature, coupled with its veritable word-for-word ease of rendering into Aramaic - all suggest that John's prologue may in fact have been taken from a pre-Christian Jewish hymn recorded ...

2779. John 1:29-42

John 1:29-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... giving the Greek transliteration of Peter's Aramaic name - Kepha, a name identical to the Aramaic for " rock" (kepha). (The pun is stretched a bit in Greek where Petros must be compared with petra.) Simply by having "looked at him" (v.42) Jesus detected enough of Peter's strength of character to name him as future symbol of an unyielding person of faith.

2780. Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... dirt, soil - not some figurative comparison to stability or predictability. As salt in the earth, therefore, it is the disciple's job to work in that earth, moving within and among it, making the land more productive and fruitful by subtly changing its very character. Salt no longer capable of making these changes is useless. Since there is no point in tilling it into the soil, it might as well be "trampled under foot" (v. 13) Understanding salt this way fits more congruently with Jesus' ensuing light image ...

2781. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... - a buried cache. This was a rather common form of "banking" in those days - so the peasant carefully takes the necessary legal steps (purchasing the field) to make the buried wealth legally his in every way. In the second tale (v.45) the main character is a wealthy pearl merchant. Pearls were so desired in that culture that they were actually valued more highly than gold. Thus, with no hesitation, the merchant sells all his other jewels to buy this one great pearl. Jesus' third illustration (vv.47-50 ...

2782. Genesis 32:22-31

Genesis 32:22-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... s own angel - suggesting that Jacob must wrestle with himself (his old identity) in order to cross the river into his future and his new role as Israel. Early Christian tradition posited that this angel was one sent by Jesus to test Jacob's character. What all these secondary interpretations have in common, however, is their reticence to take Jacob at his word. In verse 30, after their wrestling match is concluded, Jacob claims that at this place he has "seen God face to face" - indicating that his opponent ...

2783. Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the sight of all." While Old Testament texts also warn against doing evil to repay evil, Paul's directive has a difference. Only Paul follows the negative "do not" of verse 17a with positive commands - in verses 17b-18. Part of a distinctly Christian character in Paul's eyes is not only simply to avoid doing wrong, the Christian must actively seek to do right. Verses 19-21 reveal Paul's eschatological mindset and expectations. Part of the reason Christians should be able to deal so blissfully with their ...

2784. Romans 14:1-12

Romans 14:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for feasting. As in matters of diet, however, Paul refuses to take sides. What Paul does insist upon is conviction - for nothing irks Paul as much as a tepid faith, a lukewarm commitment. Just as Paul had made "honor" a primary component of Christian character in Romans 12:10, he insists here that the ultimate concern of all Christians remains honoring God. In verses 7-12 Paul crafts a masterful argument full of carefully balanced opposites in an almost hymnic style. He begins by holding up living and dying ...

2785. Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Prince, the ruler of all evil spiritual forces, makes the "sons of disobedience" (RSV) perform according to his wishes. The sons of disobedience are not yet a separate sphere of beings. The phrase is a Semiticism, used here to express the essential core and character of all those who are spiritually dead to God and slaves to this world's evil ruler. Membership in this fallen population was hardly select. Indeed "all of us once lived" as captives to evil, living for "the passions of our flesh, following the ...

2786. John 6:24-35

John 6:24-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... signs" Jesus ever delivered: feeding five thousand hungry listeners with a mere five loaves of barley bread and two little fish, and an aquatic stroll toward a boat-load of astonished disciples sailing three or four miles out from shore. The supernatural character of these two signs is obvious and yet was apparently not universally convincing. After once more being tracked down by the crowd, Jesus is questioned in a manner that reveals these would-be disciples' confusion and hesitancy to believe. Verses 22 ...

2787. Mark 13:1-8

Mark 13:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... section of Mark's eschatological unit in chapter 13. The theme that dominates in this section is that of the approaching end time. Mark's text emphasizes both the eschaton's inevitable arrival and yet also focuses on the "not yet" character of those events. Scholars have surmised that perhaps one reason prompting Mark to specify these telltale signs of the coming eschaton was to short-out some premature enthusiasm sparking up in the Marcan community. Almost immediately after Jesus' crucifixion, rumors of ...

2788. John 1:43-51

John 1:43-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... or in a quiet contemplative moment at his home. Whatever Jesus is referring to, Nathanael is smitten. His attitude changes dramatically. Instead of grousing about Jesus’ Nazareth roots and demanding an explanation for his inside knowledge of Nathanael’s character, this newest disciple offers the first theologically correct confession of faith in John’s gospel. First he addresses Jesus with the respectful “Rabbi.” Then he amends that title by proclaiming Jesus to be “the Son of God” and “the ...

2789. Christ's Life Changed Culture

Mark 1:21-28

Illustration

Brett Blair

... like it or not, Christ's life radically changed human culture throughout the world. Before Jesus came, the world was ruled by the ‘might makes right' theory. But Jesus' teaching about humility and turning the other cheek redefined our views of human character, of war, of masculinity. Jesus' commitment to the poor, to women and children opened the way for civil rights and equality for women. Marriages became more equitable. Also, it was a common practice in Roman families to kill female babies. Sociologist ...

2790. Etched in Stone

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christian. Interesting question. Still, the Ten Commandments fill a unique role in our culture and in our faith. They are the foundation of much of our law, and even if we don’t keep them all that well, they are central to our understanding of the character of a righteous person. We need to take the Ten Commandments seriously. They were given to the Jewish people by a holy God as a set of expectations for their behavior. They were etched in stone, as it were, both literally and figuratively. However, the ...

2791. Jesus Baptism and Ours

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Mike Ripski

I. Life Questions “I’ve got a lot of questions,” says Jayber Crow, a character in Wendell Berry’s novel of the same name. Jayber is recalling his seminary days and a visit to his professor of New Testament Greek, Old Dr. Ardwire. The professor replies, “Perhaps you would like to say what they are?” The inquisitive student runs down the list. He fears his ...

2792. God Be With You All

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... we are rooted in relationship. We have been created in the image of God. And the image of this God is relationship – relationship of a particular kind. To call God “Trinity,” is to recognize that our God’s nature is relationship, holy communion. God’s character is love, self-giving, self-sacrificing love. A. The Self-sacrificing Love of the Father What is more precious to a parent than a child? The child’s life is more valuable to the parent than the parent’s own life. The Father loved the ...

2793. God Loses, So We Can Win

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... the night by the River Jabbok. During the night he is assaulted.. It’s dark and he can’t tell who it is. A man? An angel? A divine-human? As daybreak approaches, the stranger says, “I must be going.” Jacob, again true to his character, says, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob still is seeking that blessing that will truly bless. The stranger asks, “What is your name?” “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel.” Jacob asks, “What is your name?” “Why ...

2794. Jesus Radical Prescription

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... he’d told political candidates running for office to refrain from using anger to get elected. For one of the main strategies for winning is to portray oneself as totally good and one’s opponent as totally evil. Therefore, the election takes on the character of a holy crusade. One’s enemy becomes God’s enemy. Any means to defeat them is permissible. Jesus’ radical, at the root, prescription for the unholy spirit of anger is valuing each other so much that we can’t stand being estranged. We can ...

2795. Love that Kneels

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... one his parents doted over. It was unfair. Heather asked the young man if he was familiar with the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He said he was. She asked if he’d be willing to play the role of the older son, if she got the other characters. He agreed. So did a father with a long-haired, rebellious younger son. Hard feelings existed between them. The cast was assembled and the script, Luke 15:11-32, was read. After some awkward moments in which parable and real life collapsed into each other, the father ...

2796. Memories of Home: The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... our preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ first coming and of our anticipation of his Second Coming. This Advent we’re looking at one of Jesus parables through the lens of Advent. It’s the parable that goes by different names, depending on which of the characters is put in the spotlight: the Elder Son, whom we focused on last Sunday; the Loving Father, whom we’ll focus on next Sunday. And the Younger Son, the Prodigal Son, whom we’ll focus on today. Using the lens of Advent to view the parable ...

2797. The Road to Holiness

Mark 1:9-13

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

... ?" "Wrong choices." I believe that this is God's purpose in times of testing, to help us grow and to show us that we have the faith and ability to stand up to the testing so that we will trust God in difficult times to strengthen our faith and Christian character. At the same time, Satan has his own purpose to turn those being tested away from God to "tempt" them to sin.

2798. Overcoming Temptation and Spiritual Growth

Mark 1:9-15

Illustration

Fulton J. Sheen

... must have been a tendency to hate in John, for not without aptness did his master call him who wanted to send down lightening, a Son of Thunder. But some time or other in John's life, he seized upon the weak spot in his character, namely, want of kindness to fellow man, and through cooperation with grace, he became the great apostle of charity. The Temptations of the saints were for them opportunities of self-discovery. They revealed the breaches in the fortress of their souls that needed to be fortified ...

2799. Time to Get Angry

Jn 2:13-22

Illustration

King Duncan

... angry if you had been in his place? If someone had thrown your six-year-old niece on the ground, stuck a gun in her ear, and threatened and humiliated her, wouldn't you have been about to explode? If not, something very fundamental is missing in your character. There is a time when Christians ought to get angry about some of the inequities and injustices in our world. As Melvin Wheatley once said, "There are situations in life in which the absence of anger would be the essence of evil." There is a time for ...

2800. Looking at the World through the Eyes of God

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

... does what we need most. He says I like you anyone. I love you regardless. I do not condemn you. I am sending you my son so that you might be saved. He will tell you of my love. Charles Shulz, creator and author of the Peanuts cartoon characters often conveys a message in his comic strips. In one strip he conveys through Charlie Brown the need we have to be loved and through Lucy our inability to love one another. Charlie Brown and Lucy are leaning over the proverbial fence speaking to one another: CB: All ...

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