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 1876 to 1900 of 3082 results

1876. Jesus And The Lake Wobegon Effect

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

A scandal is brewing in the hallowed halls of Academe. It has to do with test scores given to our young people. A West Virginia doctor noticed sometime back that all 50 states claim that their students score above average on standardized test scores. That, of course, is impossible ” for everyone to be above average. Someone has even given this scandal a thoughtful name ” the Lake Wobegon effect. Lake Wobegon is author Garrison Keillor's mythical town where "All the women are strong, all the men are good ...

1877. How Do You Get To Heaven?

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

Martin Sparkman of McLean, VA tells about a friend of his son's whose grandmother died. Everyone tried to explain to this six-year-old what happened to his grandmother. The usual explanations were given. "Your grandmother," they said, "has gone to be with Jesus in heaven." Not having seen her leave and having no concept of travel without a car, his question should not have come as a surprise. Out of profound innocence he asked, "Did they build a road to heaven?" Good question. Is there a road to Heaven? ...

1878. Finishing In The Top 10%

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Frank Lyman

Two tiny legs disappearing under the water. That is all the 16th Century Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel depicted of poor Icarus. Two tiny legs. Pieter Bruegel was a moralist as well as a paintera moralist who saw human folly in many guises. In his work, "Landscape With The Fall of Icarus," he portrayed that folly through an interpretation of the Greek myth of Icarus. We recall that Icarus escaped King Minos' labyrinth by fashioning wings from wax. However, he flew too close to the sun, melted his wings and ...

1879. "Why Don't We Just Tell Them Our Names?"

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz, had finished the outline to his famous book, but he hadn't come up with the name of the enchanted land where Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion sought the help of the Wizard. As he gathered up his files, Baum's eyes fell upon a drawer in his filing cabinet marked, "O-Z." And thus he came up with a land called "Oz." There's nothing peculiar about Peculiar, Missouri, Frank Gallant learned in researching a book about unusual American place-names. ...

1880. The Total Steward

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

Years ago multitudes read the book, "The Total Woman." That was the book that suggested that wives meet their husband at the door when he comes home from work, dressed only in saran wrap. That book was followed by one called, "The Total Man." I don''t know if the author had a comparable suggestion for husbands or not. Our concern for the day is not about the total man or the total woman, but about "the total steward." So often Christians reflect the values of society. If materialism is in--driving the ...

1881. One Bad Apple

Matthew 26:47-56

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

At Saratoga, on a battlefield that once was covered with British and American blood, there stands a monument, 155 feet high. The monument is there to commemorate that decisive struggle in which the British made their last stand over two centuries ago. Around the base of this monument are four deep niches, and in each niche appears the name of one of the American generals who commanded there. Above the names stand giant bronze figures on horseback. In the first stands Horatio Gates; in the second, Philip ...

1882. Secretary to Saint Peter

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

MARK’S GOSPEL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK IN THE WORLD! So says Prof. William Barclay of Scotland, the dean of New Testament Biblical commentators. Why? Because, says he, It is agreed by nearly everyone that Mark is the earliest of all the gospels, and is therefore the first life of Jesus that has come down to us. (Daily Study Bible, Phila: The Westminster Pres, 1956. P. xiii.) In other words, if there had been no Gospel of St. Mark there would have been no Gospels. Period. It is an intriguing thought. And ...

1883. Bedlam or Bethleham?

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

I wonder if you have ever realized how the word "bedlam" entered our language? Here's how it came about. St. Mary of Bethlehem was founded as a hospital in England in 1247. Two centuries later it was restructured as an institution for the hopelessly insane. The noise and confusion of the hospital became widely known throughout the country. The cockney accent, over the years, contracted Bethlehem into Bed'lam. So "bedlam," which means "a place, scene, or state of uproar or confusion" is simply a contracted ...

1884. The Highest Bidder

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

According to those whose job it is to know such things, it only takes three weeks to become blind to the presence of stationary objects in our everyday worlds. Hang a new picture on the wall, and one is likely to notice it for about 21 days. After that it has become part of the scenery. It simply doesn't leap into the foreground any more. That's why it can be so hard to accomplish the simplest chores of housework before the arrival of guests. We've stopped noticing the screwdriver that's been sitting on ...

1885. Don't Forget What You Look Like

James 1:19-27

Sermon

Harold Warlick

A young college graduate embarked on what he hoped would be a promising career in sales. He was outgoing, witty, and enthusiastic. His company assigned him his territory. It was a rural area in the Midwest. His responsibility was to sell the latest in farm equipment to the farmers in the area. With great fervor he memorized the strategy sales pitch and left his office to spread his message of "better farming through better equipment." His first two visits had not resulted in a sale. But he could sense that ...

1886. The God Who Must Be Pursued

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

Arnold Palmer once played a series of exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king was so impressed that he proposed, in good Middle Eastern fashion, to honor his guest with a gift. Palmer resisted, "It really isn't necessary, Your Highness. I'm honored to have been invited." And, in good Middle Eastern fashion, his highness persisted, "I would be deeply upset," replied the king, "if you would not allow me to give you a gift." Palmer thought for a moment, "All right. How about a golf club? That would be a ...

1887. When Jacob Got a Vision

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

The storyteller is talking about great men and women of vision. He is a park ranger dressed in a green uniform matching the Ponderosa pines that surround the campsite. Campers from many states and a couple of foreign countries sit fascinated in the park's natural amphitheater. Soon they will go back to their tents, cabins, and recreational vehicles to reflect on images dancing in their heads of Chief Crazy Horse battling General George Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, of Gutzon Borglum sculpting a ...

1888. Easter 7

John 17:1-11, Acts 1:6-14, 1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:6-11, Psalm 68

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14 At his ascension, Jesus promised to send the Spirit to the disciples. The risen Lord meets with his eleven disciples a short distance from Jerusalem where before ascending to his Father, he promises them the Spirit who will give them power to witness throughout the world. Then they returned to an upper room in Jerusalem to pray. With the disciples are Jesus' brothers and mother. This is her last appearance in the New Testament - she is seen among the first Christians ...

1889. What's So Great about Going to Church

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

James W. Moore

He is a comedian… and he was very, very funny,… but in recent months he has become very, very political. And now (in my opinion) he’s not so funny anymore… because now he considers himself an authority on everything that has to do with politics. Now, he considers himself the final word on everything that has to do with life in our country and in our world. He is brash and cocky. He is rigidly opinionated, closed-minded and even insulting towards anyone who disagrees with him. Now, let me hurry to say that ...

1890. A Not So Simple Story of Demons and Pigs

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

"This is a strange story," declares J.M. Creed. "Fantastic and grotesque," adds Joseph Fitzmyer. "Unsophisticated, with enough preposterous material to invite the scorn of the skeptic," concludes J. Pesch. These men are all esteemed New Testament scholars. Their statements refer to the story I just read (Luke 8:26-39). If you want a more local opinion, take it from the lady who edits the church page. In response to hearing the title of this morning's sermon, she simply said: "Yuk." But it is a good story. ...

1891. To Tell The Truth

Exodus 20:16

Sermon

James Merritt

"Nearly everyone will lie to you given the right circumstances." Do you know who said that? None other than Bill Clinton, the President of the United States. But guess what? Apparently he is right. In the groundbreaking work, The Day America Told the Truth, by James Patterson and Peter Kim, we find that in America honesty has gone out the window. 91% of Americans lie regularly at home and at work. In answer to the question, "Whom have you regularly lied to?" 86% said, to their parents; and 75% to their ...

1892. The Church: The Health of a Godly Family

Hebrews 10:22-25

Sermon

James Merritt

The church is taking a beating. On the outside the picture looks bright. Its affluence is at an all-time high. The church is taking in more money and spending out more money than ever before in all of her glorious history. Just take for example the Southern Baptist Convention. Last year 40,000 Southern Baptist churches took in $6 billion, and now owns property valued at $30 billion. The same could be said for practically every major denomination in America. But a closer look reveals a darker picture. First ...

1893. What Impresses God

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a very lost, wicked, rebellious man who decided it would be good for business if he went down to the church and joined it. He was an adulterer, an alcoholic, and had never been a member of a church in his life. But when he went down to the altar to join the church, he gave public testimony to the church that there was no sin in his life, and that he had grown up in the church, and they readily accepted him as a member. When he went home he told his wife what he had done, and his wife, a very ...

1894. For Better, For Worse

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I have probably performed over 500 weddings in my pastoral career. On each occasion, bride and groom have repeated certain very important promises, word for word. I recall one very nervous groom who said, “With this wing I thee wed.” Afterward I was never able to really regain control of that service. The heart of the marital commitment is expressed in this promise: “I take you to be my wedded spouse, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and ...

1895. On the Mountainside

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Words...words...words. Recently I read that last year, 100 new words were added to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary-words like bikini wax, brain freeze, chick flick, hazmat and Wi-Fi. Whether the world will be a better place because of it is yet to be seen, but we are overwhelmed with words. Words...words...words. The constant stream of rapid-fire raging rhetoric on talk radio; the unending stream of words on e-mail, i-Pod and spam; printed words, shouted words, confusing and contradictory words. To those ...

1896. Getting It Straight

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

What a colorful figure Paul must have been in flesh and blood! His individuality shows a man who refuses to be dominated by anything. For us to be able to experience his ministry, as he went about, would have been something that would have made an indelible imprint on us. As he wove his life and ministry into his day and time the enemies were many. This was especially true among his Jewish brothers and sisters. Only by the grace of God was he able to fulfill what he had been called to do. The hatred could ...

1897. From a Distance

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Faith requires distance for it to be true faith. No distance, no faith. Most of us know that the technical term for nearsightedness (which, ironically, means we can see things that are near to us but cannot see those that are far away) is myopia. It's a handy word with an interesting sound that wordsmiths such as writers and preachers find highly useful. Not many of us, however, are probably familiar with the medically correct term for the opposite vision condition: farsightedness (that is, the ability to ...

1898. Settle for an F

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

If "A" is for adultery and "F" is for faithfulness, settle for an "F." Faithfulness is central to an "I Do" marriage. "I never knew what happiness was until I got married, but then it was too late." "Marriage is a great institution, but who wants to spend the rest of one's life in an institution." Without the lumps and bumps, woes and warts of marriages, stand-up comics would starve. In some ways our culture has much in common with the attitude that prevailed in the first century - remaining faithfully ...

1899. A Theology of Linguistic Linguini

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Let’s begin with a little survey. How many of you have you have taken down your Christmas tree and packed up all the festive decorations until next December? How many of you are still living with your Christmas bling-bling? I thought so. There are not too many of us who hold on and hold out until the passing of Epiphany to take down our Christmas décor. This year Epiphany, January 6, falls on Tuesday, a nondescript day of the week. We are back at work. Kids are back at school. Post-Christmas and New Year’s ...

1900. Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Deuteronomy gets its name from the Septuagint's translation of 17:18, wherein the king is called to prepare "a copy of this law" literally in Greek deuteronomion touto (a second law). The book itself is organized into three addresses given by Moses to the people 1:1-4:43; 4:44-28:68; 29:1-30:20. The conclusion of Deuteronomy, therefore, is rather theologically surprising. Instead of Moses, the great mouthpiece of God and motivator of Israel, triumphantly leading the people into their new life in the ...

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