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 1851 to 1875 of 4947 results

1851. Helping People Fall Down

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

... a puzzle to be figured out, but a mystery to be adored - and yes, perhaps best, a mystery before which to fall on your face. Why do I speak of worship this way? Because in the gospel for today, the word, which appears as "worship" has the basic sense of falling down before another person and kissing that person's feet or garment hem or even the ground itself. In the world of Jesus' day, people behaved this way before others of great importance. In Matthew's Gospel, however, this gesture of the whole body is ...

1852. Walking the Streets

Matthew 10:1-42, Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... days as they go through the newspaper, reading here and there, moving haphazardly in all directions. A life, like a good story, needs a beginning, a middle and an ending to give it shape. But for most people, observers say, there is no middle and no sense of an ending. "What governs," Cynthia Ozick writes, "is not pattern but drift."1 People simply "float in purposelessness as they would in a swimming pool."2 What gives shape to human days and transforms them into life is a task. Not just something or other ...

1853. Soap Opera Silence

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

... when their role has been carefully prescribed by circumstances or by formal rites. When the defining words and rites are taken away, the clergy flounder. Not only do these "persons of God" not have a word from God to share, they do not even have enough sense to call an ambulance or the police. When the going gets rough, when order erupts into chaos, the best thing that the clergy can do is stand aside or lose themselves among the other observers. I find that my distress about this priest goes deeper than ...

1854. Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

... done, they still must keep in mind it is a holy and majestic God with whom they were dealing. You don't trifle with him! The worship of God is not just another human gathering, no matter how pleasing or entertaining it may be. We must experience a sense of the Transcendent. When we genuinely worship him, when we are lost in wonder, adoration, and awe, then a bit of heaven comes to our earth. This is a laid-back, casual, nonchalant, take it easy, generation. We've lost respect for a lot of things. We don ...

1855. Communion Is Real Presence

John 1:1-18

Sermon

... Jesus, we Lutherans believe that our Lord comes into our midst and into our lives in Holy Communion. We believe that Christ is really present "in, with, and under" these elements of bread and wine. What God did in a cosmic sense on the first Christmas by coming into the World, he does in an individual sense in Holy Communion by coming to you and me! And in the same way that the two natures of Christ were inseparable, the body and blood of Christ are inseparable from the bread and wine. We don't believe we ...

1856. Communion Is Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

... . Go with my strength and sin no more." As easily as that, God lovingly reconciles us to himself. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 the Apostle Paul wrote, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." What God did in a cosmic sense through Christ's coming into the world, he does in an individual sense in Holy Communion. For in the Bread and Wine Christ will come to you and me to reconcile us to himself by forgiveness. So you see, the Lord's Table is a place for reconciliation with God. The Lord's Table is ...

1857. Real Absence

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

... have been honest and candid enough to talk about it, even to write about it. James Nestingen said it in a sermon: "Despite pious claims to the contrary, I wonder sometimes if the experience of God’s absence isn't a lot more common to us than the sense of his presence."1 Frederick Buechner said it in some lectures and a book: "Just as sacramental theology speaks of a doctrine of the Real Presence, maybe it should speak also of a doctrine of the Real Absence ..."2 Edmund Steimle said it in a sermon: "I ...

1858. Who is Greatest Among You ...

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

... among the most vulnerable of all classes in society, often referred to as weak and dirty (due, in no small part, to the fact that the diaper had not yet been imagined!). Children had no rights, no respect, no recognition. To call them great in any sense was ludicrous. How quickly the disciples had forgotten. "Whoever is greatest among you shall be your servant." That must be remembered above all else. You must be willing to serve even the lowest, the least you can imagine. You must become as vulnerable as a ...

1859. To Touch The Untouchable

Luke 5:12-16

Sermon

... , we pray that you would open our hearts and our minds so that we may have faith and understanding. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. You may have heard the expression, "He has an Atlas complex." This usually refers to an individual who seems to have an exaggerated sense of his or her own importance. Or it may refer to the person who feels that he or she is the only one who can do a certain job, make important decisions, take care of themselves or other people. It is helpful for us to remember the Greek legend ...

1860. The Collateral Damage of Our Attitudes

Luke 16:19-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

... . To run the city in the midst of this obscene chaos and attack and also demonstrate human dignity... Who can do that? That's a pretty short list." It's amazing how events like this can change our perspective. Giuliani was vilified by many, and has sense been vilified. But then he was respected by almost everyone. People appreciated what he did for the city. Events like this also tend to bring out the best in us. David Letterman, who mad a living making fun of everyone, including himself, has showed a more ...

1861. Love Transcending Law and Custom

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

... gift for every relative, friend, and acquaintance. To be sure, all of these contribute to our cultural understanding of Christmas. But the answer to "What makes a real Christmas?" must be found in human history. That is what Joseph did. And, in a very real sense, it was the theology of Joseph which made possible the first Christmas. If Joseph had not cooperated with God's action in human history, the birth of Jesus would have been quite different. The witness of Joseph calls us to cooperate with God's work ...

1862. Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

... , and people who are different. It's easy to say that one should be like salt and light in a general sense. No one minds adding that to the list of what one should be and what one should do. But, how do we as individuals really live if we understand ourselves to ... be salt and light, not in a general sense, but in the everyday life? What does it mean to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world when we are trying to ...

1863. Advent 4

Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25, Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon Aid

CSS

... can say what Joseph might, or might not, have done had the angel not come and spoken to him? He, too, was a special person - compassionate, for his concern for Mary and his unwillingness "to put her to shame," but also godly in an even deeper sense, because he accepted and obeyed without question - on this and the other two occasions when an angel visited him - what he perceived to be the will of God and married Mary. He, says Matthew, called his name Jesus. And although Joseph disappears from Jesus' story ...

1864. The Effect of Leprosy

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

Brett Blair

... you reach for the stove to pick up a frying pan that is hot you immediately drop it and put ice on the burn. You watch as your skin turns red and blister. Now, if you had leprosy you would grab the pan and feel nothing. You've lost your sense of touch. You carry the pan unaware of the damage it is doing to your hand. As you set the pan down and remove your hand several layers of your skin are left around the handle. But you feel nothing. Philip Yancey in his great book, Where Is God When ...

1865. Giving Thanks Before Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Brett Blair

... that can happen to a person. It’s not. And the scene this morning is a case in point. These ten men walked the earth. They breathed and ate. They had hopes and fears and aspirations and feelings just like you and me. Yet, there was a tragic sense in which they were already dead. They were walking dead. Leprosy was the most dreaded of all ancient diseases. It ate away at the body and left its victim maimed and disfigured. There was no known cure. In their hopes for a family life, a useful occupation, plans ...

1866. The One Who Made His Cross

Drama

... He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. At last he came to his senses and said, "All my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat and here I am about to starve. I will get up and ... ’t know. I have tried and tried to figure it out. But I can’t come up with an answer. Nothing about it makes any sense. Silas And the worst part is that he had to die the death of a common criminal. Justus Now, understand that crucifixions usually don’t ...

1867. Christmas 1

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Bulletin Aid

... saving presence, we may know ourselves as members of your holy family - children of yours and sisters and brothers of Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Savior God, we confess with dismay that we live much of our daily lives without any sense of your presence, as though everything that we do were completely in our hands and up to us, and that we live in much despair and disarray as a result. Forgive us, O God, and send us reminders that, whatever our human capacities and capabilities, it ...

1868. Epiphany

Matthew 2:1-12

Bulletin Aid

... . Let us behold him with those ancient visitors from the East: that, seeing his glory and recognizing his majesty, we may bow in wonder and depart to witness. In his holy name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Almighty God, we confess that we often lose any sense of awe before the Christ, and reduce him in our imaginations to the level of the commonplace and everyday. Forgive us, we pray, and impress upon us again his glory, his majesty, and his power as your savior of all humankind. Fill us with a ...

1869. Monday in Holy Week

John 12:1-11

Bulletin Aid

... is, of course, a symbolic preparation of Jesus for burial, while the reference to Lazarus prefigures both Jesus' death and his ultimate resurrection. Call to Worship Leader: Let us begin this Holy Week with a sense of tragedy. People: FOR JESUS, THE CHRIST, MUST SOON SUFFER AND DIE! Leader: But let us maintain this week a sense of triumph! People: FOR IN JESUS' DEATH IS REDEMPTION, AND IN THAT REDEMPTION IS OUR HOPE! Collect Most Holy One, you taught us in the life of Jesus to look beyond life to death, and ...

1870. Proper 20

Philemon 1:8-25

Bulletin Aid

... GOD HELP US AND DELIVER US! Leader: May God show us the prosperity of a chosen people! People: MAY GOD PERMIT US TO GLORY IN OUR DIVINE HERITAGE! Collect Almighty God, you have created in Christ Jesus a community that transcends death. Instill in us a sense of oneness with all your saints: that, strengthened by that crowd of witnesses, we may become a timeless Church united against evil and for your gospel. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Ancient of days, it sorrows us deeply to ...

1871. The Devil Quotes Scriputure, Too

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

... possible appeal could there be for Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple? To know that he is invincible, that nothing could ever hurt him? If you knew that, what would you ever have to fear? It certainly would give you a tremendous sense of security. The devil, in fact, tempts Jesus with good things, not bad. The devil tempts Jesus with things we would all like. All three temptations fit popular expectations of the Messiah; that the Messiah would be a Moses who would feed the people, a David ...

1872. My God, My God, ... Why?

Mark 15:33-41

Drama

... : What courage this man has! He is not a religious nut; he’s more like a brave soldier following strict orders, and he’s determined to carry them out to the letter. He refused to drink any of the drugged wine we give to the condemned to dull their senses. He continued to remain silent despite all the pain and insults directed at him by the mob. And I thought to myself: Whose orders is he following? Who is it that could give such orders, a command to face such a death, and have them obeyed so completely ...

1873. The Precepts of the Lord

Exodus 20:1-21, Psalm 19:7-14

Sermon

... Law so encountered? Answer: through what theologians refer to as Natural Law. Natural Law is the way in which each person, through reflection about life is naturally led to an inner moral code, such as we have in the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments make sense. They are a reasonable system of ethics for the human race. They are Natural Law, and therefore binding upon all. But if God’s Law is so reasonable, then why do we need an actual Ten Commandments? In other words, if each person knows inwardly ...

1874. Salvation: Authentic and Powerful

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... less cannot be his church. Salvation, understood primarily as a right relationship with God through Jesus the Christ, in a sense is the starting and ending point of all ecumenical endeavors. Amos, in our passage, perhaps like no other writer save ... To do so is to deny our Savior and Lord. Christ knew the Hebrew Scriptures well. He must have loved to read and study Amos. In a sense, Amos speaks through Christ to you and me at this very moment. Maybe we need to clean up our act. Maybe we are being summoned out ...

1875. Security: Deeply Personal

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

... . We do all sorts of things, some of them bordering on the miraculous, in search of security, discounting the God who comes to us personally, and learning, in shock and amazement, we have just been spinning our wheels. Yet, let the King say one word, and we sense in our totality a security beyond human achievement. The same great spiritual work captures the dynamics found in all of us: "Without a friend thou canst not well live; and if Jesus be not above all a friend to thee, thou shalt be indeed sad and ...

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