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 754 results

401. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Sooner or later it’s bound to happen. A child will climb into your lap and ask the question, a friend facing some struggle will want to know, or lifting up the floorboards of your own faith you will examine your basic assumptions. From age to age the question is the same, WHAT IS GOD LIKE? People in Jesus’ day needed an answer to the God question, too; so Jesus gave us the greatest story ever told. A certain man had two sons. We call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but really it’s a story about a ...

402. The Door of Hospitality

John 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Two strangers attended the same church for several Sundays. No one spoke to either one of them, so one lady decided, “I’ll give this church one more chance. If nobody speaks to me next Sunday I’ll never go again.” The other lady said, “I don’t like this ‘no speak’ situation in church. If no one speaks to me next Sunday, I’ll break the ice and speak to someone myself.” The next Sunday the ushers happened to seat the two strangers on the same pew. Once more nobody spoke. But, as the first woman rose to stalk ...

403. Welcoming God Into Our Homes

Revelation 21:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A Sunday School teacher asked her students where God lived. After the usual answers of heaven and in my heart, Bobby spoke up and said, “God lives in the bathroom at our house!” “Why the bathroom?” inquired the teacher. “I don’t know,” replied Bobby. “I only know that my Dad gets up every morning and beats on the bathroom door where my sister is taking forever to get ready for school and exclaims, ‘My God, are you still in there?’ God lives in the bathroom at our house.” Where does God live at your house? ...

404. The Power to Do Good

Acts 10:34-38, 44-48

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When it's all been said and done, only two kinds of people populate the earth. There are those who put in more than they take out; and there are those who take out more than they put in. A getter or a giver, which are you? There are many positive things that could be said of Jesus Christ. He was a brilliant teacher, a prophetic change agent, even the Savior of the world. In our scripture for today, Peter describes Him this way: “Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good!" O, that all of us who call him Lord ...

405. By Faith

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

One thing I have quit doing the last couple of years is cleaning gutters. Every time I mention it, Sandy immediately hires someone to do it and sends me the bill. Maybe she has heard me tell this story too many times. A certain husband was cleaning leaves off his roof when he slipped and fell. As he slid off the edge, he managed to grasp the gutter for dear life. Dangling there between the heavens above and earth below, the frightened homeowner cried out, “Can somebody up there help me?" Quick came the ...

406. Religious Balkanization

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

As a seminary intern in St. Louis, Missouri, I was part of a Jewish-Christian Dialogue group. We were seeking to understand one another's traditions, work together for the good of our neighborhoods, and promote tolerance and respect in society. I had been invited into the group by a member of the church at which I was serving. She grew up Jewish, and in recent years had, in her words, "completed my faith" by gaining an understanding that Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the prophets of Israel. One of the ...

407. Cross-Bearing

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

While vacationing in Mexico sometime back, my wife and I attended worship in a church that is served by one of our Mexican minister friends. Following the service, we and too many others piled into a small vehicle to go to our friend's home for some refreshments. In the front passenger seat sat one very slender fellow and on his lap sat his not-so-slender wife. With a grin he turned back to us in the rear and said the Spanish equivalent of, "Look at me; I'm bearing my cross," and everyone chuckled. Except ...

408. Bear the Light

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The five year old nephew of the bride was chosen to be in charge of carrying the rings down the aisle. At the wedding rehearsal he was unusually unruly. He kept leaping out at people, baring his teeth at and then chasing the flower girls. He growled and snarled as he practiced going down the aisle. He brandished the pillow like a pistol. Finally his mother pulled him aside and demanded to know why he was behaving so badly. “But Mom,” he explained, “I have to act fierce — I’m the ‘Ring Bear.’” Like so many ...

409. Looking for Rainbows

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Jack Coe was a popular evangelist in the first half of the twentieth century. Like many popular evangelists of the time, Coe held his services in a tent. Coe’s tent was a massive structure which would hold ten thousand people. One day Coe had a dream in which he saw a flood. The dream troubled him so much that he told his wife about it. Later, when he was conducting a crusade in Kansas City, he dreamed once again about a flood. Together these two dreams seemed so real that he felt that perhaps God was ...

410. Advent 2

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 1:68-79, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 1:3-11

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship (Includes the lighting of the Advent Wreath) Leader: Already, the year is behind us and we are counting the days until Christmas — the eldering for one set of reasons and the young for another. We’ve come here to enjoy the festivities of December and to tell again the stories that encourage us to be God-bearers in our world. People: The scriptures say that God has made promises of safety and prosperity to people who are willing to be loyal bearers of goodness and grace, mercy and ...

411. The Ultimate Mountain Top Experience

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1976, by the invitation of the President of Mexico, Mother Teresa opened a home in a very poor section outside of Mexico City. The Sisters who visited in the homes of these very poor people were surprised when, despite their poverty, these impoverished people did not ask for clothes, medicine, or food. They only said, “Sisters, talk to us about God.” (1) Today is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany. Our theme has been “Discovering God.” The Scriptures have shown us many epiphanies during this ...

412. A Family Celebration - Maundy Thursday

John 13:18-30

Sermon

King Duncan

There are many differences in the body of Christ about how the Lord’s Supper should be served, and even what it means. For example, Priscilla Larson’s brother‑in‑law serves as a pastor in a denomination that does not use wine in their service, but substitutes the “pure, unfermented juice of the vine.” And, of course, being a Protestant denomination, they do not believe that the wine and the bread actually become the body and blood in the holy sacrament. One day Priscilla Larson’s brother‑in‑law responded ...

413. When Jesus Prays

John 17:20-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Now that baseball is in full swing, I thought you might enjoy a story I was reading recently concerning former Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller and Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span. It seems these two players from different eras have something rather odd in common: Both men during baseball games hit their mothers in the stands with a foul ball. Feller hit his mom in 1939 (he broke her collarbone); Span hit his during a spring training game in 2010. Fortunately, both moms made full recoveries. (1 ...

414. “The King Rejoices in Your Strength, Lord”

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God’s overpowering strength plus his overpowering love not only saves us but provides a life of joy. Understanding the Text This psalm belongs to the broad genre of royal psalms. Like Psalm 20, Craigie calls it a royal liturgy,[1] which suggests that it was used in worship. It is as if we are standing outside the temple and hearing the voices of worship, and we have a vague idea of what is going on inside the building as we try to picture the action in our mind’s eye. The question that the form ...

415. “You Have Given Me the Heritage of Those Who Fear Your Name”

Psalm 61:1-8

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: In prayer we are led to God our Rock, and to a higher plane of faith and trust. Understanding the Text Psalm 61 is an individual lament.1The reader is not informed about the problem, except that it is evidently, like the occasion for Psalms 42–43, related to the psalmist’s “foe” (61:3b). Not generally included in the royal psalms, it nevertheless contains the beautiful prayer on the king’s behalf in verses 6–7, or a prayer prayed by the king. A backward glance at Psalm 60 and a forward glance at ...

416. The Tithe

Malachi 3:6-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In the fifth disputation, Malachi argued that God would show his justice in judgment at his appointed time. The prophet, true to the prophetic tradition, calls for a response in preparation for the coming of the messenger and the messenger of the covenant. The appeal for a particular response links this section to the third disputation (3:10–16). In both sections, God is expecting a renewal of fidelity: in marriage (2:10–16) and in worship (3:7–12). The former is representative of our love for others and ...

417. Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

4:17–32 · Therefore walk in newness: Efforts to walk in unity succeed to the degree to which they reflect the indwelling influence of Christ. Confident that he communicates the very counsel of the Lord, Paul negatively urges his Gentile readers to conduct their lives no longer as their fellow unconverted Gentiles do (4:17). This does not imply that Paul recommends a “Jewish” lifestyle; by “Gentile” here he means “pagan,” “Christless.” That is, he warns against living life apart from Christ, according to ...

418. The Gate to Grace, Goodness, and Glory

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

A pastor friend who lived in an apartment complex in San Francisco tells about the time that he and his wife parked their brand new Honda Accord under cover in the secured parking area next to their apartment complex. The next day they decided to celebrate the purchase of that new car by going out to breakfast together. Not only would they enjoy eating out together, it would give them another opportunity to drive their new automobile. Leaving the apartment building, they greeted the guard on duty at the ...

419. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Sin Prompts Your Mouth The “second dialogue cycle” begins here as we return to the argument of Eliphaz, from whom we last heard in chapters 4 and 5. There Eliphaz operated from the assumption that humans are “born to trouble” (5:7) and therefore “reap” what they “sow” (4:8). It is impossible for “a mortal to be righteous before God.” Since even God’s servants, the angels, are untrustworthy, “how much more” are humans subject to “error” (4:18–19). As a result, Job must deserve his suffering. His only hope ...

420. Something is About to Happen!

John 1:1-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Tom Long tells of the time when he visited a Sunday school class and heard something he had never heard in church before. The topic for the day was quite simply, “Scandals in The Church.” The teacher mentioned all the tough times the church has endured throughout history. He spoke of the hypocrisy, the scandals, the persecution—the awful things that have been done in the name of the church and of God. As he was lecturing, a woman in the class raised her hand. When the teacher called on her, she asked, “ ...

421. A Personal Question Deserves a Personal Answer

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Roy Howard

One warm August night and only two of us standing on our neighbor’s deck. The others had gone inside to escape the heat and eat the dessert waiting in the cool kitchen. Alone on the deck in the descending darkness of early evening my neighbor asked, “So, how did you find the Lord?” It was not a question I was expecting at a neighborhood dinner party, or any party for that matter, where politics, religion, and conviviality don’t mingle with one another. It made me uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed. ...

422. The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:2-35

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

From Persia to Greece (11:2-20): Big Idea: Often working behind the scenes, God foresees and oversees the struggles of his people with hostile world forces. Understanding the Text See the unit on 10:1–11:1 for a discussion of the larger context, structure, and comparisons of chapters 10–12. Against this backdrop, 11:2–20 (the extended unit’s second section) divides into two parts: a summary of the transition from Persia to Greece (11:2–4) and a description of key events in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid wars ( ...

423. Whose Fault Is It?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

The youth pastor at one of my former congregations had a cartoon taped to his office door. It pictured a little guy standing, trembling, in front of a massive desk behind which was sitting a big, big man. The little guy wore torn jeans and a T-shirt, and had a leather loop around his neck holding a cross in front of his chest. His hair was messy and his toes peeked out the front of his sandals. A stick-on name patch read, “Hi! I’m Mike! I’m the Youth Pastor.” On the dark and imposing desk was a bronze ...

424. Rich In God's Sight

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Richard Patt

The key verse of the parable Jesus tells here has a way of sending a chill down the spine. In that verse God exclaims, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you ..." (v. 20). Hearing that dramatic warning, maybe you have surmised, "Will I ever get caught in a situation where those stern words are addressed to me?" Generally we tend to feel we have our lives on the right track. We try to keep a pleasing balance between material things and the things of the spirit. But when we look objectively, we are ...

425. The Advent Of Our Lord

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

In years past the third Sunday in Advent was known as Gaudete Sunday. The name came from the Latin form of the first word of the Introit for that day: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!" In a season which was known for its solemn preparation for Christmas, this Sunday was a little respite from seriousness. The color of the day changed from violet to rose and flowers were allowed on the altar. With the rise of liturgical renewal, Christians have stressed hope rather than repentance as ...

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