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 2653 results

1951. Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of depth and maturity in the faith of his readers. This spiritual immaturity has led to a dearth in their “knowledge of God” and in their living out the Spirit-driven life in their everyday walk. Again, Paul emphasizes that if one’s spiritual compass is set true North, if “full” knowledge of God’s will is operational in their faith, this will be revealed as the Colossians “bear fruit in every good work” (v. 10). Bearing fruit and growing strong are the first of four actions Paul specifies ...

1952. The King on a Donkey

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the kid. They shall not hurt or destroy in my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters that cover the sea.” And that radical image of the peaceable kingdom in Isaiah 65, where love reigns and where compassion flavors all action. Listen to it: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and ...

1953. Luke 11:1-13

Luke 11:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... everyone who searches . . . everyone who knocks . . .” God’s reciprocating response is available to all who seek it. Finally Jesus offers a rabbinical “qal wehomer” (from the lesser to the greater) argument to prove his point. Jesus compares the generosity and compassion of a human father with that of the heavenly Father. Obviously if even a sinful, flawed human father would give his child good gifts when asked, how much more so will the heavenly Father provide good gifts to his “children” when ...

1954. Our Father...

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... would bring the children of God together in prayer and praise. So why are there so many growing, thriving churches who market God as nothing more than an abusive or absentee parent? These are churches that elevate rules and regulations over compassion and relationships. These are communities that only develop portraits of God as judge, God as punisher, God as angry, disappointed, wrathful and vengeful. If simple human parents know that in every childhood argument and altercation there are shades of grey ...

1955. A Revolution in Seven Verses

Luke 13:10-17

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... women were saved through their men. To call her a daughter of Abraham is to make her a full-fledged member of the nation of Israel with equal standing before God. 5. He heals on the Sabbath, the holy day. In doing this he demonstrates God's compassion for people over ceremony, and reclaims the Sabbath for the celebration of God's liberal goodness. 6. Last, and not least, he challenges the ancient belief that her illness is a direct punishment from God for sin. He asserts that she is ill, not because God ...

1956. Letting Go of Our Nets

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... fraction of what their old job paid. A middle-aged couple in Florida left their comfortable jobs and neighborhood to become house parents at a boys' ranch in Alabama. The four disciples responded immediately; this couple took three years to decide. The couple had compassion for boys who had never had a birthday party or been tucked into bed. Perhaps alluding to the passage, the founder of the boys' ranch said that the couple would "bring light to children long accustomed to darkness."1 We are not all called ...

1957. Choosing a Master

Matthew 6:16-24

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... a spiritual practice is not about improving your health. It is not about becoming thinner, stronger, or more supple."3 Her experience has led her to discover that fasting enables her to pay attention to her place in the larger world and to build compassion for people who have genuine problems with food. Her most important insight was that fasting freed her from compulsions about food. Fasting created room "where grace might flow." She begins to help us see what Jesus meant by slavery.4 If food can enslave ...

1958. The Cross No One Wants To See

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Lee Griess

... cost her own. As the train smashed into the car, Alice was too close. It was thrown from the tracks right into her and she died instantly. Pastor Rouse recalls that story in telling the story of the cross. For like Alice, Jesus' extravagant love for the unlovely, his compassion for the wretched and the worst of the worst enabled him to endure the cross. He was hung on the cross no one wants to see. And there he saved our lives by giving up his own. He endured the shame. But there is more. The cross was also ...

1959. The True Shepherd

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Lee Griess

... for the shepherd. In Jesus' teaching, the shepherd leaves the 99 alone in the wilderness to go in search of that one lost sheep. Later, when Jesus was speaking to the crowds who flocked to him, the gospel writer, Mark, tells us that Jesus had compassion upon them because they were "as sheep without a shepherd." Throughout the scriptures, this image of the shepherd and the sheep is scattered throughout. In our reading for today, the same picture is held up in front of us. Jesus again taps into this imagery ...

1960. Wonderful Opportunities for Mission

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... ministry and mission was shifting into high gear. Matthew reports that Jesus had gone about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues. But he had not just been preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 9:35a). It seems that Jesus had compassion on the crowd because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). Matthew reports that Jesus cured every disease and sickness he encountered (Matthew 9:35b). Our Lord was clearly trying to make a point about his own ...

1961. Political Pardon

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... a letter of response from Nagase. At first she was almost afraid to open it, but with trembling curiosity she finally relented. What spilled into her lap was "an extraordinarily beautiful letter," as she put it. Even Lomax found himself moved deeply by its compassion and desire for reconciliation. A year later, Eric and Patti Lomax met Nagase at the location of the famous River Kwai Bridge. In halting English, Nagase repeated, over and over, "I am very, very sorry." Lomax, in tears, took him by the arm and ...

1962. Testing, Testing

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... we become the love that God is. As you pay attention to the testing situations in which you find yourself, as you pay attention to God and to others and to your own being and needs, as you hold all of these in honest and attentive compassion, you will find something amazing happening. You will find yourself growing and deepening and resonating with a much wiser and more loving voice than your own as it whispers, "Test ... test ..." out into your world. Amen. 1. Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Living Judaism (New York ...

1963. Ready for God’s Reign

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... fibers of our being, and which will then burst into brilliance showing up all the dark corners of our lives and of the world. And that vision, that light, is God's profound love for all of humanity, all of creation, and God's insistence on justice and compassion in all human dealings. An individualistic consumer society certainly isn't going to deliver that! To imagine that it can is deep darkness indeed. If our eye is going to be healthy, if we're going to live as people with light to share, we need to buy ...

1964. The Ladder from Our House

Genesis 28:10-19a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... . He had to deal with people at their worst: those who were drunk and threatening, those who stole, parents who beat their children, spouses who attacked one another, kids in crime and so forth. All of this made him even harder in his spirit. He viewed compassion and tenderness and love as signs of weakness. He became a tough, cold-hearted man. He drank a great deal, but the alcohol did not assuage the terrible turmoil in his inner man and he contemplated suicide. He could find no ladder out of the pit ...

1965. Living on the Edge

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... through those dark days. During the most harrowing moments of Katrina, Ruby would recite Bible verses for guidance and strength. She believed that God would see her through the ordeal. Quite simply she said she was just doing her job — one she has carried out with boundless compassion for over 45 years. Ruby was a model of caregiving at a time when some health care providers abandoned their posts.2 God is at work in our world. Just when you are about to give up all hope, there are subtle signs that God is ...

1966. No Partiality

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... laptop, I'll be earning six figures a year doing something — I'm not exactly sure what. If I was serious about all this, you would be thinking, "He's even dumber than I imagined" and "What a moron!" Maybe one or two of you would have had compassion: "That's a shame. Why didn't someone warn him about phishing and pharming and all the other ways disreputable people try to steal your identity?" Let me make it clear that I am in no way making light of the thousands of people who have their identities stolen ...

1967. Hidden in Plain Sight

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... truths of the gospel: the simple truths that love is of more value than hate, that peace is better than war, that we have a responsibility to one another as children of God. The truth that the God made fully known in Jesus Christ is a God of love and compassion, not a God of violence and vengeance. But these truths are, as Paul says in verse 1, the "mystery" of God. A mystery, in the way Paul uses the word, is not like a puzzle that we can master with enough perseverance like the rules of cricket. It is ...

1968. Character Approved: Stand Up or Stand Out?

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... New Testament; we have the example of Jesus; we have the example of his life, death, resurrection; we have the example of his embodiments of God’s presence, God’s intentions, and God’s mercy. We might not be any better at embracing humility, expressing compassion, welcoming the stranger, or accepting the outcast. But we do have twenty centuries of tradition telling us it is our character to do these things. The cultural ideal of what is “the best” will always be changing. It was best to be a Roman ...

1969. Heroes of Faith

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... of Jesus and Paul, these are our stories. These are the stories of our faith. The stories that have influenced our stories and made us who we are in the faith. Their stories of faith, of failure and forgiveness, of strength and valor, of tenacity, of passion and compassion are the fuel of our own stories. They remind us who we are, whose we are and of God's great love for us. They are our Heroes of Faith. II. Weight Second, Paul makes a leap of faith here, he says: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by ...

1970. Living The Faith For Dummies

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... on purpose or because I didn't care. That's what we always imply with this parable. They probably did care. They were just too busy or too preoccupied or simply didn't want to get involved. So they kept their gifts, their God given gifts or caring and compassion to themselves. They refused to share them with someone in need. B. They remind of the man who was happy because he had done three good deeds the day before. He had met a poor woman on the street, who was weeping and who held a sickly looking child ...

1971. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Betrayed"

John 13:21-30; Matthew 26:14-16; 45-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... his third denial, just as the rooster crowed. It doesn't say the anything about whether Jesus and Judas locked eyes or not. I think they did and that's why Judas felt shame and remorse. I think he saw the same thing Peter did, compassion and an opportunity for forgiveness. But unlike Peter, who still believed, who still had faith, although he was shaken, Judas had lost faith in Jesus. Had there been even a nanobyte of faith left, Judas might have experienced the same forgiveness that Peter experienced. Had ...

1972. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Denied!"

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

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . But I believe, that in some sense, when their eyes locked for that eternal instant across that charcoal fire in the courtyard, that Peter didn't see condemnation at all. He didn't see ambivalence or antipathy or even empathy. I believe he saw compassion, love, understanding and most of all FORGIVENESS. And that's why Peter wept. He wept out of remorse and relief. Remorse for his weakness. Remorse for the pain it had to have caused Jesus even though Jesus predicted it would happen. Remorse for his ...

1973. Jesus the Toxicologist

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... outcast revealed they were the type who “loved humanity, its people we can’t stand.” The Pharisees Jesus confronted were intoxicated by their own self-righteousness. That intoxication made it impossible for them to extend love and mercy and compassion to any others who fell outside the range of the limited boundaries of their interpretation of the righteous. “Prohibition,” the eighteenth amendment, couldn’t cure us, because our cultural “intoxication” was not found only at the bottom of a ...

1974. Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... portion of Torah law addresses the existence of the poor and spells out the moral imperative incumbent on the faithful to provide care and sustenance for those who cannot care for themselves. A multitude of laws on almsgiving and hospitality sought to establish compassion by commandment. The parable of the “rich man and Lazarus” is found only in Luke’s gospel. It is set up as a continuation of Jesus’ response and rebuttal to the Pharisees: first, their grumbling against him because of the company he ...

1975. What Are You Doing?

Luke 16:19-31

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

... . The truth of the parable finally penetrated his heart and Dr. Schweitzer wrote the following words: "We British (and Americans) are the rich people. Out there in Africa lies wretched Lazarus. Just as the rich man sinned against Lazarus because of his lack of heart and compassion, so the rich man would not put himself in Lazarus' place. Nor did the rich man let his conscience tell him what to do. And so we English (and Americans) have sinned against the poorest of the world at our gates." And what did Dr ...

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