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 476 to 500 of 4455 results

476. Putting Mom in Heartbreak Hotel

1 Kings 2:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to tell you the story of an Old Testament character by the name of Joab. Joab spent his entire life as the Commander in Chief of the armies of the Nation of Israel. He was David's hand-picked general. David was God's anointed king over Israel and, as you know, he was a type and a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God's anointed king. Joab served David all of his life only to be slain, at the command of David, at the end of his life. Now Joab's downfall can be attributed to one simple ...

477. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

The general exhortation on agapē in chapters 12–13 proceeds now to a specific discussion of the “strong” and “weak” in 14:1–15:13. Paul divides the entire unit into three subsections. In the present section he argues that self-righteous judgments are divisive in the body of Christ; in 14:13–23 he teaches that responsibility for the other takes priority over individual rights; and he concludes in 15:1–13 with the servant role of Christ as the example for behavior within the Christian fellowship. Although ...

478. Francis of Assisi: a Faith for Every Day

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is ...

479. Coming Home

Luke 15:1-3,11b-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have preached the Prodigal Son parable many times, and when it came around this year in the lectionary I thought I would give it a rest. I turned to the Epistle lesson this morning, from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, which I have also preached many times, but not as many as the Prodigal Son. It goes like this: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and calling us to a ministry of reconciliation, God making his appeal through us." When I ...

480. When to Be Extravagant

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I understand there is an organization in Colorado called, "Dare to Be Dull." I am not a joiner, but I think I may have found my people. Their mission statement reads, "We try to reach out to all other people out there who actually like jell-o and washing their own cars, but have been afraid to admit it." Actually I don't like jell-o. And I hate to wash my car. So I may be a wilder, crazier guy than I thought. But on the other hand, I leave a meeting, somebody leaves with me, and comments, "That was the ...

481. Friends

Proverbs 27:6, 9, 17

Sermon

James Merritt

I saw a cartoon in a newspaper once, and the first frame showed a thief that was wearing a mask, and his gun was pointed toward a frightened victim. The next scene the robber is holding out a sack and saying, "Give me all of your valuables!" In the next scene the victim begins stuffing into the sack all of his friends. I don't believe there is hardly anything in life, outside of salvation, that is more valuable than a true friend. With few exceptions, people every-where hunger to have friends; I mean real ...

482. Epiphany 4

Mark 1:21-28, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 The book of Deuteronomy came out of the reform movement during Josiah's reign in the seventh century. The book is put in the form of Moses' last address to the people before entering the Promised Land. This pericope is a part of a section dealing with prophecy. A prophet like Moses is promised to replace the false prophets. This true Moses-like prophet will mediate Yahweh and the people. The passage explains how through Moses God provided for the institution ...

483. Counting Our Spiritual Blessings

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips is the one that came out some years ago just a few days before Thanksgiving. Lucy’s feeling sorry for herself and she laments, “My life is a drag. I’m completely fed up. I’ve never felt so low in my life.” Her little brother Linus tries to console her and he says, “Lucy, when you’re in a mood like this, you should try to think of things you have to be thankful for; in other words, count your blessings.” To that, Lucy says, “Ha! That’s a good one! I could count my ...

484. Brainstorms

Sermon

John R. Bodo

1. Hosea While only the first three chapters of the Book of Hosea are clearly autobiographical, his prophecies furnish a great deal of additional information about him. The story of Hosea and Gomer, of course, presents a tantalizing and ultimately insoluble puzzle. Did Hosea seek out a prostitute in order to dramatize his message? Did he marry a "good girl" who deceived him and eventually became a prostitute? Did he ... and so on? The Four R's. Hosea, a man of God, acts very much like God toward the ...

485. Proper 10

Genesis 25:19-34, Isaiah 55:1-13, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17, Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 25:19-34 Once again, God seems to linger in fulfilling his promise to make a great nation of Abraham's progeny. Isaac is 40 by the time he married Rebekah. Another 20 years expire before his wife gives birth to the twins, Esau and Jacob. Perhaps the Lord wants to demonstrate that this business of nation building is his doing, not a human accomplishment. Esau, being firstborn, earns the birthright, but foolishly sells it to his scheming brother for a pot of stew. Old ...

486. Lazarus Laughed

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I have always felt sorry for Lazarus. I mean, dying once is bad enough; but this poor fellow had to go through the whole ordeal a second time! And for what? At first glance, it seems as though he was recalled to this earth for the mere purpose of fortifying his sister’s faith. Then he would have to go through the process of dying once again. We are all familiar with the story. Jesus receives the news while He is in Perea that His friend Lazarus is ill. He says, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I ...

487. Church Discipline: A Cure for What Ails the Body

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

When a sixteen-year-old stays out all night drinking, then drives home, a father disciplines him with grounding. When a student cuts class, is late with papers, and turns in inferior work, a college professor disciplines him with failing marks. When an employee is lazy and is caught pilfering company goods, his boss disciplines him by firing him. At the businessman's club a member who skips meetings and refuses to join in service projects is disciplined by dismissal from club membership. A church member ...

488. The Holy Spirit and You

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In the spring of 1998 Sandy and I bought our first home. After years of parsonage living, it was an absolute delight to have our own place, though the bank still owned the most of it. The Director of Christian Education asked if we would host a little Sunday School party on Pentecost Sunday. We immediately agreed to do so, even though the house was far from ready for “company." We thought about twenty people would come. Fifty showed up at our door. We prayed that the weather would be good and the sun would ...

489. The Church As Family

Matthew 12:46-50

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When God made you and God made me, He made us a part of a family. He gave us grandmas and grandpas, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles and lots of others. For when God made you and God made me, He made us a part of a family. When Jesus spoke of family, he extended it far beyond blood lines and DNA. He called the entire Christian Community a family, the family of God. I want to use that metaphor to call us to communion today. The Church is the family of God. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven ...

490. Mary's Song

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to make my annual public service announcement to the men in our congregation. Guys, it’s time to do your Christmas shopping. I hope our men have this task already out of the way. But just in case, please heed my announcement. I understand that a [certain couple in our church] slipped off to [a nearby city] to do their Christmas shopping and somehow they got separated for several hours. Fortunately they had their cell phones with them. “Honey, where are you!?” [the woman] asked. “Darling,” [he] says ...

491. Paul’s Request for Onesimus

Philemon 1:8-25

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

Now that Paul has sufficiently commended Philemon for his exemplary Christian life, he moves to the heart of his request regarding Onesimus. In one way, Paul gives the impression that he is “shadow boxing,” that is, skirting around the real issue and not confronting Philemon directly. But Paul’s strategy is determined by two factors: First, he needs to move very carefully and weigh every word. After all, a request to reinstate a runaway slave was quite unusual in the first century. According to Roman law, ...

492. Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing: This suspense-filled narrative portrays a family torn between the conflicting wills of a father and a mother. An indulgent father favors a rugged, athletic, unpretentious older son while a brilliant, domineering mother manipulates matters to the advantage of her younger son, who loves to take care of the animals and do chores around the tent. “Son” is a controlling word in this narrative, being employed by each parent to emphasize his or her respective love for and favoritism ...

493. Proper 14

Genesis 37:12-36, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Jonah 2:1-10, Matthew 14:22-36, Romans 9:1-5; 10:5-15

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: How to overcome a contrary wind. The disciples faced a fiercely opposing wind on the Sea of Galilee. So too did Elijah, after his victory on Mount Carmel. Queen Jezebel was after his life. In both instances, they felt overwhelmed. Then, God came to still the storm. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Joseph, who was given a long robe with sleeves as a sign of his father's favor, was deeply resented by his brothers. One day, Jacob sent Joseph out in the field to find his brothers and they ...

494. Recognizing The Hidden

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

This is an account of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Two men were walking the wide, dusty road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It was a day’s journey in those first century years. The men talked of the recent crucifixion, of the Romans, of the fearful priests, of the good man, Jesus, who had given so much of himself to others, only to be crucified to death for his trouble. As the Palestinian sun crept toward the western hills the two were joined by a third a stranger, and lonely, on that highway ...

495. Philemon 1-21

Philemon 1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This short, personal letter of Paul to his friend and fellow believer, Philemon, has generated a surprisingly hefty amount of commentary. Textual scholars since the first centuries of the church's history have enjoyed studying this epistle. Part of the attraction is that while Philemon is quite brief, it is nevertheless the only piece of personal correspondence from Paul that has survived and found its place in the canon. Indeed, the particular and individual nature of Philemon caused some dissent among ...

496. The Whole Family Survival Kit

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of you remember or have every played the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game? In the mid-90s this silly party game challenged players to find a way to link the actor Kevin Bacon with any other actor using no more than six connections. (For instance, Val Kilmer was in “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise who was in “A Few Good Men,” which also featured Kevin Bacon.) Eventually what was really just a movie trivia game became a way for us to see ourselves as somehow related to anyone else on the planet with just ...

497. The Elephant in The Living Room

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Smylie

There are times when we do everything we can to avoid the obvious. Some realities that we face are so difficult that we will make every effort to deny their presence. Once again, Peter, a bold and wonderful character full of humanity, so much like us, is the fall guy for this gospel text. He is the one who gives voice to the disciples' concerns about Jesus teaching that, "the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after ...

498. For a Cancer Victim

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Eulogy

James W. Robinson

Mary at the Party Mary, for thirty years a recovering alcoholic, and afflicted with cancer, "kept on keeping on" with faith, hope, love, and unquenchable cheer, until she crossed life's final finish line. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." So said Paul in his letter to his young friend, Timothy. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul also referred to a race. He wrote, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ( ...

499. An Army Officer Deeply Concerned

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a ridiculous story going around about a country church one Sunday morning, where the preacher gave an invitation to the altar. “Anyone who has a special need that you would like prayed over,” he said, “please come to the front.” With that, a young man named Leroy got in line. When it was his turn, the preacher asked, “Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you?” Leroy replied, “Preacher, I need you to pray for help with my hearing.” The preacher put one hand on Leroy’s ear, placed his other ...

500. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Fruitful Vine What is a preacher to make of a parable or extended allegory about a vine in an urban and industrial culture? If you are living in a small town or a rural area, people might know something about growing grapes. They might know about the need to prune back old growth since the grapes only form on the new growth. But how many in a large city would know about cultivating a grape vine so that it produces a good crop? For them grapes are something you buy in the produce section of the ...

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