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 3601 to 3625 of 4952 results

3601. Joy to the World

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... astonished that the God who had been betrayed would always be faithful to us; that the God who was rejected will never abandon us; that the God who was crucified will give us new life. I think it was something like this that Theodore Parker Ferris said that he thought he knew a good friend of his. But one day he had lunch with the man's son. He knew the father to be a successful businessman, the kind that is able to make decisions without thinking about it, and for whom business is business. He never let ...

3602. Look Ma, No Hands

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... is true. You can't love yourself until you give yourself to others." When they discovered that, they got moving real fast. They haven't let go yet, they're still holding on to the handlebars. But they are on their journey. They belong to a church now. They thought church was something that was there when you needed it, like a hospital. You go to it when you get knocked out, or knocked down in life. But now they are on a journey. They see the Church differently now. They can see the Church not as something ...

3603. Now Stand Up Straight!

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... around to reading the book, I can't remember who it was who gave it to me. That has happened with enough frequency lately that I have thought of putting a table out on the patio, pile all these books on top, and put up a sign up that says, "Come and get them." But ... rituals of purification before they could associate with the "righteous." Society treated them as inferior. As a result, they thought of themselves as being that way. And they acted that way in their lives. Until Jesus touched them. And they ...

3604. The Paraclete Is Not a Bird

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... she pushed Ann Louise out onto the stage where, all of a sudden, she was facing this large audience of everybody's relatives, including her own. She announced her piece, then spread her skirt, and sat on the bench. She noticed that she was much calmer than she thought she would be. She noticed that Miss Caroline was still there in the wings. She remembered the last words that she said to her, "I am counting with you all the way." She didn't say, "I am counting on you." She said, "I am counting with you ...

3605. The Time of Waiting Is Over

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... but, of course, he was no where to be found. I went into the main building. There he was on the phone. My hopes increased. I thought he had discovered the plot and was calling for help. But as I made my way toward him, out of the shadows came the face ... out of the boat, now stumbles when he takes his first step as a full-fledged disciple, and says, "Whoa. Wait a minute, Jesus. I thought you were going to say we were on our way to glory now. All these human limitations, the pain and suffering in this life, are ...

3606. The Wedding Guest

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... the beginning of something new, something revolutionary, a whole new way of looking at the world. The time of preparation is over. This is it. The celebration, the party, has begun. What does that look like? On this Sunday when we hold our annual Charge Conference, I thought it appropriate for us to ask, "What does it look like in the Church?" There are several kinds of parties, but the one that seems appropriate to what this text is talking about is the Election Night Party. I've never been to one, but I ...

3607. This Is a Test

Genesis 22:1-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... read this story, and I tell you, I don't come to it willingly. It is such a difficult story. But when I read it again, I thought of the ways you and I are tested. Can we really believe that the God who has given us life in the first place, can give it ... us pleasure in this life upon which we become dependent for meaning, purpose, and beauty in our life, can we let them go? I thought of that as I saw pictures this past week of Serbs looting the homes of Muslim Kosovars, those refugees who fled their homes ...

3608. This Is Not Rocket Science

Acts 2:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... she hovered between life and death, in and out of consciousness. She had attended a church occasionally. But the people of that church visited her regularly and sat at her bedside and prayed for her. They did not know that she was aware of their presence. They thought she was unconscious and did not know they were there. She said later, "I was blissfully aware of their being there. I felt as if I had been gathered up in a cocoon of love. I felt part of a beloved community." "Beloved community" is a term ...

3609. This Is the Day

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... to be that way because they had structured a hierarchical society. God was at the top, then the kings, the patricians, the landowners, and then everybody else. About ninety-five percent of the rest of the people were below them in this hierarchical structure. They thought that was the way God created things to be. Isn't that wonderful. This is the way things should always be, so the world in their eyes was static and fixed, immovable. It would never change. Then Copernicus and Galileo came along, and forced ...

3610. This Nation, Under God

2 Samuel 7:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... a palace made of cedar. God lives in a box, parked in the palace driveway. You would think that if David's conscience really bothered him, David might say, "I will move out of the palace into more humble dwellings." But that is not the way he thought. He had a different idea. He calls Nathan, the prophet, to propose that God ought to dwell in quarters as grand as the king. This means the construction of a magnificent temple in the middle of Jerusalem, the capital city. He calls Nathan, his prophet, to get ...

3611. Two Women

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... had a pagan friend who he was sure, if he had been there, might have said about these girls, "Why do these people continue to procreate and produce such hideous creatures." And he said, "I thought, no Catholic would ever say that. No one can be seen as worthless to us." I read that, and I thought, if he had been traveling not through Sag Harbor on Long Island, but through Nazareth in Galilee, he would have seen something similar: homely, illiterate girls, who when you heard their conversation, you realized ...

3612. You Can't Win them All

Matthew 10:2-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... later when I left they had 150 members. I wondered what went wrong. I did everything that I could. I worked as hard as I could. But they just sat there, immoveable. I thought, maybe I am in the wrong profession. I went to the superintendent to talk it over with him. He confessed, "We were thinking of closing that church. We just thought we would give you a chance, see what happens." I was sent to close the church. I couldn't even do that very well. It limped on for another few years. The Sylmar earthquake ...

3613. In the Darkness of Despair, There Is the Light of Hope

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... daily life, by inviting other people to come into this lighthouse to learn of the light and feel the warmth of it. In this light, they will find hope. Centuries ago, a nobleman in Europe built a church for his people. It was a place of beauty. He thought of everything. But when it opened, and a great crowd of people came there, some of them noticed there were no lamps. The nobleman pointed to lamp holders all down both sides. Then, he gave each family a lamp and said, “Each time you are here, the place ...

3614. The Tree That Didn't Get Trimmed

Romans 11:33-34

Drama

Matthew Powell

... , Storyteller 1: and our tree, with one or two others that hadn't been sold, all were thrown through the side door into the cellar. As the unwanted trees lay on the stone floor of the dark cellar and watched the furnace flicker, our tree thought to himself, Tree: So this is Christmas. Storyteller 2: The day after Christmas a man came in who wanted some green boughs Cemetery Man: to decorate the cemetery. Storyteller 1: The grocer took the hatchet and seized the trees without ceremony. Our tree was Tree ...

3615. In The Darkness of Oppression, There Is the Light of Salvation

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... This child would be the Savior of the world. The people walking in darkness would receive a great light. It would be the light of salvation. On these Sundays, we are thinking about the theme: The light of Bethlehem still shines on us. Today, our thoughts turn to this: In the darkness of oppression, there is the light of salvation. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem for one reason. All of these people were living under the oppression of Rome. It had been that way for centuries. First, the surrounding enemies ...

3616. In the Darkness of Anxiety, There Is the Light of Peace

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... to leave our service in the sanctuary and go out to the manger where the holy family and some unholy looking shepherds waited on us. The notice in our bulletin was supposed to say, “Recessional To The Manger.” What it actually said was, “Recessional To The Manager.” I thought that was a wonderful mistake, and one that told the way it should be. You need to let God be the one who manages your life. That is the only way any of us will find any peace at all. You can put yourself in God’s hands by ...

3617. Proper 20

Exodus 16:1-36, Isaiah 55:1-13, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 4:1-11, Philippians 1:12-30, Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... separated himself from us. Through our sins, we left God. If and when we return, God is good and generous in mercy by pardoning us. Pardon implies sin, and sin separates. Mercy removes the separation and pardon restores the relationship. 3. Thoughts (vv. 8, 9). God's thoughts and ways are totally different from ours. This truth is illustrated in today's reading, the parable of laborers in the vineyard. If God were like the world, he would not take back his enemies and freely pardon them. The world, rather ...

3618. Proper 21

Exodus 17:1-7, Ezekiel 18:1-32, Philippians 2:1-11, Philippians 2:12-18, Matthew 21:23-27, Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... to heaven may not get there. Those who do not expect to make it to heaven may be surprised. The religious leaders of Jesus' day were surprised to learn who was going to heaven. They thought they were, because they considered themselves righteous and devout. The publicans and harlots never thought they had a chance, but Jesus says they are the ones going to heaven. In our day church people identify with the religious people, and probably drug addicts, alcoholics, criminals, and prostitutes think there is ...

3619. In the Darkness of Suspicion, There Is the Light of Devotion

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... ’m a Catholic, and here’s my rosary to prove it.” The third lady began rambling through this large pocketbook she had with her. Saint Peter asked her what she was doing. She said, “I’m a Methodist and there’s a casserole in here someplace.” I have thought about that story since then. It is a good story. It is very important to study the Bible and live a life of prayer. It is also vitally important to live a life of service. Like the lady with the casserole, all of us can find some little thing ...

3620. The One Thing God Can Not Do

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... forsake us. Richard J. Fairchild tells about an old children’s story that goes like this: One child asks another: Would you forget me in an hour? No. Would you forget me in a day? No. Would you forget me in a month? No. Knock knock. Who’s there? I thought you said you wouldn’t forget me. (2) O. K., a little silly, but it reminds us of God’s great love for us. God will never forget us nor forsake us regardless of what we may do. “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown ...

3621. Building Our Foundation on God

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... 's version of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, tells us of our need to change on the inside, to demonstrate who we are, and not concentrate on what others will see. We must be transformed so that God, the one who looks into the heart and understands our every thought, word, and action, will be pleased. Jesus is very clear in the gospel that we should not practice piety in any form so as to be noticed by others, for our reward will never be found in what others think. The Lord speaks of the three great works that ...

3622. Jesus Transforms the Darkness into Light

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... my sermon." The next day, David did not talk about "New Being" or estrangement from authentic selfhood; he simply told the story of how God raised Jesus from the dead and in the process gave him and all people new life and hope. People in the congregation thought the sermon was good, but what really got them talking was the strange group of visitors who parked their shiny motorcycles in front of the church and sat in one of the front pews. When one of the ushers inquired about the visitors, one burly man ...

3623. What Is Success?

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... youth into a grave. I wanted the gold, and I got it - Came out with a fortune last fall. Yet somehow life's not what I thought it, and somehow the gold isn't all. Tucked away in the Old Testament is an obscure book called Ecclesiastes. Basically it is a journal ... church, your friends, and your God, Christ!" The man protested, saying he'd lost none of those things I'd mentioned. "But I thought you said you'd lost everything!" The man sobered, and it wasn't long before he realized that he'd actually lost none ...

3624. Supper's Ready!

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... not going to let you in again until we get better!" Wouldn't that be a ridiculous turn of events? Yet, that is the same foolish thought pattern that a man often takes with God. "I'm too sinful. When I clean my life up, I will come." I like the way ... not, but returned to work. Why? Think real hard! You see, they looked at each other. The clean-faced man saw the dirty-faced man and thought, "I'd better wash my face. Since we both fell down the chimney and his face is dirty, mine must be, too." The other man ...

3625. The Spirit of...Winter?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , where the curator showed him an obscure fifteenth-century painting of Madonna and Child. The child, the baby Jesus, had the features of Down Syndrome. The medical student, Brian Skotko, who has a 25-year-old sister Kristin who has Down Syndrome herself, said he thought "the artist was someone like me, living in the fifteenth century, who had a brother or sister with Down syndrome and chose to use the child as a model." Here's the exact excerpt from the article in The Wall Street Journal: "One morning, Mr ...

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