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 754 results

626. Chapter VII

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not commit adultery" Exodus 20:14 If I had my "druthers" I would skip this Commandment and go on to the next one, because this "word" speaking about sex is a difficult one to deal with frankly and directly. What makes it so hard to do that without beating around the bush is the fact that most people are still skitterish about the subject. Oh, most of us are able to talk about sex with a few choice friends, or in some small groups, but a lot of us still start to get up tight when the subject comes ...

627. Christmas Is for -

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

CHRISTMAS Christmas is for kids. Ever said that? Many have. And like most slogan-statements that catch on with some regularity, this one contains some grains of truth. Christmas would definitely not be the same without those saucer-sized eyes that just seem to grow larger with each additional package put under the tree. Those eyes that fairly sparkle and dance in the reflection of reds and greens and oranges radiating from the tree. Christmas would not be the same without those appetites that are too small ...

628. God's Design for Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I saw a cartoon somewhere which showed a preacher crouched in the pulpit area which was arranged like a fortress. He was peering through a crack in what looked like a machine gun nest. The preacher says to the congregation, "Today my text is Ephesians 5:22, 'wives, submit to your husbands." Yes, here is another one of those texts I have run from for quite a while; it is not on the top ten list of the feminist movement of America. I heard about a missionary in the depths of the Amazon who was talking to a ...

629. Forgiveness

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:32-34a The Brothers Karamazov is a novel written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a Russian author, at the close of the nineteenth century (1880). It is a story about a father and his sons as they struggled to ...

630. When Nothing Can Be Done

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Thomas Long

"I’m sorry, nothing can be done." There are probably no more terrible words than these. They mark the end of labor, the end of possibility, the end of hope. The family holds vigil in the surgical waiting room. The dated magazines on the table have been read and re-read. The wall clock moves in slow motion, and the family waits. A dark spot on an X-ray demanded attention. "We just don’t know," the surgeon had said. "We’ll have to go in and check." Now he appears, a loosened surgical mask around his neck, ...

631. A Way Back In

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

A wise man once said to me that he tried never to let people get so far out on a limb that they could not get back in. He was the head-master of a preparatory school. As an administrator he did everything he could to enable the staff to make meaningful contributions to the school. He positively reinforced good performance; and, when a staff member got out on a limb, he not only initiated efforts to help the person back in, he also avoided putting undue stress on mistakes or attitudes which made it ...

632. Advent 4

2 Samuel 7:1-17, Romans 16:1-27, Luke 1:26-38

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 7:8-16 Theme: Human dynasties, divine destinies Exegetical Note In this passage, God’s promise, extended to David through Nathan, that the great king’s dynasty would be divinely established in perpetuity underscores the recurring biblical notion that God does choose certain human agents - individuals, bloodlines, and even nations - for special relationships and responsibilities, destinies and duties. Call to Worship Leader: May the God of Israel bless this house of worship! People: ...

633. THE WATCHERS

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

May I share with you one of my favorite Christmas memories? It took place several years ago when the children in our home were young and filled with all of the enchantment and enthusiasm of Christmas that captures young minds. It was the Sunday just after Christmas and we had packed the entire family in the car and driven several miles to a nursing home where I led a short devotional time for the residents each week. As we arrived, a number of this aged congregation had already gathered in our regular ...

634. OUR LORD BETRAYED

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

It was a spring evening. The hot summer sun later would burn off the green and leave the hills barren, but now the grey-tan of their rocky slopes was mottled with sparse vegetation and bright patches of spring flowers. There was a cool edge in the air as the sun drifted toward the far horizon and the company of men walked briskly along the trait that wound northwestward from Bethany to Jerusalem. There were eleven in the group, two having gone earlier in the day to arrange for a room where the Passover ...

635. OUR LORD RISEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

For those who grieve, time is a burden. It moves through emptiness with excruciating slowness, its spiritual malaise aggravated by fleeting memories of joys that never again will be. From sundown Friday when she watched as they placed her Lord in the stone vault until sundown Saturday, the world had stood still for Mary of Magdala. These were the holy hours of the Sabbath when the faithful praised God for the goodness of life, but for Mary they were an eternity of sorrow. The widow Mary of Jerusalem and ...

636. A Reason

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

Call to Worship Leader: Is it possible that human weaknesses are for a reason? People: We believe in a God who wishes well for us. Leader: Is it possible that hardships are to give us limits? People: We believe in a God who not only shaped but also sustains us. All: It is possible that in our weaknesses we find strength. Collect You continually re-introduce us to hope, O God, as you teach us to come to new understandings about our gifts of talent, personality, and inadequacy. Thank you for the capacity to ...

637. The Choice Is Always Ours

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

ROBERT L. BENEFIEL was one of the early pastors to do extensive clinical pastoral training after seminary and then carry the spirit and insight of that experience through a lifetime career in parish ministry. His sermon published here was developed in the context of parish work and reflects his integration of both psychological and sociological perspectives in ministry. The Choice Is Always Ours deals with issues of meaning in relation to the experience of being overwhelmed in life. Benefiel deals with the ...

638. Good News for Bad Times

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"Mail Early" is a slogan we often see and hear during these Advent days. The Postal Service would like the four billion Christmas cards sent annually in America in the mail by this second Sunday in Advent. American families send Christmas greetings costing an average of 35 cents per card plus a 32 cent stamp to send it. This amounts to a cost of $2.68 billion. That is a tremendous amount of money, time and trouble invested in just sending season's greetings to friends and families. What message could be ...

639. Blind Man's Bluff

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Who would believe it? Saul, the primary punk adversary of the followers of the way, blind in Damascus? Saul, the instigator of Stephen’s stoning and death, the one who breathed out murderous threats against the followers of Jesus, now in Damascus in a spiritual safe house? Is this a bluff? Could this be a trick? Could this be a game concocted by the enemies of Jesus to lure us into a trap? How could a man who was feared by so many now be a blind, helpless squatter at a house on a street called Straight? ...

640. Light to Serve

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

One of the last works which James Michener published was The Noble Land: My Vision for America. During his long and distinguished writing career Mr. Michener had researched voluminous materials to describe the rise and fall of many civilizations as the settings for his novels. As Michener wrote about America, his homeland, he did so with thanksgiving and appreciation. Gratefully he acknowledged that America had treated him well. However, he observed that there has been considerable slippage in America’s ...

641. His Cleansing Of The Temple

Luke 19:45-48

Sermon

Brett Blair

We have made some new additions. Note: This sermon is basically complete. We will be doing some editing and adding other comments about the Passion of the Christ on Wednesday, particularly Roger Ebert's (the film critic) comments on the film. We will probably change the ending as well. Please check back. History often records that in the lives of great people, their finest hours were their final hours. It was no exception with Jesus. So significant did the Biblical writers consider the last week of Jesus ...

642. Tough Love

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A little boy was sitting at the table in the kitchen looking gloomy and sour: he had just been punished. Suddenly, he asked his mother, "God can do anything He wants, can't He?" To which the mother replied, "Of course." Then the boy asked rhetorically "God doesn't have any parents, does He?" Have you ever felt that way? Probably. At some time or another, we have all felt terribly hemmed in and beaten down by our supposedly loving parents. For those of us who have had children of our own and are concerned ...

643. No More Pain!

John 8:31-41

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a ridiculous story about a weight lifter who appeared at an agent's office. The muscle-bound performer was carrying a stone, a big hammer, and a huge suitcase. "This big stone," he explained to the agent, "is placed on my head, then my assistant takes the hammer and swings it as hard as he can, and breaks the stone." The agent's head nearly ached just from the description, but he was quite enthusiastic. "Sounds wonderful!" he shouted. "But if you need only the hammer and the big stone for the ...

644. A Very Special Man

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Max Lucado in his book A GENTLE THUNDER has a wonderful spoof of the theological nitpicking that goes on among Christians. He said that sometime ago he came upon a fellow on a trip who was carrying a Bible. Listen to the ensuing dialogue: "Are you a believer?" I asked him. "Yes," he said excitedly. I've learned you can't be too careful. "Virgin birth?" I asked. "I accept it." "Deity of Jesus?" "No doubt." "Death of Christ on the cross?" "He died for all people." Could it be that I was face to face with a ...

645. Blood Sprinkled On A Modern Altar

Exodus 24:3-8, Mark 14:12-16, 22-26, Hebrews 9:11-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Wesley Tracy tells about a letter he once received. “I have hundreds of biblical photographs,” the letter said, “including several of the Garden of Eden.” “Wow!” says Tracy, “I have seen and taken a lot of photos of biblical places—tiny mustard seeds on the Mount of Olives, the Temple courtyard, and the Lord’s supposed birthplace guarded by a soldier with an automatic weapon—but Eden? Did they have cameras in [Eden]?” “Where was Eden anyway?” he asks with tongue firmly in cheek. “Though a headline in a ...

646. Forever Hopeful

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometimes life hands us some tricky situations. Former President Ronald Reagan likes to tell a story which he says is true about a newspaper photographer out in Los Angeles who was called in by his editor and told of a fire that was raging out in Palos Verdes. That's a hilly area south of Los Angeles. His assignment was to rush down to a small airport, board a waiting plane, get some pictures of the fire, and be back in time for the afternoon edition. Breathlessly, he raced to the airport and drove his car ...

647. Time To Walk On The Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a ridiculous story about a wealthy Texan who died, and his attorney gathered the entire family for the reading of the will. Relatives came from near and far to see if they were included in the bequests. The lawyer somberly opened the will and began to read: "To my cousin Ed, I leave my ranch." "To my brother Jim, I leave my money market accounts." "To my neighbor and good friend, Fred, I leave my stocks." "And finally, to my cousin George, who always sat around and never did anything, but wanted ...

648. Jesus Goes To School

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

A young woman named Donna who got good grades in high school was in her first year of college. She had done poorly on one of her courses. In an attempt to prepare her parents she wrote her mother, "If you see an unfamiliar letter on my report card, remember it's just my first initial. Signed, Donna." As the time neared for grades to be sent home, Donna began to worry. Her worst fears were confirmed one evening when her mother called her. Donna said, "Hi, Mom." Her mother replied coldly, "Hello, Frank." ...

649. On Knowing What's Best For Your Kids

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A small boy, sitting on his grandfather's knee, noticed that Grandpa had a red mark on each side of his nose. After looking for some time, he asked, "What gave you those red marks on your nose?" "Glasses," was the reply. After further reflection, the little boy asked, "Glasses of what?" (1) Children can keep us off balance, can't they? One mother, writing about her toddler, was mystified that a child who can swallow three bottle caps and a paper clip can choke on a mouthful of mashed potatoes. (2) It doesn ...

650. Thankless Jobs

John 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A family of five were enjoying their day at the beach. The children were bathing in the ocean and making castles in the sand when in the distance a little old lady appeared. Her gray hair was blowing in the wind and her clothes were dirty and ragged. She was muttering something to herself as she picked up things from the beach and put them into a bag. The parents called the children to their side and told them to stay away from the old lady. As she passed by, bending down every now and then to pick things ...

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