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 713 results

1. Turning Pity-Parties into Praise-Parties

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is done, when by thy grace the victory's won, e'en death's cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me. (Refrain) In our text for today, an imprisoned Paul, facing an impending death, entitled to some self-pitying, still manages to offer his Philippian companions in Christ a new “magazine,” a new “storehouse” for containing their redemptive, loving experiences of Christ’s resurrection power in their lives. Paul’s Praise Magazine is not a list of “this and that’s.” Paul ...

2. You Can't Tell A Book By Its Cover

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... just isn't fair." The truth is ...that's true. Life isn't fair. Yet, to give in to that fact and adopt a stance of self-pity is paralyzing. Listen to this: "Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision." Let that sink in. "Just ... may seem right for you to feel that life isn't fair -- and to become so lost in that fact that you give in, either to self-pity or envy. But that way leads to death. It may seem right for you to think you are better than others, but to walk that way ...

3. Leave Your Stuff Behind

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honor. We don’t need to go into the new year with self-pity because God is no our side. God has created us. God has affirmed us. And God is going to be with us. II. Leaving ... we must leave this behind. III. Leaving behind Cancelled Sin. Well there’s a lot of stuff we ought to leave behind, along with self-pity and illegitimate responsibility, we can’t name them all, but let me mention one other bundle that needs to be cast off as we stride ...

4. If Only... Next Time

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... She likened the choices of life to standing before a button panel. "You push the down button for bitterness, resentment, and self-pity. Or you can push the up button and draw closer to God, closer to others and to be a better person. ... get the picture? The difference between a "what if" and a "next time" approach to life. "If only" with its expressions of regret, revenge, and self-pity is a protest against God. "Next time" is a vote of confidence in the future and an affirmation of faith in God who is always ...

5. When Are We Most Like God?

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... 6. “Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. When she opened it she saw the child; and lo, the babe was crying. She took pity on him and said, ‘This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” (Exodus 2: 5-6 RSV). Let’s focus on a very human dimension of the story that is captured there in the sixth verse. When she opened the little ark, she saw the child. The baby was crying, and ...

6. The Master Has Come - And Is Moved With Compassion

Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

... people came to hear and see him. They hung on every word. They longed for the healing touch. Then, Matthew says, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:35-38) It was not pity Jesus had. He did not feel sorry for these people. He felt the pain of love. We see this compassion of Jesus, this pain of love, in other places. On one occasion, a large crowd had come to hear him. After he had healed the sick he said to ...

7. The Wholeness Question: Do You Want To Be Made Well?

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... let me move on. The exercise of our will is essential for wholeness. II. Before we go to the next signal that speaks to the issue of wholeness -- which is the signal of faith, let's take a little side path and consider a primary barrier to wholeness: Our self pity. A friend told me about his little girl injuring her knee. Like most little girls, she came to her mom and dad to show them the full extent of her scraped knee. After taking time to bandage it, they sent her on her way to play. Some hours later ...

8. When Nature Says No

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of his story but not all of it. Two years ago, he was a hopeless addict. His marriage was on the rocks. In desperation he came here, heard the Gospel - the word of a new possibility. He became a part of Christians in Recovery, began to rise above self-pity and despair, trusted the Lord, expected something to happen - and it did - and that’s what he was telling me about. Something did happen. Tears of joy were in his eyes as he expressed gratitude. He is a new person and his marriage is new as well. That ...

9. Redrawing The Landscape

Multiple Scriptures

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... healed Samaritan stepped forward to write a gospel, did they? Those who followed and loved Jesus were the ones who lived close up with him; and those were the ones He occasionally became angry with. So much of our fear and consequently our anger comes from self-pity. A family member has made it big and we haven't. Someone with not nearly as much talent as we have has gotten a lucky break and left us in the dust. Few activities in life are more debilitating and more responsible for resentment and anger than ...

10. Forgive To Be Forgiven

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... find fault, gossip, and be judgmental of sinners. How do we treat a divorcee in our church? Though we may not approve, can we forgive a homosexual or a lesbian? Do we exclude drug addicts? How do we feel about an unmarried teenager who is pregnant? Is there pity in our hearts? Do we weep for them and reach out in forgiveness, or do we shun them, not speak to them, and give them looks of disapproval? The president of a church youth group became pregnant. When the church heard about it, the first reaction was ...

11. A Parable in a Miracle

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... or pause he interrupts whatever is going on. Kneeling there, he gives his piteous plea. “If you want to, you can make me clean.” Then there is packed into one beautiful sentence, almost everything Jesus was about. Listen as Philipps translates it: “Jesus was filled with ‘pity for him, and stretched out his hand and placed it on the leper, saying ‘Of course, I want to be clean!” (Mark 1:41 Philips) That tells it all. Stay with that encounter for just a moment to get the full impact of it. By law ...

12. What Can I Get By With?

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... children and keeping the home going. You don’t use the same words, but you affirm the thought: “A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.” And fathers don’t escape either. We’re moving toward a damaging self-pity when we begin to say things like, “I’d hoped the children would more appreciative, that they would be self-supporting by this time.” We’re all victims of it. “What’s the use?” we say, “the people in Washington get away with murder, the rich get ...

13. The Still Small Voice

1 Kings 19:1-8

Sermon

Steven Burt

... ’t say whose voice -- came to him, asking simply, “EIijah, what are you doing here?” EIijah answers. But listen to the self-pity he’s developed “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy ... God. In Elijah’s case he is told to get back to taking care of business. Get out of the cave mood and the self-pity mode. His strength is refreshed, his faith is strengthened, he renews his commitment, and he regains his vision. He knows what he has to ...

14. Birthright Blues

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Justin Tull

... dilemma is why this Old Testament lesson is so important to us and so relevant. It asks us if we join Esau in hating our birthright. It asks us if we are willing to settle for the moment, if we treat cheaply what has great value, if we pity ourselves when we have been given much. So where are you right now? Are you slipping into the “birthright blues?” Are you celebrating your “birthday bonanza?” And regardless of where you are right now, where do you want to be? Does Esau’s route sound okay? Sell ...

15. An Affirming Presence

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... us psychotic, because if allowed to run its course, feelings of worthlessness turn into suspicion and hatred of others. Most of the people who commit suicide have become the victims of this disease. It goes by various names, according to how deeply we feel it - self pity, self depreciation, lack of self worth, low self-esteem, little or no self affirmation. And the awful thing about it is, is that it is so tenacious in the hold that it has upon us. My own confession will make the point. This has been the ...

16. If Only -- In Spite Of

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the choices of life to standing before a button-panel. "You push the down button," she said, "for bitterness, resentment, and self-pity. Or you can push the up-button and draw closer to God, closer to others, and be a better person. It's ... you see it? There are basically two ways to live -- we can adopt that gift only response to life which is a response of self-pity; or, we can live in spite of, claiming the power of Christ to take responsibility for our thorn in the flesh, take responsibility and live with ...

17. Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... to know and understand God’s will so that we can do it. Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Mercy is not, necessarily, pity. If we are not very careful we will mentally paraphrase this beatitude to read, “Blessed are the pitiful for they shall be pitied.” Nothing could be further from the point. The mercy mentioned here is not a feeling if pity; it is an action taken. Matthew is referring to concrete acts of mercy. This kind of action is much more dangerous than mere feelings of ...

18. The Persecuted

Sermon

John A. Terry

... only a few people came. Apologetically, the host pastor said to the visiting pastor, "If it had not been for the bad weather, we would have had a large crowd to hear you tonight." At first, it angered the visiting preacher, but quickly his anger turned to pity and contempt. Looking at his host, he said, "Do you realize what you have just said? If the weather had not been bad, a larger crowd would have come to this Good Friday service. Jesus died on Good Friday, but His followers did not come to the service ...

19. The Persecuted

John 15:18-27

Sermon

John A. Terry

20. Life Begins at Thirty-Eight

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... had been coming there for thirty-eight years, and the water was troubled an average of once a day, then that would mean that he had been disappointed 13,870 times! That would be enough to make anyone despair! And, to make matters worse, it seems that this pitiful individual had no friends to help him into the pool. Perhaps at first he had some friends who had brought him to this place the first time, but they long since seem to have become weary of him and lost interest in his case. Perhaps they had grown ...

21. Skin Game

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... — concurs that anger could be considered the more accurate word in describing Jesus' emotion. If you are like I am, that may come as something of a shock. Isn't this gentle Jesus, meek and mild? How could a petition from a helplessly outcast and pitiful leper have inspired him to anger? Inasmuch as we feel that way, we may be like those ancient scribes who, faithfully copying this text, may have thought that the scribe before them had made a mistake, so they wrote in a verb they thought more appropriate ...

22. The Healing Power of Faith

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... exhausted, or he could have had no time for interruptions; but the lepers didn’t care. They were so desperate they would interrupt him no matter what. They stood at a distance as the law demanded and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Have you ever been that desperate for Christ’s healing touch, either for yourself or for someone you love? Some of you have. This can be a cruel world. Good people can be afflicted in terrible ways. The pain is not always physical. Sometimes ...

23. So, You Want to Get Well?

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... or so it seemed to everyone there; everyone but Jesus. Jesus saw beyond what seemed to be happening all the way to what was actually happening. He had the perspective of eternity and the power of God over death. Others saw only the misery of a pitiful child suffering and dying. Others saw only the tragedy. Jesus saw what God wanted to accomplish in that tragedy. When Jesus said, "The child is asleep," the people scorned him with ridicule and laughter. Jesus saw that the little girl could be awakened like it ...

24. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

... gave me this, mother gave me that, my mother gave me that, my mother gave me that," until his wife wishes she had married his mother. Oh, I pity a rich man's son. I do. Until he gets so far along in his dudeism that he gets his arms up like that and can't ... contemptible American monkey! He couldn't carry paper and envelopes twenty feet. I suppose he could not get his arms down. I have no pity for such travesties of human nature. If you have no capital, I am glad of it. You don't need capital; you need common ...

25. I Love You — If You Know What I Mean

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

John B. Jamison

... doesn’t mean we are emotionally ‘in love’ with them. It means we value them as fellow children of God and will help them when they have a need. But one Bible version of John’s passage says we should show pity for the suffering. Isn’t showing pity an action? I think John would say that, if we pity someone who is suffering, it does not mean we feel sorry for them or we are saying “tsk tsk” while we shake our heads at how unfortunate they are and why we believe they are where they are. For John ...

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