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 2401 to 2425 of 3285 results

2401. Let Them Eat Cake

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Christ’s presence and power. As long as a disciple’s faith in Christ stands firm, and our relationship with him stays strong, all the bad stuff, all the truly evil encounters we have here, can be countered with “pound cake” — with God’s ability to upside down forces that on their own hurt this world, but when touched by God’s grace and love, can be recreated into that which can bless and beautify this world. When it fights, the world wants its pound of flesh. Maybe Jesus wants instead ...

2402. Syncing with the Spirit

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the gospel gall and gumption to be on mission. We interact and communicate with each others as we are moving in the world. Listen Up: The U-Tube metronome demonstration is really a physics experiment. It demonstrates the underlying strength and transforming ability of a common frequency, communication and action based upon hearing the same thing. A common frequency can change physical realities and create a new commonality through the power of its pulse. We ache to listen up. Humanity is hungry for a common ...

2403. Nothing to Hide

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... is one of the clearest signposts we will see as we seek to find the way out of life’s difficult situations: Integrity means “nothing to hide.” Sometimes you and I fall short of that standard. In fact, most of us have developed a pretty sophisticated ability to rationalize, to lie, to hide, to pretend that we have our act together. Maybe that’s why our society is so into appearances: they distract us from the inner turmoil many of us hide every day. Remember the scene in the movie The Wizard of Oz ...

2404. Expect the Unexpected

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... almost anything. A woman named Judith Haime claimed to have psychic powers. Several years ago, she sought treatment for a physical problem. The hospital administered a CAT scan and Judith was injected with a dye, which she alleges caused her to lose her psychic abilities. She sued the doctor and the hospital and won nearly $1 million in damages. (2) I wonder just what the jury was thinking! Obviously none of us can predict how our life will turn out. Throw out the crystal ball, burn the astrology chart ...

2405. Down in the Dungeon

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... century, Winston Churchill, fought this same battle. Throughout his adult life, the great British statesman suffered chronic bouts of depression, gloom, and self-deprecation that he called “the Black Dog.” During World War II Churchill often questioned whether he had the ability to lead the English people through this terrifying time. And yet, somehow he kept plodding through, and he brought the British people with him. It was he who, even as the Nazis were advancing and the Allied front in Europe was ...

2406. "Before" and "After"

Psalm 31:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... rock-bottom. A dead man forgotten. A broken jar worthless. Now think about your own life. Is this an “After” time for you? It is for some people. Dead dreams, broken promises, dead ends, broken homes? Despair has a blinding quality to it. You lose the ability to see any hope, any comfort, any potential for change in your situation. How will we find the way out? And yet, if there is a God, then hopelessness and broken-ness cannot have the last word. That’s what the psalmist believed. Listen again to ...

2407. Looking for Ducklings: Kissing the Sidewalk

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

Tony Everett

... distributing food to poor families in the community. After the resurrection, the Word of God spread quickly in Jerusalem and even many Jewish priests became part of the community (Acts 6:1-7). Finally members of one synagogue were fed up, particularly with Stephen’s ability not only to perform wondrous deeds, but also to speak with persuasive power. So, they stirred up their own members as well as the Jewish council who were compelled to bring Stephen in for a hearing before them (Acts 6:8-15). The first ...

2408. Hitting the Boss Key

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... she adds, “The devil worked beside me as a deckhand . . . Some of the yacht owners flew in private jets. Others merely flew first class.” Later she moved to Oregon, bought a house and spent a solid year gloating about owning a washer and dryer. The ability to do laundry at any hour . . . was a significant improvement in her quality of life. “Then,” she writes, “the devil stopped by with a welcome basket and a little gossip. The neighbors have central air, he said. The people down the street have a ...

2409. In the Mood for Murder

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... anger is sin. Paul tells us, “Be angry and do not sin” (Eph 4:26). There are times when expressing our anger is the proper thing to do. There is an old story of a Swami at a village temple in Bengal, who claimed to have mastered anger. When his ability to control his anger was challenged, he told the story of a cobra who used to sit by the path and bite people on their way to the temple. The Swami went to visit with the snake to end the problem. Using a mantra, he called the snake to him ...

2410. I Told You Not to Bite

Mt 5:21-26; Eph 4:26

Illustration

King Duncan

There is an old story of a Swami at a village temple in Bengal, who claimed to have mastered anger. When his ability to control his anger was challenged, he told the story of a cobra who used to sit by the path and bite people on their way to the temple. The Swami went to visit with the snake to end the problem. Using a mantra, he called the snake to him ...

2411. Mud Makeovers

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... day afternoon. All they can see is dirt and disobedience. They cannot see that all the healed blind man can see is a whole new world. Jesus lived and ministered and healed among mud-slingers. Among those who doubted and disputed his abilities and his capabilities. So must we, his disciples, live and minister and heal among the mud-slingers. In the “Harry Potter” genre of children’s books some of the “pureblood” wizard families proclaim their superiority over those who unexpectedly are born with ...

2412. Outpouring and Indwelling

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Literally. Recent research on the powers and gifts of great storytellers has shown that something happens to the human brain when we are fully engaged in a story, in a relationship of words and experiences, with another human being. Great storytellers have the ability to so engage their audience that they can plug into the minds of all those listening and get them “participating” in the story. For example, a team of research scientists at Princeton, led by Uri Hasson, had a woman tell a story while ...

2413. Five Ways to be "Holy" During Holy Week

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... destroyed an entire generation of young people. But perhaps the most memorable “flash mob” ever recorded is in the gospels, as Jesus enters into Jerusalem for his final visit to that holy city. Palm Sunday is the story of a “flash mobs” eerie ability to “flash” a cheer one moment and to “flash” a jeer the next. The Palm Sunday procession, and the procession accompanying Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary, were the precursors to the Easter parade, which still take place throughout the US but ...

2414. Voice Recognition

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... immediately identify the unique tenor and timber of a familiar voice, telling us who is giving us a call. That is why it is so frustrating when we get a bad connection or some sort of distortion on the line. It messes up our ability to recognize the voice of our caller. Even before he was arrested in the Olive Garden there were some problems with the connection between Jesus and his disciples. Those who faithfully followed Jesus throughout his ministry seemed to suddenly get static on their lines whenever ...

2415. Peace Be With You

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... some sorrow and misfortune. The sixth is, “Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues love, humor, compassion and loyalty.” Number seven is, “Do not expect too much of yourself.” When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable. And finally, number eight is “Find something bigger than yourself to believe in.” Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness. (4) Peace within ...

2416. Ring Those Bells

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... hope,” our “faith,” is based in Christ’s love — a love that rocks this world down to is own shaky foundations and challenges it to find a new foundational “rock.” Our “hope,” our faith is in Christ’s transfiguring power — in the ability and even normativity of the impossible, a life redeemed to become the promising possibility — because of our hopefulness — our faith — in Christ. We all want to do better. We all want to be better. We all know that we have “fallen short” of ...

2417. Where the Church Gets Its Power

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... the ball from sailing into the stands.” The coach was thrilled. “Tell me, son,” he said, “do you have any weaknesses?” The boy thought for a moment and replied, “Well, I do have a tendency to exaggerate a little.” That young man may have overstated his abilities more than a little. But what a refreshing change from most Christians. If anything, most of us have a tendency to understate just how much God means in our lives, and how much of a privilege it is to be a part of the church of Jesus ...

2418. The Nano-Punch of Pentecost

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of the infinitesimal. Anything that is “nano” is by definition scientific research being done by nanometers — that is a measurement that is one-billionth of a meter (a meter is short of 3 feet). Scientists are using amazing microscopic abilities to engineer working machines that are smaller than our DNA. One day they say it will be beyond nano and into quantum, even quantum computing. The miniscule, ultra-microscopic existence of these “nanobots” are revolutionizing medicine, home improvement ...

2419. Pastor, Don't Talk About That!

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... and drug addiction. One of the challenges faced by young people today is instability in the home and conflicting messages concerning sexuality in society. Are we not to raise our voices about the decline in sexual values and about what that means to the ability of young adults to have wholesome and responsible relationships? Am I never to warn about the dangers of adultery and indiscriminate sex? I don’t enjoy sounding like a prude as we watch television characters and celebrities hop from bed to bed, but ...

2420. The Key to Getting Enough Rest

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... mind that can rob us of sleep. And for many people this is a serious problem. Did you know that, next to alcohol, sleep deprivation is the leading cause of serious accident and injury? It is also a leading cause of poor productivity. Of course, we vary in our ability to get a good night’s sleep. I read a true but humorous account of an automobile accident. According to investigators a car was airborne for about 150 feet before crashing through the roof of a home in Derry, N.H., at 3:00 a.m. Driven by a ...

2421. On the Ropes: Round 2 - Debating God

Habakkuk 1:12--2:1

Sermon

James Merritt

... means “be patient in persistence.” When you can’t find God in tough times don’t give up, don’t blow up, but look up. It is interesting if you put a buzzard in a pen 6 - 8 feet square and entirely open at the top, in spite of his ability to fly he will be an absolute prisoner. Why? He always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10-12 feet. Without space to run he won’t even try to fly. A bat that flies around at night, a very nimble creature, cannot take off from ...

2422. How Does Your Garden Grow?

Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... from Matthew we read a series, a list, exemplifying what “the kingdom of heaven is like.” Last week Jesus likened the Kingdom to a field sowed with both wheat and weeds. This week he compares the Kingdom of God to the tiny mustard seed, which has the ability to grow into a huge shrub, capable of housing all sorts of wild life. In Matthew 13:44 Jesus extols the “richness” that might be found in ordinary soil. In v.45 he draws our attention to the richness, the “pearl of great price,” that might ...

2423. Ignite: Burning Love

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

James Merritt

... light. He uses comfort and complacency.” He then said this, “I find it more difficult to deal with an angel of light than I do a roaring lion.” I want to answer this question, “What was it that made those disciples so bold? What was it that gave them the ability to stand up when they were told to sit down and to speak up when they were told to “shut-up?” What is it that can give us the boldness we need today to be pro-active in trying to reach people for Jesus Christ? It goes back to what ...

2424. The Glory of the Cross

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... speaks first of all of his sovereign authority. It is the cross of the Lord. That tells us He is our Master. He served us by dying for us, but He died for us that we might serve Him. But this cross also speaks of his saving ability. This tells us He is our mediator. The New Testament name Jesus is the equivalent of the Old Testament name Joshua, which literally means “Jehovah is salvation.” Every person crucified in history was crucified as a sinner; only Jesus was crucified as a Savior. But this cross ...

2425. Trust

John 4:43-54

Sermon

James Merritt

... a doctor from Vienna by the name of Dr. Lorenz who had flown over to Chicago to operate on the daughter of a wealthy millionaire who was cripple. The paper carried the story of how this doctor performed a medical miracle and restored this little girl’s ability to walk. When that mother came home, Michael told his mother about it and said, “Mother, wouldn’t it be wonderful if that doctor could operate on me?” Well, that mother went into her bedroom and began to sob and weep and pray for her son. She ...

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