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

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126. Garden of Love

John 20:10-18, Song of Songs 4:1-16, Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... as we can hold the story at arm’s length, it is “safe.” It doesn’t really affect us too deeply. We listen to it. We nod. Then we go back to our lives. But those stories that truly touch us, touch off our emotions, ravage our empathy, awaken our feelings, provoke sensory reactions within us –those are tough stories to handle! Too hot to handle. The Story of God’s enflamed and infernal love for us from our garden days until the resurrection of our soul stays branded upon us and haunts us in our ...

127. The First Songs of Christmas

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . Scenario Two: Child is told not to run in the house. In child’s impulsivity, child runs in house and breaks beloved base. Horrified, child retreats to room, but then is overcome by guilt over not having obeyed the non-running rule, empathy for how much his or her parent loved that vase, sadness over having hurt beloved parent, self-searching and grief over having acted impulsively. In sorrow, the child approaches parent, confesses the deed, and expresses sorrow, regret, apologizes, and offers compassion ...

128. Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... .history.com/news/8-multi-million-dollar-masterpieces-found-in-unexpected-places. 3. “5 Stories of Compassion That Will Inspire You to Show Up for Others” by Marina Khidekel, Thrive Global, Sept. 9, 2019, https://thriveglobal.com/stories/compassion-empathy-emotional-intelligence-anecdotes-stories/. 4. “Heisman winner's speech leads to over $260,000 in donations for families in poverty” by Elizabeth Wolfe and Saeed Ahmed, with contributions from Phil Gast, CNN, December 16, 2019 https://www.cnn.com ...

Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.

Barbara Kingsolver

Women are, in my view, natural peacemakers. As givers and nurturers of life, through their focus on human relationships and their engagement with the demanding work of raising children and protecting family life, they develop a deep sense of empathy that cuts through to underlying human realities.

Daisaku Ikeda

The opposite of anger is not calmness, its empathy.

Mehmet Oz

When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you.

Susan Sarandon

When a mother quarrels with a daughter, she has a double dose of unhappiness--hers from the conflict, and empathy with her daughter's from the conflict with her. Throughout her life a mother retains this special need to maintain a good relationship with her daughter.

Terri Apter

134. Unsanctified

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... feeling down in the dumps or even grouchy and feeling nasty, vicious, hateful, or revengeful. Unfortunately, some people have an ongoing case of the “nasties,” and nothing and no-one seems to make them happy. These are people who seem to harbor no empathy, feel no compassion, act upon compulsion, and house a frighteningly aggressive and sometimes even murderous spirit. Often, these are people, who have turned away from God. Cause let’s face it. When you are feeling close to God, you just don’t have ...

135. Like a Phoenix

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... have been given to me. We can let go of our failures because they are occasions for learning, not just for me, but for those I love as well. And the fourth tool, the fourth gift that God has given to us in our failures, is that they teach us empathy. They teach us what other people feel like. They expand our capacity for being with and going with others who are facing uncertain roads ahead. One of the greatest examples of this that I have ever heard was given in a TED Talk by Doctor Abraham Verghese. TED is ...

136. A Sympathetic High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... , divine despair. Through Christ the poor are offered freedom now to rebel against that which makes them other than human.[3] A suffering God is one who identifies with our suffering. He suffers with those who are suffering, does not just express empathy or regret. Cone says that this makes the suffering and despair that the poor and oppressed endure divine! The suffering and the despair have meaning. The ancient theologian Archelaus said that the suffering god endures in Christ relieves us of having to ...

137. The Thing About Evil

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the compulsive acts of a psychopath. We see it seeping into systems that persecute the poor and positions that wield power over the powerless. Overwhelmingly, the acts that chill us to the bone do so because they are so entirely devoid of empathy, compassion, human connection, or conscience.Evil issues in attributes opposite of those we attribute to God. True evil exists both in the opposition and absence of God. Evil is surreptitious. It defies God by being sneaky and preying on the helpless. It threatens ...

138. Stay the Course

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... “lies” as a matter of course and a harmless part of life. Natural liars flock to professions, such as acting, sales, law, or diplomacy. Often their gift can contribute to their success. Psychopathic liars on the other hand can be dangerous. They lack empathy, guilt, or remorse. They show no facial expressions. They don’t look away. They are difficult to discern and more difficult to catch because they feel no guilt, pity, or regret. They typically fool experts and pass polygraphs because they feel no ...

139. Seeing the Truth of Jesus

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... of God. We see the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We see God in the flesh. In January 2003, Geralyn Wolf, the Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island, spent a month living in homeless shelters across the northeast United States in order to increase her empathy and understanding of people in need in her part of the country. She didn’t tell any of her friends or church members that she would be doing this. But she saw some of them as she stood in line at soup kitchens or homeless shelters. In an ...

140. Herding Cats

Matthew 9:35-10:8-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’s way, Jesus’ way, or a common way. Because Jesus’ message is not about convincing but about convicting––through demonstration, through gifts of healing and wholeness, through life-changing assistance, through relationships built on trust, and non-judgmental empathy and understanding. Jesus’ message (God’s message) for humankind has never been about control, but about redemption. Never about force but about free will. In Jesus’ sacrifice, he offered us a better way –a way of peace, love ...

141. Creation Reborn

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... her heel. Almost instantly Eurydice was gone, robbed of her nascent marriage and life itself. Deep in grief, the song died in Orpheus’ heart. He only moaned and groaned, and the world hung heavy with pain. Willows drooped their branches in empathy, and the wild beasts slunk back into the shadows. Dark clouds covered the sun’s smile, and birds roosted, unable to take flight in the oppressive air. Orpheus moped and wallowed. Consolation fled. Lament took the orchestra’s podium. Reaching for nerves ...

142. Why Pass By?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... . The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. The opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” Perhaps these two men, the priest and the Levite, were so self-obsessed, so narcissistic, that they were simply incapable of human empathy. Maybe they could not bring themselves to care about someone they didn’t know, someone whose death or survival would not affect them either way. In the television series, “The Walking Dead,” there is a scene where two of the “survivors,” those ...

143. For Someone Who Will Be Terribly Missed

Isaiah 43:1-5 · Job 19:23-27

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... of the infirmities and pains that plagued so many people’s lives. Amy made mention of how, when reading books with her, she’d often cite a character with a problem and ask her feelings towards them, all in an effort to teach the importance of empathy. Tessie also made it a point to enroll Amy and Gail in programs and activities, doing so to expose them to as many things as possible with the hope of making them both a well-rounded person. She hoped that those programs and activities would help encourage ...

144. For a Special Woman

Proverbs 31:10-31, Luke 10:38-42

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... could also say that if there was anyone born to work with the Special Needs Community, it was Kate Wirth. And for my two cents, I wish the church would wake up to the need to ordain women because Kate would’ve been the ideal priest. And she had the empathy to be a great one. Besides the fact of her kindness loaded DNA, there was also the fact that no one could “light up a room” more so than Kate Wirth. She had a set of eyes that were not only beautiful, but which twinkled and which could melt away ...

145. The Unknowing Evangelist

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... isn’t. He’s telling us that if we get in the habit of doing good things either out of habit, strategy, or restitution, they may lead us into doing them for the right reasons! Actions don’t always follow words or commitment. Sometimes, commitment, understanding, and empathy come as a result of action! And in the meantime, a good deed is still a good deed! And better than a bad one! In Jesus’ story, a rich man (always a metaphor for God in Jesus’ stories) had a manager (that would be us – God’s ...

Showing 126 to 145 of 145all results

Showing all results

126. Garden of Love

John 20:10-18, Song of Songs 4:1-16, Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

127. The First Songs of Christmas

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Lori Wagner

128. Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.

Barbara Kingsolver

Daisaku Ikeda

The opposite of anger is not calmness, its empathy.

Mehmet Oz

When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you.

Susan Sarandon

Terri Apter

134. Unsanctified

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

135. Like a Phoenix