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 851 to 875 of 1065 results

851. Being Christian in the Family

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

James McCormick

When the Empire State building was being planned, there were cynics who said that you can’t build a building out of concrete and steel 102 stories high. It is impossible. The whole thing will come crashing down! However, engineers said that there is virtually no limit to how high you can build, providing the foundation is deep enough and strong enough. Jesus was a builder. He understood the importance of foundations. That is why he painted the vivid picture contrasting sand and rock as foundation materials ...

852. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's epistle reading is a portion from Paul's discussion with Corinthian Christians about marriage. Throughout this section Paul carefully responds to the Corinthians' querulous questions about issues of marriage and sexuality. The Corinthians, as their statement in 7:11 suggests, held celibacy and asceticism to be the preferred state for Christians ("It is well for a man not to touch a woman."). While Paul himself had chosen a celibate life, he refused to equate that lifestyle with any notion of ...

853. What Is Eternal Life?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

On Super Tuesday in Lafayette, Tennessee, James Kruger was watching the election results. Suddenly a warning appeared on his tv screen: A tornado was headed toward Lafayette, Tennessee. As soon as he read those words, the lights went out. [You can Google an image of James Kruger, who appears disheveled, confused, and with a huge shiner.] He put on sweat pants, grabbed a flashlight, “and then I heard this noise," Kruger said. He headed for a door, "and all of a sudden I heard the glass breaking and it was ...

854. Getting a Handle on Our Faith

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It’s time to find our pump handle, or to get a right pump handle. Let me explain. 150 years ago, 500 people died of cholera in just ten days in one London neighborhood, marking the beginning of another horrible epidemic. Victorian physician Dr. John Snow of London had already written a controversial pamphlet suggesting that cholera was not caused by “vapors,” but was instead a disease of the “gut,” spread by contaminated water. With the high number of deaths in this neighborhood, he studied the cases and ...

855. A Russian Resurrection

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Donald Dotterer

An old illustration about Russia with an update. You'll see in the update that Yancey picked up on a movement that seems to have held: Columnist Philip Yancey, in an article titled "A Russian Resurrection," writes of his visit in October 1991 to the former Soviet Union. He says that it "would be hard to overstate the chaos that he found when he arrived in the Soviet Union, a nation that was about to shed its historical identity as well as its name." Yancey reports that one day the central bank ran out of ...

856. Don't Look Back, Remember Lot's Wife

Genesis 19:24-26

Sermon

James W. Moore

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I was a sprinter on the Memphis Tech High School track team. Back then, tenth grade was the first year of high school, so I was a real rookie on the track team. I had been running: - The one hundred yard dash. - I was also running on the sprint relay teams. - In addition, I was doing the long jump and the high jump. One day in a practice track meet, the coach suddenly decided to try me in the two hundred and twenty yard dash. I had never run this event before, ...

857. Recognizing Christ

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman named Lidia DeGormez and her husband were in the hospital waiting room shortly before the birth of their second child. They met a young couple also waiting for the wife to deliver. Lidia’s husband commented that the two mothers-to-be looked so much alike they could be twins. Before long, both soon-to-be-Moms went into the delivery room. Lidia’s baby, a girl, was born first. Lidia was covered up almost completely as they took her down the hall to await a room. Still a bit groggy, she barely noticed ...

858. The Easiest Part of Being a Mother Is Giving Birth

2 Timothy 1:5

Illustration

Erma Bombeck

For the first four or five years after I had children, I considered motherhood a temporary condition - not a calling. It was a time of my life set aside for exhaustion and long hours. It would pass. Then one afternoon with three kids in tow, I came out of the supermarket pushing a cart (with four wheels that went in opposite directions) when my toddler son got away from me. Just outside the door, he ran toward a machine holding bubble gum in a glass dome. In a voice that shattered glass, he shouted, "Gimme ...

859. For Those Who Have Received Much (Father's Day)

Matthew 10:5-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Before we begin, I want to wish all the Dads in the room, “Happy Father’s Day.” Fathers don’t get much respect anymore. Bill Cosby observed once that boys grow up spending hours and hours throwing footballs and going to games with their Dads. And when they make it big on the college scene, before the big bowl game they get interviewed, and the first thing they say is, “Hi Mom!!” No, fathers don’t get much respect anymore. But the news on Father’s Day isn’t all bad. The National Center for Fathering ...

860. Best Advice

Matthew 7:24-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

Fortune Magazine asked 19 accomplished people what was the best advice they ever got. Here are some of them: (Don't try to preach all 17 excerpts below. We suggest using 3 to 4 examples that mean the most to your community. Then skip down and use the conclusion to this illustration.) Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, got his from his days at Salomon Brothers: "Always ask for the order, and second, when the customer says yes, stop talking." Mark Hurd, the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, got his years ago ...

861. If I Only Had One Wish

2 Chronicles 1:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

We have all thrilled to the story of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" in The Arabian Knights. As you remember, Aladdin finds a magic lamp that, when rubbed, produces a genie who has the power to grant his every wish. We have all imagined finding such a lamp and making certain wishes. So let me ask you a fun question: If you found such a lamp, and you could have one wish, what would you wish for? A humorous story I read illustrates that this requires a great deal of thought. There were three men marooned on a ...

862. The Sword of the Lord

Hebrews 4:12-13

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to listen to this description of a book and see if you can guess which book is described: This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's ...

863. The Truth about Trouble

2 Timothy 4:16-18

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to confess that I am a Tarzan movie buff. I love all of the old Tarzan movies, especially the ones with Johnny Weismuller. Even though I have seen every alligator he has ever killed, every elephant he has ever called, and every vine he has ever swung from, I never get tired of watching his movies. I guess that's why this story is both so funny and so meaningful to me. It seems as if Tarzan was not himself, and Jane was very worried. It was apparent that Tarzan was developing a problem, a very ...

864. Never Let Them See You Sweat (Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

I heard about a flight instructor that was sitting next to his student in their single engine plane, when he said, "Well, I think it's time to take her in for a landing. Are you ready to go down?" The student said, "No problem, let's do it." Well, as they were approaching the runway, the instructor looked at his student and noticed how calm he was. Normally, students who are coming in for their first landing were nervous, wide-eyed, and sweating bullets. But this young man was as cool as the other side of ...

865. Castaway

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Sermon

James Merritt

One of my favorite actors is Tom Hanks. He recently starred in a movie that I have yet to see called Castaway. It is the story of a man who survives a plane crash over the ocean and lands ashore on a deserted island. He spends years there not only trying to survive physically, but primarily emotionally and mentally, as he is totally separated from the outside world. Every person on earth is born a "castaway." We have all crashed landed on an island called sin. Because of our sin we, too, have been ...

866. What to Wear to the War

Ephesians 6:13-17

Sermon

James Merritt

Just a few years ago I had the privilege of taking my youngest son, Joshua, to Boston, Massachusetts to spend a couple of days there to see the Boston Red Sox play and to tour the city. It was a beautiful time with my son as we saw the USS Constitution, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," we walked the campus of Harvard University. But then we went on an historical walk through the city and came to the old North Church. It was there my imagination took me back to the year 1775, when a man by the name of Paul Revere ...

867. Slaying the Green-Eyed Monster

Proverbs 27:4

Sermon

James Merritt

Channelview, Texas is a neat middleclass suburb of Houston. It is a typical bedroom community of nice homes, nice cars, and nice families. Competition is fierce in all sports, but recently the competition got more than a little intense—not in football or in basketball, but in cheerleading. Amber Heath and Shanna Holloway lived right around the corner from each other. They had been friends for years. Amber was president of the Student Council and Shanna was Vice President. Their mothers were also wonderful ...

868. Why You Should Study the Bible

Psalm 119:105

Sermon

James Merritt

The Bible is the book that is owned by more people in America than any other single book. But what do Bible owners really know about the Bible? 82% say the idea that “God helps those who help themselves” is taken directly from the pages of the Bible. 66% say there is no absolute truth. 63% cannot name the four gospels. 58% cannot name half or more of the Ten Commandments. 58% do not know Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. 52% do not know the book of Jonah is in the Bible. 48% do not know the book of ...

869. The Marks Of A Spiritual Counterfeit

Jude 1:12-13

Sermon

James Merritt

Few people know that the Secret Service has not only far more to do than to protect the President. That is not even their primary job. Working under the Treasury Department, one of their major jobs is to try to catch counterfeiters. Therefore they have to learn how to recognize counterfeit money. The surprising thing is, the way they are trained to do this is not by studying counterfeit money, but by studying real currency. The better they get to know the real thing, the easier it is to spot the phony. ...

870. This Feels Like Where I Came In

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

While waiting for a first appointment in the reception room of a new physician, I noticed the framed certificate which bore his full name. Convinced that I had heard it before, I racked my brain until I remembered that a tall, gawky kid with a similar-sounding name had been in my high school class, some 45 years ago. But upon being ushered into his office, I knew….just knew….I was wrong. I mean, this balding, graying man with the double chin and a face the quality of old shoe leather was far too old to ...

871. FEAR NOT! You've Got To Be Kidding!

Luke 1:26-37

Sermon

John E. Harnish

It's an obvious understatement to say we live in a day of great fear. The language of "terror" has become the motivating mantra of our day. I did a Google search for the word "fear," and I came up with a fascinating site called "The Phobia List"—pages of phobias, A to Z. Everything from Alliumphobia—the fear of garlic and Lachanophobia—the fear of vegetables to Zemmiphobia—the fear of the great mole rat. It even lists Ecclesiophobia—the fear of church and, get this, Homilophobia—the fear of sermons! You ...

872. Out of Solitude

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

"HELP!!! I'VE LOST MY FOCUS!" That's the title of an article in the January Time Magazine with the subtitle: "E-mail and cell phones help us multitask, but they also drive us to distraction." The authors begin: "Spend a few hours with Hollywood producer Jennifer Klein and you might want to pop a valium. Or slip her one. From the moment she rises at 7:00 a.m., she's a fidgety, demanding, chattering whirling dervish of a task juggler. Motto: never do just two things at once if you can possibly do four or ...

873. Romans 13:8-14

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Today’s epistle text breaks into two distinct parts: verses 8-10 and 11-14. Verses 8-10 continue the theme Paul introduced in chapter 12, here masterfully connected to the more mundane matters of the disciple’s relationship to civil authorities. Paul accomplishes this high-wire walk with one balance-beam line: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” The fiscal accountability the apostle advocated in 13:7, “pay to all what is due them,” is transformed into an ethical mandate for everyone. “All” ...

874. Practicing God’s Presence

Hebrews 10:11-25

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

In the early years of the sixteenth century, a young adventurer named Nicolas Herman left his parents' home near Loraine, France, to join the French army. Wounded in war, he returned home to recuperate and thus began a process of soul searching that led to Christian commitment. His quest for closeness to God first led him to life as a hermit. He found that unfulfilling, so he eventually joined a Carmelite monastery where he was assigned to menial duties in the kitchen. Kneading bread might truly seem an ...

875. No Comment

2 Kings 2:1-12a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In situations when we come face to face with the wonder of God's love and power, our best response may be to close our mouths and open our hearts to God's magnificence and munificence. In his 1924 presidential campaign, Calvin Coolidge greeted the emotional subject of Prohibition at press conferences with a standard response: "No comment." No matter how insistent the questioning reporters, he steadfastly persisted in his "No comment." Then he would leave the room, smiling softly and adding, "Now don't ...

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