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 276 to 300 of 673 results

276. How’s Your Appetite?

Matthew 5:6 · Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... clean out your desk and send your stuff. But you go - now!" But he didn’t say that. This story in Luke almost makes us gasp when we hear Jesus give the conclusion. "The boss gave the crooked manager credit for pulling such a slick trick." And we nearly choke on his commentary, "You know, pagan businessmen are smarter than Christians in conducting their affairs. This rascal acted with prompt foresight. If only my followers would give such foresight in pursuing the faith." Years ago, I read a statement by A ...

277. Pardon for Sin

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... may drive over someone without knowing it. His feeling of guilt is valid but is in the company of the wrong idea. It’s connected with automobile driving, instead of with boss-hating. That’s what we call "displaced guilt." What tricks we play on ourselves to conceal our wrong doing. Proverbs 28:13 states: "He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." The various approaches we use to sidestep sin: minimizing, neutralizing, revising, anesthetizing ...

278. Will My Ship Sink or Float?

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... no longer shaped by things that we cherished in the days of our uncommitment. St. Augustine tells of a friend who was addicted to the lust and violence of the Roman games. With great effort he had broken the addiction. But some of his former friends subtly tricked him into going. While there he was so violently tempted that he ventured to open just one eye, and he was hooked again. For things to work together for good, it requires a clean break with evil. And that we find difficult in a world so saturated ...

279. Journey To The Cross VII (Easter): Jesus And The Women At The Tomb

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... , marching behind Jeter, excited about their plan to desert Jeter. When they got to the privet hedge, Rosemary gave her pre-arranged signal… and one by one, they all left the parade and hid, trying hard not to giggle out loud. They were so proud because their trick was working perfectly. Jeter just kept on marching all alone. When Jeter reached the end of the street he looked back. He turned around and saw that he had been deserted by all of them. Then he did something that Rosemary had not counted on. At ...

280. ARE CHRISTIANS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... is nonchalance. Too many of us take our Christianity too casually - with nonchalance. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, encourages us to put on God’s armour so that we will be able to stand safe against all the strategies and tricks of Satan. We are encouraged to use every piece of God’s armor available to us. Self-centeredness, inhibited love, and nonchalance - three sins from within that endanger Christianity. And so we return to our question, "Are Christians an endangered species?" Some are ...

281. The Agony and Ecstasy of Sight

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... could agree upon - it was all a hoax! There had been no miracle. The man healed had never been blind in the first place. And they decided to prove it by going to the parents of the man and getting to the bottom of this obvious trick. The Perplexed Parents So the Pharisees, the healed blind man, the neighbors all marched up to the house of the blind man’s parents. Undoubtedly when these parents saw this whole contingent of people descending on their house they were frightened nearly to death. Like seeing ...

282. A Daughter of Jacob

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... mix with the Jews. In another sense, however, Jesus does not make an exception. For in her encounter and struggles with Jesus, she was being baptized into Israel and was becoming a child of God. Luther’s assertion is that this story teaches us "the method and trick of wrestling with God." In the book of Genesis (32:26) there is the account of how Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord until he was blessed. And what happened to him? He was changed by this encounter. He was transformed. And his name was ...

283. IN THE BEGINNING ... THERE WAS LOVE ...

Drama

Marcia Millerf

... . Now leave me alone. Alone; do you hear me? [As he again starts up the stairs, THE GIRL begins playing again.] STOP THAT! [THE GIRL starts to cry softly.] And don’t think you can get any sympathy from me by crying. [He starts towards her.] That’s an old trick that won’t work with me. So stop it! [He reaches toward her.] GIRL: You leave me alone. BOY: [Tenderly.] How can I leave you alone. You’re the only thing that has ever happened to me. [THE GIRL looks down at him.] Please come down. GIRL: I can ...

284. MIRIAM’S BABY BROTHER

Drama

Marcia Miller

... baby into the drawer and closes it.] MIRIAM: It was so smart of Daddy to put those air holes in that drawer so the baby can breathe. MOTHER: Yes, we have a wise man who is head of our household. I only wish we didn’t have to play these tricks. I wish your brother was free to crawl about on the floor; free to go riding in the stroller; free to be a normal baby. MIRIAM: Poor baby has never even felt the sunshine. But I suppose babies can’t feel anyway. MOTHER: That’s what you know. Babies are ...

285. THE WITCH OF ENDOR

Drama

Marcia Miller

... us. SAUL: I promise, as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this thing that we ask you to do. ENDORA: Even though it is illegal? SAUL: Even though it is illegal. ENDORA: Who is it you wish to have called up? SAUL: The prophet Samuel. ENDORA: You tricked me! You are King Saul! [DARCY, MUIDEM and RECOS come from behind the screen.] SAUL: Don’t be afraid. I will keep my vow for I am a man of my word. You will not be punished. Tell me what you can see. [The Girl Witches begin dancing, chanting, "Deos ...

286. A Matter of Life and Breath

John 20:19-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... all be face cards, can we? We can’t all be kings and queens." Charlie agrees, and Lucy goes on, "Maybe you’re the two of clubs, Charlie Brown." This doesn’t help, for Charlie responds, "I doubt it. Even the two of clubs takes a trick now and then." Today’s church is much like that today. On the whole church people are lifeless, disinterested, and indifferent to the cause and work of the church. One almost feels like taking a local church by the shoulders, shaking it, and saying, "Come alive, church ...

287. Sinner to Saint

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... , some people are changed immediately. That was the experience of St. Paul on the Damascus road. In Max Beerbohm’s Happy Hypocrite a wicked man wore a mask of a saint in order to woo a saintly woman he loved. Years later a woman he had cast off discovered his trick and challenged him to take off his mask in front of his sweetheart that she might know the truth about him. He did it only to find that behind the mask of a saint there was his true face which had become that of a saint. As we live for ...

288. Miracle On Main Street by Dr. George A. Buttrick

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... by the million: everyone is custom made, through our parents (not by them) with a unique life for a unique purpose. So true parents love their child as if he were the only one in the world. Of course, for he is! Cynics may say that love is only a trick of the nerves. If so, we can trust no thought or feeling. Meanwhile we can laugh. I’m not saying that our love proves God’s love. No, the other way round: His love proves our love, for only by his love could we know where our love fails. All ...

289. Manufactured Christianity: Jesus Sells, Jesus Sells!

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... baptism. Temptation is intelligible only in the light of baptism. A time of dedication is inevitably followed by a time of testing. You will note that the pressure of temptation lasted to the very end of Jesus’ ministry. Every Pharisee demanded a sign, every scribe a trick, and even during the last hours on the cross, some people wanted Jesus to call down angels and put on an exhibition of power. When he did none of these, some people called Jesus a fake. Others said he was not holy enough. Still others ...

290. Life: Sacred or Stupid?

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... barrage. He struck a match, lit his cigarette, and then held the burning match up in front of my face, and with a quick puff of his breath, blew it out. He said: "That’s life, isn’t it, Padre?" And I replied: "You’re wrong. Remember those little trick birthday candles that we used to have, where you supposedly blow out the candle on the cake and it would be dead and smoldering? Then you would turn away for a moment, and then you would look back, and you would discover that the candle was not out at ...

291. EPISODE 6: THE SIXTH WEEK IN LENT

Drama

Robert Clausen

... away. The SOLDIER has his rifle pointed at the group.] JOHN: Soldiers! CAPTAIN: Stand where you are! JESUS: Who are you looking for? CAPTAIN: A man named Jesus. JESUS: I am he. [The SOLDIER falls to a kneeling position.] CAPTAIN: On your feet! [To JESUS.] What kind of a trick is this? JESUS: Who do you want? CAPTAIN: I said it once. A man named Jesus. JESUS: I’ve told you that’s my name. CAPTAIN: Then you’re under arrest. JESUS: If I’m the one you’re after, let these men go. CAPTAIN: I’ve got no ...

292. A Shepherd To Lead Us

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

... question is: What are the needs of a sheep? The first and obvious answer to that question is: protection. Jesus says that there are predators always trying to get into the sheep pen, trying to devour the sheep: coyotes, bears, wolves, or cougars. They will try every trick in the book climbing over the walls. Their intent is to steal and rob. The sheep don’t help the situation much, either. I have heard that if two sheep are grazing together and a wolf comes up beside them and kills the one eating it right ...

293. Where Are You?

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , you're the one who created Eve and gave her to me. So, it's your fault. It's everybody's fault except mine." The Lord turned to the woman and asked what she had done. "It wasn't my fault," she said. "It was that aggravating snake. That snake tricked me by lying to me, by telling me that the fruit would cause us to be so great and wise. The snake promised the fruit would have no unpleasant side effects." The Lord came to the Garden that day with a heavy heart because He already knew what Adam and ...

294. An Identity Crisis

Sermon

James Bjorge

... for the night. The warmth there would be so welcome for them. He picked up the wounded sparrows and brought them to the barn hoping that the other birds would hear their chirping and follow. But they didn’t. So he thought of using the Hansel and Gretel trick of placing bread crumbs on the path to the barn. Certainly the hungry little birds would follow. But they didn’t. The man didn’t know what to do so he got a broom and tried to chase them into the lighted barn only to find that they scattered ...

295. Jesus Is Like a Superhighway

Romans 3:21-22

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... were like the old laws. The old laws were the ways that people used to reach God and know him. It was a bad way. But with the new super highway called Jesus you can get straight to God without any interference, or stopping along the way. No laws, no tricks, no special sacrifices. Just Jesus is all that you need. You believe in Jesus, let him know your sins, and let him forgive you, and you are with God. That is beautiful and it is the only way for a Christian to travel. If you know Jesus, and believe in ...

296. Turning Away from Temptation

Matthew 4:7

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... each a book of matches and you promise to be careful. Okay? (Pass out the matches with the match heads cut off) Open your book of matches and take a good look. Do you see anything wrong with them? In a minute I’ll tell you why. You see, I tricked you, or as the Bible puts it, "I tempted you." You see, you know it’s not right for children to have matches, and you also know that you should be very careful. The devil once offered Jesus all kinds of good things if Jesus would forget about God and ...

297. God Bless America! Well ... Uhh

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

... of whether we want his blessing. It’s a matter of trying to be true to our commitment to Jesus the Christ and true simultaneously to our role as citizens. On this Thanksgiving Day, no one really knows for sure just what to do with our America. The dirtiest trick you can play on anyone is to get him to be the crystal ball-gazer who is willing to predict what he sees America doing and where he sees America going in the next few years. Remembering that our country is actually a young nation, we are going ...

298. CHARIOTEER

Jeremiah 51:21; 1 Kings 9:22

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... figure, or the winner of Grand Prix. Star charioteers became very wealthy. Whenever I think of these racing charioteers, I immediately think of the race in Ben Hur. Remember the sharp scythes that Massala had attached to his wheels? This was a particularly nasty trick dreamed up by the Persians for battle use, and appropriated by the Romans for their blood-thirsty spectacles. I have mentioned the race driver as being akin to the charioteer, and I think there is another occupation that we might add - that of ...

299. MAGICIAN, SORCERER

Micah 5:12; Acts 8:9

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... that their public is easily fooled. They achieve their effects by the skillful use of illusioned trickery. The first magicians of this type were probably those very priests who were supposed to perform genuine magic. To mystify and impress their followers they used tricks which were closely related to the modern magician’s stock in trade. Perhaps the purest and oldest form of natural magic is the sleight of hand, or legerdemain. The priest who failed to make the rain fall might regain prestige by making a ...

300. SURVEYOR

Zechariah 2:1

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... is always at hand? A rope or a cord, of course! Or, perhaps, the wife would be willing to lend a piece of twisted linen thread. This cord was then marked off into cubits, and there you were - home free with a perfectly good measuring line. The only trick involved was in getting enough cord, in long enough lengths, to enclose the area to be surveyed. Having done so, he could then make an approximation of the modern-day blueprint, by noting the survey in plans and in writing. In our text, the angel is going ...

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