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 3426 to 3450 of 5000 results

3426. Fleeced

Judges 6:1-40, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8) Prop: Fleece / lamb’s wool Shalom! Peace of the Lord be with you! I have here some genuine lamb’s wool. The wool of a lamb is called “fleece.” And it’s very soft, and very thick. Would anyone like to touch it. [Some can come up…..or you can walk it around and allow people to touch it.] We see something soft, or interesting. We want to touch it. It’s ingrained in us as humans to want to see, to touch, to feel, to ...

3427. Born of the Spirit

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Baptismal Font Name a villain. Whatever villain you name, it’s likely that villain will be living in some way in the dark. Dracula –fears the light and lives in the darkness of his coffin and castle The Joker (of Batman lore) --hides his scar-ridden face in the darkness and behind a mask The Phantom of the Opera –hides his deformed face in the darkness beneath the opera house Voldemort (of Harry Potter fame) –lurks in the darkness and hides behind other forms he takes Gollum (of JJR Tolkien’s ...

3428. The Thorn of Discontent

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

DISCONTENT Like a thorn in the flesh, like a fly in the mesh, Like a boat that is chained to shore, The wild unrest of the heart in my breast Tortures me more and more. I wot not why, it should wail and cry Like a child that is lost at night, For it knew no grief, but has found relief, And it is not touched with blight. It has had of pleasure full many a measure; It has thrilled with love's red wine; It has hope and health, and youth's rare wealth-- Oh rich is this heart of mine. Yet it is not glad--it is ...

3429. Unfettered Faith

Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:40-45, Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I am the Lord who heals you.” --Exodus 15 One of the most dangerous forms of infection today is something called sepsis. Sepsis is caused by bacteria which invade the body through an open wound, then cause an inflammatory response within which quickly attacks the body, shuts down organs, and can even cause death. It’s a frightening and debilitating experience. It literally binds up one’s bodily systems and breaks down the body from the inside out. And it can all start from one small wound. But physical ...

3430. We Will Be Changed

Ezekiel 37:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What is in a name? Nothing defines us in our lives more than what we are named. We are given a name, but through our lives, we also take on other names. We know Jesus by many names: wonderful, counselor, almighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace, as Handel’s oratorio tells us. But we too have names that define us. In the scriptures, often the name that one is born with is not the name God bestows upon them. Jacob becomes Israel. Sarai becomes Sarah. Abram becomes Abraham. Simon becomes Peter. Adamh ...

3431. How Could We Possibly Forget?

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

I’m taking another poll this morning, and I’m asking everyone to participate. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult. In fact, it only has one question and there are no wrong answers. Here it is: what are you most likely to forget in the course of your day or your week? Everybody forgets something on a fairly regular basis. Some people forget the names of people they just met. That’s awkward. Some people are famous for forgetting where they put their glasses—even when those glasses are on the top of their head. ...

3432. We Would Like to See Jesus

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

If you could spend an evening hanging out with a celebrity, who would you want to hang out with? An organization named CharityBuzz is an online auction site that allows people all over the world to bid on exclusive experiences with world-famous celebrities. All the money raised goes to support various charities. You can bid on a private tour of the Vatican, or a golf game with a professional golfer and caddies, or a behind-the scenes tour of Conan O’Brien’s show with Conan himself as your tour guide. In ...

3433. Happiness Full Stop

John 15:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Good morning, and Happy Mother’s Day to all our mothers and mother-figures in our fellowship of faith. On this special day, we would like to thank all of you who shape our lives and build our families and serve as our safe place as we go out into the world. Mothers have a unique power to influence their children no matter how old those children get. Phil Keith, the former police chief of Knoxville, Tennessee, tells of receiving a call from his mother while he was in the middle of a televised press ...

3434. Shuttered

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In the last year and a half during the worst pandemic of the last two centuries, doors were shut, businesses closed, and communities became ghost towns. People became shadows of their former selves, as they hid away from a virus that could kill them and their loved ones and friends. The world drew in and shuttered itself from danger. And lethargy set in. Professionals are calling it covid burnout: malaise, lethargy, low-grade stress, depression, lack of focus, lack of energy, faulty memory, lack of ...

3435. Don't Fall

Luke 22:39-46

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

After New Year’s Day an office worker decided to go on a diet. She did fairly well for about a week then she started to think about her one guilty pleasure. It was a cream filled donut from a certain bakery she passed on the way to work. For years she had stopped there regularly to get coffee and a cream filled donut. Not every day but a few times a week. On this one particular morning as she was getting dressed she had a craving for one of the donuts but at the same time she wanted to be strong. And since ...

3436. Jesus' Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

As a young man, Jesus was led into the wilderness. There, the devil met him and tempted him. It is a tradition in the church to begin the forty days of Lent with Jesus' forty days of testing in the wilderness. It is fitting that we recall this story in a university chapel because (don't you agree?) it is at the beginning of your life, when one is a young adult, that one is most preoccupied with, "Who am I?" The who-am-I identity question is behind this strange, shadowy meeting with the devil in the ...

3437. Faith Power

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

If it weren’t for faith and trust, we would have no exploration, discovery, feats of wonder, inventions, advances in medicine, or relationships. Every step we take toward something new, unknown, or unexplored leads us into a territory of faith. Like the leap across the gaping cavern or the step into utter darkness believing in a floor beneath us, faith and trust allow us to step out of our current known and into the unknown, believing it is knowable. Faith is trust in things we do not know in our sensory ...

3438. Abiding by the Word

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Language is a fascinating medium. Without it, we cannot effectively communicate with each other. Language is our means for connection with the world, with each other, and also with God. For Christians and many other religions, sacred writings, for us the scriptures, not only give us a history of our faith and the people who came before us, but they also give us a window into what we believe about God, a measuring stick for truth, and a basis for how we wish to live. That said, language is an imperfect ...

3439. Do You Know the Gift of God?

John 4:5-42

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Would you say you’re a good conversationalist? If you were plunked down in a room full of strangers, how quickly could you start up a conversation with someone? Would it all be chitchat, or are you better at meaningful conversations? Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science, studies communication and human interaction. In his studies on conversation, he and his colleagues compiled a list of “shallow” vs. “intimate” conversation starters. Some of the shallow conversation starters are: What do you ...

3440. After Everyone Had Gone Home

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

John Jamison

It was over. The shepherds had gone back to their flocks. The three wise men had gone to wherever they were going, the other visitors that had come to see what was going on had drifted away to other things, and the animals had begun to settle back down in the straw. Mary was resting and the baby was sleeping soundly. Joseph looked around the room and let out a long, deep breath. “It was over.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, looking forward to a much-needed long night’s sleep. Then the ...

3441. Count the Cost

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

''Whoever of you does not renounce all that he or she has cannot be my disciple." How many of you were here last Sunday? Don't raise your hands. Well, even if you were not here, I can give you a quick summary of the sermon. We were at a party at a Pharisee's house with Jesus. Jesus, we noted, just loves to party. The gospel he brings is good news that God wants to invite everyone to a great party. And, because many of you are party animals yourselves, this all sounded great. Forget your petty, moralistic ...

3442. The Unfettered Word

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Sermon

Will Willimon

''But the word of God is not fettered. He owned a hardware store and he was a member of my church. Someone had warned me about him when I moved there. ''He's usually quiet," they said, ''but be careful." People still recalled the Sunday in 1968 when, during the middle of the sermon (the preacher's weekly diatribe against Nixon and the Vietnam war), he had stood up from where he was sitting, shook his head, and walked right out. So I always preached with one eye on my notes and the other on him. He hadn't ...

3443. How About Some Applause for the Creator?

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Author Fleming Rutledge tells about a time years ago when she was serving as pastor of a church in New York City. She says that during those days, she used to hang around with some people, “urbane literary types,” as she called them, “most of whom were somewhat disdainful of religion.” She remembers one man in particular. When he discovered that Rutledge was a pastor, he made a confession to her. He confessed very sheepishly that he had done something behind his wife’s back. Apparently, his wife had long ...

3444. Growing Into Our Scars

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Mary Austin

There’s something about a scar that begs for a story. When I see someone with an intriguing scar, I always want to know how they got it. It would be rude to ask, and so I don’t, but I keep hoping it will come up in conversation. I wonder what lesson is behind the stitches on the knee …what adventure brought the scar on the forehead…what happened right before the mark on the arm? Sometimes it’s a story of challenge and triumph. Other times it’s a painful reminder of a past hurt. But there’s always a story. ...

3445. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

Today is the last day of the church year. The church year starts four Sundays before Christmas, so next week when I wish you all a happy new year, I hope to get a better response than blank stares. The last Sunday of the church is called both “Christ the King” Sunday, and “Reign of Christ” Sunday. This festival goes all the way back to 1925, when Pope Pius XI added it to the calendar. It was set as the last Sunday of the church year in 1970. When I learned this I was a little surprised. I love looking into ...

3446. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

3447. What’s In a Word?

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Do you know what I mean when I use the term “bathrobe biblical”? I’m talking about the way we dress the kids for the Christmas pageant at church — old bathrobes become robes for Joseph, Grandpa’s cane becomes a shepherd’s crook, and a cigar box gets decorated with gold-painted macaroni so the kings have a treasure to bring. If you remember cigar boxes, you’re dating yourself. The traces of that deep, pungent smell were every bit as mysterious as frankincense and myrrh. These images created in our pageants ...

3448. Who Are These, Robed in White?

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Will Willimon

In the Sixties, rebelling students donned special clothes - jeans, sandals, tie-dyed tee shirts - as sign of their rebellion. The early members of the contemporary Women's Movement say the clothing that women wore as a sign of women's oppression. Bras were burned. High heels were condemned. When a judge, in the British legal tradition, renders judgment, the judge puts on, not only a robe, but also a wig. What does this special dress symbolize? It covers the individuality of the judge, signifying that the ...

3449. The Agenda Factor

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

William L. Self

Architecture and power are Siamese twins joined at the hip. Rulers have always wanted to translate their power into brick and mortar -- from the tower of Babel and Egypt's pharaohs to Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. I. M. Pei, in his contract given by FranÁois Mitterand to renovate the Louvre, was commissioned to re-establish the glory of France. Serious resources have been committed by rulers to display their strength and grandeur with architecture. David had finally consolidated his ...

3450. When God Is The Problem

Psalm 13:1-6

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction During Lent we are focusing our biblical attention almost exclusively on the passages from the psalms, allowing their themes and their spirit to rise up and identify themselves to us. Today we are continuing to gain a greater familiarity with these conversations from the heart. Through song and reading and spoken word the religiosity of the psalmists of old is speaking to us today. A For the first two Sundays in Lent our attention was on what Old Testament professor Walter Brueggeman called ...

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