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 1751 to 1775 of 2747 results

1751. Tasting the Gruel of Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... arranged for two Lutheran ministers he knew to conduct the service. Everything was put in place and, when the day arrived, Saunders stopped by the cemetery to observe. “When he got there, Saunders discovered that the ministers had backed out; they objected to the open-air ceremony, fearing they would be exposed to potential snipers. The small, forlorn, and impoverished Oswald family asked Saunders to fill in, so he did. He’d left his Bible in his car, but he knew some of it by heart; so from memory he ...

1752. Humble Acts of Service

Mark 8:31--9:1

Illustration

Brett Blair

... parade that would take place when VE Day came. First, he said, would come the sailors of the British Navy, the ones who had upheld the grand tradition of Trafalgar and the defeat of the Armada. Next in the parade, he said, would come the pilots of the Royal Air Force. They were the ones who, more than any other, had saved England from the dreaded German Lufwaffa. Next in the parade would come the Army, the ones that had stood tall at the crises of Dunkirk. Last of all, he said, would come a long line of ...

1753. Keeper of the Springs

Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon

Peter Marshall

... . It leaped sparkling over rocks and dropped joyously in crystal cascades until, swollen by other streams, it became a river of life to the busy town. Millwheels were whirled by its rush. Gardens were refreshed by its waters. Fountains threw it like diamonds into the air. Swans sailed on its limpid surface, and children laughed as they played on its banks in the sunshine. But the City Council was a group of hard-headed, hard-boiled businessmen. They scanned the civic budget and found in it the salary of a ...

1754. Stepping Out on Faith

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... explosives? Security guards called the police, and about 400 office workers were evacuated from the building. The bomb squad soon arrived on the scene. The Fruit Loops cereal box was “neutralized” with a small cannon, and its contents were blasted into the air. The bomb squad, however, found no explosives. Inside the suspicious package had been $24,000 in cash. The box contained bundles of $20 bills, $1,000 of which were destroyed in the blast. “This was a first, finding money,” said platoon leader ...

1755. An Exquisite Attitude of Gratitude

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... on their next destination. At four minutes one woman hurriedly tossed a dollar into Bell’s open violin case. Finally, after six minutes, one commuter stopped, leaned against a wall, and listened to the gift that was being poured out into that train station air. Bell played for 43 minutes. He made a grand total of $32.00 off of 27 donations. (“Better than minimum wage,” Bell noted later). Two people stopped to listen. The other 1,070 people who passed in front of him simply skittered by, oblivious ...

1756. Merry Christmas or Happy Kitschmas?

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... children are small we praise their every accomplishment. Hey! You smiled! WOW! You rolled over! Look, look, look! You stood up! And when our kids take their first steps you would think they had found a way to run cars off pure air! Every tiny advance, every minuscule milestone, is celebrated by proud parents. And they should be. They are signs of a child’s physical growth, general maturation, important achievements that make us all human. Paul celebrates the spiritual gifts experienced and displayed by ...

1757. Natural Disasters and The Second Coming

Mark 13:1-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

... doing right now. Whatever good or ill lies ahead in life we need not worry about some human device to reassure us. In His own good time "the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout" and "we which are alive shall he caught up to meet him in the air." We have nothing to fear, and the only preparation we need to make is to stay close to the Lord Jesus and keep our lives pure.

1758. Above the Noise

Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-6; Matthew 3:1-12

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

... that a local ordinance would prevent her from ringing her bells to invite contributions. But such a crude law could not stop such an inventive woman. The next day she did a brisker business than ever as she waved one sign and then another in the air. The signs said "ding" and "dong." There is so much noise in the world, especially in these days that lead up to Christmas - music blaring out of every store: impatient customers raising their voices to get the attention of overworked store clerks; the sound of ...

1759. Breaking into Our Lives

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

King Duncan

... cold. Something happened to Rex in that worship service. God broke through into his life. He thought of all that was precious to him: home, his wife, his unseen infant child. In that moment as they tried to sing Christmas carols in the cold air he realized that Christmas does not depend on church architecture or fine clothing, expansive meals or expensive gifts. Instead Rex claimed, "Christmas is best celebrated as a voluntary act in which we replenish our personal faith in the company of others." Far from ...

1760. Getting to Bethlehem

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Mickey Anders

If you ask a travel agent how to get to Bethlehem you'll be booked on an El Al airlines flight to Tel Aviv, ride on an air conditioned coach up through the hills, probably pass through Jerusalem, and then into the tourist trap called Bethlehem. Ask anyone in the New Testament how you get to the little town of Bethlehem and they'll say, "Go out to the desert, keep going till you get to the River ...

1761. Don't Count Sheep

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sheep will also obediently leap up to clear the stick - even if the obstacle is removed after that first beast jumped it. All the other sheep leap to avoid something that isn't there. The strength of their flock mentality forces them into the air. Yet perhaps for that very reason it is good that Christians are identified as "sheep." Unlike the goats, sheep seem to need each other. The flock, their "community," is their identity. Not only do sheep need each other, but as their imitative behavior indicates ...

1762. In Christ, or in a Jacuzzi Jesus?

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... subtitled "How To Feel Good About Yourself," those who seek a Jacuzzi Jesus want their soul to feel soothed, not stirred, by their encounter with Christ. But a Jacuzzi Jesus cannot reshape your life. When you step out of a jacuzzi, the air hits your artificially warmed muscles and they all tense up again; your artificially-toned sags all bag again. Nothing has really changed. Donald J. Shelby (Santa Monica, California) quotes an unnamed writer who expressed this desire for a Jacuzzi Jesus with pungency ...

1763. The Ultimate Athlete

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... mind, the rest of Paul's military image is easily translated into the more familiar idiom of athletics. Who cannot identify with the professional (or even the Saturday afternoon) athlete requiring special shoes to play the game right? Why can't we make "Air Jordans" or "The Pump" illustrative of transportation for the gospel of peace? Paul's "shield" of faith can be updated to describe the function of an imposing offensive line. Like a shield the front line does not destroy the opponent completely, but it ...

1764. Are You a Crazy Dog?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Are." Instead of teaching ways to avoid them or outsmart them, Walker recommends taking the "Crazy Dog" route and truly listening to the gripes and grinches of your co-worker, relative or neighbor. In fact, invite the most nasty-tempered, unlovable character you know to air his or her grievances to you, and then be big enough - indeed "bigger than you are" - to take it on and then let it roll off your back. Jesus called this being a "servant:" making the "last come first," exalting the meek and lowly over ...

1765. Bethlehem's Two Roads

Hebrews 10:5-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that were outside the security of a homemade addition. The well-established inns that utilized grottos or caves as part of their structure were always careful to provide only one entrance into their interior rooms for security reasons. Camping out in a small open-air cave, Joseph and Mary were easy prey, openly accessible from a variety of routes. But it was this same precarious nature of this shelter that made it possible for both shepherds and animals to approach them openly and gaze with wonder at the ...

1766. Grits, Grats and Gruts...Not Grunts

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of our spiritual selves into this physical world results in another act of resurrection. We are just about as likely to spontaneously act out of our spiritual rather than our physical selves as we are to throw a jigsaw puzzle into the air and have it land completely pieced together. It is the intentional actions of the will that bring about the most fully formed resurrection acts. Of course, willed activities include such exciting disciplines as reaming the periodic table of chemical elements, practicing ...

1767. Christ the Snake

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stockings or shoes. The children looked with surprise, first at me, and then at each other. I took no notice, but kept them to their work. I soon observed, however, that those who were without stockings and shoes, began to gather courage, and look with an air of consequence, now they had the master on their side. I did the same every day during the week; before the end of which, several of those who used to wear stockings and shoes, came to school without them. Thus the evil was securely cured! Frederick ...

1768. Thunder in the Mountains, Silence in the Soul

1 Kings 19:9-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Elijah's first exchange with God in vv.9b-10 allows the prophet to vent his anxiety and fears and his Super-Ego's moral outrage at the injustices it has suffered. Elijah appears to be in control of this encounter. He is the one with grievances to air. But even as it would seem Elijah has forced God into admitting to a dearth of support or guidance, the theophany interrupts the flow of the narrative. Just as God may unexpectedly intrude into our own private caverns of despair and self-pity, the story of God ...

1769. ...More...

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , the poorest members clipping food stamps, while the dwindling middle-class members clip food coupons. Doug Henwood calls this "The Fortunate Fifth" versus the "Forgotten Four-Fifths". Both groups are unable to see reality as it is - one has its head in the clouds, arched in the air, above the pain and poverty, while the other head is in the sand and dirt, so enmeshed in the grind and grime of eking out a living in a service economy that they can't lift up their heads for hope or help or anything much else ...

1770. The Problem of Unanswered Prayer

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Enzo Bianchi has recently argued, then the problem of unanswered prayer has always been the worst part of the problem. People of faith have always struggled through valleys and vales when God seems distant or in eclipse, or when our prayers, breathed fervently in the air, drop with a hollow thud inches in front of our feet. This week's texts offer two different, but related, responses to such moments in the spiritual desert. The answer from 2 Timothy is intimated more than expressed. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 ...

1771. Three Wise Gifts

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... similar to frankincense, though its value in the ancient world was many times higher. A drop of myrrh could double the price of cheaper perfumes, and Egyptians used myrrh to embalm royal mummies. The opening of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922 released wafts of air so rich in myrrh's scent that it almost bowled the researchers over. Myrrh was prescribed for a much wider range of ailments than frankincense. A cure in the ancient world for diaper rash, baldness, obesity, and used for anesthetic (Jesus was given ...

1772. Five Steps to Takeoff

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 's faith in the airboss' guidance, and the aircraft's preparedness. Before Jesus calls his very first disciples, he is already calling people to faith. Faithfulness is the Christians' "thumbs-up" sign. We have no way of knowing if the course ahead of us carries smooth air or turbulence and storms. We have no special foreknowledge if the skies will be friendly or filled with hostility and danger. What we do have is faith faith in the love of Christ, faith in the eternal closeness of God's presence and God's ...

1773. A Say-so Spirituality

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... prospect of sitting next to someone in the pew who makes us the least bit uncomfortable. Instead of as the Holy Spirit was breathed into the disciples by the resurrected Jesus, so we must blow that Spirit of life out upon others who are gasping for the fresh air of faith we have disclaimed "As if" at the prospect of letting the Holy Spirit go and work freely, without fetters, within us. Instead of as the Father loved all creation, so God gave his only begotten Son for our sake and for our salvation we have ...

1774. Take an Ember Day

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... asleep is a challenge we're just not up to. Look at all the products consumer culture has developed to aid us in our quest for sleep. There are sleeping pills, herbal sleep remedies, sleep music, white-noise machines, earplugs and eyeshades, adjustable beds, water beds, air beds and complete isolation tanks all designed to help us shut out the world and shut down our minds. On the other hand, here is Jesus. He sets out in a creaky, leaky boat, letting other people drive, happily curls up and is sound asleep ...

1775. Armageddon Anxiety

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... unique spirit that we are taking with us into the second millennium. Our "maintenance needed" light also alerts us to the lurking reality of an environmental Armageddon. AIDS, Ebola, flesh-eating bacteria, infectious microbes, global warming, ozone depletion, radioactive fallout, air pollution form only a short list of the plagues that threaten us and the plethora of Armageddon scenarios. Is our end-time anxiety justified? The majority of us think it is. According to a U.S. News & World Report poll, nearly ...

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