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 451 to 475 of 4455 results

451. Getting Through the Grief

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Getting through grief may be one of the hardest things we do as human beings. One of the best ways to begin the process is to find it within ourselves to stand up and say something in a public setting that puts into words both the personal and collective feelings of all who have gathered to mourn. History is replete with stunning examples. Pericles' Funeral Oration as recorded by Thucydides in The Peloponnesian War is certainly one of them. At the end of the first year of war, the Athenians held, as was ...

452. The Death of Lazarus

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

Jesus’ mysterious escape (v. 39) ends the confrontation at Solomon’s Colonnade in the temple at the Feast of Dedication (cf. v. 22), just as his earlier escape had ended the confrontation in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. 8:59). This time he leaves Jerusalem itself, the scene of his activities since 7:14, and returns to Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where he has spent time with John the Baptist and begun to gather a group of disciples (vv. 40–42; cf. 1:19–51; 3:26). The earlier ...

453. Down by the Riverside

Mark 1:4-11 · Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In one of my favorite commentaries, the comic strip "Peanuts", Linus says to Charlie Brown: "I guess it's wrong always to be worrying about tomorrow. Maybe we should think only about today." To that, Charlie Brown responded: "No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get better." Haven't you ever fellt like that? The Good News is that Jesus says "YES" even to our yesterdays. He accepts us as we are, forgives us and renews us, and as one preacher put it, "Washes behind the years." Because ...

454. Jesus, Messiah and Lord, Is True Interpreter of the Torah

Matthew 22:15-22, Matthew 22:23-33, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: When his authority is tested, Jesus is shown to be the true interpreter of the Torah, amazing people with his answers, calling people to absolute loyalty to God and love of neighbor, and showing himself to be Messiah and Lord. Understanding the Text In response to Jesus’ three provocative parables, various groups of Jewish leaders initiate confrontations with Jesus (see 22:15, 23, 34). These revolve around Torah adherence and how to live out faithful allegiance to Yahweh, similar to earlier ...

455. The Perisitent Noise Of Solemn Assemblies

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

There is hardly a better-known or better-loved story in the New Testament than that of the Good Samaritan. A Jewish scholar says that it "is one of the simplest and noblest among the noble gallery of parables in the Synoptic Gospels. Love, it tells us, must know no limits of race .... Who needs me is my neighbor. Whom at the given time and place I can help with my active love, he is my neighbor and I am his."1 So it is that Jesus illustrates in an unforgettable way what it means to be neighborly. However, ...

456. The Forgiving Father (Father's Day)

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Brett Blair

I heard a minister say one time that in his younger days, when his children were small, he would have family meetings. These meetings were to discuss chores, and family matters, trips, etc. Yet, he admitted, when he would call these meetings, the expression on his children’s faces would usually be: “what have we done wrong, now.” Finally, he said, my wife pointed out to me that the tone in my voice when I called these meetings was very serious, the same tone that he used when he disciplined his children. ...

457. A Man Who Wanted to Burn a City

Luke 9:46-50

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

Another of the apostles of Jesus, the Messiah and Savior, was selected by our congregation as one of the favorite men of the Bible: John, often called "the beloved disciple." Like Simon Peter, he too was one of the "inner three" - the three disciples whom Jesus seemed to choose to be with him on special occasions. Jesus had a large group of followers; of those, he selected twelve. Of the twelve, he seemed partial to the "inner three." And if we go one step farther, John was probably even closer to Jesus ...

458. The Agony And The Ecstasy Of The Family

Mark 3:20-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Jesus experienced conflict in his family. In today's text we hear that his family was so upset by what they saw he was doing and heard he was saying, that they decided to "take charge of him" because they thought "he was out of his mind" (Mark 3:21). Later in our story we hear that Jesus' family arrived while he was debating with the religious leaders about Satan, the prince of demons. Someone told him that his mother and brothers were there. Jesus responded, "My true family members are those who do the ...

459. The Fearful Meeting

Genesis 32:1-20; 33:1-4, 12-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

There has been "The Donna Reed Show," "Ozzie and Harriet," "Father Knows Best," "Leave It to Beaver," "The Brady Bunch," "The Cosby Show," and more recently, the wildly popular "The Simpsons." School principals in Ohio and California condemn Bart Simpson as "a poor role model" -- bristle-headed little charmer that he is. Then there's prissy Lisa, blob of a baby Maggie, and poor old Homer and Marge. Here is the family Americana, warts and all. In one episode Marge drags everyone to Sunday School hoping to " ...

460. A Letter From Paul

Sermon

Erskine White

So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) The sermon which follows is an imaginary letter received from the apostle Paul, written to the church in America. It seeks to put a much-loved and all-too-familiar text into a new (though thoroughly Biblical) context. If the language of this letter falls short of the inspiration and glory of the original, please blame the preacher who stands before you and not the apostle in whose name he writes. The letter ...

461. At Table With The Lord

Drama

Production Notes The drama may be presented either as a reader's theater presentation, with all parts read, or as a dramatic presentation with parts memorized. If produced as reader's theater, be certain that all parts are read with animation, in a mood appropriate in each case to capture the character of the person and the part. If offered as a dramatic presentation, characters may want to consider costumes and some simple props and staging. At those places where action is suggested (such as Jesus washing ...

462. Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

John 13:1-17, John 13:18-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The new division in John’s Gospel is marked by a long, loosely connected, almost breathless comment by the narrator (vv. 1–3) in which he tries to gather up the themes of chapters 1–12 and 13–17 alike and use them as his stage setting. The first element in this setting has to do with time and circumstances: The notice that it was just before the Passover Feast (v. 1a) brings the temporal notices of 11:55 (“it was almost time”), 12:1 (“six days before”), and 12:12 (“the next day”) up to date. The further ...

463. Fix It, Daddy

John 11:17-45

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book Father Care, Charles Paul Conn tells about his two-year-old daughter Vanessa who was given a helium-filled balloon at Sunday School. It was bright blue and seemed almost alive as it danced and floated on the end of her string as she ran through the halls of the church pulling it along behind her. But the inevitable happened. The balloon bumped into the sharp edge of a metal railing and popped. With a single, loud “bang,” it burst and fell to her feet. She looked down and saw what had been her ...

464. A Vexing Vision

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Have you have heard the expression, “Something got lost in the translation?” On the Internet there are programs which will translate an English document into several different languages. All you do is type in a phrase or a word and the program translates it into French, Spanish, German, or whatever language you desire. Sound helpful? It is, especially if you are learning a foreign language. But how do you know if these programs create an accurate translation? A linguist had the same question and decided to ...

465. Forgive To Be Forgiven

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph saying, "Your father gave this command before he died, ‘Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also ...

466. Eating Cold Grits

John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Tony Pena is a catcher for the Boston Red Sox. Tony grew up in the Dominican Republic. Life was not easy. Tony Pena says that the person who had the greatest influence on his life was his mother. It is the dream of most every Dominican boy to play ball in the United States. Throughout the Domincan Republic young boys swing old rake handles or "anything else they can get for a bat, trying to hit a ball a little quicker, a little farther than anyone else" ” hoping to one day play in our major leagues. Tony ...

467. Jesus: The Life of the Party

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding." (John 2:1-2) It is doubtful than John the Baptist would have been invited. He of the harsh garments of camel's hair and the strange diet of locusts and wild honey. (Although the word translated "locust" in the Gospels probably refers to the fruit of the carob tree.) John was a thundering prophet, austere and ascetic, far removed from the ordinary events ...

468. The Secret of Self-Esteem

Ephesians 1:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of the time when his children were smaller and they were going on a long trip, and trying to break the boredom, they decided to play a game called "What if?" The question was "What if you could be anybody on earth—who would you like to be?" Well, one of his daughters said, "I would like to be the bionic woman." The other children followed suit and thought of someone famous they would like to be. But his youngest child, Chuck, Jr., never said a word. As they pulled up to a ...

469. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Friends

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A Shoebox Greetings card had this message about friends: "You're the kind of friend who wouldn't laugh if we were in a fancy restaurant and I came out of the bathroom with a streamer of toilet paper on my heel." (inside the card) "O.K., you'd laugh, but you wouldn't start singing, "I know something yoooooou don't know" and make me guess till I figured it out." (1) One of the greatest human longings and desires is to be close to someone through the bond of friendship. Friends offer us companionship. Friends ...

470. Full Body Scans or Re-spect Spectacles

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you have had the experience of being stripped naked before a room full of strangers? Anyone here this morning ever been strip-searched? You have if you’re a frequent flier. You have if you’ve recently flown through any of the sixty-plus airports that now use “full body scans” as part of their security procedures. Just as the “shoe bomber” made it a requirement for all of us to pad around barefoot on grungy airport floors, the “underwear bomber” has led to the use of these virtual strip-down ...

471. Surviving the Big One

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Men, when it comes to women, there is one thing that is absolutely true. Women, when it comes to men, there is one thing that is absolutely true. You’ve heard it before, “You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.” There is some truth in that old saying and here is why. Relationships are messy. Relationships are just like newborn babies. Every once in a while they mess on themselves and you have to clean them up. You would think that families would have it together. The people who are ...

472. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

On the news one day a short while ago --some of you may remember this—we heard that eight young high school boys viciously attacked and gang raped an 8 year old girl, a special needs child. One by one, they took turns raping her and beating her until at last she died. The town was shocked. These were their star varsity players…their A students...their church acolytes...their beloved sons. How could this happen? It's called “peer pressure.” A similar thing happened in the case of a young college freshman, ...

473. Faces at a Funeral

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

During the nineteenth century, all Oxford graduates were required to translate a portion of the Greek New Testament aloud. Oscar Wilde was assigned this passage from the passion story of Jesus. His translation was fluent and accurate. Satisfied with his skill, the examiners told him he could stop. But he ignored them and continued to translate. Several times more they tried to call a halt to his reading. Finally he looked up and said, “Oh, do let me go on! I want to see how it ends!” We need to read this ...

474. Children of God

1 John 2:28--3:10

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

This section of 1 John is unified by the idea of the children of God: who they are and how one can identify them by their lives. It is a passage dominated by ethics, particularly an ethical concern for righteousness and sin. It compares two “families”: the children of God and the children of the devil. In the background, as always, are the Elder’s opponents, the secessionists, whom he strongly contrasts to his own “dear children.” The unit is built on a structure of four antitheses, four pairs of opposing ...

475. When God Was Nothing

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

When I was a teenager and fell in love with a girl, which occurred often, I never knew how to tell the girl how I felt about her. Being 17 and "in love" was terrifying. Often I was simply speechless. I never had the right words to describe the way I felt. But like every boy with a bad case of infatuation, I found a way. I guess you could call it my secret weapon. I found someone who could speak for me. He always had the right words, knew exactly how to say it, and never failed me. His name was Barry ...

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