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 1026 to 1050 of 1622 results

1026. Broken Lives and Broken Chains

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... wanted to be was loved. I just wanted to do something that my Dad would be proud of. Or just would say he was proud of you. Dad, never said it directly. But I do remember that one day that he took me out for coffee and asked my opinion about a business start up he was considering. Dad was always very independent. He always wanted be on his own. He didn't like working for others. That day we talked about the business and his unique qualifications for starting and running it. I made some suggestions. He took ...

1027. Jesus the Toxicologist

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in our quest for a moment in the spotlight. The toxin of beauty — an infection that feeds million of dollars into the fashion, cosmetics, plastic surgery, diet and exercise industries. The toxin of popularity — encouraging us to leave our own opinions and values behind in order to fit in, be cool, be accepted, be admired. The toxin of success — that can breed duplicity, back-stabbing, grandstanding, and brown-nosing. The toxin of pity. Some “intoxications” are even with failure. We validate ...

1028. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... gospel message of Jesus Christ. Secondly, Paul commands Timothy to be “prepared” or “persistent” at all times — regardless of whether the timing is “eukairos akairos,” convenient or inconvenient, in season or out of season. Whether the tide of public opinion flows in Timothy’s favor or offers a tidal wave of opposition, Timothy is to stand firm and preach his message. Paul further charges Timothy to “convince, rebuke, and encourage,” activities that are to be carried out with “great ...

1029. Luke 6:20-31

Luke 6:17-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... now declared as reasons to “rejoice” and to “leap” (“skirtao”) for joy. Those the world rejects so utterly “on account of the Son of Man” are promised a great reward “in heaven.” Those whose names are dragged through the mud of popular opinion are likened by Jesus to God’s genuine prophets, who were rejected by the world for speaking God’s truth. Luke’s “great reversal” theme demands that if those who now occupy the bottom rungs of acceptance and comfort will find themselves on ...

1030. When the Church Becomes a Culture of Complainers and Crusaders, What To Do?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... past month, a large billet of unrepentant villains and a huge ballot of disasters have been given voter approval. Or maybe not. Not that there aren’t important economic, ethical, social issues to be decided. Not that there aren’t real differences of opinions. But now that the whirlwinds of media mud-slinging and dirt-storms are settling, how much is really going to change? The over-blown, over-dramatic, over-exuberant circus we live with every election cycle can vaccinate us against genuine threats and ...

1031. More Than A Kumbaya King

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... their own rules and do not allow for any dissension. As self-motivated, and self-centered as a kangaroo king might be, such a ruler makes it easy for his subjects to give up all of their own concerns and worries. The kangaroo king declares his opinion, and there is no discussion, no division in the ranks. Personal conscience and individual sacrifice are unimportant. Only the will of the “king” is will of that world. Christ the King came into his kingdom as he hung on the cross. Christ the King offers us ...

1032. Matthew 11:2-11

Matthew 11:1-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... willing to risk the dangers of the wilderness to hear his message. Jesus asks if the crowd came all this way to look at “a reed shaken in the wind” — an individual whose words and positions sway with every breath of public opinion. Since John was sitting in jail, arrested by the government for spouting threatening anti-establishment rhetoric, John’s wilderness appeal had not been some “feel good” message. Likewise Jesus notes that John did not offer any “eye candy” to his audiences. He was ...

1033. Lost Hope

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

King Duncan

... to others, deliberately drank a glass of unboiled water in the middle of a cholera epidemic. His friends who witnessed this were appalled. Tchaikovsky told them that he was less afraid of cholera than other illnesses. Cholera, however, did not share his opinion and it soon finished him off. How sad. How tragic. How utterly criminal. One of the world's leading musicians snuffed out by such a fatalistic act. And yet there are people everywhere who are slowly killing themselves because they have grown ...

1034. Don't Ever Say That Again

John 1:29-34

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... . Go to the board anyhow." The student told him he couldn't do that and when the teacher asked "why not?" the student told him he was mentally retarded. The teacher came over to the student and said, "Don't ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to be become your reality." It became a liberating moment for the student, a time of great learning. The teacher, Mr. Washington, became the student's mentor. Later that school year Mr. Washington addressed the graduating seniors. And in his ...

1035. You Are God's Temple

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... in a miscarriage. The doctor was not convinced. “It couldn’t be the other way around, could it?” the doctor asked. The young man asked, “What do you mean?” The doctor said, “Could it be that your behavior caused you to have a poor opinion of yourself?” This possibility, of course, was rejected out of hand by the patient, and probably by his mother as well. (5) Our schools and many self-styled self-help gurus have done an excellent job of helping people, particularly many young people, develop ...

1036. John 9:1-41

John 9:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus a “sinner” because he broke Sabbath laws. Others cannot imagine how a “sinner” could accomplish such a feat. Having now twice told his story, the once blind man seems to be seeing more clearly all the time. When the Pharisees ask him his opinion of Jesus’ possible “sinner” status, he is now convinced of something new. He confesses that Jesus “is a prophet.” He may not understand everything yet. But the healed man knows it was God’s work, not a sinner’s hands, that opened the ...

1037. To Jesus from the Pharisaic Management Consultants

John 9:1-41

Illustration

Ray Osborne

... . All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each one of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. It is the staff's opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of proven experience in ...

1038. Romans 7:15-25a

Romans 7:7-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... first read Paul’s description of the individual who could not “do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (v.15) as the miserable state of the unregenerate, those who were yet outside a life in Christ. Yet by the Reformation that opinion had changed. Luther himself famously declared that Paul’s statements here describe a believer who is “at the same time a justified person and a sinner.” A kind of middle way was eventually proposed by later pietists and Wesleyans who heard in Paul’s words ...

1039. One Beggar Telling Another Where to Find Food

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Steven Molin

... Christian Church in the 21st century does not see itself as beggars telling other beggars where to find food. Rather, I fear that we see ourselves as being right. We have the right theology, so that makes the others wrong. We have the right liturgy, or the right political opinions, or our members act in the right way. We're not beggars! We're not even sinners! We used to be, but not anymore. And that sort of attitude is not only a myth, but it repels the people whom Jesus wants us to reach out to…the ones ...

1040. God's Battleship

John 17:6-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... styles we have never witnessed and we stop them and say, "Why do you look the way you do?" To which they respond, "We were about to ask you the same question!" The variety of dress is not nearly as disturbing as the diversity of opinions. There is one group, for example, that clusters every morning for intense study. They promote rigid discipline and wear somber expressions. "Serving the captain is serious business," they say. It is no coincidence that they tend to congregate toward the back of the boat ...

1041. Gifts For The Christ Child

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... had two important characteristics: 1) they were wise, and 2) they were men. As you may know, men are not big gift wrappers. Men do not understand the point of putting paper on a gift just so somebody else can tear it off. This is not just my opinion: This is a scientific fact based on a statistical survey of two guys I asked. One said that he does wrap gifts, but as a matter of principle never takes more than fifteen seconds per gift. "No one ever had to wonder which presents Daddy wrapped at Christmas ...

1042. Welcoming Jesus

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... have the kind of faith that children have, we will miss out on the kingdom. What is that perspective? Is it trust? Some. Is it dependence? A bit. Is it humility? A little, maybe. All of those are true to an extent (albeit, in my humble opinion as a father, only a small extent). Actually, I think the childlike quality Jesus means most is the sense of wonder about life, the curiosity that is evident everywhere, the obvious joy in being alive, happily ready for whatever new adventure might come along. For all ...

1043. When Did This Start? — Part 2

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... lives in pain, and there wasn't a thing they could do about it except sing this song. When someone starts taking names, we suddenly know things are serious in a way we might not have realized before. Have you ever been holding forth about your opinion on something when someone who identifies themselves as a reporter steps up, scribbling on their pad, and asks, "May I have your name?" Makes you pause, doesn't it? There are always people going around taking names. Some people literally take our names, so it ...

1044. Skin Game

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... population and from any contact with the people of God. Participation in the religious life of the community was forbidden, any approach to the temple in Jerusalem was entirely out of the question. Rabbis of the time are known to have expressed opinions on the status of lepers, calling them living corpses whose cure was as difficult as resurrection of the dead. Something else we should know about this text from Mark's gospel: After the leper approached Jesus, the common reading says, "Moved with pity ...

1045. The Logical Conclusion

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

John Smylie

... like that without going into orbit. One of his students decided at that point to become skeptical of academic religious classes. He is not the only one who shares that view. There are others whom I would describe as liberal literalists who have shared his opinion. In fact, one of the more published bishops of the Episcopal Church shares this view. What their comments showed was their narrow and limited minds' ability to grasp the mystery of the incarnation. The fact is that none of us will likely be able to ...

1046. God’s Anthills

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... events happen between verses 30-34 of Mark 6 and verses 53-56 (the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on the water). To me, it feels incomplete to use the verses on either side without using at least one of the stories included between, which — in my opinion — certainly informed the situation described in verses 53-56.

1047. Tough Talk for Tentative Disciples

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... history, of whom it is said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." Face reality: The truth makes demands of us and the gospel of Jesus has never been easy to follow nor popular among the majority. Truth, however, is never settled by popular opinion. If it were, it would be in a state of constant flux. The truth is that the truth is always true, whether or not the majority accepts it! It cannot be reconfigured and it cannot be rewritten! There it stands for all time, unwavering in the face of ...

1048. The Thing about Laws

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Steven Molin

... of others? What commandment is the greatest for the twenty-first-century Christian church? What impedes our focus on that commandment to love? If measured by volume alone, I would rank these five: homosexuality, abortion, drunkenness, adultery, and pedophilia. But doesn't the opinion of Jesus count for anything? Did his view of love change over the last 2,000 years? Of course, it didn't. Doesn't it stand to reason that the greatest commandments in Jesus' mind would still be "Love the Lord with all your ...

1049. Dividing Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

... their descendants as God's special people, a "light to the nations," as Isaiah called them (42:6). The people who were not claimed in this way were called "Gentiles" in the New Testament, translating a Greek word meaning "the nations." The Bible has various opinions of the Gentiles. Several New Testament portraits show Gentiles who are God-fearing and admirable, such as the centurion in Luke 7, Cornelius in Acts 10, and the woman who begs Jesus for healing for her daughter in Matthew 15. For the most part ...

1050. Yielding to Spiritual Maturity

Matthew 7:15-23, James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... that person were a millionaire: the mailman, the grocery clerk, the parking lot attendant, the waiter at the restaurant, the insolent teenager with the spiked hair. Practice your tolerance muscles when you engage in conversation with those whose values and opinions are different from yours. Exercise patience. Listen attentively and compassionately. Recognize that our spiritual maturity begins with the realization that we are all imperfect in the eyes of God. Yet, in his mercy he accepts us, loves us, and ...

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