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 751 to 775 of 1306 results
751. The Crime of Christmas
Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... . We are charged with making a life in which God can be with us. To defend Christmas, we must not only worship; we must rummage among our customs to find any that can help us. But what will they be?" Basney suggests we start with some contact with nature - "with snow, with the mud-brown, with animals. Nature is the one permanent participant in the work of culture with the power and strangeness to challenge our pretensions.... If you wish to imagine the stable outside Bethlehem, then, put away your cardboard ...
752. From a Distance
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... bad. Distant road signs come sharply into focus - as do football and baseball games viewed from the cheap seats. Furthermore, it seems as though God has always had a tendency to deal with humans once they finally become hyperopic. Ever wonder why Abraham was not contacted by the Lord until he was 75 years old? Perhaps it was because that in order for Abraham to remain faithful to the covenant, he needed to have the ability to keep focused on the promise from a distance. Yale psychologist Robert J. Sternberg ...
753. Had-To
James 1:17-27
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... will be so, well, "heavenly," that we never even consider what kinds of "culture shocks" we will encounter there: where we turn the other cheek instead of getting even. where gold is as dust while goodness is treasured. where love is neither a full-body contact sport nor a winner-take-all competition, but is the atmosphere we breathe. where instead of struggling to gouge out a niche for ourselves, we are enfolded by the unity of peace. where the only designer label to be found reads "Graced by God" and ...
754. Give me a C...
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... temptation to boast through belittling. How many of you suspect with me that Paul didn't really think himself "ineloquent" - as he claims in 1 Corinthians 1:17? Those who are really wealthy rarely boast about it. They don't need to - their lifestyle, friends and contacts send out all the right signals. If you've really "made it," you don't need to boast about yourself. People will do that for you. The kind of boasting Paul condones - "boasting in the Lord" - requires a new kind of cheering from the church ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... us the key to living in a world that is becoming more different and more alike at the same time. We live in a time when our horizons are both expanding and contracting. Never before has it been so easy to be in direct contact with people from all over the globe. Uplinks, downlinks, e-mail, tele-conferences, Internet, bulletin boards all these various electronic pit stops (and sometimes potholes) on the information highway offer people the chance to interact and interconnect in a nanosecond. In ways we have ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... of the day and night. 3. A Daily Relationship With Others. Reading the Word and praying to God are faith mantras we must exercise on our own, but we must also read and pray, praise and question, in small groups. We need that communal, cellular contact with faith every day of our lives. Part of our spiritual freshness depends on opening up our hearts and spirits to the sounds and sights of other Christians. We need to be involved in cell groups, where the members are spiritually connected to one another ...
757. Fan the Flames
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... . Love-perfect living recognizes that love is relational - it must be practiced, acted out, in relationship to others. Jesus knew it was easy to love the idea of "humanity," but very difficult to love a given individual. Contrary to what we may sometimes feel, it is our contact with others that fuels our faith. It is as though each person who touches us brings a log to throw on the fire. The more we reach out to others in love, the higher the flames of faith can climb. 3. A Self-Disciplined Lifestyle: Even ...
758. On Time
Matthew 24:36-44
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... technology. The "cells" that must keep us attuned to Christ's frequency must be every cell of our bodies. If our bodies can become receivers, open to the vibrations of the Spirit, if our souls can amplify the signals we pick up and transmit them to all who come in contact with us, then we have become cellular Christians who are living timely lives. Every Christmas, the time is ripe for meeting Christ anew. Don't fall asleep! Keep watch for his presence among us! Don't be late this Christmas. Be "On Time."
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... that tries to grant one wish of a dying child. John’s thought was that the Make-A-Wish people might help him with a fund-raising campaign or maybe even fund him on a mission trip to Africa. At first John’s parents resisted contacting the Make-A-Wish people—even for such an unselfish project. After all, the Make-A-Wish program was for children who were truly terminal, whose death sentence had been signed and sealed. John’s parents insisted he focus his energies on fighting the cancer, not ...
760. Luke 10:25-37
Luke 10:25-37
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... . The beaten man, who is described as appearing "half-dead," was likely lying unconscious and bleeding alongside the road. Since he might have already been dead, the priest and Levite would not be able to touch him - coming into physical contact with a corpse would render them ritually unclean and thus incapable of performing their official duties. However reasonable this explanation may appear, it is still only an excuse - not a justification. Steven Hoyer and Patrice McDaniel have addressed the question ...
761. Luke 16:19-31
Luke 16:19-31
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... in the dust at the gate, covered with open sores, starving for some meager scrap of food. That the rich man was "feasting" also suggests he was in the midst of the companionship of friends and family. Lazarus, however, was cut off from human contact with only wild curs hungrily slavering at his wounds. The curtain is drawn on these two disparate ideal types by that great equalizer among the human family, death. Immediately the tables turn, for while the rich man is simply "buried," Lazarus is "carried away ...
762. Exodus 24:12-18
Exodus 24:12-18
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... -centered religion. As the one who repeatedly confronted and bested Pharaoh, the one who led the procession out of Egypt, the one who found his people dry pathways, drinking water, a constant food source, the one who generally seemed to be in direct contact with God every step of the way - how is it that Moses himself escaped virtual deification? While one could view this added deliverance as further evidence of the self-centered stubbornness of the fleeing Israelites, a careful overview of the Exodus story ...
763. Romans 8:26-39
Romans 8:26-39
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... from the Creator since that first "fall" from grace. Now, through the gift of the Spirit, Paul shows how God has established a sort of long-distance, direct-access line to the Divine. Once again, humanity can be in intimate, immediate contact with God through the Spirit's intercession. Some translations work verse 26 to make the believer, not the Spirit, the one "groaning" or "sighing" inarticulately toward God in prayer. Whichever way you interpret this verse theologically, remember that it is perfectly ...
764. Luke 17:11-19
Luke 17:11-19
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... under the strict proscriptions of Levitical law (see Leviticus 13-14, especially 13:45-46). As ones who had been declared ritually unclean, these lepers were ostracized from their families, their homes, their livelihoods and their community. Deprived of all social contacts, lepers were banished to the boundaries of the village and were forced into beggary - relying on mercy and generosity for their survival. The cry these 10 lepers direct at Jesus from a distance addresses Jesus by name and accords him a ...
765. Genesis 9:8-17
Genesis 9:8-17
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... of forty days as one of personal struggle rather than an invitation to sin. While these first two units of verse 13 are fairly straightforward, the next two units of the verse are much cloudier in meaning. The wild beasts, which are Jesus' only earthly contacts during these forty days, are usually interpreted as hostile forces, almost as though they are teamed with Satan to make this period of time all the more perilous for Jesus. But while this has been the traditional view of these wild beasts, there is ...
766. Luke 10:25-37
Luke 10:25-37
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... . The beaten man, who is described as appearing "half-dead," was likely lying unconscious and bleeding alongside the road. Since he might have already been dead, the priest and Levite would not be able to touch him - coming into physical contact with a corpse would render them ritually unclean and thus incapable of performing their official duties. However reasonable this explanation may appear, it is still only an excuse - not a justification. Steven Hoyer and Patrice McDaniel have addressed the question ...
767. Luke 16:19-31
Luke 16:19-31
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... in the dust at the gate, covered with open sores, starving for some meager scrap of food. That the rich man was "feasting" also suggests he was in the midst of the companionship of friends and family. Lazarus, however, was cut off from human contact with only wild curs hungrily slavering at his wounds. The curtain is drawn on these two disparate ideal types by that great equalizer among the human family, death. Immediately the tables turn, for while the rich man is simply "buried," Lazarus is "carried away ...
768. 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... it is not necessary. The dimmed eyesight Eli suffers does not necessarily infer that he had lost his ability to receive visions from the Lord. Indeed this pericope makes it clear that "visions" of the God of Israel are heard and not seen. Direct contact with the divine is always through a word, not some spiritual "sighting." If the text had stated Eli's hearing had grown faint, then perhaps we would have legitimate reasons to doubt his continued connection with God. What Eli's dimmed eyesight does indicate ...
769. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... " is the problem. He not only welcomes them to his congregation; he also welcomes them to his table. The straight-laced righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes found Jesus' behavior quite suspicious, even scandalous. They could never condone social contact with such "sinners." In the face of this stern self-righteousness, the prodigal son parable offers pointed commentary through the unhesitating, exuberant joy exhibited by the father and the wrong-headed, hardhearted attitude of the elder brother. We ...
770. Luke 16:1-13
Luke 16:1-13
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... , he devises a New Deal, his own ingenious plan for social security. Fortunately, his master has not remanded him over to the authorities to be shut up in the debtors' tower nor has he been sold into slavery. Taking advantage of his free time, he contacts his "master's debtors" before they catch wind of his dismissal and reduces what was no doubt the interest portion of their debt, a reduction that amounted to as much as 50 percent. Although interest was usually forbidden by Jewish monetary laws, there were ...
771. Matthew 10:40-42
Matthew 10:40-42
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... apostles to the actions of those who would host them on their travels. Despite the warning (vv.14-39) that nothing but suspicion and animosity lay between the synagogue and the church, verse 40 now suggests the possibility of some successful contact with the larger Jewish community. When welcoming happens, Jesus wants both the host and the guest to understand the mutuality of the relationship. What appears as a hospitable exchange between two is actually a fourfold relationship. The four active participants ...
772. Philippians 1:21-30
Philippians 1:21-30
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... will continue to develop and deepen. Paul refuses to view death as a source of separation from the divine. Thus, if in death we are not yet resurrected into the full presence of his glory, Christians must still in some way remain in vital, intimate contact with the Lord (see Romans 14:8). Having stated the "benefits" of both life and death, Paul reveals in verse 23 what at first seems to be a preference for death. Death appears to be his personal desire. But Paul immediately follows this personal wish ...
773. Acts 8:26-40
Acts 8:26-40
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... the Hellenistic and the Jerusalem church versions, is no human being but is the divine spirit of God. Angel messengers of God's intentions figure prominently in both Philip's and Peter's stories of Gentile evangelism. Far from boldly initiating some sort of Gentile contact for the purpose of witnessing, all that Philip and Peter do is be obedient, willing disciples. They go where they are told and do what the Lord commands. Philip's journeys have been likened to Elijah's by some scholars, in that the Spirit ...
774. Ephesians 1:3-14
Ephesians 1:3-14
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... celebration is not that God is great it is that God has worked through Christ with the specific goal of salvation for all humanity. Thus in verse 11 the refrain "in Christ" is stated again bringing the glory of the divine into contact with earthly concerns. The author's reference to "inheritance" recalls for the reader the original covenant God made with Israel. Whereas the Israelites became a recognizable covenanted community through the rite of circumcision, Gentiles are now to be "marked" by their own ...
775. Ephesians 6:10-20
Ephesians 6:10-20
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... Christian's arsenal. Verses 18b-20 outline how this state of constant prayer is to be attained we must "keep alert" and "persevere." Constant prayer was greatly emphasized in the early church community for it was only by remaining in a state of constant contact with God that Christians felt assured that God's protective presence remained near at hand, ready for the imminent eschaton. By persevering in prayer "for all the saints" that is, for all those who are members of the body of Christ the bond between ...
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