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 1926 to 1950 of 4952 results

1926. Lessons from a Fool

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... is occurring right here in our country the widening gulf between the haves and the have-nots. It all sounds very much like a parable that Jesus told. It is a familiar story that has an uncomfortable ending: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself ...

1927. Hard Words to Hear at Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... heavy emphasis on wrath. John may well have been furious about the corruption of the people of God. If scholars are correct that John was an Essene, he had gone out into the wilderness as a protest against all of the Jewish leadership of his day. The Essenes thought that everyone had it wrong. They went out into the wilderness to get away from the Romans and the Jewish leadership. They wanted to worship God in their own way. We don't know exactly who John had in mind when he predicted that the trees would ...

1928. Looking at Jesus from Behind Prison Bars

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... out of that prison? Could he have at least suspected that he never would breathe air as a free man again? Could we blame John if, under these circumstances, he began to wonder if he had invested himself in the wrong cause? Could we blame him if he thought his life had been based on a mistake? The answer to his question really mattered to John. Where do we find ourselves in this Advent season? As we approach Christmas, how is our mood? Do any questions or doubts plague us in the midst of holiday cheer? Does ...

1929. The Cross No One Wants To See

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Lee Griess

... , surrounded the whole thing. It was an ugly sight — a thing of violence and death and it caused quite a controversy. The neighbors hated it — in fact, they started a petition to have it removed. The congregation's members were repelled by it. They thought it was sacrilegious and had no place on the church grounds. The pastor just commented, "The reactions to our Lenten display are understandable. No one wants to be reminded of our inhumanity toward each other. But isn't that indeed the basis for the ...

1930. The Way and The Truth and The Life

John 14:1-14

Sermon

Lee Griess

... the way and the truth and the life." Let us pause a few moments this morning in our busy lives to give these words some thought. Let us take a few minutes today to pull them apart and examine them more closely for in them there is a great blessing. In ... and the truth" but also say, "I am the life." For without Jesus, there is no life in us. Left to our own, judged by our own thoughts and deeds, there is no hope for us. And, in fact, that, too, is the message of scripture, isn't it? How does Paul put it? "All ...

1931. Why Is God Unfair?

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... . So, too, the bargaining that takes place at the beginning of the day in this parable, and then again at the end. "Didn't you bargain for what you got?" the early hires are asked. "Why do you think that is unfair? You are only getting what you thought you were worth." And maybe that is the problem. When we try to mark a service with some value, invariably the price tags never fit. Who Are You Working For? There is one other almost deceptively hidden odd point about the story as Jesus tells it. Where is ...

1932. In Whose Likeness?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... creation on God's behalf (Genesis 1:26a, 27, 26a, 28). We are the coin of God's realm. God's likeness stamped on us declares that we belong wholly and entirely to God. Next to that, who cares who owns the penny? All the power of human love and thought and action belong to God — and if these are properly rendered, if we actually give to God what belongs to God (all the love of our heart and soul and mind and strength, issuing in a love of neighbor as strong as our love of self) — if these powers of ...

1933. Investing in God’s Future

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... that have been injured or bent out of shape by the failings, sins, and errors of this person in their life. Every human being who ever lived has the kind of impact a quarter of a million dollars has. And some of us have much more. That's a frightening thought. Many of us spend much of our lives trying to pretend it isn't so. We refuse to think about the true impact of what we're doing, about the depth of our effect on others. Or we try to avoid having an impact — we hide away the deepest springs ...

1934. Reversal and Victory

Judges 4:1-7

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... today decades after her death. Her words are still timely today, "God doesn't call us to sit on the sidelines and watch. He calls us to be on the field, playing the games." This remarkable, God-filled woman accomplished these things at a time when many people thought a woman had no business doing such things.3 God is at work in our lives and in our world, working with ordinary people to accomplish the seemingly impossible. God is at work even at those times when we are unaware of God's presence. If only we ...

1935. The Vastness of Relationships

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... there is a kernel of truth in this, it is far too neat a package and seems to me to try to represent overlaying a neatly thought-out idea of the nature of God on a much more dynamic and relational passage. So let's try, as difficult as it may be for ... I'm required to report cases of child abuse. I had no idea what to say to this woman. At last I asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. I will never forget the look of pure, naive shock that crossed her face. Church! she cried. Why would ...

1936. A Friday We Call “Good”

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

David O. Bales

... God goes to demonstrate love and forgiveness to us. Our text says that Jesus has opened for us a new and living way for us into God's presence. We have confidence to come back to God because of what Jesus has done — not because of what we've done, thought, or said, not because of what we've intended or promised; thus our confidence in approaching God can't be erased by the promises we've broken or the resolutions we haven't kept. Christ gets us through to God. What we've done and what we've become don ...

1937. A Living Hope (If It Hadn’t Been for Easter)

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

David O. Bales

... your faith? What's God doing right now in your life?" Christian hope isn't about keeping the world the way it is or the way we thought it was or should have been, but making it better. Jesus does it by making us better. That's what Jesus strains toward and hopes for — ... written all his letters, and was dead before any of the gospels were written. Peter today tells us what the New Testament thought was important: By God's "great mercy God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection ...

1938. God’s Doing

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Larry Lange

... chubby little fingers of her grandson, Trevor. She was thankful to be alive, but still she dreaded every day. When will it come back? How much more debilitated will I get? How much longer before Don gives up and walks out? She worried about this last thought more than the others because Don had had big plans for this part of their life: plans for travel around the world, plans for skiing and scuba, plans for romantic rendezvous on the warm, white sands of some island in the Caribbean. There had been moments ...

1939. Just a Crazy Story

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Larry Lange

... , so there was no way he could pretend he was angry with the way God ran the world. God would see right through that, Zack thought. "That's right. I would," God said. Zack slowly lifted his head up off his kitchen table. He'd fallen asleep there after beer number ... worst: the fact that he had an Arabic-sounding name, the fact that he had offered them a billion dollar bribe, the fact that he thought he was God, or the fact that he had failed to pay a parking ticket back in 1974. Since even Adam and Eve had ...

1940. Tomb It May Concern

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... of the epitaphs. One in particular caught his attention: Stop there, you, as you go by, For as you are, so once was I. But as I am, you soon shall be, So prepare yourself to follow me. The boy was taken aback at first, but with a moment's thought he took a broken crayon out of his pocket and wrote beneath the inscription: To follow you, I'm not content, Until I know which way you went! Even in the face of life's final chapter on earth, we sometimes find it within ourselves to smile, don't we ...

1941. There's Something about Con Men

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... to turn when he was out of a job. He was taking a risk, of course the risk that his boss would have him thrown in jail. That’s what should have happened, of course. But this is Jesus’ parable, and, let’s face it, Jesus sometimes thought outside the box. Listen to how Jesus ended this little tale: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world,” said Jesus, “are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I ...

1942. Step Into The Vision

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... want me to move. But it still feels like I've moved to a new church. And in a sense, I have. This isn't the church I was appointed to nearly 6 years ago. That was a small country church with about 150 in attendance and a vision many thought couldn't or wouldn't happen. Now look at us. The Vision, the hopes, the dreams, the desires of ourselves and others is now a reality. We did a good job. We listened to God's call, We all had an image of what God wanted. Those were all different ...

1943. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Denied!"

John 13:36-38; 18:12-27

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... scare you so bad, you hurt yourself." (2) That's what FEAR did to Peter. It caused him to hurt himself and the one he thought was the Messiah, his friend and Master, Jesus. B. FEAR does strange things to us, doesn't it. Maybe you heard about the guy who ... up and said. "Yeah, I did it! Now what are you gonna do about it?" The dog owner gulped and said, "Oh, uh, nothing. I just thought you'd like to know that the first coat is dry!" FEAR can do some strange things to us. FEAR caused Peter to DENY Jesus. II. ...

1944. Mystery of the Unlikely

Luke 1:39-55

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... message. And not only receive it but act upon it or obey it. (4) Mary and Joseph may have been Unlikely Parents but they listened and obeyed. III. Unlikely Purpose Finally, the passage today tells us about the Unlikely Purpose of this new born baby. Who would have thought that this little baby, filled with so much future, actually held the future in his heart and hands. And no one could have conceived a Savior in the form of a helpless infant. No one expected God to break into our lives in our own flesh and ...

1945. Sitting at the Big People Table

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... With vegetable mashes And after they drink They all have Milk mustaches. They urp, And they burp, And they belch And they gulp; Oh, why can't I sit At the feast for adults? All the mooshing And mashing And smooshing And gnashing! I put down my fork And I thought about fasting! I'd never eat turkey Again in my life! Never pick up a fork! Never pick up a knife! I'd fast like a mountain-top Indian swami; I wouldn't touch mustard Or bread Or salami! "I'll never eat mushrooms "Or green beans "Or squid! "And ...

1946. Rich In His Poverty

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Kingdom. You and I are brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus said He would be with us always, even to the end of the age. And when we look out and see one another, it reminds us that Christ is with us. We are not alone. Have you ever thought about that, that you represent the presence of Christ in the world for someone else. Whenever we live our faith. Whenever we live out our baptismal vows and our membership vows, we are SHARING THE TRUE TREASURE of life with those around us. Conclusion The Good News is ...

1947. Earth, Wind and Fire

Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27, 16:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... and enhance the flavor of life in the world. If you remember, Salsa and Hot Sauce is now the number one condiment in the world. So maybe a more appropriate modern interpretation of that might be that we are "the Cholula" of the world. B. Now some folks have always thought that this was a Mission Impossible. That there is no way that we can reach out to the whole world. Or that we can influence even one other person. On our own, that's true. On our own, we have no power to carry out this Mission. On our own ...

1948. Can You Be Popular and Serve Jesus?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... horse number 3 would win the first race. However, in line to place his bet he overhears the man directly in front of him place a bet on number 4. So he bets on 4. Sure enough, number 3 wins. “What happened?” his friend later asks. “I thought you liked number 3?” “I met this fellow . . .” the first guy explains. In the next race he likes number 5, but meets a bettor who likes number 6. He changes his mind. Sure enough, his original horse, number 5, wins. After losing six races because somebody ...

1949. Whose Wife Will She Be?

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... any wittle wabbits?” The shopkeeper bent way down and put his hands on his knees so he would be on her level, and asked, “Do you want a wittle white wabbit or a wittle bwack wabbit? Or maybe that cute wittle bwown wabbit over there?” The little girl thought for a moment, put her hands on her knees, leaned forward and said in a quiet little voice, “Mr., I don’t fink my pyfon weally cares.” Well, she’s probably right. Her pet python didn’t care what color the rabbits were that were put in his ...

1950. Modern Day Perils

Matthew 24:36-44

Illustration

Theodore J. Wardlaw

... . He was a seminary professor, and he and his family were joining the church. And when it came his turn, he said, "I'm joining this church because those cannons across the street on the grounds of the State Capitol Building are pointed directly at us." I thought at the time, "That's a strange answer." I had never noticed the cannons across the street. And I would look for them the next day, and, sure enough, there they would be, sitting there as mute relics of some war and pointing straight at the stone ...

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