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 1951 to 1975 of 3285 results

1951. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and bolts than a grand designer. Verses 14-16 will reveal the true nature of this "city," dispelling any physical notions that this verse seems to imply. The second area of Abraham's faithfulness lauded here is his belief in God's ability to work miracles with flesh. The translation of verse 11 has gone through considerable revisions over time. It is so strangely constructed, with such indeterminate clauses, that at times Sarah has become the subject of the sentence - giving Sarah "the power to conceive ...

1952. Luke 21:5-19

Luke 21:5-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Finally, these texts discuss the dire prediction of incipient persecutions. We are given a kind of blow-by-blow "progressive" recitation of these four expectations of history in this week's Gospel text. Verse 5 begins with a description of the Temple's ability to evoke awe and wonder from those who beheld it. But it was this very grandeur, and the people's confidence in its external strength, that prompted Jesus to describe its impending destruction. The temple was a gorgeous piece of architecture. Josephus ...

1953. 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

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

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Eli as one whose "eyesight had begun to grow dim" (v.2). Although it is tempting to read double entendre into many of the phrases in this unit, it is not necessary. The dimmed eyesight Eli suffers does not necessarily infer that he had lost his ability to receive visions from the Lord. Indeed this pericope makes it clear that "visions" of the God of Israel are heard and not seen. Direct contact with the divine is always through a word, not some spiritual "sighting." If the text had stated Eli's hearing ...

1954. Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Deuteronomy 18:9-13, 14-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... heeded by the people. Those who refuse to receive the prophetic message God will "hold accountable" (v.19). This mandate, of course, begs the question asked in verse 21 "How can we recognize a word that the LORD has not spoken?" The people rightly question their ability to determine which prophets are genuinely speaking God's words in God's name, and which are hiding behind the guise of God's name in order to deliver their own messages. The answer in verse 22 is not entirely satisfactory; it would seem to ...

1955. John 2:13-22

John 2:13-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Jesus' first miracle, turning water into wine at the Cana wedding feast, ushers in his active ministry with chords of celebration and faithfulness. Mary puts her trust in Jesus' abilities, and through her openness to faith, the miracle occurs. As a result, the wedding party becomes more joyful than ever expected. But immediately on the heels of this demonstration and the good feelings it evokes, John's gospel moves to one of the most dramatic, confrontational events in Jesus' ministry. ...

1956. Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... based on no effort by the church or the believers, strong or weak, that make up the body of Christ. Verse 9 emphasizes this reality by declaring that boasting is not allowed among Christians. Boasting would, of course, suggest that we have faith in our own ability to render some sort of aid in this divine mission of deliverance. If one can "boast," this epistle writer knows, then the boaster reveals a trust in one's own self, not in God. Having constructed so convincing a case for sole gratia, sole fide to ...

1957. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... :28-32. It is a time of a new, never before seen event. It is time to mark the birthday of a new creation by God, a creation that itself invokes the beginning of the end times. The miracle of the Holy Spirit's arrival is not based on linguistic abilities. It is marked by the birth of God's power and authority on earth through the new creation of the church.

1958. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... no concern about any challenges to his divinity. (For a more complete discussion of these concepts see Bernard F. Batto, "The Sleeping God: An Ancient Near Eastern Motif of Divine Sovereignty," Biblica 68 [1987], 153-177.) With this heritage in mind, one sees that Jesus' ability to sleep during the raging storm at sea takes on new meaning and power. It is not just that Jesus is humanly exhausted and needs his rest. It is not even that Jesus has such complete trust and faith in the eternally protective power ...

1959. Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the nature of their demands or in the case of an infraction the number and seriousness of the steps necessary to undo any infringements. Note: The scribe's question does not address whether this "greatest commandment" could be fulfilled through human ability. The assumption was that if one was genuinely pious and observant enough, all the 613 commandments were within reach. Jesus provides the scribe with an encapsulated version of the Law through a positive interpretation of Hillel the Elder's summary ...

1960. Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Torah, facing the congregation. The problem Jesus pinpoints is not that these scribes are accorded deference and honor. The problem is they like it too much. They have confused the respect intended for the position they hold with respect for their own abilities and advancements. As with rabbis, scribes in the first century were not paid for being scribes. There was no such thing as a "professional" scribe or rabbi in the sense that it was a self-supporting activity. Thus, despite the honor their positions ...

1961. Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... "clothe" themselves with the virtues of "compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience" (v.12). These free-standing qualities are expanded and put into practice in Paul's directive in verse 13. Practicing forbearance and forgiveness with each other tests the Colossians' ability to truly live anew in Christ for the forgiveness they are called to offer others is made possible only because of their experience of the Lord's (Christ's) forgiveness. In verse 14, Paul singles out one quality that stands ...

1962. Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the same breath, God gives Jeremiah the third sign of a divine call, a divine commission to minister (v. 5). The fourth development typical of "call" narratives is the would-be prophet's objection to the divine plan, based on a genuine lack of ability (v. 6). Fifth, God dismisses the reluctant prophet's objections and instead offers reassurance (v. 7) that divine power and presence will be with Jeremiah. Finally, God seals the call of this new prophet through a sign, in this case (as in Isaiah's) touching ...

1963. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... promise that should comfort believers in every age. First, Paul declares that all past, present and future temptations are qualitatively similar. People have experienced similar types and degrees of temptations throughout the ages. Second, despite all our waywardness, God remains eternally faithful. Third, God will not test us beyond our ability to endure and God will always provide a way out of whatever moral quagmire in which we find ourselves floundering.

1964. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... thing for my son to lay down his toy and forget its whereabouts. It is quite another for a toy to sneak off on its own and camouflage its location. We live in a world that has crawled away from a loving God and tried to the best of its ability to stay "lost." And like the father in the parable of the lost son, God has allowed people the freedom to act against their best interests, to sneak away and hide. But God is not content. One wonders if the father in the parable on occasion asked the older brother ...

1965. Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . God's love, pure and clear, shines before each of us. The first step is to remove our blindfold and cry out to that glory, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then, with faith and humility, we must ask God for the most precious of all gifts, the ability to see our risen Savior. Let me open my eyes to the glorious light and love and power of Christ. We don't talk about it much, but after being struck blind, how scared was Paul? I have got to believe he was scared sightless. Yet in spite of his ...

1966. Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-62

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by Gentiles (8:37), today by Samaritans, and finally by Jerusalem itself (9:22; 19:41-44). James and John react to the Samaritan village's rejection of Jesus with characteristically defective discipleship. Luke has already shown the significant gaps in the disciples' ability to comprehend their role (9:45-50), but here in verse 54 James and John patently disregard Jesus' earlier instructions about how they are to behave when they and their message are rejected (9:5). Because this is a Samaritan village, the ...

1967. 1 Timothy 1:12-17

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... whole reason for the Incarnation to redeem fallen, broken humanity. Paul celebrates his own experience of divine mercy and patience not only for his own sake, but because this makes him a perfect example to others of the depth and breadth of Christ's saving ability. If even Paul's great sinfulness were erased, who could be beyond the pale of God's grace? The "sureness" affirmed by verse 15, however, suggests that the focus here is more on trusting in Christ than "believing" in him. Of course, this "trust ...

1968. Matthew 3:1-12

Matthew 3:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a postmodernist? It doesn't take much of a stretch to see why John attracted such large, diverse crowds. Unlike the theological arguments voiced by pedantic Pharisees or the hairsplitting squabbles of the synagogue scribes, John the Baptist rivals all but Jesus in his ability to create an experience and invest an image with life and breath. John the Baptist could not contain his mission or his message to the mincing minyans and proper prayer groups. Nothing less than the wide-open spaces and the roar of the ...

1969. Learning to Love Ourselves

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

James McCormick

... . As Dizzy Dean used to say, “It ain’t braggin’ if you done it!” Open your ears now, because I am going to give you some good news. You can love and affirm yourself no matter what, because your worth is not dependent upon your appearance, or your ability, or your performance. You are a person of worth because you are a child of God – you are one for whom Christ has died. If you understand that, then you can love yourself for that best of all possible reasons. God loves me, so I must be worth ...

1970. Back To Basics: The Three R's of Baptism - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:4-11

Illustration

Brett Blair

... It means breaking old habits. It means admitting that we have been wrong, and this is never easy. It means losing face. It means starting all over again. And this is always painful. It means saying I am sorry. It means recognizing that we have the ability to change. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we turn, we will be trapped forever in yesterday's ways." Clinton's quote ended with this prayer: "Lord help us to turn, from callousness to sensitivity, from hostility to love, from pettiness to ...

1971. If You Understand This Message...

Mark 1:4-11

Illustration

... , the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse code: `If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.' None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. So the job is his." Our livelihood, indeed our life, depends upon our ability to discern the meaning of these words: "You are my child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

1972. Matthew 5:1-12

Matthew 5:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the costs in this life. Relating the Texts As Paul continues his letter to the Corinthian church, he picks up on the theme he introduced in verse 17 - the paradoxical relationship between wisdom and the cross. In verses 18-25, Paul declares human ability and "wisdom" bankrupt before God. Paul recognizes that the cross has become a point of contention among these various "parties" in Corinth - a topic so uncomfortable to them that they would rather spend their energies taking up sides than taking up crosses ...

1973. Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of crucial purposes. Sometimes used as wages instead of coinage, salt was best known as a preservative. Before refrigeration, salted foods were the lifeline to survival when fresh foods became scarce. Salt was also used as a disinfectant ("salt in the wounds"). Salt's ability to act as a preservative - giving long-life to all it permeated - led the Old Testament prophets to use salt as a symbol of the eternal covenant God made with the Hebrew people (see Leviticus 2:13, Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5 ...

1974. Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42-47

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... even a next-generation, activity. But the seeds sowed by the apostles' teaching needs fertile soil in which to germinate. Thus it is that Luke next highlights what is arguably the most special gift the Holy Spirit bestowed on these new believers - the ability to become a true fellowship (koinonia) community. Earlier in chapter 2, Luke took pains to establish just how diverse this group actually was (2:5). Yet they now find themselves able to form an enduring, cohesive community. It is the ongoing acceptance ...

1975. Matthew 10:24-39

Matthew 10:24-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... like Jesus, their teacher. The fact that they will face degradation and physical persecution should also be viewed as testimony to their "likeness" to their master. Jesus had just summarily been slandered by some Pharisees who suggested that his healing abilities came not from God but from "the prince of demons" or Beelzebub (Matthew 9:32-34). Clearly, if the disciples faithfully carry out their mission, they should expect to encounter the sting of similar epithets. Matthew next presents two apparently ...

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