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 4901 to 4925 of 4944 results

4901. Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... purpose outlined in his prologue. If the fulfillment of prophecy, fulfillment of Scripture, as initiated by John the Baptist's reference to Isaiah's pronouncement, is understood as a constant theme in Mark's narrative, then the gospel writer is concerned with moving Jesus through events that demonstrate this fulfillment. Mark places special emphasis on the fulfillment of prophecies uttered by Jesus himself during the course of his teaching and preaching. Thus, as Mark recounts the events of Jesus' ministry ...

4902. John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of faith possible: "My Lord and my God!" (v.28). Not surprisingly, Thomas' confession encapsulates the gospel writer's own theology. John presents Jesus as God-incarnate, that is, God-among-us. But especially in these post-resurrection passages, John is also concerned with showing Jesus as the Lord of the newly-formed church. Jesus is unequivocally both "Lord" and "God" for John. Despite the power of Thomas' confession, Jesus' response makes it clear to the disciples in that small room and all his disciples ...

4903. John 10:11-18

John 10:11-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to be aligned with the Patriarchs, Moses and David. Ezekiel 34 makes extensive use of the shepherding image evil rulers are likened to wicked shepherds, while God promises to save the abused flocks of Israel by personally playing the role of careful, tender, concerned shepherd to all the people. Indeed, most New Testament shepherd images have their roots in Ezekiel's text. But the shepherd who "lays down his life" is a new dimension that Jesus has added to the shepherd motif. Later this sacrificial mandate ...

4904. John 17:6-19

John 17:6-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and inviting "all people" to join the fellowship of Jesus' company. Verses 9-16 focus more tightly on the theme of relationship: the relationship between the Father and Jesus the Son, and the relationship between the disciples of Christ and the world. John's concern about the uniquely divine nature of Jesus is evident throughout this prayer, as in verse 10. Jesus shares completely in God's divine sovereignty all that is subject to God is also subject to Jesus "all mine is yours, and yours are mine." Until ...

4905. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the disciples was not intended as some vain vaunting of the church's erstwhile power or importance. In actuality, details of the Holy Spirit's arrival however impressive constitute the smallest part of today's lectionary reading. Luke is far less concerned with the Holy Spirit's awesome manifestations than he is about how the disciples respond to this life-altering gift. For Luke, the Holy Spirit arrives in Jerusalem during the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Both Matthew and John imply that the disciples ...

4906. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 1981]: 13-16). In 1:27 and again in 1:39, Mark distills Jesus' ministry into preaching the Good News and exorcising demons. These same two activities are also part of the disciples' mission, as mentioned specifically in 6:12-13. Mark's concern with emphasizing these two aspects of Jesus' witness may therefore be the logic behind the organized groupings of 1) parables (in which Jesus is the teacher/preacher proclaiming the Good News) and 2) miracles (in which Jesus is the healer/exorcist binding the demonic ...

4907. Mark 9:30-37

Mark 9:30-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... welcome him, they welcome "not me but the one who sent me" (v.37). Jewish tradition taught that a great man's messenger was to be treated with the same deference the man himself would receive. Jesus' words work double duty. They bring God's loving concern and presence down to the very lowest, weakest of human beings even a tiny child. But they also remind the disciples that nothing less than the power of God the Creator stands behind all of Jesus' actions and teachings. When they hear the words of Jesus ...

4908. Mark 13:1-8

Mark 13:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of these four disciples and condemns the later ignorance and betrayal of these specially tutored followers. The question these disciples ask of Jesus refers back to his prediction of the temple's destruction. But while the disciples are asking chronologically-concerned questions - "When will this be?" and "What will be the sign?" Jesus' answer is not temporally directed. Mark's vague reference to when these things will be "accomplished" is made much more specific in Matthew's version of this tutorial ...

4909. Revelation 1:4b-8

Revelation 1:4b-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... his name ("John") and then identifies those to whom he is writing. Addressing his work to the "seven churches" in Asia is surely more symbolic than exhaustive. There were certainly more than seven churches in all of the Asia minor region. John's concern is more with symbol and symmetry than bean-counting _ seven was the recognized number of divine completeness. His reference to the "seven churches" suggests that he intended all the churches of this region as the recipients of his message. John next follows ...

4910. Luke 3:1-6

Luke 3:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Luke's concern with detail and precision as well as his ability to craft a fine story has made his account of Jesus' heritage, parentage and birth the all-time Christmas favorite. But for those not terribly familiar with all the political maneuverings and personality quirks of those who held positions of power ...

4911. About Sex

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... a moral tipping point in our society. As never before, our entertainment media is encouraging bed-hopping as normal, healthy recreation with no thought as to the consequences. Even in the church we are accepting behavior as normal today that we would have regarded with serious concern just a generation ago. So it is time to raise a red flag and to cry “Halt!” We need to do some serious soul searching. We can’t determine the attitudes of the culture of which we are a part, but we do need to understand ...

4912. What Does It Take To Make Up a "Call?"

John 1:43-51

Illustration

Thomas Long

... School. Surrounded there by colleagues who had come to their work in response to a genuine sense of calling, Muehl soon began to doubt that he had experienced a real call, so he approached another faculty member, the ethicist H. Richard Neibuhr, with his concern. Neibuhr puffed on his pipe, laughed gently, and responded, "What does it take to make up a 'call' for you, Muehl? What you had planned to do with your life was quite literally eating you up inside, driving you . . . to consider alternatives. I can ...

4913. Under New Management

Mark 1: 21-28

Illustration

... and everything. Finally, he encountered Christ and his whole life changed. He was speaking once before a group of medical people. He told them of his personality change, how he was now sober as he once had been drunk; considerate as he once had been severe; concerned for others as once he had been selfish and self-serving. A psychiatrist, who believed that personalities are so firmly set in early life that no one can change, protested to the Colonel that at his age a person could not have such a radical ...

4914. Eight Days until Eternity

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... said it was the first time a citizen has been held up by a bank. A former stock broker, out of a job for the first time in his adult life said he was “Merrill Lynched.” I guess we ought to take Jesus’ teachings more seriously concerning the laying up of treasure on earth (Matthew 6:19). But that’s another sermon. Palm Sunday is the beginning of the most important eight days on the Christian calendar. Christ is welcomed into Jerusalem. But the crowds begin to turn against him. He has his Last ...

4915. Was It Really Necessary?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... accused, bitterly reviled and yet guilty of no wrong. A healer and helper, a lover of little children, and a liberator of people imprisoned by their own sin and guilt, a man who knew God intimately enough to address him as “Abba,” Daddy, and yet never lost his concern for the least and the lowest. Yet there he hangs on the cross of Calvary, and it was sin that put him there your sin and my sin. That’s the nature of sin. Anti-life, anti-health, anti-purpose. Some of you will remember the ancient myth ...

4916. Where a Cross Should Be Worn

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

The Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, Pastor Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric. Mietlowski took Eric in his arms and traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using a special anointing oil. Following worship, Eric’s family celebrated with a big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips ...

4917. An Unpopular Preacher

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... earth, where moth and rust consumes and where thieves break in and steal, but store up treasures in heaven. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Jesus puts it plainly, “No one can serve two masters….You cannot serve God and wealth.” Jesus was concerned with the condition of our heart and whom or what it leads us to worship and serve. IV. Two houses Jesus ends his Sermon on the Mount with a parable of two houses. I can see one being a mansion. It is big and luxurious, everyone’s ...

4918. Divorce and Swearing

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... believe they were righteous simply by giving their wife a certificate of divorce. Jesus says NO! Love demands that you consider what your divorce is going to do to this human being. In God’s new world that’s what love does. It doesn’t limit our concern for each other. II. Swearing Another contrast Jesus makes has to do with swearing. He is referring to making an oath, with using God’s name in vain, not with saying cussing, or saying “bad words.’ Is it wrong to “swear on a stack of Bibles”? A ...

4919. Love that Kneels

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... sometimes. Being loving is not the same as being right. The Younger Son was wrong. The Elder Son was right. Well, until the end of the parable, when Jesus invites us to see both of them as wrong and the father as right, because love leads him to be concerned with who’s lost and who’s found, who’s dead and who’s alive. This kind of love requires humility, the sacrifice of one’s need to be right, the shedding of one’s pride. V. The Parable of the Father Who Kneels Heather Murray Elkins (Weavings ...

4920. Poor Relations

James 2:1-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

I. Poor Questions Are we as concerned about the poor as the Bible is? Do you know personally a poor person or family to have firsthand knowledge of what their life is like? How do you reconcile having so much and others having so little? Should the church continue its participation in Room in the Inn, a ...

4921. The Big E

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... them to a God bigger than what their religion had taught them. It put glasses on them that kept them from seeing what was right in front of them. If they allow themselves to see what Jesus is revealing to them about God, that God is more concerned about helping people see than about determining who the sinners are, where will that leave them? It will leave them denying they’ve seen what they’ve seen. Or it will leave them faced with a decision about whether they can continue to believe in what causes ...

4922. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. Jesus probably would have been better off if he had not bothered with this man. But that was not Jesus’ nature then or now. Jesus is a compassionate friend who is concerned about our every need. He is willing to meet those needs. Sometimes there are factors that we cannot see that prevent him from working in just the way we desire, but ultimately we can trust him. He does care. He does heal. He is our greatest ...

4923. I Thought I'd Call

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

... the line went dead. Mystified, the policeman dialed again. "I said you got the wrong number!" came the voice. Once more the phone clicked down. "How could he possibly know I had the wrong number?" the policeman asked himself. A cop is trained to be curious – and concerned. So he dialed a third time. "Hey, c'mon," the voice said. "Is this you again?" "Yea, it's me. I was wondering how you knew I had the wrong number before I even said anything." "You figure it out!" The phone slammed down. He sat there ...

4924. The Biggest Lie

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

A pastor was walking down the street when he came upon a group of kids. The group surrounded a dog. Concerned that the kids might be hurting the dog, he went over and asked, "Hey guys what's going on?" One the kids replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want to take him home, but only one of us can. So we've decided that the ...

4925. Surely Goodness and Mercy

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

King Duncan

A touching story has been circulating on the Internet. It's about a little five-year-old boy named Timmy. Timmy's Mom loved him very much and, being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school when he started kindergarten. She walked him to school the first couple of days, but when he came home one day, he told his mother that he did not want her walking him to school every day. He wanted to be like the "big boys." ...

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