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 417 results

1. A Converting Presence

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of depressing gospel. These are not wild tears foreign to the harvest of the healthy personality. Jesus is not at war with our human nature. Now that’s good news. Put it down. Jesus is not at war with our human nature. He does not say that our instincts were born of evil or that the only hope is to cast them out, or to beat them down or to suppress them way down inside. But rather Jesus understood perfectly in the realm of human nature, what Luther Burbank understood in the realm of plant nature, that ...

2. Come Home

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... are two big choices in life. “Hiding out” might seem like a short term, smart choice. But with that choice comes the rejection of any chance of a “homecoming,” for the joy of entering into the pleasure of the Master. And you and I were made with a homing instinct that yearns for a homecoming. To be sure, we have become an incredibly mobile people. We fly, we drive, we bus, we boat, we bike all over the planet. How many of you now live in the “home town” you grew up in? How many of you need to ...

3. Famine of the Heart

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to find meaning and purpose in our lives, build relationships and community, and find fulfillment and peace within our hearts and souls. If we are Jewish or Christian, we turn to find solace and guidance in God’s direction for our lives, especially when our instincts tend to blind us to our deeper needs. For when we allow our animal nature to run awry, the more our lairs fill with bounty, the more we deplete the fullness and wellness of our spirits. When this happens, I like to say, we are experiencing ...

4. Adam And Jesus See Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David Belgum

... understand this when they demand, "Give me the bread, man!" And a meaningless life can devour bread, steak, champagne, and prostitutes. Oh, you can get a lot of stuff with money. You can satisfy every instinct in your body and still not be as well off as the critters of Adam's day who had no further obligations than to obey animal instinct. But we can't turn the clock back. Today we are responsible to know the difference between bread and the Bread of Life. Jesus said he wanted us to have life and have it ...

5. Led By The Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... (or woman). When it comes time to make a decision, the first thing we think about is growth and profit. How can we earn or save money? How can we keep our "nest egg?" Yes, that is what we need to do. Others of us have the instincts of a reformer. The status quo must be challenged. The system is not working. Whatever promotes freedom and liberation from oppresive existing structures is good, and we must get behind such movements. Live for today; let the future take care of itself. The great enemy is ...

6. The Ten Commandments #6: No Murder

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... pain is so deep that death seems better than life. No, we may never have blown someone's head off, but this IS a commandment we need to hear. "You shall not murder." The issues are complex. On the one hand, the commandment was given to control society's baser instincts. But, on the other, it is a reminder that life is special. It is the word of a gracious and loving God who wants you to know that YOU are special...and you and you and you...and even me. And God showed just HOW special by sending Jesus to ...

7. The Four Sacred Chords of Home

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sick.” Who first said “home is where the heart is?” Home is not just where the heart is. Home is our main hope of having a heart to begin with. But is it really the “heart,” our true and pure emotional yearnings, that drives our homing-instinct? If an emotional fix was all we needed, then a few smarmy Christmas specials should suffice. But what if “home” is where our soul soars and our spirit is fulfilled? What if “home” has as much to do with our Heavenly Father and the future that awaits ...

8. The Lord Is (More Than) My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... by the most ridiculous things; though at other times nothing can move them. They are absolutely defenseless . . .” Pastor Edward Markquart notes that sheep really are dumb animals. Part of this is due to their strong herd instincts. If one sheep goes over a cliff, the whole herd will go over the cliff as well. Their herd instinct is so strong that a pot of food is set out for the sheep, if the lead sheep did not eat from that pot of food, all the other sheep would die of starvation. Sheep are dumb ...

9. The Flock Paradox

2 Samuel 5:1-5, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Shopping for a gift for others, we often find things we desire for ourselves as well! We like to have what others have. We like to do what others do. Some call it “keeping up with the Joneses.” Scientists call it the “flock syndrome.” It’s the crowd instinct we all have to imitate and copy. We all have two strong drives within us. One is to individuate, to be special, to self-affirm. The other is to imitate, to fit in, to conform. These often feed off of each other when it comes to the flock. Some ...

10. Badger or Bonobo?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... far more welcome to us than those who differ. This is the root of all bias. At base, human beings are instinctively territorial. In our scripture for today, Jesus continues to teach his disciples what I like to call “Lessons in Leadership.” Last ... of the “Jesus Leadership Development Program” meant that you needed to widen your umbrella, broaden your view, put your territorial instincts aside, and become a collaborative leader, working together, even with those who may not be part of your inner circle ...

11. The TV Audience

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... our pastor would talk to us directly rather than reading the sermon!" At the first sign that the speaker's main focus is on the manuscript rather than the people, today's listeners tune out. Professionals in public speaking know that. Television speakers instinctively know that their presence in the room is only electronic, not personal, and they know that it becomes even more impersonal if they read. So they use teleprompters to give the illusion of not reading. If a network newscaster kept looking down at ...

12. Achieving An All-In Victory - 1952

1 John 5:1-12

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... I admire. In him they live and move and have their being - and their power to possess me, all of me. Every self stands at attention and salutes - in ready and glad obedience, in his presence. Or better, every one of me bows in reverence and devotion. Instinctively I identify the best me with that incarnation of what I might be - and the rest of me somehow lines up in submissive allegience. I commit all of me to him. And when he takes command I come alive with a sense of integration, unity, oneness. The ...

13. Sons And Daughters Of Thunder

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" To which the brothers James and John replied. "We are able." ONE THING JAMES AND JOHN DID NOT LACK WAS CONFIDENCE. And that is good. Years ago Wallace Hamilton called it "the drum major instinct." There is a drive within us to be number one and we do not need to apologize for that. On February 4, 1993, Larry Bird said good-bye to his fans at Boston Garden. A special 2-1/2-hour affair marked the retiring of Bird's jersey and the ...

14. If Christ Had Not Come

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (I Corinthians 15:15-19) Noticing that the sad-faced gentleman is about to break under his load of grief and sorrow, I instinctively begin to quote to Him the comforting words of Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a ...

15. Going Home for Christmas?

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... . They observed them, studied them, tagged them, and then let them go. The newspaper article then shared that 15 days and many thousands of miles later, the birds were back home on their island of origin. I have always been moved by this homing instinct, which Norman Rockwell captures so beautifully in many of his paintings. The family is gathered around a table with faces reflecting the special joy of the occasion. There is a beautiful song that is popular around this time of year that captures this homing ...

16. Seeking the Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Richard J. Fairchild

... grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God, the God who had to have a sense of humour to have created the likes of us." I'd say Erma had a very fine instinct, a God-like instinct, and an instinct for gathering and for loving. God loves you. God looks for you. God wants to ease your pains. God wants to make you whole. Allow him. Listen for his voice. Follow him when he calls to you. Do as he asks. You will discover wonderful parts to ...

17. Look Who's Talking

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... group. The first people we hear talking in this episode are the critics. Then comes Peter's chance to talk. What follows is commendably charitable. Peter's tone is not defensive, and his purpose is not self-justification. It seems to be our natural human instinct, when we are attacked, to defend ourselves and even attack back. While natural, though, it is not consistent with either the teachings of Jesus or the example of Jesus. We sense here that this close follower of Jesus had learned well from his ...

18. God's Most Unmistakable Message

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

... lowest common denominator. You've probably seen films of Hitler whipping the crowds of Germany into a frenzy by the mere power of his words. The crowd in Jesus' day was the one that wanted him dead. It wanted blood. Their killer instincts were aroused, instincts like a pack of hunting dogs on the trail of game. "Crucify him, crucify him!" They did not care about justice. Their apathy drove the spikes while neglect held him down. The seventh and final group was the soldiers. They squelched their individual ...

19. Second Thoughts

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... the Levite and the Samaritan in my own spiritual journey. It was late afternoon and, as a busy pastor, I was hurrying to get home in my car for a quick supper. Suddenly as I rounded a bend, I came upon two elderly women struggling to change a flat tire. Instinctively I took my foot off the gas and slowed down. I knew I should stop and help them. After all, that's the Christian thing to do. But right at that moment, I met the Levite in my own soul, and those second thoughts pounced on me! To myself I ...

20. To All Those Who Have, More Will Be Given

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

... entrusted me with the gifts of compassion and you told me to use them. It took a while, but it finally dawned on me that you said if I hugged and felt and cried with people, they would come to know you. So I began trying to do as my instincts guided. At first I was kind of clumsy at it, and it made me feel nervous. But the more I expressed my compassion to others, the easier it got, and the better I became at being with people wherever they were." Jesus responded, "Well done, good and trustworthy disciple ...

21. The Meek

Sermon

John A. Terry

... of being a wimp. He was viewed as a troublemaker, and that is why he was crucified. Yet, he referred to himself as meek. "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek" (Matthew 11:29 KJV). Consider these descriptions of the meek: "People ... who instinctively react with love are the meek. The person who is too weak to love when it hurts thinks that meek people are afraid. They are, in a way, but they are afraid of hating. It is easier to hate, sometimes, than to love, and meek people have to be ...

22. The Meek

Psalm 37:1-40

Sermon

John A. Terry

23. Fleshing Out The Word

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Larry Powell

... same day each year - March 19. It is documented that, despite the 6,000 mile journey, they have regularly returned on this date except in 1935 when they were delayed by storms. To be sure, there is a controlling, powerful force innate to the animal kingdom - instinct - but it is not supremely pivotal to the fulfillment of God's plan. Tradition. No one would question that tradition is an influential factor upon any social setting, but to claim that it is the epoxy which binds a community or area together is ...

24. Time and Stewardship

Sermon

Larry Powell

... ) today than for genuine "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." I also have a notion that the latter is more difficult than the former. MOVING ON The caribou is one of God's most fascinating creatures. Instinctively, each year the surviving herds embark upon an incredibly determined trek of some 500 miles, traversing the most rugged, almost prohibitive portions of the great Northwest. The reason for this tortuous journey, we are told, is to arrive at a ...

25. Cross Purposes

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... is true, "Cleanliness is next to godliness." The cross is not concerned primarily with physical cleanliness. It deals with spiritual cleansing. Instinctively man has the same desire to be clean in soul. Often we feel we need a spiritual bath. We have ... so grateful that we change our lives by the grace of God. When we fully know how good and loving God has been to us, we instinctively respond by saying, "God, you have been so good to me; what can I do for you?" Out of appreciation, a believer now wants to love ...

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