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 1259 results

801. What on Earth Is the Trinity?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

English mystery writer Dorothy Sayers was also a lay theologian in the Church of England. In one of her books she discussed the difficulty a missionary to the Orient had in trying to explain the Trinity. As you know, one of the symbols for the Holy Spirit is a descending dove. We just sang the hymn: “Come Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove.” The Oriental gentleman, lost in the maze of theology, said: “Honorable Father I understand. Honorable Son I understand. Honorable bird I do not understand at all!” He is not ...

802. One Commandment, Slightly Used

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

We might consider Jesus’ words to His students (disciples) in the Upper Room as sort of a “Last Will and Testament,” a final summing up of all that He had taught them during His brief ministry among them. He begins to speak of His coming death not as a probability but as a certainty, and He begins to talk with new urgency as though the passing moments are infinitely precious and as though he wants to etch every word indelibly on the minds of each of them. And what does He say to them? “I give you a new ...

803. On Panicking Close to Shore

John 6:16-24

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Will Rogers once said that “a lot of what everybody knows ain’t so!” Nowhere is that more true than in the realm of Biblical scholarship. From my research in the gospel of John and many visits to the holy land I have discovered that a lot of what biblical scholars and commentators appear to know for sure seems doubtful at best, and downright wrong in some places. For instance, not too many years ago it was an accepted axiom among Biblical scholars that the author of the Fourth Gospel always tended to “ ...

804. Slippery Rock

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Some “rock” Peter turned out to be! Immediately following Jesus’ giving him that new name, the very first thing he did was to say something so stupid that Jesus had to call him a “devil,” and tell him, “You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” (Matt. 16:23) Some rock! In J.D. Salinger’s novel CATCHER IN THE RYE, fifteen-year old Holden Caulfield gives us this profound theological reflection: “I like Jesus and all, but I don’t care too much for most of the other stuff in ...

805. Don't Let Your Tongue Bite You

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

The ability to communicate correctly with each other is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Our inability to communicate is sometimes at the heart of many of our greatest and most serious problems. We mis-communicate with each other when we don''t say or don''t hear what we really need to say or hear. I''m reminded of the story of the older couple who lived in the mountains. One evening the old gentleman was feeling rather romantic, and he complimented his wife and said, "I''m proud of you, Ma." ...

806. Someday - Today

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, I invite you to look and examine for a few moments these words coming to us from the Gospel of St. Luke which describe the Homecoming of Jesus to the Town of Nazareth and his subsequent rejection by them. As our Gospel Lesson opens it states: "And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day." I have never been to the Holy Land, but one of my colleagues who has shared with me a slide picture of the actual synagogue where they ...

807. The Power of Encouragement (Part VIII)

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Clarence Thomas who, as many of you know, is now a Supreme Court Justice, acknowledged that one of the persons who had a great influence on his life was a nun by the name of Sister Mary Virgilius Ready. Judge Thomas says it was the encouragement that he received from her that helped him to overcome poverty and racism and become someone. Newsweek magazine wrote about her and others who served in the school that Clarence Thomas attended. The article said: "The nuns who lived in the black areas of town were ...

808. A Tireless and Timeless Image

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Images are highly influential. They become emblazoned on the wall of our minds and they evoke a wide range of responses. Millions of people will remember the fireman carrying the baby out of the ruins of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. World War II veterans, particularly the ones who served in the South Pacific, will always remember Mount Surabachi and the Marines who raised an American flag at its summit, as well as the image of General MacArthur returning to the Philippines. Neil Armstrong ...

809. God Help the Fish

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Sam Houston was the first president of the Republic of Texas. It’s said he was a rather nasty fellow with a checkered past. Later in life Houston made a commitment to Christ and was baptized in a river. The preacher said to him, “Sam, your sins are washed away.” Houston replied, “God help the fish.” It’s fortunate that you and I were not baptized as adults in a river. Somebody would probably be saying, “God help the fish.” A man named Ray says that at one point in his life he considered joining the Baptist ...

810. Resting at the Mediocre Inn

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

On the way to the top of the highest peak in the French Alps there is a small inn. This inn provides rest and respite for mountain climbers. It is called the Mediocre Inn, which in French simply means “halfway.” "Imagine coming off a day of climbing in the icy, windy French Alps,” says Dr. Jay Strack. “The cold has seeped into your bones. You’re exhausted, and every muscle in your body hurts. At the Mediocre Inn, you find a hot meal and a warm bed. You begin to relax, put your feet up, get comfortable. Who ...

811. Excited!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It happened back in 1983. Only eight minutes and thirty-four seconds remained in a game between the University of Nevada-Reno Wolf Pack and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Suddenly Wolf Pack running back, Otto Kelly, broke loose on an eighty-nine yard scamper and a touchdown, giving his team a 22-21 lead. During Kelly's run his coach, Chris Ault of the Wolf Pack, got so caught up in the excitement that he began racing down the sideline alongside Kelly. When Ault reached the FresnoState twenty-yard line, he ...

812. The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

It is small wonder that the image of the shepherd was frequently upon the lips of the savior. It was a part of his heritage and culture. Abraham, the father of the nation, was the keeper of great flocks. Moses was tending the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro, when God called him into a special service. David was a shepherd boy called in from the fields to be the King of Israel. The imagery of the shepherd was also imprinted upon the literature of the day. The 23rd Psalm is frequently referred to as the ...

813. The Church: Identity And Function

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our Scripture lesson today is from the 2nd chapter of I Peter. “So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander. Like new born babes, long for the pure Spiritual milk that by it you may grow up to salvation, for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. Come to him to that living stone rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious. And like living stones, be yourself built into a spiritual house. Be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God ...

814. The Eternal Question

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I hope you know by now that I believe that all preaching should have about it a note of Paul, an invitation to become a part of that great fellowship, which is the fellowship of the church. But more than that, that intimate call to be related to Jesus Christ. While I hope that that’s a part of all my preaching, my preaching today is specifically to that end. A great text like this one we’ve read helps us to really come to grips with it, to rehearse it in our own life and get the scene in which it is set ...

815. If I Have Not Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Thomas S. Kepler was a New Testament professor at Oberlein College in Ohio. He was a gifted writer, scholar, and teacher. It was through his book, Journey With The Saints, that I was introduced to the richness of spiritual biography and the resources for spiritual formation in the cloud of witnesses sense of New Testament days -- a cloud of witnesses who have marched the Christian way for us. Through most of his teaching career he was also Pastor of a little rural church in Northern Medina County in Ohio. ...

816. Look Carefully How You Walk

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The El Cortez is a well-known hotel in San Diego, California. The charm of it is comparable to the more famous hotels around the world. There is an intriguing story connected with it. "Years ago, the elevator in the hotel couldn't handle the expanding traffic of people. It was just not adequate for all of the people who were going and coming, and who needed to get up to or down from their rooms. And so the management called in some experts to solve the problem. They assembled together a high-powered team ...

817. God's Hello People

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Listen to this passage from an autobiography: "It was on a Thursday, the day before payday in the black community. The teacher was asking each student how much his father would give to the Community Chest. On Friday night, each kid would get the money from his father, and on Monday, he would bring it to school. I decided I was going to buy me a Daddy right then. I had money in my pocket from shining shoes and selling papers, and whatever Helene Tucker pledged for her Daddy I was going to top it. And I'd ...

818. If I Have Not Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a time when Indians communicated by drums and smoke signals. There may be places in the world where that sort of thing still goes on. Years ago when the atomic bomb was being tested out on the desert flats of Nevada, a cartoon pictured two Indians. They were looking across the barren wastes – the spacious flats – when on the horizon the mushroom smoke cloud of an atomic explosion rose dramatically. As these Indians looked at that in wonder – never having seen such smoke – one Indian said to the ...

819. A Cloud of Witness

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It was baseball season in a small Pennsylvania town. If you know anything about Little League baseball, you know it is also a time when little boys’ hearts and egos are on the line. A certain ten-year-old had ridden the bench most of the season. But in the championship game, his coach finally called him up to bat. The little boy’s whole extended family had turned out for this very special game. His parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, second cousins--they were all there, cheering and ...

820. A Hope for Peace

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

James L. Killen

We will soon be singing Christmas songs full of joy and goodwill and love and peace. Someone asked some little children what love is and one said, "Love is what you hear in the house at Christmas time if you stop opening presents and listen for a while" (from PreachingToday.com, May 15, 2002). That is important to us, isn't it? That is really the way we want it to be. But that is not always the way it is. There are estrangement and againstness and hostility in our world and it is especially painful to us ...

821. Million Dollar Christmas

Matthew 19:21

Drama

Matthew Powell

Cast Edgar 1 Edgar 2 Bartimaeus Tintoes Helene Essay Reader 1 Essay Reader 2 Essay Reader 3 (Edgar 1 sits facing the audience and addresses the audience only. Edgar 2 stands next to him, but speaks to himself and the other characters in the play. Helene and Essay Readers 1-3 sit at center and stand when they "enter") Edgar 1: I rubbed my eyes and looked at the letter a second time. Yes, I was not asleep; the thing had happened. There was my cup of coffee and the half-eaten donut just as I had left them ...

822. Advent 2

Isaiah 11:1-16, Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 14:1--15:13

Bulletin Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10 Isaiah describes the character and work of the promised Messiah, the son of David. Here Judah is given the promise of a Davidic king-messiah who is the basis for hope for the future. The king-messiah possesses the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. Accordingly, he has a government characterized by justice and righteousness. His only weapon is word of mouth. As a result of his righteous reign, all of nature is at peace. Verse 10, a later addition, applies the foregoing ...

823. Advent 3

Romans 14:1--15:13, Matthew 11:1-19, James 5:7-12, Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

824. Demonstrating the Divine

John 1:10-18

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

For almost fifty years I have lived comfortably within the church. And for almost fifty years I have loved the church. I still remember sitting in the pew, a small child of three or four - dwarfed by big shoulders embracing me on every side. I loved the music - the grand soaring chords of the organ. I loved the windows and the colors, the flowers and soft cushions. I loved the warm, full voice of the preacher and I loved the hushed silence - a silence that made me feel like I was part of something special ...

825. Keep on Praying

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anyone here this morning trying to housebreak a new puppy? If you've ever tried to housebreak a new puppy, you know that the key to success is consistency. You must always take the puppy out the moment it wakes. You must never let it whine and look like it needs to go without whisking the little creature outside. And if you let the puppy get away with any indoor accidents, you can bet that it will return to the scene of the crime for a repeat version of its indiscretion. The same absolute consistency is ...

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