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 3301 to 3325 of 4988 results

3301. Will I Really Live Forever?

John 11:18-27, 39-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , if you can believe that, you can believe anything. Immortality makes sense. Immortality is the next step. Isn’t it interesting, while it is extremely difficult to affirm immortality, everything within us is trying to stretch us to it? Is not that a God-given gift to all of us? We are never satisfied with where we are. We want the next step. We want to stretch beyond. We want to see something more. Something inside us makes us want to push the envelope, dream impossible dreams, beat unbeatable foes. And ...

3302. The Fellowship of Kindred Minds

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... you’, it would be sufficient.” We are not self-made persons, whatever the nature of our success. We did not ask to be born. We do not produce the air we breathe; we have not earned a right to life. We are blessed, you and I, by the gift of life and the gift of people. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “We did not find our friends; the good Lord gave them to us.” A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they are not so good and sympathizes with your problems when they are not so bad. Where would any of us ...

3303. The Down Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... not the design of God for children to be neglected. It breaks the heart of God that any child should fail to receive the good gifts of loving parents, positive opportunities, and unconditional acceptance. If you want to know the will of God, God's will for us is good. God ... Eve, we took time to count our blessings, open a few presents from friends, and mostly thank God for the beautiful gift of life. Then Sandy started meddling. She said, “I know we support the church and contribute to the community and try ...

3304. News Too Good To Tell

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... pray. In the critical moments of our lives we can pray. We are spiritual beings capable of communion with God. In times of great need, prayer is not a last resort, but a first priority. We cannot ‘at least’ pray, we can first and foremost pray. It is a gift to us, the gift of prayer. Someone said, “To pray is to stroke the face of God.” To pray is to bring our burdens to the Lord and leave them there. To pray is to change. Prayer changes us. To pray is to tap the power of God for the needs of ...

3305. The Dynamics of Being a Dad

Ephesians 6:1-4, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... God expects more of us than he does of cats and dogs. Gary Smalley says, “Honor is a decision we make to place high value, worth, and importance on another person by viewing that person as a priceless gift, and granting him or her a position in our lives worthy of great respect.” Viewing people as a priceless gift, approaching people with high respect—such is the essence of honor. One way to receive honor is to be honorable and ask for mercy when we fail to act that way. The question I would raise on ...

3306. The Lord of All

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... 't thank God for my bank account which never seems to be enough, food of which I always eat too much, the place I live which is more than most of the world can dream of. When I count my blessings, I thank God for the gift of life. If I fail to live, all other gifts are useless. Actor Jim Carrey said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see it's not the answer to life." I suppose most of us would like to take Jim up on that ...

3307. Encountering Incomparable Riches

Ephesians 2:4-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... as we had little to do with our physical birth, so our spiritual birth is not something we accomplish, but new life we receive. In Ephesians 2:8 Paul says, For it is by grace that you are saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. The Bible is explicit on this subject — Sin kills us. We Are Estranged From God. Adam and Eve hide in the Garden. The last person they want to see is God coming to visit them. We Have Deserted Our Ideals. “There are no sadder words of tongue ...

3308. Valuing Life Without Playing God

John 10:10-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... extra time and hang on a little longer. This life is something to be treasured and valued and lived. Eternal life is a quality of life here as well as a quantity of life there. I've still got some living to do. That's why every day is a gift; every sunrise is sacred. That's why every sunset is holy. That's why every suicide is a dramatic tragedy. Life is sacred and precious. II. LIFE IS A COMPLICATED DECISION. Life is difficult. As Ziggy says in one of his cartoons, “I went to the school of hard knocks ...

3309. Sexual Ethics for the 21st Century

John 8:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... problem. So I would like to start our thinking with some simple affirmations about our sexuality. I. OUR SEXUALITY IS A GIFT OF GOD The creation story says it best. “God created human beings in his own image; in the image of God ... in and hand us a video of an ultrasound of a 20-week fetus and saying meet your new grandson or granddaughter. Either way, our gender is a gift of God and not a plaything of modern science. The fact that we are male or female sets in motion a whole realm of physical, social and ...

3310. Greed or the Gospel?

Acts 8:9-13, 18-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... how to make money and he wanted more of it. So when competition came to town, he tried to buy them out. “Peter, what will you take for the power of the Holy Spirit?" Peter answers, “May your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money." I need to tell you that is the Sunday school translation of that phrase. If you want the literal translation look at J.B. Phillips or one of the newer translations. In effect, Peter tells Simon where he can go. You can get the drift ...

3311. The Curse of the Impossible

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... impossible pervading your thinking. Some of you are cursed - a sense of the impossible as it relates to your own pledge. One fellow said to one of our leaders, “Nobody’s going to give any of those large gifts — there’s no way.” The fellow to whom he was speaking had already decided to give $60,000 himself, and knew of one gift of over $500,000. We need to let God remove from us the curse of the impossible as we consider our pledge to Because We Care. Not only so, in all of life, we need to fight ...

3312. Luke 10:38-42

Luke 10:38-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... elementary kids. Stone Soup is a classic story that demonstrates how if people come together and share what they have, no one has to go hungry, no one has to be left out in the cold. But “Stone Soup” also demonstrates the practice of another gift. The lone traveler who has nothing to offer but a pot of boiling water dimpled with simple stones ends up being the “host” for a whole neighborhood of people. Everyone is hungry. No one person has an adequate amount of food to feed themselves. But instead ...

3313. Mulliganeers, All

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of sight to the blind, To let the oppressed go free, To proclaim the year of the Lord’s Favor. (Luke 4:18-19) This good news doesn’t wait for Monday. Releasing captives doesn’t wait for Monday. New sight doesn’t wait for Monday. The gift of freedom doesn’t wait for Monday. Saving from sin doesn’t wait for Monday. On 09 August 2010, in a USA Today article, Oliver Thomas offered his thoughts on “Why do we need religion?” Thomas’ conclusion was that, at its best, religion gave people “a ...

3314. A Kingdom that Cannot Be Shaken

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... kingdom or are you still trying to build your life on shifting sand? We live in a world that can easily be shaken. God wants to give us a center of calm when the foundation of our lives is wobbling. It is God’s free gift to us. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe . . .” 1. Secret History: Stories about Knoxville, Tennessee II (Knoxville, TN: Scruffy City Publishing, 1998), pp. 8-10. 2. Copyright ...

3315. The Way and The Truth and The Life

John 14:1-14

Sermon

Lee Griess

... words of Jesus are meant as gospel to us. They are Jesus' invitation to us to come to him, to receive in him the gift of life that God created for us. In his book, The Magic of Believing, Charles Allen says just that. As a newspaper reporter, Allen ... that enables us to see the truth about our lives and to embrace the truth about God. And it is faith that brings God's gift of life to us. Faith comes from trusting in Jesus' word, following his example, and living with God. And with all deference to Charles ...

3316. Always with Us

John 14:15-21

Sermon

Lee Griess

... will care for you, who will offer you hope when there is none to be found, help when you are helpless, comfort when you can find none, and life in the face of death. The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us in our baptism. The Holy Spirit is God's presence in life. The Holy Spirit is Christ's gift to us and the promise to all the faithful. The Holy Spirit sends us forth then as messengers of God's love to the poor, the unemployed, the young and the elderly, the sick and rejected, the unhappy, the sorrowful ...

3317. Restoration Frustration

Isaiah 63:7-9

Sermon

Tony Everett

... most of us, Christmas preparations and celebrations rarely meet expectations. Not everything goes smoothly. Not every gathering is joyful. Not every program and worship service is as spiritually uplifting as we would have desired. Not every gift was given with grace-filled love. Not every gift was received with festive thanksgiving. Exchange desks in malls and department stores are in a frenzy of activity on December 26, perhaps their busiest day of the entire year. Finding a shopping mall parking space on ...

3318. The Porch Light's On

Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon

Tony Everett

... new identity as children of the light was given by God; not achieved by them. This new identity is also God's free gift to us through the light of the world, Jesus Christ. Our new, God-given identity is not given by others' perceptions. It is ... us this very Epiphany day. This is the light that led the wise men to the Bethlehem manger. This is the light that inspired them to bring gifts of gold and frankincense to God's baby, God's own Son. This is the light that "proclaims the praise of the Lord" to all the ...

3319. What Did The Turkey Say? (Or Contentious Communities)

Isaiah 58:3-9a (9b-12)

Sermon

Tony Everett

... of the Lord's Supper, God nourishes and sustains us with the living presence of God's own Son. Because the returning exiles were God's precious children, God could expect them to show his gifts to others. In Christ, God has gathered us hypocrites into his arms; God gives us the ability to show his gifts to others, and he expects that from us. Today's text is intended to be received and demonstrated by God's delivered, splashed, and nourished people. Here is another story ... an airline was having trouble ...

3320. I Love a Parade

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... death on the cross, what have we to claim except the so-called freedom of self-indulgence? On Palm Sunday, sisters and brothers, what we begin to unwrap is the most powerful reality of our faith. That is, that self-giving love is redemptive. We see this in God's gift to us in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. In his self-giving love, we are redeemed. All of our brokenness is lifted from us. All of it. But it doesn't stop there, because we are called to take up the wonder of self-giving love and to practice it ...

3321. Martyrdom Chic

Acts 7:55-60

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... see it, too, in the teachings and stories of Jesus in scripture. We also witness it in the lives of the saints down the centuries. From Saint Francis to Dorothy Day to Martin Luther King Jr. and beyond, we see that the ultimate love we give is the gift of love that is imbued with the self. When someone loves from the inside out, with their souls, that love has impact. When we give of ourselves in love, that act has transformative power. Whether, like Mother Teresa, it is a life given in service to the poor ...

3322. Are We There Yet?

James 5:7-10

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... full of compassion and mercy. Grace is the element in God's character, which James wants his readers to know with absolute confidence. The Christian can be patient in suffering and consider trials pure joy because of the assurance that God will give wonderfully good gifts even through the hardships. Wesleyan-type Christians are fond of saying that we need to "Pray as if it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on us." Christian belief is fundamental to Christian practice. What is the truth about ...

3323. The Vastness of Relationships

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... blameless before him in love." We are called to bless God, to give God the honor and glory due God's name, throughout scripture and for a variety of reasons. God is the creator, we are creatures, and so we bless and praise God for the gift of life. God has given us the great gift of the law, of revelation, so that we, as people of faith, are not left to our own devices to stumble around in a dark world seeking out the light, but we are able to learn what God desires for us and obey. In fact, one ...

3324. Power Sharing

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

... to faith or nurture them in faith, whether to feed the hungry or struggle for peace, whether to confront evil or reconcile enemies. Paul writes first about faith and love and then he jabs us with hope right at the moment when he tells of Christ's gift of power to us. A few frenetic individuals, simply because they possess an excess of energy or talent, have an overwhelming sense of hope. Possibilities string out before them like an endless ticker tape parade. But that's not many of us. For most of us, the ...

3325. Righteous!

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... Jesus had done it for him. All he needed to do was believe it, trust it, and have faith in it. He got to believe it. The righteousness of God was revealed in Christ. That righteousness he didn't have to earn. He only needed to receive it as a gift, to trust and believe that it was for him. He trusted the promise and the righteousness of God was his. It changed his life. He no longer had to cower in guilt and fear. He could stand tall and upright because he was "righteous, brother!" The restlessness of his ...

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