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 3626 to 3650 of 4947 results

3626. From Rejection To Redemption

Ruth 3:1-18

Sermon

Zan W. Holmes

... can't cook. I've been divorced three times. Who would want me?" Her maid Lena said: "Why, millions of men would want you!" Marilyn said: "Yeah, Lena, millions of men would want me, but who would really love me?" I imagine that there is a sense in which Naomi and Ruth in our biblical text could identify with Marilyn Monroe. They too had experienced some ups and downs in their lives. They also had experienced the feeling of rejection which was often directed toward poor, single, and widowed women who had come ...

3627. Drop-Everything-Discipleship

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... of your home? What would that mean? It would mean significant changes. More equality between husbands and wives. More shared responsibilities. Openness and honesty. It would be risky because it would bring an end to "life as usual." It would bring new direction, a new sense of purpose, along with understanding and hope. Are you willing to follow Jesus? This is a good time for us to sing together the chorus: I have decided to follow Jesus I have decided to follow Jesus No turning back, no turning back Though ...

3628. A Hands-on Religion

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... never gave it a second thought because he was so preoccupied by the cry of human need. Human need took precedence over everything else. No strict Jew would ever venture near anyone who suffered from such a recognizable stigmata. No one in his right senses would risk health and ritual integrity by actually daring to touch the flesh of one who was regarded as so unclean and defiled as this leper. But Jesus did! Without any hesitation he defied priestly and Talmudic ban on approaching and touching an unclean ...

3629. What Shall We Do With The New Wine?

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins. -- Mark 2:22 Jesus knew that his message was different. In a sense it was startlingly new. He knew that his life was drastically different from that of the orthodox rabbinic teacher. He also knew that it was difficult for his hearers to entertain such new truth. Therefore, he gave them a vivid illustration to show them how important it was to have ...

3630. Discovering The Unexpected

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... ?" The fact that John has such doubts is startling since he had been so close to Jesus. His doubts grew from the fact that Jesus did not fulfill his nationalistic expectations. He was no aggressive deliverer, no majestic and severe Messiah in the sense that he would swiftly smash evil with a mighty sword, chasing all the political foreigners from the land and bringing political freedom from Rome. Jesus -- The Unexpected He was the unexpected Jesus. They expected him to come with fanfare. He did not. They ...

3631. God Is Down To Earth

John 1:1-18

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... have withdrawn to the ivy towers of academia and even there gain notoriety. But the world respects Desmond Tutu because of his willingness to be a down-to-earth bishop who stood with blacks in Soweto until apartheid was finally overcome. Albert Schweitzer, in a sense, was a high-brow man. He had earned doctor of philosophy and medical degrees, as well as being an authority on Bach and a master at the organ. The world appreciated him, not for his intellectual capacity, but for being down-to-earth in his ...

3632. The Highest In The Lowest

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... times my shadow was on your floor. I was a beggar with bruised feet; I was the woman you gave to eat; I was the child on the homeless street. The highest comes in the lowest. How are things with you this Christmas? Is it possible you have no sense of the nearness and the presence of God? For you angels' voices are never heard and the thrill of the high and the holy never enters your life. Nothing about Christmas really grabs you. You are having a hard time really catching the spirit of the season. It could ...

3633. Clean House

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... complete them in him are now fulfilled in us. What was also important to the evangelist was the sacramental character of the church. When our Lord talked about the temple of his body replacing the Temple at Jerusalem, that was also true in a sacramental sense. The sacrificial system that was practiced in the Temple at Jerusalem along with the priestly entrance into the Holy of Holies were signs of God's grace and mercy for God's people. The people did not have to sacrifice themselves and they were always ...

3634. Hate Evil

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... them. As is so common, their memories were not of the outstanding deliverance God had performed for them. It was for this reason that God permitted them to be attacked by the poisonous serpents whose bite was fatal. That drove the people to their senses. They repented of their grumbling and rebellion against God and Moses. Moses interceded on their behalf. God heard the prayer and instructed Moses to prepare a brazen serpent upon which the people could look and be saved. The Same Condition The reason that ...

3635. Easter 4

John 10:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... shun your call for commitment and sacrifice. We need a clear picture of what is truly going on in our lives. Teach us to love what you love and to do what you want us to do with our lives. Grant us the strength to let go of every false sense of support and to lay hold of your promise of life, now and forever. Amen.

3636. Christian Love as Bifocal

Matthew 22:34-40

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes In a sense, Jesus refuses here to play along with the Pharisee's question, which called for a singular answer. Jesus' answer, advocating a "bifocal" love, was not original in the rabbinic tradition. Others had emphasized these two Old Testament injunctions before. Jesus does, however, appear to raise the second commandment to a ...

3637. Proper 26

Matthew 23:1-39

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... Gladness Prayer for Proper 26, Pentecost 24, and OT 31 Gracious Lord, you know us better than we know ourselves. You know the games we play. We say "yes" when we mean "no" and "no" when we mean "yes." We make promises we cannot possibly keep. We have an inflated sense of our own ability. We like to keep score, especially if we can modify the rules along the way. It is important to be ahead, and sometimes we will do anything to win. You know how easy it is for us to become caught up in our games. To win ...

3638. God's Road to Freedom

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... fewer distractions. We know that you can speak to us anywhere, anytime, even in our dreams. Like Joseph, we want to be open to your presence in our lives. Help us to clear our heads when they are filled with questions and details and what-ifs. Increase our ability to sense the many ways you communicate with us, and help us to pay attention. Amen.

3639. On Sacrificing Others - Dramatic Monologue

Genesis 22:1-19

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... future. It is our faithfulness, not our children's, that is the key to the future. He always laughed and asked if we'd be so willing to give up our fine homes and fast camels as easily as we gave up our first- born sons. He has a strange sense of humor. I guess because of our talks, he came here. He didn't say any more at the time. I really sympathized with him. Isaac is a bright boy and a hard worker already at his age. A few more years and Isaac would be strong enough to protect ...

3640. Moses's New Job

Exodus 4:18-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... of women who would read it well. The first time I tried it, the reader got it at the beginning of the service. I did it three years later and the reader had several days to look at it. In neither case did we practice together. But the reader's sense of timing was just fine. In both cases, the reader read from the back of the nave. Exodus 4:24-26, 18:2-9 My dearest Zipporah, He came. Just as God promised, Aaron came. It is all falling into place. God is with me in this new venture. Aaron ...

3641. Crumbs

Matthew 15:21-28

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: A saltine cracker in a plastic bag. Lesson: Helping others; sharing. This is a difficult text even for adults. In order to help the children make some sense out of it, I have brought a saltine cracker in a baggie. I begin by asking the kids, "Do you know what a crumb is?" No one is sure enough to describe a crumb to me, so I take the baggie with the cracker out of my pocket, hold it ...

3642. Attitudes

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... angels, cartoons to quotations," I tell the children. "We seem to be very conscious of time in our lives, don't we? Just look at all these things we have to help us keep track of time. It's almost as if by keeping track of it we have a sense that we can somehow control time. But we really can't. Time is not in our hands; it's in God's. "We are not in control of our time. We are not in control of our lives. God is. But we are in control of our attitudes. And, if ...

3643. Cat fishing?

Luke 5:1-11

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... idea what they did use to catch fish?" "Sticks?" (A reasonable response. "Handle it gently," I caution myself, "so as not to discourage this child who has dared to answer.") "Well, I can see since we've been talking about poles that sticks would make sense, Jeremy, but the disciples used something else." "Nets," comes the next suggestion. "Yes, they used nets, great big ones. They used nets so they could catch lots of fish at once. And usually, that's what happened. But, there was a time that Peter, James ...

3644. Your Eyes Are Bigger Than Your Stomach!

Exodus 16:1-36

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... cafeteria, they would warn me, 'Be careful! Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.' Have any of you ever had anyone tell you that?" This time only two hands go up. "A couple of you have. 'Your eyes are bigger than your stomach!' That expression just didn't make any sense to me when I was your age. I had seen drawings of the stomach on posters at my doctor's office. I knew it had to be at least as big as my fist. Both of my eyes put together weren't that big. 'What in the world could my ...

3645. The Meek

Psalm 37:1-40

Sermon

John A. Terry

... than it does today. Once upon a time the word "meek" characterized a person who was free of self-will, someone who wasn't interested in getting his or her own way, but was interested in the good of other people. This is a word that only makes sense today when it is understood as describing the relationship between God and ourselves, not simply a description of how people relate to one another. The Greek word which we translate as "meek" was used to describe a horse that was bridled, ready to run a race. The ...

3646. The Merciful

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

John A. Terry

... of a merciful God. The mercy to which Jesus referred is not simply our being merciful to one another, but God being merciful to us. All acts of mercy have their origin with God. God is the source, the author, the creator of mercy. There is a dual sense in which we receive mercy. We receive mercy now and in the kingdom. We know the joys of performing acts of mercy. We know the pleasure of receiving the merciful actions of others. In this world we will not always find mercy returned when mercy is shown. But ...

3647. The Adventure Of The Empty Tomb

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... the top of the Cathedral fully four miles away from our digs at 221B Baker Street. Rarely is the air so clear, and on this particular day, so warm in the early spring. It was Good Friday. My friend, Sherlock Holmes, was not religious in the traditional sense, and, though I attended services of a Sunday as a rule, I seldom attended the extra services surrounding holidays. "It is a marvel to see the Cathedral from here," Holmes remarked as he took in the loveliness of the day. "You don't suppose God is trying ...

3648. Called To Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... He's got them all tied up so that they can't be free. Barnabas: Well, we thought their problem was that they didn't have any rules for living. Paul: The Galatians sure did! God gave them some pretty good ones in their old religions, through common sense, and through the ones we shared with them from Jesus. Barnabas: Jesus was circumcised, baptized, Temple-ized, the whole Jewish bit. Paul: But Jesus broke with them at this point: It wasn't that important! Barnabas: Paul, you are going to make wild men out of ...

3649. Paul, The Great Missionary

Philippians 1:1-11

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Notes: Hostage issues always appear to be before us. It seemed appropriate to look back into the scriptures to see if there were any materials that might have meaning in that kind of historical context. While Paul was not a hostage in the classic sense, he was under house arrest a number of times, thus separated from his family and friends, and from his task as ambassador for Christ. I decided to drop the hostage notion and just concentrate on the way things were for the story line. Storytelling can do ...

3650. Feeding the 5000

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... seven baskets of leftovers in the second feeding (8:8). Some believe that seven is the number that symbolizes the Gentiles. It is a number of wholeness and universality. Other interpreters, however, discount these number theories. It would seem to make ultimate sense that Mark has told these stories to demonstrate that Jesus' ministry is for all people. Given the Old Testament stories that deal with feeding, it is probably not surprising that Mark uses this kind of story to symbolize that Jesus' ministry is ...

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