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 1826 to 1850 of 4943 results

1826. It's Time to Go to Work

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... expected no more from the five talent man than he did the one talent man. It is not how much you have that matters to God. It is what you do with what you have that matters to Him. God is not concerned whether you have great ability or little ability. God is not concerned with whether you have great talent or small talent. It is what you do with the talent that you have that matters to God. Your opportunity will never exceed your ability, and your ability will always be equal to your opportunity. But just ...

1827. Deal with It, Get over it, and Get Help

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... at some eschatological end, but that God’s presence and power are with us every step of the way . . . to help us deal with it, to help us get over it, and to give us all the help we need to be “more than conquerors.” Divine concern and compassion are not being saved up for some climatic conclusion. God’s presence and power are unfolding, revealing, expanding, embracing us in everything we do, in all we experience. Do you know, as Paul knew, that God works “all things” for the good. Notice that ...

1828. On Running Afoul of the Dress Code

Mt 22:11-14

Sermon

... or pondered what to wear to a wedding. As a veteran of 1600 weddings, I have seen it all. I've seen weddings where all the guests came formally attired. And I've seen weddings where everybody stopped one step short of "beach apparel." As concerns male options, I've seen men in tuxes ... dark suits ... .sport coats ... slacks and shirts with open collars ... .khakis and sweaters ... even cowboy boots and jean jackets. On the other side of the gender gap, I've seen women in evening dresses ... .glitzy dresses ...

1829. I Am the Keeper of the Zoo

Isaiah 11:1-9

Sermon

... -inflicting parishioners I had encountered in my ministry. And in a week that has given us news of massive starvings….child beatings….rock concert killings….and our own local version (in Farmington Hills) of desperate housewives….you tell me that where human beings are concerned, the animals are all domesticated and the wilderness is totally a thing of the past. Oh, but there is more to this story. And more to the poem. Sandburg concludes: O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my ...

1830. The Difference It Makes in a Christian Life

Matthew 16:13-20

Illustration

King Duncan

... natural to want to be as much like that person as possible. When we say that Jesus is the reference point for our lives, it means we want to make our lives as much like his as possible. Does it make any difference who Jesus is? Only if you are concerned about the nature of God; only if you are concerned about living a Christian life. And only if you are trying to find any meaning in life.

1831. Worship Like A Wesley

Philippians 4:4-9

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... braggadocio and self-deprecation." Another blogger named "Arkie" took the title a bit too literally and much too seriously. He wrote: "I am inclined to believe that the term refers to pies baked by those devout Methodist ladies who express their deep theological concerns through a wood cook stove. Any confection that came from a Methodist oven would have been Methodist Pie." Well, the verses of the song, even in their humor, do in fact describe the camp meeting, the strong preaching, the power of the Spirit ...

1832. Romans 13:9-21

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... .” The dishing out of vengeance, of righteous wrath, is God's prerogative alone. Whether the divine wrath may be experienced in part during this age, or whether God's vengeance will not be played out until the eschatological end times, is not the concern of the faithful. Paul lifts his final exhortation directly from Proverbs 25:21‑22a. Feeding and giving drink to one's hungry, thirsty enemy is a concrete way for Christians to “serve the Lord,” “contribute to the needs” of others, and to “not ...

1833. Apostolic Instruction

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... is in the give and take of living that saints are born. During my doctoral program, a special and lasting lesson was learned. Simply stated: Preachers must be in touch with the living concerns of their parishioners in order to be effective. The finest homiletical and theological works of art will fall on deaf ears, unless such concerns are addressed. Paul must have been an expert at correcting this! By his own admission, he was not much of an orator and hardly an average speaker. What he did understand was ...

1834. A Man for All Seasons

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... To act otherwise is most likely to court disaster. Political science is an esteemed field of study, but the practical side of it takes it not only out of academia but out of the basic understanding of those connected to governmental processes. To cast off concerns and issues as just being politics is to assume a negative aspect that is often not there. For example, every church and/or denomination has a polity. Simply stated, how else do we expect to function in this imperfect world? We can accuse others of ...

1835. Make the Most of God’s Gifts

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , we cannot respond to all possibilities. All people need "down time"; we must choose among the myriad of tasks and opportunities that come our way. We must admit, however, that inside each of us lies a sense of complacency. We should listen to the Prophet Amos concerning such laziness: "Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music ...

1836. Christ’s Twin

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... not win/win. This is lose/win. Christ deliberately lost himself that we might be saved. And there may be times when we will have to lay down our lives if not literally, then figuratively for others. In other words, there are times when we need to be MORE concerned about others than we are about ourselves. Author Bruce Larson tells about a trip he and his wife made many years ago to England with a humble man who had become famous for his acts of service. He was known as Redcap 42. His name was Ralston Young ...

1837. Jesus and the Ferris Wheels

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... . The Pharisees were among the most religious people who ever lived. Without their devotion to the faith of their fathers, the Jewish religion may not have survived. But the priorities of the Pharisees were a little out of whack. Many of them were more concerned with traditions than they were with people. They let their power go to their head. Jesus called them hypocrites, saying one thing and doing another. It’s not that they were worse than other people. Certainly they were not. It’s just that Jesus ...

1838. Oh, You'd Better Watch Out!

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... possible. They predict drastic improvements in artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics. These advances will improve every aspect of our lives. But they also report that the threat of another cold war with China, Russia, or both could replace terrorism as the chief foreign-policy concern of the United States. Scenarios for what a war with China or Russia would look like make the clashes and wars in which the United States is now involved seem insignificant. Also of deep ...

1839. Transformation to the Light

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... striking, but rather rough, like the rest of his family. He lived in the darkness and was very content to do just that. As a young diamond he heard tales of how some of his ancestors had left the darkness to a place of light, but that didn't concern him. One day he began to hear noise in the distance, and it came progressively closer. It was the sound of machinery with men talking and often yelling over the roar of the equipment. As time progressed, an opening was made in the cave where he lived. A man ...

1840. Letting Go and New Beginnings

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... is by our own choice. No one has imprisoned us, save ourselves. Thus, the only release is when we let go of the past. When the climber was able to "let go" of the past -- that is to his memories, his beauties, and his causes and concerns -- then he was free to play music and move into the future. Similarly, the prophets of old and the woman caught in adultery were able to move forward only after they dropped their baggage, lightened their loads, and moved in a new direction. Dropping our baggage, letting ...

1841. The Cost of Being a Prophet

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

George Reed

... is about our relationship with God. And the political arena is where most of the issues are settled which concern how people are going to live together. The first sin was disobedience to God and the second was murder. The first four of the Ten Commandments deal ... with our relationship with God and the next six are concerned with community life. Jesus summed up the law and the prophets by telling us to love God with our whole being and our ...

1842. It’s Good to Know Who Is Calling

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... repeated itself, not once but twice more, until on the fourth try the voice on the other end said, "Please don't hang up! This really is the White House calling!" It turns out that my friend was being invited to the White House for an important consultation on urban concerns. It's good to know who's calling. This can be important in our day-to-day lives. As I said, things could get sticky if you don't know who you're talking to. But the stakes get a little higher when God enters the picture. What happens ...

1843. Risking Relationships That Redeem

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... in life that is familiar to her, Ruth makes her painstaking way from Moab back with Naomi to her hometown of Bethlehem. Ruth sacrifices for another who is in need of her love, without regard for the loss of her own well-being. Ruth's persistent care and concern enable Naomi to lay aside her bitter feelings and to take charge of her life again after the devastating loss of her husband and sons. An older widow like Naomi, in a foreign country, had no future at all. By returning to her own people, she could at ...

1844. Apocalypse Wow!

Isaiah 25:6-9

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... . Christiaan Beker, who is no stranger to suffering, having experienced as a teenager the horrors of World War II and its aftermath. The nation of Judah and the people of Corinth are bound together in a way that makes the joys, sufferings, and concerns of an individual the joys and sufferings of the entire community. We, the people of the United States, also share an understanding of the national suffering of Isaiah's time. "The Greatest Generation" remembers how the news of Pearl Harbor suddenly united our ...

1845. Surprised Saints

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... radio signals. Imagine his surprise when one day he had the device to the abdomen of one of his patients when a voice came through as clear as day. The voice asked, “How are things out there?” Life is full of surprises. Another Reader’s Digest classic concerns the true story of a man who was on his way to a funeral in a rented, chauffeur-driven car. The man leaned forward and tapped the driver of the limousine on the shoulder to ask him a question. The driver jumped. The man apologized to the driver ...

1846. The Bonds of Love

1 John 4:7-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... am already married and like the wife I have. But I am willing to talk to you about your wedding." Marrs then proceeds to explain the difference between weddings and marriages. "Couples are sometimes shocked when I tell them that I am not greatly concerned about their wedding but that I do care very much about their marriage." The difference between the two, according to Marrs, is that a wedding is a ceremony where two people proclaim publicly their covenant of love for one another, to receive the community ...

1847. Miss Manners and Mr. Goodwrench

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... automatic teller machine personally thanking us for using it. In a day where the last place one expects "service" is at a "service station" (when is the last time a "service station" attendant asked if you could be helped?), individual concern and attention is so exceptional that its presence functions as an advertising "hook." Hence General Motors has distinguished a whole genre of mechanics as "Mr. Goodwrench," claiming they are unique and special because they provide fair, quality, efficient service with ...

1848. The Compleat Christian

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... life. When was the last time your people looked at the current demands the classical virtues (temperance, justice, wisdom, courage and, some would add, piety) make on us at the close of this 20th century? We tend to think of virtues as the concerns of quaint religious sects or sequestered elderly widows - certainly not for busy, active men and women of faith going toe-to-toe with the everyday world. But a mature faith cannot happen until in both an individual and communal sense one first risks encountering ...

1849. A.Y.O.R. (At Your Own Risk)

Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the chance to win big prizes - neither truth nor consequences entered into the game at all. The days of consequence-free behavior are long gone. We are now facing an age where the choices we make are likely to have major implications for our lives. This weighty concern for consequences coincides with a similarly hefty increase in the number of choices we are being called to make on a regular basis. The fact is: Our freedom of choice is no longer a choice. We now live in a choice-culture, where choice is not ...

1850. The Necessary Book

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... really important in one's life. A wealthy man's book might record the existence of a great deal of wealth. But if it failed to designate where or to whom that money was to go after his death, it would appear that the rich man's concern was primarily with accumulating wealth, not circulating it back into service. On the other hand, a man of modest means who carefully catalogs a long list of people, organizations and causes to which he wants to distribute his goods seems to suggest that the man was vitally ...

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