Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: humiliation, mortification, chagrin, ignominy, loss of face, shamefacedness, embarrassment, indignity, abashment, discomfort, discomfiture, discomposure, guilt, remorse, contrition, compunction, disgrace, dishonour, discredit, degradation, disrepute, ill-repute, infamy, scandal, odium, opprobrium, obloquy, condemnation, contempt, pity, misfortune, crying shame, cause for regret, source of regret, sad thing, unfortunate thing, discredit to, disgrace to, stain on, blemish on, blot on, blot on the escutcheon of, slur on, reproach to, bad reflection on, bring into disrepute, degrade, debase, defame, stigmatize, taint, sully, tarnish, besmirch, stain, blacken, drag through the mud/mire, give a bad name to, put in a bad light, humiliate, mortify, make someone feel ashamed, embarrass, abash, chasten, humble, put someone in their place, take down a peg or two, cut down to size, show up

Antonyms: honor, pride, respect, glory, praise, dignity, honor, esteem, glorification, laud, compliment, regard, credit, elevate, acclaim, pleasure, favor, kudos, recognition, flatter, admiration, greatness, happiness, self-confidence, reverence

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1. Dinner Parties With A Difference

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... people gather at his table with an attitude more like that of Simon the Pharisee, than that of Jesus. Simon wanted at his table only those who were as pure and as good as he conceived himself to be. He was insulted Jesus would besmirch his high quality feast with apparent acceptance and recognition of such a low quality woman. Today, many followers of Jesus regrettably have switched to the mentality of Simon. They believe only persons of the highest quality and most sanctified holiness are welcome at the ...

2. Extreme Measures

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... the land to King Ahab, Jezebel sat down and wrote a letter which would solicit the support of co-conspirators in her plot. They would falsely accuse Naboth of cursing God and king and would drum up support for his execution. By besmirching his character, the stage would be set for his murder. Law required that at least two witnesses be present who could bring accusation against the perpetrator. Jezebel arranged for two scoundrels to bring false charges against Naboth. Naboth was honest about not wanting ...

3. Why Do People Suffer?

Mark 15:33-41

Sermon

David O. Bales

... blame? Or are we copying insurance companies' blasphemies, naming all that we can't control 'Acts of God'? Do we have to relate absolutely everything that happens to God? Jesus didn't blame God. He set out to attack Satan and the demons. Need we besmirch God's reputation in every discussion of tidal waves, wars, epidemics, hurricanes, accidents, and crimes? But if God is somehow bound up with everything in this life, how do we think about suffering and how can we tug some vital, wiggling meaning into this ...

4. The Other Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Brett Blair

... brother. He never left the father’s home and went to the far country. He stayed at home and did the right thing. Well, they knew who Jesus was talking about then. He was talking about them. They were the ones who had never left home and besmirched the family name. But the sad fact is this, like the elder brother, they didn’t quite understand that they too were prodigal sons in need of redemptive love. And they didn’t really understand that the Father loved them too. Now the older brother has gone ...

5. A Faith To Live By John D. Mauney, Jr.

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

... problem of illiteracy. But there is yet another type of poverty not so easily defined - a type difficult to measure against a scale of either material or academic abundance. It is a poverty of morality - of a sense of values - a poverty that can besmirch even people blessed with great material and educational wealth. I refer to a poverty of faith in God, a poverty of those convictions basic to Christian living and Christian action. Our convictions are actually an expression of our faith. Just as a growing ...

6. Hiltgunt Margaret Zassenhaus

Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... be sufficiently worthy to he able to say, "We have good government." The very government, which has provided us the creature comforts we believe to be so vital, has at the same time, on occasion, deceived us, corrupted our national heritage, and besmirched our nation’s image. We have diligently read the words of presidents and congresses and have believed that we were intelligently evaluating their actions, only to find that, ultimately, we have been misled by those whom we elected and trusted. Judge the ...

7. The Names of the Christ-Child

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... am with you always." Ours is the only religion on earth that declares that God became a human being and lived on this earth. Most other religions claim that God is so high and lifted up, so insulated and aloof, that he would not condescend to besmirch himself with the filth and commonness of earth. But our Bible declares that "The Word (meaning Christ) became flesh and dwelt among us." The great writer Max Lucado tells about his neighbor who was trying to teach his six-year-old son how to shoot a basketball ...

8. Song of a Prophet

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... his own. Seated in Jerusalem as the Lord is, God will see that neither his capital nor his people meet with harm (Psalm 46:5, 7). Not only is the safety of both at stake, but God’s honor is also; and that the Lord will not besmirch. Nations rising to assault Israel, therefore, are only plotting their own destruction. No threatening tyrant, no pagan power, can hope to match the Lord’s might. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the ...

9. With All Your Heart

Joel 2:12-17, Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... land itself has experienced a kind of degradation and desolation, and the people’s hearts are black with the darkness of their apostasy, iniquity, and spiritual defection. The land itself is permeated with clouds of gloom and the soulscape of their hearts is besmirched by sin. “Blow the Trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm ... return to me with all your heart.” The prophet exhorts a return to God “with all your heart.” The heart was believed to possess the same power and influence over the souls ...

10. Surprise!

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Suddenly, he hears that his intended is pregnant with someone else's child. He must have been crushed. And remember, this is the part of the world that even today is perfectly OK with "honor killings" - the exacting of murderous vengeance if the family name is besmirched. Dangerous ground. But as the gospel account has it, an angel appeared to him in a dream and explained the circumstances of Mary's pregnancy, so Joseph was able to rest easily.(1) Still, it had to have been a shock. To be honest, we should ...

11. One Bad Apple

Matthew 26:47-56

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... hundreds of baptisms in the last forty years. I have never once been asked to baptize a child with the name Judas. I. BUT IT IS A GOOD NAME. OR AT LEAST, IT WAS. It was a proud name before this Judas of the New Testament story besmirched it. Judas Maccabeus was a great warrior, a hero of his people, who overthrew the heathen idolatry forced upon the Jews by the Greeks in the second century before Jesus. His victory over Antiochus Epiphanes around 165 B.C. is celebrated in the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ...

12. Good Old What’s-His-Name

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... deed of Thaddeus (or whatever his name was) is recorded. But in the fourth Gospel he appears under the name “Judas, not Iscariot.” As we have seen when we considered the other more infamous Judas, Judas was a good name—until Judas the Betrayer besmirched it. So it is understandable that the Gospel writer should make emphatic note that this other Judas was not Judas Iscariot. At the Last Supper Jesus told His students that He was going away. They were puzzled. He mentioned His coming death, and Peter ...

13. Heaven's Applause

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... comes from Latin roots that mean dutifulness and dutiful. Synonyms would include devoutness, devotion, godliness, reverence, and humility. So a person of piety, or a pious person, is one who is dedicated to the things of God. We get a flavor for the essence of piety, in contrast to a besmirched variety, in some lines from Wordsworth: My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky; So it was when my life began; So it is now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, or let me die! The Child is father ...

14. The Monsters We Are All Afraid Of

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... actually are and what they can actually accomplish. Sixth, there's the Pigeon Egoboo. The poet Ogden Nash has written, "There is nothing in any religion, that forces us to love the pigeon." Church pigeons guard their own egos by smearing and besmirching everyone else who gets in their way. Pigeon Egoboos are constantly dumping loads all over other people, dishing dirt, spreading rumors, pecking at this and that. Seventh, there's the Sand Crab Egoboo. This ego constantly appears busy, but only moves sideways ...

15. The Attitude of Gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sermon

James Merritt

... the ungrateful soul: "Trust the ungrateful soul with money—and he will steal it; with honor—and he will betray it; with virtue—and he will violate it; with love—and with hellish alchemy he will transmute it into lust; with your good name—and he will besmirch it." Ingratitude is not only the mark of worldliness, it is the mark of an unbeliever. When Paul described a world without Christ, he said of them in Rom. 1:21, "Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful." You ...

16. Surprise!

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , he hears that his intended is pregnant with someone else's child. He must have been crushed. And remember, this is the part of the world that even today is perfectly okay with "honor killings" — the exacting of murderous vengeance if the family name is besmirched. That is dangerous ground. But as the gospel account has it, an angel appeared to him in a dream and explained the circumstances of Mary's pregnancy, so Joseph was able to rest easily (Matthew 1:20-24). Still, it had to have been a shock ...

17. Mending Fences

Luke 16:1-15, Luke 16:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . Money is not the Master. But money is a tool for building good relationships! There are consequences for actions, but God always offers second chances! Jesus accuses the Pharisees of several things: 1) of being dishonest 2) abusing their position 3) besmirching the reputation of the Master and most of all 4) not caring enough about their own “future” in heaven to mend their fences even though they’ve been called out! The phrase “mending one’s fences” most likely stemmed originally from ...

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