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 1451 to 1475 of 2699 results

1451. So You Want to Be in the Lead?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in 1961. And yet, as astounding as the space program's accomplishments were in the 60's and 70's, these lunar landings are an even greater source of amazement from the perspective of the twenty-first century. The sophisticated technology that looked so impressive on 1969 color TV screens was in reality so primitive and elementary that it's scary to think how many lives depended on it. Today most of our digital wristwatches have more high-powered computers running them than did all the rockets and space ...

1452. The Problem with Busybodies

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... who believe the work of Christ’s body in the world is too important to lose time criticizing or gossiping or playing games. There has been a great temptation over the past half century for many churches, particularly so-called mainline churches to give the impression that we are too sophisticated, too cultured, too exclusive--to reach out to people who are hurting. And thus, we have cultivated a reputation that says to many people: if you are truly lost, the church is the last place you should go for help ...

1453. The Ultimate Thanksgiving Feast

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... Bible. It took twenty preachers 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years to the church, but it was worth it. Mamma just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it.” The other brothers were impressed. After the holidays Mom sent out her Thank You notes. She wrote: “Milton, the house you built is so huge I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway.” “Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home; I have my ...

1454. To Be a Pilgrim (Thanksgiving)

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... Mayflower sailed over the horizon, the Pilgrims stood on the shore and wept. Few expected to live until the ship returned. The Pilgrims had the courage to act on their commitments, no matter what. Do we? Sociologist Robert Bellah, author of Habits of the Heart, is impressed by the power of religion. He once said, "We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a new vision of a just and gentle world. The quality of a culture may be changed when two percent of its people ...

1455. Eleven Plus One

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Impala No stories or descriptions remain in the gospels about James. He presided over the first Council at Jerusalem held to hear Paul's protest against requiring converts to be circumcised. He appeared to have a mixed temperament – legal, impetuous, and sanguine, yet impressed by Paul's fiery arguments. James is the kind of person who knows the answer but doesn't raise his hand. James would drive a beater: an older model Chevy Impala, neutral colored. 11. Thaddaeus: Buick LeSabre or Honda Accord A man of ...

1456. Four Cornerstones

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Ogilvie confronted him about it and assured him that he now had a choice between degenerating into the grave or living. Weeks later he received a letter of six words: "Dear Lloyd, I've decided to live." – Jim McGuiggan, Jesus, Hero of Thy Soul: Impressions Left by the Savior's Touch. West Monroe, LA: Howard Press, 1998, 56. The jail time logged by Peter and John in today's text was only the tiniest earnest of what obstacles, incarcerations, physical abuses, and ridiculing that lay ahead of them. But the ...

1457. The Golden Bull or the Old Rugged Cross?

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... s first duty as an Orthodox Christian is to find the icon corner and say a few prayers, but his proved difficult. Nothing looked like an icon. The peasants knew things were different in other countries. What would a British icon look like? What impressed them most was the mantelpiece clock. They decided this was a British icon and so crossed themselves, bowed before the clock, and recited their prayers. (Jim Forest, Praying with Icons [Maryknoll, New York: Orbis, 1997], 36.) If one of those peasants were to ...

1458. Son-burned, Wind-blown, Earth-Stained

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... seen crawling on the floor of the General Motors' executive conference room, trying to fix a connection that would enable him to make a pitch to GM engineers. The image of the Microsoft CEO on his hands and knees to please some customers made such an impression on the author that he wrote a whole article based on this one incident. (Steve Hamm, "Why High Tech Has to Stay Humble," Business Week, 19 January 2004, 76.) Corporate executives will get on their hands and knees to show customers how much they care ...

1459. The Naked Christian

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... message and mission the new reality of the kingdom of God. Here too, Jesus starts out his disciples with simple and straightforward teachings, even as they are utterly radical and revealing. The crowd Jesus addresses is declared by Luke to be impressively diverse: "people from all Judea, Jerusalem and the coast of Tyre and Sidon" (verse 17). What these people do have in common, however, is their Jewishness ("the people" is Lukan shorthand for "the people of the covenant"). [Note: the NRSV unfortunately ...

1460. The Four Marks of Failure

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... danger. 2. When everybody says nice things about you. Early in today's gospel text Luke records that when Jesus first began to teach in the synagogue he was praised by everyone (verse 15). Empowered by the Spirit Jesus spoke with a power and persuasion that impressed all who heard him. But once Jesus declared his true mission--to bring good news to the poor--the crowds around him began to get itchy ears. His message seemed unfavorable to those who were well-heeled, well-schooled, and well-accepted. As Jesus ...

1461. The Dash of Discipleship

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a scout troop would be a heavenly conception for some. For others it would be a chigger in the butt. When John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash his uncle, Senator Edward Kennedy, eulogized his nephew with a long list of his good works and impressive accomplishments. He noted, however, that young John had been gifted with many talents, but had sadly not received the gift of years. The dash between his birth date and death date was very short. The gift of years, when it's received, allows us to find new ...

1462. Blue Highway Blessings

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as some bleak and blighted landscape as we wait for the pie-in-the-sky-in-the-sweet-bye-and-bye. It's on the way that the Apostle Paul celebrates and praises our adoption, our redemption, our forgiveness, our experience of divine grace. These are pretty impressive landmarks. And while it's true that we must wait until we reach the fullness of time to receive our full and final inheritance, while we await that day God wants us to savor the sweetness of its approach here and now through our experience of the ...

1463. Atlas or Jesus?

1 John 1:1-4

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... getting the overwhelming urge to flex your own shoulders, crick your neck back and forth, loosen up your own sympathetically tightened muscles. This guy is doing some hard work. Across the street from Rockefeller Plaza is St. Patrick's Cathedral, itself a monumentally impressive structure. But tucked back behind an interior chapel in St. Pat's is another image that depicts the world being held aloft. In this case, however, in this unassuming corner of the church, the one who holds the planet is only a ...

1464. By God’s Spirit

Zechariah 4:1-14

Sermon

James McCormick

... history, and here we are gathered in this Chapel as the Church, to sing our hymns, pray our prayers, and affirm our faith. Don’t you ever underestimate what God can do! Just think about the history of this Chapel. It’s impressive by any standard of measurement. The buildings built…the classes taught…the prayers prayed…the lives touched and made new by Christ…the many helping ministries: scholarships provided, tutoring done, the needy helped, the hurting encouraged, the grieving comforted, and so ...

1465. Be Kind

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James McCormick

Since before I can remember, I went to Vacation Bible School every summer. I loved Vacation Bible School and I have many fond memories of my experiences there. I remember rousing games of “Red Rover” in which the boys tried to impress the girls. I remember making first century houses out of clay. There were times when we dressed up in bath robes and re-enacted Biblical dramas. I remember spatter painting – I loved spatter painting! We would get a leaf or a flower or some other object and put it on ...

1466. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... of that time He spent in silence, allowing God to shape His spirit and mold His life. If prayer is what I think it is – if prayer is a time exposure of the soul to God, with the primary purpose being to allow something of God’s Spirit to be impressed upon our spirits, then a great deal can happen in prayer. The key is to keep at it. Make prayer an important part of your everyday routine. By doing that, you may reach the place where it is such a smooth transition between that time set apart for prayer ...

1467. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

John 16:17-33

Sermon

James McCormick

... to us, our first reaction is to ask, “Why me?” But, don’t you see, such a question comes out of a rose garden picture of life. A better question is, “Why not me?,” because the experience of difficulty in life is normal! One of the things that impress me about Jesus is that he is a realist about life. In talking with his disciples, he said, honestly, “In the world you have tribulation.” That’s the way it is. He never promised them and he never promised us a rose garden. He never promised that ...

1468. Two Worlds

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

James McCormick

... like a city that is built on a hill. As we live lives that look and sound like Jesus, we are, bit by bit, helping to shape His world according to His purposes. Remember, the Christian movement began with Jesus and twelve followers. Not a very large or impressive group was it? But they had a dream of the way life, the way the world should be, could be. By living above the prevailing standards, and by trusting God for the rest, they succeeded in turning the world upside down. We follow in their footsteps, and ...

1469. It's My Life, Isn't It?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

James McCormick

... He has set us free. God wants the relationships of life to be real – relationships between us and others, relationships between us and God. And the only way for relationships to be real is for them to be entered into freely. That’s one of the things that really impresses me about God – He takes us so seriously that He has given us freedom. He allows us to do with our lives whatever we please. We can mess them up, or we can fulfill God’s dream for us. But the choice is ours. We are free. Other people ...

1470. Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Mark 2:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... words in this week's pericope recall the notoriety Jesus had experienced in Galilee. Because the healed leper proclaimed Jesus' miraculous healing freely, the crowds made it impossible for Jesus to go into town openly. It's after this massive and impressive popularity that Jesus returns to Capernaum. But his presence is soon reported throughout the town. The crowds are no longer satisfied with waiting for Jesus to appear. They gather at his home (most probably Peter's family residence) to hear the word ...

1471. The Twelfth Man

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Capernaum may not have been his childhood home, Jesus was still at home in that synagogue. It was his chosen home base, his home field. Mark doesn't relate what it was Jesus actually taught. Just that his words astounded the locals. They were impressed not just with WHAT Jesus said, but with HOW he said it: with authority, and not as the scribes (verse 22). This undercurrent of acceptance stirred up more than admiration. It changed the atmosphere in that synagogue enough to antagonize an unclean spirit. It ...

1472. John 1:43-51

John 1:43-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in Psalm 32:2: "Blessed is the man . . . in whose spirit is no deceit." Nathanael responds by asking Jesus how he knows about his character. Jesus' response reveals even more miraculous insight. Jesus' admission that he saw Nathanael under the fig tree impresses Nathanael far more than such a simple insight might seem to warrant. Jesus' vision of Nathanael ("under the fig tree" is often surmised to be an idiomatic reference for "at home" or "at study") prompts what sounds like a remarkably astute threefold ...

1473. Want to Be Happy?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that required a special perspective. To begin, Matthew specifically brings Jesus on a long journey. It was about seventy miles from Nazareth in Galilee to the southern regions of Palestine and Perea where John was actively preaching and baptizing. The impression is made firm that Jesus specifically seeks John out in order to be baptized and more importantly to “fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). Additionally, Matthew includes an active dialogue between John and Jesus. This exchange is recorded only by ...

1474. The Counter Intelligence of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in which Christianity becomes a way of thinking, a “philosophy,” rather than a way of living and relating to each other and to the world. Instead of engaging the Corinthians with an intellectual debate, instead of mustering the resources of his impressive learning and apostolic status, Paul assaults the “sophia”-loving Corinthians where it hurt the most: “the message of the cross is foolishness!” (v.18), he thunders. The gospel is not difficult to understand. It is not multi-layered and complex ...

1475. Successful Judas

Matt 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-13

Illustration

Tim Kimmel

Among the apostles, the one absolutely stunning success was Judas, and the one thoroughly groveling failure was Peter. Judas was a success in the ways that most impress us: he was successful both financially and politically. He cleverly arranged to control the money of the apostolic band; he skillfully manipulated the political forces of the day to accomplish his goal. And Peter was a failure in ways that we most dread: he was impotent in a crisis and ...

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