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 651 to 675 of 1069 results

651. What Is Your Accent?

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... traditions, and life expectation. We all find it intriguing to listen to new, unusual accents. It's instructive to hear speech that gives an unfamiliar ring to familiar words. But hearing an accent different than our own also puts us on our guard. Accents immediately sensitize us to the otherness of the speaker. Accents point to cultural otherness. In Italy men greet each other with two kisses, in Belgium three kisses, in France four kisses. In Russia men greet each other with only one kiss: but it's on the ...

652. Yes!

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... longed to fit in, be popular, or just avoid making a scene can tell you. Sometimes to just say no is the hardest thing there is to say. It's so much easier to go along to get along, to blend in with the crowd, to avoid that super-sensitive social radar that picks-up and picks-on anyone who is different. Learning to say no . . . no to bullies, no to common cruelties, no to demeaning social conventions, no to all-consuming appetites . . . no has never been an easy word to learn. How are you at speaking up and ...

653. Don't Be a Turkey (Thanksgiving)

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... see, with his spiritual eye, some "hidden" blessings in his blindness. He found his lack of sight forced him to become a better listener, to be more patient with others, to be more willing to receive the help and care of others, to be more sensitive to other people’s suffering. It also helped Matheson identify with the Apostle Paul, who had his own "thorn in the flesh." Most importantly, it helped Matheson better to appreciate the sufferings and sacrifices of Jesus, who not only had a thorn, but who wore ...

654. Christianity's First Sermon

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jews.” What if Pilate wasn’t trying to justify himself for the state-sponsored murder of a mob-chosen victim? What if Pilate wasn’t trying to woo favor with the Jewish establishment with a sign showing his concern for their spiritual sensitivities? What if, instead, Pilate was preaching Christianity’s first sermon? “Jesus, the King of the Jews.” What if Plate was reciting the earliest Christian creed? “Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The statement of truth is the foremost burden of a sermon ...

655. Building Bridges While Getting Shot at from Both Shores

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[This sermon seeks to address what's going on in the world right now both with priestly sensitivity and with prophetic strength. If you want to make it more pointed, more linear, you might want to build it around the major themes that are subtly introduced in the narrative: 1. The world is a violent place, and getting more violent; 2. Christians shouldn't be surprised, since we ...

656. The Christian's Wild Card

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... flesh of purpose, resolve and willpower on our squishy, spindly, bowed . . . dem dry BACK bones. Now hear the Word of the Lord: God's Back. Because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, he puts the flesh of confidence and assurance on our hyper-sensitive, easily-offended, chippy . . . dem dry SHOULDER bones. Now hear the Word of the Lord: God's Back. Because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, he puts the flesh of generosity and giving on our greedy, grasping, covetous . . . dem dry HAND bones. Now ...

657. The Oneness of Twoness

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... books by Franken & Fonda. As Targets were hanging their trees upside down At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found. At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears. Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty Are words that were used to intimidate me. Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton ! At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter. And we ...

658. Make Room for Mystery

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... . The deepest things in life cannot be fully described…they can only be hinted at. They cannot be looked at directly, but obliquely. That’s why it takes artists, and poets, and musicians to deal with the deep things of life, because they have the sensitivity necessary to deal with mystery. I suppose that’s why I have never seen a totally satisfying movie about Jesus. Whenever I have seen Jesus depicted on the screen, usually he has come across to me as just another human being – a rather nice human ...

659. It Is Good News!

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

James McCormick

... creatures hold Him in their arms.” Or, as Paul Scherer expressed it so beautifully, “God just walked down the staircase of heaven with a baby in His arms.” That tells you something about God, doesn’t it? It tells you about divine tenderness, gentleness, and sensitivity. I remember the story of a mother reading the Bible to her little daughter. She read John 3:16: “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The ...

660. What to Do with Yesterday - A Sermon for a New Year

Psalm 103:1-22

Sermon

James McCormick

... learn from it. We allow God to bring something good out of it. One of the great truths of our faith is that in God’s economy, nothing need be lost. We can learn from our mistakes. We can be strengthened by our disappointments. We can become more loving and sensitive to others as a result of our hurts. We can draw closer to God through the experience of sins forgiven. So, if we know how to look for it, and how to nurture it, by the grace of God we can find flowers growing up even in the midst of ...

661. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

John 16:17-33

Sermon

James McCormick

... is a bore.” Both are getting at the same reality. None of us would ask for more difficulty, but without it, life as we know it would be greatly diminished. To add one more case in point: it is often said that no-one can develop the sensitivity and feeling that a great artist must have unless he has known suffering. I read recently that Beethoven once said of Rossini that he had in him the makings of a great musician, if only he had had some failures and difficulties with which to struggle, but that ...

662. Two Worlds

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

James McCormick

... can grow enough food to feed the world. We have medicines that can heal many of the diseases. We know how to educate. The developed world knows how to do so much more than we are willing to do. But, clearly, it’s a hurting world, and every sensitive person of faith must know that God never intended a world like that. Second, it’s a divided world. Instead of living together in harmony and mutual cooperation, our world is fragmented in so many ways: the haves from the have nots, race from race, clan from ...

663. Easter 4

Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23:1-6, 1 Peter 2:13-25, John 10:1-21

Sermon Aid

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

... to Grace" Setting. The audience addressed in I Peter 2:19-25 is stated explicitly in v. 18 as being slaves. This verse should probably be included in the lectionary reading even though it may offend modern sensibility because the writer is not politically sensitive to our agenda for advocating the overthrow of oppressive masters. The setting of slavery is crucial if we are to understand the power of grace-in-suffering that is the central argument of the text. Structure. I Peter 2:(18) 19-25 separates into ...

664. Proper 14

Genesis 37:1-11, Matthew 14:22-36, Romans 9:30--10:21, Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon Aid

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

... use seemingly conflicting parts of the canon of Scripture to create a dynamic debate, why can't the preacher do the same today? Congregations may even find it stimulating to recognize difficulties in holy writ. But if this line is chosen one should proceed with sensitivity and judiciousness—as Paul did. If Scripture says both that "the person who does these things [that is the law] will live by them" and that "if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him ...

665. Proper 28

Judges 4:1-24, Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, Psalm 123:1-4

Sermon Aid

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

... of Calvary with the Christ. . . . So insidious was Jesus' attack upon earthly treasures that he became, according to Kierkegaard, a "far more terrible robber" than those who assault travelers along a highway. Jesus assaulted the whole human race at the point where that race is most sensitive: its desire for security and superiority. (Paul Minear, Christian Hope and the Second Coming [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1954], pp. 132-33) The benediction mentioned for last week would also be appropriate for today.

666. A Church with Nothing to Offer

John 20:19-23

Illustration

Thomas Long

... places of worship. There, with sleek graphics and Madison Avenue phrases, a few select churches boast of their assets -- their choirs, their friendliness, their powerful preaching, their singles ministries, their ample parking, their family life centers, their sensitive child care, and their compassionate spirit. Some churches, it seems, have it all. Other churches, however, appear by contrast to have nothing, absolutely nothing. Take, for example, the church depicted in our text for today. Here, we ...

667. Life in the Living Stone Age

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... seem satisfied to select just one stone, and to let themselves be defined by that one quality. The Christian community is filled with congregations that proudly declare: “We are a peace church,” or “We are a justice church” or “We are a seeker-sensitive church” or “We are a full-service church” or “We are a house church” or “We are a doctrinal church” or “We are an evangelical church.” If churches only turn over one stone, the “spiritual house” they build will be little more ...

668. What Does Faith Mean for You?

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Mark Trotter

... sovereign rule over the whole creation. It was the Calvinists after all who invented predestination to affirm that God is in control of everything. Every single move that we make is controlled by God. Then Arie Brouer got cancer. A terrible theological problem for any sensitive Christian, but I would think especially so for a Calvinist. His son asked him about it in the most innocent way. "What does faith mean for you now that you are facing this?" Arie Brouer responded by saying that he had believed in God ...

669. A Call to Action

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... bugler” faces away from the mourners, so they cannot see the flashing lights displaying inside the bell of the fake instrument. (See The Post and Courier, Charleston, South Carolina, 26 May 2008) In our culture, even when we try to do something sensitive and notable, we are all about appearance. We substitute style for substance over and over again. We prefer the canned perfection of these fake, false notes, to the real performance of a fallible, fragile human being, offering a genuine final tribute. When ...

670. A Call to Action

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... or her mouth before the recording starts to play. Not surprisingly, this "bugler" faces away from the mourners, so they cannot see the flashing lights displaying inside the bell of the fake instrument. In our culture, even when we try to do something sensitive and notable, we are all about appearance. We substitute style for substance over and over again. We prefer the canned perfection of these fake, false notes, to the real performance of a fallible, fragile human being, offering a genuine final tribute.

671. Renouncing Everything

Illustration

Steven P. Loy

... interviews and reminiscences from his time in the camps. He tells how prisoners were able to withstand abuse and interrogation even when they had done nothing wrong. This is a small section from the book. How can you stand your ground when you are weak and sensitive to pain, when people you love are still alive, when you are unprepared? What do you need to make you stronger than the interrogator and the whole trap? From the moment you go in prison you must put your cozy past firmly behind you. At the ...

672. Let Me Tell You about the Birds and the Bees

Proverbs 5:15-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... palms, cotton mouth, dilation of the pupils, uncontrollable facial twitching, followed by the only response that the mouth can muster: "Go ask your mother." You guessed it the subject is sex. There is a two-fold problem in the home today concerning this sensitive, but all important, topic. On the one hand, fathers are not talking, or they are waiting too late to talk, while children are not asking because they are getting their information somewhere else. I heard about a dad who very nervously sat down ...

673. What to Do When Life Is the Pits

1 Peter 5:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... is the one who is always trying to dig up dirt on you, rattle the skeletons in your closet, bring up past sins long ago confessed and forgiven, and trying to rob you of the joy of your salvation. So you had better be serious about his reality. b. Be Sensitive To The Devil's Ferocity We are to "be vigilant." Now the word vigilant means "to be awake," or "to be alert." In other words, we need to keep up our spiritual radar twenty-four hours a day. We can never let our guard down because Satan "walks about as ...

674. A Man on the Run

Jonah 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... mercy. If they didn't get right they would be overthrown—that was judgment. Now before we come down too hard on old Jonah, let's give Jonah his due. He preached exactly the message he was supposed to preach. He was not politically correct, nor was he seeker sensitive. Because God had said in v.2, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." (3:2) Can I tell you what every preacher ought to preach in every pulpit every Sunday. He ought to preach what God tells him ...

675. What Church Is All About

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

... things like: "Awesome! That's bad! All right! Fantastic! Wonderful!" What is wrong in church with getting happy and saying, "Amen! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!" We've gotten the wrong impression of worship. Worship ought to be sober, but not somber; serious, but not sullen; sensitive, but not stiff. The psalmist said in Ps. 95:1, "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation." Just thinking about salvation made the psalmist want to shout. In fact, I'll give you two ...

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