Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: thirstiness, dryness, parched, craving, strong desire, longing, yearning, avidity, hunger, voracity, keenness, eagerness, lust, appetite, passion, love, crave, want, covet, desire, hunger for/after, lust for/after, hanker for/after, have one's heart set on

Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 1 to 25 of 171 results

1. Parched Christians

Illustration

John H. Morgan

Our life in Christ can be compared to an aqueduct, the stone waterway that brought water from nearby mountains into parched cities in Italy and Spain, still used in some countries today. The objective foundation of our spiritual lives, the Word of God, is like a huge stone aqueduct. The subjective elements, our daily experience of Christ, is like the fresh water flowing through it. Some Christians neglect the Word and ...

2. Desert Springs

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

... Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls. (Isaiah 34:11-13) Then, as God sunk a well of grace into Isaiah’s heart, the prophet cried out: The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom ... Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and ...

3. When the Drought Gets Really Bad

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... wasn’t important, in this lady’s estimation, people were. Table silver wasn’t important, but two officers of a frozen ship gave their lives trying to take it with them. People become spiritually thirsty when they have misplaced values. People also become spiritually parched when they betray their values. The Bible’s way of saying this is that people become spiritually thirsty when they sin. A few verses further on in this passage we read, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he ...

4. Two Kinds of People

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... people and those who do not. Jeremiah says in our text for the day that there are indeed two kinds of people. One kind he calls cursed; the other he calls blessed. The life of the cursed he compares to a low bush in the desert, inhabiting a parched and desolate wilderness. The life of the blessed, on the other hand, he compares to a tree planted by the waters--that spreads her roots out by the river. Her leaf is green, her fruit is bountiful. Two kinds of people. For one life is meaningless, empty, without ...

5. “Your Love Is Better Than Life”

Psalm 63:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... of thanksgiving (63:3–7) and confidence (63:8–10),3 which is not unusual for lament psalms. The psalmist, in a “parched land where there is no water” (63:1), recounts his previous experience in the sanctuary (63:2), just as the thirsty soul ... vision of God in the sanctuary, and lament over enemies, which was evidently the occasion for the psalm. 1. Thirst for God in a dry and parched land (63:1) a. Confession (63:1a–b) b. Thirst for God (63:1c–f) 2. Vision of God in the sanctuary and life (63:2 ...

6. Communion Is Refreshment

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

... Jesus when that whip lacerated his back. The Lord suffered that pain for us! Have you ever been thirsty? Can you imagine what it would be like to go for hours without drinking anything and then hang on a cross in the blazing sun with the desert wind parching your skin? Jesus endured that for us. We must never forget all that the Lord went through to redeem us from Satan's power and offer us forgiveness and salvation. We must never forget. To help us remember, our Lord instituted a special meal on this very ...

7. Pentecost (Episcopal)

Isaiah 44:1-5, Psalm 104:1-35

Bulletin Aid

... once more that Great Comforter: that, on this Pentecost Day, we may be revitalized by the renewing rain of your holy presence and power. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Compassionate God, we know that our lives are spiritually parched and that our souls thirst for meaning and direction, even while our hearts and minds pull us toward the ever abundant but deceptively and deserts of modern life. Forgive us, we pray, and shower your quenching Spirit upon us on this latter Pentecost Day ...

8. Dark Shadows

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... careful with water," says Mary Ann Halloran, who works with the ragpickers. Then she told Sherrill of a young man with cracked, parched lips who appeared at the back door of the Ranch years before. "May I have some water?" he asked. Mary Ann drew ... looking for the stranger. He had vanished. Mary Ann pulled to the side of the road. "I knew then," she said, "that the man with the parched lips had come to bring a message. Not just to us, but to everyone. Water is precious; whenever we use it, we are to remember ...

9. A Tree Well Watered

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... not side with them, who will? They have no one to depend on except God. But for those of us who trust in mere mortals, though we may appear to be thriving in the desert, we "shall not see when relief comes" (v. 6), and we shall perish in the parched salt land of our self-sufficiency. Those who trust in the Lord stand in stark contrast to this picture. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the ...

10. Advent 3

James 5:7-12, Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... desert always threatened to encroach on Israel's fertile valleys, dependent on the seasonal rains. The desert described the psyche of the Jewish captives lifeless, dry, rocky, lonely, and threatening. Isaiah's promise was that God would pour the water of his spirit into their parched souls and they would blossom and grow into a garden of delight (vv. 1-2). This word from God caused buds of hope to spring up in the desert of the captives' soul. Where is the desert experience for our people today? Is it ...

11. Saved By Water: The Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Steve Swanson

... cowboys on the desert. Sooner or later, in those films we see John Wayne or Gary Cooper under a relentless sun, crawling on hands and knees toward a water hole - which may or may not be dry. As we watch, our mouths begin to feel chalky, our tongues swollen and parched. Just then the station cuts away and we find ourselves watching a commercial for Coke or Pepsi or 7-Up. We trot to the refrigerator and that's the end of our struggle with thirst. It wasn't so easy in olden times. Water wasn't always easy to ...

12. The Demanding Word

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

... on all kinds of different ground. Some, for instance, fell on the beaten-down path. It could not take root at all. In fact most of the seed was eaten up by birds shortly after it was planted. Other seed fell on rocky ground. It took root but soon was parched and dried up by the sun. The roots couldn't grab hold of any solid soil and sink deep. Other seed fell among thorns. These vigorous weeds crowded out the grain plants and they didn't mature. And some seed fell on good rich top soil. And that seed grew ...

13. Wellspring for the Soul

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... St. John? When Our Souls Run Dry All of us experience times of spiritual dryness, when we know that life is not all that it could be, when we settle into grooved pathways of life that make our inner landscape of soul something like the pictures we see of parched desert land. It does not surprise me that this text tells of one who was no doubt in her middle years of life - or maybe beyond. Much is written about the problem of stagnating seasons of life, when the well runs dry on the inside. Not so long ago ...

14. The Ministry of Refreshing

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Various Authors

... , from the rock which gave the Hebrew children water on their toilsome way through the wilderness, to the seer’s vision of the river of life flowing from a sea like crystal surrounding the throne of God. Who can forget the story of King David, parched from the heat of battle. Two soldiers crawled through no-man’s land to bring their beloved leader water. Humbled and lifted by the love of friends who would risk their lives to refresh him - and recognizing that such love had transformed that cup into ...

15. OUR LORD DENIED

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

... ? That his faith was not strong enough? That his very will had mefted to doubt? He passed the back of his hand over his weather-parched face and where it crossed his eyes it was damp with his tears. Faith. How could he have faith, now that they had taken his ... his eyes to the sky and he saw that morning was lifting the edge of the night and his mouth fell open and his throat was parched and he tried to cry out in protest, to hold back the rising sun, but no words came. His mind filled with a vision of his ...

16. The Ultimate Thirst Quencher (Alternate Addition to the "I Am" series: Living water)

John 7:25-44

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ? You and I know that even the best of life''s celebrations do not necessarily satisfy our deepest needs. Jesus knew as he walked around and met the people at this great feast that despite all the ceremonial water being poured out, many would go home thirsty and parched. And it is still true today--even in an affluent land like ours--perhaps even more so. Jesus has a way of coming to us in our worldly endeavors, when we think we have made it to the top--and whispering in our ears, "Are you still thirsty ...

17. Singing The Lord's Song In A Strange Land (ii)

Psalm 137:1-9

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... you'll know it's true. There are times when we can't sing the Lord's song. Think about it. There are times when we can't sing the Lord's song. Most of us could tell of an experience when our throats went dry, our lips seemed parched, and our tongues were so heavy that we could not sing. There were no words of joy, no expressions of confident faith. God seemed nowhere about. He certainly seemed absent from us. Most of us could tell of some experience that was so painful, so disillusioned, so threatening to ...

18. Watering The Garden Of Our Life (communion Meditation)

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , yet grow all the richer, other withhold what is due, and only suffer want. A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water. The call is to water the garden of our own life and in so doing to provide water to the parched lives of others. I want you to think about that as you come to this table now -- the table of the Lord's Supper. Nothing presents more dramatically Jesus' extravagant giving for us, and His call to us to give ourselves to others. A preacher friend told about ...

19. God Knows Exactly How You Feel

John 19:28

Sermon

James Merritt

... insight into that precious one who died on the cross for us. I. His Simple Humanity See the Lord Jesus now at the end of six hours on the cross. The blood vessels of that body are almost dried up. A terrible fever is burning his brow. His tongue is parched, swollen, and cleaves to his jaw. His lips are distended and burn like fire. All of the breath he can get into his lungs, and all of the strength he could muster in his vocal cords, he cries out in agony, "I thirst!" Jesus began his ministry in the desert ...

20. How To Get Better When You're Bitter

Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... and they were desperate for water. Just when they thought they would thirst to death, they spotted an oasis in the distance. They ran as fast as they could to scoop up that water and parch their thirst. Thanking God for His goodness, they reached down with eager anticipation, brought that water up to their parched lips, took one drink and discovered the water was bitter. They even named this oasis Marah, which literally means "bitterness." You could actually paraphrase v.23 this way: "Now when they came to ...

21. Team Work is Dream Work

Psalm 133:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... ) Now why did David use dew as an example of unity? I kept thinking to myself, "What do dew do?" Why is dew so special? Well, in that hot Mediterranean climate, dew is absolutely vital to plant life. Dew is like refreshing lotion that God sends to lubricate that dry parched land there in the nation of Israel. We even have a saying here in America that "It is as fresh as the morning dew." You can get up in the morning and you can see that dew on the grass sparkling like a million diamonds in the sun. It is ...

22. Great Joy

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... to "O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise," the voices became stronger, their backs straightened with courage and the pock-marked, war-scarred church building began to shake with the force of their singing. And in the despair of a parched and brutal land, there was joy—radiant, deep, joy. Joy…like streams in the desert. Joy…like springs of living water breaking forth in an arid land. Joy…like blossoms blooming out of the desert waste. Oh, I know we can analyze Isaiah's poetry ...

23. What's Your Drink?

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... part of divine host. In Isaiah's prophecy, God has already given them the headiest draught of all - the new exodus. But now God offers the special children, Israel, hand-held drinks of divinely-granted water. Isaiah knew that his people longed with a parching thirst for the quenching gift of freedom. What do we now thirst for? If God were to ask "What’s your drink?," how would we respond? Few communities are as schizophrenic about an issue as is the church about drink. Half the churches celebrate Jesus ...

24. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... ) is uncertain. The NIV has followed the Tg., though that text has its own difficulties: the Aram. qlwwyʾ, which could be related to a Gk. word meaning “confections,” but also may relate to another Aramaic term (qulyaʾ) meaning “parched grain, flour made of parched grain” or “roast corn” (Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p. 48 and M. Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature [New York: Pardes, 1950], p. 1372). The NRSV, with “millet,” follows ...

25. Job Presents Evidence against the Retribution Principle

Job 12:1--14:22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... God’s ordered world. As Job examines nature, he realizes that when trees are cut down, new life can spring up from the stump. Humans, however, are not like that; they resemble the pattern of a body of water that evaporates, leaving behind a parched, lifeless bed. Rather than drawing false optimism from the faulty analogy of the tree, Job accepts the reality that humans are more like the riverbed that cannot be revived. As Jobtries to come to terms with his adversity, he has to work within the limitations ...

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