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 776 to 800 of 2275 results

776. On Having "The Right Stuff"

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

"The right stuff" describes the qualities of character, competence, and temperament possessed by the early astronauts. They had "the right stuff" for the job and all of us admired them for this. In terms of American history, they are kin to those sturdy folk who first settled this nation, as well as those who later broke ...

777. Lovers Never Ask, 'What's the Least I Can Do?'

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Alvin Rueter

... ." Nobody ever challenges us, "No, you’re lying. There were only 900,157, because I counted them and I know." We all know what we mean when we say "a million mosquitoes" and we all know that Jesus was saying, "It’s not the size of your faith but the quality." For our Lord that was too flat to say it like that, so he said it far more effectively: If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you ...

778. Heaven Can’t Wait

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... our ashes. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Your lifestyle might be built on your virility, your drive, and your assertiveness, never realizing how little we have to assert. But the secret of the life of Christ is in that quality appropriate to men and women who are strong in Christ, the courage of consideration, the gentle but strong love in standing for the truth in word and deed. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied. The lifestyle ...

779. Dead or Alive?

Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

... fanatical racists, classists, religionists, or nationalists that we forget we belong, under God, to the whole human family. It is what makes us scorn poor and unsuccessful people with such arrangements as a welfare system that humiliates and punishes them. The quality of life revealed in a society’s functioning is indicative of how dead or alive spiritually are the persons of whom the society is composed. Considering the value distortions and alienation we have allowed to permeate our society and produce ...

780. Counsel for Discouraged Disciples

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

... guidance and comfort. What great and good counsel is found in these guidelines and emphases! Where is the therapist who could speak more directly and helpfully to our spiritual need? How shall we, his latter-day disciples, respond to this counsel? Shall we assess the quality of our faith, the extent of our love, the depth of our concerns, the sincerity of our commitment, the degree of our courage, the validity of our prayer life? Shall we check up on ourselves to make sure we are involved with God in his ...

781. Why Aspire to Sainthood?

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

... a teacher, a pastor, a doctor, a neighbor, a friend? Of course, we do not see these persons as perfect. We have no set of tedious criteria with which to measure them. No church bureaucracy has considered them for canonization. Yet we have witnessed a quality of faith and goodness in them that has inspired and blessed us. We thank God for them; we canonize them in our hearts. As a congregation of people, let us be remembering with special gratitude this morning the many individuals who have made outstanding ...

782. Life's Greatest Treasure

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

... was similarly stated in the first: that the kingdom of heaven demands that we give up much. It demands, today, our repentance. In these moments of worship, for instance, it demands our undivided attention. The treasure in the field and the pearl of unusual quality consumed the imaginations of their finders until they firmly possessed their find. God's kingdom demands our brain-power, our thinking capacity, our will to listen to the Word of the Lord, even when fatigue challenges us. The other day I heard a ...

783. The Way He Taught

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

... of love and trust that will ultimately bind and seal our teaching to our own children. III. Educational psychologists are more and more discovering the truth that the way in which we teach is also finally what we teach. The amazing "quality" of Jesus' life consisted in this very point. His "authority" was precisely this. He was the total teacher. Everything he said rang true because it was constantly being reaffirmed and proclaimed in his demeanor and manner with people. His actions never cancelled ...

784. The Demanding Word

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

... with tall, healthy, fruit-bearing plants, as it were. This is what we want too, isn't it? A daily existence that has substance and fulfillment. We want a life that is unfolding, that's going somewhere, that is truly alive. The parable suggests that such a quality life will not fall into your lap. It will come only as you struggle with God's demanding Word. The Bible itself characterizes the Word of God as something demanding, something to stir us up and stop us in our tracks. God once spoke to Jeremiah, the ...

785. Table For Talkers

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

... No one ever loved as Jesus did. He loved unselfishly, sincerely, wholly, sacrificially. He loved with the purest of motives. Christians are to love each other just as Jesus loved in his day. Of course, non-Christians love each other. The difference is in the quality of love. No one loved like Jesus. If Christians love like Jesus, then their love is different, superior. But, is this true about our Christian love? Does the world say, "See how those Christians love each other"? Is the world recognizing us as ...

786. If Only We Would Hold On ...

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... right now is about all we can handle." Who of us has not at some time felt overwhelmed by our duties and responsibilities? A boy trudging a school thinks of the fishing stream and the prospect of the schoolroom takes on a prison-like quality. The young wife, bored by her household duties and worn out by petty demands, thinks of the comparative freedom of her unmarried sisters, and feels frustrated by her own routine. The office worker, tied to a desk, gazes at the colorful pictures of vacation resorts ...

787. Proper 11

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

... obscure places to do some of his most vital tasks. From that moment on, the figure of Moses completely dominates the tradition of the Israelites. This appears fitting and proper because, obviously, this was no ordinary man. It took someone with unusual qualities of charisma, intelligence, humility, and spiritual acumen to lead those bleached-out, ex-slaves away from their Egyptian oppressors. The honesty of the record comes through, since the Scriptures point out he didn't want to do this job. Moses was a ...

788. Parable of Giants and Pygmies

Luke 16:1-15

Illustration

... are meant to serve Almighty God and the heavenly kingdom, but we often are expended in ways of social security. The measure of a Christian man is not how large he may be physically or socially, but whether he is able to be big about his daily life. Qualities of a great spirit are the ability to forgive, the ability to be generous and the ability to be helpful. The youth in their scouting days learn laws of greatness but as we move toward adulthood many are caught in the tiny threads of social fallacy. The ...

789. Whoever Would Be King

2 Samuel 5:1-5

Sermon

... had self-confessed thieves in the regal setting of a crucifixion. All the tribes of Israel gathered at Hebron to proclaim David’s kingship. At the cross there were two women and one man. A thief and a captain of the guard recognized some kingly qualities in Christ. Two more contrasting coronations could not have been planned. Crucifixions, of course, are not prime P.R. material. But there was much more at stake here than a P.R. venture. Kings ignore those whom they wish. Not this king. His every action ...

790. Repent!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... out of that prison. Next time I thought of life behind wire cages and steel doors, I would not be so quick to condemn and fear. Repentance is not a common word in our vocabulary. Confessing your sins and promising to go straight is a rare quality in prison. It's almost as rare in many churches. Today mainline Protestants treat the notion warily. Repentance is for Catholics with their sacrament of Confession and Absolution in those little booths where you recite your sins to an unseen priest and he tells you ...

791. The Focus of Fitness

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

... , thirty or more pounds. Many of the plans claim that theirs is the "easy" way. But is there an easy way? Some of you have tried it, and you know how "easy" it is. Physical fitness is a popular theme because most people are interested in a better quality of life. Who can argue with that? We could list a number of good reasons why physical fitness is so important. It involves the following: a. When you are physically fit, you feel better and can function better in all aspects of life. b. You’ll have more ...

792. Honest to Goodness Religion

Hosea 4:1-19

Sermon

... ." The man who lost his bet went off grumbling. It is a commentary on our times when we witness tragedy without compassion. God has shown mercy to us that we may learn how to show mercy to others. Sometimes, however, as Hosea observes, the quality of mercy is sadly lacking. The problem, as Hosea points out, goes even beyond moral behavior. He implies that there is some relationship between the way people treat each other and the way they treat their environment. Animals, birds, fish all suffer because of ...

793. The God Who Doesn’t Give Up

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

... Hosea 11 transcends the masculine-feminine dichotomy and is therefore one of the most adequate symbols of God in the Bible."10 If that doesn’t make sense, we can put it in other words. God is both father and mother and cares for us with the best qualities that a mother or father combined, can give. Being a parent can be an enjoyable experience. Do you remember bringing your first child home from the hospital, and how the atmosphere of your home was changed? There was a smell of baby powder in the air, and ...

794. Authority Through Servanthood

Matthew 20:20-28, Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... as she participates in a clergy group who meet regularly for prayer and study of the biblical texts we are all preaching. There is a certain beauty about her authority. It is so freely received by her, and freely given. Everything she possesses in the qualities of her mind and spirit go into the faithful giving of ministry to those she serves. Few know her. She has no great public status. Her field is uncrowded! She will never run a television ministry empire. Hers is the mind of Christ, and therein ...

795. How Did It Come to This?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

... alliances, specifically Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, contemptuously referred to Egypt as that “broken reed,” a has-been nation. Somewhere along the line, in the midst of politics and business, they lost a sense of what is truly important. The one redeeming quality of trouble is that it makes us re-focus. It brings us back to basics: love, health, community, God. Go to a hospital waiting room and talk with people as they have a loved one undergoing surgery. It doesn’t get any more basic ...

796. Proper 7

Lk 9:18-24 · Gal 3:23-29 · 1 Ki 19:9-14 · Zech 12:7-10

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 1 Kings 19:9-14; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 9:18-24 So You Think You are a Christian! Need: Who is a Christian? Is the person a Christian in name only? How is a Christian identified -- by church membership, by confessing a creed, or by the quality of daily living? Today's three lessons help us to test whether we are genuine Christians. Outline: A true Christian is one who - a. Listens to the voice of God - Lesson 1 b. Confesses Jesus as the Christ - Gospel c. Experiences a oneness with Christ - Lesson 2 Gospel ...

797. Proper 9

Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 · Gal 6:7-18 · 1 Ki 21:1-3, 17-21 · Isa 66:1-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... said that you are known by your friends and associates. It is also true that you are known by those who hate and oppose you. Evil-doers hate people of good character. Criminals hate the police. It is what and whom you stand against that show the quality of a person. Lesson 1: Isaiah 66:1-14 1. The Feminine Factor of our Faith (66:10-14). Need: Some interested in today's woman's liberation movement cry out against the sexist language used in the Bible and Church. Some insist that we should say "Mother ...

798. Proper 10

Lk 10:25-37 · Col 1:1-20 · 2 Ki 2:1, 6-14 · Deut 30:9-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... you that would cause one to thank God? Paul thanks God for the faith, love, and hope in his Colossian people. This sermon could fill two needs: (1) a positive, constructive expression of appreciation of the character of the congregation - a sincere commendation for spiritual qualities; (2) a stimulant to prod the people to become worthy of such commendation. Put it this way: what is there about you for which I could thank God? Outline: Thank God for - a. Your faith - v. 4 b. Your love - v. 4 c. Your hope ...

799. Proper 16

Lk 13:22-30 · Heb 12:5-7, 11-13, 18-29 · Jer 28:1-9 · Isa 66:18-23

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . For Christians tempted to grumble over a "tough lot in life," the writer of this letter ties hardship to strong discipleship. We are called to see privilege in suffering and enduring, for a parent's child is deliberately put to the test to build up such qualities as long-suffering, patience, and resilience. Luke 13:22-30 The saved enter the kingdom by a narrow door. Will only a few be saved or will all people ultimately get to heaven? In this pericope Jesus explains that many will try to enter heaven but ...

800. Advent 3

Lk 3:7-18 · Php 4:4-13 · Zeph 3:14-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 13. 1. The Happy Christian. 4:4. Need: Some Christians are not happy. They look as though they lost their best friend, or lost their job, or failed to pass a test. The problem may be that we base our happiness on external conditions or events. Joy is an inner quality of having Jesus, for to have him is to have all. Outline: How you can be happy - A. What to do - "Rejoice" B. Why rejoice - "in the Lord" C. When? - "Always" 2. Why Can You be so Happy? 4:4-13. Need: You see some Christians, like Paul, who have ...

Showing results