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 501 to 525 of 744 results

501. God's Will for Your Life

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Some of you will remember a wonderful little Italian film that hit American box offices in 1998 titled Life is Beautiful. Italian actor Roberto Benigni won the Academy Award for this unconventional film that was set in the concentration camps of World War II. According to Newsweek magazine the exuberant Roberto Benigni, in his joy over winning the Academy Award, literally danced over the tops of chairs and leaped on stage to receive his award. Afterwards, when reporters questioned him about this display of ...

502. The Great Discovery

Luke 15:14b-18a

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

Synopsis: Several people tell the story of a personal spiritual epiphany. Each gives testimony of their personal insight, discovery, rebirth, and new life. Characters: (In costume when possible and appropriate) Farmer in Jesus’ Parable (Matthew 13:44) Alexander Fleming Martin Luther John Wesley C.S. Lewis Lee Strobel Nadia Bolz-Weber (cf. Book Pastrix published by Jericho books) Personal witnesses from the community Narrator FARMER IN JESUS’ PARABLE: Hello. I am the farmer in one of Jesus’ powerful ...

503. Good News / Bad News

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. Luke 12:51 Sports writers still talk about the joy they used to take in interviewing the great New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra. Yogi was something of a rough-hewn philosopher given to malaprops and seemingly contradictory statements that managed to, somehow, still make a weird kind of sense. It was Yogi who said: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” And, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” When giving his opinion of a New York ...

504. What’s In a Word?

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Do you know what I mean when I use the term “bathrobe biblical”? I’m talking about the way we dress the kids for the Christmas pageant at church — old bathrobes become robes for Joseph, Grandpa’s cane becomes a shepherd’s crook, and a cigar box gets decorated with gold-painted macaroni so the kings have a treasure to bring. If you remember cigar boxes, you’re dating yourself. The traces of that deep, pungent smell were every bit as mysterious as frankincense and myrrh. These images created in our pageants ...

505. Naaman Is My Name!

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Some of the most profound precepts we ever know come clothed in very basic and elemental forms. A "Peanuts" cartoon strip shows Charlie Brown visiting Lucy who is at her stand offering psychiatric help for a nickel. Charlie says, "I need help! Tell me a great truth. Tell me something about living that will help me." Lucy responds by asking, "Do you ever wake up at night and want a drink of water?" "Sure," Charlie responds, "quite often." Lucy then offers her advice, "When you're getting a drink of water in ...

506. How to Affair-Proof Your Marriage!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Country singer Gene Watson croons: Slip into something soft, And then come slip into my arms again. Strip away your conscience and Take off your wedding band. Cheating has become America's national pastime. Statistically, 65 percent of men have affairs by age forty. For women, it's 35 percent. Talking with a pastor who had demitted the ministry due to sexual misconduct, he confided, "I never thought it could happen to me. But it did. For fifteen minutes of rolling in the sheets I sacrificed everything ...

507. Life's Loose Threads and The Tie That Binds

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

In 1481 Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint an altarpiece for the chapel of a nearby monastery. He devoted an inordinate amount of time and energy to the depiction, compiling countless preparatory sketches and carefully attending to each intricate detail. The result was revolutionary: one of the most dramatic and innovative renderings of the Renaissance, before which succeeding generations of artists would later stand awestruck in absolute wonder. Mysteriously, though, just seven months into the ...

508. The Seven Last Words Of Pilate

Sermon

Thomas Long

Some stories in the Bible are so essentially visual that they almost demand that we act them out to understand them. Like the rest of the Bible, such stories are intended to be read and heard, of course, but they have the added quality of being vivid, pictorial, perhaps even theatrical, and they seem to release their full power only when they are seen in action. In order to grasp their truths, we are compelled to scramble up on a stage -- at least one constructed in our imagination -- to don a costume, to ...

509. Wedding: Deciding To Love (for a marriage after divorce)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

Listen to these words of Scripture as they are found in Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13 (NRSV): Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends... When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like ...

510. A Call To Worship

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: What Is True Worship? This drama, to be used at the beginning of the worship service, brings back into focus the real reason church families gather together every Sunday. Setting: A normal Sunday worship service Characters:FOUR READERS: 4th Reader must be emphatic, not afraid to make waves, to be honest. Readers may be male and/or female. Costumes: Usual Sunday attire Props: Four similar stools, scripts Scene: Four stools are set in a row in front of the sanctuary. Readers are lined up from 1 to 4. ...

511. The Lord is Faithful

Isaiah 59:1-21

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: Come, let us repent and lift our prayers before the Lord! People: But the Lord has not heard us and our pleas have not been answered. Leader: For we have all sinned and strayed away from God's paths. People: Then let us repent that once again we might know God's love and grace. Leader: For God has always heard; it was we who had gone our own ways. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, we thank You for Your loving patience and mercy. Even though we choose to go astray ...

512. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

Wayne H. Keller

Theme: Jesus Again Continues the Bread of Life Theme; This Time People Argue Among Themselves. Note: The idea for this celebration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper comes from a sermon by Henry E. Kolbe, a United Methodist clergyman (now deceased). The sermon was printed in The Pulpit magazine (July-August, 1966). I used this idea previously in Lectionary Worship Workbook, Cycle B, published in 1990 by CSS Publishing Company. I invite you to consider using it, with appropriate variations, once a year. ...

513. Gifts of Lent V: A Soldier Gives His Wine

Matthew 27:45-56

Drama

Donald Neidigk

Dramatic Monologue My name is Saint Longinus. The ancient traditions of the church say I was martyred in the service of Jesus. I was just Longinus then. You'll remember me for a number of things I did on that Friday of Holy Week: commanding the execution squad, giving Jesus a drink of cheap wine as he hung on the cross dying, confessing that he was the Son of God, and finally piercing him with my lance to ensure that he was dead. And you wonder why I'm called Saint Longinus? I understand your confusion. I ...

514. For All The Saints

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

There are games theologians play. One of them is called, "I am no more modern than thou." I've played that game well. I make no apology for believing that the Lord didn't stop communicating when the last pages of the New Testament were completed. I believe some things written in our day are just as authentic as anything written in the first century. I cringe when old time religion means rigid, irrational conformity based on what someone said ages ago. Jesus was not stuck with a dusty tradition or what ...

515. Proper 20

Philippians 1:12-30, Jonah 4:1-11, Isaiah 55:1-13, Exodus 16:1-36, Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The grace of God. Isaiah 55 calls on the people to turn to God for mercy and forgiveness. The Second Lesson has Paul commending the Philippians to the grace of God from his prison cell. The Gospel parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard teaches us that God rewards us not according to our deserving but according to his generosity. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 16:2-15 In the hardships of the wilderness, the people complain to Moses. They protest about the lack of food, as they remember the ...

516. I Am The Alpha And The Omega

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. --Revelation 1:8 (NRSV) It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. "Peace be with you," he said. After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the ...

517. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Sometimes you can prepare a story sermon which reflects a lot of your own experience. And it becomes natural for you to play yourself while making the point of the sermon. The following reflected a lot of my experiences as a young father. Fortunately, my wife did not die, as does the wife of the main character here. But I was quite a disappointment to my colleagues because of how much part I took in household matters and child care. As of this writing, I am the wife my spouse always wanted! I ...

518. Lyrics For The Centuries

2 Samuel 1:1-16

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

When David received the report of the battlefield deaths of Saul and Jonathan, he expressed his sorrow and tribute by composing and chanting a lament, that beautiful elegy that is today's first reading. A line from an old spiritual comes to mind. "Little David, play on your harp." Yes, David, play and sing for us the lyrics that span the centuries. Sing the songs that help us express our mourning while celebrating the lives of those whose loss we mourn. Sing us the songs that sustain us when we are beset ...

519. Clear Channel Voice

Proverbs 1:20-33

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

One rather frustrating Sunday morning the teacher of the junior high class decided to try a little experiment with her students. What made the morning difficult was that some of the students were having a hard time concentrating on the lesson while other students were struggling to keep quiet. The teacher asked for three volunteers, explaining that all they had to do was talk, which certainly would not seem to be a difficult task for thirteen and fourteen year olds. Of the three students who volunteered, ...

520. God's Math:Lose Life = Save It

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

When self-preservation is our central aim, we are never safe. However, when we are committed to surrender to the disturbances that Godly compassion produces we are never in danger.So Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." We can be dumped into the most precarious situations but if God is with us we are not in danger. The worst that can happen to us is dislocation from Christ. Hence, as long as we are with the ...

521. The M And M Factor

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

Caleb was probably the laziest boy in the whole village. At least that was his reputation, although no one had ever done scientific study on the question. Caleb could sit in one position - usually, shaded by a tree and upon a matting of soft grass - for hours. He could sit there and watch the clouds move across the sky from daybreak to sunset. Actually, he was never out of bed at day break so the statement was more for effect than truth! This day Caleb had chosen to escape his field chores by hiding away ...

522. The Spirit Bird

Galatians 1:23b

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

One summer morning in a mission camp where I was serving as a teacher of Galatians to junior high youth, a bird appeared at morning devotions, and lighted on the head of one of the girls. From there the bird hopped to her arm and then onto the arm of another camper and then another. The bird seemed to be looking for someone. We learned later that it was indeed a tame bird, the pet of a camper in an adjoining camp. We were also told that some boys in our camp had thrown sticks at the bird and frightened it ...

523. The Best Surprises

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon Aid

Clement E. Lewis

Instrumental Meditation A Hymn: "Sometimes A Little Surprises" (Let the hymn be played through as meditation music, after which the lyrics may be either sung or read.) Scripture: Matthew 2:9-12 and 4:9-11 (NRSV) When they had heard the king, they set out; and there ahead of them went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house they knelt down and paid him homage ...

524. Take Up Your Cross And Follow Me

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon Aid

Clement E. Lewis

Meditation Hymn: "Above The Hills Of Time"(May be sung as a solo in preparation for worship) Prayer Of Invocation: We come to worship you, our Lord, knowing that you overcame both the cross and the grave. We realize that except for your endurance of the cross and its cruel death, we would not have known the full magnitude of your love for us. Your having made atonement for our sins, makes us aware that we should live the Christian faith fully, knowing that it is the way, the truth, and the life. Thank you ...

525. Preaching the Miracles of Jesus

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

Despite our scientific and technological generation, we live in an age of miracles. They are so many, and they occur so often, that we tend to take miracles for granted. When one gets well from a serious illness, we say, "His recovery was a miracle!" When we see pictures of a car wreck, we say, "It was a miracle all were not killed." A wife sent a friendship card to her husband with the message, "You love me! Will miracles never cease?" Every day we experience miracles. They are miracles because we cannot ...

Showing results