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 676 to 700 of 1306 results

676. Seeing Just Enough of God

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... twenty-first century need to hear. What God does in the passage is pure grace. Moses gets an indirect view of God. Whatever Moses actually saw, he got just enough evidence of God's presence to keep him going. God's back was just enough presence, enough glory, enough contact with God that Moses knew whatever he faced, God was with him. He could pick up from where he was, deal with the frustrations of the past, and make his way forward. He didn't know what the future held, but he knew God was in it. We don ...

677. Someone Is Trying to Get Through

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

James L. Killen

Someone is trying to get through to you. Someone with an important message for you is trying to get in touch with you. It would be greatly to your advantage to make contact with the one who is trying to get through to you. That is what Epiphany is all about. This is the season of Epiphany in the church year. "Epiphany" is a Greek word that means the showing forth of God, or God's self-revelation. Epiphany means that God is ...

678. Removing Obstacles

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... attractive young man named Apollos who had received an excellent education in Alexandria, one of the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world. He would have been expert in relating the Christian faith to popular Greek philosophies. Still others had been in contact with Cephas, Peter, the one who had been the leader of the followers of Jesus and who would represent a more conservative kind of Jewish Christianity. And there seemed to have been some who took a superior attitude and said, "We belong to ...

679. Different

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

James L. Killen

... others - and to himself - as a successful man who had everything going for him. But, in fact, everything was falling apart for him, his marriage, his business, his life. At just that time, Bill went to one of those gatherings where businessmen go to make profitable contacts, and there he met an old friend who had been very successful in business and was then living in another state. They talked for a long time. The old friend invited Bill to come to visit him. They made an appointment. When the day for the ...

680. Adam's Legacy

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... back to the shore. The waves were so high that, even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized." The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in what was being said. He continued his story, "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: Which boy would he ...

681. Body Language

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... those doctrinaire busybodies--their confessions of creed--their dogmas--that kept me from Christianity for thirty years. Their five and ten cent theology prevented me from seeing Jesus. But in actual fact, Christianity in China never made converts by doctrine. But it did make converts whenever a Chinese came into contact with a Christian who followed Jesus command, "Love one another." "Be doers of the word, not hearers only, lest you deceive yourselves."

682. Landing Instructions

Isaiah 40:25-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... newspapers, of the evil in the world. They raised a beautiful girl, extraordinarily bright, idealistic and optimistic and a buoyant spirit. She was ready to fly. Because she was so bright she entered college in her early teens. It was there that she had the first contact with the world as it really is. And it's true that she flew. It was like those fragile butterflies that are so beautiful, but they have only one ecstatic flight on a summer day, and then they expire. That is what happened to her. She went ...

683. Leave No Child Behind

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... adequate preparation before they go to kindergarten, they are doomed to failure in school, and thus continue in the cycle of poverty--that we will focus on families with preschool children. We will receive these families from agencies we have already contacted, who will ensure that they are people with a high chance of success. In the existing church-based programs that we have researched, the conclusion was that although technical and practical help is important, such as how to prepare for an interview ...

684. Plain Talk

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... of Jesus to have no possessions. Then, later, poverty was adopted as a spiritual discipline. That is the model of the monastic movement. There is a certain attractiveness to that. George Bernard Shaw carried on a long correspondence with a cloistered nun. She had no contact with the outside world. He wrote to her over a long period of time. In one letter he wrote, "Next time I am in your neighborhood I will look longingly through the bars to the freedom on the other side." There is a spiritual wealth ...

685. Who Is This Man?

Mark 14:43-52

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... pictures that do not have names. They are so old that there is nobody living who knows the people in the photo. Some historical society, or institution such as ours, will publish that picture and print a sentence which says, "If anyone knows anyone in this picture, will you please contact us." I want us to look this morning at the lesson that was read to us from the Gospel of Mark, the second lesson, the story of the Garden of Gethsemane and the arrest of Jesus. I want you to look at it as if it were one of ...

686. In the Darkness of Anxiety, There Is the Light of Peace

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... in the bank mailed them out to its customers. There was another report in the news that a recent study indicated that people who spend a lot of time chatting on the internet are experiencing increased stress and anxiety because of decreased human contact. Here we are on Christmas Eve. We come here looking for something that belongs to a simpler time, something less complicated, something that is real and true and good. We want to recapture something we are sometimes afraid we have lost. We come seeking ...

687. Epiphany 7

Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 5:33-37, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . 2). 2. How To Get Along With Your Neighbor (19:17-18). Need: Here is a subject that will affect every listener. We are social beings. We live in a society, a community, a family, a church. Every day, unless we are recluses, we come in contact with people. How we get along with them usually determines our success in our work and life. We need to learn how to get along with people, for statistics and facts indicate that human relationships have deteriorated or have broken down: divorce, crime, hostages, war ...

688. Proper 5

Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:9-13, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Hosea 5:1-15, Romans 4:1-25, Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... sinners?" According to the text, the disciples had no answer. Jesus answered for them. It is a question we need to ask ourselves as Christians: Why do we (or do we?) associate with the criminal element of society? It is a fact that generally we avoid contact with lawbreakers. Maybe we as Christians should mingle with them. Outline: Why eat with sinners? a. Is it not a bad example to do so? "Evil companionships corrupt good morals." b. Is it not approving their sinful ways? c. Is it not to demonstrate God's ...

689. Kairos Commitments

Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... arenas of our living - homes, work, church, or community. The clearest kairos moment in my life - when God's vision and possibility most neatly coincided with my willingness to respond - was years ago when the Pastor Nominating Committee of this congregation first contacted me. It made no sense for this church to risk calling as pastor a young mother who was serving a 250-member, blue-collar congregation, with no experience in a sophisticated metropolitan community - to call me to serve a church as complex ...

690. The Offense of Grace

Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... could do to people's minds and bodies. Hate had just killed the six people who matter most to me in the world. I decided then that I would spend the rest of my life - whether it was a few days or many years - loving every person I came in contact with."1 A new ethic - to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, to forgive and love no matter what - it is what Jesus asks. But does it make sense? And does it work? Or is it an offense in our dog-eat-dog world? Is it realistic to ...

691. The Choice for God or the World

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... a yellow egg and flew off. The people were fascinated with their new possession since they had never seen anything but gray. They played with the egg and poked it. In the process the egg broke. Inside was a yellow powder. Anything that came in contact with the powder instantly turned yellow. At the outset, a few peoples' clothes and some other objects turned yellow, but the people were soon so struck with their new discovery that the whole village was "painted" yellow. The next day, the same bird flew from ...

692. Pentecost! Slow ... and Sure!

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... facing outward. However, today's church, he pointed out, is best symbolized by a group of Christians all holding hands and facing inward. And the text here proves the remedy for this backwardness. In Christ we must make a journey inward and journey outward. We must maintain contact with God and one another so as to be fed and cared for. But we must also look outward to the world, be eager to provide ministry for others. This is what Jesus commissioned his disciples to do in the text. Now go on with the text ...

693. As Long As It Is Day!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... into the rat infested, dark of a dungeon. And there you remained until you paid every cent or died. You've been in debt, haven't you? Remember the fear, the worry? Things get bleak, don't they? One holds his head down and avoids all eye contact. Frustration compounds fatigue and leaves you drained. God is saying that unforgiven sin in our life is like those unpaid debts. They weigh heavily upon us whether a little sin or a huge amount of sins. Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment is about this. The novel ...

694. The Ladder or the Wheel

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... because it's evidence of God reaching out to human beings and establishing a personal relationship with them. This is what makes Scripture holy: it puts God's word in our ear and God's hand on our heart. It brings the holy divine into contact and conversation with our unholy life. Jesus took such punishable actions because they were demonstrations of God's concern and compassion for each and every person on the planet. As Jesus denounced the Pharisees in today's gospel text, he called attention to two great ...

695. I Like Brussels Sprouts, but...

Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:18-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... clearly and cleverly shows Jesus the winner in this dispute with the Pharisees. If Jesus' interpretation of the Law as love and mercy were not absolutely correct, how could he do these feats of faith? If Jesus had been polluted by his stubborn contact with these tax collectors and sinners, how could he have performed these divine acts of healing? The Pharisees in today's text are horrified that Jesus was associating with the "wrong sort" of people. Not only did he speak with these shady characters, but ...

696. Humans, Inc.

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... are gregarious and social. They associate with people from outside their tribe. They invite strangers to their house, and are open to encounters with people who are different. The sharing of information among groups, and the ability to engage in inter-group contact, is a key distinguishing feature of homo sapiens versus Neanderthals. 4) The fourth H of Humans, Inc. is Hope. Because of symbolic thinking, only humans have the ability to think and plan for the future. Jesus inspired in Zacchaeus a sense of ...

697. Move Life from Duty to Destiny

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is taking them down a notch. Like you I was riveted by the images of the devastating fires that raged across southern California last month. The blow-torching Santa Ana winds spread wildfires across the hills and into neighborhoods at breakneck speed. In order to contact home-owner’s as quickly as possible, emergency evacuation officials put into effect a “reverse 9-1-1” operation. Did you know until then there was such a thing? I didn’t. Do we have a “Reverse 9-1-1" in place here, does anyone ...

698. Don't Forget the Mustard

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our dealings with them. But isn't that also true of mustard, whose seed Jesus says is our seed of faith and the kingdom seed? Surely the sharp, pungent spiciness of mustard adds zest and flavor to anything to which this condiment comes into contact. Mustard makes the juices flow and our mouth water. Mustard is alive, bursting with flavor and color. Mustard is never neutral or lukewarm like Laodicea. The Biblical Illustrator for Mark 4:32 recounts that Darius sent Alexander the Great a bag of sesame seed ...

699. Poison Control

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... call Poison Control if you swallowed rat poison? In fact, to hesitate would be fatal. But we don't worry about ingesting into our body, minds, and souls poisons that can be just as deadly, and can literally kill us, and even others we love and with whom we have contact. · We have a voice to guide us when we realize how toxic a relationship has become. · We have the love of Christ as antidote to the hatred that fills our hearts. · We have the law of God to counteract the law of sin, when we feel ourselves ...

700. The Best Places to Live

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... God's Spirit that guides us. As we allow ourselves to become genuine--members of our neighborhoods, our communities, our cities, and our country, our witness expands beyond the borders of our individual lives and embraces all those with whom we come in contact. The site was New York City and the celebration was for the manager for Harman Management, one of the largest KFC franchisers with over two hundred stores. The spot was the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center. As the group was walking to Rockefeller ...

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