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 3326 to 3350 of 5000 results

3326. On Claiming One’s Inheritance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

As the salesman came to the front door, he turned to the little boy sitting on the steps and asked, “Is your mother home?” The boy said “Yes,” and the salesman began to ring the doorbell. After several rings and no response, he turned to the boy and said, “I thought you said that your mother was home.” To which the boy replied, “She is, but this isn’t my house.” Sometimes we get the wrong answers because we don’t ask the right questions. In Mark 10, we read: “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ...

3327. On Keeping Quiet about Easter

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Is there anything more frustrating than to be reading an interesting article in the newspaper, only to find that the article is “continued on page 7, section C”.... and then turn to page 7, Section C., only to find that someone has either torn off that page or cut an article from the other side and thereby wiped out the conclusion of the story? That’s sort of the way it is with the Gospel of St. Mark. I. SCHOLARS HAVE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME THAT MARK’S GOSPEL IS CUT SHORT AT THE END OF VERSE 8. They know ...

3328. Heaven's Applause

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Some words fall into the mud puddle, are never cleaned off, and become permanently tarnished by the mud that was never removed. Piety is such a word. Think about the way you have heard it used. Usually it has a pejorative taint to it. Bishop Spong of the Episcopal Church has certainly caught religious people's attention. The bishop was interviewed recently and spoke of how he didn't much like religious people. He went on to say that he often finds them petty, small-minded, and prejudiced. Those are ...

3329. Recovering The Essence

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I was not only in Estonia, but in East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and I was there in a more or less official capacity. So in both of these countries, I was able to experience more than I would have had I not been personally and intimately involved with some of the people. We had been in the USSR for 10 days when we came to the German Democratic Republic, and when we moved from that republic into East Berlin and from East Berlin into West Berlin, we’d had a worship service and special prayer ...

3330. God Shaves With A Borrowed Razor

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

For weeks before Columbus discovered the new world, some members of his crew kept telling him, "Turn back before we run out of food and perish! Turn back before we are attacked by sea monsters! Turn back before we sail off the edge of the earth!" There was a name for those people -- we would call them today "Consultants." Now, obviously, I am in for making a little fun as we begin today -- but all for a purpose. I hope you will see it. Recently I came across a report of a Consultant. The title of the ...

3331. Speak And It Will Be

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Somewhere along the way I saw a cartoon which showed a man kneeling beside his bed saying his prayers. "God," he says, "is there any way you can help me and make it look like I did it myself?" We chuckle at that. Maybe the reason we don't laugh out loud is that it strikes close home. We are always playing tug of war with ourselves, our identity and worthiness. Assessing who we are and what is important to us is an operational need of all of us. Our scripture lesson tells the story of how people understand ...

3332. Let Your Soul Catch Up

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A religious poll asked people this question: “Do you believe in the Second Coming of Christ?” If the respondent said yes, a subsequent question was put to them: “What would you do if you knew Jesus was coming back today?” One young man replied, “Look busy, Man! Look busy!” Isn’t that the mindset of our age? It seems as though most of us build our lives on the premise that personal worth and significance, as well as meaning in life, is dependent upon being busy. Too often we are identified by what we ...

3333. To Live Is To Grow

1 Timothy 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

When our son Kevin was four years old, he said to his mother one day, "Mommy, I don't want to grow up. I want to always be your little boy." If that were a permanent desire, it would be unhealthy. After the Second World War, Gunther Grass wrote a novel which achieved best seller fame. He called it the Tin Drum and it was about a boy who decided at three years of age that he was never going to grow up. That really is not unusual. Countless people make this decision or act as though they have a decision ...

3334. Faith for Troubling Times

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Two-year-old son Jack leans on his father’s knee. His rumpled baseball jersey bears a fresh spaghetti sauce stain from that night’s dinner. "Daddy, tell me a bunny story." Rob tears his gaze away from the computer screen. "What was that, son?" asks Rob. "Tell me a bunny story," says Jack. "One with a truck in it." Rob sighs as his glance swings back to the screen. His paper is due in two days. His professor tries to be sympathetic, but there are only so many times she’ll let her students stretch a deadline ...

3335. The Waster

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

We live in a world where the concept of fairness is nearly elevated to a level of worship. If you live or work with children on a regular basis then you will recognize that most squabbles erupt from this very old emotion of feeling somehow slighted or mistreated. He got a tablespoon more Moose Tracks ice cream than I did. No fair! Why does she get to stay up a half-hour later than I do? That's not fair! She got to sit in the front seat last time. It's not fair that I always have to sit in the back. Sally's ...

3336. Alive In Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is an old story about Albert Einstein. He was going around the country from university to university on the lecture circuit, giving lectures on his theory of relativity. He traveled by chauffeur-driver limousine. One day, after they had been on the road for awhile, Einstein’s chauffeur said to him, “Dr. Einstein, I’ve heard you deliver that lecture on relativity so many times, that I’ll bet I could deliver it myself.” “Very well,” the good doctor responded. “I’ll give you that opportunity tonight. ...

3337. Homesick For a Future: New Life for the New Millenium

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don’t know how it is with you, but occasionally I have flashbacks. Sometimes these are connected with a task at hand, or a decision with which I am struggling, or when I am wrestling with what I perceive as a call of God upon my life. Occasionally these flashbacks are connected with my preaching. It happened a couple of months ago. I was struggling with personal direction issues, but had also begun to think of the assignment of preaching on this occasion. The words of a young man named Nicholas in The ...

3338. Some Healing Is Up To You

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a famous legend in Buddhist folklore in which the Buddha compares philosophical preoccupation with the matter of God’s existence to a man shot with a poisoned arrow. Before the man would allow the arrow to be withdrawn, he insisted upon knowing who shot him, what kind of poison was in the arrow, who was going to administer the cure, and what was going to be the medication. Needless to say, he died before his questions were answered. The Buddha concluded that in the same way, people need to be ...

3339. Branching Out

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Michael Milton

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15.9-11) Healthy, growing, and branching out. That is what roses are supposed to be doing, but mine, the ones that Mr. Ted Jones [1] planted for me as a gift, were not doing that. Ted asked me a series of diagnostic ...

3340. Identifying a Christian

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Two men from the United States were riding on a train in Britain. English trains have compartments where six or seven people can be seated. In the compartment with these two men was a very distinguished looking gentleman. The two Americans were quietly discussing this gentleman between themselves. In a very low tone one of them said, “I would wager money that he is the Archbishop of Canterbury.” The other man said, “I don’t think so. I’ll take that bet.” So the first man approached the gentleman and said ...

3341. Thank God for Dads

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this Father’s Day, 2007. It’s not easy being a father. I heard about a man who said that he was warned that, as his three daughters became old enough to date, he’d disapprove of every young man who took them out. When the time came, though, he was pleased that this prediction was wrong. Each boy was pleasant and well mannered. Talking to one of his daughters one day, he said that he liked all the young men she and her sisters brought home. “You know, Dad,” she replied, “we don’t show you ...

3342. Beware of Crowds

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Mark Trotter

You read the Gospel of Mark, you get the impression that Jesus didn't like crowds. Which is strange considering that he's a Messiah who has come to save the whole world. But I'll tell you something even stranger, he hides the fact that he is Messiah. When the demons recognize him, he says, "Don't tell anyone. Keep it quiet." Which makes it even more curious, because in this phase of his ministry, it's at the beginning, he's in Galilee with his friends, he is preaching to those who are enthusiastic about ...

3343. Coming Home

Luke 15:1-3,11b-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have preached the Prodigal Son parable many times, and when it came around this year in the lectionary I thought I would give it a rest. I turned to the Epistle lesson this morning, from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, which I have also preached many times, but not as many as the Prodigal Son. It goes like this: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and calling us to a ministry of reconciliation, God making his appeal through us." When I ...

3344. Advent 2

Isaiah 11:1-16, Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 14:1--15:13

Bulletin Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10 Isaiah describes the character and work of the promised Messiah, the son of David. Here Judah is given the promise of a Davidic king-messiah who is the basis for hope for the future. The king-messiah possesses the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. Accordingly, he has a government characterized by justice and righteousness. His only weapon is word of mouth. As a result of his righteous reign, all of nature is at peace. Verse 10, a later addition, applies the foregoing ...

3345. Advent 3

Romans 14:1--15:13, Matthew 11:1-19, James 5:7-12, Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

3346. What If the End Is Near?

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Someone handed me a note at the door of the church building a few Sundays ago. Here is what it said: Absolute knowledge I have none, But my aunt's washer woman's sister's son Heard a policeman on his beat Say to a laborer on the street That he had a letter just last week Written in finest classical Greek, From a Chinese coolie in Timbuktu Who said the Negroes in Cuba knew of a man in a Texas town Who got it straight from a circus clown, That a man in the Klondike heard the news From a gang of South ...

3347. Follow That Star (New Year's Day)

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

After a winter elementary school concert, a student came into her teacher's room and asked what "pet the ham" meant. When told the teacher had no idea, the little girl became upset and said, "You should know. They sang it at our program." Still not understanding her, the teacher calmed her down and asked her to tell exactly where she heard it. She sang, "Follow that star, follow that star to pet the ham." (Thanks to Joell Rachel, Aberdeen, South Dakota) Are you "following that star to Bethlehem?" And if ...

3348. Looking for Shoots or Roots?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The more we move into the Advent season, the more our scripture texts bring the Christ-child’s birth closer and closer to us. Yet here in Matthew 11:2-11 we are back to the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. Yet even though this is not part of our text for this week, the mere mention of John’s name should remind us of their cousinly kinship, even of an in utero jump for joy that marked their first meeting--making cousin John the first person to celebrate Advent. As out text opens Jesus has ...

3349. Jesus' Forty Days, and Ours

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

James McCormick

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all begin their stories of the adult Jesus at the Jordan River, where he is baptized by his cousin John. In baptism, Jesus identifies with us, and with all people everywhere. And, there, at the baptism, God said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” At the beginning of the story, the gospel writer wants to make it clear who this is he is telling about: this is Jesus, the son of God! What a powerful beginning to the story! Jesus knew, as he must have known for some ...

3350. What Is That in Your Hand?

Exodus 4:1-17

Sermon

James McCormick

The dominant figure of the Old Testament is Moses. He stands head and shoulders above all others in the history of Israel. He is Moses, the deliverer, the one who led the Hebrew people out of Egyptian captivity. He is Moses, the law-giver, the one who came down from Mount Sinai with the tablets of the law. He called the people into covenant with God, and led them through the wilderness to the land of promise. There is no doubt about it: Moses towers above all others in the Old Testament! And yet, when we ...

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