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 696 results

451. Thankfulness Can Be a Matter of Perspective

Matthew 6:25-34; John 6:25-35

Illustration

... have been jostled and crammed into a tiny airplane seat recently, only to lament delays caused by weather, extra fees demanded by the airlines for overweight bags, or the tiny bag of pretzels that have replaced meals on so many flights? It seems like the collective mood on airplanes is pretty grumpy these days. But imagine what our ancestors just a few generations ago would have said if we could tell them about our ability to fly from city to city with such ease and frequency? Imagine trying to explain to a ...

452. The Lord Came to Change Us

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

Will Willimon

Unfortunately, we have psychologized the gospel, turned it into a feeling, transformed the Kingdom of God into a mood. We have deluded ourselves into thinking that the Messiah whom we await is the great cosmic affirmer of everything we hold dear and of all our illusions. But Hans Küng reminds us: "We are to preach metanoia. We must entice people from the world to God. We are not ...

453. Deliverance through Thanksgiving

Psalm 50:1-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... translation, the word is offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Now those two words don’t seem to go together. Sacrifice and thanksgiving. Now I don’t know all that that means, but it means at least this – even when we are not in the mood for thanksgiving, even when we have not recorded in our notebooks that for which we need to be grateful, we need to express gratitude. I’m telling you that gratitude can transform your life. Gratitude can transform your life. I don’t care in what condition ...

454. Is There Room For A Prophet?

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... out there that we don't know what to say or do or how to act in their presence. And that's our reaction to John the Baptist during Advent. He just seems to break in on our Christmas celebrations with his raucous confrontational message which seems to destroy the mood totally. Let's look at the 2 passages for this morning and you'll see what I mean. Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-6 Malachi 3:1-4 (NRSV) [1] See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek ...

455. A Stone’s Throw From: The Rolled Stone

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... sign I knew of was the empty tomb. Emma said, "That's not enough. I want more than that." As we talked the rain had been coming down harder and harder as the storm blew through. It had gotten even darker. To be honest, the day seemed to match our moods. I was depressed I'd come to help and didn't do a very good job. Before I left, we prayed and I prayed for a sign for Emma; something to ease her grief and to help her know the truth of the resurrection. As I walked down the hall ...

456. With Overflowing Cup

Psalm 23:5

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... an old Peanuts cartoon, Lucy is down in the dumps & says to Linus, "My life is a drag. I've never been so low in all my life." Linus, the deep thinker and theologian of the comic strip tries to cheer her up by saying "When you're in a mood like this you should think of the things you have to be thankful for, count your blessings." Lucy replies, "That's a good one, What do I have to be thankful for?" "Well for one thing," Linus says, "you have a brother who loves you!" Lucy responds, "Sometimes, you say ...

457. Your King Comes

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... praise psalms (113-118) used every Passover. These Jewish hymns would be as familiar to the Jewish people as Christmas carols are to Christians. (5) The people thought Jesus had come to destroy the tyranny of the Romans who ruled them. And they were in a mood to celebrate. Have you ever been part of a celebration like that? A journalist once gave an exciting account of the scene in Pittsburgh, PA in 1996, when the Steelers defeated the Indianapolis Colts to become the AFC Champions and earn a trip to play ...

458. Luke 4: 21-30

Luke 4:14-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... personality and its own spirit. Sometimes being part of a crowd is a joyous, uplifting experience — like when watching and willing the hometown team to win. Sometimes crowds take on a dark demeanor — enabling rioting, looting, beatings, even murder. The mood of any crowd-creature can turn from buoyant to beastly in moments. When personal reaction and responsibility is given over to the crowd-creature, almost anything can happen. It is the most mercurial of crowd-creatures Jesus addresses in the Nazareth ...

459. Giving Up

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to face a real Lenten challenge try giving up your cell phone for forty days! [At this point you might want to make a karaoke moment and ask what people are “giving up.”] But even that might be enough to get you in a true Lenten mood. Preacher Kimberly Long tells this story at the beginning of one of her Lenten sermons. Entering church on Ash Wednesday, Nora Gallagher encounters a friend who, when asked what she is giving up for Lent, quips: “Anne’s giving up drinking, Terri’s giving up chocolate ...

460. Never Give Up!

Luke 13:1-9

Illustration

Brett Blair

... to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated. [Churchill continues:] Very different is the mood today. Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these Islands, though ...

461. Thanks for the Memories

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , it was Wednesday. My sincere thanks to all of you who came and made it possible. In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy complains, “My life is a drag. I’m completely fed up. I never felt so low in all my life.” Linus responds, “When you are in a mood like that you need to be thankful and count your blessings.” Lucy replies, “I could count all my blessings on one finger. What do I have to be thankful for?” Linus continues “Well, for one thing, you have a little brother that loves you.” With that Lucy ...

462. Where There’s Hope, There’s Life

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The poet Emily Dickinson wrote: Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all. Here we are in December. December is not so much another month as it is another mood. We start talking about faith, hope and love just because it’s December. We send greeting cards to people we have seldom seen all year. We decorate our houses with greenery hoping this symbol of life will become real. We string lights around our homes, hoping against hope ...

463. Is It Okay To Laugh In Church?

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

James W. Moore

... is our heritage as Christian legacy. Faith in Christ can give us a genuine and deep happiness that enables us to “rejoice always”… no matter what the outer circumstances are. This happiness is not a shallow “bubbly feeling”… but a deep mood of inner serenity, inner stability, inner joy. To think that the Christian faith makes us sad and gloomy and solemn is a tragic misunderstanding. In his book Jesus and Ourselves, Leslie Weatherhead relates the following amusing incident. He says: “When I ...

464. Assurance: The Privilage of All Believers

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that assurance of God’s love probably harder than anyone in the whole of England. And you can imagine that when he saw that Charles had received what he himself had so struggled for he experienced profound discouragement and despondency. It was in that despondent mood that he went to a prayer meeting that involved some of the Moravians — on May 24, 1738. There in that prayer meeting, some lay person read Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans and Wesley witnessed later as to what happened in ...

465. A Sunday Kind of Love

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

I have in my hand a three-way light bulb. The three-way light bulb was the first attempt at “mood lighting.” One light bulb could be switched on to three different levels of intensity, changing the amount of light it cast over a room. Trying to read? Click the bulb up to 150 watts. Just sitting around talking? Click down to 100 watts. Wanting to snuggle with your sweetie? Click ...

466. What to Do When You Are in a Fix

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Parker set out to clean up the vice conditions in New York City. He started a great campaign against gambling and prostitution and police graft. His efforts gave promise of real reform — for a season. Then the crusade began to lose momentum, and Dr. Parker, in a mood of discouragement said, “The trouble was that the good people got tired of being good, before the bad people got tired of being bad.” So it is — so it is. The Lord said, “Go forward!” I don’t know what going forward means for you ...

467. A Goodly Heritage

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... until it becomes personal we are not participating in the goodly heritage - and we are doing nothing to guarantee that our grandchildren can claim a goodly heritage out of this blessed land of ours. One of the most crippling dynamics of our day is the mood of hopelessness. And we so easily fall into it. Our “down- in-the mouth” word is “What can one person do?” I was sitting in a restaurant recently — not eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation of a group of ladies at the ...

468. The Christ Connection

Colossians 1:9-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... world coming to? The question is: IV. WHO IS COMING TO THE WORLD? Sandy and I slipped out to see the Rockettes on Thanksgiving night. Our kids had not yet arrived. It was a night out to watch some precision dancing, great tradition and get in the mood for the holiday spirit. It just seemed the right thing to do. I was not anticipating what I experienced, namely, the best portrayal of the Nativity I have ever seen. Here, at the Grand Ole Opry House, I am suddenly face-to-face with the meaning of Christmas ...

469. Furnishing It with Love

1 John 4:7-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... tells the story about General Omar Bradley traveling on a commercial airline in a business suit. A young, gregarious private in the Army sat down beside the general and not recognizing him wanted to talk. You must be a banker, said the private. The general, in no mood for casual conversation with a private replied, “I am General Bradley, a 5 star general in the U.S. Army. I am head of the Joint Chief’s of Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D. C.” “Well, sir,” replied the kid, “that’s a very ...

470. Come to Bethlehem and See

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... rise up and follow and see Him with haste? When it's the night before Christmas from the ground to the sky God's glory is near and Jesus comes by. It is Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is not so much another day on the calendar as it is another mood of the heart. All is calm. All is bright. Tonight I invite you to come with the shepherds over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. Come to Bethlehem and see, Him whose birth the angels sing Come adore on ...

471. The Fundamentals of Family Ties

1 Corinthians 13:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Members of a nurturing family feel free to tell each other how they feel. Anything can be talked about — disappointments, fears, hurts angers, criticisms, as well as joys and achievements. A father comes home in a bad mood. The son can honestly say, “Gee, Dad, you are grumpy tonight.” Instead of barking back, the father says, “I am grouchy; I’ve had a really hard day.” The relieved son says, “Thanks for telling me, Dad. I thought you were mad at me ...

472. Jonah: The Problem of Mercy

Jonah 4:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... ? He should have rotted in jail. Only then would justice be served.' While Nineveh is repenting, Jonah is pouting. His anger is so hot, that it even kills the bush that provides him shade. His rage is so deep that he wants to die. Once more he is in no mood to listen to God. There this story ends! Do you ever pout? When things don't go your way, do you sit around feeling sorry for yourself? Are you angry with God? Maybe there's a reason this story ends the way it does. Great stories pull you into the ...

473. Serving the Poor—Compassionately

Matthew 25: 31-40

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... flashed in lights. Saints on the other hand share the light. They shine from within. It was said of Brother Lawrence, that saint of the 17th Century, that it could be a dark and dreary day, but when he entered the room, the day became brighter and the mood became lighter, simply because Brother Lawrence was there. That's what saints do. They share the light. Back in Sweden in 1716, the story goes that King Charles XII announced to a tiny town that he was coming for a visit, and that he planned to worship at ...

474. Dan Rather's Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Humor Illustration

Brett Blair

Dan Rather recalls an eventful elevator ride in a large Florida hotel: After having flown in late during the night, he was up early to go downstairs and make a speech before several thousand people. In no mood to be the center of attention, he said, in the elevator, he felt all eyes on him. He thought to himself: Didn't any of these people's mothers teach them that it's rude to stare? The elevator soon reached the lobby and as it empties, a woman gently ...

475. Looking at Jesus from Behind Prison Bars

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... wonder if he had invested himself in the wrong cause? Could we blame him if he thought his life had been based on a mistake? The answer to his question really mattered to John. Where do we find ourselves in this Advent season? As we approach Christmas, how is our mood? Do any questions or doubts plague us in the midst of holiday cheer? Does some grief or worry have us down? Even if we are able to enter into the spirit of the season, does some of the singing and merry-making just hide our anxiety for a time ...

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