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 1676 to 1700 of 1913 results

1676. Knowing When To Run

Genesis 39:1-2, 6b-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In Kenny Rogers' greatest hit, he meets up with a gambler who gives him this advice: You got to know when to hold ‘em Know when to fold ‘em Know when to walk away and know when to run You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table There's time enough for countin' when the dealings done. In this soap opera episode from the life of Joseph, which is our scripture lesson for today, Joseph knows when to run. Maybe there is a lesson from the life of Joseph for all of us who struggle with temptations ...

1677. Unexpected Invasions

Isaiah 64:1-9

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

He looked me in the eye with deep intensity, as young adults tend to do, and then he said, “Do you believe in miracles?" “Indeed I do," I said with all the authority of my office and ordination. “Good," he replied. “I need an especially big one this week." With that he disappeared in the crowd and I never saw him again although I continue to pray for him often when his face comes into my mind's eye. Here we are in December. December is not so much another month as it is another state of mind. In December ...

1678. Let Go of the Stone

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A friend and colleague of mine was declared dead by the IRS a few years ago, even though he was very much alive. Due to MS, Jim was confined to a wheel chair and depended on disability Social Security for survival. So you can imagine the shock of being informed you are dead and no longer eligible for benefits. Jim called the IRS. They asked him multiple questions, but could not by conversation declare Jim to be alive. He wrote them letters and sent them pictures, but such correspondence did no good. It was ...

1679. Stepping Into the Stream

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When it comes to water, I am fundamentally afraid. It’s my mother’s fault. She was so concerned that one of her children might wade into a pond or fall into a creek that she put the fear of water into our psyche. So I was an adult before I learned to swim. When the water is deep and the waves are fierce, I can still find myself getting anxious. Perhaps that is why I have never preached a sermon on this text about Peter walking on the water. It’s just too personally intimidating. But, here it is, in three ...

1680. The Power of a Helping Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Jokes about lawyers are about as plentiful as puns about preachers. With apologies to my lawyer friends, I want to tell you two or three of my favorite lawyer jokes: When lawyers die, why are they buried 600 feet underground? Because deep down they are really nice people. What’s the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer? A good lawyer knows the law; a great lawyer knows the judge. What do you get when you cross a librarian with a lawyer? All the information you need but you can’t understand a ...

1681. What Can Christians Learn from Muslims?

Genesis 21:1-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Asadullah Nawabi was six-years-old when the Soviet Union invaded his home country of Afghanistan. Asad and his family escaped to the mountains in fear. They wandered there until they finally found a refugee camp where they lived for two years. Meanwhile, the Council of Churches in Crestwood, KY was trying to do its part in refugee resettlement. That's how Asad, along with his mother and father and brothers and sisters, wound up in that little Kentucky town. I was the pastor of the Methodist church. Sandy ...

1682. Valuing Life Without Playing God

John 10:10-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

God likes life, He invented it. It is to the full-flowing, free life that He invites us. I have lived my life by that simple motto. Jesus put it even better in John 10:10 which is the text I want to linger on today. “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly," or to the full, to the maximum. In our quest for Christian values, we must do some serious thinking about this thing called life. Who gives it? What's it worth? Who has the right to end it? Those are some of the questions I would ...

1683. Conversion or Credentialing?

Acts 9:1-5, 10-12, 17-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It's been an eventful week in the Olds' household. Sandy and I flew in from vacation last Tuesday and immediately drove to Lexington, Kentucky to participate in the service of ordination of our son, Wes, who is now a full elder in our denomination. As I recessed from that service a long-time friend of mine asked, “Howard, which was the best, your ordination or the ordination of your son?" Without hesitating, I replied “Need you even ask?" It is a moving and humbling experience to see your son or daughter ...

1684. Living in Gratitude

Philippians 4:4-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Have you heard the old story about the young man who enthusiastically joined the monastery? Wanting the highest and the best, the young monk immediately took the vow of silence. The solemn vow meant the monk could only speak two words a year and those were reserved for his annual evaluation with the Abbott. The first year passed and the Abbot asked the monk how he was doing. Without hesitation the monk replied, “Food Bad." Another year passed and the Abbott again asked the monk how he was doing. The monk ...

1685. A Thousand Points of Light

Isaiah 60:1-3; 18-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

One of my favorite stories goes something like this: An old man was walking the beach one morning when he saw a kid in the distance doing something like a dance. As the old man got closer to the boy he said, “Good morning, what are your doing?" “Saving starfish," replied the kid. “The sun is up, the tide is going out. If I don't throw these starfish back into the ocean they will all die." “But, young man, there are miles and miles of beach and starfish are everywhere. You can't possibly make a difference ...

1686. Neighborly Prayer

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

King Duncan

Some of you may be familiar with a story by journalist Tom Junod. It is a true story of a young man afflicted with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy did not affect this young man's mind, but it affected his motor skills and his ability to speak. The boy could only communicate through typing on his computer. In addition to his physical disabilities, the boy suffered emotional problems after some of his care givers callously abused him. Overwhelmed with self-hatred, the boy often hit himself. Using his computer ...

1687. A Strange Way in and a New Way Out

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

The heroes of this little narrative certainly seem familiar to us. Each year we all receive at least one Christmas card with their picture on the cover. Every card depicts them exactly the same way: long flowing robes, beards, and big turbans. They are always in one of two poses: either kneeling at Jesus' crib or sojourning across the desert on camels. In our carefully carved nativity sets, they rub elbows with the shepherds from Luke. We don't really know them very well, though. Most of us have probably ...

1688. Set Free for Life

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Lee Griess

When the famous agnostic, Robert Ingersoll, died, the printed funeral program left this solemn instruction. It read: "There will be no singing." For without faith, few feel like singing in the face of death. Running, perhaps. Crying, certainly. But not singing. Not in the face of death. For without faith, death steals our reason to sing. Death takes the song off our lips and leaves in its place stilled tongues and tear-stained cheeks. We know that is true, not only because we have experienced it, but also ...

1689. Hope to Carry On

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Lee Griess

It is perhaps one of the most compelling narratives in all of the scriptures. So fascinating is this scene, in fact, that the gospel writer Luke includes it in detail near the end of his gospel writing. It is a story known well and beloved in the church — the story of two disciples walking down a dusty road to the village of Emmaus, the evening of that first Easter day. Their talk centers around the crucified, dead Jesus. Their words come out slowly, almost painfully, as they trudge their way along, their ...

1690. Connected to God

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Lee Griess

It's one of those stories that circulates around the internet. I don't know if it's true or not but it's so interesting that I have to share it with you. It seems that a woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running from his waist toward the electric outlet in the wall. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly electricity, she grabbed a piece of wood that was leaning by the back door, and gave him a good whack, breaking his arm in two places ...

1691. Why We Need the Pledge of Allegiance

Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When I was in high school, a new music teacher came to town. He was fresh out of college and full of ambition. But here he was, stuck in a very rural community where people didn't put up with (as they called it) "long-haired music," either from the Beatles or Beethoven. Still, he was determined to teach us good music. We were going to sing selections from Handel's Messiah for our Christmas concert. Most of us had never heard of George Frideric Handel, and when we first tried to sight-read through the ...

1692. Hunger and Politics

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Yogi Berra, the great baseball player of an earlier age, was known for his unusual and creative use of the English language. In giving directions to his home, for example, he often told people, "When you come to the fork in the road, take it." His formula for success, as some heard it, was this: "Ninety percent perspiration, and the rest mostly just plain hard work." Then there was the time he went to a restaurant by himself and ordered a large pizza. The waitress asked if he would like it cut into four or ...

1693. Why Is God Unfair?

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

One of my favorite courses to teach is "Introduction to Biblical Literature." It is a 200-level course, and therefore only open to upperclassmen. These are college students who have already been around the block once or twice, and they know the rules of the game for getting good grades. Because the course is a biblical survey, there is a lot of material to cover, and little that can be pursued in depth. Yet, I want my students to think theologically, so I place before the group every year one question that ...

1694. All Who Share This Hope

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Chris Ewing

There's nothing like a week with two funerals, a wedding, Halloween celebrations, a community farewell party, a church tea, and several pastoral crises to make a body realize that none of us is an island. Mind you, just now, I'd kind of like to be an island for about three days! But only for three days. For the truth is, we are profoundly connected with and dependent upon each other ... and on the whole, that is good. Did you ever think about the implications of the fact that as human beings the God in ...

1695. Kiss The Chef! Thanksgiving Day

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Chris Ewing

Years ago, during summer vacation, I took a whole pile of books out of the library and spent days and days just reading. Today I'd have trouble telling you what most of those books were, never mind what they were about. But there's one little snatch of dialogue from one of the books that has stuck with me all these years — the bit of dialogue, in fact, that gave the book, and later the movie, its name: a snippet of conversation about the color purple. Actually, it's a bit of conversation about appreciation ...

1696. Losers, Weepers

Isaiah 49:8-16a

Sermon

Tony Everett

All of us have experienced the pain of loss in many different forms. We have lost wallets or purses; keys or address books; tools or toys. Some of us have even lost our automobiles in crowded parking lots. Have you ever watched young children participating in their first organized athletic competition? Winning brings loud cheers and high fives. Losing brings jeers and tears. Losing hurts. It can be devastating to lose even what seems to be a trivial object or a meaningless game. Losing can often shape the ...

1697. Forty Days and Forever

Exodus 24:12-18

Sermon

Tony Everett

Here's a story that many church members have been telling for a while. Two seminary professors entered a local fast-food restaurant loudly chanting, "For-ty days! For-ty days!" Then they were joined by three more. Then five more gathered at their table, all chanting, "For-ty days! For-ty days!" Soon, the uproar had disrupted the entire restaurant and the manager came over to ask the professors to keep the noise down. "What's all the chanting about anyway?" asked the manager. "You are disturbing everybody ...

1698. Are All Your Sons Here?

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I remember sixth grade as though it were yesterday. Those shy, awkward times when we were all sliding down the slippery slope of adolescence. The young people I was growing up with, including myself, were walking this line between childhood and adulthood. One day we would step on one side of the line, and on the next day we would fall down on the other. There was no plan or intention about any of it. We were, of course, new at this stuff. Our bodies were changing; expectations of the world around us were ...

1699. The Names by Which He Is Known

Exodus 3:1-15

Sermon

David J. Kalas

When I was about six years old, I made friends with a boy named Danny. At the lake community where our family spent our summer vacation, the house where Danny's family stayed was right across the street from the house where we stayed. Because we were not year-round neighbors, the families did not know each other at all, but Danny and I eventually met and began to play together. One day, when we were playing catch together, the ball got away from us and rolled over near where my sister happened to be ...

1700. A Little Theology at Christmas

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

Scholars who study such things are quick to tell anyone who will listen that Christmas is much overrated as a church festival. If you ask the average person (even the average churchgoer) what the most important Christian festivals are, they will probably answer "Christmas and Easter," and most likely in that order. But, the scholars will point out, they are not even close in theological significance, Easter, with its empty tomb, being the primary reason there is Christianity. There are a number of ...

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