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 3226 to 3250 of 4653 results

3226. Matthew 17:1-9

Matthew 17:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... not." In Matthew's version, it is Jesus who voluntarily breaks the miraculous moment by stepping away from the center of glorification in order to convey the comforting "do not be afraid" (v. 7). As in all of his healing miracles, Jesus also touches the disciples, thus banishing their terror with both words and actions. When the disciples do look up, they see only Jesus - no dazzling light, no historic prophets, no bright cloud. And they hear only his familiar tone - no intimidating heavenly voice. Having ...

3227. Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42-47

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... coals to "catch" before all the fuel is gone. Luke takes care to end his description of the miracles of Pentecost by detailing the greatest yet quietest miracle of all. Instead of blazing up then dying out, those individuals who experience the Pentecostal touch of the Holy Spirit are able to come together and quickly form a community of faith. Verses 42-47 demonstrate that this was no flash-in-the-pan, momentary outburst. This experience produced a warming, sustaining flame that served as a glowing center ...

3228. Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... fit more logically into the discussion in verses 17-21, instead of standing here by itself. Likewise, verses 15 and 16 would seem more at home at the beginning of this discourse - perhaps following verses 9-10. The koinonia community is so intimately in touch with all other members that sharing emotions and compassion - as verse 15 suggests - should be as natural as the urge to share faith and worldly goods. Verse 16, like verses 9-10, promotes this community spirit of love. The link between "honor" (v. 10 ...

3229. Romans 13:8-14

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and non-Christians alike, even those who generally find Paul's theology and personality too demanding for comfort, find the Corinthians text eloquent and elegant. Yet that text loses some of its power because of its literary appeal. Far more typical and in touch with Paul's insistence on the primacy of love is this week's epistle lesson. To begin with, Paul adds this admonition to love to the end of a discussion about paying taxes and obeying governmental authority - two subjects that are always popular ...

3230. Ephesians 1:15-23

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of God's gifts, the apostle now focuses on trying to get these believers to grasp how vast is this divine power exerted on their behalf. This is a power "above all rule and authority and power and dominion" (v.21). Yet this power is still something Christians can touch in the form of the church. The church "which is his body" (v.23) is both subordinate to Christ's power and an integral, organic part of that power. The head can tell the body what to do, but it cannot live and act and work without the body ...

3231. Mark 1:29-39

Mark 1:29-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the household Jesus and his disciples have temporarily joined. Based on Mark's assertion that Jesus' fame spread everywhere (v.28), the quiet, domestic scene at Simon's house is soon transformed by a throng of people seeking Jesus' healing touch. Note that Mark subtly asserts these were obedient, law-abiding, Torah-loving people. Because they would never petition Jesus to perform healing acts during the Sabbath, they have patiently waited until after sundown, the official end of the Sabbath, to make ...

3232. Luke 24:36b-48

Luke 24:36b-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to the physical nature of his resurrected body. He directs them to "look at my hands and my feet" supposedly so that they could observe the crucifixion wounds his body still carried. (Since there was also a folk tradition that spiritual beings' feet never touched the ground, inspection of Jesus' feet would serve two purposes to see the nail holes and to see that his feet were firmly on the ground!) Jesus explicitly states that he is truly "flesh and bone," not some ghostly being. When the disciples observe ...

3233. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that the disciples do not cheer and rejoice when Jesus calms the storm indeed they appear as silent and still as the waters that now surround them. Perhaps it is because for the first time the disciples themselves are the beneficiaries of Jesus' healing touch. It is one thing to witness the exorcism of an unclean spirit in someone else it is quite another to have a spirit that threatens you personally banished with a word. Jesus' words are thus both chastening and didactic. In scolding the disciples for ...

3234. Mark 7:24-37

Mark 7:24-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... demoniac" has joyously been proclaiming what Jesus had done for him throughout the area. This second healing incident, then, takes place in a far more respectable environment and involves far more respectable circumstances. But again the individual who needs Jesus' healing touch is not the one who directly seeks Jesus' help. The particular ailments plaguing this man might have something to do with this. Described as having a "speech impediment," he may have needed another to interpret any words he might try ...

3235. Mark 10:2-16

Mark 10:2-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... (9:36-37), Jesus had gathered the disciples in another moment of private reflection and guidance; then he had used a little child as a positive image of selflessness in action and attitude. But now, as people approach Jesus hoping he will "touch" that is bestow a blessing on their children, the disciples speak "sternly" to those who would interrupt their solitude. Mark makes Jesus' reaction explicit "he was indignant" at the way the disciples treated the parents and children gathering around their home. In ...

3236. Mark 10:17-31

Mark 10:17-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , he swiftly insists, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth" (v.20). Mark's penchant for personalizing his text is recorded in both Matthew and Luke: "Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said ..." (v.21). Mark especially likes to add touches about Jesus' "seeing" or "looking" as well as articulating the emotions Jesus feels at any given time. Some translations have suggested that Mark's use of the term agapao indicates that Jesus actually reached out and gently "caressed" this ardent yet ignorant ...

3237. Micah 5:2-5a

Micah 5:2-5a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... possible. Both Isaiah and Micah foresee this ruler coming very literally from the old Davidic line. They also both completely discount the legitimacy of the current leadership to lay claim to the Davidic heritage. The recent rulers have been so corrupt, so out of touch with Yahweh and Yahweh's people, that they have forfeited any claim their lineage in the house of David might have given them. The literalness of this new beginning is evident in Micah 5:2-3. The same little clan Ephrathah, the same otherwise ...

3238. Are You Better at Wearing or Bearing Crosses?

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... continue on probing the question yourself.] What can you say about “blue” or “red” or “green” to someone who has no concept of color, of bright, light, or dark? Well, you would almost have to use examples from the sense the blind person did have - touch, scent, sound, taste. Blue is “cold” compared to a “hot” red. Green is smooth and sweet, while yellow is sharp and pungent. Purple has the depth of a bruise. Orange may not rhyme with anything, but is feels like the sun on your face on ...

3239. The Most Stubborn Man in the Bible

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... than a slave trader? Taking innocent human beings from one part of the world, snatching them from their families, stuffing them down into the cargo holds of ships, chained, many of them dying en route, then selling them into bondage in a distant land. Yet Christ touched John Newton’s heart and subsequently Newton wrote, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” We don’t know if the scales ever fell off Jonah’s ...

3240. Color Blind

Mark 1:14-20

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... a color to someone who had been blind since birth? What can you say about "blue" or "red" or "green" to someone who has no concept of color, of bright, light, or dark? Well, you would almost have to use examples from the sense the blind person did have - touch, scent, sound, taste. Blue is "cold" compared to a "hot" red. Green is smooth and sweet, while yellow is sharp and pungent. Purple has the depth of a bruise. Orange may not rhyme with anything, but is feels like the sun on your face on a warm day ...

3241. Rainbows and Roses

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... or old. Rainbows follow storms. Maybe that’s one reason we love rainbows. No matter how fierce a storm may be, if we see a rainbow afterward, it gives us hope. Nancy Leigh DeMoss, in her radio series “The Blessing of Thorns,” tells a truly touching story. It’s a Thanksgiving story, but it bears a universal truth. I’ve tried to abbreviate the story just a little for this sermon while still leaving intact its beauty. It’s about a woman named Sandra. Sandra was feeling exceedingly low as she made ...

3242. God's Workmanship

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... his voice, he drove away leaving the awestruck crew with their mouths on the ground. (8) What these amazed construction workers didn’t realize was that they were in the presence of God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Here was a man so in touch with the amazing grace of Jesus Christ that he did his good works not out of a sense of blind duty, but as a joyful opportunity to live out the faith that had enveloped his life. His life had become one of nature’s great wonders. A man ...

3243. Remember Me

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:18-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... of bread . . .” That’s what the Lord’s Supper has been for Christians over the twenty-one centuries since Christ’s death and resurrection: a never-ending bridge of bread. As long as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we will not forget. We will not lose touch with who we are and who made us his own. Do you remember the climax to the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaeus who found themselves in the presence of the risen Christ, but did not recognize him? At the end of the story they did ...

3244. Was It Really Necessary?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... disciples to pay a greater price than he was willing to pay. There is a second reason why the cross was necessary. Without the cross we could not see the destructiveness of sin. A totally innocent man hangs on that cross. A young man. We are always touched by the tragic death of a young person whether by disease or accident or murder. Jesus was only 33 when he died upon Calvary. Falsely accused, bitterly reviled and yet guilty of no wrong. A healer and helper, a lover of little children, and a liberator of ...

3245. The Beginning of Healing

Mark 1:29-34

Illustration

Henri Nouwen

... that they were not the wardens or moralists, but the few who were able to articulate in words and actions the human condition in which we participate and who encouraged us to face the realities of life. Those who do not run from our pains but touch them with compassion bring healing and new strength. The paradox is that the beginning of healing is in the solidarity with the pain. In our solution oriented society it is more important than ever to realize that wanting to alleviate pain without sharing it is ...

3246. Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

John 20:24-31, John 20:19-23

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... . Doubt can lead us to ask ourselves, “Could I be wrong?” Which is a good question to ask when we are. For some doubt is not a passing phase, it’s a form of God’s grace. Even though Thomas said he’d not believe until he saw and touched the wounds of the crucified Jesus, he stayed with the disciples. Even though he lacked what they had, he stayed in Christian community. He didn’t know how long he would have to wait for Jesus to appear to him. He didn’t even know if Jesus would honor his ...

3247. God’s Tattoos

Isaiah 49:8-26

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... the memories of those who have experienced the hell of war. There are those who carry in their souls what their fellow human beings did to them, and what they did to their fellow human beings. They carry what they saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched. Imprinted on the screens of their memory are scenes too horrific to talk about. Let us remember those who this very day are returning home with similar memories, similar wounds, similar scars to body and mind. And then there are the memories of mothers and ...

3248. The Father’s Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... emotionally, in their adult years often find it difficult trusting men. Listen now to this song, “The Greatest Man I Never Knew.” It was written by Richard Leigh and Layng Martine, Jr. The greatest man I never knew Lived just down the hall And everyday we said hello But never touched at all He was in his paper I was in my room How was I to know he thought I hung the moon The greatest man I never knew Came home late every night He never had too much to say Too much was on his mind I never really ...

3249. Christ Is Willing to Heal

Luke 4:18

Illustration

... murder but a new sentence was given: Life without the possibility of parole. Prosecution did not seek the death penalty because Mr. Hunter was now a model prisoner and an award-winning writer. He is one other thing: A testimony that Christ still is willing to heal, still willing to touch the untouchable, and to make us whole.

3250. Surely Goodness and Mercy

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

King Duncan

A touching story has been circulating on the Internet. It's about a little five-year-old boy named Timmy. Timmy's Mom loved him very much and, being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school when he started kindergarten. She walked him to school the first couple of ...

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