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 1201 to 1225 of 2078 results

1201. Plaque Buildup

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is nearly impossible because the lines dance and weave and everything along the edges of the page fades into a misty blur. Researchers have now found that this type of dyslexia can be treated by using different-colored lenses in the glasses of people affected. For some individuals, a blue tint makes everything become sharp and clear, for others, it is amber. Still others find that nothing brings the world into focus as much as good old-fashioned rose-tinted glasses. On this first Sunday in Lent, the church ...

1202. Day-Timers or Begging Bowls

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Lewis B. Smedes, A Pretty Good Person: What It Takes to Live With Courage, Gratitude and Integrity [San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990], 137-38.). What keeps you from seeing the unexpected Jesus? - Is it indifference that keeps your eyes unfocused so that nothing can affect your own life? - Is it bewilderment that keeps your eyes darting from one flashing image to the next, unable to sort out one from the other? - Is it bafflement that keeps your eyes wide but your mind cloaked in confusion? - Is it boredom ...

1203. Tremendous Trifles

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... so the "fun" could continue for a long time. After their arrest, the boys' stunned parents wept on camera, heroically apologizing for their sons' behavior but insisting they were "good kids." The oldest boy also voiced his concern about how this incident would affect his chances of getting into a good college in the fall. Consider: In Los Angeles, four buddies aged 14 to 17 decided to spend their evening having some real fun. Armed with a baseball bat, they began by bashing in mailboxes. Then they ...

1204. And Again I Say...Amen!

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and continually confronted his enemies head-on, Jesus himself had an affirming spirit. Indeed, the Incarnation was God's absolute affirmation. How did Jesus affirm people? Romans 12:10 instructs us if we want to imitate Christ, we must "love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor." - When Jesus showed honor: he picked out rather than picked on those most "put-down" and "down-and-out." - When Jesus showed honor: he honored people's needs. Jesus would stop what he was doing and ...

1205. The Six Longest Short Verses in the Bible

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of picking up the body parts from the 132 people who died on the ill-fated USAir Flight 427 that crashed on its way from Chicago to Pittsburgh. When asked what it was like to bag body parts with no human faces left, Chiodo confessed to the sight that affected him the most. "The thing I'm not going to be able to forget for a long time is finding a hand with its fingers crossed-as if for luck." It was the Christians who first invented "crossed fingers," and they had nothing to do with luck, and everything ...

1206. Keep Your Head Right

Illustration

Stephen Brown

... . If your head is wrong, the rest of you will be wrong." And isn't that true in all of life? If our head is wrong, our marriage will probably suffer. If our head is wrong, our priorities will be fouled up. If our head is wrong, it may even affect our health in a negative way. God understands our distress and God seeks to make us new persons so that we can handle our distress more effectively.

1207. Living for Balance

Illustration

Richard A. Wing

... are better than things worth having. Remember the people who were here first. The Native Americans had an ability to live by the ages rather than by the day. Among certain tribes in North America were those who would make decisions for the tribe based on how that decision would affect people seven generations into the future!

1208. Ephesians 2:4-25

Ephesians 2:4-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... images), then judgment is a divine fact and human fate. For John judgment is both a present reality and a future state of being. We are judged by God's righteousness according to our present deeds now (verses 18-21; 1 John 3: 14) and these affect our future destiny (John 5:28-29; 1 1 John4:17). The First Testament lesson vividly illustrates that the immense penalty for disregarding God and ridiculing God's love is great. Second Chronicles 36:14-23 tells the terrible story of the Israelites' exile to Babylon ...

1209. Genesis 2:18-24

Genesis 2:18-24

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a new commandment. Rather they are pointedly and painfully descriptive. While he does not pronounce a ban on divorce, his observation is devastating - the reality of the marriage relationship is so enduring that all subsequent relationships are radically affected by it. The gospel text continues to include another level of relationship - the connection between adults and children. Jesus' attitude towards the children here is nothing but open, welcoming, responsive and complementary. He rejects the disciples ...

1210. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... if one's focus is on discerning textual roots and common sources, do little to alter the thrust of Jesus' message. Jesus acknowledges our current preoccupation with our physical selves. But he goes on to reveal how any pain or indignity we experience physically deeply affects our spiritual nature as well. That is why Jesus calls on us to make a spiritual response to a physical assault. In order to experience the direct, unimpeded presence of God in our lives, we must not be afraid of the physical world, but ...

1211. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and vocational lives are intricately intertwined. Thus Paul's personal friendships, while wholly genuine, are also wholly for Christ's sake. When Paul follows the formal apostolic salutation with reference to Timothy as his "beloved child," the relationship is one of personal affection as well as being a spiritual truth. Paul's longing for Timothy's presence (stated in v.4) reveals how close the two have become, how entwined their missionary lives have been. Their mutual love of Christ has made them kin ...

1212. Matthew 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... between behavior conducted in one's private life or behaviors expressed toward the community of faith. The notion of certain behaviors being "personal business" was unknown in the first-century church. The faith community assumed that personal sinful behavior did affect the whole corporate church body and thus it must be confronted and dealt with. It was believed that letting any form of sinful behavior continue unabated seriously compromised the health of the Body of Christ. Verse 17 presents an ...

1213. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... idea that Jesus' arrival on this earth was a true miracle, a result of a carefully choreographed divine plan for all humanity. Jesus' birth was divine love in action. To be sure, at this early stage of God's work, the individual most obviously affected by these divine plans is Mary. Her life is changed forever, even before Gabriel makes his remarkable announcement. This simple girl has been visited by an angel. Little wonder Mary is "perplexed" (v.29) by the first words the heavenly messenger speaks to her ...

1214. Philemon 1-21

Philemon 1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in the faith, Philemon. The warm personal greetings that open this letter appear to be to the entire household. It is most likely that Apphia, "our sister," is Philemon's own wife. Archippus, "our fellow soldier," is also a full member of the household. Paul's affection for Philemon is genuine and heartfelt. He remembers him in his prayers, thanks God for him and testifies to Philemon's ongoing love and faith for "the saints" and the Lord Jesus. Verse 6 is more than a bit difficult to decipher. Paul's term ...

1215. Ephesians 2:4-25

Ephesians 2:4-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1216. Genesis 2:18-24

Genesis 2:18-24

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1217. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1218. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1219. Mark 3:20-35

Mark 3:20-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... suggested that it is the particulars of the human relationships in these texts that give a coherent theme to these two parts of Mark's "sandwich." The cultural/anthropological focus on these pericopes sees an overarching discussion of "shame and honor" affecting all these players and pronouncements. (See David M. May. "Mark 3:20-35 From the Perspective of Shame/Honor," Biblical Theology Bulletin 17 [1987], 83-87.) At the outset, this tack seems to offer exceedingly good directions for understanding both ...

1220. Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)

Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... might arguably place Isaiah within that class. Might he have been among the 80 priests of valor who confronted King Uzziah on his ill-fated attempt to offer a sacrifice within the temple precinct (2 Chronicles 26:16-21)? Certainly uppermost in Isaiah's affections was his love for the city of Jerusalem and his interest in the special relationship between YHWH and the Davidic dynasty. The specific setting for Chapter 6 is thought to be an annual religious drama conducted in the temple. This drama, known as ...

1221. Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... crown" recalls the imagery of 3:14 in which the runner receives the "prize," a crown consisting of a wreath woven of oak leaves, ivy, myrtle, olive, violets or roses. That the Philippian Christians are here addressed as "beloved," "longed for," "joy and crown" gives an indication of the deep affection the apostle has for these children in the faith.

1222. Acts 10:34-43

Acts 10:34-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... has carefully presented both Cornelius' and Peter's views of the events which had brought them together (10:1-33) a writing, as it were, with no "partiality." With today's text, however, Peter's sermon reveals just how deeply this meeting has affected his understanding of his apostolate. Scholars point to two major revelations made by Peter in these few verses. The first of these he proclaims in verse 34 "God shows no partiality ...." Some scholars argue that Peter's concept of an impartial God actually ...

1223. Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with the further instructions received by the devout and obedient Ananias "in a vision" (v.10), constitute the final New Testament record of direct revelation by the resurrected Christ to any of his believers. Like Moses' "shining face," Saul, too, is physically affected by the power of this revealed divinity. His blindness renders him helpless and dependent on the graciousness of a community whom he had been intent upon riding over roughshod with his letters of authority. In darkness, Saul goes on a strict ...

1224. 1 Timothy 2:1-7

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to "quietness" perhaps contrasts with the excessive eschatological expectations and excitement that rippled through the faith community. By linking the possibility of peace and quiet to prayers for those in authority, this text indicates that early Christians were directly affected for good or ill by the whims and temperaments of the civil rulers they lived under. The idyllic life Paul describes here, one which is quiet and peaceable, is a life characterized by inner tranquility. This tranquil existence is ...

1225. Ephesians 1:15-23

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... here in verse 18 combines both "richness" and "glory" to convey the point that not only is this promised heritage divine, it is exceedingly prodigal in its abundance. God not only accepts us as we are. God treats us with extravagant attention and lavish affection. Third, part of this wealthy inheritance is the unfathomable greatness of God's power working on our behalf. This is the very same power, Paul insists in verse 20, that was capable of raising up Christ from death. If Paul's talk of "call" and ...

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