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 1401 to 1425 of 3128 results

1401. What Do You Mean 'Born Again?'

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... people in mainline churches (Lutheran, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Methodist) are asking, "What do you mean by 'religious experience'?" The terms "conversion," "born again," and "religious experience" are words which give rise to highly emotional, generally unproductive debates between the fundamentalists and Pentecostals on one hand, and on the other hand, mainline Christians. It is to be hoped that what is said in what follows will add some light (not just heat) to ...

1402. The Healing Community

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... Christ is that long before he straightens out our false theologies, long before he corrects our false presuppositions, he accepts us. He starts with us where we are. Do you have a marriage problem? A job problem? An alcohol problem? A drug problem? An emotional problem? A health problem? Jesus will start with you wherever you are willing to start. "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. She didn’t answer. She froze. Something had happened in her body. She felt it. Now something happened in her mind. Quite simply ...

1403. Job - A Probe Into the Shadow World of Despair

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

... be able and willing to face head-on if you are to be effective instruments of Christian mission in the corporate, educational, and medical worlds that you will soon serve when you leave Wittenberg. You must not only be able to confront intellectually and emotionally the questions asked by Job about a just God in a seemingly unjust world but also confront an even more intense, life-shattering challenge. Job, remember, is a believer. He is not an atheist. But as he expresses his life story and attempts to ...

1404. No Huggies

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

... to limit. Instead of receiving the gift with open hands that could share with others, they grabbed the gift with clenched hands to keep it for themselves. We adults often forget how to receive a gift. We become jaded or defensive or afraid to show our emotions. A child is simply not that way. A child squeals with joy when a gift, especially an unexpected one, is given. A child exults in being considered worthy of the gift. And almost always the child willingly receives the gift. The child is open, open to ...

1405. The Gospel in Two Words

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

... who was assigned there did not miss the importance of that word in the Christian experience. He spoke of how he had been opened up through the love and commitment of that congregation. He had gone there a shy, withdrawn person, not given to showing much emotion and not very available. He did not return to us a social gadabout, but there is a greater openness in him both in giving and receiving. And he does not fail to associate that change with the ancient liberating command of Jesus Christ: "Ephatha, Be ...

1406. My Soul Is Glad - Because of God

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

... poverty. That poverty can be indexed by the fact that in the land of Israel most men were lay-laborers, who were fortunate if they could find employment 200 working days out of the year. She had family ties from which she drew support and emotional strength - a cousin, Elizabeth, to whom she went when she found she was expecting; and an identified mother, Anna. Her personality was that of a trusting, patient, but vital girl, who was able to rejoice whole-heartedly at good news and special tasks. My heart ...

1407. Memories

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

... her, "Mother, there is your new son." There’s a beautiful new song titled, "For When Jesus Gets Back Home." In the song a woman sings about how hard it is to know what Mary must have felt all those years that she was with Jesus. Who could know what emotions churned inside her that day in the Temple when Simeon spoke to her and at the Temple again, twelve years later, when she found Jesus after he had been lost? How can we feel what it was like to be the mother of the Lord on that day when Jesus ...

1408. All I Need Is A Little Rest!

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

... as a summer vicar had suffered a near-fatal heart attack and that had taken a lot of attention. I was working forty hours a week in another job. And to top it all off, my car had blown up. I was tired, I told the people, physically, emotionally, and mentally drained and the only thing holding me together was God. I shared with them how God was sustaining me. I told them that if it had not been for God I would have completely fallen apart. The sermon came together beautifully because everybody there had been ...

1409. Coping with Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... to say, "I wish that my patients could understand that the love, the forgiveness, the care of God is available to them at all times and in all circumstances." This kind of faith counterbalances fear and can bring healing to the physical body. Doctors agree that emotional stress can bring actual changes in the organs, glands, and tissues of the body. Bio-feed-back is telling us much more in this field. It’s not so much "what I’m eating" as "what’s eating me" that’s getting me down. But what about ...

1410. Christ and Healing

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... that she was desperately ill and that I had better not see her that night. This woman’s brilliant, talented daughter had died five or six years before. The mother had become bitter, and seemed to hate God and hate life. In her deeply disturbed emotional state a malignancy had taken over, and she was dying. Entering her room the next morning, I could feel the tension and despair. The conversation was not satisfactory. Before leaving I had a brief prayer. I was guided to pray: "Father, give a quiet peace ...

1411. Why Fear Growing Old?

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... be. The best approach to age is to deepen one’s life now, to improve the disposition, to control the temper, to sweeten the spirit, to deepen one’s consciousness of God, to give life freely so that we may receive it. We can prepare ourselves financially and emotionally, in interests, in spirit, and in friendships. We can be increasingly proud of what life is doing for us, to us, and through us. Perhaps some life begins at 65 rather than forty. One doesn’t retire from life. We retire from one phase of ...

1412. And It Came To Pass

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... first time in a thousand years the Eternal City echoed with the dull thud of marching Germanic tribes. Alaric had invaded Rome. There followed three days of looting. In faraway Bethlehem, Jerome cried, "If Rome perish, what can be safe?" The emotional shock for the Roman people was overwhelming. True, it was not the actual termination of the Roman Empire (it continued for more than a century), but psychologically the end had come. Rome, ancient symbol of stability, power, and high civilization, had fallen ...

1413. Twenty-First Century Reformation

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... of events there arise the young prophets - not necessarily young in years but young in ideas - who protest the rigidity of the institution. A protest calls into question forms and patterns of the past. Some prophets are more vocal, more emotional and violent than others. Some go too far, destroying rather than reforming. The establishment, hoary in attitude, usually resents the prophet. So it goes: unbending hierarchy vs. zealous prophets. What was Martin Luther attempting to do? He was making a valid ...

1414. The Remote

John 14:5-14

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... , then you must be inconsistent in your own reasoning, which is a definition of being empty-headed. SUSAN: You're wearing me out. FLY: Ah, yes. That is because you do not have an opinion of your own. Your opinions are all shallow and are not based on logic, just emotion. SUSAN: Why don't you leave me alone. FLY: Because there might just be hope for you. Now maybe I can get to work on you. SUSAN: What are you going to do to me? FLY: Change you if I can. I know. I know. The job will take a ...

1415. Jarius' Daughter

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Brett Blair

... obviously throbbing with anxiousness. They were prepared to spend any amount of money that they had, go anywhere that they needed to go, in their efforts to get their child well. The story, fortunately, had a happy ending, but their situation underscores for me the extreme emotions that parents go through for their children. Let me ask you a question. If it had been your twelve-year-old child who had been sick to the point of death, is there anything that you would not have been willing to do. Would you ...

1416. The Home Under God

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... his son have turned out to be illusions, even nightmares, when the boy has brought sorrow and disgrace instead of joy and recognition, the father’s heart still keeps trusting and praying, still hoping for the best. The parental feeling is not a transitory and flickering emotion. It is strong and sturdy, and often the father’s faith in the son who has failed has made him exert every ounce of his strength to make good. God, says Christ, is like that. "No earthly father loves like thee, No mother, e’er ...

1417. The Heart of the Reformation

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... into a heroic reformer who altered the course of history. But the Reformation becomes meaningful to us only when we make this same discovery. Luther became a reformer when he discovered the true meaning of the "good news." Whether our discovery of it has an emotional or an educational pattern, whether it is sudden or gradual, early in life or late, depends on the personality of each individual. But the content is always the same. Paul sums it up in these words: "All men have sinned and are far away from ...

1418. On Loneliness

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

HENRY CLOSE’S (see biographical note preceding A New Perspective) sermon On Loneliness grew out of discussions with people in alcoholic rehabilitation programs. In it he deals with the subject of loneliness, an emotion the well-known American psychiatrist Harry Stack Sullivan used to say was the only motivating force in people stronger than anxiety that could move them toward facing the possibility of pain and growth. People have used many different symbols or figures of speech to express their sometimes ...

1419. With All Your Heart

Mark 12:28-34

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... God with all your heart; People: Not with lip service words but with wholehearted energy. Leader: Love God with all your soul; People: Not with a little corner of your soul but with your whole being. Leader: Love God with all your mind; People: Not with emotion only but with your fullest capacity for understanding. Leader: Love God with all your strength; People: Not with what is left over at the end of the day, but with rested, morning vigor ready to sprint into action. Collect When we put you first in our ...

1420. Here Is Your God

Isaiah 40:1-31

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... love embrace us. As the shepherd gently leads the mother sheep, you also guide us around obstacles so we may lead others in your name. Amen. Prayer of Confession Our power and our might threaten to turn into control, God. Our tenderness and our compassion become packed with worthless emotion. Teach us, O God, to marry strength with gentleness so our actions will show your presence in our lives. Amen. Hymns "Come, [O][Thou] Long-Expected Jesus" "Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People" "Now Bless The God Of Israel"

1421. Beginning to Weep

John 11:32-44

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... The shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept," brings us close to Jesus. We sense that God understands and accepts our tears when we begin to weep. Collect Help us, O God, to endure the regrets, the blame and self-blame, the anger, and all the other emotions of loss when we have sorrow. Guide us through the craziness that overtakes our lives. Through the presence of Christ. Amen. Prayer of Confession Amid our tears of grief, we fear losing control, O God. Can we survive another hour or the rest of our lives ...

1422. The Scattering of Lesser Figures

Acts 8:9-25

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... work that could make him famous. He delayed his departure for a few days to complete his valuable research. When he finally arrived in the little town, he was too late. His friend’s little boy was dead. The doctor struggled long and hard with his emotions. His pride had made him a traitor to friendship and service. Gradually he began to develop a new mental attitude of love and service. He resigned his city practice and moved to the small town, becoming a lesser figure in his profession. On a visit back ...

1423. What Are Spiritual Gifts For?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... is a great desire to speak on the types of spiritual gifts and answer questions about their authenticity. Paul gave us a priority ranking of the list of spiritual gifts. Certainly Paul’s reminder to the Corinthians about their earlier pagan days and the emotional practices of the mystery cults interests preachers. The placement of the gift of tongues in the last position also commands a lot of “air time” in pulpits. We all want to make certain we are dealing with people who are in contact with God ...

1424. When Life Gets Hard, Christian, Rebel!

Lamentations 1:1-22

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... and Jeremiah? Can anything be done to set us free from all the hopelessness and despair? It will take a bunch of rebellious (Christian) malcontents. Our other Bible lessons (2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10) give some clues about the mental and emotional make-up of a Christian rebel. But there is another Old Testament book, one very much like Lamentations, which teaches us an important lesson about what it takes to be a Christian rebel. I am referring, of course, to the book of Ecclesiastes. If Lamentations ...

1425. There Could Be, Couldn't There?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... . A word that seems profoundly prophetic to the preacher can sound simply self-serving to everyone else. You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. In fact, I’ve done it. It’s not hard for prophets and preachers to get lost in the swirl of words and emotions and end up going after false gods. So it’s not hard to imagine that it happened in the time and place that Jeremiah is telling us about. So the people have gone and the priests have gone and the rulers have gone and the prophets have gone. Everyone ...

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