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 2176 to 2200 of 3285 results

2176. The Prayer Life of Highly Effective Christians

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... an hour, get into a wheelchair, and see the world that lies outside this hospital room.” This request, too, was granted. Then James McCormick asked to be given strength enough in his arms to move the wheelchair himself. And after that, he asked for the ability and the stamina to walk on crutches. And finally, after a 20-year struggle, James McCormick could walk with two canes, and he was able to marry and have children and lead a close-to-normal life. (4) James had his prayers answered. Not according to ...

2177. Stay Awake! Routine Can Be a Blessing

Luke 12:32-40

Illustration

Wallace H. Kirby

One of the musicians who played many years for Toscanini said that the maestro had the ability to make the orchestra feel it was playing a well-known work for the first time. Each repeated playing of the score was done as if it were the premiere performance. After once recording the Beethoven Ninth Symphony, Toscanini said he had been conducting the Beethoven Ninth for over fifty years. He continued, "Now I think I finally understand it." Routine can yield its blessings if we stay awake.

2178. Cheering from the Stands

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... that what he had suffered as a result of the accident was actually a means of ministry. Other people with emotional and physical wounds were touched by his testimony in a powerful way. They were encouraged by being in the presence of someone who had found the ability to rise above tragedy and experience God’s healing peace. (2) That’s the way life works. There is no more powerful witness than one who has suffered a tragedy in their lives, but who has held onto their faith in God. God did not cause that ...

2179. A Kingdom that Cannot Be Shaken

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... secret is the tendons of the bird’s legs. They are so constructed that when the leg is bent at the knee, the claws contract and grip like a steel trap. The claws refuse to let go until the knees are unbent again. The bended knee gives the bird the ability to hold on to his perch so tightly. “From sleeping birds,” this author continues, “we can learn the secret of hanging on to a life with God. That secret is the knee bent in prayer. It is only when we bend our knees before God in prayer that we can ...

2180. Center Stage

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... If we cannot say much about the biology or psychology of this narrative, we can speak of what God is doing. God is working through this pregnancy and birth. The baby growing, thrashing, kicking in Mary's womb is God's act of salvation. This baby — beyond any ability we have to explain — is God in human flesh. Matthew quotes Isaiah as a way of saying what can't be said. "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." The words from Isaiah ...

2181. Who's Who

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... ourselves. We need to hear that from time to time. Jesus saw more in Simon than Simon knew was in him. We need to hear that, too. Do we see ourselves as spiritually weak? Have we let the putdowns of others sink in? Maybe the risen Christ sees in us abilities, strength, potential that no one else, including ourselves, can see. Maybe the risen Christ sees our inner Rock. Amen.

2182. Sneak Preview

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... of the competing religions, each claiming to hold the truth? Where is God in the everyday dreariness of life? Where is God in our personal grief that never makes it to the headlines? With all of the things that seem to deny God's existence, or at least our ability to see God, we might wish we could have an experience like Peter, James, and John had. If only God would appear to us in an unmistakable way, leaving no doubt that God was behind the experience. Even if this vision of God terrified us, it would be ...

2183. Strong in God’s Name

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Lee Griess

... bell. We know that it's wrong and we know we shouldn't be doing it. But we tell ourselves it doesn't matter. Or that nobody will know. Or worse yet, we try to convince ourselves that it really isn't wrong at all. Human beings have an incredible ability to rationalize our way into trouble. Recognize temptation when it comes calling and refuse to have anything to do with it. Nip it in the bud and avoid it from the start. Third and finally, lean on God's help to deal with temptation. Remember that God wants us ...

2184. Faith to Follow

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Lee Griess

... can take a risk of trusting Jesus. We can look to God to lead. So, let's take a moment and look at what risk is all about, and why spiritual risks are so well worth taking. First, let's ask: What is risk? Well, risk is simply the ability to stretch beyond the usual limits in reaching for a goal. Risk involves facing a fear, chancing failure. Maybe it's the fear of the unknown, the uncomfortable, the unacquainted. Or maybe it's the fear of physical harm or emotional hurt. Whatever it is, risk always involves ...

2185. Why We Need the Pledge of Allegiance

Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... find the church. The congregation itself had little use for going out to search for the lost and the last and the least. It had given up being a net. It had lost its marching orders. It had gained the corner on "nice" but was losing the ability to call itself church. C. S. Lewis knew the battlefield connection underlying Christianity. He came about that insight in a very personal way. When he was nine years old, his warm and loving mother contracted cancer. Within a very short time, she was confined to bed ...

2186. No Room for Gloom

Isaiah 9:1-4

Sermon

Tony Everett

... in bondage to sin and are unable to free ourselves. We live each day trapped inside a slush-filled gloom room of our own making. Emily was a captain of her high school soccer team and an excellent student. However, she had great difficulty accepting her own abilities. If her team lost, she would quickly point out the goal she missed or the pass she failed to make. If she made an "A" on an examination, Emily would focus only on the point or two that she failed to answer perfectly. After each "failure," Emily ...

2187. What Did The Turkey Say? (Or Contentious Communities)

Isaiah 58:3-9a (9b-12)

Sermon

Tony Everett

... and sustains us with the living presence of God's own Son. Because the returning exiles were God's precious children, God could expect them to show his gifts to others. In Christ, God has gathered us hypocrites into his arms; God gives us the ability to show his gifts to others, and he expects that from us. Today's text is intended to be received and demonstrated by God's delivered, splashed, and nourished people. Here is another story ... an airline was having trouble with large flocks of shore birds ...

2188. A Man of the Moment

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... present moment but which is in line with the promise of God's kingdom. We've been talking about Esau as a man of the moment, but let's think for a moment about his brother. Jacob wasn't a model of righteousness either, but he clearly did have the ability to delay gratification and to work for long-term goals. If you follow Jacob's story, you'll see that he worked for seven long years to obtain the wife he wanted. After his father-in-law pulled a sneaky trick on him, he worked another seven. It could not ...

2189. Not All of This Is Me

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... to live prosperous lives. Since Moses would not enter the promised land with them he wanted to be certain that the people understood where these blessings had come from — the Lord God. They were about to enter the promised land not because of their own abilities, but as a direct result of God fulfilling past promises. Moses wanted the people to remember and never forget their journey through the wilderness and how God provided for all their needs. "Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by ...

2190. Set Apart at Christmas

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... status or special privileges because they are Christians. (I have been embarrassed to be in settings where pastors, for example, were demanding their 10% or 20% discount.) To fully grasp Paul's use of this word, we have to recognize Paul's unique ability to straddle many cultural divides, in this case the Jewish/Gentile split. Paul, a devout Jew, was nonetheless a Roman citizen who had enjoyed a fine secular as well as religious education. In writing to the Romans, he often assumes that there were not ...

2191. Caught in the Middle

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... Christ, including every spiritual gift, specifically the spiritual gifts of knowledge and speaking; and the "testimony of Christ," in other words, Paul's experience and understanding of Christ, is reflected in the community. So they have correct teaching or doctrine as well as the ability to pass it on. What more could they need? It is no wonder that he says that they "are not lacking in any spiritual gift." The problem is that the Corinthian correspondence is not new material for most of us. We know what's ...

2192. Small-Minded Christians in a Big World

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... we read in 1 and 2 Corinthians, this may very well have been a problem for what we could call the "Paul group." In his absence, members of some of the other cliques criticized Paul, his physical appearance, his lack of tact, and his speaking ability. Those who felt closest to Paul would have surely begun to feel ostracized and alone, and it hurt that they couldn't get these others to stop. A complaint frequently heard on university campuses, especially large impersonal state universities, but even at small ...

2193. By Whose Standards?

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... 3:23). By what standards do we evaluate persons in the Christian community today? Do we not often make the same mistakes as the Corinthians? We judge on the basis of appearance, personality, academic degrees, number of books published(!), speaking ability, prestige, success, and so on. One can only ponder what Paul would think of the qualifications listed in ads for Christian workers in publications like The Christian Century, Christianity Today, or Monday Morning. I say "would think" because I trust that ...

2194. In the Balance

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

David O. Bales

... . Sin slithers from one person to the next. It's much more contagious and not as easily handled as a flu pandemic. You might not conceive of sin as the independent power that Paul does, but you have to admit that something like sin has an incredible ability to infect person after person and to replicate itself in worse and worse ways. The Bible is written in the belief that something is profoundly wrong in human life. You can call it sin, call it brokenness, or just the drifting away from life's original ...

2195. Spiritual Judo

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... God has granted them for ministry. Then they can discern what ministry God has prepared for that congregation today (not the ministry God had for them four or forty years ago). After they discern God's call to a specific service, they'll know the skills and abilities they'd need from a pastor to help them do their ministry. The interval between pastors can be one of the most creative times in a congregation's life, if they don't waste such a promising problem. Paul's letter to the Roman Christians takes us ...

2196. A Big Enough Reason

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

David O. Bales

... before us, saying, "Christ ... suffered for you." Verse 25 states, "you were going astray like sheep." Jesus brought us into the fold at the cost of his life and included us in the family by suffering. Jesus now gives us the unusual ability to choose our attitude toward suffering, as Peter instructs the Christian slaves, and to accomplish something with our suffering. Peter expects the Christians by blessing their masters instead of by retaliating to win people to faith. He allows Christian slaves to make ...

2197. Surprises

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

Sermon

David O. Bales

... children. Doing so, they risked their individual lives and the lives of every person in town. Whereas evil is contagious, spreading and infecting people, so the Holy Spirit fills people and spreads the faith to others and grants others the will and the ability to resist evil. The town of Le Chambon had something enduring to offer not only to fleeing Jews but to the world beyond. Years later, a despairing professor researching the cruelties of World War II and becoming more and more despondent at the state ...

2198. Boast in Our Suffering

Romans 5:1-8

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... not say, if you hang in there, if you endure, then you grow in character. And if you grow in character, then you can have hope. And if you have hope, then you will not be disappointed. No, on the contrary, Paul reverses it all. This amazing ability to boast in his suffering is not an acquired skill but a gracious gift. Paul reminds us, "Because God's love has been poured into our hearts" (v. 5), this amazing attitude and disposition is possible. Then Paul reminds us of the basis of his optimistic conviction ...

2199. Captive Free!

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... in what he called his most important writing, The Bondage of the Will. It was written against the great humanist scholar and devout Christian, Erasmus of Rotterdam. Erasmus argued for "free will." God wouldn't have given humans the commandments if we didn't have the freedom and ability to obey or disobey them. In response Luther argued, "Yes" and "No." Yes, we are free to choose to do or not to do certain things. But we are not free to choose to be something that we are not. A pig may want to fly but it ...

2200. Mentoring Matters

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... to neglect the most important things in life becomes the means to send Morrie's message to all who need reminders of what those important things are. Action and reaction — just look at the evidence. A newspaper strike idles Mitch and makes him question his ability to survive without something that he feels is his "lifeline ... when I saw my stories in print each morning, I knew that, in at least one way, I was alive." After a week of sitting home and watching television, Mitch calls his old friend, Morrie ...

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