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 101 to 125 of 666 results

101. Proper 24

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8, Luke 18:1-8, Psalm 119:1-176

Bulletin Aid

William E. Keeney

... Wars I and II were very unpopular. Some received brutal treatment and other penalties. They claimed to take the position on the basis of religious convictions. In the Vietnam War they were more accepted. What issues would cause you to go against popular sentiments because of religious convictions? How much should you care about what people think of you? How does prayer help you to decide such issues? 5. More Than Human Power. The parable poses the question of whether we really believe that forces other than ...

102. When The Fat Lady Sings

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... raced up and down the court, he knew it was over. Such arrogance piqued his opponents and delighted his fans. I think it originated in some eastern ballpark a generation or so ago. I'm not sure of its exact origins. You still see fans expressing the sentiment today on large banners and posters which they love to flash for the television cameras. It expresses the eternal optimism of sports fans who are unwilling to give up until the last out is made or the clock has finally run out: "It's not over until ...

103. Miracle Three: Healing A Leper

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... in our day. We, Too, Need A Cure · There was once a university professor who startled his class by asserting, "I don't need Christ. I have never broken the Ten Commandments. I refuse to be classified as a sinner." Without knowing it he was echoing the sentiment of a rich young ruler whom Christ described. Not faced with leprosy, this miracle may seem unrelated to us. But a little thought makes it clear that we, too, must turn to Christ for a cure. If we are truthful, we will admit that in various ways ...

104. Have I Got News For You!

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

William L. Self

... it in the flat voice of David's speech. The birth of Christ should be seen as an experience beyond the power of common prose to describe to Christians of every century. For what Christ means to those who have met him and have more than a sentimental acquaintance with him can only be expressed in terms of blaring trumpets. So reading this passage with New Testament eyes we see the following. He comes as light. The people who wander in darkness have seen a great light. This was sung as background, about King ...

105. Ready Or Not -- He Comes

Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... in pageants, cantatas and concerts. Many will consider it interesting, pretty, amusing, and entertaining, like a fairy tale. Some will list it along with other holiday fantasies such as Lion King and Swan Princess. It has become wrapped up in so much sentimental embroidery that its stark realism is lost. Its characters have acquired "halos," becoming something quite out of this world. Take a closer look at this story and you will notice the characters are not people with halos, but ordinary men and women ...

106. When The Saints Come Marching In

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... you are now seeing, you find yourself almost imagining the procession -- the bride dressed in white, the groom standing there smiling. The newscast keeps insisting on one reality, Troeger observes, while the music keeps awakening a different scene. Moreover, the sentimental soundtrack, which at first seemed like such an intrusion, begins, ever so slowly, to transform the way you look at life, amplifying the all too obvious dissonance between the brutality around you and the hopes within you for a world ...

107. Expecting the Unexpected

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... s hard to make sense of some texts. Their burden is primarily one of comprehension. And after spending a frantic Saturday night searching for anything which even remotely resembles good news, I'm sure many a preacher has been tempted simply to paraphrase the sentiments of Henny Youngman: "Take this passage ... please!" Other texts, though, place a burden not so much up on the intellect as upon the will. We understand them well enough, or at least think we do. It's achieving them which poses the real problem ...

108. The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... talent slave enjoyed the abundance conferred on him by the master. How do we accept the abundance and live with it? A. Live with Humility B. Live Cheerfully C. Live Responsibly D. Live Christ-like 6. Thrown into Outer Darkness. (v. 30) Christians should not be sentimental about what it means to fail to live as a follower of Christ. The consequences are harsh and real. The outer darkness is a symbol of how life is experienced without the abundant gifts of faith, hope and love. A. The Occasion for Fear. The ...

109. Responsibility And Motivation

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... while Naomi didn't particularly want this companionship, she may have needed it. Some commentators have suggested that without the younger woman's help, Naomi would probably not have survived the journey. When they arrived back in Bethlehem, it became clear that sentimentality aside, the going would be rough. Ruth's words would be put to the test, because the young woman had to support Naomi and herself with backbreaking work, gleaning in the fields. How quickly the seemingly warm emotion of that familiar ...

110. Prayers for Family Days

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... . And for a few of us who never knew our fathers, we wonder what might have been. Now we are fathers and grandfathers and we wonder how we measure up. Are we too harsh or too easygoing? Are we too permissive or too bossy? Are we too calloused or too sentimental? Are we too tight or too generous? Do we hang around too much or are we too often absent? We turn to you today that we might learn how best we can live with our children in the time allotted to us. How can a love, that often gets buried ...

111. Gifts of Lent IV: Simon Gives His Strength

Mark 15:1-15

Drama

Donald Neidigk

... finally spoke. "Do not weep for me," he said to the women. "Weep for yourselves and your children." Later I learned what Jesus meant. The death he was about to die was for sinners and their salvation. What was needed was not the weeping of custom or sentimentalism, but the weeping of repentance and faith. Without true sorrow for sin and faith in Jesus and his cross, there is no salvation; there is only the wrath of God against sin and a terrible day of judgment. That's what you should weep over, Jesus was ...

112. Gifts of Lent VI: The Thief Who Gave Nothing

Luke 23:26-43

Drama

Donald Neidigk

... places I could watch for the unsuspecting businessman or pilgrim, and then leap on him as he passed by. With the help of a ruthless comrade or two, I would render my victims unconscious, lift their valuables, and be gone in seconds. As anti-Roman sentiment grew, I could even justify my thieving on political grounds. I was a patriot, raising money to finance revolution. If my target was a worthy partisan, he would give me his wallet with gratitude. If he was a collaborator with the hated Romans, he deserved ...

113. For All The Saints

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... but are left with an easygoing religiosity, permitting anything and standing for nothing. I often wonder if our modern casual Christianity puts any fire in a person's soul or any steel in a person's backbone. Have we been reduced to a soft sentimentality or a sophisticated cynicism built more on sand than rock? I would never want to go back to much of the theology of some of the saints. Martin Luther thought Copernicus a heretic because that astronomer believed the sun, not the earth, was the center ...

114. A Homecoming To Remember

1 Kings 8:22-61

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... people's mind since King Solomon was the second son of David and Bathsheba. Another question in the people's mind was: Would God actually dwell in a temple designed by foreigners who worshipped pagan gods? As he dedicated the Temple, Solomon echoed those sentiments, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth?" The day to dedicate the newly completed Temple was truly a special day in the life of the people. Solomon delayed the dedication of the Temple for eleven months so the dedication would take place during ...

115. Epiphany 4

Lk 4:21-30 · 1 Cor 13:1-13 · Jer 1:4-10 · Ps 71

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . In this chapter Paul points out that all other gifts are worthless without love. This can be seen by the characteristics of agape love. Other gifts are temporary but love is the perfect and eternal gift. Lest love be misunderstood as moralism or sentimentalism, Paul combines love with faith and hope, with love being supreme. Gospel: Luke 4:21-30 The people of Nazareth react negatively to Jesus' first sermon. When Jesus read the scripture, the congregation was so pleased that admiringly they asked, "Is not ...

116. Christmas Eve

Lk 2:1-20 · Tit 2:11-14 · Isa 9:2-7 · Ps 96

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... into a story everyone knows by heart? The preacher wants to avoid saying the same old thing in the same old way. Is this the reason that we have lost the theological significance of Christmas and have resorted to moralism, nostalgia, and sentimentalism? 2. The problem of time for preaching. The Christmas service leaves little time for a sermon. The service is usually packed with carols, candles, and cantatas. The adult, youth, children's and bell choirs must perform. At a festival when there is great ...

117. Seeing and Believing

John 20:19-23

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... disciples were huddled in fear behind locked doors when Jesus appeared in the room. Thomas missed out and he was not happy about it! He probably had good reason for being out. He may have been out shopping for the group, or taking samples of public sentiment, or simply strolling to release tension. He missed out and he was upset. When he heard the report of the others he did not believe them. Eight long days passed. Eight lost days. I wonder, how many days have we lost because o four doubts and questions ...

118. Light From And For The East

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... , all the lessons appointed for Epiphany Day -- I wonder: How is it that we ever came to adopt such a sad and arrogant posture? Please do not misunderstand. I am not saying that one religion is as good as another. I am not endorsing the sappy sentiment that "it doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you are sincere." And I am certainly not commending that gauzy, vapid and condescending attitude we Americans are so fond of: tolerance. What I am suggesting is that God did not despise the religion of ...

119. Good Friday

John 18:1-11, Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Genesis 22:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Hebrews 10:1-18, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 19:17-27

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... out his life blood; he emptied himself. God rewarded his generosity by filling him up with his eternal spirit and exalting him on high. Epistle: Hebrews 10:1-25 Hold tight. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering" (v. 23). The sentiment found in this verse is repeated time and again throughout the book of Hebrews. Even in the pristine days of Christian faith, many believers were falling away; maybe because the second coming of Christ did not occur as soon as expected. The picture of ...

120. Proper 24

Exodus 33:12-23, Isaiah 45:1-7, Matthew 22:15-22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... but Jesus is aware of their malice. They confronted him with a political question. "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" They thought that they had the perfect trap. If he responded "yes," he would make himself opposed to the widespread nationalistic sentiments, which yearned to throw off the dominion of Rome. If he responded "no," he would set himself up as a revolutionary and a persona non grata with the state. In so doing, he would also alienate the powerful Herodians and Sadducees, who had a ...

121. I Am The Servant

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

... person to the other, washing their feet like a servant. It was an enacted parable. It is the story of Jesus, the servant, which has been told again and again, generation after generation. "Each time we hear it, it seems more wonderfully sweet," not sweet in a sentimental sense, but more dear to us and near to us. Each time we hear of the distance God came -- from the highest heavens to the bowels of the earth -- to save us, we can grow in our appreciation and love of the old, old story. Jesus said, "...Here ...

122. The Warrior And The Shepherd Are One!

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... , the author of First John, struck a blow for ethical Christianity when he wrote: "By this we may be sure that we are in him; he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." What is this Way? Not sentiment but sharing; not benevolence but caring; not a macho or supreme feministic power to liberate alone but a shepherd's tender care that the pain of another is our pain as well. The words are familiar: "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway ...

123. Church As Redemptive Community

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... in place of a traditional breakfast of sausage and eggs. Or a clergy acquaintance of mine was almost forced to leave his church because he wore white socks in worship (he had an affliction which made this necessary). An ancient document was once found with this sentiment: "The Church is like Noah's Ark; if it weren't for the storm outside, you couldn't stand the smell inside." A pastor friend recently told of a visit to his seminary by a bishop who said he's discovered that there are a few ministers ...

124. Standing Firm

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... great fish. I am not willing to be nibbled to death by minnows." This came to mind as we examined the subject text today. It appears that Isaiah was experiencing a lot of opposition in his work, not all of it by people of integrity. He expressed two sentiments -- his willingness to accept the fact that a person in a position of high visibility must endure criticism, some of it destructive, and his conviction that with God's help, he'd be able to endure and triumph in what he was convinced was right. Most of ...

125. How Can We Restore the Christian Home?

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... and said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God ... And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them." What a juxtaposition of human attitudes and sentiments, of the negative and positive, we have here: the disciples' "rebuke" versus Jesus' "indignant"; the disciples' "hinder them" versus Jesus' "let them come to me"; "whoever does not receive the kingdom as a little child" versus "he took them in his arms and blessed ...

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