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 1701 to 1725 of 4770 results

1701. Transfiguration

Luke 9:28-36

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... . We long for mountain top experiences which are altogether too infrequent. We easily grow impatient. We are quick to complain. We question. Teach us to resist the impulse to cling to things which do not finally matter. Help us to remember that you unfold your finest work within the full view of ordinary people who are engaged in ordinary life situations. Increase our faith. Increase our capacity for surprise. Amen.

1702. When God Asks The Unreasonable

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... love" knows that God can, indeed, call us to do what seems very unreasonable. I suspect there is something to be learned from each of the historical, sociological and psychological perspectives. It might also be helpful to step back and look at this passage from as broad a view as possible. There can be no doubt that asking a man to kill his son is unreasonable. On the other hand, let us not lose sight of the fact Abraham obeyed and God rewarded him with the life of his son. That I believe is the central ...

1703. The Face Of God

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Steve Burt

... that move us. One vivid face jumps out at us from an old television commercial about litter and pollution. A Native American who looks like he stepped off an Indian Head nickel has gotten out of a canoe. He stands there, bare face twisted in pain as he views a polluted stream clogged with trash. A single tear runs down his face. It's a powerful image, a face of pain, a face that moves you. Another is the widow's face at the funeral of a young man, her husband. He had committed suicide. She sits looking ...

1704. What Do You Say To A Burning Bush?

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Steve Burt

... invitation, 'Steve, you're on holy ground, not because of the place or the people, but because I am here.' I beheld my daughter in her junior high prom dress, I beheld God's handiwork, and it was good. God was saying, 'Rough day as a shepherd, pastor? Enjoy the view, take off your shoes, relax. Enjoy being in touch with me. You can't look directly into my face. Moses couldn't. But I've given you a miracle to focus on instead, a burning bush, a daughter in a prom dress.' I did. I enjoyed being in the ...

1705. Need Help Removing That Roadblock?

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Steve Burt

... . Our American society is built on the ideals of success, social achievement, monetary success and security. Society pushes us to set aside dreams in order to "get a good-paying job so you can support your family ... so you can be secure in retirement ... so you'll be viewed as a respectable member of the community." God help you if you want to be a potter, a painter, a clown, because then you'll hear subtle and not-so-subtle messages cautioning, "You don't want to do that, child. You can't make a living at ...

1706. Salt And Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... use for 23 surplus napkins. My conversation with the kindly woman disturbed me. Not because she so expertly sniffed out a pastor travelling incognito. (Well, okay, that disturbed me mildly.) But because it provided a glimpse, a quick indication, of how some folks view the church: Holy Holder of Mammoth Yard Sales. For others, it might be Organizer of Oyster Roasts, Barbecues, Bull Roasts and Pig Picks. For still others, car washes and bake sales might come to mind. And if such things are the operative ...

1707. Jesus' Countercultural Sermon

Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... themselves prospered and flourished. Part of growing up is shedding ideas and notions that fit us no better than toddlers' clothes would fit us now. "Older and wiser" is the phrase that comes to mind. But sometimes, age and experience reinforce long held views. I have, for example, long believed that the Christian faith is by definition countercultural. What I mean is this: Many of the central tenets and themes of the Christian faith run counter to the prevailing beliefs and values of the society in which ...

1708. Main Features And Coming Attractions

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... . Only a glimpse to arouse interest and stimulate curiosity. Those whose interest is piqued will have to wait, will have to come back. Peter, for one, thinks that's a punk deal. This is the big picture he's been waiting to see. He's viewed enough of the melodramatic healings and documentaries featuring Jesus the teacher. Peter's recent confrontation with Jesus over the rabbi's depressing talk about rejection and suffering and dying is still fresh on his mind. His soul still stings from his master's words ...

1709. Whispering The Lyrics

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Thomas Long

... of amnesia to its highest power. "Imagine," he writes, "a soap opera in which a character awakens every morning with amnesia ...." Every day, the character is in a strange house with a strange and attractive man or woman. Everything is new and fresh -- the view from the window, the partner, the sense of the self. "Does this prospect intrigue you?" asks Percy. "If it does, what does this say about your non-amnesiac self?"2 Percy's point, of course, is the lure of forgetfulness. One way to describe sin ...

1710. Too Soon, Monsieurs, Too Soon?

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Thomas Long

... past and the glory of the resurrection future could shimmer through the gloom of the present, the same is true when Christians seek to understand themselves and others. To see who people really are requires more than a calculus of their present circumstances; we must view them with "transfiguration discernment," seeing them in the light of baptism and resurrection, the beginning and the end. As we muck it through in the mud and mire of the present, we are called to see people not only as they are but also ...

1711. The Temptation Of His Life

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... do with the right and best use of the power we possess, who we are, and what we have. II. Jesus was also tempted by the wrong way to popularity. That was the second temptation. Matthew tells us the Tempter came to Jesus and said, as he showed Him a view from the pinnacle of the Temple, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give His angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.' " The temptation was to do ...

1712. Lust - To Discipline The Eye And The Heart

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

... Samaria and at Shechem that God told Abraham that the land would belong to his descendants. But later the Israelites were defeated by the Assyrians, who then settled in the land and mixed with the population. So in Jesus' day the people of Israel viewed the Samaritans as half-breeds and false worshipers. Jesus' parable of the "good Samaritan" was a contradiction; to the Jews there were only bad, corrupted and devious Samaritans. To the Jews there was no such person as a "good Samaritan." For instance, while ...

1713. Room For Questions

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... to it. The man simply used Peterson as an audience and lectured endlessly about Ephesians to the young boy. Finally, Peterson encountered one who treated his God-interest and prayer-hunger with dignity. Instead of trying to shovel Peterson full of pious wisdom or viewing him as a "project," a man named Rueben Lance prayerfully listened to Peterson and all his hopes and fears, questions and feelings. Years later Peterson would write, "He let me be. He didn't mess with my soul. He treated me with dignity. I ...

1714. Baptism In Three Movements

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... in the service of God. When Lindsey Davis was elected bishop in the United Methodist Church, he reminded all of us of the basis for ministry. "It isn't ordination or consecration, but baptism that makes us servants of Christ and the church."2 We too often view ministry as that which the minister does, but ministry is the work in which all baptized believers engage in response to the call and claim of God on our lives. Baptism was ordination for Jesus. It was the beginning of his ministry. In our time we ...

1715. The Lamb of God

John 1:29-34

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... who was on his way to the cross. Leslie Weatherhead disagreed with those who believe Jesus was destined to die on the cross from the beginning, saying that God's plan was for people to follow Jesus, not kill him.4 The purpose of Jesus, from this point of view, was for Jesus to reveal the love of God, teach about God's ways, and proclaim God's rule in the world. The problem with assuming that Jesus was sent to die is that we don't take seriously the subversive nature of Jesus' ministry. Jesus railed against ...

1716. Why Do We Ignore Warning Signs?

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... others. The parable is a warning -- the last warning the religious leaders will get. Had they listened to it, all of history would have been changed. There would have been no cross. We do not know what God would have done. From Matthew's point of view, the religious leaders' decision to execute Jesus was inevitable. From the very beginning Jesus said, "For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and ...

1717. Easter 3

1 Peter 1:13-2:3, Acts 2:42-47, Luke 24:13-35

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... us") (v. 32) and finally, the senses. Spend the night with us, Jesus. As they drew near their place of lodging, they begged Jesus: "Stay with us because it is almost evening and the day is nearly over" (v. 29). I always get choked up when I view the final scene from the movie, Jesus of Nazareth. The disciples are huddled around Jesus, like a brood of chicks under their mother's wings, and one of them (John, I think) voices the passage above. We are all like children, nervous as the night sets in, longing ...

1718. Easter 7

Jn 17:1-11 · Acts 1:1-14 · 1 Pet 4:12-19, 5:6-11 · Ps 68 · Ps 27 · Ps 47

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... ' high priestly prayer, toward the end of the farewell discourse begun in chapter 13. The setting is the Last Supper. In his prayer, Jesus asks the Father to glorify the Son. For John, the glory of Christ is seen in the cross, as it is viewed through the lens of the resurrection. A developed Christology is evidenced here. Jesus refers to himself as Jesus Christ, which we see nowhere else in the gospels. Jesus communicates that he has finished the task that the Father assigned him, to confer eternal life on ...

1719. Epiphany 8

Mt 6:24-34 · 1 Cor 4:1-13 · Is 49:8-18 · Ps 131

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... . The medieval mystics described this state of existence as the "dark night of the soul." Even the Son of God cried out from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Such a sense of hopelessness is the work of the Accuser. We must never view our spiritual condition through the lens of our feelings; they can be deceptive. The time we feel most distant from God may be the time when he is doing his best work in our lives. For those times when we do feel God forsaken, Isaiah pens wonderful words ...

1720. Lent 1

Mt 4:1-11 · Rom 5:12-21 · Gen 2:7 - 3:7 · Ps 32

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... already on thin ice. Text or pretext? It is interesting that in both the temptations and the rebuttal of the temptations, scripture is employed. Satan took certain passages out of context and made them pretexts to deceive Jesus into accepting his point of view. In rejecting the temptations, Jesus also used scripture but in its proper context. Do we use the Bible to support our preconceived ideas and our established behavior patterns or do we permit God's Word to shape and inform us? PREACHING POSSIBILITIES ...

1721. Lent 5

John 11:1-16, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 8:1-17, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... of life. Don't forget about God's glory. We must be very careful about pointing to specific causes for particular misfortunes and it is often not helpful to attribute such things to the will of God. Who are we to say? Nevertheless, we err when we view tragedy strictly from our subjective perspective. Too often, we focus only on the impact that events have on our own lives. Jesus claimed that the reason for Lazarus' illness was to glorify God (v. 4). We should also look at tragedy from God's perspective and ...

1722. End times

Mt 24:1-14 · 1 Thess 3:7-13 · Jer 26:1-6 · Ps 105:1-7

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... the God who reigns in us will ultimately bring everything in subjection to his righteous rule Illustration: The earthly church was highly influenced by eschatology or the doctrine of last things, which our Gospel Lesson is devoted to. The views on eschatology generally sift into three compartments within the Christian community. The various viewpoints are clustered around various understandings concerning the millennium (the thousand year reign of God spoken of in Revelation 20:4-6). First, there are the ...

1723. Pentecost

1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Joel 2:28-32, John 7:25-44, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:1-13, John 20:19-23

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... . By the One Spirit we are baptized into One Body, in which we drink One cup (vv. 12-13) Gospel: John 7:37-39 Sermon Title: Water From The Rock. Sermon Angle: The invitation by Jesus to come to him and drink (v. 37) needs to be viewed against the backdrop of the Feast of Tabernacles. The feast commemorated a historical event when God supplied water to his thirsty people from a rock (Numbers 20:2-13). This event was symbolically reenacted during the feast by taking water from the pool of Siloam to the temple ...

1724. Proper 10

Genesis 25:19-34, Isaiah 55:1-13, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17, Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... dear children, inheritors of eternal life and recipients of his Spirit. Epistle: Romans 8:18-23 Perspective. In verse 17, Paul makes it clear that suffering comes along with being adopted into God's family. In this passage, he goes on to indicate that we must view this suffering with an eternal perspective. The temporary pain is a small price to pay for the eternal gain (v. 18). Birth pangs. The image that Paul presents is of a world in utero, a womb-wrapped world that is struggling to be born. Labor pains ...

1725. Proper 11

Romans 8:18-27, Isaiah 44:6-23, Genesis 28:10-22, Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... spirits Jacob back to her relatives in her native land. It is an unsettling time for Jacob, leaving home and a fugitive. Jacob stops for a night at Bethel and in his dream God reaffirms the covenant he made with Abraham and Isaac. In the dream, Jacob views a stairway to heaven, probably a ziggurat, with the angels of God ascending and descending. This establishes Bethel (house of God) as a sanctuary until the time of Josiah. Lesson 1: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 (RC, E) God's sovereign rule and power. Lesson 1 ...

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