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 726 to 750 of 1270 results

726. Romans 13:9-21

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... towards Christians informs his admonition in v.18. As the world hated and killed Jesus, so it is logical to assume the same attitude will be directed against those who confess followership. Yet while it might not be possible to avoid the hostility and enmity that the world will dish out, Paul urges Christians to do their utmost to live “peaceably” and not dismiss those dishing out hatred, even as Jesus blessed the “peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). That hard directive backdrops Paul’s final admonitions ...

727. No-fault Religion

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (11-13), 14-17

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... is more common in human relationships, both for individuals and groups, than the belief that we are men of good will and all the ill will lies in the other." Dr. Williams continues, "The history of human pretenses, self-deception, and failure to see our hostility and resentment of the other is a constant theme of the world's literature, and its consequences are strewn throughout history in politics, revolution, and all the tragedies of human hatred."2 Therefore, one of the painful works of love is that of ...

728. The Paradoxical Power of Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... himself to fail in power politics in order to succeed in the politics of the heart. He allows himself to be pierced with spears of hate in order to send forth arrows of love and forgiveness. Overwhelmed and beaten down, derided and spit upon in bitter hostility, his blood and bruises became a balm for our wounds of strife, our gashes of hatred. Oh, the paradoxical power of weakness. When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died; my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on ...

729. God Our Protector and Shield

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... he may continue to boldly proclaim the mysteries of the Gospel. Paul's exhortation to the Christian community at Ephesus, as seen in the life of James Gillis, must be a source of hope and a guide for life in an often alien and hostile world. The twenty-first century is obviously more advanced technologically, more diverse, and certainly different in many ways from the world that Saint Paul experienced, yet in some important ways it is still the same. The Christian community lives in a foreign world. Even ...

730. Our Prayers Are Our Thanksgiving

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... church structure. These letters were directed toward real faith communities wrestling with particular problems. Like that group of Separatists at Plymouth Rock, these congregations were seeking to forge a life of faith and obedience to Christ amidst unfamiliar and sometimes hostile territory. Since Christ had not returned to take his followers to heaven's realm, the church was forced to grapple with the very real challenges of establishing heaven's dominion in their earthly domain. The role of human leaders ...

731. Real Peace, Lasting Peace

Ephesians 2:11-22, Psalm 23:1-6

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... . Prayer Of Confession One: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. All: For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. Amen. Hymns Christ Is Our Cornerstone Dona Nobis Pacem In Christ There Is No East Or West

732. Floating on Your Back

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... floating because she knew her daddy would come back for her. In like manner the Thessalonians were strong in their faith that Christ would not forget his own. This is essential in any setting whether we are trying to maintain our faith in the midst of a hostile pagan environment or we are trying to carry on in the midst of a deep personal crisis. After all, we all have our storms to face. I read recently about another person who literally floated and trusted. He was an older adult. His name was Alex Gaines ...

733. Does Easter Make a Difference?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 4:33). The first words the apostles heard from the resurrected Jesus were these: "Peace be with you." The resurrection means peace. This peace is more than tranquility. It is more than the cessation of hostilities. The peace given by the resurrected Jesus was wholeness, as against division, and togetherness, as against fragmentation. The Jews had a name for it. The Hebrew word behind our English translation is shalom. Shalom means that the pieces of life come together ...

734. God’s Surprises

Acts 10:44-48

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... people of God, the church. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ ... He has made both groups [Gentiles and Jews] into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us" (Ephesians 12:13-14). Surprise: walls that previously separated people are broken down. Paul calls this oneness of opposing peoples, Gentiles and Jews, "a mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things" (Ephesians 3:9). It is a mystery, wonder, and ...

735. A Greater Purpose

Matthew 23:1-12

Illustration

... up, he sorely missed having a father to guide and love him. In his darkest moments, he sometimes wondered if his father's death had served any purpose. At one point on his African trip, Stephen found himself stranded in a small town among hostile people. He made his way to a nearby Christian church. The African pastor welcomed Stephen, and the two men began discussing their faith. The pastor had come to Christianity at a young age. Afterwards, the townspeople shunned him, his teacher beat him, his family ...

736. Look Into Your Father's Eyes

Matt 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

James W. Moore

... face with his elbow. It was a sharp blow full to his son's face. The little boy was stunned by the impact of the elbow. It hurt, and he was just about to burst into tears. But then he looked into his father's eyes. Instead of anger and hostility, he saw there his father's sympathy and concern; he saw there his father's love and compassion. Instead of exploding into tears, the little boy suddenly burst into laughter. What he saw in his father's eyes made all the difference! The sharp blow of God's message to ...

737. Where Is Loyalty in an Age of Immediacy?

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Elton Richards

... continuity, the sense of belonging to a succession of generations originating in the past and stretching into the future." There is little loyalty in the workplace. Our language gives us away when we speak of "headhunters," "corporate raiders," and "hostile takeovers." Few athletes remain with the teams that signed them. Free agency reigns in professional sports. The assumption among religious shoppers is that we operate in a buyers' market. The consumer makes choices based on present needs with little ...

738. The Missionary Posture

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a world (modern) and culture (western) that is increasingly resistant to the gospel. We stand today like Jonah facing Nineveh and like Nineveh facing Jonah. Jonah, Jesus, and Paul were all facing the task of declaring an urgent message to an at best complacent, at worst hostile world. Shouldering the unpopular role of telling people they must change their ways was no easier in the third century B.C., or the first century A.D., than it is for us as we prepare to enter the twenty-first century. The rules of ...

739. Stand Together or Fall Apart

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... overwhelmingly based on this "all-against-one" premise. To insure their continued survival, communities impose rules prohibiting "mimetic" (i.e. imitative) behavior in order to avoid intracommunity rivalries. In the earliest Christian communities the scapegoat release valve for hostilities and promoting unity is discarded. By refusing to base community ties on a foundation of violent, exclusory action, a radically new kind of community is proposed. The most perfect example of this change is found in the ...

740. The Ultimate Athlete

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... games and the Roman gladiators were only slightly cruder substitutes for all-out warfare than our present-day exercises in aggression. The Olympics held under the swastika of Hitler's Germany were a notable failure at an attempt to supplant the real hostilities of war with its pantomimed version in athletics. The Red Badge of Courage (New York: D. Appleton, 1925) was author Stephen Crane's novelistic attempt to capture the spirit of battle on paper. Yet for "research" Crane never experienced the front lines ...

741. How to Play Fair in Foul Play

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... great suffering," he will "be rejected" by the most respected religious leaders, and he will ultimately "be killed" with the approval of those same leaders. In his lessons on discipleship Jesus tries to get his followers to understand that they too will face a hostile world, a world that destroys those who confront its sins and shortcomings. For the soul to survive this world Jesus suggests guidelines to his disciples so that they may continue to play fair in the midst of foul play. Disciples of Christ must ...

742. Be Happy!

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... called The Trusting Heart (New York: Random House, 1989). What he has discovered is that Type A behavior will not kill you. Grueling schedules, workaholism, stress, hurriedness - all these "Type A" personality syndromes are not predictive of early death. Only hostility, cynicism, aggression, and orneriness - these are the killers. People who cannot trust, people who can only control, are in more than spiritual jeopardy. Their health is on the line as well. The crowd that tried to quiet the boisterous blind ...

743. Yellow Wind

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... geography and underlying roots in religious conflict, brought to the surface the pervasive power of the end-time scriptures According to a PrincetonReligionResearchCenter poll conducted just after the beginning of the Gulf War, 15% of Americans believed that the Gulf hostilities signaled the beginning of the end - Armageddon was underway. Those who identified themselves as religious were more apt to believe in the finality of the conflict (19%), as were women (18% to 11%). A full 25% of younger people (age ...

744. Tweed Jackets, Sweat Pants and Wet Suits

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stage of experiencing the Holy Spirit's wind and fire in our lives involves the courage to put on a wet suit of faithfulness. Wet Suits: Wet suits allow one to become immersed completely in a new and strange, even potentially hostile, environment. Unlike other clumsier attire, the wet suit fits our distinctive form perfectly, nearly becoming one with our own skin. A wet-suited faith allows for extensive creativity and bold exploration in new situations. Bits of tweed and fleece from the previous ...

745. Settle for an F

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... separating from the childhood bonds of family can a shift in devotion and loyalty from parents to spouse take place. We all know families where this kind of separation never occurs, leaving the spouse perpetually on the outside, a stranger in a hostile environment. The Hebrew word for leave, azab, appropriately also translates as "cut loose" (Exodus 23:5). Parents must cut loose their children from their authority, enabling them to leave and establish their own bonds of fidelity. Having left to form a new ...

746. Five Steps to Takeoff

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is already calling people to faith. Faithfulness is the Christians' "thumbs-up" sign. We have no way of knowing if the course ahead of us carries smooth air or turbulence and storms. We have no special foreknowledge if the skies will be friendly or filled with hostility and danger. What we do have is faith faith in the love of Christ, faith in the eternal closeness of God's presence and God's kingdom. Jesus proclaims that the correct response to the gospel news is faith. He gives us the "thumbs-up" signal ...

747. A Concert of Prayer

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Drama

Leonard Sweet

... we hating and reviling people for whom we should be praying? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used to say: "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility." Who would you put on America's Least Wanted List? Pray for those people this morning. Then pray for your enemies - by name, in silence. Silence............................................ Why aren't we praying for other churches in town? Yes, mention the pastor by name ...

748. Grow Old Grace-fully

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the picked-up pace and increasingly disposable lifestyle of these latter days of the 20th century has practically made growing older a sin. This is not just a cosmetic skirmish against gray hair, soft bodies and windy wrinkles. It is a widespread, ongoing cultural hostility against aging in general and the aged in particular. We routinely assume that our oldest generations only want to be with those who are their own age, that they are scared of or uninterested in new ideas or new ways of doing things, that ...

749. Just Say Know

Philippians 3:4b-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... was reduced to tears by the sight of the empty tomb. The angels confronted Mary and asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" She replied, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know...." There are too many "theys" out there conglomerates of faceless, hostile "theys" whose job it is to make it hard for us to "know" and easy for us to "not know." - There are the "theys" of materialism urging us to invest in possessions instead of treasures. - There are the "theys" of intellectualism advising us to trust ...

750. Tranquility in the Midst of Turmoil

Luke 1:26-38

Illustration

William L. Self

... , and all was at peace in this tranquil and beautiful farm. "That's it," said the judges, "but we'll look at the other rendering anyway." They removed the veil of the second painting. Instead of a tranquil, pastoral scene, there was a raging waterfall producing a mist which communicated hostility. But over on the side of the waterfall was a tiny branch of a tree growing out of a rock, and on the end of the branch was a bird's nest. And on the edge of the nest was a mother bird, singing her heart out in the ...

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