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 401 to 425 of 635 results

401. Hearts on Fire

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... will "know the Lord" acknowledging a deep trust. The new covenant will be one of radical obedience to God's commands written on the people's hearts. People will no longer have to look up paragraphs in books of rules and regulations but will instinctively know what God requires of them. When laws are external we obey because we are told we must. However, the new covenant, written on our hearts will be different. The old ways, like scolding and lecturing, even fire and brimstone preaching, will no longer ...

402. Not What You Expected

Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... of us have done. We have isolated snippets from the writings of Paul, for example, that seem to make plausible a legalistic or formalized salvation experience after which we sit back and wait for heaven. If we read the gospel at all, we should know instinctively that there is something wrong with that picture. Or we regard Jesus as a wonderful person — even more wonderful than Honest Abe — and do the best we can to follow his example, hoping that the future will somehow take care of itself. And it doesn ...

403. Lighting up Lent

Ephesians 5:8-14

Sermon

David O. Bales

... of light." Paul's symbolism of light illumines our text. It shines off the page to us. Light is nearly a universal symbol in world religions. If someone talked of God's Spirit searching our soul like a candle through a dark cellar, we'd understand because we instinctively think of light as God's nature. God as light makes sense deeper than reason can explain. The seasons of greater light grow our food and warm our homes. When the sun's up, we can move around freely and see where we're going. We express ...

404. Spiritual Resuscitation

Romans 8:6-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... time into eternity. In order to appropriate more and more of God into more and more of our lives, we worship and obey God as Jesus did. In prayer we practice setting our mind upon this new reality in which we live, and the Spirit retrains us with instincts toward faith and habits for service. We struggle for justice for the oppressed and care for the needy. That's setting our mind on the Spirit. If it helps you in your following Jesus to think of seeing your breath as you speak to God, picture air leaving ...

405. Leaders Worthy of Imitation

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... to make a fast buck any way they could. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul appears to be defensive, and rightly, he is. His integrity has been challenged, and defensiveness is a human response to most threatening situations. Our primitive fight-or-flight instinct kicks in and we decide, consciously or otherwise, whether to stand our ground or to run for our lives. Paul plants his heels and prepares to stand firm, while the Thessalonians fear for his life. Paul's enemies may have accused him of being ...

406. Come On In The Water's Fine

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... for language) That movie has become one of my favorite movies. And I particularly love that scene. As you watch the scene unfold you see the human need, the tugging of the heart and spirit as Delmar sees and recognizes the baptismal procession. He instinctively recognizes his need for spiritual cleansing and renewal. And he acts upon it. And then there's that last line of invitation, "Come on in, boys, the water's fine!" I love that. Every time we celebrate and someone is baptized, that's the invitation ...

407. Step into Your 'Adjacent Possibility'

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... for the crabs off the Chesapeake Bay, this results in the annual frenzy of “soft shell crab” season. It is also the only way Maine lobsters ever get to be big enough to harvest. When its body begins to feel cramped inside the shell, the lobster instinctively looks for a safe spot to rest while the hard shell comes off and the pink membrane just inside forms the basis of the new shell. But no matter where a lobster goes for this shedding process, it is vulnerable. It can get tossed against a ...

408. Scratching God’s Hand

Luke 23:26-43

Illustration

King Duncan

... already had too many pets. It did no good. The children insisted that a loving father would stop the car for a stray cat. So finally the father drove back to the spot and reached for the scraggly kitten. The ungrateful little beast scratched him! Fighting an instinct to strangle the kitten, the father packed it into the car and took it home. Once at home, the children created a bed for the kitten out of their softest blankets. They fed the kitten droppers full of milk. They petted and fussed over the kitten ...

409. The 4 Words that Tell What It Means to Be a Christian

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and prayed in the temple “blessing God.” Like the disciples, in our greatest moments of crisis — moments of fear, moments of failure; moments of disease, destruction, disaster, and death we regress, or reconnect, to the most basic of our spiritual instincts. When Pastor and Professor Mike Cope of Abilene Christian University was confronted by the critical injuries of his twelve year old son in a car crash, all his years of theological education and erudition were reduced to a lowest common denominator ...

410. A Lesson from Dr. Seuss

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... course, that we always make good decisions. Some of you will remember an episode of Seinfeld in which George Costanza is frustrated because every decision he makes turns out to be wrong. Jerry says, “Here’s your chance to do the opposite. If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” George realizes that Jerry is on to something. If he would act and react completely opposite of his normal actions and reactions, he might have better results. George makes a decision to ...

411. Why Are You Acting Like Orphans?

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to admit that our “adoptive parent” has been revealed? And our “adoptive Parent” is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer? Most of us spend our lives in a kind of Machiavellian march. We operate on the principles of “scrounge, struggle, survive.” Not a bad instinct if you are a gazelle or leopard, or an orphan. Not a good decision if you have been offered the alternative reality of being one of the “children of God.” Not a good decision if you have received the inexhaustible inheritance that ...

412. Save Me, Lord

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... if he was on a mountaintop praying. How much had their fears fed their forgetfulness? They so forgot about Jesus’ presence in their lives that when he strode over the water towards them, they could only shriek, “It is a ghost!” What is your faith’s first instinct when confronted with the fears, fires, and foes of life? Is it to pray “Help me God!” Or “Save me Lord!” Or Please, God!” Or “Why did you let this happen to me, God?” Or when the wind blows and the waves bash, is your first ...

413. Jesus and Divorce

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... road to scrape the ice off her windshield. For some reason she did not pull off on the shoulder, but probably thinking she had adequate time, stopped in one of the traffic lanes. A car coming over a bridge behind her saw her car and the driver instinctively hit his brakes, the wrong thing to do on an icy bridge. He slid sideways, and before he could get straightened out, was struck by another vehicle. That car was struck by another and then another and then another, in all, a total of 36 cars and trucks ...

414. Matthew 16:13-20

Matthew 16:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... moments. From the northernmost point of his preaching and teaching journey, Jesus turns south towards Jerusalem and the beginning of the end of his earthly ministry. Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” triggers an inspired answer from instinctive Peter and opens the next chapter in the salvation story. Jesus’ first question to his disciples in this week’s text asks his closest companions to “take the temperature” of the crowds they have encountered in their travels. Who is Jesus ...

415. They Call It Grace

2 Peter 3:8-15

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... They told him that they were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among the world's religions. Lewis responded, "That's easy. It's grace." The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge without any strings attached seems to go against every human instinct. We want to get what we deserve. We want things to be fair. So, the Buddhists have their eightfold path to nirvana, Hinduism has a doctrine of karma where you get reincarnated over and over again until you are good enough. The Jews have 613 ...

416. No Clues?

Matthew 1:18-25

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... d been in a fight — bloodied nose, bruise over his left eye — ole Ralph must have put up a real fight. I arrested him on the spot, read him his rights, and locked him up. Case solved. Damis: Great job, Joe. I always knew you had instincts for detective work except ... Joe: (interrupts) The police chief said I’ll get a meritorious citation and a promotion. (brags) It’s all in the eye — Damis — being perceptive and observant. And I have figured out why you’ve been feeling queasy each morning and ...

417. Jesus Rescues Us

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... : that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (Ephesians 3:5-6). Jesus came to rescue us from many things. He came to rescue us from fear. People are instinctively afraid of the unknown and the future; uncertainty is always filled with fear. People are also fearful of many present-day realities and day-to-day worries. Jesus is the solution to the fears and worries that many times plague our lives, weighing us down ...

418. A Death on a Long Friday

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... on her lap. She served the church. The congregation was grateful. She would have served gladly without the accolades. Martha's death was the death of a happy person. So often do we experience the blessed "passing" of elderly people who lived for others. Instinctively, we know that Isaiah's servant of the Lord gave his life for others joyfully. Did he not know that "he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we ...

419. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... is still with them. The resurrected Jesus didn't just fade away; he didn't head off into the sunset and disappear. He visibly heads up into the clouds, accompanied by angelic beings, thus assuring the disciples that everything is going according to plan. Instinctively, the disciples know that the talk about the Spirit is talk about Jesus' continuing presence with them. They are at ease; they have a plan; they have their mission; their doubts are assuaged. The disciples are given a sneak preview of the last ...

420. The Real Underdog!

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... . He had to play the way he always had, the game he knew the best, the game that had gotten him to this moment in his life and this competition. Advanced weapons the world tried to give him were not his ticket to victory. He had to trust his own instincts knowing that he was not alone. That brings us to the third reason David was not an underdog: He had God on his side. God was not on David's side because he was an underdog, but because David trusted in God completely. In fact, he becomes in this story ...

421. Finding the Right House for God

2 Samuel 7:1-14a

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... in ruins?" (Haggai 1:1-4). Haggai goes on to pronounce a curse on the people's land for not rebuilding God's house. That really got everyone's attention, especially good old Zarubbabel who put everybody to work renovating the house of the Lord. So David's instinct is right. We shouldn't live uptown in nice digs while God is nearly homeless. It all makes sense. No wonder Nathan said, "Sounds like a great plan!" He said it in part because he knew that God had always been with David and "assumed" that meant ...

422. Feeling a Fake

Illustration

H. Robinson

... home. The procedure was repeated for several weeks. The boy became frustrated. When would he be told about the jade? He was too polite, however, to question the wisdom of his venerable teacher. Then one day, when the old man put a stone into his hands, the boy cried out instinctively, 'That's not jade!'"

423. Finding a Better Way

Illustration

Staff

... he would run up the slopes with his skis on, an unbelievably grueling activity. In the evening he would lift weights, run sprints anything to get an edge. But the other team members were working as hard and long as he was. He realized instinctively that simply training harder would never be enough. Killy then began challenging the basic theories of racing technique. Each week he would try something different to see if he could find a better, faster way down the mountain. His experiments resulted in a new ...

424. The Rules of Prediction

Illustration

Staff

... be disposed of. If you've always had doubts about the judgments of forecasters, it's quite understandable because: An economist is a man who would marry Farrah Fawcett-Majors for her money. By the same reasoning, your suspicions about the narrow range of most forecasts are justified: The herd instinct among forecasters make sheep look like independent thinkers. When presenting a forecast: Give them a number or give them a date, but never both.

425. When the Bells Ring

Illustration

James Dobson

... patient is unable to breathe. It is terribly claustrophobic, especially for a small child. This little boy had a Christian mother who loved him and stayed by his side through the long ordeal. She cradled him on her lap and talked softly about the Lord. Instinctively, the woman was preparing her son for the final hours to come. Gracie told me that she entered his room one day as death approached, and she heard this lad talking about hearing bells. "The bells are ringing, Mommie," he said. "I can hear them ...

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