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 1601 to 1625 of 5000 results

1601. Maker's Mark

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It was a typical off-island family outing. A trip to the mall, a stop at a fast-food restaurant: then pick up some pet food at the farm-supply store, and finally an appointment at the tattoo and piercing parlor. WHAT?! Yes, that was the family-day itinerary of one young family we know here on our little island. The mom and daughter both decided to get an eyebrow ring together. The dad got a new tattoo on his shoulder. For them it was a fun way to share time together and enjoy common interests as a family. ...

1602. Magnanimity: The Essential Spirit of the Christian

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

Someone once said: “You can call me anything, if you let me define the terms.” This morning, I want us to define the term “Magnanimity”…because it was such an important word to the Apostle Paul… and such a key characteristic in the life of Jesus. Writing a long time ago to the Philippian Christians, Paul called the spirit of magnanimity the essential spirit of the Christian. He told the Philippians that a Christian should be characterized by his or her magnanimity… and that the spirit of magnanimity should ...

1603. Don't Forget to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

James Merritt

I heard about a man that went to see his doctor because he was feeling absolutely terrible. The doctor gave him a careful examination, left the room to look at some tests, came back in with a very somber expression on his face, and said: "Sir, I don't know how to break the news to you, but you have rabies and you're going to die very soon." The man very calmly got out a piece of paper and began furiously writing. The doctor said: "What are you doing, making out your will?" He said: "Oh no, I'm writing out ...

1604. Whatever It Takes

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Sermon

James Merritt

A tourist was vacationing on the Island of Malta, a Mediterranean island which is hot every day of the year, and very sunny. He was appalled by the chaotic traffic; cars and buses were darting every which way with no apparent order whatsoever. The tourist asked a policeman why the traffic was so disorderly, and the policeman said, "Well, in some countries they drive on the right side of the road; in other countries they drive on the left side of the road; here we drive in the shade. This world is full of ...

1605. The Pride Is Right

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Sermon

James Merritt

The name, Albert Einstein, is one of the most well-known names in all the world. Time magazine chose him as "Person of the Century." His influence is seen in every life around the world. The atomic bomb, the big bang, electronics, quantum physics all bear his influence. He will probably be considered for all time the standard by which all scientists measure themselves. But as tall as he was in scientific theory, he was equally as small in spiritual theology. Because even though Einstein believed in a being ...

1606. Engage Mind before Putting Mouth in Gear

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

When we were children our parents often quoted us the expression, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Generally this was a welcome comment that brought significant comfort, especially after the callous and thoughtless words of one of our friends or classmates hurt us. As children this expression works well and alleviates many problems, but as we mature we begin to see that this catchy phrase really does not help, for it simply does not apply. The reality is that words can ...

1607. The Paralysis of Analysis – The Fear of Failure

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Sermon

James Merritt

I am beginning a series of messages today that I am entitling - fear factor. I would say practically all of us today will remember this picture which has been shown thousands of times and is seared into our memory. If it is true that, "A picture is worth a thousand words" you will never see a more graphic picture of fear than this one. Psychologists and sociologists agree that since 9/11, fear has been at an all time high in America. Indeed, the entire world at times is paralyzed by fear. There is a word ...

1608. What Do I Do - When I Don't Know What To Do?

2 Kings 4:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

I had graduated from college and thought that I wanted to go to seminary, but I began to have doubts about whether or not that really was what I should do. Even if it was what I wanted to do, I had been going to school non-stop for sixteen years and I was burned out. Quite frankly, I was at a crossroads in my life where I didn't know what to do. Should I go on to seminary or not? Was I really called into the ministry or not? If I didn't go to the seminary, in the meantime, what was I going to do? For the ...

1609. Why Me?

Proverbs 16:4, Colossians 1:16

Sermon

James Merritt

A survey that was recently taken in USA Today asks the question, "If you had the opportunity to get a direct and clear response from God, what one question would you ask Him?" By an almost 2 to 1 margin, over the number two answer, the number one question people would ask God was this, "Why am I here on earth?" Let's face it more than ever before, life, the meaning of it, the purpose of it, the reason for it, gets more and more complicated. I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of people on this ...

1610. Honor Graduate

Exodus 20:12

Sermon

James Merritt

To be an honor graduate is considered quite an accomplishment. These honors, as you know, are in Latin and they are used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree is earned. There are typically three types of Latin honors in order of increasing level of honor. They are: Cum Laude (with honor), Magna Cum Laude (with great honor) and Summa Cum Laude (with highest honor). One of my goals when I went to college was to be an honor graduate. I didn't want to get an ordinary ...

1611. Here Today Gone Tomorrow

Genesis 5:21-24, Hebrews 11:5

Sermon

James Merritt

Someone has called the fifth chapter of Genesis "a desert of death". You could almost see the caskets and the graves. You can almost hear the widows weeping in the background. You can almost smell the stench of death that arises from this chapter, because over and over we read these words, "and he died." The last words of verse 5 read, "and he died." Verse 8 says, "and he died." Verse 11 says, "and he died." Verse 14 says, "and he died." Verse 17 says, "and he died." Verse 20 says, "and he died." Yet right ...

1612. Know Fear: The Fear of God

Proverbs 1:7

Sermon

James Merritt

I am concluding the series of messages we have entitled - fear factor. I am afraid fear may have gotten a bad rap, because some fear in life is good. In fact, some fear is even necessary. Small children need to be taught to be afraid of a hot stove or else they will be burned. As they get older, they need to be taught to be afraid of a busy street or else they may get hit by a car. As they become teenagers, they need to be taught to be afraid of driving a car too fast or they might be killed. The fear that ...

1613. April Love

Sermon

Stan Purdum

It's a bit odd that the lectionary committee placed this reading from the Song of Solomon in late summer, for it seems like a springtime text. Springtime, according to the poet Tennyson, is that time when "a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,"1 but I guess summer love is pretty exciting, too. Some recent research, however, suggests that what actually may be going on in the young man may have more to do chemical molecules than with seasonal madness. The researchers recruited a bunch of ...

1614. Only the Lost and the Least

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Ron Lavin

A woman approached her pastor with a question: "Where is the lost and found department in our church? I've lost my glasses and I just can't see well." The pastor replied, "We don't actually have a lost and found department. You might check the secretary's desk. Maybe you'll find your glasses there." After the woman left, the pastor rethought his answer. "Actually, the whole church is a lost and found department. The business of the church is to find the lost." The incident that gave rise to Jesus' parables ...

1615. Daddy, Tell Me a Story

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

“That bass must have weighed 30 pounds,” said the old fisherman talking about a recent trip on the river. “I fought upwards of three hours to bring him into the boat.” His buddy interrupted the story and scoffed, “I saw the picture you took of that fish. You’re lucky if it even weighed 10 pounds.” The old fisherman replied, “Well, a fish can lose an awful lot of weight during three hours of fighting!” Who doesn’t like a good story even the kind that fishermen tell? I know I would hate to listen to a sermon ...

1616. The Cost of Discipleship: Get Lost!

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

My favorite definition of the cross was given by the daughter of Dr. Joseph Cotton a number of years ago. When walking into the church for the first time, and seeing the cross on the altar, this little girl said, “Daddy, what’s that plus sign doing up there?” Have you ever thought of it that way? The cross as a plus sign. Keep that image in mind as we move through the sermon this morning. I am talking about the cross today because I’m talking about the cost of discipleship. The cost of disciple ship is to ...

1617. It’s Not about You; It’s All about God

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Jesus left the house (which one we are not sure). He went to the Sea of Galilee and great crowds gathered around him. He began to teach in parables. What followed was the famed parable of the sower. Most of us think we know the point of the parable. After all, Jesus himself explained its meaning (Matthew 13:18-23). But did he? In its present form, the parable is about our response to the seed (the word of God) which has been sown among us. But was this really Jesus' point? The consensus among most New ...

1618. Testing, Testing

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Chris Ewing

Sometimes things happen that push us back to our deepest questions and force us to answer. A marriage breakdown, loss of a job, kids leaving home, or simply the midlife re-evaluation that all of us go through — any of these can push us back to asking what it's all about, what we really want in our lives, what matters and what doesn't ... what we want our life to count for. Sometimes the question gets asked more directly. An Islamic family moves in down the street, and their children ask your children what ...

1619. Showing Up

Ephesians 3:1-12

Sermon

John N. Brittain

We lived in Florida for a while in the 1980s and it was then that we learned about Tarpon Springs. Not a large city, it has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any place in the US. This dates back to the 1880s, when Greek immigrants moving into the area were hired as sponge divers, a trade they had plied back in the old country. Today Tarpon Springs' main claim to fame is the Greek Orthodox Church's Epiphany celebration, which is held every January 6, with the blessing of the waters and the boats ...

1620. How Many of Us Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb?

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone once asked the profound question, “How many [Presbyterians] does it take to change a light bulb?” * The correct answer is, of course, “Change the light bulb? Why, my grandfather donated that light bulb!” (1) Well, [Presbyterians] are not the only ones who have trouble with change. Anytime change takes place in any institution, particularly the church, there is resistance. Pastor Pete Kontra tells about a small-town church in upstate New York. They’d had a rector in that church for over thirty-five ...

1621. A Faith to Move Mountains

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

A man named Adrian Plass authored what he calls his Sacred Diary. In it, he tells how he once bought a book on faith that told him that real Christians should be able to move mountains by faith. So he decided to try it. He practiced with a paper clip. He put it on his desk and willed it to move. Nothing happened. He tried commanding it in a loud voice. Still nothing happened. He tried it again the next day. The paper clip still wouldn’t budge. He even promised God he would change his life if the clip would ...

1622. Shockproof

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James Merritt

Dawn Smith Jordan was selected Miss South Carolina in 1986 and was the second runner up to Miss America that year. An event took place the year before that caused an emotional and spiritual earthquake in her life that shook her to the very core of her being. On May 31, 1985, her 17-year-old sister, Sherrie, was kidnapped while walking from her car to the mailbox. She was just two days from her high school graduation. They didn’t hear anything for a few days and then they received a letter in the mail from ...

1623. Blessed Are the Abnormal

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Everyone knows the name Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh is best remembered as a troubled, but highly talented post-impressionist painter who died at the age of 37, perhaps at his own hand. His best-known work is titled, “Starry Night.” But let me tell you some things about Vincent van Gogh that you may not know. Did you know that Vincent van Gogh was drawn toward the Christian ministry at an early age? In the winter of 1878, van Gogh volunteered to move to an impoverished coal mine in the south of Belgium, a ...

1624. Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

(A Dialogue Sermon) And he said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.' " — Luke 11:2-4 Man: If two of the sacred idols of our nation are said to be motherhood and apple pie, no one has ever exalted fatherhood and hamburgers to the American pantheon — although hamburgers are getting close! Despite the complaints of the ...

1625. Community Discourse: Lavish Forgiveness in the Kingdom

Matthew 18:21-35

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus stresses that the kingdom community is characterized by unlimited forgiveness based on God’s prior and lavish forgiveness, warning those who are not persistent in offering forgiveness that they will not receive it in the end. Understanding the Text In the second half of the Community Discourse (chap. 18) Jesus highlights the necessity of forgiving others in the Christian community, a theme already introduced in the Sermon on the Mount (6:12–15). As in the first half of the discourse, a ...

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