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 2226 to 2250 of 4981 results

2226. Christ’s Twin

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... twice.” (1) To me that is fascinating. Reared apart but still almost identical not only in looks, but in behavior. That says a lot about the power of our genes in determining not only our physical characteristics, but also the way we think and the way we feel. Now imagine that you are a twin of Christ reared 2,000 years apart, but having the same personal attributes. Isn’t that basically what Paul is asking for when he tells us to be “like-minded” with Christ? The King James Version uses these words ...

2227. Jesus and the Ferris Wheels

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... they were proud and couldn’t bear the thought of being seen with her. Then news came that Ada was seriously ill. Although they knew they should help her, they still did nothing, and a short time later Ada died. At the close of the article the author described her feelings as she saw the hearse in front of her neighbor’s house. She wrote, “The silent witness of that body on the stretcher will haunt us for a long time. Could any of us honestly say we cared for Ada’s soul? That’s why I think we three ...

2228. The Quiet Day of Pentecost

John 16:5-16, John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

George Reed

... the important work that God is doing within us and for us in that silence. Like a ham radio operator who has to carefully tune in the set to be able to listen to others, God patiently works to tune us to the divine frequency where we can hear and feel the Spirit. We have set ourselves to listen to so many other voices that it takes a while for us to be tuned in to God. We need to be patient and to set aside some time each day in our prayer life to quietly be open to God's ...

2229. Living Out the Promise of This Child

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... us to wince, and some that stir the fertile substance of hope in our hearts. Isn't that true? Can we hear the strains of an old tune from days gone by and not set off down memory lane? Can we look at old photographs of family or friends without feeling something? Can we hear a recording of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, "I Have a Dream" speech without a chill passing through us? What is it, in your life, that stirs your spirit? What event, memory, or icon holds the power to move you? Can you think? Can you ...

2230. The Author Who Wipes Away Sins

Acts 3:12-19

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... There can be no accepting of grace without accepting responsibility for what we have done. Real guilt is good as a precursor of forgiveness. In our day, real guilt is often confused with false guilt. False guilt comes from feelings of inferiority. When you feel inferior, you will feel guilty, even when you aren't guilty. False guilt is healed by acceptance and affirmation. On the other hand, real guilt comes from self-centered and selfish actions based on illusions. Real guilt comes from breaking the moral ...

2231. Being Good ... for Nothing

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... deal with this one specific issue. That book is the book of Job. You'll find Job in the Old Testament right before the book of Psalms. Open your Bible to the middle, flip back a few pages, and there it is, just waiting for you (demonstrate). I have a feeling it is placed in such an easy spot to find because it addresses the universal question of suffering. We all need immediate access to the story of poor Job, because his story just may be our story, too. Follow along with me and see if you don't agree. As ...

2232. The Word Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

... 'love' is greatly abused, it is important to remember that the primary component of biblical love is not affection but commitment. Warm feelings of gratitude may fill our consciousness as we consider all that God has done for us, but it is not warm feelings that Deut. 6:5 demands of us but rather stubborn, unwavering commitment. Similarly, to love our neighbor, including our enemies, does not mean that we must feel affection for them. To love the neighbor is to imitate God by taking their needs seriously.

2233. Surprised Saints

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... members may not. Schweitzer was one of the most brilliant students in Germany. He was outstanding in philosophy. He was one of the greatest of all organists, and in particular played Bach as no one else could play him. But at the back of his mind there was a feeling that would not be stilled. He once said that as far back as he could remember, the thought of all the misery in the world had deeply troubled him. He came to believe that he did not have the moral right to take his happy youth, his good health ...

2234. John the Stall Cleaner

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... economy seems to be about to crash and burn. Wall Street has already collapsed … on the second week of September. Acts of terrorism, even when they are happening far away, feel like they are at our front door. The mayors of Mumbai and New York City now feel like blood-brothers. Thailand’s airport is shut down, and the political atmosphere there feels like a muggy August night in the Midwest: thunder and lightening are imminent. The truth is that in this next year we are looking eye-to-eye at some pretty ...

2235. A Chance to Warm Up

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ; the room will be strewn with scraps of wrapping paper and ribbon; the turkey or ham will have put up a valiant fight but be nothing but leftovers; and we'll be parked in front of the TV watching one of the games. Then all of a sudden that empty feeling will hit us. That feeling of "What's the use?" That Charlie Brown feeling of something missing, as if we were thrown into Christmas too fast. That's when we'll realize we needed time to warm up.

2236. In Christ, or in a Jacuzzi Jesus?

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... which have grown comfortable, predictable, and inconspicuous. The last thing some people want from their religious experiences is disruption and challenge. What many really want is a "Jacuzzi Jesus - an experience that will leave them relaxed, warm, and bubbly, at the same time, feeling fit and trim when they get out - like they've gotten in shape." (Bibelot, Vol.3 No.6, 1988, p.2.) Like the unnamed but well-known California minister who preached a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments subtitled "How To ...

2237. The Dawn's Early Light

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... who seriously considered joining the clergy on two different occasions. But he ultimately declined the offer to serve as an assistant rector at the highly respected St. Paul's Church in Baltimore. He feared that by taking such a prestigious position some might feel he had acted "under the influence of unworthy inducements, and thus the cause of religion in some measure might receive injury." It was in the midst of the highly unpopular War of 1812, a conflict still noted for its shabby ideology and selfish ...

2238. What's Your Drink?

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... drinks of "living waters." Draughts of the “Living Waters" must be our signature sip, our desired drink. Civilized behavior the world over demands that a proper host or hostess offers some sort of sustenance when welcoming visitors into their homes. Who among us doesn't feel compelled to quiz their guests, even before they get a chance to sit down, about what we might be able to get them? We might ask with enthusiasm when the coffee has just perked, the wine is nicely chilled, or the soft drink selection ...

2239. FaithRace

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... weak of body and weary of mind, we must avoid being thrown off stride. We must strive to finish the race. Enthusiasm: Nothing is accomplished in this world without it. Enthusiasm, if given an inch, will take a universe. Passion tempered with sensitivity is an alloy of feelings without which history's halting advance would be even more limp than it is now. People of God do not have a passionless piety, for only a people of passion can share fully in Christ's passion. We are living in a society where for some ...

2240. Written in Red

1 John 5:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the connection between the apparently ruthless, hate-filled, bloodthirstiness of these gangs and the deep loyalty and commitment gang members feel toward those who share their communal identity. To be in a gang is to be willing to sacrifice one's blood ... this culture any closer to Christ. At best, angelic messengers of cuteness and convenience have been combined with a kind of gloppy, feel-good spirituality to be thinly spread over the malaise of the suburbs. To those caught in the midst of this world's ...

2241. God's in Charge (so shut up!)

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... health of a recently deceased spouse, called a new love by an old love's name, or started complaining about the rise in grocery prices to someone who has just lost a job, each inappropriate remark is accompanied by that same sinking-into-the-floor feeling and the distinct taste of shoe leather. "How," we wonder, "could I be so stupid!" "God's in charge, so shut up!" The human ability to say remarkably stupid things and to make completely unintended connections is profound. In fact, there are now scholars ...

2242. Had-To

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -To." "Why are you taking time off work to read to children at a nearby elementary school?" "Had-To." "You don't have the time to organize a community day-care program." "Had-To." "It's a waste of time to work at passing legislation." "Had-To." "Are you feeling sick? Why did you clean up your own room?" "Had-To." "Your Alzheimer's parent/ friend/ neighbor doesn't even know you're there. Why do you bother to spend so much time with him or her?" "Had-To." "Do you really tell your children you love them every ...

2243. Was Jesus the First Buster?

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . In this way, they squander their time. They are wasting their most precious resource" (Best Laid Plans [Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: PTR Prentice Hall, 1994], 169). Sound familiar? Are you squandering your days away? Are you so busy trying to sound good, look good, feel good and make good, that you don't actually ever DO good? Busters are calling the church to become what it says it is. Busters may have problems with organized religion, but I believe they recognize Jesus as one of their own. Are you offering ...

2244. The Secret of Living Is Giving

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and stays fresh for the three seconds of on-air time their life span is allowed. Postmodern culture does not make it easy to philosophize or theologize about life. What comes easy is a handy slogan we can slap over our unexamined existence so that we feel we are actually headed somewhere. Yet there is a need for strong sound bites, good slogans and bumper-sticker bandages. Indeed, there are some few "slogans" out there that have stood the test of time. One of the most enduringly powerful is carved into the ...

2245. Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... at their own age, their own times, and deplore the fact that they have been born into a period of tremendous upheaval and change. It always appears that past generations enjoyed a stability and continuity unknown in our own day. For all who keenly feel the movement of the earth under them, Jeremiah is a greatly comforting and companionable prophet. Without a doubt, Jeremiah's prophetic life span covered some of the most tumultuous years in Israel's history. Jeremiah must have been born about 645 B.C., just ...

2246. Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 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 theological concerns. The portion of the epistle read this week clearly demonstrates the intensity of Paul's relationship with these Philippians ...

2247. Philippians 1:21-30

Philippians 1:21-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... life (v.24) based on his pastoral duty. Indeed Paul's actual debate between life and death is very short-lived. By verse 25, he has already resolved the dilemma by testifying that he knows it is crucial for him to stay to preach the gospel. That Paul feels compelled to stay stresses the sense of connectedness the apostle felt between himself and the Philippians. Some scholars see this missional partnership as the central theme in the Philippian correspondence. Even though he is locked away in prison, Paul ...

2248. God's Workmanship

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... The snow fell incessantly. Hazel roused herself. “Emmet! Myrdith!” she shouted. “You mustn’t close your eyes. Punch each other! I’ll count to a hundred. Make your legs go up and down as though you’re running. Begin-one, two, three-” She could feel the small limbs moving underneath her. She tried to move her own; her brain instructed her legs, but she wasn’t sure what they did. Next Hazel ordered, “Open and close your fingers one hundred times inside your mittens.” Then they tried singing ...

2249. Jesus Is Contagious!

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... video store knows the movie tastes of all regular customers. The more “intentional” sharing we do is with those to whom we feel emotionally close. We share hopes and dreams with our spouse. We share history and historic battles with our brothers and sisters. ... spouses, our siblings, and our parents, with our friends (the “family” we get to choose). But even with those with whom we feel closest, what “big things” do you share? What do you pass along? What are you an evangelist for? The truth is we ...

2250. Thin Spaces

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... , but he knew without a doubt that this referred to his following his shadow. JUST STOP IT. It sounded like permission. No, it was more than permission. It was a command. But could he…really? He’d never lived any other way but this. And so, the Voice made him feel caught between joy and hope, on the one hand, and fear and dread, on the other. About this time the sun came up, and with it the powerful tug of his growing shadow. He tried to resist it, but could not. But all that day, even as he obediently ...

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