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 4426 to 4450 of 5000 results

4426. Salty Saints

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

“He’s the salt of the earth!” That’s a common expression. We all know what it means. It means that the person is “grand guy, one in a million.” It is a badge of honor, an accolade reserved for someone we admire tremendously. And it all got started in Jesus’ words to His disciples. I. ACTUALLY, AS IT APPEARS IN MARK’S GOSPEL, THE SAYING IS A BIT CONFUSING. Commentators have been tearing their hair out for centuries trying to understand what the verse at the tag end of Jesus’ harsh saying about radical ...

4427. Whose Servant Are You? (Part II)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Did you hear the story, from a month or so ago, about former President George Bush and the question of identity? According to one of the writers for the San Francisco Chronicle, President Bush, in his visit last month to Florida to survey the hurricane damage, evidently decided to get in a little campaigning, too. He visited a local nursing home and approached a little old lady sitting in a corner and asked, "Do you know who I am?" The woman said,"No, but if you go over to the desk, they''re usually able ...

4428. Life: From the Inside Out

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Eleven people, so goes the story, were dangling from a rope beneath a helicopter in a rescue scenario. Being rescued were ten men and one woman. Word came down from the pilot that one of the eleven would have to let go; if not, everyone would perish. The woman spoke right up and said her whole life had been one of sacrifice -- for her children, husband, and parents -- and now she would be willing to sacrifice one last time by letting go. With that, the ten men applauded! The story's point? Never ...

4429. Things That Make Jesus Angry

John 2:12-25

Sermon

King Duncan

Jesus was a very gentle man. Right? We sing “Fairest Lord Jesus . . .” Or “Gentle Savior Meek and Mild . . .” Jesus was Mr. Nice Guy, the prototype sensitive male. Respectful of women. Loved little children. Kind to his mother. What is he doing, then, in the temple courts during the holiest season of the Jewish year, overturning tables and scattering coins and using a whip, of all things, to drive both people and cattle out of the courtyard? Imagine if someone came into our church and disturbed our service ...

4430. With a Bang or a Whimper?

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

Back in 1925, T. S. Eliot wrote the poem, "The Hollow Men." It is an indictment of a whole generation of people whose lives are empty because they seem to believe nothing. They have been only a "paralyzed force, gesture without motion." They have accomplished nothing: they are the product of the dry intellectuality of modern life. Eliot describes them this way. We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw They are not "lost violent souls" but only hollow men. ...

4431. The Face that Launched a Thousand Lives

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

You will recall the ancient myth that lies behind our sermon theme for today. Helen, the wife of Sparta's king Menelaus, was acclaimed the most beautiful woman of Greece. The Greeks fought the Trojan War in order to get her back from Troy, where Paris, the son of King Priam, had taken her. In Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, the question is asked concerning Helen, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burned the topless towers of Ilium?" Today's text speaks of a far greater face, a face ...

4432. Stop the Offerings!

Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Go with me to the year 1968, to the basement of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. I was the student assistant at that church, while attending Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. One Sunday morning, immediately following the Sunday school hour, the senior high teacher came hurrying into the fellowship hall and engaged me in an almost desperate conversation. The question had been raised in his class that morning, "How could the death of a man 2,000 years ago ...

4433. Dynamics Of Prayer

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson this morning comes from the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, the first three verses. “But now thus says the Lord who created you, oh Jacob. He who formed you, oh Israel. Fear not for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, ...

4434. A Chosen People

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

King Duncan

A major university experienced an amazing turnaround in its football program a few years ago. The next spring, at the opening of spring training, the coach gathered his players together for a team meeting. As the players found their seats, the coach announced he was going to hand out awards that many of the players had earned in the fall. As the coach called players forward and handed them their awards, they were cheered on by their teammates. Then one of the assistant coaches gave the head coach a placard ...

4435. The “Sad-You-See” Syndrome

Mark 12:18-27

Sermon

Michael Milton

Today we witness an ancient military war tactic at work—attack in waves, leaving no time for the enemy to recover from the first shot. First came the chief priests, scribes, and elders with their religious question to trap Jesus Christ.[1] They were defeated by Jesus, and they knew it. But it wasn’t over. The scheming conspirators then sent the unlikely alliance of the Pharisees and the Herodians to throw a political net over the Savior, but they failed. Now, in an unrelenting attack, comes a rather ...

4436. Guidance for a Time of Chaos

John 16:5-16

Sermon

King Duncan

Author Dennis Rainey tells about an exercise he leads each year with his sixth grade Sunday School class. He divides the class into three groups. These groups then compete in putting together a jigsaw puzzle. As these 12-year-olds scatter into three circles on the floor, he explains that there is only one rule in the competition: to put together the puzzle without talking. The contents of puzzle number one are deposited on the floor and Group One immediately goes to work. The group promptly sets up the box ...

4437. Blinders

Acts 17:22-31

Sermon

Bill Mosley

Loggerhead turtles lay eggs among the sand dunes on beaches. The little turtles dig their way up through the sand and struggle along the beach seeking the ocean waters that wash upon the sand wave after wave. It's a hunger that is born deep within them to seek this sea water, for it is life -- even living water. If they don't find it, they die. But if they find the water, they can live over 100 years and weigh over 600 pounds! If a little turtle gets sidetracked, say it falls into a moat around a sand ...

4438. Can You Hear Me Now?

Exodus 3:1-15

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

A cell phone commercial asks, "Can you hear me now?" The assumption is that one can hear any place, any time, in any situation through this miraculous technology -- the latest cell phone device and service. When the voice of God comes from a burning bush that is not consumed -- "Can you hear me now?" -- Moses finds excuse after excuse for not hearing or listening to God's call.1 Moses has good reason and credible excuses, at least in his mind, to resist, but God, nonetheless, persists in calling. God's ...

4439. The Model of Success

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Some of you know that the church is involved inevitably in matters of business. In some churches, particularly smaller churches, the ministers take a very important role in administering the business side of the church. This church decided not to do that with its minister. Its business affairs are managed by the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee. They have done a wonderful job, and I congratulate them. I am not allowed to manage the business affairs of the church, but I am still interested in ...

4440. Lord of the Dance

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The song we have just sung, "Lord of the Dance," declares that the proper response on learning the meaning of the Gospel is to celebrate, to dance. This hymn is one of the less traditional hymns in our hymn book, written in the 1960's, which you may have guessed, when the Church began experimenting with new music. It was finally included in the 1988 hymnal. It was written by an Englishman, a man named Sydney Carter, who put the words to the arrangement of the American Shaker hymn, "Tis a Gift to be Simple ...

4441. Disappointed in Jesus

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

It was a painful experience for both of us. Jane was a young mother about my age. She had been on the pastor nominating committee that called us to New Jersey. And we had shared much laughter and friendship through the years. She also was on the session - and that cold November night she seemed edgy and distant. I soon found out why. Following the meeting, she waited for me out in the parking lot. And after I locked the church door, she simply lit into me. "How dare you!" she said. "How dare you push your ...

4442. Do You Get It?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

"Is that really necessary?" It's a question that we may ask when something unpleasant or disturbing has been said or done. If someone brings up a topic like capital punishment or abortion at the dinner table, you might ask rhetorically, "Is that really necessary?" In that situation it probably isn't, but there are times when such issues do have to be discussed. We can't always insist on keeping things light and comfortable. When somebody does refuse to face some of the tough realities of the world, we ...

4443. Pay It Forward!

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There is no place like an island to bring home how vitally interconnected we are to each other. The other night, one lone deer on tiny Shaw Island managed to plunge all the San Juan County islands into complete darkness and powerlessness for about five hours. This deer, it seems, decided to cross the road at the same time some unsuspecting driver (and there are only about 50 cars on the entire island) came around the corner. Whether to save Bambi or the front grillwork, the driver swerved sharply. He ...

4444. Christmas 2

Psalm 147:1-20, Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Ephesians 1:1-14, John 1:1-18

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament texts for the Second Sunday After Christmas are a celebration of God's salvation. Jeremiah 31:7-14 proclaims a new salvation to a remnant that will survive Israel's exile from the land at the hands of the Babylonians, while Psalm 147:12-20 is a celebration of God's power to save Israel. Jeremiah 31:7-14 - "Salvation as Radical Reversal" Setting. Jeremiah 31:7-14 consists of two distinct oracles. Jeremiah 31:7-9 is an oracle of salvation addressed to Israel, or more ...

4445. Proper 29

Psalm 100:1-5, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 is a description of God as a good shepherd. Psalm 100 is a song of praise. Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 - "God as the Good Shepherd" Setting. There are two central images in Ezekiel 34, shepherds and sheep. The image of a shepherd is used in this chapter to refer to kings and the power of monarchs to lead the people of Israel, their sheep. The imagery of this chapter, therefore, relates well to the Reign of Christ Sunday. Structure. An overview of Ezekiel 34 is ...

4446. First-Class Christianity

Ephesians 5:18-21

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a cowboy who was going to take a stagecoach west. When he went up to the ticket agent, the agent said, "Do you want a first-class, second-class, or a third-class ticket?" The cowboy said, "All the seats are the same, why should I buy a first-class ticket?" The agent said, "You'll find out later on. I would advise you to buy a first-class ticket." The cowboy did. When they reached a muddy hill, the driver called out, "All second-class ticket holders get out and walk." He then said, "All third- ...

4447. Freedom Faith Brings

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt shared with America what has become known as "The Four Freedoms." He believed that all people should enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Those degrees have been wide achieved in America. Freedom and America are practically synonymous. America is known as the land of the free. We have political freedom; we are a democracy, and therefore a free society. We have economic freedom; we are capitalists who believe ...

4448. Going For the Gold

Joshua 1:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

We have just finished two weeks here in Atlanta watching over 10,000 athletes from 197 countries "Go for the Gold." There were plenty of heroes to go around. Who will ever forget Kerri Strug, a little pixie, who courageously vaulted on a severely sprained ankle, to secure the first team gymnastics gold medal in U.S. history. Then there is Carl Lewis who, at 35, won the long jump for the fourth consecutive Olympics, and secured a record time ninth gold medal. Then, of course, the person that Sports ...

4449. Are You Going to Fish or Cut Bait?

Mark 1:16-18

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a young boy who wanted to go down to the lake and fish, and his mother asked him to take his little sister along. Well, he protested vigorously. He said, "Mama, the last time she came with me I didn't catch a single fish." The mother said, "Well, I will talk to her and I promise this time she won't make any noise." The boy said, "It wasn't the noise Mom, she ate all my bait." I have come to the conclusion that there are basically four reasons why people do not catch fish: (1) Some people are ...

4450. There's God In Them There Hills

Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

On September 27, 1998, Philip Ozersky went to a baseball game and saw his life changed forever. With one swing of a bat, and in two twinklings of the eye, he caught not just a baseball, but a gold mine. Now a lot of fans have caught home runs, but this was no ordinary home run. A lot of batters have hit home runs, but this was no ordinary batter. On that day, Mark McGuire came to the plate and hit his record-breaking seventieth home run. The ball was launched over Ozersky's head, hit a wall and bounced ...

Showing results