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 1 to 25 of 1306 results

1. You Need A Point Of Contact With The Lord

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

James McLemore

... cries in the night, and the diaper is not wet, and the baby has been fed, and the bed is cuddly, and the room is warm, the baby is not crying because he or she needs anything. The baby is crying because he or she needs a point of human contact. Ask young men or young women who have spent their first month away from home in the army, in a college, or in a marriage. Though they couldn't wait to be away from home on their own, they will call home every day, send letters, and drive hundreds of ...

2. A Point of Contact

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Bob Weber, past president of Kiwanis International, told this story. He had spoken to a club in a small town and was spending the night with a farmer on the outskirts of the community. He had just relaxed on the front porch when a newsboy delivered the evening paper. The boy noted the sign Puppies for Sale. The boy got off his bike and said to the farmer, "How much do you want for the pups, mister?" "Twenty-five dollars, son." The boy's face dropped. "Well, sir, could I at least see them anyway?" The ...

3. Rules for Priests

Leviticus 21:1--22:16

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... In the NT the background to this chapter is generalized into the community of faith as a holy people (see 1 Pet. 2:5, 9). Jesus is described as the holy high priest in Hebrews 7:26. The text in Matthew 8:21–22 has some connection because the priests’ contact with death is limited; their task is to serve in the presence of God. The dead will need to bury their own dead. A similar point could lie behind Luke 14:26. 22:1–9 Chapter 22 moves from instructions focused specifically on the priests to those on ...

4. The Water of Cleansing

Numbers 19:1-22

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... is not considered a sacrifice. (Aaron himself does not perform this duty so as to avoid the high priest’s having any contact with death. He would also probably stay closer to the sanctuary.) Eleazar is beginning to take over some of the priestly duties ... this cleansing the contamination stays with the person, who must be cut off from Israel. Contagious impurity threatens to come into contact with the holy tabernacle and bring to the people an explosive danger. 19:14–22 These final verses attend to specific ...

5. Clean and Unclean Animals

Leviticus 11:1-47

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... can be washed off. Rather, “clean” denotes that which has the possibility of involvement in worship, and “unclean” denotes that which does not. Further, as we have seen, the texts work out of a medical model in the sense that impurity is contagious. Contact with that which is impure or unclean makes one unclean and thus unable to worship. In a community like ancient Israel, in which worship is central, such a prohibition would be significant. Thus these texts are meant to help people avoid what is ...

6. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... I know I didn’t. I dribbled the ball off the tee and sliced it all over the course, that is, when I managed to make contact with the ball at all. But I saw that there were people who could play the game, so I began to work at it. I’ ... regular customers first.” That doesn’t mean that God plays favorites. It means that God is always available, always seeking to make contact with us and give us the best gifts of life. But only God’s “regular customers” have developed the sensitivity necessary to see ...

7. Proper 19

Psalm 14:1-7, 1 Timothy 1:12-20, Jeremiah 4:5-31, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... them. He did not answer the charges against him directly. Instead, he told three parables to show why he tried to make contact with sinners rather than avoiding them. Context of the Lectionary The First Lesson. (Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28) Jeremiah warns ... his bag in a motel room in New Mexico. The maid had found it and turned it in. They put it in storage, assuming he would contact them. A year later they found the bag while cleaning out the storage room. He only had his last name and hometown in the bag. They ...

8. What Do You Say To A Burning Bush?

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Steve Burt

... a child. That's why a crucifixion can be something through which salvation is offered. What's holy is not the timbers, the nails, or the spectators. What's holy is God's presence in the event. "Take off your shoes, Moses. Take off your shoes and come into direct contact with me. Touch me. Experience me." It's like God says, "Maybe I'll give you a foot rub, a massage. Feel the warmth of my holy hands on your toes, Moses. It's been a long, hard road for you, Moses. Relax. And don't worry. I'm not ...

9. Proper 8

Mark 5:21-43

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

... to reach out with the healing touch. It is precisely when one is most unloveable that we are called to love. A handclasp or the gentle meeting of eyes can be a welcome touch, an invitation to return to life. Now, about unholy touch. Touch, human contact, is a connecting point between the tangible and the intangible. It symbolizes the faith that connects us with each other and to God. I once told Jairus, "Do not fear, only believe." These words held one meaning in my early ministry. They hold even fuller ...

10. Reality Check

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... joy of the birth of a child; and Jesus is there in the aching loneliness of the shut-in. Jesus is there at the repeated failures of his followers, and he is there in our successes also. Reality is where Jesus and human beings come into contact. As we look closely, we discover that Jesus not only encountered human beings both in the extraordinary and in the routing, but he repeatedly led them where they had not expected – and often did not want – to go. "Behold, I make all things new," Jesus says. And ...

11. Discharges Causing Uncleanness

Leviticus 15:1-33

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... days and anyone who touches her becomes unclean. Concerns with the spread of the uncleanness are familiar by now. Anything the woman sits or lies on will be unclean, as will anyone who touches these objects. Any man who lies with the woman and contacts the monthly flow will be unclean for seven days, and any bed he lies on will also be unclean. The man finds himself in the same circumstance of cultic impurity as does the woman. Perhaps the case envisioned here is when menstruation begins during intercourse ...

12. Lent 4

Psalm 32:1-11, Joshua 5:1-12, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Luke 15:1-7

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... Jewish community if he was taking care of pigs. They were considered to be an unclean animal so a Jewish farmer would not raise them. For a Jew to take care of pigs meant that he had sunk very low and was willing to ignore a religious taboo about contact with an unclean animal. It is a sign of his desperate situation. 6. "Pods." (v. 16) The pods were from the carob tree. They had little nutritious value for humans and were considered only fit as animal food. 7. "He Came to Himself." (v. 17) This is an idiom ...

13. The Vine And The Branches

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... there is within us that which is above us, we shall soon yield to that which is around us.” For a few of us, being united in Christ will be a mystical experience which is beyond words to express. For most of us, it will mean a constant contact with Jesus Christ. It will mean arranging life, and prayer, and worship, and silence in such a way that there is never a day when we give ourselves a chance to forget him. Many years ago there was a convention of the Barbers Supply Association. As a publicity stunt ...

14. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Jesus reached out and touched the man. No one reached out and touched lepers. After all, they were ceremonially unclean. William Barclay tells us, “Contact with a leper defiled the person who had that contact. The law enumerated sixty‑one different contacts which brought defilement, and the defilement which the contact with a leper brought was second only to the defilement caused by contact with a dead body. If a leper so much as put his head inside a house everything in it became unclean, even to the ...

15. Proper 6

Luke 7:36-50, Galatians 2:11-21, 1 Kings 21:1-29, Psalm 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... not depend on what happens to the outside of a person. It depends on what happens internally. The real cleansing of life occurs when the Holy Spirit is active within to change motivation which leads to a change of behavior. Jesus could be pure despite his contact with the woman who had been a sinner. Simon, who held himself detached from her, may have been less than pure because of his internal attitude. So persons are not dependent for purity by what is outside of them. They depend upon the life of Christ ...

16. Proper 10

Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 1:1-14, Amos 7:10-17, Psalm 82:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... Future. He planned to return. He put his credit on the line. 5. Go and Do Likewise. (v. 37) The Lawyer was admonished to act, not just to theorize. A. Identify the Need B. Enter into the Situation C. Follow through to the Solution CONTACT Points of Contact 1. Helping Our Neighbor. The church should not be just a place to meet our needs. The church should be a neighborly Samaritan in the community where it exists. Every community has people who are hurting and are in need of mercy. Christians and churches ...

17. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... of raising chickens since it would bring in more cash than general farming. He spent hours figuring the costs of the buildings. He got down to figuring how many nails it would take to put up the buildings. He talked to all the people he could contact about how best to construct the needed facilities both to save costs and to have quality buildings. He looked at what all it would take to feed the chickens, take care of possible diseases, and maximize the possibility for profit from his investment. Only then ...

18. Proper 25

Psalm 65:1-13, Luke 18:9-14, Joel 2:28-32, 2 Timothy 4:9-18, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... for having humbled himself in obedience to God.) B. How to Be Humble. It is not a claim made. It is a recognition bestowed. 1. After Obedience to God 2. In Service to Others 3. Death to Self-will 4. Having the Mind of Christ CONTACT Points of Contact 1. Self-Evaluation. A prime requisite for being justified in God's sight is to have an honest evaluation of one's self. That involves an awareness of imperfections. No person is perfect and without sin. Persons are unable to sustain their own lives. Without ...

19. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... Christ, and reflection on what the will of God calls us to do each day. It also means acknowledging our failures, accepting forgiveness, and through gratitude for the opportunity for new beginnings to seek to be more faithful in producing good fruits. A further way to stay in contact with the source of Christian life is to look upon each person with whom we relate and to try to see him as Christ would see him. We look at him not in our self-righteousness, but asking, "What do I see of Christ in this person ...

20. Focus On The Son

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... minds. And then to quote George exactly: "But by sending Jesus to live among us and show the way, God focused and localized his power. His Son became the light of the world."2 That's it! Christ is like a transformer that enables us to make contact with God's life-changing power. The worship service, in particular worship during the Advent season, helps us to focus our attention on the Son. Look at the music: the organ prelude and postlude, the hymns and anthems. Look at the scriptures and the sermon. Look ...

21. The Shepherd And His Flock

John 10:1-21

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... God and may attract a following. Persons need help in recognizing the false prophets from the genuine call of Jesus as the good Shepherd. A. Voice accords with scripture B. Voice does not serve self-interest C. Voice and life authentically relates to Christ CONTACT Points of Contact 1. Listen to Him. Jesus did not so much call people to believe him, but to follow him. Of course, one cannot follow a person very long unless one believes in him. In another sense, one cannot really test the reality of a person ...

22. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

23. The Priesthood of All Believers

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... literary talents to put the gospel in written form and to give us the history of the early church. What guiding principles are there for the work of the lay priests? Let the Alcoholics Anonymous be our example. They represent the same kind of contact work as the church. This organization of alcoholics who are trying to rise to a higher level and to help other alcoholics to do the same has done a better job than any impersonal temperance program. Their first principle is this: know yourself. Face yourself ...

24. He Touched Me

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... that no one touch a leper. They were ritually unclean. Secondly, leprosy is a loathsome disease in which the skin putrefies on the body. Who wants to touch someone in such a condition? So, this man may have gone for many years without the simplest human contact. Think about that, years without a touch. Every one of us needs physical, human touching. Experts tell us that infants need to be held a lot. You know who those experts are? Mothers. The moms here can talk about that basic need for physical warmth. I ...

25. The Healing Touch

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... as hugs. He speaks of the "A-frame hug," where two people come together and their heads touch -- but nothing else. He says that the effect is a massive leaning, so that the people look like a ski lodge. Another non-hug he calls the "chest-to-chest burp." Chest contact is made, but this makes people so nervous they start patting each other on the back as if they were burping a baby. He says that is our way of reducing the other person to a safe, infantile status. A real hug, Rooney says, is a full body hug ...

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