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 1801 to 1825 of 2747 results

1801. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... God created the world ex nihilo. Today that assumption encompasses a great number of people - even those who wouldn't necessarily define themselves as "faithful." Faith allows us to take for granted the continued working of other "things unseen" - such as gravity, air, time. The lectionary text now skips to verses 8-19, a section that encompasses three distinct units. First, in verses 8-12, the author replays some of the most significant events in the miraculous life of the patriarch Abraham, using each ...

1802. Matthew 2:13-23

Matthew 2:13-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... then plays a dual purpose itself. First, it adds authenticity to Jesus' later life and ministry by providing evidence that Jesus' messianic identity had been with him since birth. But the voice of the Old Testament speaking through the Matthean narrative also lends an air of authority to the Gospel writer himself. Verses 19-23 conclude Matthew's infancy stories with a final tale of Joseph's obedience. The angel of the Lord finds Joseph yet again. This time the news is good, although it also requires another ...

1803. Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a winnowing shovel the instrument used to gather quickly the piles of wheat and chaff that have been separated and left on the threshing room floor. A thrinaz, or true winnowing fork, would have been used previously lifting the wheat and chaff high into the air to let the worthless chaff fall free while holding on to the precious stalks of wheat. (For more on this distinction, see Robert L. Webb, "The Activity of John the Baptist's Expected Figure at the Threshing Floor," Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17," Journal ...

1804. Acts 16:9-15

Acts 16:9-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... person ("We set sail from Troas ..."). Actually it was common for first-century authors to put travel writings into a first-person narrative, whether or not the author had actually been along for the trip. A first person voice lent an air of authority and accuracy about any journey. The participatory nature of the first-person voice at this crucial moment in the Christian missionary journey, however, may have served even more to demonstrate the collegial relationship at work among these first believers ...

1805. Romans 13:11-14

Romans 13:11-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... heat of mid-day still far off, the cool of the morning was the best time to work hard, work fast and work well. The Jewish historian Josephus noted that even the pagan populace could be found in the theater at dawn, enjoying God's air conditioning along with the dramatic productions. Dawn was the busiest time at the temple, as priests bustled about preparing the offerings for the new day. Pious Jews and Essenes took these earliest morning hours to offer prayers and praises to their God. Christians are ...

1806. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the tree stands for a mighty nation, a whole kingdom. An entire people springing from tiny, humble beginnings is hardly a foreign concept to Jesus' Jewish listeners. What was Israel but a tree sprouted from the single seed of Abraham's faith? The birds of the air flocking to this tree suggest the emigration of people from all the flocks of the world, making the tree their new home - their nests - and adding to the strength of that kingdom. The parable told in verse 33 is unusual in that it uses leaven in ...

1807. Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... temple a third time. The first three of these confrontations (Mark 11:27-33; 12:13-17; 12:18-27) were decidedly nasty and combative in nature, the establishment authorities were on the attack. But this fourth and final challenge has a different air about it. First, an individual scribe is singled out, speaking, it would seem, for himself and not as a representative of some group. The fact that Mark describes this individual as having just "come up" also seems to distinguish him from the previous gathering ...

1808. Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ' erroneous theology to their bankrupt ethics. The verbal image Jesus draws of the scribe, self-consciously strolling about the marketplace dressed in the long robe and flowing tallith of a supposedly pious scholar, is hardly complimentary. The scribe's practiced air of superiority is a direct result of the bad theology Jesus dismissed in verses 36-37. The scribe supposes himself one of the appointed learned men among the court of the messianic "king." Kings and their courts are steeped in hierarchies ...

1809. The Attitude Change

John 1:43-51

Illustration

Staff

... for the next five to ten years?" One vice-president replied, "Well sir, we're looking at new sizes and shapes for different drills." The son then dropped his bombshell. "I have news for you - there is no market for drills." One could feel the tension in the air. He continued, "From now on we will not think drills. We will not sell drills. We'll sell holes! People don't want to buy a drill; they want to make a hole!" As they began to think of other ways to create holes they developed, among other methods ...

1810. The Need to Tell Someone

John 1:43-51

Illustration

Frederick Buechner

... moment how if you ever took truly to heart the ultimate goodness and joy of things, even at their bleakest, the need to praise someone or something for it would be so great that you might even have to go out and speak of it to the birds of the air."

1811. The Most Stubborn Man in the Bible

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... proud of her lesson for the day. She thought she had presented the material quite nicely. Summing up, she asked the class, “And what do we learn from the story of Jonah and the big fish?” Eight-year-old Suzy thought for a moment and answered, “Always travel by air.” Well, I hope that’s not the only thing we learn from the story of Jonah. Most of you know at least part of the story of the prophet Jonah. It is one of the most colorful and memorable stories in the Hebrew Bible. Jonah, of course, was ...

1812. A Very Different Top 10 List

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... another thing to like about dinosaurs. Yes, they are extinct. But no, it was not our fault. Plus, not all extinctions are bad. Check out the size of the teeth in a Tyrannosaurus jawbone (about 8-10 inches long) and you will rejoice that you missed the opportunity to share air with that creature. We are living in a time of massive extinctions. Not just of biological organisms, but cultural organisms as well. There are cultural extinctions occurring all around us.]

1813. Two Kinds of People in This World

Mark 1: 21-28

Illustration

... the customary and ancient view of things. The invisible is behind the scenes giving energy to the visible. But more and more we hear of a new breed that thinks the wind is nothing but the product of the movement of the trees themselves. As if trees can fan the air and drive the wind! As silly as it sounds, that's just the sort of thing we hear even in the church these days. You've got to believe in yourself! If there is any hope it has to come from within. You have to look inside and make the ...

1814. God's Workmanship

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Not too long ago a listener called a disc jockey while he was on the air at a local radio station to ask about an upcoming lunar eclipse. “The eclipse can be seen at 1:30 in the morning,” the DJ told the caller. “That late?” the caller snapped. “Why can’t they schedule these things earlier so kids can enjoy them too?” (1) I wonder ...

1815. The Heart of the Matter

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the heart hold an average of ten ounces of blood which is pumped out at each beat. The heart does about one-fifth of the mechanical work of the body and exerts enough energy each hour to lift its own weight 13,000 feet into the air. (2) The heart is an amazing organ, but it can have problems, as some of you are painfully aware. The American Heart Association reports that more than 58,000,000 Americans suffer from one or more cardiovascular diseases. Coronary heart disease is the single leading cause of ...

1816. Remember Me

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:18-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... , when they wanted to seize him and kill him or make him king, he had the knack of hiding himself and disappearing from sight. So he stretched out his hand over the already broken bread, broke it into smaller bits and, raising it in the air, pronounced the words of the magic transition: ‘This is my body, it’s been given for you . . .’ “That’s why he looked over that table-cloth for the easiest, most familiar and most concrete thing: bread . . . That evening Christ measured out for us all the ...

1817. Jesus Is Contagious!

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... intake of breath. The slowed down, extended exhalation blows out excess carbon dioxide. Notice how the entire body participates in the yawn. What looks like somnambulism is in reality a full-body work-out. We yawn, and we open ourselves up to a breath of fresh air, fresh insights, fresh pathways. Yawning, then, though it might be a bit embarrassing when done loudly in the middle of a sermon, is a “good infection.” It actually works to wake us up! And it not only wakes us up. It wakes up those around us ...

1818. Don’t Forget to Fly the Airplane!

Illustration

Brett Blair

... . While an experienced crew of high-priced and seasoned pilots messed around with a seventy-five-cent light bulb, an entire airplane and many of its passengers were lost. The crew momentarily forgot the most basic of all rules of the air "Don't forget to fly the airplane!" The same thing can happen to the local church. The church can have so many activities, programs, projects, committee meetings, banquets, and community involvements so many wheels spinning without really accomplishing anything of eternal ...

1819. Hurts Can Heal

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and a few of his disciples up on a mountaintop. Transfiguration Sunday is about the Christ mandate to see the world, to see our lives, in a new light. And that light will hurt before it heals. Like you, I was mesmerized by the story of that US Air flight that landed safely on the surface of the Hudson River. It will go down in history as “the miracle on the Hudson.” But have you noticed something about the interviews with the people whose lives were rescued, who lived to leap off the drowned wing of ...

1820. How Can a Christian Become a Christian?

Mk 1:9-15

Illustration

King Duncan

... Christian? Kierkegaard was directing his thoughts toward those of us who have grown up in the church. He was saying that second-hand faith is not enough. It is easy to take the faith we have grown up in for granted, isn't it? After all, it is like the air we breathe. It's always been there. We need something more than that. Baptism reminds us that a fresh experience of God's grace and God's love is always available to us if we seek it.

1821. Our Need for Prayer and Communion with God

1 John 4:8

Illustration

Digma.com

... before something tragically significant regarding human nature was revealed. As you may have guessed, the babies grew up to speak no language at all because they died. In the year 1248, an Italian historian named Salimbene di Adam recorded, with an air of scientific observation, “They could not live without petting.” The babies literally died for want of touch. Astounding! Modern medicine calls this phenomenon, “failure to thrive.” What you and I know is that the first language of our humanity is ...

1822. Sunday Of The Passion (Palm Sunday)

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... ; and 3. delay infant baptism until a later Sunday after Easter. THREE LESSONS 1. Never A King Like This One! Need: Jesus does not correspond to the popular picture of a king; one arrayed in royal robes, holding a scepter of absolute power with an army, navy and air force; one having the costliest jewels and furnishings, and being the richest person in the realm. Here in Jesus is a king who is different. On this Passion Sunday, why do we refer to Jesus as a king? Did not Pilate ask, "Are you the king of the ...

1823. It's Not a Snuggie Love

Mark 15:1-15, Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... disband and dissipate the emotional energy it had generated. The level of excitement, joy, anger, or fear we feel in a crowd cannot be maintained by a “crowd of one.” When Jesus approached Jerusalem the atmosphere of excitement that hung in the air suddenly electrified the crowd. Joy was palpable. Hopes were heightened. The crowd began to celebrate Jesus as he rode into the city on that colt, with an exuberance beyond any individual understanding. The cloaks and branches lain down before Jesus honored a ...

1824. Advent 1

Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... world is celebrating Christmas for the four weeks before Christmas? Advent is the ignored season of the church year. For most, the Advent period is the busiest time of the year: selling, shopping, partying and decorating. Christmas is in the air. Many churches, particularly nonliturgical ones which do not strictly observe the church year, have accommodated the world with candlelight services, carol sings and sermons on Christmas during the four weeks before Christmas. Often the result is that when Christmas ...

1825. Proper 15

John 6:25-59, 1 Kings 2:1-12, 1 Kings 3:1-15, Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... him, we can agree that in everything we should give thanks. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Gospel: John 6:51-58 1. Eat a person? "He who eats me." (6:57). Need: The thought of eating human flesh is shocking and repulsive to most people. However, in recent air crashes on isolated mountains, survivors ate the flesh of dead passengers rather than starve to death until rescued. In his day Jesus shocked his hearers when he said, "He who eats me." Of course, Jesus was speaking symbolically, but they did not take it that ...

Showing results