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 1901 to 1925 of 4340 results

1901. September 11th

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

... love the Lord and are trying to fit into his plans.’ The terrorists of September 11th Have discovered that their audacious plan has backfired. They are confronting a unified, determined, and God-honoring America. Therefore, no terrorist is able to rest peacefully. As America fights this noble battle, her own character may be purified and refined.

1902. The First Council

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

CSS

... him. Was not an "orthodox Christian" subject to the same rule? Of course, Peter had done so in the case of Cornelius, but this must have been looked on as a one-time aberration. If this kind of reasoning seems out of character with present-day situations, think again. How many congregations have made visitors feel unwelcome because they came from different social or racial backgrounds? How many Christian congregations have willingly accepted a "token black" or a "token Hispanic," but have felt something ...

1903. On Mars Hill

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon Aid

CSS

... scraps of learning. Others of the philosophers said that Paul seemed to be a person who had information about strange and exotic gods, because he spoke of Jesus and of a resurrection from the dead. Whatever they thought, they agreed that Paul was an interesting character and might have some new ideas. They therefore hauled him off with them to the Areopagus in order that he might make a formal presentation of the "new teaching" which he represented. The Areopagus is a hill in Athens, but the word is also ...

1904. Return to Jerusalem

Acts 20:7-12

Sermon Aid

CSS

... him to the Ephesian elders in that emotional farewell address? Tradition goes on to assert that Timothy became the first Bishop of Ephesus and that he met martyrdom there. Here we encounter the second mysterious disappearance of a chief character. When Paul and Barnabas parted company, the narrator simply dropped Barnabas from the story. Evidently Luke chose not to follow a complicated account that would trace secondary performers in this unfolding drama, but rather chose to concentrate on the leading ...

1905. Self

Illustration

Elizabeth O’Conner

In the movie, Only When I Laugh, one of the characters says, "If I could come back, I’d come back as anyone else but me." Recognition of the division in ourselves begins when we shift the attention we have been giving to the mote in our brother’s eye and fasten it on the beam in our own. In an ...

1906. The Deeper Magic - Sermon Starter

Luke 23:26-43

Illustration

Brett Blair

... I read, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, the single common element that makes the literature good is this: Does it have a human touch? In the end, does it witness to the best in us and to the worst in us? And, does it tell us through the characters lives how to find our way back home? This is my acid test. And, Harry Potter passes it. This is one of the main reasons the story of the life of our Lord has had such a profound impact upon the world. It has a human touch. It witnesses to ...

1907. Let Yes Be Yes!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

... be the most likely answer to the question: How did the woman in the Scripture text for this day first learn that Israel’s God had said a "yes" to her? 1. The Woman Heard a "Yes." This woman, like so many of the bit-part characters who move across the stage of Jesus’ ministry, appears and disappears with breathtaking suddenness. But while she steps, ever so briefly, into the spotlight, she gives us a fascinating glimpse of God’s concern for people of all sorts, including those who don’t seem to ...

1908. For Freedom!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

... coffee any more or doing a day’s work. Except you know you’d better. In case somebody, who represents Uncle Max, is watching you. 1. We’re All in Bondage How would you feel at that point? If you’ve interacted thus far with that story character, you’re no doubt feeling as though you’re in a vice. In spite of the fact that you’ve had everything provided, things you hadn’t even thought of needing (We haven’t mentioned gravity or good health or intelligence or opportunity to work ... and we ...

1909. Mary, Let's Go To The Barn

Luke 2:1-20; Matt 1:18-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

... risked his own reputation and protected her's if he did not. But his love was deeper and grounded on more than love for his bride to be. For you see he understood that obedience to God, even in the most dire of circumstances creates a life of substance and character.

1910. Bitter-Sweet Recollections

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... cross? Once you could do many miracles. You saved others, save yourself!" It all seemed so ludicrous to them. It was a laughable matter. You can tell what people are by what amuses them. How we treat sacred things, humorously or seriously, discloses something of our deepest character. They laughed at him on the cross! They laughed while they killed him. And because he still loves us, when we play the fool, it kills him! Probably the hardest of all to bear was the weight and load of sin he carried for us all ...

1911. God Is Not Yet Finished With You

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... the poor. To enable us to render this service, God the Spirit provided us with nine gifts of the Spirit. In and through the Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit comes to motivate us to godly living. God the Spirit creates godly people. He continually works in us to produce character. As the Spirit gave us nine gifts, he also produces in us the fruit of nine virtues such as love, joy, and peace. Today I may be a good person, but if I allow God the Spirit to work in me, next year I should be a better person ...

1912. Sick Of A Sick Society

Jeremiah 14:1--15:21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... writings and records. There is no end to writing books - 20,000 new books come off the presses each year. Indeed, we are an educated people, but is learning the solution to our sickness? The limitation of learning is that it cannot guarantee or produce character. Horace Mann, father of public schools, claimed that schools would close our prisons. But have they? In spite of all our schools, we have 400,000 in 800 prisons. Since 1970, our prison population has doubled, and the current cry is for more prisons ...

1913. Looking For God?

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... our going on a divine treasure hunt? It is because today we experience the absence of God in our lives and society. There is a feeling of distance between God and humanity. In his play Sweet Bird of Youth, Tenessee Williams, who died recently in New York, has a character say, "I believe that the long silence of God, the absolute speechlessness of him, is a long, long and awful thing that the whole world is lost because of; I think it’s yet to be broken to any man living or any yet lived on earth, no ...

1914. Heart To Heart

Ezekiel 18:1-32

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... . How low can we get? Rape is violence. Rape is hatred. Rape and all other crimes reveal diseased, sick, rotten hearts. Remember the words of Jesus, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery ..." How can sinners like us change into noble characters? What can be done to turn criminals into law-abiding citizens? Will a prison term change a person? Each year approximately seven million Americans are in and out of jail. Are they better when they are released? We find that prisons are schools of ...

1915. Separation of God and State?

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... state! Church leaders are not equipped to rule a nation. They may know theology but not political science. The province of church leaders is in the church where they have enough to do to preach the Word of God and build up the moral and spiritual character of the populace. It should never be the church over the state, but it should always be God over the state. To have God above the state means that the citizens are responsible to govern themselves by properly elected leaders to fulfill God’s demands of ...

1916. Free and Faithful

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... him and follow him. If he had performed the miracles demanded by the devil, he could have guaranteed people’s loyalty. Jesus chose to reject these possibilities, however. He saw them as temptations of the devil. He understood that what was threatened was the character of faith itself, faith as a free response to God’s love. We are accustomed to saying: Seeing is believing. But Christian faith is a matter of believing or trusting even without seeing. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe ...

1917. Out of the Barnyard

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... sitting in the barnyard. If we see only our inadequacy, however, we mislead ourselves, for we need always to remember that when we are faithful, God will multiply the effect of our effort and give us the victory. What should be our attitude? Its character is demonstrated in a little story which Professor Roland Bainton tells about Naphtahi Daggett, who was President of Yale and Professor of Divinity when the American Revolution began. On July 4, 1779, the British landed a force of twenty-five hundred men at ...

1918. Loving Unconditionally

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... of "righteous persecution" or for any similar, subsequent policy or attitude. Love does not insist on its own way. Often I am reminded that in this congregation we have very different theologies. We have different ideas about the mission of the Church, about the character of God, and the interpretation of Scripture. Now we can and must differ with each other as our consciences dictate. But I believe that in the way of Christ we find a unity which is larger than our disunities. The way of Christ is the ...

1919. Isaiah’s Interruption

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... ? A big flower? A pretty flower? Am I blooming? Done blooming? Ever going to bloom? Ever going to bloom again?" It’s that nagging doubt in each of us that makes us measure ourselves to see if we’re succeeding, blooming, producing. We become so concerned about the character of our petals that we stunt our own growth by anxiety. Why else does Christ say: "Look at the lilies of the field" unless he’s trying to say, relax, at ease, God is still God, and he’ll make you bloom when he’s ready? Don’t ...

1920. Eternal Echo Of Easter - Part 2

Matthew 28:1-10

Drama

Esther R. Russ

... . Our church had four spotlights that shone on the front of the cross. We left the cross lighted from behind throughout the crucifixion scene and flickered the spots for the lightning. Spotlights We used two different types of lighting for the stage and the characters: for the greatest part of the program (except for the Candlelight Ceremony, and the scene depicting Golgotha), we used a small spotlight that is used to shine on Christmas trees. You may wish to leave the color wheel on for effect, or you may ...

1921. The Role of an Angel

John 20:10-18

Sermon

George Bass

... s length because it was more important for her to go to Peter and the other disciples and tell them the good news about his resurrection. And she did just that - as Jesus told her to. From that time on Christian worship took on a two-fold character - it is always a response that includes praise, thanksgiving, and affirmations of faith and love when Christians gather to worship the risen Lord, and also the acceptance of Christ-given mission and service that are to be carried on in his name in the world. It ...

1922. Who Keeps Getting in My Way?

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... are those who are poor in ego. Ego means self in the sense of too much emphasis on self: self-satisfaction, self-seeking, self-centeredness. Words like pride, conceit, and self-importance describe us if we are rich in ego. We’re like a character named Edith described by a writer in a novel as "a little country bounded on the north, south, east, and west ... by Edith." Some years ago one of Duke University’s outstanding basketball players was being interviewed by a sportswriter. The athlete said he ...

1923. What Does It Mean To "Believe"?

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... religion. Just float. As long as you are putting forth effort you are not trusting. B. Implies Commitment: Second, trust implies commitment. I think the best illustration is that of the marriage ceremony. A young lady can believe all that she wants to regarding the character and the personality and the promises of her husband-to-be, but until she says "I do" she does not hand herself over, commit herself, entrust herself to the young man. But once she does, then she enters into those very things which she ...

1924. Salvation Through His Suffering

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... . Jesus was not acting that day on the cross. He was dying for you and me! But you say, "How can I know for sure that the man who died on that cross is really the Son of God?" Look at his life. Look at his work. Look at his character. Look at his teaching. Look at his miracles. Look at his healing. Look at his incredible compassion. Look at Calvary! And look at the predictions of the prophets and the way Jesus fulfilled them in his life and in his death - down to the greatest detail. He came when they ...

1925. Whatever Became of Sin?

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... letdown, spiritual negligence, compromise with evil, a playing with fire, a surrender to undisciplined living, that creeps in, and before we know it we are dead to life. A high level of moral living by the masses tends to produce individuals of great character; a low level of moral living by the masses tends to produce individual perversion and violent group behavior. We in America are becoming victims of mass dishonesty, which we have helped to develop by our own personal negligence. There is a factor that ...

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