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 26 to 50 of 145 results

26. Your Home Page

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as rotating host, stranger, and guest. We are all dependent on God and interdependent on each other, and human need is the filter that fine-tunes a Jesus home page. For the follower of Jesus, hospitality is not an occasion for showing off, but for showing empathy and showing obedience to God’s love. When you read the Hebrew Scriptures the “name” of God is never spelled out completely. The actual name of God was too holy to bandy about, to write down, to use in everyday speech. The proper “name” of ...

27. Babylon, Edom, and Arabia

Isaiah 21:1-10, Isaiah 21:11-12, Isaiah 21:13-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to warn them. They are unprepared; their shields have not even been oiled for battle (21:5). The prophet dramatizes his empathy to portray the sudden fall of Babylon. The picture fits in well with the feast of Belshazzar in Daniel 5. Though Isaiah expresses ... a longing for the “twilight” of deliverance from Babylon, his empathy keeps him from rejoicing. It is a day full of horror. Next, the Lord commands him to serve as a watchman and ...

28. If I Had Been There

Jn 20:1-18; Mk 15:21-32

Illustration

Brett Blair

... next to him.” Now, the slow conversion in understanding our Lord's Passion went form 1) I would have defended Christ - a military approach 2) I would have tended to his mother - a sympathetic approach 3) I would have climbed on the cross next to him - empathy. Might I suggest that empathy is not enough. The king of France was still not ready. The King needed to take one more step. The forth step would be for the king to look at the cross in all it's tragedy and declare: 4) I would have crucified him as ...

Learning is a result of listening, which in turn leads to even better listening and attentiveness to the other person. In other words, to learn from the child, we must have empathy, and empathy grows as we learn.

Alice Miller

30. Badger or Bonobo?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... abundantly through compassion and kindness rather than dominance and aggression.[5] If only humans could follow suit. Whether in our homes, our communities, our churches, or in our nation, the more we cultivate among ourselves Jesus’ vision of collaboration, compassion, empathy, and sharing rather than territorialism, competition, control, and tribalism, the more we will understand God’s kingdom vision. For God so loved the world….that he gave his son. The least we can do is give Jesus’ lessons on ...

31. Motives Matter

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... side of human motivation, particularly when our drives go unchecked, can include competition, envy, lack of empathy, materialism, power, control, validation, and personal gain. The way human beings express these motivations can vary ... of Gethsemane. One of his great gifts to humanity we see in his ability to overcome even his survival motivations in favor of empathy, compassion, sacrifice for the greater good, love, and devotion to God’s master plan to redeem and heal humanity –a “salvation of salience ...

32. Eyes Like a Hawk

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . We humans are competitive creatures. Creating disciples who pay attention to the feelings of others, who cultivate sensitivity and empathy, and who elevate others higher than themselves is not an easy task. If it were, we wouldn’t need ... I call to all of you in this Sabbath time to look to the Holy Spirit of Christ to guide your heart into a place of extreme empathy for the lives and condition of others. Invite them to your tables, to your church, to your gatherings, and you will feel the eyes of God ...

33. In The Eyes of God

Isaiah 20:1-5

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... can do more than see others as the world sees them. We can strive to see others as God would see them. It won't be so easy to write them off. We'll see each other with a significantly greater degree of humility, of compassion, of empathy, of tolerance and acceptance. That's a wisdom we apply not only to individuals but also to groups -- blacks, whites, Mexicans, the old, the young, the poor, the rich, any group of people we are tempted to label together. Who are each of these persons really? Through the ...

34. Learn To Wait Creatively

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... end to the story. How forbearing are we with other people? Do we wait upon people as if they are really important? It is so easy to take things for granted. For instance, even within the life of the church where we put a premium on love, empathy and understanding, it is possible to assume everyone knows everyone else's name, where basic things are located and what the common code words are that have been around a long time. But many new people in our midst do not know all these things. Being patient ...

35. Say Goodbye -- Say Hello

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... growth. He was thoroughly human, yet completely obedient to God. He suffered physical pain and emotional rejection just as all human beings do. Through this process he matured to the point that he understands human suffering in all its varied forms. He has empathy for the human condition and "is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters." The writer of this letter uses three quotations from the Old Testament (Psalm 22:22 and Isaiah 8:17-18) to explicate Jesus' solidarity with humankind. The quotations ...

36. Proper 21

Matthew 21:23-27, Matthew 21:28-32, Exodus 17:1-7, Ezekiel 18:1-32, Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... suffer and die in isolation (mind your own business) 2. Contemporary society is an association of individuals, not a true community 3. Christianity is meant to be a community that flows from the mind of Christ 4. A sign of this community is empathy for others and mutual support 5. How well are we taking a Christ-like interest in others? Sermon Title: Therefore. Sermon Angle: Paul links Christ's humble obedience with his exaltation by God with the preposition "therefore." Then, after his poem dedicated to ...

37. A Quiet Man · Andrew

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... is more to every individual than meets the eye. To be sure, Peter had his faults. He was never above speaking out unwisely or rushing rashly into situations he may have more wisely avoided. At the same time, however, he had also possessed a deep-seated empathy requiring only the challenge of another's need to bring out the best in him. Accordingly, long before anxious multitudes lay their afflicted loved ones in the streets for Peter's healing shadow to touch (Acts 5:15-16) Andrew was aware that his brother ...

38. A Fireside Chat

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... their groaning, seen their tears, remembered their covenant with Abraham, and is moved with concern and compassion for them. And when God is concerned, it's not an easy, little, temporary thought of "I'm-sure-sorry-and-I-wish-I-could-help," but it is an active empathy that enters into the problem with Divine help. And Moses is the unlikely man that God intends to use for this purpose. Moses may not know it yet, but all of his life, until now, has been a preparatory school for God's larger plan for him. I ...

39. Blind Lead the Blind

Mark 7:31-37

Children's Sermon

SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME IN SUNDAY CHURCH SCHOOL Object: Blindfolds and earplugs for every student Teachers: This week's Gospel reading will provide your class with a good opportunity for a lesson in empathy. You will need about half as many good snug blindfolds as you have students, and about the same number of sound-proof earplugs. You will also need a fairly complex task (like the assembly of a toy model or the rearranging of classroom furniture). Some of the instructions for the ...

40. An Invitation to Rest

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

... of church members to bring a group of adults to that hiding place, as happened with Jesus and the disciples. And point out, that, even though they needed to rest, Jesus had compassion on the people. Define and illustrate compassion in children's language. (Empathy: feeling with and not feeling sorry for.) Proclamation of the Word Consider this: The Dimensions of Compassion I. What it isn't: Feeling sorry for someone. II. What it is: Feeling with someone. Maybe you will want to incorporate this story: A man ...

41. Doing Our Homework

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... depths of our being. Who among us has not been affected by the stories and pictures of Mother Teresa, acting with compassion and the touch of love on behalf of those who are left to die on the streets? But how many of us, feeling the empathy for those in desperate circumstances, will reach out as does she? During the euphoric days of early 1991, when we were celebrating the end of Operation Desert Storm, we waved our flags and felt waves of patriotism and nationalism pulsing through our veins. Many yellow ...

42. Trial-and-Error or Grace

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... to forgive prevents life from moving ahead, from moving smoothly at first and at last from moving at all, for without mercy life grinds to a halt. To have mercy is to let things go, to refuse to hold a grudge, to forgive. Mercy shows understanding and empathy, gives attention, and listens. I have learned that to show mercy oils the machinery of the groups in which I live. So it is that, when I need mercy, the machinery is running properly and also works for me. When life runs smoothly, happiness is a real ...

43. Enter God

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... child will have another child as the center of his/her life and move into the position of responsibility. Therefore, along with kindness and gentleness come correction, understanding, wise use of self and resources, right and wrong, forgiveness, and empathy not as sentimentality but as a work of art. A persistent judgment leveled against parents today is this: they gladly provide their children with every resource -- leaders, coaches, teachers, tutors, and youth workers. Certainly children should be happy ...

44. Saints Alive!

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... rejoicing. Being of a single mind about the things of the kingdom, the disciples are called to be merciful, just as they have received and experienced God's mercy. More than a gracious attitude of good will, "being merciful" includes having empathy for another's suffering and participating with another in setting things aright. It is an act of healing. So, too, is peacemaking. Making peace involves proclamation, diplomacy, self-control, a willingness to forgive and to promote the work of forgiveness among ...

45. For a Ninety-three-year-old Widow

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Eulogy

Walter A. Schmidt

... own home. I chose this text from 2 Timothy especially for Edna because it fits her so well. She has lived a good long life, she has kept the faith, and she will wear that crown of righteousness. Now please do not think me flippant or lacking in empathy, and I ask the family's indulgence if I offend you, but I find it difficult to be sorrowful today, at Edna's funeral. Certainly she will be missed, for she brought life and happiness and sunshine wherever she went, and certainly for you, her family, it will ...

46. Encounters With Christ II: Jesus and Mary and Martha

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

... who other people are. If we know what makes us tick… and what makes other people tick… we get along better. If we understand where we are coming from… and where other people are coming from, we relate better. There is more compassion, more empathy and more kindness. That’s why in recent years we have heard so much about personality tests. Employers, counselors and job-placement agencies are using them effectively. You may have heard of the Birkman Personality Profile. I want to use it this morning ...

47. Some Women's Stories

John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

Carl Jech

... limited notions of a woman's role and place in society. One of the reasons it is appropriate to associate this story with Luke's Gospel, is that along with his concern for outcasts, for the poor and oppressed, Luke also displays perhaps a greater empathy and respect for women than any other writer/editor in the New Testament. Beginning with the provocative story of Mary, who is proclaimed as a prime example of how God exalts those "of low degree," of how God is exceedingly concerned to rescue people from ...

48. What Jesus Saw In Martha

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

49. Let God Be God

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

... goodness this morning? Are we so absorbed in self-interest that we are neglecting communion with God? Are we becoming so callous toward other people that we feel superior to them and indifferent to their needs? Or are our hearts filled with compassion and true empathy rooted in obedience to the love of God? There is only one cure for the idolatry that shows itself in self-righteousness. That cure is in the humility that confesses sin and weakness and recognizes that we all are sinners saved only by God’s ...

50. When the Poor Become Rich

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... upon the laurels of their own righteousness. The poor in spirit are always the meek, the merciful, the seekers of God, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and frequently the persecuted. They know their own spiritual poverty, thus they can feel empathy for those around them who also struggle. They can trust God unconditionally, because they know God’s love for them is unconditional. Arthur Rubenstein is reported to have claimed, "I accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition ...

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