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 1051 to 1075 of 1453 results

1051. Touching Hearts and Transforming Lives

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... on it and make it worth $100. That is called money. Bill Gates can sign his name to a check and make it worth billions of dollars. That is called wealth. Garth Brooks can sing a song and fill a coliseum with screaming fans. That is called talent. But, God Almighty can take a timid life, empower it with His spirit, and make that life a blessing to other people. That is called salvation. Martin Luther once said, “I have held many things in my hands and have lost them all. But, whatever I have placed ...

1052. What Would Jesus Say About Me?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , I thought how the kid was brilliant but troubled. Living a lie was not a happy life even though it was financially rewarding. What the boy really wanted was a father, a mother, a wife. Instead, he lives on the run for his life until he finally uses his talent for good instead of evil. Even the best of sinners are not very good at it because deep within each of us marred by sin, there remains the image of God. Jesus came to restore us to our true identity. Christ is light shining in our darkness. He is ...

1053. The Constant God in a Changing World

Psalm 48:1, 9-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I had nowhere else to go. My wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day." Does that define your life? Spiritual discernment is essential not just in big decisions, but the daily ones, as well. How shall I spend my time, my money, my talents and abilities? By paying attention, we can discover the hopes and desires of God's heart. It's only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God's design, But I cannot unfold the petal, with these clumsy hands of mine. If I cannot unfold a rosebud, this flower ...

1054. Can the Rich Be Saved?

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of all evil. Abraham, Job, David, and Solomon were very rich men. They managed large holdings for the glory of God and the greater public good. Lydia and Deborah were very wealthy women and God used them to build His church and govern His kingdom. The parable of the talents suggests that God will hold us accountable for all that He has entrusted to us. So don’t dig a hole and bury your assets in the ground. God is going to hold you accountable for them. Use them for the glory of God and the good of the ...

1055. Making Sure Our Robes Are Washed

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... THEY ARE THOSE WHO SERVE GOD DAY AND NIGHT. If you think heaven is one eternal retirement plan, you had better think again. Resurrected bodies are not intended to float in space, or flit from cloud to cloud. We have work to do. Remember Jesus’ parable of the talents? The one who had two produced four and the one who had five produced ten. The Lord was happy. Remember their reward. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” All of that sounds like a lot of work ...

1056. The Power of a Vision

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... worth $6,000. That’s genius. Bill Gates can sign his name to a check and make it worth billions. That’s capital. Alan Jackson asked, “Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day” and became the singer of the year. That’s talent. God can take a timid life, wash it in the blood of Christ, empower it with the Holy Spirit and make it a blessing to others. That’s Salvation. Something beautiful, something good, All my confusion, He understood. All I had to offer Him was brokenness ...

1057. Worship

Hebrews 10:19-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of clothes or the style of music; worship is not about the building or the band; worship is not about the liturgy or the lack of it. Charismatic preachers and creative dramas are not essential to worship. Worship is not even about great musicians and talented choirs, though they have been known to redeem many a feeble preacher on any given Sunday. Worship is about God. When the woman at the well met up with Jesus and they entered a discussion about her life, they began to discuss spiritual matters. She ...

1058. The Power to Do Good

Acts 10:34-38, 44-48

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... before you now. It is one thing to pursue a career, it is quite another to answer a call. We are called to belong to Jesus Christ. We are called to become what He made us to be. We are called to use our resources, our influence, our time, our talent to bring His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Are you following your calling? Through the years I've planned my life a number of times. On the one hand, life has never unfolded according to my plans. I never served the churches I thought I might serve ...

1059. Reaching Up—Reaching Out

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36). Make a financial declaration today. We need the discipline more than the church needs the money. The church needs to know, so we can plan wisely. Maybe the finest treasure we hold is not only our funds, but our time, our talent, our spiritual gifts that can be used in service to others. William Booth was a Methodist minister who left the church and founded the Salvation Army out of his passion for the poor of London. One day a reporter asked General Booth the "secret to his ...

1060. Something to Brag About

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... . If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing . . .” (1-2) Paul was a man of extraordinary credentials and extraordinary talent. He could have boasted about many things. But quite simply he writes, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” What a thoroughly remarkable statement. It was remarkable for another reason the cross was an incredibly offensive symbol ...

1061. Jesus and Moses Both Delegated

Luke 10:1-24; Num 11:4-35

Illustration

Maurice A. Fetty

Delegation is more difficult than it sounds. Delegation is especially difficult for talented and extraordinary leaders, and even more difficult for leaders who seem to have a special calling from God. That was the case with Moses some 13 centuries before Christ. After successfully leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt toward freedom in the Promised Land, Moses had problems with a ...

1062. Marketing or Disciplemaking?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the heartbeat of a church. I want to bow here and renew my covenant with God to be the very best pastor I can be. Maybe you would like to join me in a similar act of devotion. Maybe you can use your spiritual gifts and share your God-given talents to make worship more meaningful in this congregation. Let us take a moment of private commitment to the Lord.

1063. Giving Our Gratitude

Philippians 4:10-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I was not going to be a professional basketball player. After years of beating a golf ball around golf courses, it became clear to me that I was never going to make any money playing golf—not even from my friends. As Jesus' parable suggests, some of us have five talents, some two, others only one. But all of us do have potential. What will I do with the potential I have? The advice of John Wesley was very wise: Make all you can, Save all you can, Give all you can, As long as you can. Do you know what ...

1064. Sharing God’s Blessings

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... And I am learning to hear God's voice, And I am trying to make the right choice, And I can be anything God wants me to be. I found myself praying that day. Lord, never let me complain again about my lot in life. Let me use what little talent you have given me to help people believe in themselves like that. I am a promise, I am a possibility. Do you understand the possibilities of your life? Jesus said the meek, the merciful and the peacemakers are blessed by God. Meekness is neither shyness nor self defeat ...

1065. Dancing with the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . No one will ever dance in the rain like Gene Kelly. No one will ever dance with a hat rack like Donald O. Conner. No one will ever dance with himself like Fred Astaire. No saint will ever dance like you. Whatever is your unique technique and talent is what makes your dance your own. It is the solitary strength of self that God’s power gives to each and every dancing saint. Strength of faith, strength of character, strength derived from family, friends and the faithful, make each one of us unrepeatable ...

1066. Oh, No You Do Not

Luke 11:1-13

Illustration

... taken back with his response. He said in a firm but gentle voice: “Oh no you don’t.” Of course, he was right. What we desire is the finished product. Who among us would not like to get in front of thousands and display a marvelous talent and then wait for the applause? But how many of us are willing to spend the literally thousands of hours that it takes to become an accomplished pianist. Frankly, there are not too many who are willing to make that kind of a commitment. Persistence and earnestness ...

1067. Lessons from a Fool

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... a year. The young man had just built himself a plush mansion. “The article also revealed that he was a Sunday school teacher. When he was asked about his great wealth in light of his Christian commitment, [the young man] replied that God had given him the talent to make money, and that justified his using it on himself. There was not a word about sharing anything.” Fuller notes that while he was on a visit to a Habitat project in Nebraska, his host drove him past a new six‑and‑a‑half‑million ...

1068. Hunger and Politics

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , of course, asked why. Herbert was ready with the divine answer regarding the best mix for the human spirit. Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast. Herbert saw well that the strong talents and marvelous abilities of humankind would make us like impatient children, eager to strike out on our own and find our self-made destinies. Only if God would hold back a sense of full satisfaction from our souls would we search our way back home. This ...

1069. I Don't Do Windows

Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28

Sermon

Tony Everett

For months, members of the parish property team had been having difficulty finding volunteers to clean the many windows of the new education building. No one signed up to do this when the annual "time and talent" sheets were distributed the previous fall. No one responded to the requests for volunteers placed in bulletins and newsletters. No one answered their "fuss and beg" pleas for help during Sunday morning announcements. Finally, committee members decided to make individual and personal pleas to ...

1070. Are We There Yet?

Acts 1:6-14

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... ; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. — Romans 12:3-8 — Romans 12:3-8 Consider the power of this text. "We who are many, are one body in Christ." Each of us, with our different gifts, skills, and talents, are part of the body of Christ. As members of this body, we need to ask ourselves how well we are performing our various functions. Are those who have the gift of prophecy actually prophesying? Looking around, I would have to say that there is ...

1071. Not What You Expected

Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... whom made adequate preparation for the arrival of the bridegroom and five of whom were caught short because of a lack of such preparation. What they failed to do had ramifications at the end. There is the parable we often call the parable of the talents, which is really about how the three individuals of whom Jesus spoke made use of that which they had been entrusted. You remember how the first two made good investments while the last fellow buried the money in a hole for safekeeping. Again, the denouement ...

1072. The Vastness of Relationships

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... of the economia, the economy of things. Because we tend to use the word "economy" almost exclusively with regard to money, we have to remind ourselves at stewardship campaign time that we are called to be stewards of everything we control, our time, our talent, all our resources and relationships including, of course, our money. It is this word, oikonomia, that is rendered "plan" in today's and similar texts that describe God's plan. It tells of God's providential direction of all things in the cosmos and ...

1073. Showing Up

Ephesians 3:1-12

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... that we encountered last week when it was applied to God. We recalled then that because we tend to use the word "economy" almost exclusively with regard to money, we have to remind ourselves that it refers to everything we control, our time, our talent, and all our resources and relationships including, of course, our money. An oikonomos was the person given supervision of an oikonomia, often a high-ranking slave, who had oversight of the affairs of a house, organization, or town. He was in charge of income ...

1074. Will It Last?

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... witnessed in over a quarter of a century of working with undergraduate students, is the occasional athlete who thinks they are NBA or NFL material in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Often it has been because they have mistaken natural God-given talent for disciplined development. I think of a young man who was his state's "Mr. Football" his senior year of high school. He attended a junior college and continued to dazzle the fans and confuse the opposing players with his natural agility. Unfortunately ...

1075. Boast in Our Suffering

Romans 5:1-8

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... from last year that was not nearly as popular but in which I think his performance was even more stunning. It was called The Libertine. In that film, Depp plays the role of John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, a brilliant seventeenth-century English poet who wasted his talents in a life of sexual excess. I have never seen anyone play the role of a defiant and decadent rogue like Johnny Depp in this movie. By the young age of 33, the Earl's life was ruined and he was dying from a variety of diseases brought ...

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