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 4851 to 4875 of 5000 results

4851. A Kingdom that Cannot Be Shaken

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Most of us probably think of the state of Tennessee as part of the “Bible Belt” an area of the southern United States known for its religious fervor. But it has not always been so. According to author and historian Jack Neely, at the turn of the 19th century, Tennesseans were a largely heathen people. Traveling evangelists and missionaries made little impression on either the cotton growers on the west end of the state or the hillbillies on the eastern end. Then, on December 16th, 1811, a massive ...

4852. Kingdoms in Conflict

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When Vince Lombardi was hired as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958, the team was in dismal shape. A single win in season play the year before had socked the club solidly into the basement of the NFL, and sportscasters everywhere used it as the butt of loser jokes. But Lombardi picked and pulled and prodded and trained and discipled the players into become a winning team. They were NFL champions in three consecutive seasons, and took the game honors for the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi was a ...

4853. Dressed for the Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Chris Ewing

4854. Kiss The Chef! Thanksgiving Day

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Chris Ewing

Years ago, during summer vacation, I took a whole pile of books out of the library and spent days and days just reading. Today I'd have trouble telling you what most of those books were, never mind what they were about. But there's one little snatch of dialogue from one of the books that has stuck with me all these years — the bit of dialogue, in fact, that gave the book, and later the movie, its name: a snippet of conversation about the color purple. Actually, it's a bit of conversation about appreciation ...

4855. The Hungry Monkey

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

Sermon

Tony Everett

During a meeting of the parish stewardship committee, members viewed a thirty-second video clip taken in the monkey house of a local zoo. The zookeeper placed some "monkey delicacies" (banana bits, lettuce, and others) into a plastic container with a very tiny opening. Then she put the bottle on a table and left the room. Soon, one of the monkeys slowly approached the container, reached carefully inside, and grasped a large handful of treats. Unfortunately, with its fist full of food, the monkey was unable ...

4856. Headed in the Right Direction

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

John N. Brittain

If you don't know that Christmas is a couple of weeks away, you must be living underground. And you must have no contact with any children. And you cannot have been to a mall, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, or any other chain store since three weeks before Halloween. Christmas, probably more than any other day in the contemporary American calendar, is one of those days where impact really stretches the envelope of time not just — like some great tragedy — after the fact, but also in anticipation. If we aren't good ...

4857. Fido’s Dilemma

Romans 6:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Fido is in the dirt gnawing on a bone. It is dry, brittle, depleted of marrow and moisture. It is dead and useless except for stimulating the gums of Fido and giving his jaws some exercise. You approach Fido with your hands behind your back. Fido eyes you and is suspicious. You speak kindly to your canine friend. He wags his tail. He smiles his doggy smile keeping his paw firmly planted on the bone. Fido continues to sniff and chew on his bone. You slowly bring a hand out from behind your back revealing a ...

4858. Tomb It May Concern

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

One of the first things Pastor Susan heard about when she moved from Ohio to the mountains of North Carolina was "Decoration Day."1 She had no idea what that was, but she knew that she would be preaching for two Decoration Days within a month. In her attempt to learn more about regional customs, she visited the local library and discovered an array of informative books. Over Our Dead Bodies and Tarheel Tombstones and the Tales They Tell were humorous as well as interesting reading, and Susan gained insight ...

4859. Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

When a carnival came to town, the strong man was one of the most popular attractions. One of his tricks was to squeeze an orange dry with his bare hand. Then he would offer $1,000 to anyone in the audience who could manage to squeeze even one more drop from that orange. Having nothing to lose, people were always ready to accept the challenge to make an easy $1,000, but they always failed. They would squeeze and squeeze, but their efforts were fruitless. Then, an older man stepped up to try his strength. ...

4860. Something Special To Share

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

Objects: Card stock printed with scripture reference and verse Pair of glasses Toothbrush Medicine bottle Toy Book Article of clothing Item of food Today, I’m going to tell you something that I imagine you never thought you’d hear someone tell you in church. Don’t share. That’s right. I’m telling you not to share. (pause) Well, actually, I’m not talking about everything, but there are some things that we just shouldn’t share. (Hold up each item for the children to see as you talk about it.) One example ...

4861. How's Your Serve?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

My wife, Mary called Thursday morning and told me about two drivers she encountered on her way to work. One was coming onto the interstate, the other was trying to exit the interstate at the I35, I20 split. They both had on their blinkers signaling to the other their intent. The each wanted the other one to get out of their way. But rather than slowing down and letting the other guy pass, they both tried to race ahead of each other. Of course, by the time they both realized, that they couldn't get ahead of ...

4862. The True Nature of Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

Some years ago the Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer published an article entitled: “How Do You Measure Up As A Man? The article stated that some extensive research had been conducted on the 20th century standards for measuring a man. The criteria were quite interesting and I thought that I might list them for the men here this morning just to see how they measure up. 1. His ability to make and conserve money (That lets me out already). 2. The cost, style and age of his car. 3. (This is my favorite) ...

4863. The Evangelist Has a Shady Past

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

After listening to a prominent evangelist on the radio, eight‑year-old Debbie asked her six‑year‑old brother David, “Do you know about Jesus?” Expecting a new slant on the old story, David replied, “No.” Sister said, “Sit still because this is really scary.” After explaining the gospel as only an eight‑year‑old could, she popped the question. “Now, David, when you die, do you want to go to heaven to be with Jesus, God, your Mommy and Daddy, and big sister, or do you want to go to the lake of fire to be ...

4864. Resolutions for a New Year

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Happy New Year! No, the calendar is not one month off. Today is New Year's Day ... at least as far as the church is concerned. Today is the first Sunday in Advent, which is the beginning of the church year. True, most folks think of the season of Advent as simply preparation for Christmas — a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus, to make room for him in the "inn of our hearts" — and, of course, Advent is that. But it is more, as well. Advent is the time we prepare our hearts for another year ...

4865. A Gospel for Losers

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A fellow is standing at a bar, just looking at his drink. For a solid half-hour, he just stares at it. Suddenly, a big trouble-making truck driver steps up next to him, takes the drink and chugs it down. The poor schlemiel starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on, man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I can't stand to see a man cry." "You don't understand," says the first fellow. "This day is the worst day of my life. First, I slept through the alarm this morning and got into the ...

4866. Out of Control

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

There is a marvelous miracle described in Willa Cather's book, Death Comes for the Archbishop. In the story, Father Junipero and his friend, Father Andrea, set out on a journey through a Mexican desert with bread and water for one day. On the second day, they are beginning to lose heart when, near sunset, they see in the distance three very tall cottonwood trees. They rush toward the trees and see a little house. An old Mexican comes out of the house, greets them kindly, and asks them to stay the night. ...

4867. Genuine Hope

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

The season is upon us once again. Around this time every year we can expect the annual cycle to bring us to this special season when we are intentional about carving out extra time in our lives for that which is most important to us. It's not like other times of the year. Instead, during this season, for many of us, our thoughts and our conversations take a distinctively different focus. Of course, most of you probably realize what season I'm talking about. We are now in the midst of the latest season of ...

4868. Reconciliation Day

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you may be fans of “Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers,” the mechanics on NPR’s Car Talk. Click and Clack are the radio names for the hosts of Car Talk, Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Someone wrote Tom and Ray a letter sometime back. Dear Tom and Ray: Today I was involved in an accident. I was happily cruising along at the speed limit . . . in the right lane, when someone came up behind me. He was clearly very upset that I was doing just the speed limit, and he could not stand being unable to get around ...

4869. 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 ...

4870. Being Prepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Hurricane Bob was bearing down on the Atlantic coast. Safe in his home on that same coast, a man named J. R. thought he was well prepared. The power failed, but that didn’t faze him. As night fell, he simply fired up some oil lamps and placed his Coleman camping stove on top of the electric range in his kitchen to cook his dinner. So what if he had no electricity? He was able to enjoy a delicious meal thanks to his Coleman stove. He commended himself on his foresight. He went to bed secure in the knowledge ...

4871. Better Angels of Our Nature

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is one of those mixed blessings of parenthood. You wake up on a weekend morning and detect the unmistakable singe of burnt toast in the air. There are clanging and banging sounds from the kitchen. Checking out the noise you discover your child busily preparing a “special breakfast” as a surprise for you. Such a simple, sweet gesture touches your heart. But all too soon the fruits of your young one’s labors will touch your stomach as well. Eggshell-crunchy eggs. Pancakes charred on the outside yet ...

4872. Do You Know How to Listen?

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you have anyone in your family who has a listening problem? Notice I did not say a hearing problem. Many people have ears that work quite well; nevertheless, they are very selective in what they hear. The story is told of King Edward VII. His grandson, Prince David, had a good relationship with his grandfather. Still David was a child, and adults in England during this period, particularly royalty, were not known to listen to children. At dinner on one occasion little David tried to get his grandfather’ ...

4873. Candidates for God’s Candid Camera

1 John 3:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Everyone hates to be surprised. And loves it. It didn’t take long for something called “television” to find that out. Filming people when they didn’t know they were on camera brought extremely entertaining and unexpected results. Anyone remember “Candid Camera?” Can you remember the name of the host? . . . . [Allen Funt]. Can you remember the catchphrase of the show? . . . [“Smile, You’re on Candid Camera”]. In the early 60’s, “Candid Camera” secretly recorded the reactions of people when they were ...

4874. When the Going Gets Tough

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

The golf course was crowded with golfers one pleasant fall morning. Bob was standing in front of a tee preparing to swing at his ball. He visualized hitting a beautiful shot that would carry hundreds of yards. As he was standing there lost in his thoughts, an announcement came over the public address system: “Would the gentleman standing at the women’s tee please back up to the men’s tee?” Bob ignored the announcement. He continued his pre-shot routine. Again, the announcement came across the PA system: “ ...

4875. The Jump To Judgment

Luke 6:39-49

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Mr. Jones picked up the wrong umbrella in a hotel, and the umbrella's rightful owner called his attention to it. Embarrassed, Mr. Jones offered his apologies, picked up the right one, and went on his way. But the incident served to remind Mr. Jones that he had promised to buy umbrellas for his wife and daughter, so he went across the street to a store and purchased one for each of them. As he came out from the store and began to get in his car — three umbrellas on his arm now — the man whose umbrella Mr. ...

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