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 1400 results

401. Fixing The Fox!

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... of pluralism. This is the view that it does not matter what you believe as long as you believe in someone or something sincerely. Here is the view that one religion and one god is as good as another. You may take your pick. This means we drop any notion of trying to win one for our belief - no evangelism allowed! This does not correspond with the Bible. The Scriptures are very clear in stating that there is only one true God. There is only one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. The Bible is ...

402. Angry Hands

Psalm 26:1-12

Sermon

... spouse, children against parents, neighbor against neighbor. The devil wants to turn our anger to violence, violence like that visited upon Jesus Christ. In no way can such anger be pleasing to our God. In no way can such violence be in keeping with any notion of a righteous or a proper anger. Lent demonstrates to you and me in graphic ways what misdirected, inappropriate anger can do. It killed the very Son of God. However, out of Jesus' death God has brought you and me blessing. Out of that misdirected ...

403. Repent!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... , I would not be so quick to condemn and fear. Repentance is not a common word in our vocabulary. Confessing your sins and promising to go straight is a rare quality in prison. It's almost as rare in many churches. Today mainline Protestants treat the notion warily. Repentance is for Catholics with their sacrament of Confession and Absolution in those little booths where you recite your sins to an unseen priest and he tells you how many "Our Father's" to say to make things right with God. And repentance is ...

404. God's Passion

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

... wish, not that the beloved will be obedient, but that she will be herself - the self that is already loved to the distraction." (Capon, Hunting The Divine Fox, p. 38) God responds to us, "not 'in order to' anything, but 'because of' someone." It's not a new idea, this notion that God seeks us like a lover; it's as old as the biblical book, Song of Solomon. This writer says of God: "By night I sought him of whom my soul loveth. . . Tell me, 0 thou whom I love, where you journey. . . Why should I be as one ...

405. The Preposterous Prescription

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

... knows what they’re talking about, you ought to be willing to follow it." The lesson Earl learned was a good one. It doesn’t make much sense to go to a doctor for treatment and then ignore it. You might as well save your money. Some folks have the notion that a doctor can wave a magic stethoscope and make them well with little or no effort on their part. It doesn’t work that way. Healing is a joint effort of the patient and the physician. Just for a moment, try to imagine what it is like when you ...

406. L’Chaim!

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... him as against people, hateful of people, and always keeping scores on our sins so that we will surely pay in full. It is, in short, religion without grace. It is Christianity without Christ, and his shepherding care for our lost and wayward lives. It is the notion that God is forever dead-set against our ever having a moment of joy and genuine satisfaction. I recall the story of the old Dutch preacher who served two congregations in Holland, one on either side of a dike. The only way he could get to both ...

407. All Saints' Sunday

Mt 5:1-12 · Is 26:1-21 · Rev 21:9-11, 21-27

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... fiscal health, expanding population. Apparently, these do not make a strong city. 3. Wrath (v. 20). When God comes at the end of time, the wicked will experience the wrath of God. He is coming to punish evil-doers. What shall we make of this? Is it an obsolete notion which may have been useful in a less enlightened age? If God is justice, then wrath is necessary. If God is holy, he cannot endure sin. The Bible does not suggest at any place that in the end a God of love will save all men, including the Devil ...

408. And You Thought God Didn't Care!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

... t care!" Lots of folks believe that about God. He is either unaware of all that concerns us or is indifferent to it. For all those who suspect God of this detached inclination, who think God doesn't care, there is marvelous truth in the text to refute that notion forever. Let's lay a bit of groundwork and see how this is so. Moses, the emissary of God, born to deliver his people from Egyptian bondage, has been in training, up to now, for the "Big Move" from Pharoah's jurisdiction to God's control. But let's ...

409. Who is Greatest Among You ...

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

... shall be your servant." That must be remembered above all else. You must be willing to serve even the lowest, the least you can imagine. You must become as vulnerable as a child, because in God’s Kingdom the measure of greatness is not the usual notion of success or achievement; it’s service, and the humility of considering others before yourself. Matthew doesn’t give us a clue as to whether the disciples said a word. Maybe they were too embarrassed to speak. Sometimes an experience of truth has a way ...

410. When the Poor Become Rich

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... is the condition of being spiritually blessed. It is an inner assurance of God’s love and grace; it’s a confidence in God’s eternal care. Misunderstanding is likely if we confuse the biblical state of blessedness with our common notions of happiness which, for the most part, are descriptions of good feelings dependent upon surrounding circumstances. Jesus was not suggesting that those who mourn should feel good about their mourning or that those who suffer persecution should enjoy their trials. Rather ...

411. The City Unshakeable

Psalm 46:1-11, Hebrews 12:25-29

Sermon

... been jolted out of us. The belief that even when a terrorist attack succeeds, its damage will be limited and isolated has been demolished. "Airport security" has become an oxymoron. Confidence in our intelligence services and national defenses has fallen. And any lingering notion that being on the side of fairness and freedom and justice for all was any kind of insulation against massive tragedy is now banished forever, gone are the days when all we had to fear was fear itself. Michael Elliot, writing for ...

412. Fifth Point of the Compass

Illustration

Staff

... the accuracy of this, but the idea is a fascinating one. Those points yonder, all four of them, are rather meaningless to me unless I can think of them in relation to where I am. It's hard to know which way I should go unless I have some notion of where I'm starting from. I must know my position, locate myself, see myself in context, in relationship. And all of this is quite true also in our personal lives as we make our pilgrimage across the years. We need some perception of where we are - in relationship ...

413. Healing And Forgiveness

Luke 5:17-26

Sermon

... does not believe that he or she can be cured, then there can be no healing. Furthermore, by combining the forgiveness of sin with healing, Jesus very skillfully blunted the criticism of the Scribes and Pharisees. These religious leaders were the ones who propagated the notion that if a person was ill, then he or she must have sinned. Although on one hand they objected to Jesus' offering forgiveness to this man, they witnessed this healing as a proof that the man's sins were actually forgiven. One of the ...

414. For Those On The Outside

Luke 8:40-56

Sermon

... place only because we want to be among our friends. The woman in this story came seeking Jesus with the hope that his magic power would heal her disease. One would think that before Jesus could deal with this woman that he would correct her wild and crazy notions. He should have told her that this business about magical healing was nonsense. We might think that he should have told her that it was his message about the love of God and the love of humanity that was his true purpose for being on earth. Like ...

415. Shaped by the Future

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Joe Pennel

... cannot be ignored. But many contemporary Christians are either too liberal or too modern to believe in Christ's Second Coming. Not many of us believe he will pop out of the sky onto a shopping mall parking lot. Nor do many of us hold the notion of him zipping through the clouds and landing in the center of Disney World - or worse, in the auditorium of the Thomas Road Baptist Church. After all, we live for more proximate goals. Our lives are governed by goals and objectives which will help us to shape ...

416. Away with the Stable

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

... story is told in this way. He said that Mary gave birth to Jesus right in the middle of the house because there was no room in the kataluma, or "guest room." Luke wanted his readers to hear something very special. He wanted his words to convey the notion that Jesus, the Son of God, was born, not off in the guest room, but right in the midst of smelly hay, snorting animals, anxious on-lookers, and the tenderness and love of the family circle. Jesus, our Savior, was born just like all other children of that ...

417. Submission

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

... importance of renewing the vows which we made, or which were made for us, at our baptism. Let every baptism which takes place in our congregation speak to us about the importance of submitting ourselves anew to God's authority in our lives. Submission is a notion which does not sit well with contemporary people. The assertion of one's rights establishes the mood of our day. Freedom from authority is the banner that is hoisted by the masses. To be "laid back" is a virtue. We do not want anyone or anything ...

418. The Bodily Glorification of God

John 1:29-34

Sermon

... wrote the New Testament picked up on this and said, therefore, the spirit is really more important than the body. So we have been taught down through the centuries to glorify God with our spirits and to discount our bodies. But Apostle Paul tried to correct that notion when he said, "Glorify God with the body. Glorify God with the body!" How is it then that we glorify God with the body? Saint Paul said we glorify God with the body by shunning immorality. In Corinth, there was a big temple that had as many ...

419. The Primacy of Human Relationships

Matthew 5:33-37

Sermon

Joe Pennel

... be properly related to each other if both assume that the other is lying. Dubbing Russia an "Evil Empire" does not foster truth among nations. Labeling the U.S.A. an "Imperialist Aggressor" does not add a plank to the foundation of truth. This notion about truth being the glue for national and international relationships also holds true in the area of personal relationships. In my almost thirty years as a pastor, I have officiated at hundreds of funerals. Most, though not all, of these funerals have called ...

420. Beyond the Ordinary

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Joe Pennel

... of relating to others is vast and almost incomprehensible. Christians also live by a different truth when they practice love toward their enemies. The world's truth calls people to love their neighbors and to hate their enemies. Jesus held up the notion that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor." (Leviticus 19:18) It is crystal clear that, by "neighbor," Leviticus meant fellow - Israelite. The Rabbis gave to "neighbor" the widest possible meaning by ...

421. Misunderstanding Jesus

John 6:25-59

Sermon

... misunderstand Jesus ... There are then, to sum up, two basic steps required of us. We must first stop and listen to what the voice of God is really saying. We must not make it say what we want it to say. We must lay aside prejudices and preconceived notions of God’s plan for our lives. We must live the adventure of faith into the unknown. And, secondly, after we learn to understand Jesus we must be obedient. It is not enough to simply understand him. We must obey him or else we cannot call ourselves his ...

422. Christmas, Second Proper

Titus 3:1-11

Bulletin Aid

... and merit Exegetical note This doctrinal incursion into an otherwise largely ethical discourse states a central theme in Paul's theology, namely, that salvation comes by God's grace and mercy rather than by human goodness and merit. What is added here is the notion that, as a result of God's initiative in outpouring the Holy Spirit in the Christ, the recipients are, in effect, adopted as children who are destined to inherit eternal life. Call to Worship (based on Psalm 97) Leader: Let the heavens declare ...

423. Lent 2

Romans 4:1-25

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Sharing the faith of Abraham Exegetical note Paul here substantiates his key notion of justification by faith (i.e., trust in God's grace) by appealing to Abraham as one who was justified, not by virtue of his works of obedience to the law, but because God graciously "reckoned" righteousness to him. That Paul regards Abraham as a model is obvious in v. ...

424. Lent 6

Mt 26:14--27:66 · Php 2:5-11 · Isa 50:4-9 · Ps 31

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... Paul as an example of how the Philippian Christians should comport themselves. The hymn reflects in many respects Gnostic savior mythology, but Paul seems to have added the phrase "even death on a cross" in v. 8 in order to underscore the very unGnostic notion that Jesus' humility and obedience culminated in a torturous execution and real death, on the basis of which God exalted him and his name. Call to Worship (based on Psalm 31) Leader: Love God, all you saints! People: GOD PRESERVES THE FAITHFUL! Leader ...

425. Easter 5

John 14:1-4

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Apocalypse now Exegetical note This passage begins three chapters of Jesus' "farewell discourses," which follow directly the foot-washing and "new commandment." Among several distinctively Johannine themes here is the notion of Jesus' "coming again" presented in verse 3. But its elaboration does not occur until vv. 15ff., where it becomes clear that what John has in mind is not an event of the distant future, but rather precisely the gift of the Holy Spirit, which, in effect, makes the apocalypse ...

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