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 754 results

501. All Saints Day

Revelation 7:9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-17 John gives a vision of heaven where innumerable saints worship God. The book of Revelation, written ca. A.D. 96, has as its purpose to comfort and strengthen Christians at a time of great distress. They are enduring persecution at the hands of the Roman Emperor, Domitian. They are encouraged and strengthened by the news of ultimate victory in heaven. Chapter 7 is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals. The saints are assured that they will be free from ...

502. Road Rage

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

When our children were small, a nice church lady named Chris made them a child-friendly creche. All the actors in this stable drama are soft and squishy and durable - perfect to touch and rearrange - or toss across the living room in a fit of toddler frenzy. The Joseph character has always been my favorite because he looks a little wild - red yarn spiking out from his head, giving him an odd look of energy. In fact, I have renamed this character John the Baptist and in my mind substituted one of the ...

503. Wondering Wonder

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Two Christmas movies that have become such a part of popular culture that they both rate their own 24 hour marathon showings during the days before the twenty-fifth. The first of these is the sentimental Depression-era story It's A Wonderful Life. In this story George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) gets to see what life would have been like for his family and his town if he had never been born. After George sees just how much influence he had on others, how big a difference his presence made for his community, he ...

504. Let's Dance

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

At one time or another, all of us here have had the uncomfortable experience of either being or watching someone with absolutely no sense of rhythm, movement, or beat try and dance and move to the music. We call them people with "Baptist feet." No matter that the bass line is thumping along so loudly that it's giving everyone else synchronized migraines – it seems there is always someone out on the dance floor who just can't find the beat and move to it. For those with well-tuned senses of rhythm and ...

505. Murphy's Law and Messiah's Law

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anybody here not heard of Murphy's Law? We know it by heart, don't we? Let's say it together: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Anybody here know where it started and who Mr. Murphy was? The first reference to Murphy's Law was in the April 1956 issue of Scientific American in the "Amateur Scientist" column. Let me give the quote from which the Murphy's Law phenomenon spread like a virus all over the globe. It all began with three Murphy's Laws: "Dr. Schaefer's observation confirms this department ...

506. Living Outside the Box

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In the 1950s and 60s the five-and-dime market was invented and then dominated by two entrepreneurial giants Woolworth's and Newberry's. Like the giants Wal-mart and K-mart today, both these marketing geniuses broke ground for the megastores that have now asphalted forests and farmlands. The idea both Woolworth's and Newberry's sold was that you could get virtually anything and get it cheap at their stores. It did seem that they stocked everything from dishes to dresses to tools and toys; from a hundred ...

507. Prayer

Matthew 24:36-51

Bulletin Aid

Stephen Brown

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. We do not know when you are coming. We gaze into our sky with anticipation with fear...with trepidation. We do not know when you are coming. We wonder if you will. The skies appear clear, but our vision is blurred. The air is choked with smoke and flame a poison in the air. Would we see you coming, Lord? Could we see you coming, Lord? We do not know when you are coming. We wonder if you will. Our wounded litter battlefields ...

508. Wherever You Are, You Are Always at Home

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In just a few days we will all be faced with the annual challenge: learning to write a new year date on all our important papers, letters, checks. '07 will become '08. I don't know about you, but my neurons are still not comfortable with whole "0" thing. Every now and again I have a brain fritz (as opposed to an ice induced brain freeze) and find myself writing 1996 or 1987 or some other decade-deleting date. Its as if occasionally my mind simply cannot fathom the incredibly swift passage of time that ...

509. It Is Good News!

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

James McCormick

Recently we observed the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight in an airplane. 100 years ago, when news of the flight began to spread, a disbelieving cynic said, “I don’t believe it. Nobody’s ever going to fly. But if they do, it won’t be anybody from Dayton, Ohio!” We do tend to be skeptical about good news, don’t we, and particularly so when the alleged good news comes from an unlikely source. 100 years ago it was difficult enough to believe that people could fly. But surely, if such a ...

510. Proper 25

Deuteronomy 34:1-12, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, Psalm 90:1-17

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Deuteronomy 34:1-12 is the account of Moses' death on Mount Nebo, his burial by God, and the passing on of his leadership to Joshua. Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 is a prayer ascribed to Moses. The lectionary does not include v. 13, but it is included here since it introduces the prayer ascribed to Moses. Deuteronomy 34:1-12 - "Standing Tiptoe on Mount Nebo" Setting. Deuteronomy 34 is the account of Moses' death. The chapter consists of careful to graps location in Moab and includes a reference ...

511. The Lost and Found Elder Brother

Luke 15:25-32

Sermon

James W. Moore

Have you heard the story about a little girl named Mikki who was walking down the sidewalk with her mother one day? They were walking together, (mom and daughter) holding hands. As they walk along, little Mikki asks: “Mommy, what is God?” Her mother answers: “Well, Mikki, God is the creative force, the first cause, the unmoved mover, the unseen primal producer of existence, the binding, sentient energy which underpins all physical manifestation, the…” At this point, the little girl interrupts. “Mommy, ...

512. Looking Into the Eyes of the Risen Christ

John 20:11-18

Sermon

James W. Moore

On December 10, 2003, a new movie was released. It was called Big Fish. The main character in the film was a man named Edward Bloom. Edward Bloom loved to charm people with his “larger-than-life stories” (some would call them “tall tales” about his youthful and extraordinary adventures with circus performers, with giants and werewolves and one amazing encounter with a so-called witch. In the witch story (which was his son’s favorite bed-time story), Edward Bloom describes in vivid detail how when he was ...

513. Magnanimity: The Essential Spirit of the Christian

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

Someone once said: “You can call me anything, if you let me define the terms.” This morning, I want us to define the term “Magnanimity”…because it was such an important word to the Apostle Paul… and such a key characteristic in the life of Jesus. Writing a long time ago to the Philippian Christians, Paul called the spirit of magnanimity the essential spirit of the Christian. He told the Philippians that a Christian should be characterized by his or her magnanimity… and that the spirit of magnanimity should ...

514. What Christmas Gives to Us

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

A couple of weeks ago, the Brookwood Community celebrated its 20th Anniversary out at Brookshire, Texas. Brookwood is an amazing place… a modern-day miracle! It’s a God-centered educational, residential and entrepreneurial village for adults with functional disabilities. It’s a God-centered, educational, residential and entrepreneurial village for adults with functional disabilities. It’s a special place for special adults. It enables them to grow and contribute and belong and be productive. It gives them ...

515. The Death That Ends All Death

1 Peter 3:18

Sermon

James Merritt

Jesus Christ died when he was about thirty-three years old. Other than the fact that he died as a relatively young man, on the surface there seems to be nothing unusual about that statement. The reason why that seems to be a routine statement is because death comes to everyone. When the Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, completed a statistical study on the subject of death, he said he came to this firm conclusion: "One out of one people dies." Normally that is why biographers seldom spend much time on the ...

516. Hope In A Hostile World

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

During these first two weeks of December, we are receiving lots of Christmas cards. Of course, many show photographs of the family sending the card. But others feature portraits of the holy family. A typical one shows the holy family in a peaceful stable surrounded by adoring shepherds and wise men. The entire scene is bathed in the heavenly light from a special star. Everything is so tranquil. This picture is reinforced by the songs we sing this time of year, like “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, ...

517. The Five Habits of Highly Spiritual Leaders

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There are five habits of highly spiritual people: They dream, scheme, team, lean and beam. Business leadership guru Steven Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990) has been on the New York Times bestsellers list for over 220 weeks. It has sold more than four million copies. Corporate America has snapped up Covey's books and tapes and lined up to attend his seminars as though he were offering them secret insider-trading information. So what is Covey selling? The ...

518. The Last Parable

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

James McCormick

It took place during that first Holy Week. For about three years Jesus had been teaching and healing and living among his followers. He had been preparing the disciples for the time when he would no longer be with them. He sensed that they were ready, so he went to Jerusalem to confront those who opposed him. On Sunday he made his entry into Jerusalem – that was Palm Sunday which we will celebrate next week. He did it in such a way that his claim to be the Messiah was unmistakable. He had ridden on a ...

519. Philippians 4:4-7

Philippians 4:4-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

One reason Philippians is a pet epistle of the Christian community is the extremely personal nature of this letter. Paul's obvious closeness to this community ("I thank my God every time I remember you" [1:3]) gives a special quality of tenderness and concern to this correspondence. Even when there is a disagreement within this community (cf. 4:2-3), Paul's words of reprimand and counsel are both gentle and personal. It is evident Paul feels great love and a great sense of camaraderie between himself and ...

520. Advent 3

Psalm 126:1-6, Isaiah 61:1-11, John 1:6-8, 19-28, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 126 First Lesson—The prophet brings glad tidings of relief and renewal. Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Second Lesson—Paul urges cautious optimism as Christians give thanks and pray while waiting for the second coming of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Gospel—John the Baptist, though a lesser light, is a light widening the eyes of people to see the brighter light of the Christ. John 1:6-8, 19-28 CALL TO WORSHIP Pastor: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you ...

521. Proper 10

Psalm 82:1-8, Amos 7:7-17, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 1:1-14

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 82 First Lesson—The prophet sees God judging the uprightness of the nation like a mason with a plumb line in his hand. Amos 7:7-17 Second Lesson—Paul begins his letter to the Colossian church with great eloquence. Colossians 1:1-14 Gospel—In a parable Jesus uses a foreigner despised by some of his own people as a worthy example of loving one’s neighbor as one’s self. Luke 10:25-37 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. ...

522. Shame On Who?

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

I recently came across an article in a Baltimore newspaper that was entitled, "Whatever Happened To Shame?"[[1]] The journalist who wrote this article made, I believe, a very astute and accurate observation. These are just some of his remarks. "Some of us remember when "shame on you" or "you ought to be ashamed of yourself" meant something. There was a moral obligation to feel shame and to direct it toward ourselves. I don't think this happens much anymore...Instead of feeling shame, we feel embarrassed, ...

523. God Where Are You? - The Problem of Evil

Genesis 3:1-6, Judges 6:13

Sermon

James Merritt

Whether it is the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, a tsunami that wipes out 150,000 people in a day, or the massive starvation of millions of children around the world, you cannot deny the reality of evil. On the other hand, we saw last week how science itself has proved with certainty that the world is not eternal. The universe had a beginning. The only feasible option to explain the origin of the universe is a transcendent creator. DNA itself is a compelling ...

524. The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

Country singer Darryl Worley once wrote a song about meeting the girl of his dreams and proposing to her. I couldn't help but think of my wife Teresa and my feelings for her when I listened to the song it goes like this: Big brown eyes, soft red lips I'm thinkin' I could get use to this This could be the opportunity of a lifetime My heart melts when you whisper my name I've got a feeling if you're feeling the same This could be the opportunity of a lifetime We've got a chance at real true love We'd have to ...

525. The Two Prodigals

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

The relationship between and among siblings is a study both intriguing and challenging. Many of us know the truth here firsthand from the experience of growing up in families. Even if one happens to be an only child, we are brought in touch with brothers and sisters in other families. A great deal is made of the birth order in a family. For example, the oldest son has traditionally been known as the child who is to make his mark in the world and, in some cases, look after parents and those siblings who are ...

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