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 4526 to 4550 of 4943 results

4526. The Real Winning Attitude

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... there has been a long trail of clues that a win-at-any-cost attitude has been getting bolder, and more accepted, in kids' sporting events over the past decade. Who could have imagined a few years ago that work place safety would become a major concern among umpires and referees of youth team sporting events? But occurrences such as the June 2001 assault of a youth hockey league referee in Tauton, Massachusetts, and the previous year's attack made upon a San Fernando coach by a father enraged that his son ...

4527. The Ultimate Happy Meal

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of physical infirmities, and one who feeds the poor multitudes that follow him. Both activities are motivated, Matthew's text makes clear, by compassion. There's nothing that testifies so directly to the power of the Incarnation as does Jesus' continual concern with the physical – not just spiritual – welfare of people. Disease, deformity, and death were human conditions that Jesus could never ignore, never avoid. He'd wade into the crowds, go off the planned route, alter his whole agenda, in order to ...

4528. Christianity's First Sermon

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is the King of the Jews.” What if Pilate wasn’t trying to justify himself for the state-sponsored murder of a mob-chosen victim? What if Pilate wasn’t trying to woo favor with the Jewish establishment with a sign showing his concern for their spiritual sensitivities? What if, instead, Pilate was preaching Christianity’s first sermon? “Jesus, the King of the Jews.” What if Plate was reciting the earliest Christian creed? “Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The statement of truth is the foremost ...

4529. Bad or Good?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , "We continue our look at the real meaning of Christmas – sales indicators. Consumers have dramatically cut back their borrowing which could slow the economy, but which might be a healthy development after their earlier borrowing which boosted the economy but added to concerns of low savings and over stimulation, but could result in sluggish sales leading into the all-important Christmas sales period." Whereupon, Santa looks up and says to himself, "It used to be a lot easier to know if they've been bad ...

4530. ASAP

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... not a spouse, then a friend or a coworker. Or start a prayer journey, where you can jot down how God has spoken in your life through ideas, metaphors, dreams, Scripture passages and where you can record answered prayers. Write down prayer requests, prayer list, prayer concerns. I have mixed feelings about paring down prayer to the point where one religious group has gone. They suggest that for those too busy but with a cell phone: don't fret. With the help of a cell phone's Short Message Service (SMS), they ...

4531. DodgeGod

Amos 8:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... society. Like the architecturally-fixated bowerbirds, Amos' contemporaries engaged in commerce were completely focused on the bottom line. The profit/loss margin loomed so large on the horizon they couldn't see any bigger reason for existing. Only concerned about serving themselves, they failed to provide resources for needy. The bowerbird supposedly creates gorgeous accommodations to lure a mate. But his overblown production only really serves his own desires. The female must leave such selfishness in ...

4532. Living in the Red

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in its passions, its battles, its despair, its triumphs?" Sorry, Justice Holmes. It's not law where one plunges deep into the stream of life. It's following Jesus where one takes life's deepest plunge. My fear is that we aren't plunging deep enough. My concern is that we're not diving off the deep end. We're trying to live debt-free, or risk-free, red-free, rather than living beyond our means. Our anti-red stance, our fear of arrest-me-red vehicles, our black purse-strings are hamstringing the Holy Spirit ...

4533. Go Meditate!

Revelation 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as loveable or unlovable. All Jesus asks is this: Love one another. Just as I have loved you. Jesus gave this commandment to his disciples immediately after revealing to them that their time together was almost over. Despite his tremendous love and concern for his disciples, for those he calls his little children, the reality Jesus declared to his followers was that "Where I am going you cannot come" (verse 33). His approaching crucifixion, death, and ascension would mysteriously reveal the divine glory he ...

4534. Innercizing Your Shopping List

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... not just Soren's. On this first Sunday of Advent our Scripture lesson reminds us that Paul is both overwhelmed with a sense of liking and a sense of lacking. He is thankful for the Thessalonians' continued faithfulness. Yet at the same time he is very concerned about providing that young congregation with what may still be lacking in their love and faith development. They have love for one another. But Paul knows how much deeper that love can grow. They have "received the word of God" (2:13). But Paul knows ...

4535. The Whole Shebang in Six Words

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... keep our hands clean and dry? I suspect one of the test-questions at Judgment Day is going to be: Show me your hands? Are they clean? Are they dry? If so, why? Are we afraid to passionately engage with others because we are concerned about keeping our hands clean? Salvation has been treated as if it were a place of arrival rather than the departure point for a long pilgrimage of grace-filled come-downs. Sanctification: Come OUT Second, sanctification. If justification is an outside-in event, sanctification ...

4536. Drop It!

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stop investing and spend all of their profits on the salaries of their employees. Such words are totally incongruous with what we expect to hear from our leaders, not to mention from what we understand as reasonable and responsible behavior. Jesus wasn't concerned with what was reasonable. His understanding of what was responsible looked to God's rules, not human laws, as its ultimate authority. When it came to offering comfortable images of how a life lived in faithfulness to God would look, Jesus blew ...

4537. The World's Greatest Cover Up

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... many of us this morning are hiding in plain sight? In order to get the job done, play the game, get along, or just get through the day, do you put on a different persona, a different face, that disguises your true feelings, your genuine concerns? Some of our cover ups are insignificant, even benevolent. How many times have you listened to your uncle ramble on about the eternally on-going renovation of his old sailboat? How often have you feigned fascination with the various powers and proclivities of the ...

4538. Orient Your "itudes"

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Holy One of God," Mark 1:24). Jesus had Latitude Jesus always traveled in a heavenly trajectory. His life pointed toward the kingdom, and was open to receive any and all into God's kingdom. No one was outside the pale of God's love and concern. No one ever offered more latitude in life than Jesus. Though Jesus walked the land of Galilee, he was always changing the landscape into the kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God was God's dream for creation being brought to life by Jesus' incarnation. The salvation ...

4539. Patience

James 5:7-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103: 2-5) In this drab prison hospital, Cassandra compares her life to the life of this death-row inmate. Something in her is deeply touched by his concern. (6) In the words of Scripture, Cassandra finds the patience she needs to deal with her circumstances. That is a gift I would wish for all of us this Advent/Christmas season. “Be patient . . . brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits ...

4540. Follow Me!

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

James McCormick

... was talk – “Where does he go to the rest room? What are we to tell our children?” And there were threats – “We won’t be back as long as Paula’s here.” It came to a head one night in a Bible study class. All the questions, all the concerns. Finally, I went to the white board and with marker in hand, I said, “I understand the discomfort. I really do. So, help me to write an invitation to the church, in the name of Jesus, that will allow me to tell Paula that he is unwelcome here.” Silence ...

4541. What to Do with Yesterday - A Sermon for a New Year

Psalm 103:1-22

Sermon

James McCormick

... the ground, so she married someone else. This man, who had been a success at everything he had tried in his life, suddenly experienced failure for the first time. He was a dismal failure, and he fell quickly and deeply into depression. His family was concerned about him and persuaded him to go to a counselor in New York City. He was desperately in need, so he went, and he unpacked his heart. He told the counselor everything, everything that had happened, everything he felt. He confessed his sins. He talked ...

4542. The Church on Main Street

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James McCormick

... I believe that the task entrusted to the Christian Church is the most important on the face of the earth. It is far too important to neglect or misdirect. When we spend our time answering questions no one is asking, while neglecting the deepest concerns of the human spirit, we have gotten off into side street religion. When we use our time, energy, and resources doing things that really don’t need to be done, solving little, inconsequential problems, while neglecting the open sores of a hurting world, we ...

4543. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... self-centeredness, from smallness of spirit. “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Thanksgiving. Finally, according to Keith Miller, this part of our prayer time should conclude with Supplication, that is, offering concerns up to God, making requests of God. I believe that there is power in prayer. And God has supremely honored us by allowing us to participate in the good things He is doing in the world through prayer. God takes us so seriously ...

4544. It's My Life, Isn't It?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

James McCormick

... a note which said, “I know that many people will condemn me for what I am doing. But, after all, it’s my life isn’t it?” A teenager went out every weekend, bought a couple of six packs of beer and drank until he lost consciousness. His friends became concerned about him and told him so. He told them to mind their own business, adding, “I’m not hurting anyone but myself. And, it’s my life, isn’t it?” Well, what do you think? How do you respond to such statements? Is my life mine to do with ...

4545. Are You Getting Hymns Out of Your Lions?

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... it takes time, stress has the power to changes things, change minds, even change hearts. In this week's epistle text Paul is writing to the spiritually self-satisfied Corinthians. In this portion of his letter Paul sounds like he is addressing some concerns about whether Christ and a spouse can co-exist in one's life. Apparently some of the Corinthians felt they had now attained some high spiritual plateau that gave them superiority over those who continued to marry or remained married. But in today ...

4546. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... who have new lives in Christ, thus live in this world, yet live with the assurance that they aren't of this world. Christians are people at home in a foreign land. The familiar "present for me" of the world marked by marriage, up and down emotions, political and economic concerns don't affect the essence of those whose true identity is with Christ. The world in which Christians must live must not be their reason for living.

4547. 2 Peter 3: 8-15a

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... final exhortation to his readers begins in verse 11. He uses the same Greek verb lyein (to be dissolved) to connect this final argument back to his previous description of divine destruction in v.10. Yet the celestial fireworks are now no longer the author's concern. Rather, it's the behavior of Christians in light of this coming judgment that's his focus. In direct contrast to the false teachers, 2 Peter sees a heightened call to positive action and powerful piety. The call to moral behavior isn't just to ...

4548. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... thanksgiving portion of his text. Again this letter displays his standard format: thanks to God for those to whom he's writing. Also common to Paul's thanksgiving is his insistence that he gives thanks always or continually, emphasizing the ongoing concern and care Paul maintained with the various far-flung communities and churches he visited and established. But the apostle's thankfulness isn't of a generic form. He always identifies specific reasons for his thanksgiving, reasons that he will explore more ...

4549. A Word of Hope for a Hard World

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... most part, we as individuals were unscathed. The scriptures are realistic about the human condition. The scriptures remind us, though, that evil never has the last word. Mary and Joseph are forced to flee, but they know it is only for a time. The promises of God concerning their Son are sure. God will never forsake them. Some of you may be familiar with a speech that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave in Montgomery, AL on the 25th of March, 1965. The speech is copyrighted by Dr. King’s family, so I can’t give ...

4550. Which End Is Up?

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Exegesis: Ephesians 3:1-12 The epistle text for this week can be read with two different agendas in mind. On one hand the focus is on establishing apostolic tradition. In the first century there was a necessary concern with creating a continuity of tradition and authority for the fledgling Christian church. Hence Paul’s apostolic authority, his priority of leadership, is part of these verses’ testimony. Especially since these Ephesians probably had not known Paul’s preaching personally, it is an ...

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