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 51 to 75 of 103 results

51. Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... there is considerable consensus that the "letter" to the "Ephesians" should be seen as a kind of general sermon intended to be read during worship to any number of congregations, with the Ephesians probably one of many. Thus, the document's rather impersonal tenor and its numerous liturgical and hymn-like qualities may be seen as part of this generalized function the "letter" was intended to serve. The language of election or predestination seems to seep throughout the first few verses of today's text. The ...

52. Jeremiah 31:7-14

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to these mournful captives. Today's Old Testament text comes from a section of the Jeremiah scroll known as "The Little Book of Consolation" (chapters 30-33). So eloquent and uplifting are the prophet's words in this section that they transform the whole tenor of the book. The "consolations" create a sweet center which makes all the rest of Jeremiah's words, no matter how gloomy, slightly honeyed. For despite all the damnations, destructions and disobedience, there is yet hope. In the midst of the worst of ...

53. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... last case is described in textual language reminiscent of the "destroyer" angel that took the Egyptian firstborn on the night now known as the Passover (Exodus 12:23). These four graphic examples, coupled with Paul's final warnings (vv.11-12) and the whole tenor of this section (10:1-12), are mellowed and mediated by the final remarks Paul offers. The promise of verse 13 counterbalances all the dire warnings that have gone before it. Paul offers a threefold promise that should comfort believers in every age ...

54. Romans 13:11-14

Romans 13:11-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the appropriate attitude and course of action necessary to see Christians into the eschatological future that awaits all believers. Love in action must be demonstrated by Christians both now and in this future. Paul's language here is unabashedly eschatological in tone, tenor and texture. For this apostle, the imminence of Christ's return added to the urgency of his message. Paul's use of the idiomatic kai touto, translated as "besides this" (NRSV) or "in all this" (NEB), vividly highlights the command to ...

55. Matthew 28:1-10

Matthew 28:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of it. Compare Matthew's rendition of Easter morning at the tomb with John's version to get a sense of the unabashed awesomeness Matthew wanted to communicate. John's Easter morning begins with Mary Magdalene alone and in the dark. The whole tenor of the first 10 verses is one of confusion, fear, desolation and depression. Even after Mary sees the two angels in the tomb, things are still unclear. Jesus himself appears at first in a veiled, unrecognizable form. For John, the resurrection is as mysterious ...

56. Acts 1:6-14

Acts 1:6-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... before the astonished disciples and begin chiding them for standing about staring. Perhaps it is the reprimand of the angelic figures that has kept the church from celebrating Jesus' Ascension with more excitement and exaltation. Ironically, the whole tenor behind this episode is quite "down-to-earth." Instead of magnifying the miracle of Ascension, the disciples are immediately plunged back into their discipleship roles here on earth. When the white-robed messengers foretell Jesus' eventual return, the ...

57. Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... on the impact of his words - the people listening were “astounded.” What “astounded” those listening? Again, not his words, but the authority with which Jesus expounds the teachings of the tradition. Mark describes that authoritative tenor in the negative: Jesus’ teaching was “not as the scribes” (v.22). This is highly unusual because scribes, learned Torah experts, did wield considerable authority. Scribes often offered authoritative, binding judgments on scriptural interpretation. Passing ...

58. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... v.38). In other words, “Wake Up, Jesus! Don’t you care that we’re gonna drown!” While Matthew’s (8:25) and Luke’s (8:24) versions of this story seem to soften the disciples’ words to a prayer and a plea, Mark’s text keeps the accusatory tenor in the disciples’ wake-up call to Jesus. They rebuke Jesus and accuse him of not caring about them and their situation. By the way, I do not think that all the disciples together rushed to wake Jesus up. Mark’s two key details he is sleeping in the ...

59. I Am the Alpha and the Omega

Revelation 1:1-3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... s the good way. And the music teacher would take his tuning fork, tap it against the metal of wheelchair and say, that is middle C. It was middle C yesterday, it will be middle C tomorrow, it will be middle C a thousand years from now – the tenor upstairs is flat, the piano across the hall needs tuning, but that my friend, is middle C. That old man had something upon which he could depend – one strong reality, one still point in his turning world. For the Christian, that one still point in our turning ...

60. No Room At The Inn

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... announcement to the Shepherds, but the director thought that would be too much. However, they did give him a special halo with soft blue light which made him stand out from the others whose halos were a much dimmer white. One of the guys in the tenor section said he looked like he was announcing a K-Mart special. The angel choir sang from an elevated stage erected on the far edge of the lawn in front of the church's three large air conditioning units. Surrounded by clouds painted on cardboard, and raised ...

61. Luke 4:14-21

Luke 4:14-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , the first words and actions of Jesus’ ministry are greeted with wonder and excitement. Jesus appears extremely popular in the earliest days of his mission. Only after increasing numbers of confrontations with religious and civil authorities does the tone and tenor of the public begins to turn and the inevitable rejections becomes evident. In Luke’s gospel, from the moment Jesus begins to speak in public, his lot is misunderstanding, rejection, and the threat of bodily harm. Here, at the beginning ...

62. War and the Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... There are battlefields of our own making. Not all prisoners of hate have come home. The “I" has yet learned to live with the “me" and the result of that conflict is devastating down in the depths of our very being. Enrico Caruso, the great Italian tenor, named his internal conflict, Big Me and Little Me. People say that before a concert, you could often hear him in the wings saying, “Get out Little Me, Big Me take over." All of us with integrity and insight have known and experienced that struggle in ...

63. Cheering from the Stands

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... is able to praise God. Pastor Jack Hayford in his book The Divine Visitor tells the story of Merrill Womach. Womach was a student at Northwest Bible College in the 1940s. He was an extremely handsome young man with an amazing tenor voice. Hayford compares him to the well‑known Italian virtuoso of another generation, Mario Lanza. Following school, Merrill Womach married his college sweetheart and started a music company. He also established himself as a Christian singer and performed concerts in churches ...

64. Sick People Like Us Will Always Need The (Divine) Doctor

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... . Hence these doctrines and schemes of divinity that are in any respect opposite to such an absolute and universal dependence on God, derogate from His glory ... Now whatever scheme is inconsistent with our entire dependence on God for all ... is repugnant to the design and tenor of the gospel....5 You and I are really telling God that we do not need him if we fail to confess our insidious selfish sinfulness. The next time you do not want to make that confession, keep in mind that in our gospel lesson ...

65. Heroes of Faith

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 's the good news?" The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of his wheelchair and say, "That's middle C! It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat. The piano across the hall is out of tune, but, my friend, that is middle C." It's wonderful to know that in a changing world, there is something that is constant. We all need a middle C. Relationships change. Health changes. Jobs change. The weather ...

66. Let Us Pray

Luke 18:1-8

Illustration

Thomas Long

... , to talk to God, we cannot hedge our bets about God, we have to move beyond vagueness and enter into a relationship with God. Sure enough, in Bernstein's Mass, when it comes time to pray, a chorus begins to intone a traditional prayer of confession, but then a lone tenor voice soars up above the others to sing: If I could, I'd confess. Good and loud, nice and slow Get this load off my chest Yes, but how Lord, I don't know. What I say, I don't feel What I feel, I don't show What I ...

67. Planning Your Way Out

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... to record his experiences. Record them he did. His carefully detailed notes describe his sense of wonder at the spectacular beauty of the Far North. Day after day, he described the excitement of every experience. For months he wrote, until one day the tenor of his writing seems to have changed somehow. The transformation in the tone of his descriptions was not marked at first but it was there nonetheless. As the days passed, his words described his growing, horrifying nightmare that he would probably die in ...

68. Cheering for the Underdog

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... hand. Then, very gently and soothingly, the wife began to sing. It was an old hymn called ‘Victory in Jesus.’ Before she had sung very much, her daughter joined in and sang alto. And then the son, who had been crying, began to sing tenor. When they finished that song, they sang ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness.’ And when they finished that, they began singing ‘Amazing Grace.’ “They were on the last verse of ‘Amazing Grace’ ’when we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun ...

69. Choose One Chair

Matthew 22:15-22

Illustration

Brett Blair

Luciano Pavarotti said that when he was a boy, his father, a baker, introduced him to the wonders of song. He urged him to work hard to develop his voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in his hometown of Modena, Italy, took him as a pupil. Pavarotti also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, he asked his father, "Shall I be a teacher or a singer?" "Luciano," his father replied, "if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For ...

70. Get On With It

Humor Illustration

... to present its program of music in a large church. The program was to be carried live by a local radio station. When everything appeared to be ready, the announcer made his final introduction and waited for the choir director to begin. One of the tenors was not yet ready, however, so the director refused to raise his baton. All this time, nothing but silence was being broadcast. Growing very nervous, the announcer, forgetting that his microphone was still on and that he could be heard in the church and on ...

71. I Applaud Your Nerve

Humor Illustration

The squeaky tenor had just concluded. The applause was less than warm. But one member of the audience was exclaiming, "Extraordinary! Wonderful! Unbelievable!" "Pardon me," said a puzzled man sitting in the next seat."You astound me. I think I may claim some knowledge of the subject, and I think his voice was very poor." "Voice?" said the other man. "I wasn't thinking of his voice. I was praising his nerve!"

72. Singing with Lutherans

Humor Illustration

... if you do this among Lutherans they'll smile and row that boat ashore and up on the beach! And down the road! Lutherans are bred from childhood to sing in four-part harmony. It's a talent that comes from sitting on the lap of someone singing alto or tenor or bass and hearing the harmonic intervals by putting your little head against that person's rib cage. It's natural for Lutherans to sing in harmony. We're too modest to be soloists, too worldly to sing in unison. When you're singing in the key of C and ...

73. Voice Recognition

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . The unique properties of each of our voices are what made it possible for us to recognize who was on the other end of a phone call long before there was “caller id” Our brain has a huge “vocal directory” stored up, and can immediately identify the unique tenor and timber of a familiar voice, telling us who is giving us a call. That is why it is so frustrating when we get a bad connection or some sort of distortion on the line. It messes up our ability to recognize the voice of our caller. Even ...

74. An Announcement in Song

Psalm 98:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... ,” and “Away in a Manger.” Music is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. To me, it is one of the surest signs of God’s existence. Does anybody here truly believe that blind evolution would have given us voices that blend together as soprano, alto, tenor and bass to make the most pleasing sounds on earth? Music is from God. The music of Christmas is undoubtedly from God. Music can do things that nothing else can do. Music can change the world. Music gives us hope. I hope you will leave today with the ...

75. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

... ’d of sorrow, or sustain’d; And whether love for him have drain’d My capabilities of love; Your words have virtue such as draws A faithful answer from the breast, Thro’ light reproaches, half exprest, And loyal unto kindly laws. My blood an even tenor kept, Till on mine ear this message falls, That in Vienna’s fatal walls God’s finger touch’d him, and he slept. The great Intelligences fair That range above our mortal state, In circle round the blessed gate, Received and gave him welcome there ...

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