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 1376 to 1400 of 2275 results

1376. Was Jesus the First Buster?

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Boomer offspring are the first generation in history defined in large measure by divorce, daycare, debt and diversity. The impact of each one of those "D's" continues to carve out the niche-character of this generation. Already the qualities these experiences have nurtured in busters have earned them a mixed reputation. Besides being known as "Busters," this generation has been tagged as slackers, pessimistic, apathetic, Generation "X," twenty-something, etc. As their generation-jelling moment, Busters most ...

1377. Just Showing Up Doesn't Get the Job Done

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... your life. Cowboy culture is still dominated by the larger-than-life image projected by the greatest cowboy-actor of them all, John Wayne. The rough-and-tumble, heart-of-gold, good-guy character John Wayne perfected on-screen never failed to embody the qualities of honor, loyalty, bravery and commitment. John Wayne's cowboys didn't just look good. They were good. In the classic, "Rio Bravo," Wayne's character summed up the essence of his cowboy philosophy by declaring to a less-than-perfect sidekick "Just ...

1378. God Is Faithful

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... notice how much golfing attire is white? Thanks to the goose invasion, on some courses, shoes, shorts, shirts, not to mention the golf balls themselves, end up striped and streaked with goosey-green goo. But Canadian geese do have other, more admirable qualities. Not only are they devoted parents, Canadian geese mate for life. Their faithfulness is astonishing. Consider this true story: Recently a pair chose a rather unfortunate nesting spot located close to a road. A few days after laying her eggs, the ...

1379. The Resolution to End All Resolutions

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... across your community? What if instead of resolving to spend less time in front of the TV and more time reading some good books, you resolved to teach those struggling with illiteracy to read those books to you? What if instead of resolving to spend more "quality time" with your family, you resolved to take your whole family on a mission project for a week, or a month or even longer? Your life, your commitment to the ultimate resolution, can help the love of God through Christ to transform the world. Today ...

1380. Connect the Dots

Luke 4:14-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... send out only love, it comes back to us" (99). 3. Say only nice things about people. There is a lot to be said for the old maxim, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." When you become conditioned to look for some good quality, some strong suit and admittedly sometimes it's a bit of a challenge it is surprising how much easier it gets. 4. Look for the image of Christ in all of creation. Ignatius once observed: "Consider how Christ works and labors for me in all creatures upon the face ...

1381. Heirs of the Promise

Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a report warning that there may be as little as 10 years left fundamentally to alter human activity to avoid an irreversible environmental cataclysm. One of the reasons we have felt so free to borrow heavily against the future of our planet, of our children, of our quality of life may be this: We have mistaken the promissory note that accompanies our existence on this earth for a free and clear deed. We pay the bank on time because we know they still are the true owners of our home. But regardless of what ...

1382. The Cream of the Crop, or The Skimmed Milk of the Earth

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... self-centered drive toward success, sadly concluded more than 100 years ago: "We are great by exclusion, grasping and egotism. Our success takes from all what it gives to one. It is a haggard, malignant, careworn running for luck." Emerson went on to note three qualities he deemed marks of true "success:" the ability to discern and appreciate beauty; the ability to see the best in other people; a commitment to leaving the world a better place, either by doing one's own work better or by making it easier for ...

1383. Life's Two Pockets

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Of course, nearly all the days of our lives fall somewhere in between these two extremes - thankfully. A steady diet of either one or the other would succeed in making us either insufferably arrogant or incapacitatingly depressed. There is a dual quality to human existence that is reflected in our experiences of "good" days and "bad" days. The remarkable Jewish theologian/mystic Martin Buber observed that our spiritual natures have two "pockets." When we reach into one pocket, we pull out smallness - "We ...

1384. 1 John 4:7-12

1 John 4:7-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... John continues this knowledge by experience line of argument in verse 8, he concludes that separation from love means separation from God. Characteristic of John's concern with defining God, he now reveals "God is love." Love is not just one of God's many qualities, it is God's essence. Furthermore, God's love has now become manifest in another aspect of God's essence - God's Son Jesus Christ. John has now articulated an original connection between knowledge and love. If human beings are to live up to their ...

1385. Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5:21-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and health, is a part of the divine essence itself. Because this power is integral to his identity, Jesus immediately senses its momentary dissipation the moment human need touches him. Impressed by her faith and by her innate recognition of this divine quality, Jesus confronts the woman. Besides physical healing, he bestows on her the added gift of peace ("shalom"), thus attending to her spiritual as well as physical well being. Now the "messengers of death" arrive on the scene. Bearing the news that ...

1386. Mark 9:38-50

Mark 9:38-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that Matthew, the gospel most concerned with ecclesiological politics and positionings, does not record this incident. Strict constructionism of all kinds continues to this day to pretend the passage doesn't exist - for its potential implications are not without their frightening qualities. But Jesus' point is clear. In verse 41 he goes on to stress that anyone who performs a service, no matter how small, because of Christ's name becomes a member of the community and shares in its "rewards." Verses 42 ...

1387. Luke 21:25-36

Luke 21:25-36

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... "hearts" against such worldly distractions as "dissipation," "drunkenness," and "worries," as they face this awesome future he has described. The exterior events should not shape the hearts, the interior lives, of the faithful. As he counsels his audience to "alertness," Jesus once again affirms the not-yet quality of the impending Kingdom and his judicatory role as the Son of Man. Verse 36's shift into the future tense leaves even Jesus' generation time to contemplate and prepare for the future Kingdom.

1388. Philippians 4:49

Philippians 4:49

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for their epieikes, a uniquely Greek term almost impossible to translate. Some versions call it "gentleness," others "magnanimity." The term is a neuter adjective which is related to "eikos" ("reasonableness") and so might also be understood as the quality of "sweet reasonableness." Greek tradition contrasts Paul's term with "strict justice" as its opposite. The term therefore includes within it a generosity of spirit that goes beyond any strict constructionist view of the law. "Gentleness" seeks equity ...

1389. Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of judgment, warns John, will mark both the arrival of the Messiah and the speedy end of those found to be so much chaff. The text for this week skips to verses 21-22, but even without omitting any of Luke's story, there is a strange, jerky quality to this transition. Jesus' baptism comes out of nowhere and slips by almost unrecorded before we know it. Part of this is due to Luke's concern with cleaning the stage for Jesus' entrance. Unlike in Matthew, Mark and John, the meeting between the Lucan Jesus and ...

1390. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the legitimacy and clarity of their call to ministry, Moses' experience on Mt.Horeb is enviously dramatic and unambiguous. While the format of this week's Old Testament text follows the established guidelines of all the "call narratives," the face-to-face quality of Moses' experience remains unique. Despite the miraculous nature of the vision, Moses does not immediately associate it with the presence of God. It is curiosity more than awe that originally draws Moses to the burning bush. Not until verse 6 is ...

1391. Luke 19:28-40

Luke 19:28-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Paul probably added the final line of v.8f focused on the cross.) Being a "slave," taking "human form," "humbling" himself, being "obedient to the point of death" - these are not the typical characteristics of a majestic, military-style leader. Yet these very qualities are the ones we are called to imitate. Having been brought so low, even down to death itself, Jesus then rises higher than any earthly king could ever dream. Here is Paul's theme of praise and celebration, awe and grandeur. The Philippians ...

1392. Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-62

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... answer. If any suspect that gathering a large band of devoted followers was part of the impetus for his journey, Jesus squelches that possibility through surprisingly hard, harsh-sounding, demanding retorts to the requests made of him. Jesus was after quality, not quantity in his disciples. The least confrontative but most confused of the three encounters is the first. Faced with the free gift of an unsolicited but uncomprehending follower, Jesus responds to the volunteer's enthusiasm over apostolic mission ...

1393. Colossians 3:1-11

Colossians 3:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... sphere." (Colossians, Philemon [Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982], 161). "Things above" is not therefore simply a spatial reference, but becomes a qualitative characteristic. If the "things that are above" is to be partially understood by seeing it as a new Christlike quality of life, it still has a more specific expression - one which makes clear the "hidden" nature of this yet unrealized new life. Using the 2 Apocalypse of Baruch, a Syriac text of one of the Jewish pseudepigraphal writings that shares much ...

1394. Luke 13:22-30

Luke 13:22-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... believers to "strive to enter through the narrow door." Scholar Rod Parrott has suggested that this choice of words seems to move the believer beyond the point of making a decision to try to attain salvation. This striving language therefore "focuses attention on the quality of commitment or behavior: Is it intense and competitive? The issue is not which door one enters, but how aggressively one seeks to enter the chosen door" (Rod Parrott, "Entering the Narrow Door," Matt. 7:13-14/Luke 13:22-24," Forum 5 ...

1395. Colossians 1:11-20

Colossians 1:11-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... these three verses make explicit the reason why praise and joy and thankfulness should define the Christian response to life. Significantly, the prison-bound Paul doesn't sugar-coat this cause for celebration. Remember, he began by counseling endurance and courage, qualities needed when facing hardships or difficulties. Verses 15-20 are sometimes counted among the early Christian hymns. Although not all the forms of meter that define a hymn for today's scholars are present, the lyrical nature of these texts ...

1396. Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that when that end-time finally arrives, the Christian will have no fear of Christ's judgment. But it is difficult to discern whether the stories and parables Jesus tells on the heels of 24:36 (concluding with 25:46) are more concerned with the quality of this in-between time or if our proper focus should be on the unpredictable nature of its duration. The second theme undergirding all these words about the parousia, then, is its sudden and unexpected nature. Disciples apparently are both to be ready for an ...

1397. Matthew 2:13-23

Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... underground" for the sake of his family's safety. The extravagant gifts of the Magi now truly become the gifts of "wise men" - for they share the two traits this outcast family needs to survive; they are extremely valuable and yet easily transportable. The medicinal qualities of all three might come in useful for the new mother and baby, and tiny amounts of each costly substance could be sold along the way to buy food and shelter for all. Matthew the narrator now speaks up to add Old Testament authority to ...

1398. John 1:29-42

John 1:29-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... John the Baptist's testimony is uncompromised. In 1:20, the Baptist boldly answers the Jewish priest's questions about his own identity: "He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed . . . " Once John the Baptist is established as a witness of unmatchable quality and character, the gospel writer invites his readers to enter Jesus' baptism through the Baptist's testimony. In verses 29-34, Jesus is not the focus of attention - despite the fact that it is his baptism. Instead, John's gospel makes this event ...

1399. 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... certain name. By adding "or I belong to Christ" to the end of the list, Paul subtly, if surely, points up the foolishness of those who are claiming another human being as the central focus of their identity. Paul swiftly points out three unique qualities that must operate to keep the Christian community united. First, he asserts the basic indivisibility of Christ himself. Christ is not divided; neither can his body, the church, be divided. Second, Paul uses his own name to demonstrate just how foolish it is ...

1400. Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... disciples. The church, it would seem, is to be the hill-top night light for the world. But the corporate candlepower of this image in no way suggests that individual wattage is unimportant. Verse 15 continues this "light" image by focusing on the illuminating quality found in each lamp. The ludicrous notion of lighting a lamp and then hiding it under a modios, a common wooden grain measure, is ridiculous on two counts. First, light is useless as light when it is covered up. Second, as any householder would ...

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