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 226 to 250 of 4962 results

226. Strength through Diversity

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... life eternal. Openness to what is new and different is key to appreciating the power, goodness, and strength that can come from diversity. Saint Paul addresses the issue of diversity in today's reading by describing the various gifts we have received, all of which have one common source, the Holy Spirit. First, Paul speaks of the necessity of the Spirit in our lives. He writes that we can only address Jesus as Lord by the inspiration of the Spirit. We are not autonomous operators; God is here to inspire and ...

227. Are You a Polar Bear?

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

... her. One evening Mrs. S. spoke to the youth of their church and was asked how she could always be so alive, so full of joy. She responded, “Because,” she said, “I CHOOSE to. I had no choice about living the last half of my life as a widow or having one of my sons killed in the Korean War. And I certainly didn’t choose to have to ride around in this chair for the past ten years. But one thing I did choose--to be happy. I decided to make the best of every day and to see the best ...

228. Despair, Hope, Easter, and Pentecost

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... left for me, Preacher? What do I do now that my body is broken and my career is over?" It is the first question that always comes to mind when the bottom drops out and the way things used to be is no more. What about tomorrow? Do I even have one? These are the questions I dare say most adults have asked at one time or another, and for that reason we would do well to ponder again the Easter story, for this is what it is all about — despair, the problem of the future, the agony of broken things that ...

229. The Excellent Meal Ticket

Genesis 37:1-11, Genesis 37:12-36, John 21:15-25, Mark 8:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: shirt with pattern only in the front and shirt with pattern all around it Ever see those shirts where the pattern is only on one side? In case not, I have one here to show you today. You see this? I get so frustrated when I see these shirts. They offend my OCD sense of decorum because you turn, and the pattern just stops. It’s like, you can only turn one way in speaking to people, cause otherwise, it looks like ...

230. Compassion

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... not know and the university will never give me, who paid my entire tuition bills my last two years at Harvard; the doctors who hired my wife for a full-time job over the telephone 1,000 miles away even though they had never met her; she did not have one day's experience in the field, and she spoke Southern instead of Yankee; the 350 people in my first church who smiled, affirmed and loved me for two years even though I did not know how to preach; the 11 people from High Point who drove 500 miles roundtrip ...

231. A Prayer for the Faithful

John 17:6-19

Sermon

George Bass

... name of the risen Lord - they were in for more trouble than they could handle. But the kinds of persecution and punishment tradition says they experienced - including horrible deaths as martyrs for all except John - don’t seem quite real today. Even when we have one of their stories fully told, as in the case of Stephen, it sounds remote, if not a bit unreal. Many of us remember the Epistle read annually on the second Sunday before Lent (we used to call it "Sexagesima") when Paul recites to the Corinthian ...

232. Come To The Party!

Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... 's all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you it was my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?" When Tony heard that, he made a decision. He sat and waited until the women had left. Then he called over the fat guy behind the counter and asked him, "Do they come in here every night?" "Yeah" he answered. "The one right next to me, does she come ...

233. One Lord, One Table

Exodus 20:1-4

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... private fruit stand. We could eat any of the fruit we wanted as long as we didn't waste it and as long as we didn't eat from Mrs. Wallace's cooking apple tree. Oh, every now and then you could ask and she might relent and let you have one of those yellow cooking apples. But you better not get caught taking one of those cooking apples. You could lose your fruit privileges for weeks at a time. One tree, one law. Pretty easy to follow. Wrong. I'll never forget the day I got caught. The Wallace's swing ...

234. "Wow!"

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... be a pilot. Hang gliding was out because there was no good place for gliding near his home. So he spent a lot of summer afternoons sitting in his backyard in his ordinary old aluminum chair - the kind with the webbing and the rivets, the kind most of us have. One day Larry hooked 45 helium-filled surplus weather balloons to his chair, put a CB radio in his lap, tied a paper bag full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to his leg, and slung a BB-gun over his shoulder to pop the balloons when he wanted to ...

235. In Praise Of Doers

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... practical teaching from our Lord and one from which all of us can profit. THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO NOTE IS THAT LIFE IS A GIFT. It is so sad to see healthy, intelligent talented people adopt a gloom and doom attitude towards life. "Oh, I just have one talent," we whine. "Poor, poor me. What can I do?" The Reverend Don Emmitte tells about a Baptist pastor friend who had a man walk into his church one Sunday morning and sit on the front pew. During the sermon he listened intently. When the invitation time ...

236. Last Words Are Important

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Jesus Christ, he or she is not immediately brought into membership of the church. A training period is required, sometimes as much as six months. So baptism and reception into the church occurs only two or three times a year. The bishop decided to have one of these mass baptisms while we were there. The government gave him permission to do that publicly, either on the beach or at a river. But the day before the baptism was to take place, the government withdrew that permission. Very creatively, the bishop ...

237. Deciding To Excel In Everything

II Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... we who sit here week after week really grasp what it is: Room in the Inn, 61st Avenue Tutoring, Hobson Vacation Bible School, Miriam’s Promise, the Mexico Mission project, the church at Perovo, Russia, The Manger, Prison Ministry Bible Study. I am just touching the list. You have one hundred eighty altogether on this sheet in front of you and I can only scratch the surface. The reality is that we are doing much more than most of us imagined, but we can do so much more if God were to ever get a hold of us ...

238. Easter: Seeing Is Believing

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the local graveyard. They stopped to read some of the tombstones and Grandma explained that the first date on the tombstones was the day the person was born and the second date was the day the person died. "Why do some tombstones only have one date?" little David asked. "Because those people haven't died yet," his grandmother explained. David was obviously stunned by his grandmother's explanation because, that night, he couldn't stop talking about the excursion. "Mom," he said with wide eyes, "did you know ...

239. You Can Be Like Children

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... to learn who wrote it, but whoever the author may have been obviously comprehended the Christ-likeness of children. The author obviously understood that to be like Jesus we must somehow become like children again. There's something quite nice about children. Every family should have one or two They're such a fine race When they're kept in their place: Say, the playground, the park or the zoo. In his place, a child's quite delightful, Full of fun, a most interesting buddy. But his yearning for action Can ...

240. No Fear

Psalm 23:4

Sermon

James Merritt

... Emperor said, “Then I will take away your treasures.” Chrysostom said, “You cannot take away my treasure because my treasure is in heaven, and so is my heart.” The Emperor said, “Then I will drive you away from every human being and you won’t have one friend left.” Chrysostom said, “You can’t do that either, for I have a friend in heaven who sticks closer than a brother from which nothing can ever separate us.” Chrysostom then stood up, looked the Emperor in the eye and said, “You need ...

241. The Thorn of Discontent

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... wrong and in the wrong order. Well, Paul uses himself as an example,….”Follow ME as I follow Jesus,” he says. Look at me! This is how I understand the church, says Paul: And to explain what he means, Paul uses a metaphor –a thorn. I have one here. [Hold up the thorn.] Look, he says, I’ve had the most amazing experiences. I’ve experienced first-hand what it’s like to be right up there receiving revelations from God himself! I’ve planted churches. I’ve endured all kinds of hardship and have ...

242. Can You Hear the Music?

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... with his attitude. The Pharisee stands off “by himself” as he prays. The Greek is indefinite here, and could be interpreted simply as praying in solitude, or could mean he “prayed” to himself, focused fully inward, with no divine direction. Apparently he did have one eye open and that eye was cast towards his far off prayer neighbor, the tax collector. Even if we accept the neutral translation that the Pharisee simply prayed quietly in separation from others, the focus of this Pharisee’s prayer is ...

243. Invitation To Community

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... full partners in God's household. In other words, Jesus was also saying, "Wives, take your husbands seriously." Is it helpful to tell you that about this text? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it would be helpful to point out the Bible does not have one overriding prohibition on divorce. This may surprise you, but the Bible speaks with many voices on the matter. The promise of creation says we were made for one another, but says nothing about those occasions when relationships are ripped asunder (Genesis 2:24 ...

244. What Are You Afraid Of?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... loss of his treasure, this saint replied, “You cannot, for my treasure is in heaven where my heart is.” The emperor made one last effort: “Then I will drive you away from here and you shall have no friend left.” But again Chrysostom responded, “You cannot, for I have one Friend from whom you can never separate me. I defy you for you can do me no harm.” You can do me no harm! Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father ...

245. Shameless!

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... something like this. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. We could flesh that out considerably, but this little quip really captures it quite nicely. Parables are sometimes confusing until you realize that most, or at least many, of them have one clear point — all the details not withstanding. The stage is set for this parable when Jesus is apparently praying in a place where his disciples can hear him. His prayers seem somehow different than the prayers they know. The Jewish prayers of ...

246. The Ten Commandments #10: No Covetousness

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... be there to find some way to get it (and that is the force of the Hebrew word chamad in the commandment(2)), whether the Joneses want to keep it or not. The further danger is that, if we DO get the Jones house, the Joneses might not have one, and, if the commandment is our guide, to let someone become homeless is unjust. Does this mean that there should be no real estate business, that no property should ever change hands except by inheritance? Not at all. Buying and selling property was just as much a part ...

247. Explore the Evidence

Acts 1:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt." You don't have to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but you do have to deny overwhelming evidence to the contrary if you reject it. If I were a skeptic, I would still have one simple question – "So what?" I've answered the question of why I should believe in the resurrection of Jesus, but then I'll answer one last question. II. Why Should I Receive The Jesus Of The Resurrection? Everyone on this planet that dies, will die ...

248. Epiphany 2

Jn 1:29-42 · 1 Cor 1:1-9 · Is 49:1-7 · Ps 27

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... the Messiah." Andrew witnessed as one who has been called by Christ. Not only does he make a verbal witness but brings his brother to Jesus. When the Lord lays his eyes on Peter, he calls him by a new name, Cephas, the Rock. All of these men have one thing in common: They are not fulfilling their own inward desires by responding to a call from outside themselves to be and to act as the Lord's servants. THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION Old Testament: Isaiah 49:1-7 Reach out and touch someone. Is there anyone who has ...

249. Step One - Honesty

Luke 8:26-39 · Proverbs 23:29-35

Sermon

John A. Terry

... an unmanageable life, but in truth they do not have him healed. It can be nice to have someone to laugh at, someone to make fun of, someone who makes you feel so much better by comparison. It can be nice to have a friend who is always ready to have one drink too many, to bet too much at a game of poker, to go out looking to cheat on a spouse. That person's return to spiritual and emotional health is by many unwelcorned, even feared. This leads us to the hope-filled words of step two, "Came to believe ...

250. The Baptism of Our Lord

Lk 3:15-17, 21-22 · Acts 8:14-17; 10:34-38 · Isa 42:1-7; 61:1-4

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... put my Spirit upon him." (v. 1) When was the mission given? Answer: Baptism. Lesson 2: Acts 8:14-17 1. A Link Missing in Your Chain of Christian Experience? 8:14-17. Need: As in the case of the rich young ruler, we may have one thing lacking. The Samaritan Christians had everything but one thing. The Spirit is lacking in many church members. Evidence for this is the apathy, indifference, and inactivity of church members. In an inductive style, the sermon will come to the missing link in Christian experience ...

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