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 626 to 650 of 4339 results

626. More Than Just Image

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... relationship with God and with one another. Our sinful nature drives us to put our needs and happiness first, to crown ourselves king of our own little universe. There is no earthly power—either judge, priest or king—who can transform our sinful nature into the character of God. I think we see a beautiful example of rescue and restoration in the story of Lt. Brian Zach of the Kingman, Arizona Police Department. In 2017, Lt. Zach responded to a call for a welfare check. At the home, he discovered a two ...

627. The Practice

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... with soccer, he teaches them with gentle nudging and cultivating, more important lessons: to trust themselves, to embrace compassion, forgiveness, and understanding, and to believe in both themselves and the other members of their team. One particular character, Jamie Tartt, starts off as a fairly obnoxious character, but as we follow the series, we realize that he has been rejected and mistreated in his past. Through non-judgmental patience, compassion, and empathy, despite much of Jamie’s behavior, his ...

628. Daniel Interprets the Dream

Daniel 2:24-49

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... directly to the king to ask for time to come up with an interpretation (2:16). It seems that the three friends were imported to connect chapter 2 with the mention of them in chapter 1 and also to anticipate chapter 3 where they are the main characters. Both versions are somewhat in tension with chapter 1 where Daniel and his friends are considered wiser than all the others (1:20), because in chapter 2 they are apparently not even important enough to be consulted about the dream (2:2, 15–16). (For more on ...

629. Scandal

Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... the first time. His morality pierced our immorality and we must turn away. Like the dirty old man in one of O. Henry’s stories, the one who saw by lamplight the beautiful woman he once called friend but lost because of the blackness of his own rotten character, then suddenly remembered what he could have been if he had stayed with her instead of becoming his awful self. We turned with him down a dark alley, banged our heads against a wall, and cried out, “Oh God, what have I become?” Still, in Jesus ...

630. When the Small is Great, and the Great is Small

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Will Willimon

... to the Red Cross, 3% after taxes to the church each year. Nothing we can't afford. See this poor widow. She gave all. Someday I'd like to write a book about all the “Little People” who pop up here and there in the gospels -- minor characters with forgettable na1nes like Simon of Cyrene, Nicodemus, Joseph of Aramathea, Martha and yes, the widow at the temple. They have no leadership positions, make no speeches, are not martyred for their faith. But the story can't be told without them. Nor can your story ...

631. When Self-esteem Gets Out Of Hand

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... was righteous." His theology had no room for "salvation by faith alone." Perhaps he invented the old clichÇ, "It's not what you believe that counts; it's what you do." He could have added, "... and don't do." Thus far we have almost overlooked the other character in this story except to say that he is in great contrast to the Pharisee. He, too, went to the temple to pray. But his posture and actions showed no arrogance nor pride. Humbly he stood apart from those whom he knew were more righteous than he. He ...

632. New Name, New Status

Isaiah 62:1-12

Sermon

Tony Everett

... name she would like to be called (thinking that Sally would choose "Jesus," meaning "Savior"). Sally thought for a moment and said, "I will be called 'Boss-and-Leader.' " And, in a very determined fashion, Sally proceeded to arrange the other children/characters into an order for an elaborate story she shared for the next several minutes. Sally, once just "Teacher's little girl," became "Boss-and-Leader" for the entire class. A new name brings new status. The Old Testament lesson for today describes new ...

633. The Blind Guiding The Blind

Psalm 92:1-15, Luke 6:46-49, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Isaiah 55:1-13, Luke 6:37-42

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... in the eye that keeps one from seeing clearly. The next two shift the nature of the image to a productive tree and a house on a solid foundation. They continue the theme of the character of the disciple who follows Jesus. Thus you can find a unity in the four parables or sayings. They all treat the issue of the character of one who wants to be a disciple or follower of Jesus. CONTEXT Context of the Church Year Note: Since Easter comes on April 12 this year (1998), this is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday ...

634. Lent 3

Luke 13:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Psalm 63:1-11, Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... 29-33 -- Jesus uses the sign of a fig tree putting forth leaves to urge his followers to read more spiritual signs. John 1:48 -- Nathaniel is called while sitting under a fig tree. James 3:12 -- A fig tree only produces one kind of fruit. So the character of a person produces only one fruit. Revelation 6:13 -- The image of a fig tree dropping its winter fruit in a gale is used to describe catastrophic events in end times. Context of the Lectionary The First Lesson. (Isaiah 55:1-9) The prophet offers comfort ...

635. Baptism And Self-Esteem

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... first things he insists on creating is a council made up of prisoners which would govern the affairs of the prison. The election has just been completed and the council is meeting for the first time outside the warden's office. It is a motley group of characters. They all sit in silence around the table waiting for something to happen. The time drags on. The silence, so it seems, lasts for an eternity. There are only empty stares. No one says a word. In walks Brubaker with his nose buried in some papers. He ...

636. Ready Or Not -- He Comes

Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... Some will list it along with other holiday fantasies such as Lion King and Swan Princess. It has become wrapped up in so much sentimental embroidery that its stark realism is lost. Its characters have acquired "halos," becoming something quite out of this world. Take a closer look at this story and you will notice the characters are not people with halos, but ordinary men and women of flesh and blood, fears and frustrations, anxiety and hope, just like us. Mary and Joseph are not stained-glass saints. They ...

637. God Is Down To Earth

John 1:1-18

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... eyes. God has put on skin. God is down to earth. God Is Approachable Now that Word has been uttered by a human being, who lived among us like other human beings. Now a human being shows us the splendor of divine nature in terms of a personal character and social action, and finds us where we live. In other words, in Jesus Christ, God is down to earth. The best people, the most useful and helpful people, are down-to-earth people. Abraham Lincoln was known for his leadership in uniting a divided nation. What ...

638. Don't Be Stupid

Jeremiah 4:5-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... : as a society we are moving now from the notion that no one is responsible for anything, to the more serious notion that there is nothing to be responsible for. Anything goes -- any time, any place. Dr. Tom Long of Princeton Theological Seminary quotes a character from a short story by Paul Devries: "There was a time when we were afraid of being caught doing something sinful in front of our ministers. Now we are afraid of being caught doing something immature in front of our therapists."2 Jeremiah thought ...

639. Flowers Follow Showers

Romans 5:3-5

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

... rainy day has caused a cancellation of a special event. In the spring, when the flowers are blooming in your garden. When a child is faced with any type of personal hardship. Scriptural Background: "More than that, we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:3-5).

640. Fun With Seeds

Luke 6:32-36

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To remind children about the importance of what they produce each day. Daily actions reveal each one's character. Material: A package of seeds for each child. Lesson: Do you know where seeds come from? ... (From plants and trees.) When do they come? ... (When the plant or tree is mature. Some seeds come ... all have special expectations of one another. When the child produces what is expected, it shows what kind of family he or she is from. When you want to stress the importance of personal character.

641. Emmanuel: An Advent Dayenu

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... woman shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel." Matthew quotes that text in his Gospel and adds the explanation that Emmanuel means "God with us" or, more accurately, "God is with us." In the movie My Blue Heaven, one character attempts to explain a situation to another. The second character, played by Steve Martin, keeps saying, "I'm wit-choo, I'm wit-choo." And then explains, "When I say I'm wit-choo, I don't mean it like an expression. I mean I'm wit-choo; I'm wit - choo!" Just so ...

642. Proper 19

Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 13:17--14:31, Psalm 114:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... in the parable is staggering. To the person hearing the parable it would be scarcely possible to imagine a debt so monumental, perhaps as hard as to try to imagine today the size of the national debt in the United States. The second character has a relatively trivial debt. It is more the size one might run up on a credit card. Such a debt today would hardly bring a person to the court to declare bankruptcy. Most institutions would be ready to try to work out some process for repaying the debt a ...

643. Wicked Tenants

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... in the means and the ends. Such means and ends need to be branded for what they are. Unless they are repented they lead to destruction. God's patience and mercy have limits. The limits are set by the human rejection of God's overtures and not by the character of God. Points to Ponder 1. Punishment. The parable raises the issue of the nature of God's punishment for disobedience and rejection of his will and his agents. Is it an arbitrary act of wrath or is it so built into the structure of being that the ...

644. Sermons

Sermon

John R. Bodo

... even with the nation's most cruel enemies That is the well-known main theme of the Book of Jonah. But the Word of God in this little book is not confined to the main theme. The Word is present also in the personality of Jonah, in his character and actions, in his quarrel with God. The writer presents the quarrel in three stages. Disobedience The first stage we may call Jonah's disobedience to God. Out of a clear sky, God sends Jonah on a repulsive mission. He commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital ...

645. Brainstorms

Sermon

John R. Bodo

... north of the tribe of Dan illustrates the wryly humorous comment with which the author or editor concludes the Book of Judges: "In those days there was no king in Israel: all the people did what was right in their own eyes." None of the characters in Judges 17 and 18 is admirable or even honorable. Deservedly or undeservedly, the whole tribe of Dan is depicted as treacherous. And, of course, just as the conquest of the Land of Promise is far from finished, monotheism is far from established: the worship ...

646. Yearning For A Loyal Friend

Job 6:14-30 · Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

Do you ever find yourself in the Bible? When you read one of the biblical stories, do you ever identify with the character or characters? Do you ever say to yourself after reading an incident, "That describes me and my situation"? Sometimes that identity can boost the ego. Sometimes it may have the opposite effect, bringing to reality some of the things about our lives that we need to correct. Every time I read the ...

647. Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-21

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... with integrity, but with radiance. We thank you, Lord, for the heritage which is ours in Christ, and for the great tradition that your Church has handed down to us. Make us worthy of our inheritance. Let us not because of any infidelity or lack of character hurt it by our mishandling. We pray for another Pentecost, another outpouring of your Spirit on your Church. We pray that the leaders of our church may have the gifts of your Holy Spirit that they may lead us in discovering creative and expanding new ...

648. Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night

Isaiah 21:11-12

Sermon

David O. Bales

... you suffer and where you serve, now and forever. Amen. Discussion Questions Text: Isaiah 21:11-12 1. What immediate responses do you have to the story? 2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in this story which would you speak with and what would you ask or say? 3. Do you identify with any character in the story? 4. What is your earliest memories of Advent and what did it mean to you then? 5. What does Advent mean to you now? 6. What do you most eagerly wait for? 7. Without naming ...

649. The Half Pencil Doctor

1 John 3:11-24

Sermon

David O. Bales

... in his habit of saving others. In his name we pray. Amen. Discussion Questions Text: 1 John 3:18 1. What immediate responses do you have to the story? 2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in this story which would you speak with and what would you ask or say? 3. Do you identify with any character in the story? 4. When is it hardest for you to express love with words? 5. When is it easiest for you to express love by deeds? 6. As a child did you have a hero or heroine who ...

650. Life Beside The Falls

Ezekiel 47:1-12

Sermon

David O. Bales

... next, ... well, just 'until,' Mildred Dodson Freeman." Discussion Questions Text: Ezekiel 47:1-12 1. What immediate responses do you have to the story? 2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in this story which would you speak with and what would you ask or say? 3. Do you identify with any character in the story? 4. Do you have a controlling image or vision that explains life to you? 5. Where do you believe God is filling your world with life? Where is the Spirit flowing in your ...

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