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 376 to 400 of 666 results

376. FEAR NOT! You've Got To Be Kidding!

Luke 1:26-37

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... for nothing less than taking over the throne of David, challenging the powers that be, confronting the values and standards of his day, bringing in the kingdom of God. All of a sudden this angelic visitation doesn't look and sound so much like a sentimental Hallmark greeting or a Currier and Ives Christmas, it sounds like the overwhelming challenge of a lifetime. She had every right to be afraid, and so she was. And of course, so are we. Again, to quote Jane Spencer: "In contemporary America, the safest ...

377. What Ever Happened to Norman Rockwell?

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... our American way of life. Beginning in 1916, he painted over 300 covers for the Saturday Evening Post which have become classics in American art—everything from childhood adventures in the old swimming hole to moving tributes to war heroes, gentle laughter and deep sentiments. He imaged what we imagined life was, or could be, like in those days of my growing up. Along the way he also challenged some of the narrow attitudes and prejudices of the era and called us to a broader vision: His well-known ...

378. When Seeing is Not Believing

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... generation to generation: Gimme that old time religion Gimme that old time religion Gimme that old time religion It's good enough for me. It was good for my mother It was good for my father It was good for my mother And it's good enough for me. Nice sentiment, but it's dead wrong! Somebody else's religion is never good enough for you. It's got to be your own, first person singular, a personal faith. So I think Frederick Buechner must have been thinking of Thomas when he said, "Doubt is the ants in the pants ...

379. Looking in All the Wrong Places

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... will not bear and reflects, "I've been to Paradise, but I've never been to me." The song was released amidst the turmoil of the women's liberation movement and the aftermath sexual revolution of the 1970s; and even then not everyone agreed with its sentiment (or even understood it). It stood as a kind of counterbalance to Helen Reddy's earlier smash hit, "I Am Woman." Taken together, both songs musically depict the struggle of the gender throughout the last century to find the female place in the world. For ...

380. What God Can Do with Forgiveness

Mt 18:15-35

Illustration

King Duncan

... does that kind of thing better, of course, than God. Who could imagine 2,000 years ago that the symbol of the Christian church would be a hangman's noose, an electric chair, a guillotine? Those analogies may be necessary for us to keep from being too sentimental about "the old, rugged cross." A cross is a terrible thing. It was indeed a symbol of suffering and shame. Humanity nailed God's own Son on a cross. What barbarity! What unspeakable evil! Yet God turned that cross into the means by which you and I ...

381. Floating on Your Back

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... easy, particularly romantic love. Our eyes meet across the room, and we know this will last forever. But real love never comes easy. It requires commitment. It requires hard work. A young man went into a greeting card store and asked for a very sentimental and special valentine. The saleswoman, after much looking, found a lovely one that said, “To the only girl I have ever loved.” “That’s wonderful,” said the young man. “I’ll take four.” I’m not sure that young man understood the nature of ...

382. Blue Christmas

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... underneath the Christmas tree, much to Mommy’s dismay. He asks Daddy to show some restraint this year because he doesn’t “want to see my Momma cry.” Denver didn’t sell many records with this tune, but for some people this sentimental song will be all-too-relevant during this Advent/Christmas season. It reminds us that holiday memories aren’t necessarily happy in many families. Blue Christmas. (1) “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God,” writes Isaiah. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and ...

383. Ready All the Time

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... he walks down those same steps thanking God for the help God has given that day. Mr. Rank is ready for Christmas. Mr. Rank is ready for anything. Unfortunately, there are too many people who think that Christmas is to be celebrated by working up some mushy, sentimental feelings about God and the Christ child one day out of the year and then putting those feelings back on the shelf or back in the trunks and baggage for another 365 days. Those folks aren't really ready for Christmas. They're not ready for the ...

384. The Importance of Words

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

... He goes on: "If what a preacher says can alter even slightly the direction in which people are aimed when they leave the church, the effect can be beyond all calculation." What people think determines everything. Lincoln said: With the public sentiment nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently, he who moulds public opinion goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. (Sweazey, op. cit., p. 9) Physicians and farmers labor to keep people alive. Preachers labor to make ...

385. The Dawn's Early Light

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a history which reaches across national boundaries. Unfortunately, this has not meant that one culture or one nation has not, at one time or another, seen itself as the "true" or "chosen" embodiment of Christian ideals. Successfully entwining the sentiments and convictions of heart-felt religion and soul-stirring patriotism has always been a tricky business. The historical disasters resulting from imprudently mixing these two range from the barbarism of the European "Crusaders"' attempts to wrest the holy ...

386. Protecting Your Valuables

James 3:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Feiffer's new play Elliot Loves has a marvelous exchange between Elliot, a 40ish Chicago urban neurotic who comes straight out of a Feiffer cartoon, and his twice-divorced, two-childrened girlfriend Joanna: "I don't have values," says Elliot. "I have sentiments they're like visitation rights to values." Newsweek, 18 June 1990, 58. In these days when we now have professional "value experts" who give us a "value fix' on our problems, Christians must ask how their faith differentiates them from secular culture ...

387. What's Your Drink?

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... itself, the presence of the Holy Spirit's living water kept their own spirits buoyant. The enviable fellowship of the early church stemmed directly from this sense of joyous fulfillment and bold faithfulness. Whereas the drunk may slip into sloppy sentimentality (the four steps of drunkenness are alleged to be the jocose, the bellicose, the lachrymose, and finally the comatose stages), the Christians became known for their love - "Oh, how they love one another!" Lloyd-Jones surely risked censure in his ...

388. Shame on You

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... confronted by a young reporter. "Aren't you concerned and embarrassed by these activities, Mayor?" Daley turned to the earnest young man and bombasted, "Son, nothing embarrasses us!" As ludicrous as that statement may seem, it appears to be the overriding sentiment guiding our behavior today. The outlandishly corrupt, overtly immoral, banally violent and shockingly evil are paraded before us, invited on talk shows, made rich and famous and given control of our streets. It seems there is no longer any sense ...

389. Is Your Christmas Spirit a Controlled Substance?

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ” these days. But here’s our problem: the “spirit” that is touted as “Christmas,” as in “Christmas spirit,” isn’t necessarily “Christian.” “Christmas spirit” has almost become synonymous with “schmaltz.” You know “schmaltz:” sticky sweet, sappily sentimental, laden with story-book scenarios that make the Hallmark Channel look like WWE Raw. What passes as “Christmas spirit” in twenty-first century culture is all that is cuddly and cutesy, like the “Roly poly nativity ...

390. God's in Charge (so shut up!)

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... them with the music of God's songs: "Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" that is, all kinds of music that praise God and constantly declare our thankfulness to God. To be openhearted to the joy of this singing-Spirit is not sappy sentimentality the Psalms confront God with genuine human fears, anger, loss, misery, joy, hope, love and dreams. The psalmists poured out their hearts to God in song, leaving them openhearted to welcome the healing, soothing Spirit into their breast. The epistle writer insists ...

391. Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... popularity, greeting the "Hosannas" with waves and smiles and self-congratulatory little bows (the V-signs of the first century). Conversely, the reality of Jerusalem's tragic climax to his mission could have terrified Jesus. Knowing the shallowness of the crowd's sentiments, he could have slunk off, hiding himself and letting the enthusiasm of the people harmlessly ebb away. But Jesus stayed in the midst of the crowd for a bit longer, and in doing so, he presented them with a startling image of servanthood ...

392. Genesis 12:1-4a

Genesis 12:1-4a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... them. God commands Abram to leave his country, kindred and father's house - everything, in fact, that gave Abram his personal identity. In the tight-knit family/clan-oriented culture of this people, leaving family meant leaving not just personal or sentimental attachments. Abandoning the clan meant leaving one's only source of law, morality, safety, security and identity. For Abram to leave the enclave of his family was to put his future survival - both psychological and personal - very much at risk. This ...

393. Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Isaiah 61:10—62:3

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... them in the specific periods of Israel's history (e.g., chs. 1-37 during the reign of Ahaz; chs. 40-55 during the exile), this third unit is not so forthcoming. Some scholars have insisted that these texts represent post-exilic sentiments and scenarios. Others argue that the intentional dearth of datable references in this unit suggests that these are best interpreted as eschatological visions. No matter which view is preferred structurally, the final chapters of Isaiah are placed after God has rescued the ...

394. Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... active command from Jesus. When Jesus declares to his audience, "Love your enemies," this is just the beginning formulation of a general principle _ a principle that is immediately made specific and active. The "love" Jesus calls for is not an emotional or sentimental attachment. This love is actively oriented _ it is "love" only because it is actively pursuing good for the enemy. "Do good," Jesus commands. He doesn't say "think good thoughts or have good feelings," but actually "do good to those who hate ...

395. Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

396. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... one and the same. But like the rebellious ones, this supremely lawless one will be actively working against God's law and grace. Paul's text also clearly defines this lawless one as an individual - not some amorphous, anti-Christian force or sentiment that will permeate our world. The personal nature of the descriptive actions in verse 4 gives this singular leader a character all his own. As an individual, this "lawless one" is also quite specifically an eschatological figure - and therefore is not present ...

397. More Than Feelings (Weddings)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Illustration

James McCormick

Most people think of love simply as a feeling you have for someone. For them, it’s a good, warm, romantic, sentimental feeling. I’m in favor of good feelings, but there is a problem: feelings are undependable and uncontrollable. You can’t decide how you’re going to feel – you just feel. Consequently, many of the people who think of love in such terms fall out of love as quickly as ...

398. The Call to Be Champions

Mk 1:14-20

Illustration

King Duncan

... Who Stay Will Be Champions." Of course, not everyone stayed. One morning Schembechler came to the office and looked at the sign. Underneath the words "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions" someone had written, "And those who quit will be doctors, lawyers, and captains of industry." I suppose both those sentiments have truth to them. Either way you will have to stay with one of those callings to be champions. You can't hold on to your nets and save the world.

399. Was It Really Necessary?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... pay. Think of Stephen as the stones ripped his flesh, and Peter as he died crucified upside down. Many of the disciples were burned as living torches in Nero’s gardens or were torn apart by wild animals in the gladiator’s arena. Only a soft, sentimental unrealistic faith would conjure the supposition that there was any other way for Jesus but the way of the cross. This is a hard world. The affluence and security of our land shelter us from that truth. Many people through the ages have given their lives ...

400. Mr. Macho & Forty Days of Love

Mk 9:2-9

Illustration

King Duncan

... to hunt and fish, a strong self-made man." The man told his pastor, "I love you and I love this church, but I'm not going to participate in this Forty Days of Love stuff. It's OK for some folks," he said, "but it's a little too sentimental and syrupy for me." A week went by. The next Sunday this man waited after church to see his pastor again. "I want to apologize for what I said last Sunday," he told him, "about the Forty Days of Love. I realized on Wednesday that I was wrong." "Wednesday?" his ...

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