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 4176 to 4200 of 4952 results

4176. King Me!

John 18:33-37

Sermon

... gift to bring but yourself, you come forward. I recall a stranger in a former church processing forward on another Stewardship Sunday, dressed in very humble clothing and worn shoes. He laid no gift on the altar, he had no pledge card to lay there. He bowed — and I thought to myself, That man knows the king! When the music starts, you come and offer whatever you have to give. And the Savior will receive it as a gift fit for a king. For so it is. Thanks be to God. Amen. 1. Fredrich Buechner, The Faces of ...

4177. It’s God’s Will?

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... go to heaven and some people to go to hell through his divine election. God doesn't just know the future, he causes the future — thus we have no free will. And then a Dutch Pastor named Jacob Arminius, a student of Calvin, preached this to his congregation. They thought, "Without free will, the cards are already dealt, the final chapter is already written. I might as well eat, drink, and be merry because God has already chosen me for heaven or hell. I'm a drunk because I'm destined to be a drunk. I'm an ...

4178. Busy with a Purpose

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... little Johnny, talk with him, and coax him to eat. And then the bell of the microwave went off. Now, she said, with this new instant, great tasting breakfast cereal, he gobbles down the cereal in five minutes and we are out the door, not wasting time. And I thought, sitting down to have breakfast with your son is not wasted time. If you think it is, you are running, all right, you are busy, to be sure. But it is aimless. The key word in 1 Corinthians 9 is "aimlessly." Paul wants to stop us in our calendar ...

4179. The Eyes of Faith

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... problem, or under the problem. He went through the problem. He faced the problem with eyes of faith knowing in his heart that there were more who were for him than against him. What are these eyes of faith that the unbeliever does not have? For a long time, I thought about faith in terms of a list of doctrines or beliefs that you have to accept before becoming a part of the club or joining a church. But more recently, I've come to see faith in much more active terms. There are a lot of people who believe in ...

4180. Love in Action

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Now, the people who first heard Jesus say these words may have thought he was speaking metaphorically about actually laying down his life. But after the cross, they realized that he meant it literally. He is ... was going to do with all that money, and he told me he wanted to give it to the poor people in Florida. Then, before I even thought about what I was saying, I blurted out, "Oh, you're not going to give it all to the poor people, are you? Don't you ...

4181. Loving God

1 John 5:1-6

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... forget that. As Lutherans, we often act like it's all about getting our theology right. We have to have the proper understanding of holy communion, and we have to know how to interpret the Bible correctly. We act like the Christian faith is all about a logical progression of thought that we can teach other people. In that respect, we would do well to learn a thing or two from Christians of other denominations who aren't afraid to talk about their relationship with Jesus Christ. While theology and rational ...

4182. A Higher Calling

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... some reflection, Mr. Steinway said, "We are an old firm, slow and cautious about making changes. But we will install your pins in one of our pianos and give them a trial." The salesman was delighted. He said, "How long a trial will you need?" "Oh," said Mr. Steinway thoughtfully, "I'd say about fifty years." Today, you may not be the husband, the wife, the son, or the daughter you ought to be, but it's never too late to be the person you can be tomorrow. We have received a calling. That's just what it is ...

4183. The Ear, the Tongue, and the Temper: A Lesson in Spiritual Anatomy

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... because of some trivial personal hurt, to allow the wild forces of our being to run loose because our wills have been crossed or our self-esteem has been wounded, is not a mark of power. That, literally, is power converted into poison. Beethoven is thought to have brought on his own deafness by falling into a fit of anger. Psychologists tell us that the emotion of anger produces more immediate effects on the chemical balance of the body than any other emotion, including fear, and that while the emotion ...

4184. The Tongue Is Mightier than the Sword

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... spoken too soon before I could stop myself. Someone has said, the tongue weighs practically nothing, yet so few people can hold it. One of the quotable sayings, which I try to live by, is a statement made by Socrates: "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." That's difficult for a preacher to remember. We are not accustomed to remaining silent. When Oliver Wendell Holmes was asked how one can get elected to a public office, he said, "To be able to listen to ...

4185. A Four Word Memoir

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... Oates, submitted these six words: “Revenge is living well without you.” Comic Stephen Colbert submitted this one: “Well, I thought it was funny.” Singer Aimee Mann summed up her life like this: “Couldn’t cope so I wrote ... is to lose it all.” “To live is to be in the best of health, to die is to lose my life, what now?” (9) It is a sobering thought. It sort of sums up what we said earlier, Without Christ, why bother? Could we sum up our lives in the way St. Paul summed up his? “To live is ...

4186. Looking for the Child of Bethlehem

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... , to men. I heard about presents, parties, vacations from school, ski trips, cookies, family dinners. I was about to give up when I saw a line of children waiting to talk to an old gentlemen in a bright red suit. “Perhaps a child will have my answer,” I thought. After all, it was a child who sent me on this quest. (Child enters.) Asher: (to Child) Hello, little one. Please don’t be afraid of me. I want to ask you a question. Tell me, what is so special about this Christmas holiday? Child: It’s Jesus ...

4187. Stable Talk

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... believe I’m going to have a baby? Elizabeth: (surprised) Why — wha — a baby? Mary: It sounds shocking and incredible I know ... but it’s true ... and it’s, I believe, — of God! Elizabeth: Oh, Mary, you are blessed among all women. Zachariah and I thought we were blessed being so old but now you say you are pregnant. Oh, Mary. (hugs Mary) You know I have this feeling that from your child shall come great things. Tell me all about it! Mary: Well — it started with an angel — Elizabeth: An angel ...

4188. When Israel Sang the Blues

Mark 13:1-31

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... , Abab, like prisoners with no walls — feels like jail. Abab: Yes, this so-called exile is no fun. Geezer: First the Assyrians took over Israel, the northern kingdom — let’s see when was that? Abab: 722 BCE, Geezer. Geezer: One hundred thirty-six years ago. We thought we were safe here in Judah and in the holy city — Jerusalem. Abab: We didn’t listen to the prophets. We were ripe for the taking and the Babylonians swept over us like a great ocean wave and whisked us away. Geezer: I wonder, has God ...

4189. A Christmas Program

Luke 2:21-40

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... been born in Bethlehem, of all places. I know I may be paranoid, and it’s really foolish for me to give this matter any more thought. It could be a trap. Yeah, that’s it, a trap. They’re trying to distract me with all this mumbo-jumbo so I won’t ... an old blanket for her, and found them some leftovers from the kitchen. They were so grateful — can you believe it? I’ve thought about that young couple often since that night. I don’t know what it was, but there was something very special about them ...

4190. Don't Mess with the IRS

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” It was a no-win situation for Jesus, or so they thought. If he counseled against paying taxes, he would be in trouble with the Romans; if he spoke in favor of paying the tax, the common people would be enraged. His enemies would have him just where they wanted him. But Jesus knew their evil intent. He said, “You ...

4191. A Message in Sync with Action

Matthew 22:15-22

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... kept the sound turned off. At the end of the video I asked the confirmands to tell me what they thought the evangelist was talking about. One said, "He must have been talking about judgment because he was walking back and forth, pointing his finger." Another said ... , "By the scowl on his face I thought he was confronting his audience about their sins." I then rewound the tape and turned on the audio. The evangelist was talking about ...

4192. Responding to God

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... several of which are still regularly played by orchestras around the world. The world knows Albert Einstein as a genius in the field of science. This is certainly true, but he did not start out that way. As a boy, growing up in Germany, many people thought him to be ignorant. He failed courses in mathematics; he was very rebellious. As a boy, he showed little evidence of the ability he possessed. Yet, it was Einstein's theory of relativity and similar ideas that brought about the nuclear age in which we now ...

4193. The Need for Transformation

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , but the words would not come. He just could not look at the face of Christ and say those words any longer. Then, to the surprise of all who were listening to the bishop's story, he said, "I was that young man. I was that young, defiant man who thought he did not need Christ, but found that I could not live without him." The angry young man was transformed, it seems, by the power of Christ. He simply could not continue to voice his anger for he could not sufficiently articulate in his mind why he was angry ...

4194. The Divine Deal ...

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... ? The deals get messy. Made With Abraham God once made a deal with Abraham, a man of nineteenth century BC called by God to go up from Ur of the Chaldees to a new home that God would show him. According to one Old Testament line of thought (the P source), the covenant with Abraham was the third of four "dispensations." Following the dispensation of the creation and the covenant with Noah, God made a deal with Abraham, after which God made a deal with the nation of Israel at Sinai. God's deal with Abraham ...

4195. A Death on a Long Friday

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... to talk about death. Death is not regarded by most of us as "good." Good Friday is good because it was a Friday that led to salvation for many. The Swedes call it "Long Friday" because he who suffered and those who loved him and watched perhaps thought the agony and torture would never end. Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, certainly dragged out the horrendous ordeal. What made that Friday so long? There was a death that Friday. It was the death of an innocent. In his hymn, Johann Heerman, the ...

4196. Salvation Has A Name!

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... Jesus question. They coerced Pilate into executing the man responsible for arousing the passions of the people and jeopardizing the status quo. The followers of Jesus were going around healing people in the name of the man, a man branded as a criminal, whom they thought they had removed from the scene. The Sanhedrin had the authority to arrest Peter and John but they had no authority to put anyone to death. It appears that the court wanted to intimidate Peter and John; usually a stay overnight in jail is ...

4197. Getting Through the Grief

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... the time that's pretty easy to do. When people come up to me after a memorial service and say, "That was a beautiful eulogy," I always reply, "Thank you, but the reality is you write your own eulogy with the way you live your life," which is a sobering thought! I can tell by the startled looks I get. I also usually add, "Remember to be nice to your friends and family and also your pastor or priest because they will have the last word!" Not that it matters much once you're deceased, but you'd like to think ...

4198. Being Two People at Once

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... There is yet faith but the faith and the hope and the love are all in the waiting....There is yet faith but the faith and the hope and the love are all in the waiting.... Do not think for you are not ready for thought.Do not think for you are not ready for thought. So the darkness shall be the lightSo the darkness shall be the light And the stillness the dancing.1And the stillness the dancing.1 Like David seeing Bathsheba from the roof, Bob saw Eliot's writing and wanted it to be his. Anything less was not ...

4199. Existence Is All Or Nothing

Illustration

Gary R. Habermas & J.P. Moreland

... still has intensive quantity and, like a sound, it can gradually lose more and more existence until it fades out of existence altogether. Is Kant's objection sound? We don't think so. As Roderick Chisholm points out: (Kant) thought that some things could have more existence than others. It is as though he thought that there is a path between being and nonbeing, so that one day you may set out from nonbeing and head in the direction toward being with the result that the farther you go in that direction the ...

4200. Consider Again Christmas

Illustration

Brian L. Harbour

Consider Again Christmas When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today. When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today. It is a long time since 1832, longer still from 353, longer still from that dark night brightened by a special star in which Jesus the ...

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