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 576 to 600 of 1065 results

576. The Total Gift

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

It is easy to get so caught up in the sentimentality and nostalgia of Christmas that we neglect the true reason we celebrate. We receive Christmas cards portraying a cute infant Jesus lying in a manger filled with straw. The Baby Jesus is pictured in the center with Mary and Joseph on one side, the shepherds and Magi on the other. We know this scene: animals are in the background, in the distance angels can be seen hovering, as a star shines brightly overhead. However, there is more to Advent and Christmas ...

577. Let Them Eat Cake

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

During the government shutdown this October, there was only one major point both Democrats and Republicans could completely agree on. Both parties proudly and loudly declared “It was not our fault.” Not so much “taking a stand” as taking a “stand off.” There are always two front lines going on during any conflict. There is the horrible physical conflict, the confrontation between persons and countries that results in blood and doom. The losses logged on that physical front line are devastating and deadly. ...

578. A Topsy-Turvy Gospel

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Mushers” and people who travel by dog sled over snowy, frozen terrain. “Mushers” have a saying: “If you’re not the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” That “Mushers” saying has become a centerpiece doctrine of the leadership literature that has been inundating the corporate and church worlds of the last thirty years. If you are not the “top dog,” in other words, no matter how far you travel your journey is just going to be a “tale of tails.” Striving to be “top dog” is the goal we are encouraged to ...

579. Breaking News: A World Gone Wild

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

James Merritt

The media called 2010 “The Year The Earth Struck Back.” Take your pick–tsunamis, typhoons, and tornados. What is called “Natural Disasters” killed a quarter of a million people in that 12 month period. More people were killed world-wide by natural disasters in 2010 than were killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.[1] When it comes to Breaking News you can always count every year on some natural disaster interrupting your regularly scheduled programming. Let’s just take four of them and ...

580. An Invitation to a Wedding

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

An older couple was being married. Both had lost their spouses to death and had grown children. The combined children sent out this wedding invitation in their behalf: “Phil, Richard, Karen and Allison, and John, Matt and Steve request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their Mother and Father. Because they are combining two households, they already have at least two of everything. So please, no presents! Reception and garage sale immediately following the ceremony.” (1) There is no more hopeful ...

581. The Three Shower Gifts

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What’s in a name? Well, in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare thought that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But in San Quentin Live, Johnny Cash sang a ballad that showed how one guy’s life was completely skewed because he was a “Boy Named Sue.” Sometimes names really do matter. “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.” In the Western Church we call this Sunday the “Second Sunday After Christmas.” The day after tomorrow, January 6, will be “Epiphany,” the official ...

582. The Right Connection

John 15:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

It is amazing how valuable a vine can be. The vines, like the ones we saw here at Chateau Elan bring in $40 billion of business a year in the United States. Americans this past year bought 267 million cases and drank 800 million gallons of its fruit and that number increases every year. Wineries and vineyards are the second most popular tourist attraction in California after Disneyland. The United States is the largest retail wine market in the world and this industry employs 35,000 people. As important as ...

583. Let's Take This from the Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

James Merritt

The world of information is now connected through the Internet, but in 1860 the fastest way to send a message was by a newly developed innovation called “The Pony Express.” Young men who loved adventure were hired to ride 8 hours and 80 miles a day on horseback. The 1,946 miles between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California were linked together by 190 stations so that mail delivery could be reduced from 25 days to just 10. These riders rode 6 days a week, for that time, at a very high salary of $ ...

584. Don't Give Up Now!

2 Corinthians 4:16 - 5:2

Sermon

Have you noticed that some people can’t seem to win, no matter what they do? It’s like one lady I heard about. True story. In 1957 Richie Ashburn, center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, swung and hit a foul ball that went into the stands and hit a spectator named Alice Roth. As she was being taken away on a stretcher, Ashburn slammed another foul ball . . . and hit her again. (1) Poor Alice. I guess it just wasn’t her day. I’ve had days like that, haven’t you? I would guess we all have. Pastor Alan ...

585. It Was a Dark and Stormy Evening! Father's Day

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this Father’s Day 2015. We know that not every Dad is a great Dad. And yet we know that some of the men in this church have committed themselves to being great Dads, and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. According to one expert, children go through 4 stages of dealing with their fathers. In stage one, they call you da-da. In stage 2 they grow and call you Daddy. As they mature and reach stage 3 they call you Dad. Finally in stage 4 they call you collect. A certain mother tells ...

586. How God Looks at Marriage

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

King Duncan

A young couple decided to wed. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other. The groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. “Dad,” he said, “I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage. I love my fiancée very much, but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I’m afraid that my future wife will be put off by them.” “No problem,” said his dad. “All you have to do is wash your feet as ...

587. Nehemiah’s Prayer

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

The Background to Nehemiah’s Mission: The two missions in Ezra 1–6 and 7–10 were launched by the decree of a Persian king, behind which lay the sovereign will of the God of Israel, disclosed in Scripture and providence. The third and last mission, spread over 1:1–2:8 and summarized in 2:18a, also follows this pattern. The focus on Nehemiah in 1:1–10 corresponds to the description of Ezra’s qualifications by birth and training in Ezra 7:1–7. The narrative here reveals Nehemiah’s strong convictions, which ...

588. Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls

Nehemiah 2:11-20

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Nehemiah’s Private and Public Measures: 2:11–15 Jerusalem at last! One might have expected Nehemiah to seek the public support of verses 17–18 from the outset. As verses 12 and 16 clearly state at key points, he chose instead to make a private inspection of the wall under the awkward cover of darkness, mounted and escorted by a few of his staff walking with him. An emotional factor cannot be discounted: this was a matter that had weighed obsessively on his mind for months, and he needed to come to terms ...

589. How the Lord has Covered the Daughter of Zion

Lamentations 2:1-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

The Lord Is Like an Enemy: 2:1 Alef. The opening word (How) invites the reader to contemplate the extent of Judah’s destruction. It also strikes a tone of lament over that same suffering. One can hear a note of disbelief that God would bring such a horrific judgment on his people. Indeed, it is total as expressed by the fact that the cloud of his anger has engulfed all of the Daughter of Zion. The expression Daughter of Zion is an intimate way of referring to Jerusalem by its most sacred space and then ...

590. How the Gold Has Lost Its Luster

Lamentations 4:1-22

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

The Luster Has Faded for the People of God: The fourth poem of the book is also an acrostic, but of a different structure than the previous three chapters. Each verse starts with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and in this way is similar to chapters 1 and 2. But a simple comparison of the verses in English or Hebrew shows that the verse-stanzas thus formed are much shorter (comprising two rather than three bicola per verse). Thus, this chapter is about a third shorter than chapters 1 and 2 and ...

591. The Promised Glory of the New House

Haggai 2:1-9

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

September: The remaining three sections of Haggai contain no more concrete exhortations but focus on further motivating the community to get on with the rebuilding of the temple. 1:15b–2:2 Seven weeks have passed since Haggai’s first message; halfway through this period the people began the actual work on the temple. That first message came on a day of special observance, it being the first day of the month; this second message came on a very significant day, the last day of the week of Sukkot, the eve of ...

592. Pilate and the Condemnation of Jesus

John 18:28-40, John 19:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The sentencing of Jesus to death takes place within the framework of a series of exchanges between the Roman governor Pilate and the Jewish religious authorities. The time is from early morning (18:28) to noon (19:14) of the day after Jesus’ arrest. The structure of the narrative is determined by the fact that the Jewish authorities, for reasons of ritual purity, would not go inside the palace that served as Pilate’s headquarters (v. 28). Contact with the dwelling of a Gentile—even a temporary dwelling, ...

593. Comfort for God's People

Isaiah 40:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

The Gifts of Comfort and Energy: So Isaiah 39, set in Isaiah’s own day, envisages the future deportation of Judeans to Babylon. Isaiah 40–55, however, is set in the time after this deportation has happened. It does not say “In days to come God will send a message of comfort to people who have been punished,” in the manner of a passage such as 30:19–26. It says, rather, “God is now comforting you who have been punished.” The traditional view is that these chapters were written by Isaiah ben Amoz, and we may ...

594. The Rejection of Jesus in His Own Hometown

Mark 6:1-6

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: In mission one must expect serious opposition. When disciples participate in the life and work of Jesus, this will engender both mission to the lost and persecution from the lost. Understanding the Text Mark 6:1–6 is another conflict narrative (like 2:1–3:6; 3:20–35), and like many transition passages, it functions two ways: (1) it parallels 3:1–6 and ends the second cycle (1:16–3:6; 3:7–6:6) with a conflict story; (2) there is also an A-B-A pattern in 6:1–29 in which the mission of the Twelve (6 ...

595. The Gentiles Are Included in God’s Provision

Mark 8:1-13

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Jesus’s ministry in Gentile lands continues with a second feeding miracle that shows the inclusion of the Gentiles in Jesus’s messianic ministry of provision. In contrast, the confrontation and rejection by the Jewish leaders intensifies, leading to Jesus’s christological destiny in Jerusalem. Understanding the Text This is part of the longer section 6:31–8:21 described earlier (see “The Text in Context” on 6:31–44), dealing with “failure-faith-failure.” Here, as in 6:31–7:23, a feeding miracle ( ...

596. The Path of Discipleship

Mark 8:31--9:1

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Jesus’s role as the suffering Messiah (8:27–33) provides a model for his disciples. The path of true discipleship is one of self-denying and cross-bearing. Understanding the Text The previous section developed the necessity and meaning of Jesus’s suffering (8:27–33). Jesus then uses his messianic suffering as the model for discipleship. The sayings in 8:34–9:1 define the implications for true followers, with the thesis statement telling how to follow (v. 34) followed by two clarifications telling ...

597. Mary’s Song—the Magnificat

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

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: God has chosen the insignificant Mary for great honor. This is an example of how he overturns human values and conventions. Understanding the Text In our first two sections of Luke’s text the angel Gabriel has announced two births to mothers who should not have been expecting a baby (one too old, the other not yet married). Before the births of John and Jesus are narrated, the two families are brought together, and we have in this domestic scene an opportunity to reflect on the significance of ...

598. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Chapters 9–11, which correspond to the curses component of the covenant (chaps. 5–8 enunciate the blessings), answer the question “Have God’s promises to Israel failed?” Paul answers, “No!” In 9:1–5 he broaches the problem of Israel’s unbelief. Israel previously enjoyed the blessings of the covenant but is now under its curses for rejecting the Messiah. Understanding the Text In order to situate Romans 9:1–5 in its literary setting I must briefly make four points. First, what is the relationship ...

599. David Spares Saul’s Life

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord vindicates his chosen servants when they look to him for justice. Understanding the Text Chapter 23 ends with David’s escaping from Saul, yet one suspects that this is but a respite in the unfolding conflict. Indeed, once he has dealt with the Philistine problem, Saul resumes his pursuit of David. This time divine providence hands David an opportunity to kill Saul, yet he refuses to do so. Instead, he confronts Saul, protests his innocence, and appeals to God for justice. Throughout this ...

600. Eliphaz Turns Up His Criticism of Job

Job 15:1-35

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Eliphaz insists that Job is a sinner who deserves God’s punishment. Understanding the Text Job 15 contains Eliphaz’s second speech to Job, and it is evident that civil discussion between them has broken down considerably. In fact, in the second cycle (Job 15–21) the dialogue between Job and his friends becomes more strained, abusive, and insulting as the friends focus almost completely on the divine punishment due to wicked people like Job. In chapter 15, Eliphaz is not as courteous as when he ...

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