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 4076 to 4100 of 4455 results

4076. Proper 20

Exodus 32:1-33:6, Psalm 106:1-48

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

Theme: Selfless intercession Exegetical Note Readers may have difficulty with a view of God that allows for the divine wrath to get so out of hand that the deity has to be dissuaded from and repent of the vengeful evil that the divine indignation has threatened. More plausible, perhaps, is the selfless intercession of Moses, who gave up the flattering divine offer to become the new father of a great nation in order to plead on the basis of the old Abramic pact. Call to Worship Leader: Sisters and brothers ...

4077. God's Word at Work

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Bulletin Aid

Exegetical note Verse 13 here depicts Paul's paradoxical view that God's word has worked dynamically in himself in such a way that his words to them have actually amounted to the very word of God. Since he states that the same word is at work in all believers, his implication is that their own words may convey God's word as well. Call to Worship Leader: Sisters and brothers, we are gathered to proclaim the word of God! People: We meet to hear the word of God! Leader: The word of God is at work within us! ...

4078. Hypocrisy vs. Humility

Matthew 23:1-39

Bulletin Aid

Exegetical note The words of Jesus related by Matthew here against the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees are timeless, for the hypocrisies that are catalogued reflect a spiritual arrogance and pride that place the authors of the pronouncements "above it all," an attitude symbolized by their love for regalia and titles. It is no accident, therefore, that the passage ends with a commendation of humility. Call to Worship Leader: People of God, let us worship the Most High! People: Let us praise the author ...

4079. Christ the King

Ezekiel 34:1-31, Psalm 23:1-6

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's fat and lean sheep Exegetical Note Speaking as God's voice, Ezekiel lambasts the kings ("shepherds") of Isarel whose poor leadership led to their defeat and exile (vv. 1.10). God then vows to take over as their "shepherd," to restore and protect them, and to set up David (or "a" David) in that position. But the sheep themselves will have to undergo judgment, to separate the "fat" (i.e., those Israelites who have prospered at the expense of their own people while in exile) from the "lean" (i.e ...

4080. Proper 29

Matthew 25:31-46

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Royal approval for righteous action Exegetical note Whether "the least" of the "brethren" (vv. 40, 45) meant specifically the disciples who were to be received as envoys of Jesus or more generally the outcast and oppressed for whom Jesus consistently showed concern is a matter of dispute. In either case, however, it is clear that those who wind up on the eschatological "King's" right hand (or "good side," in today's parlance) and inherit the "Kingdom" are those who not only are righteous, but act ...

4081. True And False Prophecy

Mark 14:27-31

Drama

Setting: The temple courtyard of the high priest. Caiaphas, entering from the sacristy or the front, will be at a podium or pulpit in the chancel throughout the drama. Everything about his posture and voice should suggest authority edged with arrogance and pomposity. He will be dressed in elaborate vestments or robes, ideally with a Velcro fastening which will make a noticeable tearing sound at the end of the play. Peter will enter from the rear of the nave, and will stay outside the chance! throughout the ...

4082. Respect: Lesson for Victorious Living

Ruth 4:1-12

Sermon

Christian unity teaches respect for the whole Body of Christ. The ancient Hebrews learned ways of doing things and the necessity of valid transactions; this gave the early Christians a format from which they could move forward in the faith. Repect was at or near the top of the list. The characters of Boaz, the elders, Naomi, Ruth, and the others in our passage evidence this in ways that do not seem to be present in today’s striving for equality. Could they have known something that we don’t? As one reads ...

4083. Security: Deeply Personal

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Christian unity proclaims security in a personal King, Jesus the Christ! The whole concept of security has taken on new connotations since the Second World War and especially with the news other nations besides the United States have the atomic bomb. Relatively speaking, it has not been too many years that individuals or even nations could cross mountains and/or oceans to gain security from enemies. Our own nation, for generations, was free from direct interference of the ongoing wars and intrigues of ...

4084. Out of the Darkness

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

"... I am the light of the world." - John 9:5 St. Augustine wrote of our lesson: "This blind man stands for the human race ... if the blindness is infidelity, then the illumination is faith." Surely we need the illumination of Christian faith today. Ours is one of those epochs of which it may be said, as Shakespeare said of Romeo, "affliction is enamoured of thy parts ... and thou art wedded to calamity." Worse still, we seem bereft of a vision to sustain us. "Without a vision, the people perish," declares ...

4085. One Final Meeting

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

Henry Senkiewicz, in his novel of the early days of Christianity, QUO VADIS, relates a poignant meeting. Simon Peter, having faced persecution, and believing he can endure no more, decides to leave Rome and, in so doing, save his life. While on the Appian Way, Peter has a vision wherein he meets the Lord Jesus walking toward him and Rome. Falling on his knees, humbly before the Lord, Simon Peter asks, "Quo vadis, domine?" "Where are you going, Lord?" To which Jesus responds, "If thou desert my people, I am ...

4086. Sowing to the Flesh

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

Some years ago a well-to-do man, caught in a scandal, was serving a prison term when a friend paid him a visit. The well-to-do man was sitting cross-legged, and with an enormous needle and a ball of twine was sewing burlap bags. "Hello," said the friend, "Sewing, eh?" "No," replied the prisoner with a sober-looking smile, "I’m reaping." With the arrival of spring upon us, and soon to be followed by growing plants and a subsequent harvest, we who live in North America are reminded of the rhythmical pattern ...

4087. The True Nature of Happiness

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

Some years ago the Raleigh, North Carolina NEWS & OBSERVER published an article entitled: “How Do You Measure Up As A Man? The article stated that some extensive research had been conducted on the 20th century standards for measuring a man. The criteria were quite interesting and I thought that I might list them for the men here this morning just to see how they measure up. 1. His ability to make and conserve money (That lets me out already). 2. The cost, style and age of his car. 3. (This is my favorite) ...

4088. GUTS TO BE CHICKEN

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Anyone who thinks Christianity is for sissies doesn’t know very much about it. The teachings of Jesus Christ are most challenging. Once he said, "If you are slapped on one cheek, turn the other." On the surface it seems as though our Lord expects us to be cowardly. Can you imagine how his words sounded to the disciples? They were rugged men of the sea, not panty-waists. Looking deeper at his teaching, we see that Jesus Christ was calling forth from us a greater strength than hitting back. He suggests we ...

4089. Old and New

Mk 2:22 · 2 Cor 5:17 · Is 43:19

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Something old, something new; Something borrowed, something blue. That’s what the old rhyme suggests every new bride ought to have on her person come the wedding day. We’re not going to spend any time talking about "borrowed" and "blue," but we do want to spend some time on "old" and "new." Those words have a way of cropping up more than just occasionally. Nearly every day we hear them used. They are used religiously. "As for me," says Carol, "you can give me that old-time religion." They are used ...

4090. The Un-Parade

Matthew 16:21-28, Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Robert Noblett

In the section of the country where we live, February and March are always cold and slushy months. So come April, nothing dampens my ardor for the coming of spring. I’m ready for it! Part of the reason I am ready for it is the fact that warm weather means the return of parades, and as the song says it, "I love a parade!" A community in which we lived some years back boasted the first Bicentennial parade in the nation, and well do I remember a family’s invitation to share that event with them from the bluff ...

4091. The Witch of Endor

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

We have been thrilled and enchanted by the weird conversation of the three sisters on the gloomy heath in ancient Scotland: When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightening, or in rain? When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won, That will be ere the set of sun. Where the place? Upon the heath There to meet with Macbeth.1 Later in the play we have the incantation and recipe for the brew which will cast a spell over the Scottish Thane: Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and ...

4092. In the Fires of Life

Daniel 3:1-30

Illustration

Jon L. Joyce

Back in 1917 during the Russian Revolution, a Russian Orthodox priest and eleven of his parishioners were placed in a prison by the Bolsheviks. They were left there to rot. From time to time, as the weeks went by, the guard of the prisoners would tell his superior: "There is someone else in that cell besides those twelve men. There is someone getting to them who helps them and provides them with what they need. I don’t know how this is possible. All I know there has to be someone with them." Finally, the ...

4093. The Unknown Hero

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Horace Burks is a deacon in the Sycamore Church of Christ in Cookville, Tennessee. He has a burden to reach every home in the United States with the Christian gospel. Horace has developed an eight-page brochure in a comic strip format to mail to 102 million homes. It will be sent bulk rate and will cost about $10 million! I applaud Mr. Burks' motive, but there is a much better method. Person-to-person is one hundred times better than a bulk mailing and a lot more cost effective. Of course, the person-to- ...

4094. Jeremiah and the Potter

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

Don Yocom

"... says the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand ..." God wanted the so-called weeping prophet, Jeremiah, to see a parable, so he sent Jeremiah to a potter’s house. There the prophet observed a powerful message which he proclaimed in his oracle of doom to Israel. It is well worth our study also. If the clay were in the proper condition to be molded, the potter was successful in what he was making. But, if it did not work out well after being molded by the potter, it ...

4095. SURVIVAL IN THE RAT RACE

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Dear friends, I know what I am supposed to do up here in this pulpit. I’m supposed to startle you with some stabbing statement of Scripture. I’m supposed to challenge you with some call of Christ. I’m supposed to impress you with some imperative of the Gospel. But, do you know something? I don’t want to do any of those things today. I just want to tell you to relax, to rest, unwind, sit loose, take it easy, let your mind wander, if you will. In fact, you don’t have to listen to what I’m saying, if there’s ...

4096. BEGGAR

Psalm 37:25

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Psalm 37:25 - "... yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread." A beggar is a person who lives on the charity of others; there were (and are) professional beggars, who solicited alms publicly, and even went from door to door. They are still numerous in the East; they are usually "lame, maimed, or blind" (Luke 14:13). The commonest and most pathetic form of infirmity is blindness; some of these blind beggars are led by children and have regular places to station themselves. The ...

4097. Episode III: Birth of the Church

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

In 1977 teenagers all over America walked into movie theatres to watch a movie that was virtually unknown. The director was unknown, the characters were unknown, the soundtrack was unknown, the robots were unknown. The name of the movie was Star Wars. It was not expected to be the biggest grossing movie of all times. It’s hard to believe that was 28 years ago. But even then some of us could read the handwriting on the wall. It was more grand than anything else we’d had ever see. For the next two months in ...

4098. The Heavier the Purse, The Tighter the Strings

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The Rev. Will Campbell is a Baptist prophet from the hills of North Carolina. A few years ago he was invited to preach at the prestigious Riverside Church in New York City. That church has long been noted for its activist preachers and liberal, politically correct agenda. Will Campbell was asked to preach on this subject: "What Riverside Church Can Do to Help the Future of Race Relations in America." Campbell took for his text the same one I am using today, the story of the rich young ruler. At the ...

4099. Stand Up Straight

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One weekend in one of our contemporary services, we invited the worshippers in a time of prayer to say out loud what they were grateful for. There happened to be two young mothers sitting on the front row. One said, "For my healthy children." The other mother said, "For God's provision." I happened to know that that second mother has a child who has suffered recurring seizures throughout his young life. Both of these mothers offered legitimate praise to God. But somehow I feel the second mother had seen a ...

4100. Advent I - Children’s Sermon

John 3:16

Children's Sermon

Susan Hedahl

The Lighting Of The First Candle: The Good News Candle Directions: Wreath should be on a low table around which children can gather. Share the idea of telling good news first and then conclude with the lighting of the candle. Each question posed signifies an opportunity for children to respond. We all want to hear what is happening around us. If we see someone whispering to someone else or opening a letter or making a telephone call, we wonder, what is happening? Our parents, our brothers and sisters, our ...

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