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 1114 results

1. Embarrassing Visits

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Mary Austin

... to run in and get a new book. It was fun to talk to the staff, and catch up on their news whenever I went in. But because I knew the library staff so well, there were certain things that I never, ever checked out there. If I had something embarrassing to check out, I went to the library in the next town over, where they didn’t know me… and where I wouldn’t run into my neighbors with a big stack of cringe-worthy books. Remembering that, I have a lot of sympathy for Nicodemus, coming to see Jesus ...

2. Don't Be Ashamed . . .

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... in jail. What if you received a letter from your uncle and it was postmarked the State Penitentiary? Might you not be a little embarrassed in his behalf? Oh, but you say, St. Paul was in jail for the right reason. He was in jail for teaching and preaching ... I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him . . ." Paul is not ashamed. He is not embarrassed. Why? Three good reasons emerge in this text: 1) He knows the One in whom he has put his trust; 2) he has found his vocation ...

3. Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... for the rest of the audience, but if you ask me, Moses should have just left well enough alone. To be honest, I am embarrassed by this request. Not so much because I think it naive, or presumptuous, or even unreasonable. But in part, I suppose, because it ... shadows. The Lord's glory, though, is far too immense to be confined to a stage, much less to a script. And part of the embarrassment, it seems to me, of wanting to point to such glory in the subtle realization that, in so doing, we may actually be trying ...

4. The Medicine Of A Cheerful Heart

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . But I didn't know I had done it, and Jerry saved me in the conversation by covering up for what I had said -- or seeking to cover up. It was only after our friends left that Jerry and Kevin burst into laughter and told me the awful thing -- the embarrassing thing -- that I had said with a slip of my tongue. For two days, Jerry and Kevin and I had laughed about it. And now on Monday morning, they were telling Kerry about it, and were laughing, almost uncontrollably. I don't know when I have been laughed at ...

5. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Others

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Hope Without Strings and Love Without Limits when we see it in others. It moves us. It reminds us that God IS in the ordinary acts and activities of life. But the question it asks is: "What or rather WHO do others see in us? Do they see Compassion Without Embarrassment, Hope Without Strings and Love Without Limits?" We're called not only to look and see God In The Ordinary, we're also called to help others see God In The Ordinary through our lives. "WHO do others see in us? WHO do others see in you?" 1. The ...

6. The Unexpected Jesus

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... you and me. Don't be put off by the formality of "church." Look beyond the robes and rituals. Look to a risen Savior who gave his life for only one purpose: people. Jesus was not what the people of his time expected. Even his own family was embarrassed by him. And Jesus was a very complex man ” not the kind of person you can easily define. But one thing we know. Everything he did ” every lesson he taught ” every indignity that he suffered ” was designed to bring you and me home to God. 1. Bob Morley ...

7. The Weakest Link

1 Timothy 1:12-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... show's Website: Here they are (If you can, set it up so your congregation can hear these slams. You can also vote for the best put down on the US Website.) In today's epistle text Paul's testimony seems to be equally void of self-embarrassment. Paul, in fact, is eager to show that he was the weakest link, the worst sinner, the most guilty among men. He confesses to being a "...blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence..." using terminology that is distinctive enough to recall for readers a terrible ...

8. Righteous!

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... to their moral character but to the quality of their music. It was good music. It was music they could be proud of — and the name stuck. If you are righteous, that means you are somebody. You can stand tall and upright. You have nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. You have now no reason to cower or stoop or flee to the back of the room or hide at the end of the line. You are not a nobody. You are a somebody. You have done yourself well. You can be proud. You are ... righteous! All of us ...

9. Failure Is Not Final

Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon

William L. Self

... around him, sobbing. The coach went over to him and said, "Roy, I said that the team that started the first half will start the second." Roy said, "I can't go out there. I've embarrassed you. I've embarrassed the team. I've embarrassed the University of California, and my family. Everyone connected with me at all has been embarrassed by this horrible thing I've done. I will not play any more football ever." Coach Nibs Price looked at him and said, "Roy, I said to you that the team that started the first ...

10. Worthwhile Arguments

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Richard Patt

... has ever known rose triumphantly on Easter Day. In the presence of that Christ their arguments were small and worthless indeed. And so are many of ours. "What were you arguing about on the road?" What do you argue about? Sometimes it’s a little embarrassing to think about. The other day my wife and daughter came home from the grocery store with some "mini" aluminum cans of grapefruit juice, each enough for one serving. I thought the wiser purchase would have been a single, large economy-size can. Father ...

11. Is There Hope for the Hapless Wedding Guest?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Darrick Acre

... the king’s gracious call, who has responded with eagerness and joy, who has come into the king’s hall only to discover with a shock of shame, that I’m not dressed right. Don’t have the right stuff. Not measuring up! An unsightly spectacle. An embarrassment to my friends, to myself, and to God! And when called to account, I am speechless! Several months ago I raced up the escalator at the Boise Airport and dashed into the men’s restroom only to be instantly confused. It didn’t look right. What ...

12. On Being the Greatest

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Barclay, Daily Study Bible, Mark, Phila.: Westminster Press, 1956, pp. 228-229) Barclay says that there really is no “if” about it, for all deeds are done, all words are spoken in His presence. But Barclay assumes that we know enough about Jesus and His teachings to embarrass us about what we say and do. I am afraid that the fact of the matter is that many Christians are woefully ignorant of the teachings of their Lord. I once read a speech by a President of the United States (he’s dead, so don’t ...

13. Not the Seasons for Figs

Mark 11:12-19

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... are valiant but misguided attempts to discount Mark’s plain statement that this was the wrong season.” (Pulpit Digest, March/April, 1976, p.77) III. WELL, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THIS STORY? It would be too easy to simply dismiss it, because it poses embarrassing questions for us. Mark included it, and he must have done so for a reason. The fact is that only in Mark does Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple come right in the middle of the story of the barren fig tree. It may well be that Mark put ...

14. Shame on You

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... immoral, banally violent and shockingly evil are paraded before us, invited on talk shows, made rich and famous and given control of our streets. It seems there is no longer any sense of shame or guilt or embarrassment operating in our culture. To live without a sense of shame or embarrassment suggests that we can go through our entire lifetime without ever being ashamed of our behavior, no matter what transpires. Consider the arrogance involved in Mayor Daley's statement. Are we really so calloused that we ...

15. Death Has Been Conquered

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... physician phoned the husband and said, “I need to talk to you about the condition of your wife.” “The condition of my wife?” he asked. “She’s dead.” “Well,” the doctor mumbled with embarrassment, “she’s seen a slight improvement.” (2) A slight improvement? Talk about an understatement! The truth of the matter is that once a person has been declared dead, if they revive, they really were not dead at all. There was, instead, a tragic mistake. When a person dies, they really ...

16. You Can't Fool God: Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 4:33 - 5:11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... all of My Fair Lady's hits, hoping that no one would suspect that they never got to see it. (1) Some people are so caught up in appearances that they just can't stand the idea that they might look bad. They can't stand the thought of being embarrassed. In reality most people don't ever really pay attention to the things these kind of people think are important. The healthiest thing for that family to have done was to just laugh about not being able to see the show. But a lot of people don't do the ...

17. Earth, Wind, and Fire

Joel 2:23-32

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... to shame because they will all have equal access to God's revelation. Twice in these verses we are told that God is acting so that the people will not "again be put to shame" (vv. 26- 27). Shame is far more significant than just embarrassment. Embarrassment is a temporary emotional response to a specific situation. Shame is a condition that can become chronic, a state of being that affects our ability to function in the world because it eats away at who we understand ourselves to be. Shame can take ...

18. Know What Time It Is!

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... , the grace of God has little to do with erasing our sins as if God were shocked by our scandalous lives. Like the cleric who turns red at the telling of a dirty joke we seem to think God is forced to look the other way out of divine embarrassment. Jesus knows all about scandal. He was born in a barn. He died on a cross. Religious spokespersons contend that we can only begin living when we get our act together, knock off our naughtiness, and begin to love one another. We are told that to be whole we ...

19. Talk! Talk! Talk!

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... misuse and waste this God-given ability. It was in the early years of my ministry that I was one Sunday preaching my sermon, and I had just gotten well into the sermon, when a baby started to cry down in one of the front pews. The mother, very much embarrassed, snatched up the baby and started out the aisle. I stopped right in my sermon, and I said, "Madam, you don't have to take that baby out. He isn't bothering me." She said, "No? Well, you're certainly bothering him." A man I heard about went to an ...

20. Repent!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... taken from him, fear for the future, determination to go straight - words and feelings poured out of this usually quiet and dignified man. When they were through, he sat huddled, chin on chest, drained of words and emotions. It's hard to face a broken man. It's embarrassing and somewhat unnerving because it reminds us we all are broken in some way. We all put on, for the world, a face we know is a little phony, a face that hides, with mascara or a smile, a lifetime of frustration and anger, worry and guilt ...

21. In Debt Forever!

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... cards and owes his creditors 63% of his net worth. That estimate doesn’t include his or her share of the national debt which will soon exceed one trillion dollars or $5,000 for every man, woman, and child in this country. "Are you in debt so much as to embarrass you in your work?" "Sure I am, bishop!" I should have replied. "And so are you! We’re both in debt forever!" St. Paul agrees - although the debt to which he refers in our text has nothing to do with money. He was just as stern in his admonition ...

22. The Reality Of Sin

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Robert Allen

... fingers at yourself. Adam and Eve were confronted with the reality of their sin. Like Adam and Eve, we have all been confronted with the reality of our sins. We know what it is to feel guilty ... We know what it is to be caught off-base and to be embarrassed ... We know what it is to come up short of what we expect of ourselves ... We know what it is to do things that are wrong, not get caught, and then have to live with it, whatever the frustrations might be. Sin is not simply something from biblical times ...

23. The Forgotten Virtue

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... through, he said. We’d have called him a hobo. He had seen my name on the bulletin board, decided to come in. "But, gee," he said, "you have such a beautiful and classy church here, I hope I didn’t embarrass you by coming." "No, my friend, you didn’t embarrass me." But I was more than embarrassed a few minutes later, when one of the dear ladies of the parish came to me and said, "Pastor, I think the ushers should be a bit more careful about who comes into this church. Did you see that man who ...

24. Scandal!

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

... squarely on himself and his middle- and upper-class friends. Shea recognized that they were so wrapped up in business and that they had allowed Dallas to become the victim of poverty and hatred and fanatic minorities. For his honesty Shea was fired by his embarrassed company and ostracized by his angry friends. The scandal of living for Jack Shea was that he burned a hole into the Dallas conscience. And there is John S. Cram. A few years ago New York policemen raided a loft apartment, a large dingy place ...

25. Good News in the Ashes

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... stories, if we are honest enough to admit it. In short, Clint writes, "Psalm 51 is not just about Israel or David, it is also about us! It is about who we are and how we are as individuals, families, churches -- sin pervades our lives. It is very embarrassing." That is the bad news. What could be more appropriate to consider at the beginning of Lent? But I do not want you leaving here without the rest of the story. You see, Psalm 51 is not just about human nature; it is also about God's nature. "Steadfast ...

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