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 1001 to 1025 of 1069 results

1001. A Justice Jesus

Luke 4:14-21

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... , that this would get shot down when the Session got to voting on the plan. And, by golly, they were right! With unanimous energy and voice, the session removed or obliterated the word justice. Clearly, according to those elders, no politically sensitive jargon belongs in any organizational plan. What is it about the word “justice” that turns us off? Is it because it sounds legalistic, moralistic, or judgmental? Is it because of recent events surrounding the Justices of the Supreme Court that remind ...

1002. The Greatest Sin

Luke 13:6-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... trouble. Bearing fruit is something that all of us can do. We don’t have to have a university degree. We don’t have to be gifted in terms of leadership or technical abilities or gifted as speakers. All we need is Christ’s heart giving us sensitivity to the needs of others and the willingness to serve. When Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was doing research on her famous book on death and dying, she came across the story of an African-American woman, a member of a certain hospital’s maintenance crew. The ...

1003. The Awesome Power of FUD

John 21:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... day, I decided to give up drawing boats. In fact, I decided never again to submit my drawings to public scrutiny. Please don’t misunderstand. I do not blame the teacher. She was young and inexperienced. Obviously she needed more teacher college lessons on being sensitive to the feelings of children. On the other hand, she was an outstanding judge of children’s art. She saw immediately what I was to confirm over the years. I have no gift for drawing boats. Most of all, however, I remember that day as ...

1004. On Welcoming the Imperfect

John 10:22-30

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... that are not all that certain they even want to include Jesus in their group. On the other hand, the Pharisees make a valid point. Is it not risky to be inclusive? In fact, can it not be downright disruptive and even dangerous to be inclusive? I am sensitive to those who raise these kinds of questions. Unregulated, rampant inclusivity is risky. And yet, the scripture teaches us that we are all children of the same parent God and we are called to love one another. By faith we are called to be on the side of ...

1005. Bearing One Another's Burdens

Galatians 6:20

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... Up from Slavery, Mr. Washington recalled a beautiful incident of an older brother's love. He said the shirts worn on his plantation by the slaves were made of a rough, bristly, inexpensive flax fiber. As a young boy, the garment was so abrasive to his tender, sensitive skin that it caused him a great deal of pain and discomfort. His older brother, moved by his brother's suffering, would wear Booker's new shirts, until they were broken in and smoother to the touch. Booker said it was one of the most striking ...

1006. A Novel Reaction to Criticism

Illustration

Jamie Buckingham

For a number of years, until her death in 1976, I worked off and on with Kathryn Kuhlman as a writer. Although Miss Kuhlman was very sensitive to criticism, she never let it deter her from her goal. Instead, she used it to help her get there, always seeming to make the very best out of even the harshest criticism. Shortly after she went on nationwide television with her weekly program, she received a letter from a ...

1007. Luther and Myconius

Illustration

James Montgomery Borce

... hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God." The words are almost shocking to us, as we live in a more sensitive and cautious day, but they were certainly from God. For although Myconius had already lost the ability to speak when Luther's letter came, in a short time he revived. He recovered completely, and he lived six more years to survive Luther himself by two months.

1008. Our Feelings of Hypocrisy

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

In the "guilt versus grace" discussion it seems that most people have a deep sensitivity about their own guilt, flaws, and inadequacies. Most of us don't need to be told we are hypocrites; we already know this about ourselves. We can identify with the feelings expressed by Jules Feiffer in his poem first published in The Village Voice. I felt like a fraud, So ...

1009. People of the Lie

Illustration

M. Scott Peck

... but are in fact evil. Ironically, he says they are utterly dedicated to preserving their self-image of perfection, they are unceasingly engaged in the effort to maintain the appearance of moral purity. They worry about this a great deal. They are acutely sensitive to social norms and what others might think of them…They dress well, go to work on time, pay their taxes, and outwardly seem to live lives that are above reproach. The words "image," "appearance," and "outwardly" are crucial to understanding the ...

1010. Next Man Up

John 17:20-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... research yielded one result. Listen up those of you in business or education or sports or any endeavor that requires teamwork. This is research by one of America’s great companies. What they discovered was this: The best teams have members who are sensitive to one another’s needs and who listen to one another. That is the conclusion of this major study. Education, skill sets, charisma--none of those matter most in creating successful teams. What matters most, according to this Google task force, is ...

1011. A Change In Tune

Illustration

George Burns

... -five he was going to be a living legend. The kid gave himself three years. I’m eighty-eight, and if I’m going to be a living legend by ninety-one, I better get busy. Underneath all that bravado Bobby Darin was a very caring, sensitive person. I remember when Robert Kennedy was assassinated, Bobby was just shattered. Kennedy was his idol. It changed his whole attitude toward life. He gave up rock ‘n’ roll to sing meaningful folk songs. Instead of a big orchestra he started using a four-piece combo ...

1012. Holiest Man In Scotland

Illustration

Don Emmitte

... Christian, too much so in the opinion of his younger brother, Robert. Once Robert came home from an evening of partying and found David kneeling in prayer. “I heard you calling my name, Dave” he sneered. “Am I really that bad?” The sensitive David tried to explain. “We’re all sinners who need Christ,” he said. Robert only shrugged and went to sleep off his drunkenness. The door of opportunity opened wide for Robert when he enrolled in the University of Edinburgh. His talents for languages ...

1013. The New Moses

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... back and forth between them so that they sound like one smooth, uninterrupted story. And that’s fine. It’s a nice way to read the story on Christmas Eve. It gives us a nice, overall picture of what happened and, if we do our harmonizing sensitively and with a real appreciation for the texts it doesn’t violate the integrity of either story. But neither does it allow us to fully explore the depth of their meanings — their meanings for the original audiences who first heard them and for which they were ...

1014. Surprised by Joy

Luke 2:8-14

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... of a small retail store in an outlet mall. This was during the height of the “War on Christmas” media blitz. Occasionally Sarah would commit the grievous and unimaginable insult of extending a wish for “Happy Holidays” to a fragile and hyper-sensitive Christian shopper who would respond with outrage and indignation. The reactions of these dear folks would generally be of two sorts. Some would snap back, “It’s not a holiday; It’s Christmas!” Others would sigh, close their eyes, purse their ...

1015. Listening 101

John 4:1-26, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... , let’s not talk of race. After all, I’m not a racist. And, I’m not prejudiced, I just hate stupid people. Or my favorite, “I’m tired of all this political correctness!” Which is really another way of demanding, “Why should we be sensitive to others’ perceptions. It’s America — love it or leave it.” Would the woman be an ‘illegal alien’ somehow taking away something from us, invading a space she had no right to use, and, God-forbid, have direct conversation with a man to whom by ...

1016. The True Story Wins

Matthew 28:11-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... this fake story, would be circulated among the Jewish communities so as to keep any possible revolt in check, any possible thought that Jesus really was the Messiah. The only report of this story is in Matthew, most likely because he was sensitive to how the resurrection impacted the Jewish communities. Mark’s gospel was most likely written before the rumor took hold between the Jewish and Christian communities. John’s and Luke’s would have been directed more toward Gentile and Greek communities. This ...

1017. Precocious

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... it, all we crave is….silence. In fact, how many times have you wished your partner, or child, or friend….would just be….silent. There’s something called “noise fatigue.” In fact, studies say that emotional exhaustion can also make you more sensitive to sound! The more exhausted you are, the less tolerant of sound, the more you crave…silence. But too much silence can also be oppressive. Because silence is also a very solitary thing. We are by nature communicative, social creatures. We need to ...

1018. True Colors

Acts 9:1-19a, Acts 9:19b-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is to it. But if you are a true photographer, a professional, you understand the process behind the photo. When a photo is taken, first a negative is produced. But before its colors can be revealed, that negative must first be processed. The negative is “light sensitive.” Not used to the light. Not ready for the light. It must first be plunged into the darkness and into a solution that will help to develop it. Kept for a while in the darkness, the photo develops silver halides upon it. After the process ...

1019. Pilate's Ruse

Matthew 27:1-26 · Luke 22:66--23:25 · John 18:28-40; 19:1-16 · Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... suppressed the riots provoked by this spoliation of the Temple by sending among the crowds disguised soldiers carrying concealed daggers, who massacred a great number, not only of the rioters, but of casual spectators. In spite of his former experience of the sensitiveness of the Jews with regard to images and emblems, Pilate hung up in Herod's palace gilt shields dedicated to Tiberius, and again nearly provoked an insurrection. The shields were removed by a special order of Tiberius, to whom the Jews had ...

1020. The Unclean Palate

Acts 10:1-8, Acts 10:9-23a, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... street when passing them by. Sometimes, they’ll hold their children closer, or avert their eyes. And yet, he attests that these young men, who have become Christian and who have become part of Homeboy Industries’ counselors and staff, are some of the most sensitive, wonderful, compassionate, and loving young men you will ever want to meet. In our scriptures for today, Simon Peter is struggling with the early church’s mission to the gentiles. He has been trained from the time he was a young boy as a ...

1021. Look At Your Fixations!

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Carl Jech

... shadow side. Maybe we should each ask ourselves what fixations we will exhibit in our old age that might cause others to look at us with pity, humor or admiration. Will my fixations reveal me to be a slave or a free person, a fanatic or a well-balanced and sensitive human being? Will my eye be fixed on the loving God who is interested in a lot of things besides "religion"? That is certainly the fixation worth cultivating!

1022. A Robot in the Pulpit

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... and he moved to Ohio with his mother and siblings into a crowded house. He spent most nights sleeping on a cold floor or in a tiny closet. “It’s just the situation we were in,” Roger remembers. Roger’s childhood struggles taught him to be sensitive to others in need, and to build his life around something more than his own happiness. Then one day Roger came across a statistic about how many children didn’t have beds in his home county of Lorain, Ohio. Stunned by this information, he decided to do ...

1023. It's Hard to Be an Atheist with Neighbors Like That

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’s pay for their dinner.” Out of the mouth of babes. “Let’s pay for their dinner.” And that’s exactly what they did. It made for an exciting experience for Mallory . . . And Nancy learned a lesson in compassion from her very sensitive and thoughtful daughter. (2) Friends, that’s what compassion looks like. Jesus had compassion on the crowds because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd—sort of like that mother with the three unruly children. John in his Gospel, after ...

1024. Goin' Down the Road

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... grader a classmate’s sister died at the local swimming hole, drowned by some mysterious event in the midst of a whole group of swimmers enjoying a last swimming weekend fling. As we returned to school, before the days of crisis counseling and sensitivity to the community dynamic of such events, our regular teacher was off, on hindsight likely grieving herself. Our substitute teacher was on task, following the lesson plan to a fault. As we struggled in our lethargy born of continuing, unresolved grief, she ...

Sensitivity and money are like parallel lines. They don't meet.

Ang Lee

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