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 2376 to 2400 of 4770 results

2376. Make Up Your Mind!

1 Kings 18:16-46

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... the first things a nation loses is God’s sure hand of mercy, guidance, and blessing. In their book, The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy,1 historical sociologists William Strauss and Neil Howe have done some intriguing research with America’s history, viewing events through the lens of each generation and making some projections about the future. To be short, their picture is not promising. They predict that within a few years there will be an American crisis on the scale of the American Revolution ...

2377. Reproached Rolled Away

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... their personal devastation. But you can be enslaved and yet avoid developing a slave’s mentality. You can be victimized by life and calamities and cruelties but without developing a victim’s outlook and state of mind that makes one forever the victimized. Victims invariably view life in terms of what happened to them rather than what God can do in and for them. It is the pain and memory of being victimized unjustly by others that creates hatred, resentment, and even a desire to live without God. It is ...

2378. The Hospitable Servant: A Woman Named Lydia

Acts 16:11-15

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

One of the great problems of our time particularly in some clergy circles is the myopic, antiquated, sexist, provincial, and prejudiced view that some pastors and congregations have regarding women in the church. This problem is particularly acute in regards to female clergy and those strong, anointed, and gifted women of God whom God has appointed and anointed for service and who also pose a threat to the fragile egos of those “ ...

2379. Days of Promise

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... promise of God as being fulfilled right now. Because God had demonstrated God’s faithfulness over and over again, one never had to question whether the promise would come true. “It was as good as done,” the moment the word of promise was given. This is basic for how we view any word from God. The word from God can be trusted, because God is the One who has given the word. We say about people whom we can trust, “He or she is as good as his or her word.” About God we can say, “God is as good as ...

2380. A Messenger of Promise

Malachi 2:17--3:5

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... by the Spirit of God who refashions us in the likeness of God’s Son. The Change Is Service As the prophet saw the change happening in the people of God, he wrote that they would be able to “present right offerings to the Lord.” The prophet viewed the tragedy that existed among his people. The excitement of the Return from Babylon had subsided. The city of Jerusalem was in ruins. The people languished. They were in their homeland, but they were not at home. The Temple was destroyed. The people who had ...

2381. A Town of Promise

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... the peasantry which had been crushed under the tyranny and greed of the rich. The administration of the kings he knew had not been favorable to the people he loved. He also sensed that the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was imminent. Micah’s view was rural and lacking in sophistication. He may have been regarded as a country bumpkin. Certainly the people had low regard of him when he suggested that the City of Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom would also fall. To be sure, the fall of the Southern ...

2382. Light from the Word

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... on this important occasion. There are many interpreters who fault Ezra for the creation of Judaism as a provincial, exclusive, and legalistic version of the Hebrew faith. They point to his ruling that the Jews should not marry outside the faith as typical of this narrow view of the faith. That would be unfair to the larger task which Ezra performed, which was to get the people to return to the faith as well as to interpret and to practice the faith. Our story mentions over and over again that all this was ...

2383. The Fruit of One's Doing

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... a dominant religious force within a few centuries. With the canons or rules of sociology, Stark analyzed why the pagan population decreased in the same period. In addition to epidemics and plagues, the Greco-Roman culture diminished itself by its affluence, its views on marriage, and its birth control methods. At the same time Stark ventures to say, as few sociologists are inclined to do, that the Christian believers were able to cope with problems and disasters by virtue of their faith. The belief system ...

2384. Sheep

Matthew 18:10-14, Matthew 18:15-20, Luke 15:1-7

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: God pursues lost people with a vengeance. He cares about us so much that He will passionately seek us out to bring us home. This drama shows the difference between how God might pursue us (Donna) and how we humans normally view the lost (Jim). Cast: Donna: a good shepherd Jim: a not-so-good shepherd Props: 2 staffs (staves?) A laptop computer a bag (to hold the laptop) A picture of a field (projected behind them if possible) Ambient field noises (if possible) Setting: A field (LIGHTS UP ...

2385. Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Brett Blair

... influence of our revolutionary Lord. A world shaping revolution is in place. Just this past week many wrongs in the mid East were set on the path of being righted: the proud have been scattered, the mighty have fallen, and the humble He has lifted. With these events in view let us turn not to the UN, not to any world leader, but to a young peasant girl named Mary, for it is HER words that are illustrated by these world events. Let’s consider that it was SHE that gave birth to the Revolution that is the ...

2386. We Interrupt This Service

John 1:1-18

Illustration

Brett Blair

... people gathered in a church fellowship hall in a suburban neighborhood in Indiana. Dressed in sweatshirts and jeans, they had given up a Saturday of golf and gardening to sip coffee and listen politely as he rambled through discussions of Vatican II, Calvin's view of the Lord's Supper, the pros and cons of children's sermons, the development of the lectionary, the meanings of baptism, and other assorted topics about worship. Now, the lecturing done, he gulped down a little coffee and asked if there were any ...

2387. A Future Hope Transforms the Present

John 1:1-18

Illustration

... and on the world when it is rooted in a vision of hope. "From first to last, and not merely in the epilogue," wrote Moltmann, "Christianity is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore also revolutionizing and transforming the present." In Moltmann's view, to live in hope does not mean that one lives in a state of disconnectedness from the present because of some expectation of a greater although unrealized future; rather, to live with a vision of hope gives a person--and the church--the ...

2388. The Spirit Has Landed

Luke 3:1-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... direction. Second is righteousness. Righteousness is what is given to us at baptism. It is baptism’s gift. Monday as the first ever color pictures of the Martian landscape came in at an incredible 8 mega pixels of resolution they gave the world a stunning view of mars. The clarity of the camera on board Spirit gives us a 20/20 look, that’s what NASA says. I downloaded the pictures (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html) and stared at these awesome images, red dust and dirt punctuated by ...

2389. Saving The Best Till Last

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

... this was even better. But this was not the miracle. The miracle was known only to a few: the disciples and the servants who brought the water in, and, it seems, to Mary who knew about it even before Jesus. Turning the water into wine has long been viewed as one of Jesus’ more unique miracles. Poor planning has caused this wedding to grind to a halt. Mary asks Jesus to resolve the issue. It is an imposition on son but mothers are use to imposing upon their children. Jesus is not pleased, “What has this ...

2390. Think About It (A Drama about Diffusing Criticism)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... : While this drama is about diffusing criticism, it can also be used to teach people about the dangers of fatalism - that anything we do ultimately doesn't matter. Cast: Beth: A woman who serves in child care. Dave: A condescending man who’s fatalistic views of the world bring Beth to frustration Props: Some toys Setting: Inside a Sunday school class room. (LIGHTS UP CENTER STAGE. Toys are scattered about. The last of the kids has just left…) Beth: Okay, so long Jason. See you next Sunday! Dave: (Enters ...

2391. Go With Positive

John 2:1-11

Illustration

Brett Blair

... I wanted to be an actor. I knew I was loved as a kid. The thing you can always rely on, your core person, comes from your family's attention and love. When my mother got sick, and I'd see her fight to survive, it gave me an early view of bravery and what life was about. I was able to prepare for it. Your mother dies, and you're 18, and you face a choice. Are you going to take drugs? Become a drunk? Or are you going to try to become more spiritual? Why not go with the ...

2392. Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen! - Sermon Starter

Luke 2:39-56

Illustration

Brett Blair

2393. Eager For The Journey

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

... things; the second seduced them with an experience unlike any other. I like to think that Sir Francis Drake discovered what Jesus knew all to well. And that is this: The paths that are offered to us must promise to shape us, build our character, change our world view, if they are to have any appeal to us at all. If we are presented with a challenge that will change, we will be eager for the journey. What is it about Jesus' message that made the disciples eager for the journey? I They were made eager because ...

2394. Would You Take The Crown Without The Cross?

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

... God’s Word. It is easy to loose track of who we are and why we are here. It is a now very long time since we were in the Garden. Sin has wrecked humanity. It is difficult to imagine what man was like in the Garden of Eden by viewing him as he is now. Imagine if you knew nothing of aircrafts and mankind’s ability of flight. Now imagine that you came upon the wreckage of an aircraft and you along with many others tried to reconstruct the original version of the aircraft. If we knew nothing of flying ...

2395. Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the hypocrites who drag themselves out of bed and show up for Sunday school. At least they aren't wearing a pious mask and living a lie. Jesus does not tolerate hypocrites, and neither do we. But before we assume that Jesus fully shares our views on hypocrites, we should look again, and more closely, at what he says. To be sure, the hypocrites that Jesus takes on are religious people, church people—or synagogue people to be precise—who actually put their faith into practice. They are people of charity ...

2396. Wisdom: The Secret of Effective Living

Proverbs 8:34-35

Illustration

Robert Allen

... he looked at himself, once he stopped waging war within himself, Jack was wise enough to realize that he was on his way to living an effective life. And what is the secret of effective living? The writer of Proverbs paints a beautiful panoramic view of wisdom being the secret of effective living. Wisdom is depicted as being the first thing God created and an essential characteristic for every man or woman if they are going to experience any joy in living. The writer of Proverbs expressed this very clearly ...

2397. Who You Gonna' Vote For?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Newton, a converted ex-slave trader, to write those immortal words: Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! Zacchaeus, being of short stature, could not see for the press of the crowd. So he climbed into a tree to get a better view. His inaccessibility to Jesus was more than literal, it was also symbolic. It is hard to know what drove Zacchaeus to turn on his kinsmen. Desire for power, love of money, revenge upon Jewish leadership, or just plain greed. He could have been blocked in so ...

2398. Sight for Blind Eyes

John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... moon shining down so brightly in the desert sky. You looked out across the city and saw the candle light flickering in hundreds of courtyards as darkness began to descend. Over and over, you looked at things that everyone else takes for granted...but to you, each view was special. As you scanned the scene, you thought about the events of the day. You had gone out from your parents' home just as you had done for over twenty years, ever since you had been old enough to care for yourself. You had been going ...

2399. God Hears

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... clenched teeth), Hagar became pregnant with Abraham's first child. Now the trouble starts. The Genesis record says "when [Hagar] saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress." Uh, oh. What did she do? Little verbal jabs? Eyebrows elevated for a view down the nose? Walk around the tent with belly tauntingly thrust forward? Who knows? Just the meanness of youth sneering at age. Hagar was not nice. Sarah did not react well. The hurt that she had felt in not being able to bear Abraham's ...

2400. The Bush Is Still Burning

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... sign" that God promises: "...and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." In other words, the only sign you will see is in the rear-view mirror...hindsight. One day, when you are back here on this mountain and worshiping with your Hebrew brothers and sisters, you will think back to this moment and realize that God was with you all along, just as promised. "That is all well and good, God," Moses continued ...

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