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 1626 to 1650 of 4952 results

1626. Radical Surgery

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... “I am the door,” (John 10:9) He did not mean that He had hinges attached to His shoulders. It is so easy to miss the point by approaching Scripture with a wooden literalism. Jesus said that His disciples were “the salt of the earth,” but no one thought He meant that they should be used as seasoning for meat. He said that they were “the light of the world,” but His hearers did not think of making them lamps for the home. A few years later, the sadistic and cruel Emperor Nero would set Christians ...

1627. God’s Strange Arithmetic

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of women’s rights! He looked on them not as chattels owned by their husbands, but as human begins made also in the image of God. This ran counter to the customs of His time, against the prevalence of the idea of male domination which runs through Hebrew thought and practice, and which is still all too prevalent in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, even today. But Jesus gave the world a new conception of women as persons equal with men in the sight of God. In fact, Jesus may well have ...

1628. Knight of the Woeful Countenance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... rolls causes others to have to sacrifice to make up the difference for us. We would burn with shame at the notion that other people should have to pay our bills for us outside of church, but when it comes to the church, well, most of us haven’t even thought about it. And then, when asked to serve, we offer excuses. We are much too busy. No, we’d better not look too closely at this man whom we have called the “rich, young ruler.” We have the idea that Jesus’ words to him do not apply to us because ...

1629. On Claiming One’s Inheritance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... salesman came to the front door, he turned to the little boy sitting on the steps and asked, “Is your mother home?” The boy said “Yes,” and the salesman began to ring the doorbell. After several rings and no response, he turned to the boy and said, “I thought you said that your mother was home.” To which the boy replied, “She is, but this isn’t my house.” Sometimes we get the wrong answers because we don’t ask the right questions. In Mark 10, we read: “And as he was setting out on his ...

1630. What Do You Want Me to Do for You?

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... feel that we are consumers of God’s love rather than purveyors of it. We somehow have the notion that Christ exists to do something for us (like James and John), not that we are here to do something for others in Christ’s name. Have you ever thought of this: we are the only group of people on earth who are specifically charged with the responsibility of bringing others to Jesus? How many folks have we brought to Christ recently? An even more serious question is: how many times have we been part of the ...

1631. What the Maid Said to the Fisherman

Mark 14:66-72, Mark 14:53-65

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... been a man of almost reckless courage. Trying to walk on water just because Jesus’ told him to! Drawing his sword in the garden and cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant, going against everything Jesus had taught. The last place we should have thought he would show his face would be in the courtyard of the high priest’s house. But Peter followed Jesus this far-which was further than any of the rest. Somebody asked me a few weeks ago, in jest, if we Methodists had any “backsliders.” I ...

1632. The Ultimate Thirst Quencher (Alternate Addition to the "I Am" series: Living water)

John 7:25-44

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... same language and make the same claim today that he made to the people at the Feast of the Tabernacles. The point of the passage is powerful; it gets to the purpose of life. What is it that we thirst for? What are those passions which govern our thoughts and saturate our existence? What fruits do they produce in our lives? You and I know that even the best of life''s celebrations do not necessarily satisfy our deepest needs. Jesus knew as he walked around and met the people at this great feast that despite ...

1633. The Lord's Prayer: Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... not know about you but there have been times in my life when I have asked myself, "How in the world did I get in this mess?" As a pastor, I have listened to many who have shared a painful episode in their journey and said, "I never would have thought this would have happened to me. I knew better." Whenever I hear the word TEMPTATION, my mind immediately goes to that famous scene in the Garden of Eden. If you are quiet and get still when you read this account, you can almost hear the hissing. You can almost ...

1634. GIVE ME YOUR SINS: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. No magazine picture he had ever viewed in his childhood came close to capturing this impressive work of art. However, when he got close to the statue he noticed two things about it. First, Christ had no eyes. He thought, "What kind of Christ was this that refused to see the masses of people below it?" Then he noticed the other detail: The statue also had a stone heart. What kind of redeemer is this that has a heart made of stone? The statue was held together ...

1635. Trouble: A Required Course in LIfe

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... She said, "Professor, I did know the answer, but for the moment I have forgotten." The professor turned to the rest of the class with a stern look on his face and said, "Class, please sit still, for this is a sad moment in the history of human thought. Mark this day on your calendars. Since the beginning of time only two people have known the answer to the question I asked today. Jesus knew but did not choose to tell us. The other is this first year theological student, and she has just forgotten the answer ...

1636. Joy: The Echo of God's Presence In Us! (Part I - Introduction)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... was a large dog lying there, and he was a little uneasy about it. He asked the desk clerk, "Does your dog bite?" The desk clerk said, "No." The man reached down to pet the dog and was immediately bitten. He looked up in pain and surprise and said, "I thought you said your dog doesn''t bite?" "He doesn''t," the clerk said. "That''s not my dog!" (2) If you ask the wrong question, obviously you''re going to get the wrong answer. Dr. M. Scott Peck, whose book THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED was on the New York Times ...

1637. Christianity and Conflict: Dual Citizenship (Part VII)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to think carefully before throwing all this away. "How in the world did you come to this decision?" he asked. "Well," she said, "it was your sermon yesterday that started me thinking. You said that God has something important for each of us to do in our own way. I thought to myself, `I''m not here because I want to serve God. I''m here to get a job, to make money, to look out for myself. I''m going to get out of here and get into the same meaningless rat race as everyone else.'' Then I remembered that ...

1638. A Faith that Works with a Victorious Attitude

Philippians 2:12-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... in Christ there is a peace that is stronger than the dirt and crooked ways of the world. When the poet Carpani asked his friend Haydn how it happened that his church music was so cheerful, the beautiful answer was, "I cannot make it otherwise; I write according to the thoughts I feel. When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen; and since God has given me a cheerful heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful spirit." ANOTHER ...

1639. Peace or Pieces

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... when you want it." People are also like that. That''s why we all need to take time to rest. In today''s scripture, Paul is urging us to place all our problems in perspective with God''s promise and plan for our lives. George MacDonald expresses this thought with great clarity: "No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow''s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a person can handle. Never load yourself so. If you find yourself so loaded, at least remember ...

1640. Secrets Shared for the Journey of Life

Philippians 4:10-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... by the commanding officer, who, pointing out a black door in the wall of the arena, said, "You have a choice. Instead of being executed by the firing squad, you can walk through that door and accept whatever is behind it." When he heard the statement, the spy thought of all the possible horror, all the possible hell, all the possible torture, that could be on the other side of that door. He knew that it could be much worse than the quick death he was prepared for. So he said to the general, "I choose the ...

1641. Tackling the Tough Tasks

James 2:1-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... our way. James loved the church too much to let it escape with a "final notice." As long as we condone what is wrong or incomplete, Jesus will always have a word to share with his church, so we can reflect more of his love and light. I thought Robert Schuller would have been proud of me. Snow tires on--95 degrees outside. Talk about possibility thinking! Let us look at verses 1-4. Here James is teaching us to show respect for all persons. This is the REAL possibility thinking that the church NEEDS to tackle ...

1642. The Telling Trademarks of Truth

James 3:13-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... s team that He is building to inherit the Kingdom. The next time someone claims to have the Secrets to Life, close your wallets, open your Bibles, and show them the Real Secret to Life--a relationship with God in the person of Jesus Christ. I close with this thought: You''re writing a "gospel"; a chapter each day, By the deeds that you do, by the words that you say; Men read what you write, whether faithless or true-- Say, what is the "gospel" according to you? If you listen to James'' writing--it will be a ...

1643. Goodness and Mercy

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... were talking about him. The son revealed something new about the father. It seems that when the son was in the army he made a terrible mistake, got into trouble, and was given a dishonorable discharge. He said he knew what he had done disgraced his family, and thought his father would be outraged. But he also felt he had to tell him what happened. "So, I did. I wired him and told him what happened. He sent a telegram back. The telegram had three sentences in it: I will stand by you no matter what happens ...

1644. The Longest Table in the World

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... is not an assembly of Christians; these are secular sociologists meeting in national convention, and they said most of the turmoil, troubles, anxieties and problems that plague our society are due to a lack of communion." Dr. Kennedy then continued his thought by saying: "They didn''t say `communication'' because surely we have an abundance of that. In fact, there has been more communication in this generation than probably all of the preceding generations combined. This is the age of communication. No, not ...

1645. A Glimpse of Eternity

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... a touching moment. One of Will''s sons was at a site where they had recently buried the family horse that everyone had ridden. The youngster had taken two wooden sticks and made a "cross" to place at the grave and was praying. Joe was a camera buff and thought it to be a Kodak moment. He was ready to snap the picture, and then he stopped. He said to Will, "Some things you just can''t photograph." That''s true. To have taken a picture would have been inappropriate. Don''t miss the moment by being bogged down ...

1646. The Marvelous Message of Easter

Mark 16:1-20, Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Some events in life are bigger than we are able to fully comprehend. We understand, but our understanding of the event continues to enlarge. No matter what we do, some of life''s events escape an adequate celebration. When I finished at Drew Theological Seminary, I thought that I should be able to find some way to celebrate that moment. Fifteen long years have now passed and I never could find a way to adequately celebrate how I felt graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Master''s of Divinity Degree. That''s ...

1647. When "Well Done" Is Rare

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... trouble with writing And nobody taught him to spell. When it came to arithmetic problems Pretty good was regarded as fine. 5 and 5 need not always add up to 10 A pretty good answer was 9. A pretty good student was happy With standards that were set. And nobody thought it was scary If the answers were not quite correct. The pretty good class that he sat in Was part of a pretty good school. The student was not an exception. One the contrary, he was the rule. The pretty good school that he went to Was there in ...

1648. Staying Focused--Traveling Light

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... 1966, I had the privilege of going to the famous Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The night before our group left for 10 days on the trail, a veteran ranger came to the tent city for what is known as the "shakedown." We brought everything to the shakedown we thought we were going to take on the 10-day journey. You should have seen all the items he had us leave behind. His famous words were: "Remember, you must carry this for the next 240 hours on your back--up a hill--in 100 degree heat--with maybe a ...

1649. Easter Transportation

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... of Mary. Remember that time when you were in deep despair and it felt all the time like it was three o'clock in the morning? Then the despair lifted -- and it was more than the St. John's Wort that did it. Help came, and to speak figuratively, you thought it was the gardener. It wasn't the gardener! Do you recall that time when your vocation degenerated into a job and you could hardly stand to get up and do what you do any longer? But one day several things came together and again you were caught up in ...

1650. No Angels, No Shepherds, No Star

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... of God. In Christmas God acted in the only way God could have acted. And, finally, in Christmas God gave to us the greatest gift God could give us–God told us who we are. Have you ever received a Christmas gift that you knew was not well thought out? Someone sent it to you just to get the gift-giving over and done with. Oh, you’ve sent a gift like that? Some of you will remember a Democratic presidential candidate of many years ago named Adlai Stevenson. Stevenson was a respected politician who had the ...

Showing results