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 3082 results

2226. A Stone’s Throw From: New Life

John 8:3-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Have you ever really messed up? Has there ever been a moment in your life when you needed a mulligan or do-over or second chance? Unless your name is Jesus and you were born in Bethlehem, of course you have. We all have, that's one of the things we have in common. We've all made our messes and we are looking for a chance to start over. We're looking for the kind of place described by Louise Fletcher Tarkington: "I wish that there were some wonderful place In the Land of Beginning Again; Where all our ...

2227. Gratitude Not Platitudes

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A certain preacher was known for his uplifting prayers. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so cold, dark and gloomy that one the church members thought to himself, "I'll bet the preacher won't be able to think of anything for which to be thankful to God about today." But to his surprise, however, the preacher began by praying, "Gracious God, we thank You, that the weather's not always like this." You and I have so much for which to be thankful. Sometimes ...

2228. The Gift of Purpose

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

As a little girl climbed up into Santa's lap, Santa asked the usual, "And what would you like for Christmas?" The little girl just stared at Santa with her mouth open and horrified look on her face for a minute, and then she gasped: "Didn't you get my E-mail?" That had to have been the same sort of horrified look that Mary must have had on her face when the Angel of the Lord appeared to her and spoke to her about God's purpose for her life. You know the story it's in Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV). [26] In the sixth ...

2229. Where do You Live?

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In the irreverent comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is a send up of the King Arthur tales, there is a scene where one of the knights, Sir Bedevere is confronted by a group of villagers. It seems they have gripped one of the local women and claim she is a witch. It's very obvious that her long crooked nose is fake and has been tied on and she's been dressed up to look like a witch. Sir Bedevere questions the evidence and the people confess that they made it all up. But they still want to burn ...

2230. War and the Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The year was 1862. The Civil War was raging. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was grieving the death of his second wife when news came that his son had been gravely wounded in the war. That was when Longfellow sat down and wrote this poem: I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play And wild and sweet the words repeat, of peace on earth good will to all And in despair I bowed my head, there is no peace on earth I said For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth good will to all ...

2231. By Humbly Doing Good

1 Peter 5:6-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The pastor of a congregation preached an unusually short sermon one Sunday. As he came to the conclusion, he offered this explanation for the brevity of it all. “We have a new dog at our house," explained the pastor. “The dog is prone to get into things and chew them up. Last night the dog got hold of my sermon and chewed up the last several pages." The congregation seemed to understand the plight of the pastor. In fact, one visitor to the church shook the preacher's hand after service and said, “If that ...

2232. Choosing to Love

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Sermon

Stan Purdum

The popular notion in our society is that the best way to choose a marriage partner is to wait until we "fall in love" with someone. By that, we usually mean that we wait for some kind of feeling, some emotional response to a person of the opposite sex that convinces us that we can never be truly happy again unless we can spend the future with that person. And often the feeling we experience is one of ecstatic joy and excitement. But there are a couple of realities about falling in love that aren't quite ...

2233. Dare to Be Different

Romans 13:11-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

A true story tells how the two sons of a ninety-year-old Fort Worth, Texas, woman were worried about her safety. "We are going to get you a pistol, mother, so you can take care of yourself. There is too much violence out there." So they bought their mother a gun, which she dutifully packed in her purse. One day, when she left Ridgmar Shopping Center to get into her car she found two young men sitting in the front seat. She took out the pistol, pointed it at them, and said: "Get out of that car or I'll ...

2234. Heroes of Faith

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A father was sitting on the floor with his three boys getting ready for bedtime prayers. The two older boys were having an argument about their action figures. The issue was whether Superman was better than He-Man. One boy said that Superman could fly, the other countered that He-Man had bigger muscles. And so it went, back and forth, while the youngest boy, Nicholas age four, just watched. Dad turned to Nick and asked: "So who's your hero, Nick?" Without batting an eye, Nick tilted his head, gave Dad one ...

2235. The Triumph and the Tragedy

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

On Palm Sunday April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, General of the Union Army, at the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This surrender ended the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. State against state, brother against brother; it was a conflict that literally tore our nation apart. Five days later Good Friday, April 14, 1865 America’s most revered president, Abraham Lincoln, was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s Theatre ...

2236. Eyewitness News

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Country music star Kenny Chesney sings a song that contains this refrain, Everybody wanna go to heaven; Hallelujah, let me hear you shout; Everybody wanna go to heaven; But nobody wanna go now. (1) Deep in our hearts we know it’s true. We talk about heaven, but regardless of how wonderful we have heard it described, most of us are not eager to make the journey. We’re like the man who was sentenced to death. He was asked if he had any last requests. He said that he loved to sing and wanted to sing his ...

2237. Flesh and Spirit

Romans 8:12-17

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

Chapters 7-8 of Romans are among the most important words in the Bible for us in the twenty-first century. In these chapters, Paul wrestles with the issues of human consciousness, human will, and the Trinity. In chapter 7, he reflects a profound understanding of our struggles as human beings, whether we are a first-century Jew in Palestine or a twenty-first-century American Christian. He writes these words in chapter seven to the church at Rome and to churches everywhere in every age: I do not understand ...

2238. Death Is Swallowed Up Forever

Isaiah 25:6-9

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

All Saints is a time to celebrate the victory over death we share with all the saints and our risen Lord. Still, we must never think that victory is an easy one. Death is an overwhelming power that interrupts our communion with God and with one another. It is the destroyer of all that is true and good. Israel had known that power at work in her own communal disaster, the destruction of Jerusalem. Those kings anointed to be shepherds of Israel fleeced the sheep, and those appointed to care for the welfare ...

2239. Being Prepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Hurricane Bob was bearing down on the Atlantic coast. Safe in his home on that same coast, a man named J. R. thought he was well prepared. The power failed, but that didn’t faze him. As night fell, he simply fired up some oil lamps and placed his Coleman camping stove on top of the electric range in his kitchen to cook his dinner. So what if he had no electricity? He was able to enjoy a delicious meal thanks to his Coleman stove. He commended himself on his foresight. He went to bed secure in the knowledge ...

2240. No Other Name

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

We want to begin with a little trivia contest. Can anyone tell me the name of the 33rd President of the United States? The 33rd President of our country was Harry S Truman. Question number two: what was Truman’s home state? That’s right, Missouri. Last question. We remember him as Harry S Truman. What did the “S” stand for? Trick question: the middle initial of Harry S Truman’s name did not stand for anything. Both his grandfathers had names beginning with S so he was given the bare initial S to avoid ...

2241. The End of The Beginning

Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Three decades ago my nephew, Nathaniel, was a toddler when he discovered the full moon for the first time. For a day or two he would talk of nothing else. Then a week later he was out on a summer evening and looked in vain for the moon. He was genuinely puzzled. "Where did the moon go?" his mother asked him. After a moment's reflection he shrugged and said, simply, "Exploded." That explanation covered the facts as far as he was able to observe, but it wouldn't be long before the moon again dominated the ...

2242. James 3:1-12

James 3:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Twice already in James’ brief epistle readers have been admonished to mind their tongues. In 1:19 the epistle writer advocated being “slow to speak,” while in 1:26 James affirmed that an unbridled tongue could lead to religious faith that was “worthless.” In this week’s epistle text James sets forth a carefully constructed, organized argument about the need for those who would call themselves members of the community of faith, to tame their tongues. James surprisingly begins with some negative career ...

2243. All Is Different Now

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Before and After. Ante and Post. Each of us has moments, choices, circumstances in our lives that act as a watershed — experiences dividing our life into everything “before” and everything “after.” The event doesn’t have to be devastating or dramatic. Sometimes it is joyful and exhilarating. Sometimes it is a quiet realization. Sometimes it takes decades for us to even determine just when that moment occurred. You have a parent or a sibling die. You are the first in your family to go away to college. You ...

2244. Open the Window, Aunt Minnie, Here It Comes!

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Before the advent of television, baseball broadcasts depended on colorful announcers to captivate a listening audience. One of the best of these announcers was named Rosey Rowswell. Rowswell was the radio voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The star slugger with the Pirates at the time was Ralph Kiner. Rowswell got his audience to imagine a little old lady with an apartment window facing Forbes Field. Whenever Ralph Kiner would connect with a potential home run, Rowswell would yell, “Open the window, Aunt ...

2245. Born in Bethlehem — Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Have you ever awakened in the early hours before dawn? Thick darkness covers the earth. Trees, rivers, and houses obscured. Silence reigns supreme. Chill, as cool as melting ice, fills the air. Then slowly a faint flush of gray begins to roll through the blackness, forms take shape. Hazy colors appear. Suddenly, as a rocket explodes into space, the sun rises on the horizon. There is a glow on the hills. The leaves on the tree sparkle as they flutter in the soft breeze. The birds greet the new day with ...

2246. Transformed to Christ

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

One magnificent, moonlit night, a fisherman climbed the wall of a private estate to partake in the bounty of its fish-stocked pond. He moved with stealth and upon reaching the banks of the pond observed with keen awareness that there was no activity in the bungalow below. All the lights were out. With a sense of confidence, he envisioned his fishing needs taken care of for the full week. Thus, he cast his net into the pond making the light splash. The master of the house remarked to his wife from his deep ...

2247. The Gospel According To Pronouns

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

David J. Kalas

The gospel of Jesus Christ is personal. If you have not yet realized that fact, then I'd like you to see it this morning. If you have recognized that truth somewhere along the way, please don't ever lose sight of it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is personal. On this occasion, Peter had been summoned into this living room for the purpose of preaching that gospel. The audience was a God-fearing Gentile man named Cornelius, along with his family and the members of his extended household. God was eager for ...

2248. Mary AND Martha, Heart AND Home

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

On 10 July 2013 someone posted a YouTube video. Three days later it had 5 million hits. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD6wdrVFc0g The one minute clip shows an amazing life-or-death race. It was shot by some Krueger Park tourists on safari in South Africa. Routinely and sternly, visitors to the park are told to stay in their vehicles at all times. But tourists being tourists, you know the rest of the story. The video shows cars parked along the access road with all their windows and doors ...

2249. The Dirt on Jesus

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of us have a garage that can no longer be parked anymore because it is filled up with so much other “stuff?” How many of us have an off-site storage unit because we have too much “stuff” to keep in our homes, so we arrange for visitation rights to see our “stuff?” The late comedian George Carlin famously did an entire monologue on this “stuff” — proclaiming that the “meaning of life is trying to find a place to put your stuff” and that “A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out ...

2250. Divided We Fall

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

The power of a vision can transform people. We just celebrated Martin Luther King Day. Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, captivated the entire nation. He longed for the day when the color of a person’s skin no longer mattered. We continue to be diligent in combating the sin of racism in fulfilling that vision. Powerful God-inspired visions can and do change people. A passionate sense of mission and vision should motivate everyone within the ...

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