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 1976 to 2000 of 3128 results

1976. Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... :5 by adding "mind" to the list of the ways of love. This is not so much an addition to the original text as it is a cultural adjustment made by Jesus for a strongly Hellenized environment - for the Greek thought and language separated the seat of emotions (the heart) from the seat of the intellect (the mind). The Hebrew never made this distinction, finding the term heart (Hebrew leb) to be an adequate home for both kinds of sensibility. In verse 31 Jesus combines the love that is commanded for God with the ...

1977. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... note in and to our senses? Perhaps part of the problem is that we read and hear the story of the prodigal son as a tale about relationships, especially family relationships. Periodic antipathy between parents and children is a relational issue rooted deep in our emotional lives. The drama between the characters is an affair of the heart. We are pleased to see a loving heart and a forgiving nature bring harmony to discord. But today's Gospel text is not set in the cozy cocooning of a family relationship. The ...

1978. Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... wrote his version of the gospel. The style and grace of his writing tells the story of Jesus' birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection with a unique kind of sophistication and artistry. Luke is a master storyteller, John a consummate theologian, Mark an emotional eyewitness, but Matthew is the creation of a closely woven literary masterpiece. Yet Matthew's genius is only interested in one thing - presenting a written version of the gospel story that will work to change everyone who reads it. All of Matthew ...

1979. Matthew 5:21-37

Matthew 5:21-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of remarriage, either he causes the woman to commit adultery (with him) or he himself commits adultery with her. In either case, Jesus' focus is primarily on male sexual behavior and attitudes. Amazingly, Jesus' teachings make the marriage relationship as sexually and emotionally binding for men as it had traditionally been for women. Jesus' final example in today's text distills all the other examples down to one basic point: Be honest, be truthful, in all you do. There was already in Jewish tradition a ...

1980. Genesis 12:1-4a

Genesis 12:1-4a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... grazing lands (in Genesis 13:7ff), Abram is depicted as virtually uninterested in such territorialism. He allows Lot to pick what lands he will. Abram now trusts in God's promise, not in the richness of his pastures. This is not to suggest that Abram was emotionally detached from old family ties the moment he responded to God's covenant-command. The very aged Abraham orders his servant to find Isaac a wife among his own people - his old clan - not from among the Canaanites (Genesis 24:4). But after his call ...

1981. Acts 17:22-31

Acts 17:22-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . He has not succumbed to mere philosophical debate. But it is the context of Paul's speech as well as its concluding remarks that ultimately define it as yet another of his genuinely missionizing performances. Granted, there is more logical progression than emotional appeal in this text. But it is ultimately seen as a persuasive device, not as an admission of Athenian insight. In verses 30-31, Paul hits his listeners right between the eyes or perhaps more insultingly, right between the ears with his ...

1982. Romans 8:26-39

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , the one "groaning" or "sighing" inarticulately toward God in prayer. Whichever way you interpret this verse theologically, remember that it is perfectly acceptable to read Paul's declaration as the groaning of the Spirit itself on our behalf. The Spirit is emotionally involved and eternally invested in our yearnings toward the Divine. Verse 27 reveals that God hears and understands the Spirit even when words or utterances of any kind fail the human praying. God goes directly to the heart, which is one ...

1983. Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of these human-directed commandments begins at home with the relationship between parent and child. Of course, in ancient Near Eastern culture the family or clan was the most basic fingerprint of one's identity. Physical and economic survival as well as emotional support and nurturance combined to make the clan-unit and the families within it the basis of each person's life. The wording of this fifth commandment in verse 12 intentionally makes an intimate connection between the parent-child and the human ...

1984. Philippians 4:1-9

Philippians 4:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the main body of the Philippian church, with no apparent references to outside agitators. The personal ties between Paul and these people are evident as he addresses them in 4:1 as those he loves and longs for. This "longing" Paul voices is an emotional ache, perhaps best understood as a kind of "homesickness." Paul's letter is written while he is imprisoned forcibly kept far away from those who offered him a spiritual "home base." Paul next describes these Philippians as his "joy and crown" expressing both ...

1985. Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , Judah included, was beginning to crack. During the earliest years of Jeremiah's call, the political environment in which he lived would continue to change. Assyria's decline continued, allowing young King Josiah to free Judah from her humiliating vassalage. Emotions and hopes ran high as Josiah's religious reforms not only rededicated the country and people to a purified Yahwistic form of worship, but also renewed the sense of an independent identity for the entire nation. Unfortunately for Judah, these ...

1986. Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... make up an active command from Jesus. When Jesus declares to his audience, "Love your enemies," this is just the beginning formulation of a general principle _ a principle that is immediately made specific and active. The "love" Jesus calls for is not an emotional or sentimental attachment. This love is actively oriented _ it is "love" only because it is actively pursuing good for the enemy. "Do good," Jesus commands. He doesn't say "think good thoughts or have good feelings," but actually "do good to those ...

1987. Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The sense of closeness Paul feels with the Christians in Philippi reveals itself in the familiarity and straightforwardness of this letter. There are Pauline candor and intense emotions _ both tears and joy _ throughout this text. Philippians has always been one of the best-loved of all Paul's letters, in part because we can feel the pulse beat of Paul's own concern and commitment to this community beneath only the thinnest skin of literary and ...

1988. Galatians 2:15-21

Galatians 2:15-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Paul's letter to the Galatians, while highly personal and emotional, yet also offers some of the clearest and most powerful expressions of theology the apostle ever wrote. The text read for today's epistle lesson starts a new section in the letter. It is concerned with the theological fallout created by the actions of Peter and the others in Antioch. ...

1989. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... book to book. Unlike Paul's accounts, however, all the gospels are interested in the details that surrounded this miraculous event, each adding their own personal touches to the story to make it come alive for new readers. In John, the fragile emotional state of Jesus' followers is used to give a tender poignancy to the narrative. John begins by bringing a grieving Mary Magdalene to the tomb even before daylight has returned. Although John mentions only Mary specifically, her later words indicate that, as ...

1990. 1 Samuel 16:14-23

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... God's choice for king, is described with all the necessary characteristics of a leader - "a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him" (vs. 18). With David's arrival Saul now experiences two related emotions. First we are told that Saul "loved him greatly" (vs. 21). How ironic that the very one who will depose Saul is initially loved by him. Soothed by David's music, Saul is able to experience a positive flow of feelings. Not surprisingly, then, it is ...

1991. 2 Samuel 12:1-14

2 Samuel 12:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Notice Nathan's beguiling way of confronting the wayward king with God's message of condemnation. Jesus would use the very same method in the future: parables. Nathan masterfully weaves a story full of pathos and power, a story that could not fail to ensnare the emotions of the listening king's heart and mind. While in the past David and Nathan may have joined together to hear legal disputes before the court, there is no real sense here that either man supposes this parable is an actual case. Part of Nathan ...

1992. Hebrews 4:1-3; 9-13

Hebrews 4:1-3; 9-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... been unkind to, "Sabbath" and "Sevening" are up high. Yet the Epistle-writer makes it clear that Sevening is a significant expression of our faithfulness and obedience before God. Laced throughout this week's readings are dark promises attesting to the mental and emotional sterility that will happen to those whose lives fail to manifest a faithful, obedient spirit. The author believes his message to be critically current - for it is only while the promise of "rest" is still "open" that we are able to act ...

1993. Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... HolyCity - making all ongoing attempts at improving our moral standard of living a futile exercise. But John's long-distance vision of a New Jerusalem can be focused into one basic concept. What John envisions is "home" - a word so layered with meanings and emotion that it would in itself require another six visions to explain all the inferences and nuances the term holds for us. Yet John's vision captures the essence of what we would define as an archetypal, eternal state of being "at home" for us - "The ...

1994. Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1995. John 6:1-21

John 6:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , what is most missing from John's version of this feeding miracle is any reference to Jesus' compassion for the crowd or any direct mention of the crowd's plight (they are hungry, far away from any town, etc.). John omits any mention of Jesus' emotional reasons for performing this miracle. The focus is not on the crowd but on the disciples and their attempt to deal with the situation facing them and their master. As part of Jesus' catechetical purpose, he even "tests" Philip in good Socratic fashion asking ...

1996. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... world. Lying (v.25) was not really condemned but was considered according to the profitability of truth-telling in any given situation. Many pagan philosophers taught that a lie that benefited was better than a truth that was costly. Anger (v.26) and emotional turmoil were staple commodities in the tales of the pagan gods. Anger was what started and sustained wars of extreme duration. Anger made men into wild warriors a valuable commodity on the pagan market. Theft (v.28) was clearly a matter of perspective ...

1997. Mark 7:24-37

Mark 7:24-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... grants the Syrophoenician woman's desperate request not because she has shown great faith, but because of the cleverness of her words: " ... For saying that, you may go the demon has left your daughter" (v.29). If Jesus seems remote and emotionally distanced from the plight of the Syrophoenician woman, his overly earthy familiarity with the deaf-mute man disturbs our sensibilities in a different way. Everything about this healing scene is radically different from the one just past. Jesus has moved away ...

1998. John 18:33-38

John 18:33-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... those who "belong to the truth." "Truth" for Jesus is not merely something that is thought; truth is felt, truth is acted out and enacted in life. In Hebraic culture, there is no such thing as a separate intellect. Mind, body and emotions are inextricably bound together. The root meaning of the Hebrew emet, "truth," is "trustworthy" or "faithful." In Hebrew, "truth" is a term more descriptive of a person than any intellectual proposition. (For more discussion on this difference, see Ian Pitt-Watson, "God ...

1999. Hosea 11:1-11

Hosea 11:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Hosea's metaphor of Yahweh and Israel as a husband and an unfaithful wife an image played out in the reality of his own marriage to the prostitute Gomer is developed primarily in chapters 1-3. But the deep personal insights Hosea offers into the emotional relationship between God and the people of Israel doesn't cease at that point. Though his message in chapters 4-10 turns to one of judgment against Israel for willful disobedience and arrogant apostasy, the pain this attitude inflicts upon Yahweh is also a ...

2000. A Powerful Sacrament

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... stream and the waterfall!” It’s part of the script! Technology will make us happier. We’re only one new gadget away from Nirvana. Meanwhile our families are in shambles. Sales of antidepressants are soaring. People are suffering from all kinds of emotional disorders. The script has failed. The sooner we are aware of this, the better off we will be. There’s something wrong, something rotten in our society. This brings us to the next thesis: our physical, mental, moral and spiritual health depends on ...

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