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 180 results

1. Tears And Ointment

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Larry Powell

... prominent here as is determination, perhaps even desperation. When one's mind is locked-in on a single thought and the will is riveted to the pursuit of that thought, social niceties and topical etiquette are not always observed. Just because the woman was of ill repute is no sign that she did not know how to be civil. Apparently, she had only one thing on her mind: getting to Jesus. Why? It is rather commonly held among commentators that the fact the woman came "prepared" to anoint Jesus indicates that the ...

2. “Why Do You Boast of Evil, You Mighty Hero?”

Psalm 52:1-9

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... (the part for the whole), the psalmist uses the tongue to represent the whole person, the point being that the mighty hero is such a “man of his word” that he has become synonymous with his tongue (his word), and sadly a tongue of ill reputation. This poem brings into focus the potential of human speech to become a lethal weapon, in this case, a “sharpened razor” (52:2), and the one who brandishes this dangerous weapon is exercised by an inverted ethic (52:3, 4), loving evil more than good ...

3. Gomer, God's "Yet"

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... 've been a better story if it had been named for Hosea's wife and I was hoping, but our church member, Martha Evans, a lifelong resident of Gomer set me straight. Hosea's wife, Gomer, was not nice. I'm trying to be nice. She was a woman of "ill-repute," of bad reputation. And she continued as such even after she got married to Hosea. In the part of the story we read from the Book of Hosea, we hear of the birth of three children to Gomer: a son, Jezreel; a daughter, Lo-ruhamah; a son, Lo-ammi. They ...

4. Shaping People's Lives Through Forgiveness

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Brett Blair

... ? This is one of the qualities that separate the great men from the ordinary. In our story this morning (in Luke 7) certain insights are being expressed. A gathering of men at a diner party has just witnessed a woman, who they all know to be a woman of ill repute, walk into the room with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume. She walks up behind Jesus and kneels. She is crying. As she weeps her tears fall onto his feet. She uses her hair as a towel to dry his feet and then she pours the expensive perfume on ...

5. The Ministry Of Making Many Rich

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... circumstances. Look at verses six through eight: “By purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness, for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute.” All of this, he was saying, was the witness of their faith — witness to who they were — servants of God. What a beautiful word that tenth verse is — as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many ...

6. A Christian's Resumé

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... the world, as represented in those who do not believe in Jesus' saving grace. And there is the point of view of God, who now judges Paul's life through what Jesus has accomplished. As Paul puts it, he is looked upon "in honor, and in dishonor; in ill repute and good repute." He says that as Christians we are "treated as imposters, and yet are true; as unknown and yet are well known; as dying and see - we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many ...

7. More Power to You!

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... has surprised the powerful? · Abraham and Sarah: the oldest, most barren parents of a nation. · Moses: the stuttering, tongue-tied spokesmen for a people. · David: the youngest, scrawniest, dreaming-est choice for king. · Rahab: the woman of ill-repute whose reputation for loyalty still stands tall. · Joseph: the spoiled, useless little brother who fed his people throughout a death-dealing drought. · Jeremiah: the craziest sane voice preaching hope to the hopelessly exiled. · Ruth: who took her own ...

8. When All Is Said and Done

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... , beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet we are well known; as dying, and see — we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet ...

9. After Katrina

Song of Songs 8:1-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... calamity. That was a line of reasoning which many people were quick to accept, for at least it made some sense of the disaster. However, in Johnstown it met with much amusement because, as anyone who knew his way about could readily see, the houses of ill repute up on Green Hill had not only survived the disaster, but were going stronger than ever. "If punishment was God's purpose," said one survivor, "He sure had bad aim."(2) Not a few ministers chose to talk about the spirit of sympathy that was sweeping ...

10. 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

... Christ also searches diligently and seeks our recovery when we are lost. The other side of Jesus as a friend of sinners is that Christians should also be seeking the lost. Christians should be bold in their contacts and association with those whom others consider of ill repute. They will not contaminate the Christian who goes in search of the lost with the intent to restore them in right relations to God. 2. How Lost? Each person can become lost. It can happen in the same ways as the various figures in the ...

11. 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

... to mingle with or even to have physical contact with people who were frequently shunned by others. He healed the lepers. He entered into conversation with the Samaritan woman and brought healing to her. He accepted the bathing of his feet by a woman of ill repute. He dined with people considered gluttons and outcasts. He did not put people down or ignore them but sought to uplift and heal them. Those who would follow the teachings and examples of Jesus are more likely to be found serving the poor, the ...

12. Seeing The Whole Person

John 4:1-26

Sermon

David Belgum

... harder for a "perfect" or terribly normal and average person to accept deformity and deficiency. Jesus explained it like this in the case of another Samaritan Woman type. The Pharisees noticed quickly that the woman, anointing Jesus' feet at the dinner table, was a woman of ill repute. If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him -- that she is a sinner ... [Jesus replied] she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, [or who has ...

13. The Righteousness Of God

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

"Hardships ... beatings ... imprisonment ... sleepless nights ... hunger ... in dishonor ... in ill repute ... unknown ... sorrowful ... poor." It sounds like a street person being described. Wrong! These are word snapshots of the life of the apostle Paul that picture what a follower of Christ must be ready to bear. Paul was a "street person" of sorts, pounding the pavement in the first century from ...

14. Changing the "Too Much Syndrome"

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

David M. Oliver

... were the least, the last, and the lost of society. The beloved Son of God had his humble birth announced by angels to a group of shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep outside of Bethlehem. Ironically, shepherds were held in such ill repute that their testimony was not allowed in a court of law. They were viewed as social outcasts, scoundrels, liars, and cheats. God chose to give those whom society declared as having nothing worthwhile to say the greatest news ever heard by human ears. Through ...

15. Saints With Crooked Haloes

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... to be the George Washington of Israel, a wanted murderer whose picture was on all the post office walls of Egypt. But that's what God did, and Moses was equal to the task. A saint with a crooked halo. Consider a woman named Rahab. She ran a house of ill-repute in Jericho's red-light district. Yet she was the key inside person in God's plan to overthrow Jericho. And, the gospel writer Matthew lists her as an ancestress of Jesus! Now, that's a saint with a crooked halo! The point is this: God does not use ...

16. PHILOSOPHERS

Acts 17:18

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... the Western world about 600 B.C., it was the search for truth of every kind - the ultimate meaning of the universe, and the reasons for and the meaning of all phenomena. This, of course, makes it self-evident why the early Christians held philosophy in ill repute - they had the ultimate meaning and they felt that anyone who chose to look for meanings anywhere than in Christ was to be shunned. Of course, there were many who refused to hold to such a strict view as advocated by St. Paul, since the philosopher ...

17. Broken Pieces

Matthew 1:3, 5, 6

Sermon

James Merritt

... not going to believe this, but the second woman that is mentioned here, another branch in the family tree of Jesus—a piece of the mosaic, was a prostitute by trade. She was what one Bible scholar called, "The Madame of Jericho." You heard it right - a woman of ill repute is a part of the family tree of the Son of God. Outside of Matthew, every time Rahab is referred to in scripture, she is referred to as "Rahab, the prostitute." It is almost as if God does not want us to forget what she was and who she ...

18. Liberated Women

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... liberation was literal. Jesus had liberated her from “seven demons.” We don’t know what that means seven demons. Perhaps Mary suffered from what is known in the modern vernacular as Multiple Personality Disorder. History has labeled Mary as a woman of ill repute before she encountered Jesus. That’s just speculation. Nowhere does the New Testament say that about her. All we know for certain is that Mary had some serious problems before she met Jesus. And Jesus healed her. Jesus can do that. He can ...

19. Shaping People’s Lives through Forgiveness - Sermon Starter

Luke 7:36-50

Illustration

Brett Blair

... This is one of the qualities that separate the great men from the ordinary. In our story this morning (in Luke 7) certain insights are being expressed. A gathering of men at a dinner party has just witnessed a woman, who they all know to be a woman of ill repute, walk into the room with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume. She walks up behind Jesus and kneels. She is crying. As she weeps her tears fall onto his feet. She uses her hair as a towel to dry his feet and then she pours the expensive perfume on ...

20. The New-Covenant Ethic of Love

Romans 12:9-21

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... and Cultural Background 1. Verse 13b mentions the importance of hospitality in the early church. Third John 5–8 shows how important hospitality was in the early Christian centuries for the spreading of the gospel. There were inns, but these were of ill repute; most travelers preferred to find lodging with friends, relatives, and acquaintances or those to whom they bore letters of introduction and recommendation (see Matt. 10:9–13; 2 Cor. 3:1; Heb. 13:1–2). 2. Paul speaks of persecution in 12 ...

21. Love

Romans 12:9-21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... church as a koinōnia, a sharing community of believers. Sharing was an appropriate reminder for Roman Christians who, because they lived in the capital city, received many visitors. In at least some quarters local inns were places of ill-repute. When this was the case, principle was augmented by necessity to provide lodging for the community’s needy, and particularly for itinerant missionaries and preachers. In light of the probable conflicts between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome following the ...

22. The Call

Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 1:14-20, Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Will Willimon

... lay down your life for a political cause, they call you a ''hero." It all comes down to what you believe to be reasonable. Jesus squats in the dust. He looks around at the assembled ex-IRS' agents, failed fishermen, carpenters, unwed mothers, and women of ill-repute and says, ''I'm going to take over the world. The revolution begins here. And guess who's going to help me? And some, twelve or so, were crazy enough to believe him, defiant enough to go against the world's names for them. Such ''unreason'' is ...

23. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Sarcastic Introduction Job’s response to Bildad’s third speech is extended (six chapters long)—even for the usually loquacious Job! Many commentators divide up the chapters attributed to Job to supply an extension to Bildad’s brief speech, as well as to wholly reconstruct a missing third speech for Zophar. Such reconstruction, however, can only proceed on a presumptive assumption of what each speaker would have said—and is thus controlled ultimately by the reconstructor’s theory rather than challenged and ...

24. Asa King of Judah

2 Chronicles 14:2-15

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

Asa: The Chronicler dedicates the next narrative episode to the reign of King Asa of Judah (ca. 911/910–900 B.C.). As in the Abijah narrative, the Chronicler introduces a significant portion of his own material, creatively restructuring the Asa narrative in the source text (1 Kgs. 15:9–24) within a coherent theological framework. The Deuteronomistic version communicates a positive image of Asa as a king who ensured religious-cultic purity (1 Kgs. 15:11–15), and it narrates an unrelated episode of ...

25. Healing And Forgiveness

Luke 5:17-26

Sermon

Let us pray: Gracious and eternal God, we continue our worship during this season of Lent, seeking to understand the gifts of healing which you bring to our lives. Lord, in these moments, may we catch a glimpse of the truth that your spirit can touch and heal us of our afflictions. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, Amen. There is a story about an old Maori woman in the country of New Zealand who had earned a reputation for being an argumentative, combative person, for which she received the nickname ...

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