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 2801 to 2825 of 3082 results

2801. Family Values

Mark 3:20-30

Illustration

Kristin Borsgard Wee

A newspaper article on family values said that while everyone wants strong family values few can agree on what they are. Soon after this article came out, Roger Rosenblatt was on public radio being cynical about family values. Rosenblatt said that there are plenty of perfect families around like yours and mine. But, there are so many others that fall short, families like the Walker spy family or the Medicis in Italy or the Macbeths of Scotland or the Oedipus Rexes of Greece. Rosenblatt's point was that ...

2802. Watch Your Step

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There are two types of travelers. There are those that travel light; and, there are those who pack for self-preservation. Do you take a small bag with the basic essentials and figure you’ll pick stuff up as you go? Or do you cram everything you can into every corner of an extra-large expandable bag, making sure that whatever comes your way on your trip, you are prepared? Parents traveling with small children embody both extremes. They bring enough “kid gear,” emergency medicines, food and drink boxes, ...

2803. Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was an expert at sleight of hand, a skeptic when it came to the spiritualists and other psychic phonies of his day, but he was best known for his ability to escape from what seemed to be impossible situations. Straitjackets, chains, ropes, jail cells, strange devices such as a milk pail filled with water — he managed to escape from one situation after another in full view of his audience. What did him in, however, was the blow he never saw coming. While reclining on a couch ...

2804. Pax Christi Or Pox Christi?

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

David E. Leininger

This is not a favorite passage for preaching. "Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth?" (Luke 12:51). Well, now that you ask, Jesus, yes. I mean, we call you the Prince of Peace, and I remember the angels at your nativity and their anthem about "Peace on earth." What's going on? From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother ...

2805. Proper 7

1 Kings 19:1-15a, Psalm 42 and 43, Isaiah 65:1-9, Luke 8:26-39, Galatians 3:23-29

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: I’m so glad you’re here! There are seats for everyone; there’s slight air movement; the windows engender tranquility and imagination and words will stimulate fresh thoughts. People: It’s good to be here, in sanctuary. We’re glad for opportunities to gather and to express our gratitude to God and our appreciation for one another. Leader: Set aside the remnants of last week; close the calendar for the week ahead. Be emotionally present for this hour, expecting Holy refreshment. Prayer ...

2806. Finding Redemption in the Midst of Judgment

Malachi 2:17--3:5

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

A vase shatters, brushed by a careless elbow; a toy breaks, handled roughly by young fingers; and fabric rips, pulled by strong angry hands. Spills and rips take time to clean up, effort to repair, and money to replace, but far more costly are shattered relationships. Unfaithfulness, untruths, hateful words, and forsaken vows tear delicate personal bonds and inflict wounds not easily healed. Most tragic, however, is a broken relationship with God.1 Malachi understood all too well the tragedy of a broken ...

2807. Put Within Us

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

Note: This text was also dealt with earlier in the exposition of the first reading for Proper 24. In the years immediately prior to 1517, Martin Luther was slowly but surely killing himself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As penance for his sins he would flog himself and sleep naked in his cell. His confession sessions sometimes lasted hours as he tried to ensure that every sin, no matter how minor, had been confessed. Luther believed what scripture and the church said about the seriousness of ...

2808. Pilate's Dilemma

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Pilate was a politician. That says it all, doesn’t it? I read recently that 53 percent of Americans can’t name their representative in Congress. That doesn’t keep Congress from being highly unpopular. As someone once asked, “If pro is the opposite of con, is progress the opposite of Congress?” Someone else has said that the reason a person in Congress try so hard to get re-elected is that they would hate to have to make a living under the laws they’ve passed. I heard about one southern Congressman who had ...

2809. Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The weather is always a good source for small talk. In these dark and dreary days of January, that “small talk” is probably even smaller — meaner and more morose. Whether it’s chatting at the check-out stand with a cashier, or making conversation in the cramped quarters of a slow moving elevator, this time of year “weather talk” isn’t likely to be upbeat. “I hate the snow!” “Don’t you just love what the salt does to your shoes, your car, your clothes?” “Tornado warnings in January? Really!!” “It’s dark ...

2810. Be a Bethany

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We never truly appreciate “home-grown,” or “home-style”,” “home-spun” or “down home” until “home” is in our rear view mirror. For college students, Mom’s meatloaf suddenly take on a whole new luster after a semester of college cafeteria food. A burger from McDonald’s, a Pizza Hut pie, or some KFC, tastes like heaven after an extended tour of duty in Afghanistan. It is the simple tastes, the simple things, the most simple and most familiar people, that make a particular place on this planet “home.” ...

2811. On God's Side Or In God's Way?

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to go back for a few moments into TV history. Some of you grew up watching the hilarious Roadrunner cartoons. These cartoons featured a character named Wile E. Coyote. Wile E. Coyote’s virtually endless quest in life was to capture his nemesis, the Roadrunner. The coyote was stubbornly persistent in this quest despite the fact that, not only did he fail time after time after time, but meanwhile he repeatedly plummeted from high cliffs, was blown up, and was continually getting flattened by numerous ...

2812. Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Mister Rogers,” anyone? With his zippered cardigans, canvas sneakers, and handmade puppets (before there were cool “Muppets”), “Mister Rogers” was a pioneer in the early days of educational television for young children. Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister from Pittsburgh, started developing the characters and themes of his program in the mid-1950’s. But it wasn’t until 1967 that “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” took its final form and appeared on PBS stations across the country. This sweet, sappy, smart ...

2813. Re-thinking Our Mission

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A science fiction story is told about a planet which earth was attempting to colonize. This was a harsh planet with terrible weather and hostile inhabitants. Earth’s best men and women were gathered into teams and sent to do the job. Expedition after expedition came home broken, each one having failed. Finally a new manager was charged with the responsibility of making the colonization work. But something surprising happened. This new executive did not look for the strongest and most qualified people he ...

2814. Work Like the Who?

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Dan Miller in his book No More Dreaded Mondays tells a delightful story about a farmer many years ago in a village in India who had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the village moneylender. The old and ugly moneylender fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter, so he proposed a bargain. He would forgive the farmer’s debt if he could marry the farmer’s daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal, but the cunning moneylender suggested that they let providence decide ...

2815. A Man of God

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

It was the day after Christmas. Dad was trying to take a nap, but his young son kept finding ways to interrupt his siesta. Finally the father lost his patience and said sternly, “Go to my room, and go now!” Hearing this, the boy’s mother asked, “Why did you tell him to go to your room and not his?” The father replied: “Are you kidding? Did you see all those Christmas presents the kid received? In his room he has a TV, an iPod, an iPad, an Xbox and 3 new electronic games. If we want to punish him, we have ...

2816. The Faith of a Saint

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a time-honored story about a man who walked into a bookstore to return a purchase. “It’s a Bible,” he said, handing it to a clerk at the cash register. “Was it a gift?” asked the clerk. “No, I bought it for myself,” he said, “and I made a mistake. “Didn’t you like the translation?” asked the clerk. “Or the format?” “Oh no,” the man said, “the format was clear and the translation was fine. I made a mistake.” The clerk said, “Well, I need to write down a reason for the return.” “In that case,” said ...

2817. The Bridge at Sychar

John 4:1-26

Sermon

David O. Bales

A great deal of the Bible is quite understandable by itself. To grasp much of the Bible we don’t need tons of background, familiarity with ancient languages, or an advanced degree in archaeology. Then we approach other passages where we need the collective wisdom from the church’s scholars to open up the fuller meaning. We’re at such a place today. John chapter 4 speaks much louder of God’s grace when we review some background information. First, the history between the Jews and Samaritans was vicious, ...

2818. In the Mood for Murder

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you can remember back in the 1970s when mood rings were a big fad (sort of like the pet rock). They were especially popular with young girls. The theory behind the mood ring was that body heat fluctuates with the emotional state of the wearer . . . and the ring was attuned to the body’s temperature. None of this was ever established scientifically, of course, but, like most fads, it provided some fun for people especially for comedians and cartoonists. For example, in a 1976 Peanuts comic strip, ...

2819. Treasure Hunt

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

Back in 1905, there was baseball game played in Salt Lake City. A team called the Rhyolites were playing against a team called the Beattys and the Beattys were up to bat. The pitcher threw the ball, the batter swung and the ball rocketed toward first base. William Giffiths, the first baseman, saw the ball coming his way. Then he watched with amazement as the ball ricocheted off a small stone and landed right in his glove. He beat the runner to first easily for the out. The little stone had given Griffiths ...

2820. Look and Live

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Sermon

James Merritt

Just outside Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a theme park called “Dollywood” that is owned by country music legend, Dolly Parton. Besides being a singer and a theme park owner, Parton is also an author. Her autobiography is entitled Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. On the back of that book is this quote: “I am not a very religious person – although I grew up with a very religious background. ‘Let every man seek his own salvation’ is one of my favorite scriptures. . . .” Well, by all indications ...

2821. Envision: A Church After God’s Heart

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

James Merritt

It doesn’t happen very often. When it does happen it is so different from everything else that can happen that you realize that it has “this is a God thing” written all over it. At least, for me, on very rare occasions, an opportunity comes along that you realize only God could have put before you. You know it because only God could have engineered all of the circumstances that were necessary to coalesce and come together for this “God thing” to happen. It works like this: God begins to stir your heart and ...

2822. Up Close & Personal: Open the Doors

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

What I am about to say to you I want to upfront make sure that I am not misunderstood. I am not a name dropper and I don’t like name droppers. During the course of my life I’ve gotten to meet many people, some of whom I consider famous, from the standpoint that they are well-known. But like most of you, I have a few people that I have always wanted to meet, or hope to one day meet. Not because I am star-struck or want to take a selfie with a celebrity to post on the Internet. No, I want to meet certain ...

2823. That's Not Fair

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

Some years back an anonymous dialogue circulated on the Internet. It was aimed at parents. It went like this: Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God’s omnipotence did not extend to His own children. After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And one of the first things God said was “DON’T!” “Don’t what?” Adam replied. “Don’t eat the forbidden fruit,” God said. “Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve, we have forbidden fruit ...

2824. Leave Your Calculator Home

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Only two things are inevitable, said a wise person long ago, death and taxes. The Eiffel Tower, someone has said, is the Empire State Building after taxes. Another wit asks if we have heard about the new tax payer’s wrist watch? It doesn’t actually tell the time. It just wrings its hands! A burglar, needing money to pay his income taxes, decided to burgle the safe in a store. On the safe door he was very pleased to find a note reading: “Please don’t use dynamite. The safe is not locked. Just turn the knob ...

2825. Who's Your Master?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Bradford Robinson tells about a minister in Texas who used a very creative visual aid to start his message. He brought on to the stage a beautiful Golden Irish Setter that belonged to his youth minister. The youth minister loved this dog so much that when the dog had been sick and had to be in the vet kennel overnight, he stayed all night with him. Needless to say this dog also loved his master. The senior minister brought the dog on to the stage and he rolled a ball across the platform and said, “Fetch, ...

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