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

Showing 1 to 25 of 195 results

1. When the Storms Come

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... the apples. They just didn't look as pretty as they usually did, and the farmer was afraid that the people who had ordered them might be disappointed and ask for their money back. Then he had an idea. He took all of the apples with the little blemishes on the outside and wrapped every one of them the same way he did every year. He put them in the same kind of packages. Then he added a note. It read: "Notice these high-quality apples. This year represents the finest crop. You can see the blemishes caused ...

2. "A" Lamb to "the" Lamb

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... lamb cookie which he selected was all cracked and ruined. No one would eat it, so they might as well be practical about it. But that’s not the way with God’s Lamb with the capital "L." His Lamb is sinless, spotless, pure, good, holy, perfect, without a single blemish on him. And that is the Lamb that redeems us! We may often give God our left-overs, but he gave us his best Lamb, his only Lamb! Do Something With the Lamb The solemn fact about this Lamb story is that the blood of the Lamb must be applied ...

3. Warts and All

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... education. Paul practiced piety with Pharisaic rigorousness. He successfully orchestrated some of the earliest, most efficient persecutions against the upstart Christina sectarians. He must have hated finding, admitting and living with this thorn in the flesh, this blemish on his reputation, this blister on his soul. Paul was a decisive, take-charge kind of person. As his forthright, pull-no-punches letters to the repeatedly problematic Corinthian church reveal, this apostle never sidestepped hard issues or ...

4. The Uncloudy Cloud?

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the ground. The cloud of witnesses is cloudy indeed. We like to think of the cloud as a pure white, pristine pillow of shimmering goodness and light. But that word cloud has a double meaning: it also means something that darkens and obscures, or a blemish on a polished stone. A cloud on someone's reputation isn't a good thing. This cloud of witnesses here in Hebrews isn't a clear, shining beacon of unadulterated goodness shining in its midst. This cloud of witnesses is a condensation of troubled, sometimes ...

5. Jehoahaz King of Judah

2 Chronicles 36:2-4

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... :35), but the customary change of omitting the king’s mother’s name was also made. The negative evaluation of the king is repeated from the source text, although the words “just as his fathers had done” were omitted, because that would have placed a blemish on Josiah’s reputation (something that the Chronicler wanted to avoid). The tussle between Babylon and Egypt also influenced this king’s reign (ca. 609/608–598/597 B.C.). The source text (in 2 Kgs. 23:1–4) describes how Jehoiakim was made ...

6. Jehoiakim King of Judah

2 Chronicles 36:5-8

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

7. Jehoiachin King of Judah

2 Chronicles 36:9-10

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

8. Zedekiah King of Judah

2 Chronicles 36:11-14

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

9. David's Plans for the Temple

1 Chronicles 28:1-21

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... certainly not a coincidence (see Additional Note on 28:2). The reason for David’s disqualification from building the temple is repeated here (as in 22:8): because you are a warrior and have shed blood. The Chronicler emphasizes this not so much as a blemish on David’s character but to prepare the way for Solomon’s reign, which will be a period of rest and peace. Differently from the speech reported in 1 Chronicles 22, the Chronicler now emphasizes David’s lineage and divine election (28:4–5). The ...

10. David Becomes King over Israel

1 Chronicles 11:1-3

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... in Chronicles (see commentary on 1 Chron. 15–16). The Chronicler does not mention here that the festivities had any religious or ritual element to them. This was probably deliberate, since with no sanctuary at Hebron, such an indication would have been a blemish on David’s association with the cult in Jerusalem. With the consolidation of support of All-Israel for David in 1 Chronicles 11–12, the Chronicler is now free to narrate the most significant event in David’s reign, namely, the bringing of ...

11. David Conquers Jerusalem

1 Chronicles 11:4-9

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

12. David's Mighty Men

1 Chronicles 11:10-47

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

13. Warriors Join David

1 Chronicles 12:1-22

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

14. Others Join David at Hebron

1 Chronicles 12:23-40

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

15. Lamb Parade

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... celebration, [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap] the shepherds were lining up the sheep for the big parade [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap], and the high priest was choosing what he thought was the most perfect Lamb [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap]. It needed to have no blemish on it. It needed to look white and clean. This would be the Temple Lamb, [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap] the Paschal Lamb [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap], the Lamb of Atonement to walk in front of the Lamb Parade [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap] [waving of ...

16. David Defeats the Philistines

1 Chronicles 14:8-17

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... probably based his text. However, the variant text would have fitted the Chronicler’s cause quite well, since it does not give an indication (as in the Masoretic Text of 2 Sam. 5:21) that the idols were carried off. That would have been a blemish on David’s reputation. The burning of the idols rather gives expression to what was commanded in Deut. 7:5, 25–26; 12:3. The Chronicler changed the imperative of the source text (the command “burn”) into a wayyiqtol form of the verb, indicating that they ...

17. Blemished Sacrifices and Admonition for the Priests

Malachi 1:6-14, Malachi 2:1-9

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

Reverence for God’s Name: The second speech continues the theme of family relationships and domestic life as a metaphor for Israel’s life with God. Verse 6 introduces the Lord as a father figure and master of a patriarchal household. By the contempt they have shown for the Lord’s table and the food placed on it, the priests have fouled their own home, hurt the other family members, and brought the name of the Lord, their father and master, into disrepute. Yet an opportunity for restoration and renewal ...

18. The Perfect Blemish

John 2:13-22

Sermon

John Smylie

When we think of the Lord Jesus, we tend to think of what he has done for us. We think of how he has liberated human beings from the bondage of sin and death through his own death and resurrection. Sometimes we may forget that our Lord is the Lord of all creation. His sacrifice once, for all, had an impact on a religious system where sacrifice no longer became necessary. The following story is told from the perspective of one of the animals whose life Jesus saved. Snap! Crack! Snap! "Ouch," I cried. You ...

19. Unacceptable Sacrifices

Leviticus 22:17--23:2

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

22:17–25 These verses examine what offerings are blemished and what counts as a blemish. They affirm again that sacrificial offerings are to be without blemish. This part of the Holiness Code has been concerned with wholeness which is here applied to sacrificial animals. The instruction addresses both priests and people through the mediator Moses and includes an Israelite or an alien living in Israel. The passage begins with whole burnt offerings, whether votive (the fulfillment of a vow) or freewill (a ...

20. Holiness of Priests

Lev 21:1–23:2

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Those who lead God’s people in worship must show a special degree of separation to God. Understanding the Text Leviticus 21 is the first of two chapters on the holiness of priests, teaching how, as servants of Yahweh’s holy things, they must maintain a special degree of holiness or else be disqualified from serving the sanctuary. This is thus a continuation of the theme of holiness found in what is commonly referred to as the holiness code (Lev. 17–27). Leviticus 21:1–22:31 is arranged in a ...

21. Carbon Pure and Perfect

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus is our diamond. Jesus is the carbon based incarnation of the divine transformed by the steady pressure of God’s endless love into the brightest Morning Star Diamond ever created. Jesus is our diamond. Jesus is Carbon Pure and Perfect, the pure and perfect way to the Father, our only eternal security. But there are many ways to look at Jesus, just as there are many ways to look at a diamond. This is what Paul was getting at in our epistle reading for this morning. Paul is urging the Corinthian ...

22. Kintsugi Vessels

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anyone here love “antiques?” How about “Antiques Road Show?” Did you know it’s been around for 36 years, since 1977? [This would be a good time to facilitate a short time of interaction with the congregation over their favorite “antiques,” their favorite shows dealing with “antiques,” what the difference is between “antiques” and “collectives,” etc.] “Antiques” and “collectibles” have value because they have survived intact for a long period of time. With the exception of those few things that are made of ...

23. Be Holy

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Believers’ Response in Conduct 1:13 Do the readers now appreciate the magnificence of God’s far-reaching salvation plan in which they have been caught up? Then their response has to be a wholehearted commitment to their new life in Christ. They are to prepare their minds for action, that is, they must put away any distractions which would hinder their growth in grace and their being available to carry forward God’s work of salvation in whatever way he may indicate. The Greek is literally “gird up the ...

24. Listen to the Angels

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A layperson wrote on the Internet that he attends a small village church in rural Pennsylvania. On any given Sunday, he says, they may have six or seven faithful children who come with their parents. The pastor has a white bag which is passed from child to child, making sure they get equal turns to put something in for him to talk about. Each Sunday, the pastor calls all the children up and he opens the bag to find a “surprise” on which he bases his children’s sermon. Easter week, the bag went home with a ...

25. Broken Yet Sincere

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Kintsugi pottery (or something similar) –a piece of ceramic broken and repaired with a gold filling. Scar tissue is visible history... Sometimes the joins are so exquisite they say the potter may have broken the cup just so he could mend it[1] The Japanese have a unique kind of artwork called “kintsugi” (to patch in gold) or “kintsukuroi” (to repair with gold). The artist takes a shattered bowl or pitcher and pieces it back together again, sealing the cracks and holes with pure gold. The result is a ...

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