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 976 to 1000 of 1259 results

976. Six Nails of the Cross III: The Nail of Envy

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

When the grand hall was being built in Florence, the committee in charge of decorations asked the most important artist in all of Italy, Leonardo da Vinci, to submit some drawings. There seemed to be little question that such an important hall should bear the mark of anyone but da Vinci, but other artists also were asked to submit drawings. One of the committee members had heard of a new and very young artist by the name of Michelangelo, and asked him to enter the competition. The sketches by Leonardo were ...

977. Praise God For Adversity

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

Praise fills the pages of the Bible and dominates our hymnals; but, it is often difficult to find it in us as Christians. Praise is not easy to define. Most Bible dictionaries include it under the general classification of prayer, and it is frequently associated with the act of thanksgiving. In our First Lesson today, the author of Second Isaiah presents praise as the only response that a faithful people can make; because there is nothing else that God requires or desires. God is about to do a great deed. ...

978. Never Cry Uncle - Malchus

Matthew 26:47-56

Drama

Thomas Blowers

Dramatic Monologue My name is Malchus and I'm but one of the many slaves owned by the high priest. Someone once asked me how many of us there were all told and I couldn't even make a guess, so I answered "Oh about enough to populate a small city." Could have been that many, too, counting everybody: men, women, and children. We cleaned, cooked, took care of the stables, guarded the Palace -- in fact, we did just about everything nobody really likes to do anyway unless he has to. And we had to or get whipped ...

979. Partners With the Eternal

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

"Bring them ... to me." - Matthew 14:18 One of the best known stories of Jesus concerns the feeding of five thousand persons. To assuage the appetites of that many people all at one time and place would be quite an achievement anytime, anywhere. But the achievement is infinitely great when it is accomplished with five loaves of bread and two small fish. I am sure a great many restauranteurs and homemakers would like to know how to make so little food go so far. I am sure it would be important to a lot of ...

980. The Two Fires

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

There is something mysterious and provocative about fire. We don’t need fireplaces when we have central heating, but we have fireplaces anyway. We pay the utility company extra to have them; and we take much time and effort to haul and cut wood for burning. Our fascination with fire can’t be put into words, but watching a fire is as close to meaningful prayer as some of us get. The discovery of fire changed the life of primitive people. Fire made possible the change from a nomadic to a settled existence. ...

981. In the Cross

Zechariah 9:9-13

Sermon

A Poetic Homily The adulation of the crowd - and with shouts of hosannas, greeting Christ as their king. "Hail, Son of David," and, "Blessed is he in the name of the Lord," and waving palms in the air, the crowd goes wild. "The Romans will be crushed; the government overthrown; our country will be free!" Visions of revolution - but not the message that Christ will bring them. And in the days ahead, the message is clear: "The Kingdom that is coming is the Kingdom of God." "The Kingdom that is present, is ...

982. Parable of the Highway to Worship

Matthew 13:1-23

Illustration

Two worshipers rose early and set out for their appointed place of worship. One rising hummed a hymn, as he made ready for church. On the way he said to himself, "This is the day of the Lord, and I will be glad in it." He noted a cardinal flitting in the trees and praised God for its beauty. He saw icicles dripping from the drain and was conscious of their beauty. He entered church warmly greeting all he saw. He entered the sanctuary and bowed in prayer rejoicing in the music, the beauty of church ...

983. A Criminal, A Cross, and the Christ

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Thomas C. Short

And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you ...

984. How Did It Come to This?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

Not long ago, there was a biography on television of Adolph Hitler. It showed material on Hitler’s childhood. You can’t help being drawn to that kind show. The underlying question that comes to mind is, what happened? A vile and repulsive man, to be sure, but seeing photographs of this man as an infant, as a child growing up, is somewhat disarming. It reminds us that the story did not start off bad. Lest we forget, every wasted life started off as a creation of God, planted as a unique vine among us. There ...

985. Proper 28

Lk 21:5-19 · 2 Thes 3:6-13 · Mal 3:19-20, 4:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Malachi 4:1-6 For the wicked the coming Day of the Lord will be doom but for the righteous there will be healing and joy. The writer of Malachi is unknown. The name means "my messenger." Scholars believe he wrote in the latter part of the fifth century, the post-exilic period. Malachi contains the only reference in the Old Testament to the forerunner of the Day of the Lord, Elijah. In verses 1-3, we are told that the coming Day of the Lord will solve all of Israel's moral and religious problems ...

986. Beyond Good Intentions

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

What do you think of people who change their minds? You could surprise me, I suppose, but often, as I see it, people who change their minds are looked upon as having a flaw in their character. "She changed her mind," they say, "What's wrong with her anyway?" Today I want to challenge that way of thinking. I will do it by beginning this sermon by saying: if you never have to change your mind, it is either because you're quite perfect as you are or you are very stupid. I mean it. Perfect, because you have ...

987. The Call to be Holy in Love

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

Mr. Poppovich is a widower who lives in his own house with a neat, well-kept yard. Mr. Poppovich is very angry at the kids in his changing neighborhood because they kick the soccer ball in his yard and crush his marigolds. He has threatened to shoot the kids. One day he comes out of his house with a shotgun. He fires the gun, hits and kills a teenager. Mr. Poppovich is under siege in his own home by angry, hate-filled neighbors. This story, on an episode of Hill Street Blues several years ago, found ...

988. The Pauline Salutation

Philippians 1:1-11

Illustration

At least a dozen of the twenty-seven New Testament books of our Bible were written by one man, the Apostle Paul. These books are in the form of letters written to his fellow-Christians, giving them instruction and encouragement. There is one sentence which appears in everything Paul wrote, in each of his epistles. It is this: "Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Paul always used this salutation in greeting the people he loved and cared about. And it is altogether ...

989. Responding to What We Hear and See

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Joe Pennel

In the semantics of the church, doubt has been a negative word. It is rarely used in a favorable way. Faith, not doubt, is the great word of the church. As I stand here every Sunday morning and look into your up-lifted faces, you look so proper, so content, so believing. You seem to be so certain, so full of faith, and so free of doubt. But, I have a suspicion that the way you look is not the way you are. Beneath the skins of many of you there is planted the seed of honest doubt. Perhaps you do not share ...

990. Lent 4

John 9:1-12

Sermon Aid

Liturgical Color: Purple Gospel: John 9:1-41, Matthew 20:17-28 Theme: Who in the world wants to be a servant? Bulletin Cover Suggestion: Kairos, Box 24056, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55424 has developed "The Church in the World Bulletin Series." For the theme of servanthood. Jesus' words about servanthood appear on the cover with a picture of "Playboy" symbols. Of all the bulletin covers I've ever used, this one has caused the most conversation. Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration Consider this: If this is ...

991. When Old Nick Met Nicodemus

Drama

Cast (in order of appearance) NICK (an old newspaper vendor) JIM/NICODEMUS (a younger man) JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA SOLDIER I SOLDIER II PETER JOHN SALOME MARY MARY MAGDALENE EXTRAS Introduction We are blessed with a professional actor in our church, who loves to play the part of old men. This play was written with him in mind, but any man with a bit of make-up and whitened hair can win your audience with this warm story of an old man on Easter morning. The scenery is very simple ... an old street corner ...

992. The First Council

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

CSS

The elation among the Christians at Antioch lasted "no little time." We can only guess how long. But in the early church the storms and sunshine, the happy days and the dark days of controversy, the good times and the bad seemed to alternate in rapid succession. How quickly the ecstasy of the people at Lystra, in their zeal to make Paul and Barnabas into gods, changed into violence and threats! Now the same sudden storm comes to Antioch. Some men came down from Judea - from Jerusalem itself, in all ...

993. It Isn’t Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Every parent who has raised more than one child at the same time has heard the cry - whether justified or not - that one is getting special treatment over the others, or that one is being slighted to the advantage of everyone else. While the parent may or may not agree with the child’s assessment of the current situation (in fact, the youngster may not be discriminated against at all!), he or she will invariably agree on one thing, no child should be singled out for treatment benefiting them to the others ...

994. No Longer Spectators - But Participants!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--Him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ...

995. Clouds and Son-Shine

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Hubert Beck

Motivation is the key to life. It is not only the key to getting work done, but it is the key to living itself! Once a person loses the will to live, health suffers and death is never more than a step or two away. Motivation is hard to sustain at times, though. The cloudy moments of life cause us to say, "What’s the use of it all?" We want to chuck everything and let come what may without care or concern. That’s when we need to see again the glory of the Lord revealed, for in God’s presence among us we ...

996. The Strength of Poverty

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Hubert Beck

"If poverty is strength, may the good Lord make me weak!" I can hear the idea running around in your head from the time you read the title of today’s sermon. This sermon title sounds every bit as upside down as the Beatitudes that we read as today’s Gospel or as the Second Lesson for today. "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things ...

997. LOVE TAKES SWEAT

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Nearly every couple who graces my office for premarital counseling is asked, "What do you especially love about him/her; what is their extra special quality?" More often than not my question is greeted with embarrassed silence. Those that venture forth with an answer are often very general or vague like, "I feel good when we are together." Sometimes there is the diplomatic answer, "I like everything about her, she is so perfect." It is hard to keep a straight face as I wonder how such a response will hold ...

998. "I Don’t Want to Be Perfect - Or Do I?"

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

"I don’t want to be perfect" - but I do want to be better than am. I do want to be as good as I can be. I will never be mathematically perfect, everything just right, fixed. But as long as I live, I am going to be yearning after something that I have not yet achieved, and I am going to be responding to a pull that ever tugs me to a higher level of life. I don’t want to be a semi-Christian. I don’t want to be a "born again" Christian whose "conversion turns him around ninety degrees instead of one hundred ...

999. The Gospel According to Christ’s Enemies

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

John begins his story, "A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany." "Lazarus" means "God helps," and "Bethany," some scholars suggest, is a figurative play on the word that means "House of Affliction."1 Thus the plot of the story is prepared for us. God helps a man in a house of affliction. All of us dwell in that same house, and our affliction is that, like Lazarus, one day we will die. We will be struck down, carried out, and placed in a tomb. It will be sealed with a stone of sorrow. And the haunting ...

1000. A SERMON-DRAMA FOR EASTER

Drama

Tom Eberle

Easter Prior to the 4th century, Good Friday and Easter were celebrated as one festival in the church. This is the background for the sermon-drama for Easter. They were not observed as historical pageants as we do today, commemorating the death of Christ on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Rather, the early church observed a festival of redemption, combining the death and resurrection of Christ within the framework of an all-night vigil, concluding with the first rays of sunlight on ...

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