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 3276 to 3300 of 4456 results

3276. Whose Work Is It?

Philippians 1:1-11

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Two women, EUODIA and SYNTYCHE, and one man, CLEMENT Length: 10 minutes The two women are seated on their stools with an empty stool between them. CLEMENT enters excitedly, waving a letter. CLEMENT: Euodia! Syntyche! Paul has sent us another letter! Epaphroditus just brought it. SYNTYCHE: Oh, Clement! That's so wonderful. I just don't know what we would do without Paul's advice. EUODIA: Yes. It's hard starting a new church as part of a new religion. Harder than I ever expected. CLEMENT: (Taking his ...

3277. Laughing in Church

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carl Jech

Introduction Long before the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts came on the scene, I had been seeing preachers "roasted" at church banquets. The idea of honoring someone by kidding or insulting the person is nothing new. At a recent convention a United Methodist bishop (I'll call him Bishop Anderson) was roasted with this story: A recent Methodist arrival in heaven was being shown around by St. Peter. A couple minutes into the tour he saw an old friend of his. But it was a disturbing sight. Attached to his ...

3278. Welcoming The New Millennium

Sermon

James Angell

At a wedding I attended 50 years ago, the bride's brother sang a love song, "At Dawning." I was the groom, and have since forgotten the lyrics. But even the words of the title have a nice sound. Dawn is a gorgeous time of day. Drenched in pastel beauty, mist, and quiet, it comes very softly, even as the freeways begin their hum of first traffic. For ships at sea, it is a time to do important navigational work. Sailors call it "morning twilight." And though the twenty-first century is still a few heartbeats ...

3279. Is Christianity An Escape?

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

What does this Scripture mean? There are preachers on radio and television who delight in conjuring with these words about wars and tumults, earthquakes, famines, and pestilences, terrors, and great signs in the heavens, and connecting them with current events in Afghanistan, India, the Middle East, Ethiopia, Central America, and Russia. (But one author has counted 300 wars in Europe in the last 300 years. How can anyone single out any single war as a sign that the end of the world is upon us?) Some ...

3280. Arise, O Church of God, Arise!

Sermon

"The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted. Jesus draw near and said to them: "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all people everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, to the end of the age." ( ...

3281. If Only We Would Let God Mold Us ...

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

"John’s pulling his ear again," my wife would say wearily when I came home for lunch. "I guess I’d better take him back to Dr. Byrd’s this afternoon before things get worse." "That probably means another round of penicillin shots for John and some more sleepless nights for us," was my usual response. That dialogue was repeated over and over in our household. It seemed as though we would never get our three-year-old son’s ear infections cleared up. We were positive his body was working up an immunity to ...

3282. No Special Deals with God

Romans 11:33-36

Children's Sermon

Object: things that might be used as gifts for the family: tie, perfume, necklace, and ball glove. Good morning, boys and girls, and how are you today? It sure is good to see so many happy faces on such a bright and wonderful day. The last time I saw so many happy faces was the other day when I went to a birthday party. I don't think that I will ever forget how happy the boy was with all his presents. How many of you get presents on your birthday? A lot of you receive gifts. The boys and girls who attended ...

3283. Serving Hands

Psalm 92:1-15

Sermon

Being a servant to others is not a role that is generally sought after in our society today. We tend to be a people who seek to be served, rather than offering to serve. However, Jesus said of himself that he came to serve, not to be served. He elevated for us the servant's position as he said to us, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant." The entire message of salvation can be summed up by saying, "Jesus came to serve us in our needs." That is no more clearly seen than in these ...

3284. God Is a Mystery

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd; because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down, and received ...

3285. He Can Quench All Your Thirsts

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

One of the funniest and wisest commentaries on human nature is the cartoon strip Hagar the Horrible. In one cartoon Hagar's son, Hamlet, asks his blank-faced father if he could help put his model ship in a bottle. Hagar frowns and proceeds to lecture the boy on how he should be more industrious in seeking solutions to his problems, how he should read and reason and not wait for the answers to his problems to be handed to him. Hamlet mumbles, "Thanks, Dad." Then, in the next room, he tells his mother, "Dad ...

3286. Proper 18

Matthew 18:15-20

Bulletin Aid

Call to Worship Pastor: We are persons with human nature. And therefore we sin against each other from time to time. People: It is difficult to relate to persons when they offend or abuse us. Pastor: But our Christian duty is to go to them in love, showing how they have hurt us. People: May God help us to be that honest with one another, giving strength to our Christian fellowship. Collect Father in heaven, who directs your church to be a corrective enabler, when we sin against one another: Give us ...

3287. A Claim to a Crown

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

George Bass

A science-fiction story, Transit of Earth, written by Arthur C. Clarke many years ago, was reprinted in OMNI magazine in 1984, simply because the basic premise of the story occurred; the story could have happened. The astronomical part of the story is fact; once every century, Mars, Earth, and the Sun are perfectly aligned in a transit that is predictable. The transit took place in 1984, right on time; that part of the story is true, but the rest of it is fiction, which could have happened, but did not. ...

3288. Burning Torches

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

My friend, Bob, recently bought a wood stove. It gives out that thick wrap-around heat which only such stoves can give. How he loves his stove, basking in the comfort and warmth which were not there before. Of course, he has to clean out the ashes every once in a while. If he doesn’t, no air circulates from beneath to keep the fire going. One day he took out half a bucket of ashes and threw them in a trash can outside his house. That night a strong wind blew up the creek, stirring the ashes. About two o’ ...

3289. Ready or Not

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Today is a day when many of us pastors wish we had arranged for a guest preacher. Or that we had scheduled a church picnic with a shortened service and only a brief homily on a "free" text. Jesus' words do not sit well. In Matthew they do not set up a barrier to discipleship as they do in Luke (14:25-27). But even here they feel like a slap across the face. Who really wants to talk to his or her congregation about the sword that Jesus brings into family dwellings? Who really wants to stress the willingness ...

3290. All Saints

1 John 2:28--3:10

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Children of God Call To Worship Leader: Beloved Children of God, let us join this day and celebrate. People: Once we were lost and in Christ we have been made whole again. Leader: God has called each and every one of us to stand tall in the world. People: For we are indeed God's children, sisters and brothers to Christ, Leader: Adam, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Mary, Luther, Wesley and even You and I. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, there is no greater family of which to be a part ...

3291. A Joyful New Beginning

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Let us pray: Gracious and everliving Father, on this day which is greater than all the days, we come seeking to understand the eternal message of the gospel and how it may transform our lives. May we in these moments not only come to know that Jesus lives, but may we come to know him as brother and friend. In Christ's holy name we pray, Amen. The philosopher Sidney Hook writes in an article titled "In Defense of Voluntary Euthanasia" about how at one point in his life he was near death. The treatment for ...

3292. The Cracking Point

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Everyone has a cracking point. There comes a certain point in our relationships with others or in our feelings about ourselves when everything snaps. You and I are emotionally and physiologically structured so that we can withstand only so much. There is only so much garbage, so much heat we can take. Then, like the valve on a pressure cooker, we simply blow off. Perhaps the six most dramatic words in the English language are these: "I just can't take it anymore." Every person has a cracking point. It ...

3293. Christian Values Favoritism

James 2:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Call to Worship Leader: My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose two visitors have come to church today - one dressed in expensive, well-tailored clothes and the other in hand-me-downs that have seen better days. Who will get the most attention. Men: We are usually attracted to those whose appearance is better. We gravitate towards those who speak well, dress well and have a friendly demeanor. Women: But are we wise in such a choice? God has chosen those ...

3294. Proper 16 & Pentecost 14

Isaiah 22:1-25, Psalm 95:1-11, Psalm 138:1-8, Isaiah 51:1-16, Exodus 5:22--6:12, Exodus 17:1-7, Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Summer is over, and fall has begun with its return of people to the churches and their activities, and the church is now entering the last quarter of the church year. Informed people will realize that about two and a half months remain in the Pentecost Cycle/Season. They are also aware that such things as Rally Day, Installation of Church School teachers, programs and retreats involving the young, the women, and the men of the churches are getting under way. Halloween decorations and cards ...

3295. Green, The Color of Life

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

H. Michael Nehls

These two sections of Scripture portray for us, in a panoramic way, the story of creation. Genesis teaches that in the beginning there was God who created all things. There was nothing in the beginning until God caused it to happen. He spoke, and creation became a reality. God created everything from nothing. And behold, it was very good! In much the same way, John’s Gospel also teaches us about creation. It begins just as the Genesis creation account: in the beginning. But John says more, proclaiming that ...

3296. Christmas 1

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's saving presence Exegetical Note: This passage is a typical introduction for a psalm of intercession in that it prefaces the lamentation and accompanying petition with a thanksgiving that recapitulates God's past saving acts. In this case the reference is to the Exodus and to God's "loving kindness" (or "steadfast love") and the "great goodness" that has come to Israel as a result. Notable here is the claim that they have been saved by "the angel of God's presence" (literally "face"), which is ...

3297. Lent 2

John 3:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Theme: The inspiring power of the cross Exegetical note The discourse that connects the basis for the most common expression of popular piety ("born again" in v. 3) and the most quoted verse of the New Testament (v. 16) is surprisingly cryptic. One of the clearest allusions is in v. 14, which recalls the serpent lifted up by Moses in Numbers 21:9ff., the very sight of which cured the Israelites of snake bite. The implication that merely beholding the crucified Christ cures sin points to the inspiring power ...

3298. Easter 6

John 14:15-31

Bulletin Aid

Theme: The ever-present Christ Exegetical note John's Gospel has a characteristic "realized eschatology," in which, with Jesus' giving of the Spirit, the parousia has, in effect, been accomplished. Accordingly, the present passage suggests that under the "counsel" of the invisible, indwelling Spirit, believers will be able to see Jesus when others do not and, further, that the ever-presence of the Christ will be life giving. Indeed, verse 20 suggests a relationship between God and believers (and Jesus) so ...

3299. Epiphany 2

John 1:29-34

Sermon Aid

Liturgical Color: Green Gospel: John 1:29-41 Theme: Following Jesus' baptism, he calls Peter and Andrew; the significance of the call. Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration One pastor did this: He began worship by saying, "We have come today, not to escape the world and our responsibility to the world, but, rather, we have come to find out what in the world God has in mind for us in the world." We wait, both fearfully and expectantly, for God's leading, as we celebrate the Presence and Power of the one ...

3300. Proper 12

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon Aid

Liturgical Color: Green Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52 Theme: Parable of the Kingdom: (1) Treasure hidden in a field. (2) Merchant searching for the pearl. (3) Fishing net tossed into the sea. Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration One pastor did this: After welcoming the people in the name of God, the Holy and Loving One, in whose Presence we live and move and have our existence, he quoted George Buttrick. "People do not live without worship - they die. They sink below themselves when they cease to worship One ...

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