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 673 results

101. One Good Listener

Humor Illustration

... addressing a high school commencement when suddenly a child began to cry. Then another child added his loud voice. A small boy galloped up and down the aisle, chased by another. With the sinking feeling only a public speaker knows, Nichols realized he had lost his audience. Nichols tried every trick of the speaker's trade. He spoke more loudly, told a funny story, walked around the stage, peered intently and disapprovingly at the area of disturbance. But all was to no avail. Then he tried his last desperate ...

102. L4G Live For God

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or Treat” might not be until the end of this month. But candy creators want us to stock-up and stock-pile. As a kid it was such a rush to come home after “making the rounds” of the trick-or-treat neighborhood and ceremoniously dump out all that candy crammed into our paper bag. Every piece would be inspected. Perhaps some cautious trades made with siblings. Then each of us got our own bowl to keep our “cavity central” separate from everyone else. Halloween candy is consumed according to ...

103. The God of Second Chances

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Christ to wash away our sin and make us new persons. So, does he wash away sin or not?” (4) Powerful question: Does Christ wash away sin or not? If he does not, we are all in trouble. Pastor Dennis Becker uses the analogy of a trick bar of soap. The trick soap looks like a real bar of soap, but when you wash with it, you get dirty instead of clean. The more you wash, the dirtier you get. He recalls watching an episode of the old television program Candid Camera when Allen Funt was the host. Funt ...

104. What Are You Waiting On?

John 11:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... , your life is not going to end in death. It will lead to death, but because you have eternal life it ends in the glory of God. In fact, do you know why Jesus performed miracles at all? He wasn't just being a divine showoff. He wasn't doing tricks to amaze crowds. In fact, the very first miracle that John records is at a wedding where Jesus turned water into wine. Do you think He did that just so the wedding crowd would have plenty to drink? Listen to this verse. “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did ...

105. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... . Rom. 12:17, which uses the same verb, apodidōmi and the same expression kakon anti kakou, “wrong for wrong”), in the face of a society which, then as now, accepted retaliation as the norm. Injustice done, injustice returned. Dirty tricks done, dirty tricks done in return. Violence suffered, revenge paid back in kind. The Christian norm, however, is to do good. A Christian congregation that tolerates the harboring of grudges or the intention to retaliate is a contradiction in terms. In the second half ...

106. Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

1 Kings 20:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... turns once again to prophetic opposition, as Ahab is confronted by one of the sons of the prophets (i.e., a member of a prophetic group, v. 35; cf. 2 Kgs. 4:1; 6:1). In a scene reminiscent of 2 Samuel 12:1–4, the king is tricked into pronouncing judgment upon himself, albeit with a disguise whose purpose is obscure (did some prophets have distinguishing marks about the face? did Ahab know this man?). Like Saul, Ahab has released a king whom God had determined should die (Hb. ḥrm, v. 42; cf. 1 Sam. 15 ...

107. Jesus, Messiah and Lord, Is True Interpreter of the Torah

Matthew 22:15-22, Matthew 22:23-33, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... confrontations with the Jewish leadership (chaps. 21–22) Matthew shows us Jesus as Wisdom in action. Jesus confounds his opponents, not by doing an end run around the Torah, but by interpreting it rightly and knowing in each case how to answer their tests and trick questions. In contemporary preaching there is at times a tendency to set Jesus at odds with the law or Torah—Jesus as a maverick, breaking all the rules. But this is not Matthew’s portrait of Jesus (nor that of Mark, Luke, or John, for ...

108. A Prodigal Son Comes Home in Body, but Not in Spirit

2 Sam 14:1–15:12

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... as less-worthy candidates to succeed their father (see comments on v. 25 below). 14:2 Joab . . . had a wise woman brought from there. In the preceding chapter, Amnon followed the advice of the “wise man” Jonadab to trick his father (13:3–5). Now Joab uses a “wise woman” in his attempt to trick the king. David’s royal court is depicted as a place where wisdom is perverted and used for deceptive purposes. Yet David himself has set this pattern of deceit in his handling of Uriah. Once again, so ...

109. Further Opposition to the Rebuilding

Nehemiah 6:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... tactics, decide the only way to stop the revitalizing of the Jewish community is to eliminate their leader. They are desperate, for now only the gates must be finished to complete the wall. Their first attempted “trick” is to entice Nehemiah to a diplomatic meeting. Nehemiah recognizes their attempt to trick him, so he firmly answers that he is occupied in more important matters (5:3). The next tactic of the enemies is to publish an open letter to spread rumors of rebellion against Persia that will ...

110. Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad

1 Kings 20:13-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

111. A Prophet Condemns Ahab

1 Kings 20:35-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

112. Chaos and Solitude

Mark 6:30-44, 53-56

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... own ends. Often Jesus turned the tables on those who were trying to use him, for example the rich young fool and the lawyer who tried to test him with the question, "Who is my neighbor?" The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the scribes who tried to trick him were often tricked by their own words. Some people still come to Jesus trying to use him for their own purposes. It never works. It just results in more chaos. According to Mark 6:34, the people around Jesus were like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36 ...

113. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... promised his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, when he would come of age. (He was still young). And he sent her home to her parents until that time would come. But when Shelah came of age, Judah put off his promise to Tamar. And so Tamar set out to trick Judah, in order to gain back her honor and have a child within the family, securing both her future and the future of her child. Dressing as a prostitute (by covering her face with a veil), she waited by the gate (where prostitutes hung out), and when Judah ...

114. Fleeced

Judges 6:1-40, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... from the blog of Gail Kellogg Hope. Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text The Story of Gideon’s Conversations with God and the Sign of the Fleece (Judges 6) John’s Witness to Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearance to Thomas Didymus (20:24-29) Minor Text Rebekah Tricks Isaac into Blessing Jacob Instead of Esau By Touching Goat Skin (Genesis 27) Massah and Meribah (Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20) Psalm 18: Praise Be the Rock Psalm 25: In You I Put My Trust Psalm 34: Taste and See that the Lord is Good ...

115. Elohim

John 1:29-34, Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to frame reality so that the familiar can be known. There’s a saying among magicians --you’ll see only what I want you to see. I will reveal to you the feat but not the trick. In the 2013 crime movie, “Now You See Me,” four magicians are led by an unknown bidder to perform a bizarre set of tricks. In one well-known scene, the four magicians, called “The Four Horsemen,” seemingly transport a man into a French bank vault to steal the money inside. The audience sees on camera the man inside of the ...

116. Lady of the House / The Practice of Joy

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... I am here. Have JOY in the presence of the Lord! Don’t wait to be joyful in the promises of God. Do it now. Be happy NOW. Not later after you do this, that, or the other thing. Not later, after you expect God to do some other trick or sign. Not later, when you expect something else to happen. NOW. God is here NOW. Live …dwell with God…while you’re living. When three visitors come to visit Abram and Sarah, Abram immediately recognizes them as God’s messengers and immediately asks Sarah to prepare a ...

117. A Restless Spirit

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is a place of illusion, a place away from God, in which his conflict plays out. Saul’s restless spirit is calmed oddly by the witch after he realizes what he has done. So is the irony of the story. Saul tries a “trick” to get the answer he wants from God. But God cannot be tricked into giving us what we want, but instead forces us to confront the truth. In 1 Samuel 15:26-28, Samuel, in his prophesy to Saul, rents (rips) his mantle in half, depicting how Israel will be split. In Saul’s encounter at ...

118. Holy Goat!

Leviticus 16:1-34, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... want to face. Overwhelming Chronic Doubt (OCD) is just that –overwhelming and chronic and debilitatingly doubting. When overwhelmed, we cannot come out of hiding, even if we wanted to. There’s a story of a boy who was playing hide and seek. He thought he would trick his sister, so he climbed into the dryer, and closed the door. Panicked, he shouted, but no one could hear him. Only later was he rescued when his father found him and opened the door. A dryer has no latch on the inside. Only on the outside ...

Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.

Niccolo Machiavelli

120. Jesus’ Recipe for a Kingdom Style Feast

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of bird within its branches. The seed is the resonant Word of Jesus, the new understanding of the Kingdom of God. The field is the world. The disciple’s job? To “plant” this new teaching within people’s ears and hearts. What kind of seed will do the trick? The kind that resonates, that will grow and expand their vision. The lesson? A little can be a lot. The size of the effort does not determine the size of the outcome. A little bit of effort can grow into a huge movement. Sounds like something from ...

121. Family Reunion

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

Will Willimon

... Maybe. There's no mention of God in the story. Thank goodness. It would be a sacrilege to drag God into a mess like this. It's an utterly human, thoroughly mundane, earthy story. Perhaps that's why it is told. It's a funny story. Jacob the trickster gets tricked by old Laban. Jacob, the one who was always putting one over on his family, gets one put over on him by Laban and Leah. Laban, who gets fourteen years of work out of Jacob, finally gets done in by Jacob, with a little help from his own daughters. It ...

122. More Than Just Image

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... hamburger was ready for the photo shoot, it was not fit to be eaten. (1) Of course, a little bit of food styling is nothing to worry about. We all know that advertising agencies use all sorts of tricks to make products look better than they really are. But what about using tricks to manipulate our perception of people? In 1988, Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush ran against each other in the Presidential Republican primaries. And it was, like most political battles, ugly. The candidates took every opportunity to ...

123. Return To God

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... dad and very arrogantly said, "I'm a senior, Dad. My friends don't do those childish pranks anymore. I suggest you check with your daughter." His sister was a sophomore in high school and he was just sure it was her friends who had been up to their old tricks. With that he turned around and headed back to bed. But then his dad said, "Well, before you get back in bed, I suggest you look out the back window." He wasn't too excited about prolonging this absence from bed. So, just to satisfy his father, he went ...

124. A Call To Community

Acts 16:6-10

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... someone pet him. And if you stopped petting before he was ready for you to stop, he would simply put both of his paws in your lap until you resumed your petting and he got his fill. Cocoa wasn't really a very smart dog. He couldn't do any tricks. In fact, his intelligence was a bit suspect even by dog standards. The family had a makeshift fence in their backyard. It wasn't much of a fence but it kept Cocoa from running off. Somehow the other dogs in the neighborhood could figure out how to get in the ...

125. Holy Wisdom From On High!

Proverbs 8:1-36

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... in bringing about redemption for all of humanity. What other love and wisdom could ever have actualized a way for all estranged sinners to be made right with God? Christ's life on earth manifested the wisdom of God. When his enemies tried to catch him with trick questions, his wisdom stopped them dead in their tracks. His answer was always, "a holy Wisdom from on high." They said of him, "Never a man spake like this man." Of course his words were wise, for he always spoke only truth. He said of himself, "I ...

Showing results

Showing 101 to 125 of 673 results

101. One Good Listener

Humor Illustration

102. L4G Live For God

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

103. The God of Second Chances

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

104. What Are You Waiting On?

John 11:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

105. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

106. Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

1 Kings 20:1-12

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

107. Jesus, Messiah and Lord, Is True Interpreter of the Torah

Matthew 22:15-22, Matthew 22:23-33, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

108. A Prodigal Son Comes Home in Body, but Not in Spirit

2 Sam 14:1–15:12

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

109. Further Opposition to the Rebuilding

Nehemiah 6:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

110. Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad

1 Kings 20:13-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

111. A Prophet Condemns Ahab

1 Kings 20:35-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

112. Chaos and Solitude

Mark 6:30-44, 53-56

Sermon

Ron Lavin

113. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

114. Fleeced

Judges 6:1-40, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

115. Elohim

John 1:29-34, Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Lori Wagner

116. Lady of the House / The Practice of Joy

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

117. A Restless Spirit

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

118. Holy Goat!

Leviticus 16:1-34, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.

Niccolo Machiavelli

120. Jesus’ Recipe for a Kingdom Style Feast

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

121. Family Reunion

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

Will Willimon

122. More Than Just Image

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon