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 801 to 825 of 2565 results

801. Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

... God who is, at the same time, both above us and with us, a God Transcendent and Immanent. He is big enough to help us and near enough to want to. Jesus combined this understanding so beautifully when he taught us to pray, "Our Father (the God near) who art in heaven (the God far above us in sinlessness and power), holy be your name." Make no mistake about it, the Transcendent God is not an angry God; neither is he a master we somehow have to convince that we need to approach him. Rather, he desires with all ...

802. One Commandment is Enough!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

... they do not contain the spirit of the One God who is above and over all. God is alive and free and cannot be confined to limiting objects. He is always bigger than, more beautiful than, more incomparable than any object that may represent him. Keep your religious works of art to enjoy, if you will, but to worship them is to break this Second Law of God! 3. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." A young wife called her mother on the phone, crying, and said she wanted to leave her husband ...

803. Real Absence

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

... ’s flip side. Precisely because we are privileged to know and experience the presence of God, we therefore know also what God’s absence is like. Nor is there anything particularly new about this perplexing absence: Isaiah spoke of it when he said, "Truly thou art a God who hidest thyself" (45:15). The Psalmist sang of it: "O Lord ... why dost thou hide thy face from me" (88:14). And for the apostles and the early church, the delay of Christ’s promised return was the single most perplexing theological ...

804. The Trifocal Festival

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... then there must be hope; then there must be something more than death; then there must be a promise that is not fulfilled in our short existence in this world; then leaving behind the ones you love, the flowers and trees, the mountains, and the oceans, the beauty of art and music, and all the exuberant gifts of life cannot be just the destruction and cruel end of all things; then indeed we have to wait for the third day."1 I. Vague talk about the immortality of the soul is hardly what I need and - thanks be ...

805. The Abiding Presence

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

... and loving-kindness, and his mercies really are "from everlasting to everlasting." The Psalmist might have been speaking for Moses and Israel - and for us, too - when he declared, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me," and then concluded that best-known and most-beloved Psalm, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Such faith ...

806. Reaching Hands

Illustration

As you know, one of the most magnificent artistic masterworks of all time is that memorable painting by Michelangelo on the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. A central element of this art is the portrayal of a hand reaching down. It is the hand of God. Another hand is reaching up. It is a human hand. The two hands are straining toward each other, and they are almost touching. In worship we are reaching for the reaching hand of God. This is ...

807. For Those On The Outside

Luke 8:40-56

Sermon

... , looking at the floor, grumbling about how sloppy a craftsman this man was. This maid never paid any attention to the beautiful sculptures this man created, and she never recognized the skill that he exercised as he created these carefully crafted works of art. One day the maid announced that she would be taking a month's vacation. The sculptor was very happy to be relieved of her nasty temper and oppressive personality. As she went away on her vacation, the artist dedicated himself with unlimited energy ...

808. Power

2 Corinthians 6:7

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... his own current life. The disciples went to Jesus one day and asked, "Teach us to pray. It seems to give you a power we don't have." It was one of the few things they ever asked Jesus. And Jesus told them. "When you pray, say, 'Our Father who art in heaven ...' " or "our parent" and the meaning would be the same. Our father - father of those before our birth and father of those beyond our death. Our father. Our parent. The power of prayer enables us to be placed within a human stream of existence that is ...

809. Real Strength

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . It takes real strength to triumph over life and not become trapped by it. In our diverse and fast-paced world, you and I do not need different circumstances. We need real strength. And that's exactly what Jesus tried to tell us. So be it. 1. Data furnished in Art Greer, The Sacred Cows Are Dying (New York: Hawthorn, 1978). 2. Peter V. Ueberroth told the story in his commencement speech at The University of North Carolina, May 10, 1987, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

810. The Christian Life What Shall We Fear?

Psalm 27:1-14

Bulletin Aid

... is understanding. The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. Shall we fear the silence of death? Leader: We shall not! Congregation: Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil for thou art with us. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord God of truth. Leader: Shall we fear God rejecting us? Congregation: "Turn, O backsliding children," saith the Lord, "For I am married unto you; and I will take you and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give ...

811. The Collateral Damage of Our Attitudes

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

... life. Outside that gate the rich man saw a beggar. The rich man would have felt very comfortable living in our present time. He was a 21st Century kind of a guy: Self-reliant, self-confidant, and self-assured. He was a connoisseur, a lover of the arts, one who knows and appreciates fine living, four-star restaurants. We are told in vs. 19 that he habitually dressed in purple. Purple was known as the color of royalty because it was the most expensive dye in the ancient world. Only the upper echelon and the ...

812. The Master Has Come - To Proclaim God’s Kingdom

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

... that Jesus came down from Nazareth to the Jordan River where cousin John, the baptizer, was preaching. And, along with many other people Jesus was baptized there. Then the spirit of God descended upon Jesus, and he heard a voice from heaven saying, "Thou art my beloved son; with thee I am well pleased." Jesus went to the wilderness for forty days - a time of retreat, thought, prayer, strategizing, and testing - being tempted of the devil. Then, Jesus came into Galilee preaching. God had one son, and he made ...

813. Responding to Christ's Birth

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

... were known as astrologers, magicians, and readers of dreams. In Acts 8:9-24, Luke tells the story of Simon, a magus and false prophet on the island of Cyprus. Therefore, the term magi refers to a large number of people engaged in occult arts. It covers a wide range of astronomers, fortune-tellers, priestly augurs, and wandering magicians. Since Matthew depicted the Magi as having seen a star, it is highly possible that they were astrologers from beyond Palestine. In the Old Testament the "people of the East ...

814. Fog-Clearing Moments

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

... , there has been the clear conviction of a living God, as the primary interest of consciousness, and of a personal self capable of communion with God. For others, a fog-clearing moment has come as a flash of insight while worshiping, reading, beholding a work of art, or listening to an anthem which touches the spirit. A few years ago, I taught a course in United Methodist Policy at Vanderbilt Divinity School. On the first day of class, I asked the students to share a time in their lives when they were ...

815. Misunderstanding Jesus

John 6:25-59

Sermon

... the listening of indifference; there is the listening of the person who only listens because at that moment he or she doesn’t have the chance to speak. We will always misunderstand Jesus if we don’t learn to listen. And we do learn to listen. Listening is an art that takes practice and experience to be good at. If we read along in our gospel text for today we find that after this Jesus puts forth another hard saying. Let me quote it: "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of ...

816. Easter 5

Acts 17:1-9, Psalm 33:1-22, Acts 17:10-15, 1 Peter 2:4-12, John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon Aid

... 120, in The Song and the Story. The first paragraph reads: Some time ago, a strange classified ad appeared in a newspaper in one of our cities. It began: "Tombstone for sale," and continued, "Didn't die; don't need it." A reporter investigated and interviewed Art Kranz, the man who had placed the advertisement in the paper. Kranz told him that the tombstone had been sitting in his living room for several months, but it was not his; it belonged to his sister, who had been gravely ill with terminal cancer. An ...

817. All Saints' Day

Revelation 7:1-8, Isaiah 26:1-21, 1 John 2:28--3:10, Revelation 21:1-27, Matthew 5:1-12, Psalm 24:1-10, Psalm 149:1-9, Psalm 34:1-22

Sermon Aid

... which depicted him with arrows sticking out from various parts of his anatomy. This experience prompted me to write later, "if all the portraits of St. Sebstian were superimposed upon one another, St. Sebastian would look like a pin cushion." In Rome, the experience in art museums took a new twist when, one afternoon, we found ourselves in front of the Catacomb of St. Sebastian out on what remains of the Appian Way. After a tour of the catacombs, led by a friar, whose deep voice was most appropriate for a ...

818. Promising Words

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

... he was alert to the changing seasons affecting the sheep he cared for with love. His eyes saw the green pastures and the dark valleys. As a warrior he had learned to observe the "lay of the land" behind which enemies might lurk. As a poet his art was enriched by the colorful ceremonies in which he took part at the festive seasons of the Hebrew liturgical year. David had stored such visual memories in his mind to remember, and they would refresh him in weary moments. Now David had seen his fondest dreams ...

819. Blue, The Color of Eternity

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

... ’s too little?" the Lord asked. "Bethlehem" was the answer. "Bethlehem!" The Lord’s jaw dropped. "You mean I’m going to Bethlehem?" The angel didn’t deny it. "But ... but there’s nothing there, nothing at all. No symphonies, no libraries, no works of art, no centers of learning. There won’t even be decent living accommodations ... just a little rundown inn! How can I set up my office there?" The angel cleared his throat and tried to find just the right words. "We weren’t thinking of having you ...

820. Epiphany

Matthew 2:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Theme: A Christ for all nations Exegetical note Matthew here artfully pieces together elements drawn from specific Old Testament texts (foreigners drawn to a divine light and bringing gold and frankincense from Isaiah 60:1-6; foreigners bearing gifts and paying tribute to a new king from Psalm 72; Bethlehem from Micah 5:2), in order to express the common belief ...

821. Baptism of Our Lord

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon Aid

... Hymns "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" "O God, This Child from You Did Come" "Fairest Lord Jesus" III. Other Music Possibilities Music for Preparation and Dismissal: Medley of Epiphany Hymns Response to the Proclamation: "Passed Thru the Waters" Response to the Scripture Reading: "Thou Art Jesus, Savior, and Lord" Offertory: "The Lord Is My Shepherd" IV. Bulletin Cover and Symbols V. Miscellaneous Details (Assignments): Ushers Banners Posters Candlelighters Flowers Greeters Hosts/Hostesses Name-tags

822. Epiphany 3

1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Isaiah 9:1-7, Psalm 27:1-14, Matthew 4:12-17

Bulletin Aid

... Light" "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" III. Other Music Possibilities Music for Preparation: "Fugue in C-major" Choral Introit: "Rejoice, You Pure in Heart" Response to the New Testament: "Be Thou Not Still" Offertory: "Our Father Who Art in Heaven"; "Praise Be to God in the Highest" Choral Response to the Benediction: "Amen Chorus" Music for Dismissal: "Credo" IV. Bulletin Cover and Symbols V. Miscellaneous Details (Assignments): Ushers Banners Posters Candlelighters Flowers Greeters Hosts/Hostesses Name ...

823. Learn to Empty Yourself

Luke 18:9-14

Illustration

R. Curtis Fussell

A martial arts student was meeting with his master and teacher at a table, having tea. The student said to his master, "I've learned all you have to teach me about defending myself. I want to learn one thing more now. Please teach me about the ways of God." The master took ...

824. Proper 15

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon Aid

... to the Congregation Consider this: One pastor concluded with these words: "Some people never dance - they walk solemnly and arthritically - toward the cemetery. Snoopy, the Christ figure in the Peanuts comic strip (according to Robert Short) insists, however, that dancing is the only real art form. Jesus Christ knew how to dance to life, and Christ invites us to do the same. How will you dance this week? Planning for Your Congregation I. Other Scriptures Psalm 78:1-3, 10-20 Psalm 67 Exodus 16:2-15 Isaiah 56 ...

825. Hail! Your King!

Mark 15:1-15

Drama

... , will ever be able to forget this. What a King he has turned out to be! He wears a crown of thorns. His throne is this cross. How incredible that some people thought this man was the King of the Jews. Last Sunday the crowd shouted his praises. "Thou art Holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel." But no one sings his praises now ... only jeers and insults. (Arriving at front center stage, he plants the cross.) Oh, why am I here? I guess someone had to help him, poor man. (Then, as a second thought) Help who ...

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