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 2051 to 2075 of 3082 results

2051. Stand Tall

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Several years ago a police officer received a call to respond to a drowning in a small lake. Eugene was surprised since the lake at the deepest point was only about five feet deep. He assumed that the victim was a child or maybe a teenager. When he arrived he was shocked to find that a person over six feet tall had fallen out of a boat and drowned in five feet of water. He imagined him thrashing and fighting the water until he was completely exhausted and "all hope of being saved was at last abandoned." ...

2052. The Man Born Blind

John 9:1-12

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: One of the real treats I've had as a minister is to have my daughter help me with one of my story sermons. In her spiritual pilgrimage, she had found herself in a group of youth led by a charismatic. The youth were good friends, and the charismatic was a nice person, as far as I knew, though he was not affiliated with any local church. In preparing the text, I found myself using that bit of history. I asked her to read it over and see if it was okay. She agreed to do this little drama. She read it ...

2053. OK, God You Win!

Job 42:1-6

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Did you ever pick a fight with God? Did you ever get mad at God or argue with him about the way he was treating you? Did you ever say, “God, why did you forsake me?” or “Why did you allow a hurricane to devastate the earth, like Hugo that caused ten billion dollars damage in South Carolina?” or “Why do some wicked people prosper and some righteous people suffer?” or “Why do bad things happen to good folks?” Maybe you did not, but Job did! He was a good man who loved and feared God. The Bible describes him ...

2054. Easter 2

Acts 4:32-37, 1 John 1:5--2:14, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The risen Christ confronts us in our doubts and fears with his living presence, fortifying our faith, so that we might withstand the doubt. COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 4:32-35 The church in Jerusalem witnessed to the power of the risen Christ through the quality of their communal life. They were united in faith and love, freely sharing their possessions. In fact, many of those with property sold it and made the funds available to the whole community. Epistle: Acts 3:12a, 13-15, 17-26 (See Easter 3) ...

2055. Epiphany 4

1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Deuteronomy 18:14-22, Mark 1:21-28

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Divine authority. Deuteronomy has Moses predicting that God will send a prophet like him, who will rule with authority. The Gospel features Jesus acting with authority by casting out demons. In the Second Lesson Paul reminds us that our actions must be governed by love's authority. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 The book of Deuteronomy reinterprets the laws of Moses for a new generation. It comes in the form of addresses by Moses as the Israelites are about to enter the promised land ...

2056. Epiphany 6

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27, Leviticus 13:1-46, 2 Kings 5:1-27, Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God's cleansing presence and power, with or without water. In the First Lesson Elisha cleansed Namaan, the Syrian, by telling him to wash in the Jordan River. In the Gospel Jesus cleansed a leper who requested healing by touching him. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Kings 5:1-15 Namaan, a general from the army of the Syrians, was sent to the king of Israel by his own king, asking that he be healed of his leprosy. An Israeli girl, absconded in war, informed her master of a prophet in Samaria who could do ...

2057. Epiphany 8

Hosea 2:2-23, Mark 2:18-22, 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The marriage covenant in both the First Lesson and the Gospel provides an image of the kind of intimacy which God seeks with his people. For Hosea this means going back to the honeymoon period (the Exodus). In the Gospel Jesus suggests that he is the bridegroom and his disciples are the bride. It was a fitting time to celebrate the marriage. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Hosea 2:14-23 The prophet Hosea speaks the word of God to the eighth century people of Israel (the northern kingdom). It was an age of ...

2058. Proper 23

Job 23:1-9, 16-17, Mark 10:17-31, Hebrews 4:12-16

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The difficulty of entering the kingdom of heaven when material things have a hold on you. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Job responds to Eliaphaz, one of Job's friends and supposed comforters. Job wants to talk with God face to face, to make his case and hear God's response. But Job experiences only God's absence and it upsets him. Job's arguments sounds like what humanistic philosophers of the twentieth century have said about the so-called death of God. Yet the absence of God is a ...

2059. Proper 9

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10, Mark 6:1-13, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God gives us the authority to bring in his kingdom through our strengths and our weaknesses. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 David first serves as king of Judah, with his capital at Hebron, for a period of seven years. The leaders of the northern tribes of Israel come to him at Hebron and they agree to make him king over the northern tribes. David's army captures the city of Jerusalem from its inhabitants and it becomes the capital of the united kingdom. David reigns as king of Israel ...

2060. Out On A Limb

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

A friend told me of the hours he spent as a child in a large cherry tree in his grandmother's backyard. The tree was very large and high, at least as he remembered it. He remembered the very first time he climbed it. He had to jump to catch hold of the lowest branch, and then pull himself by sheer muscle power up onto it. Then he could work his way up the tree. The tree seemed so high, that he got dizzy looking down, and yet, scary as it was, he couldn't resist climbing higher and higher. Finally he got ...

2061. I Found It!

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

Carl B. Rife

"Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:8-10 For those of you who may have not been here during this series on bumper sticker religion and for others who ...

2062. Warning! In Case Of Rapture This Car Will Be Unmanned.

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Carl B. Rife

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Mark 13:28-31 During recent weeks we have been using some religious statements that are found on bumper stickers. We are using ...

2063. Show Us The Father, and We Shall Be Satisfied

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Larry Powell

A tourist stood for long periods of time upon the beach, facing away from the ocean, pressing a seashell against his ear. The water lapped at his feet, the sun beamed down upon his head and shoulders, and the waves crashed just behind him. Firmly, he pressed the seashell against his ear. He wanted to hear the powerful surge of the ocean as it heaved and rolled. See the picture in your mind's eye: a man standing with his back to the ocean, attempting to hear the ocean in a seashell. Although in the presence ...

2064. Mary Has Chosen The Good Portion

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

The Genesis creation narrative tells us that God created the world, and all that is in it, in six short days, a remarkable burst of energy even for God. Understandably, God was tired - an idea which has eluded learned theologians - but the author of the story insists that, "... on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work ... So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in ...

2065. The Problem With A Promise

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

You have all made promises; and kept them, but some you have broken. Maybe you didn't intend to break it, but when the time came to fulfill it, it simply wasn't in your power to keep it. Or, upon re-thinking it, you decided it wasn't a good promise, so you reneged upon it.And, you've had promises made to you; and they've been kept - some of them, but who has not been hurt by having a promise made, and then broken? What parents have not heard their child exclaim at some point, "But you promised me!" ...

2066. A Chosen Race?

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon

Erskine White

I spent some time recently with a number of clergymen and clergywomen from various churches, the scribes and Pharisees of our day. It was a Bible study session and we happened to be discussing the very same passage from John which is the text for this sermon. Do not misunderstand me. I do not consider myself superior in any way to the ministers I will tell you about. For all I know, they may have gifts and skills far beyond my own - I am utterly sincere in saying that. But I will let stand what I have ...

2067. God's Gift Of Life

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Erskine White

For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13) Fathers in earlier generations usually weren't allowed to do this, but I have had the splendid privilege of watching and helping as two of my children were born. The first time, the experience was new and overwhelming. I felt I had witnessed God's hands at work in the world and when our baby was safely delivered, I was left groping for inadequate words to describe what I had seen. The word "awesome" came to ...

2068. Proper 12

Luke 11:1-13, Psalm 138:1-8, Genesis 18:16-33, 2 Kings 5:1-27, Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE At one time, the Pentecost season of the church year was divided into four parts, which were marked by saints' days. The first section ran from Trinity Sunday to June 29th, the day of Sts. Peter and Paul, and Sundays were numbered consecutively; the second went from the end of June to August 10th, St. Lawrence Day, and were numbered "after the Aposties;" the third extended from August 10th to September 29th, the feast of St. Michael and All Angels, and were called Sundays "after St. ...

2069. Proper 16

Luke 13:22-30, Isaiah 28:1-29, Isaiah 66:1-24, Jeremiah 28:1-17, Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary being followed and the calendar of this particular year, Holy Cross Day will soon be celebrated. It's a festival that is relatively new to many Protestants, but quite familiar to Roman Catholics. To celebrate the cross and the crucifixion of Christ in August or September seems like a liturgical anachronism; Jesus' passion and death are remembered annually in the spring of the year, along with Easter, of course. But Holy Cross day comes at a propitious time in ...

2070. Proper 26

Psalm 65:1-13, Psalm 145:1-21, Psalm 32:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Haggai 2:1-9, Exodus 34:1-28, Isaiah 1:1-31, Luke 19:1-10

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The "count" of the Sundays in this period of the year tells those initiated in the mysteries of the church year that it is approaching its conclusion. This, the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, is the last of the Sundays of Pentecost to be used with any frequency over the years; Easter has to occur in March in order for the number of Sundays in Pentecost to surpass 25, including Christ the King Sunday. One might begin Tennyson's In Memoriam on this Sunday - for the church, not the ...

2071. A Farewell Gift

John 14:15-31

Sermon

John M. Braaten

I have never liked saying "goodbye," it always elicits feelings of finality. So I say other things like, "See you!" or "Hope to see you sometime." Most of the time I like quick goodbyes. However, when a loved one leaves there are no formalities. We embrace, sometimes through tears. It is not uncommon to cast out cliches, often with a bit of humor, to lighten the atmosphere. But in the end the word "goodbye" is bound to be spoken. It's a comforting thought really, because it is a shortened form of "God be ...

2072. Endorsing The Future

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the first things you do when you move to a new place is establish a checking account with a local bank. We can all tell stories of inexperienced people and their checking account problems. I remember a student who wrote check after check, only to discover he had no money left in his account. In exasperation he explained to the teller, "But I still have some checks left." My sister-in-law, during her first semester in college, receiveda notice from the bank that she was $27.60 overdrawn in heraccount ...

2073. Giving

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

Robert Fulghum, who wrote All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, says that he placed alongside the mirror in his bathroom a picture of a woman who is not his wife. That's risky business! Every morning as he stood there shaving, he looked at the picture of that woman. The picture? The picture is of a small humped-over woman wearing sandals and a blue eastern robe and head dress (sari). She is surrounded by important-looking people in tuxedos, evening gowns, and the regalia of royalty. It is ...

2074. There's Blindness, and There's Blindness

John 9:13-34, John 9:1-12

Sermon

Johnny Dean

John Killinger tells the story of a man who visited one day in a classroom for visually impaired children. Troubled by what he saw, the man remarked, insensitively, "It must be terrible to go through life without eyes." One little girl quickly responded, "It’s not half as bad as having two good eyes but still not being able to see." Her point was well made. There is physical blindness, and there is another, even more tragic form of blindness that affects the spirit. Both forms of blindness are present in ...

2075. Empty Prisons Without Walls

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Carl Jech

Introduction I shouldn't have much trouble keeping you awake today! Since the word prison brings to mind such topics as crime, victims' rights, vigilantee justice, and jailed demonstrators, I have little doubt that most of us have strong feelings and opinions on these and related issues.The most famous line in our text for today brings into particular focus the issue of civil disobedience for the sake of conscience. Having miraculously escaped from prison where they had been placed for disobeying the order ...

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