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 841 results

1. The Broken Window Theory

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Illustration

King Duncan

... becomes more dilapidated, there is a growing assumption of lawlessness by the residents. People assume that they can lower their standards of behavior, because no one will notice or care. The mayor of New York City used the Broken Window theory in the 1990s as a guide for reducing the crime rate. He had work crews cleaning up vandalism and repairing crumbling buildings. He assigned officers to patrol neighborhoods and cite people for even minor infractions. Littering, public drunkenness, vandalism and ...

2. Theories about God's Existence

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... which trembled and vibrated. They must revise all their old beliefs; none but the most conservative could any longer believe in the Unseen Player. Later, another explorer carried the explanation further. Hammers were now the secret, numbers of hammers dancing and leaping on the wires. This was a more complicated theory, but it all went to show that they lived in a purely mechanical and mathematical world. The Unseen Player came to be thought of as a myth.... But the pianist continued to play.

3. The Revolution Against Evolution

Genesis 1:1

Sermon

James Merritt

... to the same question: how did life arise in the universe? The truth of the matter is this - Genesis 1:1 which plainly states that behind this universe is a divine designer deserves to be put to the test by examining the evidence just as much as the theory of evolution. Get this down. The debate is not between fact and faith. The debate is not between science and religion. The debate is between their science and our science. The debate is between their faith and our faith. This is not what I am saying. This ...

4. The Outstretched Arms

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 's justice is. So to “satisfy" and pacify God's honor, the innocent must suffer for the guilty. Jesus became a man and "substituted" his shed blood on the cross for what should have been sinners' blood debts. Horace Bushnell dubbed this the "slaughter-house theory of the atonement." Jesus doesn’t offer his life to the Devil for our freedom. Rather he offers his life to his Father for our freedom. As Duns Scotus observed centuries ago, this blood-soaked buy-out impugns the sovereignty of divine love and ...

5. The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... , it did not convey to ancient Israel any idea of God’s being triune. The following two proposals find the most support in Scripture: (g) God took counsel with his Spirit (so D. Clines, “The Image of God in Man,” TynBul 19 [1968], p. 68; cf. v. 2). This theory has the advantage of finding the conversation partner in the text. (h) “We” refers to the heavenly council over whom God rules (1 Kgs. 22:19–22; Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7; Ps. 82; it was common for deity to hold councils in Near Eastern myths ...

6. The Fruit of the Word

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... . Those are observations we can make from a scientific point of view. However, the prophet would have us look at much more simple evidence of the presence of God in the creation. The Creation Serves God We do not have to know the sophisticated scientific theories of the nature or origin of the universe to recognize the obvious in the creation. The prophet writes that God says, “The rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth ...

7. Why The Resurrection Makes Sense

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... Well, it’s the same with Jesus’ resurrection. No, we don’t have to prove he rose in the hard sense of proof, just like no hard proof has been given to support the existence of atoms or evolution. But just as data could in principle disprove these theories, so if the bones of Jesus were found (they have not been), or if it were demonstrated that Christianity does not help its adherents cope, then the conclusion would be that the resurrection is not true and so Christianity in not true![5] Get the point ...

8. Personal Greetings

Romans 16:1-27

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... of place if they are addressed to Rome where Paul was a stranger, but they fit well with Ephesus (cf. Acts 20:25–31); and (4) the discovery of papyrus P46 in 1935 placed the doxology (16:25–27) at the end of ch. 15 (just as the theory suggests). These reasons, however, are far from conclusive. Regarding 1, it is not at all surprising that Paul would know (or know of) many people in Rome, which was the hub of the empire (cf. Tacitus’ comment, “[in Rome] all things hideous and shameful from every part ...

9. The Apostles' Creed: "Suffered, Dead, and Buried..."

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... one. PENAL SUBSTITUTION. This is the one with which most of us best identify as far as our early training goes. It takes a legal approach and says that if God's laws are broken, a penalty must be paid (the same way as in our own legal system). This theory says that what Jesus did was to live a life of perfect obedience to God's law and needed no penalty payment for himself. Thus, he and he alone was able to pay the penalty on our behalf to satisfy the demands of a righteous heavenly judge. Justice is served ...

10. Good and Bad "Magical Thinking"

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... How do we begin to apprehend a reality that we can never fully comprehend? Eric Middleton is a British physicist/theologian/philosopher. Middleton suggests that what all of us are searching for, and not just GUTs (“Grand Unified Theory”) scientists, is a “Theory of Everything” (TOEs). GUTs and TOEs have been the “holy grail” of theoretical physicists for the last thirty years. Middleton has written a slim volume based on his dialogues with students and seekers which he calls The New Flatlanders ...

11. The God Of Abraham, Isaac And Jacob

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

... not of the dead but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” Our God is a God in practice, not theory. Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob then, now and always. Our God, the Triune God, the incarnate God, the advocate, the ... and uses it for good, reconciling brothers, reuniting families, granting peace where no one thought peace was possible. Our God is not a God in theory, but a God in practice. The God so invested in us and in our real world lives that God sent His only Son to become ...

12. Let Christ Speak The Word

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

... , does away with the familiar image of a universe composed of billiard ball-like particles which are pushed and pulled by forces of gravity and electricity. In the 1920s, quantum physics revealed that the billiard balls had wave-like properties like vibrations. String theory holds that these string-like vibrations make up everything in the universe from lightning bugs to gravity to gold.3 If we conceive of the universe in this manner, then perhaps it is easier for us to grasp, at least on an intellectual ...

13. Well, What's for Sure?

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... days I believe, and some days I doubt," but underneath is the sureness. Like Paul’s statement and attitude: "I KNOW whom I have trusted." The basis of that assurance is the same basis that supports most of the important certainties of life - not theory, not science, not intellect, but experience. Think of some of them: THE EXPERIENCE OF WONDER. A few months ago we stood among the magnificent snow-covered peaks of the High Alps of Switzerland. Again, I experienced that overwhelming sense of wonder at the ...

14. Drowning In A Sea Of Stuff

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... our current prosperity doesn't satisfy us, then what will? Another reason we are discontented is what Easterbrook calls "cataloginduced anxiety." We have access to images of luxury goods we can never own, and so our own sense of satisfaction is diminished. Another theory Easterbrook sets forth is "abundance denial," which is our natural tendency to be blind to our own prosperity. We always think that the wealthy are those with a little bit more than we have. Our abundance of choices creates stress, and our ...

15. The War of Malchus’ Ear

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the just cause must forfeit its rights and suffer the evil for the common good. 6.) It must be conducted by a duly recognized authority. 7.) The war must be fought in a “civilized” manner, and innocent civilians must be protected. Most proponents of the Just war theory would agree that if ever there were a just war, the campaign to stop Hitler was it. I must confess that I began my Christian life as an “absolute pacifist,” believing that I simply had to take Jesus literally when He said that we must ...

16. Witnesses of the New Covenant

Romans 12:1-8

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... –25; Col. 1:18 with 1:15; Eph. 4:7–16 with 1:15–23; 5:22–33). The major objection is that there is no explicit mention of the “body of Adam” in the Jewish literature contemporaneous with Paul. But this objection can be adequately met by the next theory. 7. A. J. M. Wedderburn proposes that the roots of the idea of the body of Christ stem from the ancient Hebrew belief that one person represents many, and many are incorporated in the one (Gen. 12:1–3; compare Gen. 14:17–20 with Heb. 7:4–10 ...

17. Meeting Jesus

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... life if you will let it be changed. He will give it depth and breadth and a kind of authenticity that comes only from the spirit of the living God that lives in him. Behold, he stands at the door and knocks… Amen. 1. Cognitive dissonance theory was first investigated by Leon Festinger in 1957, when he and a colleague infiltrated a cult that believed that the earth was going to be destroyed by a flood. When the catastrophe did not occur at the predicted time, the really committed members, who had given ...

18. Embalmed With Cardiac Arrest

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... rules. They are like the archeologist who was chiseling away frantically at the heiroglyphics on the inside of an Egyptian tomb. One of his colleagues saw him and asked what he was doing. He said: "I’m changing this inscription so it will fit with my theories." All right. You want the facts? In the entire history of the ancient world, there is no event that is better attested to than the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is recorded in overwhelming detail in all four of the Gospels, and the four that we ...

19. Who Is This Man?

Mark 14:43-52

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... He witnessed the disciples sleeping. He witnessed the arrest. He witnessed the flight of the disciples. And when they took Jesus away, he followed them. When the soldiers saw him, they grabbed him, and he fled, leaving them holding the linen cloth. Now that was the theory. This was John Mark, who witnessed the scene and then later wrote down what he had seen. For many it explained why this strange reference is here in the Gospel of Mark. No other gospel records this. This is exclusive to Mark. It serves no ...

20. Cha-cha-cha Christians: The Dance that Advances

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... first to connect falling fruit with rules for the gravitational pull of the earth. The “cha-cha-cha” of “Charge” is the devising of an original solution to an everyday problem. Koshland’s second “cha” is a “Challenge” discovery. In finding a new theory, a new paradigm emerges that can hold this new store of accumulated facts. What may have seemed to be random bits of data, even anomalies, come together into a new framework which then creates a new coherent whole. In a Challenge discovery ...

21. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Friends

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... believing. With his nephew Sean, who was dropped off by his mother to spend some quality time with his uncle, Trevor embarks on a thrilling journey. On the journey they hire a mountain guide, the daughter of the only other scientist who believed Max's theory. She thinks it is all baloney. Along with their mountain guide they travel deep beneath the Earth's surface, where they discovers a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth. When they first realize what they are seeing, Trevor says ...

22. God’s Saving Righteousness and the Restoration of Israel

Romans 3:21-31

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... . 1:7; see also Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23). These considerations lead to the conclusion that Christ’s death was the price paid to satisfy the righteous wrath of God for sin. However, in accepting this conclusion, one need not subscribe to the patristic theory that the ransom that Christ paid was to Satan.5It is clear in Romans 3:24–26 that redemption starts and ends with God, not some dualistic force. Paul's Use of Traditional Material: Third, the reader of Romans 3:21–26 needs to be aware of the ...

23. Lost in Plain Sight

John 1:29-34, John 1:35-42

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... it. Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to the question Jesus asked of Andrew and the other unnamed disciple of John in this morning’s gospel lesson: “What are you looking for?” In 1943, American psychologist Abraham Maslow published an article entitled “A Theory of Human Motivation” in Psychology Review. In that article he outlined a hierarchy of needs that all humans have from the very basic to the uniquely human. As each type of need is met, the next need comes into play. These are the things ...

24. Christ Our High Priest

John 18:28-40, Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... remember this by breaking down the word by syllables: atone-ment. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross achieves an at-one-ment of humankind with God. How did this happen? Down through the years, there have been three main interpretations of the Atonement, three theories about Christ’s saving work on the cross.21 Those who are familiar with SLR cameras know that the choice of the lens makes all the difference in the world. During this sermon, we are going to look at the cross through three different lenses ...

25. Resurrection: From Chaos to Order

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... long. He discovered and order amid disorder, a Reason with a capital R. In Jesus he found the personification of the Mind of Creation - of God. THERE ARE MANY forms of knowing. Science is one. So are experience, and intuition, and faith. Science proceeds on the theory that there is a discoverable answer to all mystery - and the discovery comes about step by step. Faith, by definition, is a leap to gain answers to the mystery. I propose a belief, shaped by such a leap of faith, that the full circle is made ...

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