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 2026 to 2050 of 4943 results

2026. The Door of Hospitality

John 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... any interest at all in him during that time. Do we have any responsibility for what has just happened in our world?” If we want a safer, more hospitable world, we might begin by building hospitality centers that are known as churches who are as concerned for their community as they are for themselves. Look all around you and find someone in need. Help somebody today. Though it be little, a neighborly deed, help somebody today. Isn’t it time we put the moral punch back into that Biblical word called ...

2027. What is the Connection Between Church and State?

Mark 12: 14-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Getting God out of public life is proving to be more difficult than we ever imagined. So a more recent tactic and, in my opinion, a more offensive one is to render public religious statements meaningless. Justice David Souter wrote this concerning the current conflict over the Pledge of Allegiance: “The usage of “under God” in the pledge is kind of a “civic exercise.” It is something that is so tepid, so diluted, so far from a compulsory prayer that it should be beneath the ...

2028. The Road of Peace

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... In the west, Shalom is translated “peace," but the word is much more complex than that. Shalom is completeness, wholeness, and unity. John Wesley would have called it sanctification – the holiness of heart and life. I was intrigued by an editorial in The Tennessean Friday concerning the moral lapses of religious leaders. It was written by an 18-year-old kid. In it he laments, “If we cannot have faith in people held in such high moral regard, in whom can we hold confidence?" Of course, he is right. But ...

2029. The Power to Do Good

Acts 10:34-38, 44-48

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and tell my story.' Fred asked, “What is your story, Dad?" Once more he took a pencil and wrote on the tissue box. ‘Tell them I was wrong!"' Life can make us tough. Will you let the Holy Spirit make you tender? III. FOR GOODNESS SAKE, ALERT YOUR CONCERN. What gets under you skin? What irritates you in the night? What are the wrongs of the world that you have the power to make right? It is a humbling experience to stand in this pulpit Sunday after Sunday. Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking about it ...

2030. Hot Air or the Holy Spirit?

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... with politics than people, God found the Wesley brothers and preachers like George Whitfield to lead a great revival that brought people back to spiritual life and restored their concern for the poor. That first great awakening spread to America with the preaching of Jonathan Edwards and other powerful preachers and sowed the seeds for the American Revolution. It is known as the First Awakening in spiritual history. At the dawn of the 19th century, Americans were moving west to ...

2031. Fanning the Flames of Family

Ephesians 5:8-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... we normally turn in times of crisis. So today, let's think for a few moments about fanning the flames of family life. How can you be a light to your own kinfolk? I. IT'S TIME TO FAN THE FLAMES OF MUTUAL RESPECT. Paul addresses family concerns a little later in this Ephesians letter by saying, “Love one another as Christ loves the Church." That is a wise instruction for husbands, for wives, for children, for parents, for grandparents, and even aunts and uncles and anyone who claims any kin to one another ...

2032. You Can't Stay on the Mountain Forever

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ’s a way of saying that religion is real only when it both feels and heals, when the ecstasy becomes the power for coping and enduring, when it provides fidelity in the shadows and struggles of life, when it provides integrity for moral choices, and concerns at the crossroads of human need. (suggested by Don Shelby, “Ecstasy, Agony and Baloney”). This Jesus who led his 3 disciples down from the mountain into the valley and involved himself with the masses is the one who said, “If anyone would be my ...

2033. Mary, Martha, and the Martha Stewart Church

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... some first century Martha Stewart. She is focused on the food, the house, the drink. Martha seems to be doing for others. At first reading Martha is just being a conscientious hostess. But a deeper reading of the story reveals Martha is really only concerned with herself. How does HER house look? How does HER food taste? How are HER wines being served? Martha is so busy “serving” she completely forgets whom she truly serves. Frustrated at her sister Mary’s inactivity, Martha is so wrapped up in her ...

2034. In Whose Likeness?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... creation. We will participate in the normal life of our society — but not uncritically or without thought to its impact on others both here and abroad, for we are citizens of God's realm, and we share God's concern for all of humanity and the whole of creation. We will not be overly concerned to keep up with the Joneses, because we have someone much greater to keep up with: Jesus Christ, who counseled would-be followers to cut off whatever might come between them and God, be it their wealth or their arms ...

2035. Testing, Testing

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... life partner or our kids. I don't believe God commands us to have warm fuzzy feelings. Love is action on behalf of the loved one's greatest good; and while the regular practice of such action is likely to be accompanied sooner or later by warm emotional concern, it's not the emotion that matters. It's the action. But what does that action mean? It surely can't mean the same thing toward God, who strictly speaking needs nothing from us, as toward, say, our children; and what is loving toward our children may ...

2036. Unwanted Freedom

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... would soon be going out of business or not. People were shocked when a new member complained that Agnes Hayes was a gossip. No one would think of criticizing Agnes! And sure enough, not long after this, it was discovered that this new member had had reason to be concerned. Did you know that she had recently left a husband who had abused her for years and had come to town to start a new life? Agnes knew and soon everyone knew. If Jesus had met Agnes on the street and demanded that she "repent, turn away from ...

2037. God's Laughter

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... which threaten the very meaning of life.... Humor is, in fact, a prelude to faith; and laughter is the beginning of prayer. In the holy of holies, laughter is swallowed up in prayer and humor is fulfilled by faith.4Humor is concerned with the immediate incongruities of life, and faith with the ultimate ones.... Laughter is our reaction to immediate incongruities and those which do not affect us essentially. Faith is the only possible response to the ultimate incongruities of existence which threaten ...

2038. Not What You Expected

Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... is not so much the destination as it is the journey.... It is not just the product but the process," we have intoned with the self-help gurus, and not without good cause. In May 2006, Bill Cosby was on a speaking tour of eighteen cities, encouraging concerned African Americans to look for answers from within their own communities. He said this in Washington DC: "I have no problem with Jesus or God. I have a problem with people sitting there saying that Jesus and God will find the way. I have a problem with ...

2039. Hidden in Plain Sight

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

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... Century (December 2, 1998), Luke Timothy Johnson observed, "If Jesus is alive among us, what we learn about Jesus must include what we can continue to learn from him. It is better to speak of ‘learning Jesus,' rather than of ‘knowing Jesus,' because we are concerned with a process rather than a product." It is never either/or, always both/and. We proclaim the gospel simply, Christ crucified, so that all may see the mystery of the gospel just waiting to be discovered. But we do not stop with being babes ...

2040. Humility: We Know It When We See It

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... 're intrigued by the common Lincoln and his rails, we're awed by Jesus who was spiked to a rail for our sin. He died as a slave; yet as our text says, God has super-exalted him, proving that selfless love governs the universe. The slave who was always concerned about our well-being is now Lord. After Jesus' resurrection we see what was truly behind his life. We see that the way he lived not only demonstrates God's nature, but it shows us how God created us to live. Now we understand why Paul would tell his ...

2041. Surprises

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... for the church. Same word, but it refers either to an anxiety about ourselves that eats us up or to a legitimate care for others — depending on the direction it's turned. Are you preoccupied about yourself or concerned about others? Peter says to toss the worries about yourself onto God. God will give you better things to occupy your time and energy — caring for others. In the gospel of John, using a different word but the same concept, Jesus on the night he was arrested told his students, " ...

2042. Pentecost ... Again!

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... reaches of the Roman Empire who had come to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Jewish festival of Pentecost were able to understand them. They spoke of the mighty acts of God, what God had done in Jesus, the Messiah, and how the words of the prophet Joel concerning "The Day of the Lord" and "the end of the world" were now coming true. It was strange, amazing, and what only could be called a miracle. It is no wonder that many who were gathered there that day came to the conclusion that these people must be ...

2043. Mentoring Matters

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... he transforms his physical weakness into strength of heart, mind, and spirit. Morrie worries about leaving his family impoverished with his overwhelming medical bills, a real and practical concern. As a successful and proven writer, Mitch acquires a substantial advance for his book Tuesdays with Morrie, enabling him to relieve Morrie of financial concerns and to extend financial assistance to Morrie's wife. Morrie Schwartz dies, but lives on in the hearts of his family and friends. In losing Morrie, Mitch ...

2044. A Winning Life

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... / and I don’t see them on the TV shows./ Where’d all the good people go?” (5) Well. There are many good people in the world. They come of every race and creed. But we are drifting . . . I have to admit that I am concerned about the future. There have been many studies of America’s young adults, or what is often called Generation X. Our young people have many virtues. They are more tolerant toward others unlike themselves and they generally have a passion for protecting the environment. But there ...

2045. Having Or Doing?

Matthew 6:19-24

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... friends that you can turn to when you have a problem, too. Remember what Matthew 6:21 says. It’s underlined on this card. (Hold up the card stock again.) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That means, if you are more concerned with getting things, someday your heart will be at the dump, because that’s where the broken things end up. When you’re alone, you won’t have great memories to help you, and maybe someday, you won’t even have much to remember. If you are more ...

2046. Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

Matthew 22:34-40

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... in. Love is sometimes a feeling, but love is also used to describe action. Jesus isn’t telling us to feel anything. He’s telling us to do something. When Jesus says to “love your neighbor,” he wants us to show love by acting with respect, compassion, and concern, and we can do these things whether we like a particular person or not. One way we can show love is by telling people about Jesus. Maybe you can invite a friend to Sunday school or tell a new family in your neighborhood about your church. If ...

2047. Something Special To Share

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... ? We love sharing jokes and stories. They help other people get to know us and they make others laugh and feel better. There are some other things that we, as Christians, can share with each other. We might share our joys — good things that happen to us. We share prayer concerns. If I have a problem, I can tell a Christian friend and know that he or she will pray for me. Sometimes we share Bible verses. If a friend is having a problem and isn’t sure what to do, you might read a verse from the Bible that ...

2048. Step Into The Vision

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... stops for people to spend time communing with both God and nature. L. I see a place that is inviting to the community. A place where the community feels comfortable because of the love we have given, the friendship we have shared, and our genuine concern for the people and businesses of this community. M. I see more staff positions than you can shake a stick at. A full time Associate or two, a full time youth director, a full time executive director of ministries, a business manager, teachers, professional ...

2049. Matthew 11:2-11

Matthew 11:1-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the birth of a baby. Advent is the preparation of the world for a whole new era of existence. The first part of this week’s gospel reading deals with John’s continuing questions about Jesus mission his identity, his timing, his role. John’s concerns may seem strange in light of Matthew 3:11-15, where the gospel writer describes Jesus’ baptism at John’s hands. In that encounter John appears confident in his identification of Jesus as the one he had awaited and as clearly greater than himself and ...

2050. Breaking Through in Little Ways

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

... Jesus tells John's people what to look for, it's not big, grandiose stuff. As concerns signs of the kingdom, Jesus points to people who couldn't see much, seeing more...people ... and scabs, that's big time stuff. But can you build a kingdom on it? Apparently, Jesus thinks you can. He doesn't care whether it's "big time stuff" or not. As concerns the kingdom, it breaks through in little ways. But it breaks through. As if to illustrate his point, he talks about a seed that nobody can see growing. But it's in ...

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