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 1180 results

1. A Fireside Chat

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... s God sent me, suppose they ask me your name, what shall I tell them?" Committed God tells his man his name: "I AM THAT I AM." "You can fully commit yourself to me, Moses. I have committed myself to you in giving you my name. You can be, not self-confident, but God-confident!" In revealing his name, God is indicating that he has his being of himself ... "I AM." God is self-existent, and dependent upon no other. He is both self-sufficient and all-sufficient. This is God's name forever; "I AM WHO I AM." He is ...

2. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... Job as a man of great wealth who nevertheless loses everything. In all of that extreme loss, however, he remains blameless and undeterred from following after God. 31:24–25 The oath describes an accumulation of gold that becomes a false basis of self-confidence. The second half of the verse even imagines that the oath taker is talking to his treasure: “(If) I have said to gold, ‘My trust!’ ” This reminds us of stereotypical images of misers crooning to their piles of coins, or perhaps Gollum in ...

3. Overcoming The Destructive Dont's That Have Shaped Our Lives

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... stuff itself." (The Right Stuff, quoted by Donald Shelby, "On Being Assertive", August 16, 1981). "People who elbow their way to the top, who win by intimidation, who call attention to themselves with trappings and pomp, all the time bragging about how self-confident and self-sufficient they are, betray their glaring lack of both." (Shelby, Ibid.). Such people are still not trusting, still not willing to risk and be vulnerable. Their lives are still being shaped by destructive don'ts. But when we know that ...

4. Accusations

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... apostleship. The revelation that Paul has received through this experience has mediated the Spirit to the Corinthians, so that they, in turn, become a verification of his true apostleship and a source of his God-given confidence. Such confidence is not self-confidence, therefore, since it comes only through Christ, the author of the apostle’s letter of recommendation (cf. 3:3). 3:5–6 Paul goes on to explain the divine origin of his confidence. Here the apostle explicitly reintroduces the term competent ...

5. Pride Is a Noxious Weed in the Garden of Life

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... Philippians 2:3). The Pharisee had a massive, untreated infestation of pride. Pride is more than a feeling of self-worth. It is more than feeling pleased about what one has accomplished. It is more than enjoying one's success. Pride is to be so overly self-confident that you believe you can do no wrong. It is to believe your equals in the human race are rare. In its most destructive form, pride goes beyond self-assurance to equating self with God. Pride is generally regarded by theologians as “the root of ...

6. Never Let Them See You Sweat (Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

... called self-control "the hardest victory." But it really is the difference between victory and defeat in the game of life. For if you control self, you win; but if self controls you, you lose. We see that in three truths we learn from this passage. I. The Danger of Self-Confidence Now you will never be free of self, but you must be free from self if you are going to win the race of life and fight the good fight. There is a danger to what is called self. There is no middle ground. Either you control self, or ...

7. A Strange Authority

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... the mirror and practice smiling like Marilyn. For a while, I dressed like she dressed, walked like she walked, and laughed like she laughed. But, I couldn't pull it off. I couldn't be Marilyn. I was still me. And the boys still liked her better. My lack of self-confidence wasn't helped very much by my high school band director. I can still remember the look on his face every time we got to a place in the music where I had a bassoon solo. He would cue me in with such a worried look you would think he ...

8. The Awesome Power of FUD

John 21:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... them doubt their possibilities. When important people in our lives die, fear and uncertainty about the future are commonly experienced. I experienced FUD in a first grade art lesson on boat drawing. In the twinkling of an eye, I went from a self-confident little boy to a quivering mass of devastated protoplasm. Such is the power of FUD. It happens. There is nothing rare about the experience of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. These voracious destroyers of confident living linger at the edge of life, waiting ...

9. Elihu Makes His Appearance

Job 32:1--37:24

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... Text While Job and the three wisdom teachers were speaking in chapters 3–31, a younger man named Elihu listened attentively to what they said. Finally the time has come when all the older men are silent, so Elihu jumps into the conversation. With great self-confidence, the young Elihu claims to know the truth that has escaped Job and his friends. When Job concludes his words in 31:40, the reader expects Yahweh to speak next, but Elihu postpones the divine resolution of the case. As Elihu begins to speak ...

10. Clean Hands

Psalm 26:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

... He had even required hospitalization on one occasion. Because of his bouts with depression, it had been difficult for him to apply for jobs. Yet his psychiatrist said that he was making progress. "It's funny," he said, "when I came here to Duke as a freshman, I was self-confident, self-assured. But now, I don't know what I believe. I feel insecure, unsure. Funny, I was more confident and knew more when I was a senior in high school than I do now that I'm a graduate of Duke." And I said, "Look, I can explain ...

11. The Power of the Staff

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... no longer help us, or in places that no longer sustain us. Getting “stuck” for us is complicated. Some of us get “stuck” due to some form of grief, trauma, or fear-inducing experience. Some of us can get “stuck” because we lack self-confidence, self-motivation, or the big one, self-compassion. One of the strangest things about humans is that we can learn “stuckness” the same way we learn self-critique or self-denigration. We internalize the messages others have given us through our difficult ...

12. You Are God's Handiwork

Ephesians 2:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... to the stars in Los Angeles, California. He also donates his skills to a local women’s shelter, where he fixes the teeth of homeless women, prostitutes, abused women and children. One benefit of his work at the shelter is seeing the women develop a new sense of self-confidence once the work has been done on their teeth. As Dr. Dorfman says of his patients, “She becomes a new person because she sees a new person.” (4) Now why do I say this may be a more difficult task in our society for women? Studies ...

13. Advent 2

Mark 1:1-8, 2 Peter 3:1-18, Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

... fades. As we grow older, this truth becomes increasingly evident. In younger years, especially the teen years, it's easy to feel invulnerable. Then is when many have their downfall. It certainly doesn't follow that we want to undercut feelings of self-confidence and healthy willingness to attack life and its problems. It does, however, mean a warning against self-importance and disdain for those less fortunate, less endowed with physical or mental capabilities. This leads one to be sensitive to the needs of ...

14. The Problem With Keeping All The Rules

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... touching one. But Wendy Ewald insisted that he take the camera and use it to share his ideas. A few days later, Ewald passed Pratap's house. He was posing his family for a picture. The scared, self-conscious little boy was bursting with self-confidence. A simple camera had changed his self-perception. (1) Jesus was the kind of person who would have given untouchable people cameras to build their self-concept. We need to remember that. Jesus was continually taking those who were on the bottom and putting ...

15. TRYING IT WITHOUT GOD

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... citizen would do if Almighty God returned his compliment - "A God in my position doesn’t have much time for such a man." This man has many faces. I meet him everywhere, the stereotype of Sinclair Lewis’ "Babbit" - self-made, self-supporting, self-confident, self-worshiping man. You can bet on it that he is always patriotically anti-Communist, because the Communists are against religion. Let the religious foundations of his society - or especially of his economy - be threatened, and he will scream like a ...

16. Faces of Failure: Peter

Matthew 26 (selections)

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... won’t deny Jesus even if it means dying with him. That’s an incredible promise, and Jesus warns him not to make it. He even tells him that before the night is through he will break his promise three times. But this is Peter, and Peter doesn’t lack self-confidence. He is, after all, first among Jesus’s disciples as well as the group’s spokesman. He’s the one who hops out of the boat to walk on water, at least for a moment, and he is the first to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the ...

17. Epiphany 8

Mark 2:18-22, 2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6, Psalm 103:1-22, Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... often fail in what we try to do. Paul's opponents looked at their abilities and letters of recommendation for their sufficiency and competence. However, Paul found the source of his competence in God who made him adequate for every opportunity and challenge. When we lack self-confidence, we need not give ourselves a dose of positive thinking but we need to go to Christ who enables us to do all things. Outline: We are confident and competent because – a. We have faith in God v. 5. b. We have Christ with us ...

18. Ephraim

Isaiah 28:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... teach others. They mock the prophet by asking the rhetorical question, “Who is it he is trying to teach?” (28:9). They think he is nothing more than a repetitious schoolteacher. These four characterizations (drunkenness, unteachable spirit, scoffing, and self-confidence) portray Jerusalem’s leaders as completely insensitive to Yahweh’s law and to the covenant. They have broken away from Yahweh and are unable to lead his people back to righteousness. Yahweh’s words of response are directly related ...

19. Weakness into Strength

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

James McCormick

... of his weakness and reached out for the resources of God that he became really strong. So, you can understand what he meant when he said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” II. One of the things to be most careful about is excessive self confidence, too much self reliance. The truth is, when we think we are strong in wisdom, in ability, in morality, in coping ability, the chances are we are really weak, at least weaker than we think. Someone has written, “Half the headaches and many of the heartaches ...

20. Silent Sinning

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’s easy to fall into the “judgment” trap, in which we can start wielding judgments on the lives of others, whom we determine have “sinned” far more than we. But when we get to that level of “pepoithotas,” we’d better beware. We’ve just self-confidently, over-confidently stepped ourselves into the shoes of God. Silent Sinning is just another name for blatant idolatry. I want you to imagine for a moment that you are a lion tamer. Two of the important lessons to learn is to 1) never take your ...

21. Winners Losers

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... , excuse-making self, moving from this loyalty today to another one tomorrow. We are not able to talk a big job of courage; we know that we have to be courage. Finally we are free, because in whatever circumstances, we know we can move through life with self-confidence, fortitude and self-respect. We are free to try another day. Jesus calls: “I want you to come out ahead in life. I wish for you maturity, self-governance for your good and the good of those around. I want you to be a winner, and here ...

22. Paul Today

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... undergone this kind of linguistic erosion. For Paul faith meant the restoration of a confident personal relationship to God and the ensuing life of commitment and obedience. For the popular mind today it means either believing what cannot be verified or optimistic self-confidence or sentimental religiosity, "when I hear a newborn baby cry, I believe." Sin has come to mean this or that act of moral failure, not the total life-attitude of rebellion against God. Grace is now a winsome geniality in the nature ...

23. The Grasshopper Mentality

Numbers 13:26-33

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... later when we are adults, those stakes are still holding us fast. Most of our limitations are self imposed. Often during our childhood years we pick up unrealistic fears and unreasonable insecurities. By the time we reach adulthood, we may have little self-confidence and lots of fears. In a recent poll taken by Americans in their 20’s, this question was asked: “What is the basic feeling you have about life?” Sixty percent said, “Fear.” (1) That surprising data confirms my suspicions that the level ...

24. Death to Glory

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... assuredly as the Jews were freed from Egypt and Jesus was raised from death. The new life is ours for the taking. Lastly, our movement from death to glory forces us to seek renewal in our lives. Maybe what needs to be restored is our self-confidence. Many people think too little of themselves. Others may think too highly of themselves, their position, or their abilities. In both cases, Jesus' resurrection can restore us to where we should be. Possibly, we feel inadequate, we are not up to the challenge of a ...

25. Miracles Seven and Eight: Healing An Issue Of Blood & Healing The Rulers Daughter

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... is not without honor, save in his own country." The young people around us will be assuming positions of responsibility in tomorrow's world. They are the future doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, and political successes. To gain for them the necessary self-confidence, we must contemplate their future accomplishments and show them our respect. It is essential to avoid making judgments based on external qualities rather than on native worth. It is also true that we must not get laughed out of our religious ...

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