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 376 results

226. Our Everyday Life Isn’t Everyday

Mt 17:1-9; Gen 1

Illustration

Brett Younger & Brett Blair

... bacteria as there are people on the surface of the earth. (I should have skipped that one.) The mystery of your birth, the mystery of the love you feel, the mystery of the deepest part of you are all most improbable. You are an incredible contingency. Sam Keen wrote, "I suspect that we are all recipients of cosmic love notes. Messages, omens, voices, revelations, and appeals are all part of each day's events. If only we know how to listen, to read the signs." Our everyday life isn't everyday. The surface of ...

227. To Jesus from the Pharisaic Management Consultants

John 9:1-41

Illustration

Ray Osborne

... son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings and they both registered a high score on the manic depressive scale. "One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your comptroller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory. "We wish you every success in your new ...

228. John 10:1-10

John 10:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... gateway is the one established and recognized as the shepherd. Likewise the sheep themselves testify to the authenticity of the “shepherd.” They recognize his voice and follow him because of that voice recognition. Both ancient and modern testimonies affirm the keenness of middle‑eastern sheep’s hearing. It is well documented that after shepherds combined their herds for a night’s safe slumber, they separate the various herds by calling or whistling out their own sheep. Each shepherd had his own ...

229. Finding Our Roots in God and Country

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 6-10

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... : our musical roots, our architectural roots, our theological roots and yes, especially our academic roots. After I had preached in the morning service, I went to lunch with the pastor of the church and one of the Cambridge dons, a biology professor, who was quite keen on showing me Emmanuel College where he had attended and taught before retirement. He showed me around campus pointing to the room where he lived when he was a student, the room where he taught when he was a tutor, and another one when he ...

230. How To Even the Score

Illustration

For several years a lawyer and a doctor regularly played golf together. They were evenly matched, and there was a keen sense of rivalry. Then one spring the lawyer's game suddenly improved so much that the doctor was losing regularly. The doctor's efforts to improve his own game were unsuccessful, but finally he came up with an idea. At a bookstore he picked out three how-to-play golf texts, and sent them to the lawyer for a birthday present. It wasn't long before they were evenly matched again.

231. Saved From Silence

Illustration

Staff

... that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's ...

232. A Cultural Shift in Decline

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

Sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947 book Family and Civilization, recorded his keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied. Marriage loses its sacredness...is frequently broken by divorce. Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is ...

233. Truly Thankful

Illustration

John Wesley was about 21 years of age when he went to Oxford University. He came from a Christian home, and he was gifted with a keen mind and good looks. Yet in those days he was a bit snobbish and sarcastic. One night, however, something happened that set in motion a change in Wesley's heart. While speaking with a porter, he discovered that the poor fellow had only one coat and lived in such impoverished ...

234. Do Not Spit Here

Illustration

Staff

Many years ago, H.A. Ironside had a school for young Indian men and women, who came to his home in Oakland, California, from the various tribes in northern Arizona. One of these was a Navajo young man of unusually keen intelligence. One Sunday evening, he went with Ironside to the young people's meeting. They were talking about the epistle to the Galatians, and the special subject was law and grace. They were not very clear about it, and finally one turned to the Indian and said, "I wonder whether ...

235. Lick to Death

Illustration

Chris T. Zwingelberg

... his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the ...

236. Disease of the Soul

Illustration

James Packer

... about ideals, enthusiasms, and strong hopes. They look pityingly at young people and say, "They'll learn," taking it for granted that when they've learned, they'll become tough inside too. Once upon a time these leather-souled people were keen, hopeful, and expectant. But nothing happened, or they got hurt, and now they protect themselves against pain by adopting cynical, world-weary attitudes. If these people are ministers of churches, they work mechanically, merely going through the motions because their ...

237. The Witnessing Hitchhiker

Illustration

J. Kirk Johnston

... years before. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs. Hanover. A little confused as to what was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She extended her hand. "You knew my husband?" Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. "Can you tell me when that was?" "It was May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged ...

238. Unwittingly Brutally Honest

Illustration

Staff

... member of my department under any circumstances. In any change in policy or procedure, he can be relied upon to produce the improbable, hypothetical situation in which the new policy cannot work. Needs careful watching since he borders on the brilliant. Open to suggestions but never follows them. Is keenly analytical, and his highly developed mentality could best be utilized in research and development. He lacks common sense. Never makes the same mistake twice but it seems to me he had made them all once.

239. Thoughts About the Tongue

James 3:1-12

Illustration

Staff

Some choice thoughts about the Tongue: About Abrasive Speech Many a blunt word has a sharp edge. Keep your words soft and sweet; you never know when you may have to eat them. About Gossip Gossip is like soap mostly lye! A gossip is just a fool with a keen sense of rumor. About Profanity Profanity is a public announcement of stupidity. Swearing is a lax man's way of trying to be emphatic. About telling the Truth A lie is a coward's way of getting out of trouble. Truth is as clear as a bell, but it isn' ...

240. A Vacant Pulpit

Humor Illustration

... turned to the committee and said, "Well, what do you think? Shall we call him?'' The good church folks were appalled! Consider a sickly, trouble making, absent-minded ex-jailbird? Was the board member crazy? Who signed the application? Who had such colossal nerve? The board member eyed them all keenly before he replied, "It's signed, The Apostle Paul."

241. Let the Gospel Run Its Course

Mark 4:26-29

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

... not based on his eloquence or his abilities. He knew that the power of the sermon would have no effect whatsoever unless the very Word of God got into a person's heart. Luther knew that he couldn't do that. It was the Holy Spirit who did that. Luther keenly understood the power of the Word.

242. Advent 3

Isaiah 12:2-6, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 4:4-7

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... and helpfulness overcome violence and mean-spiritedness. Protect children from poverty, hunger, sexual abuse, and soul-violence. Let the joy we sing about at Christmas actually pervade the goings and comings in the world. Maker and Shaker of our Humanity — we are keenly aware that life is not all “roses and light.” Our bodies ache; our hearts grieve; our minds are cluttered; our souls are often hungry. Heal us from hair to toenail, from finger to finger. Strengthen us to endure skinned knees, bruised ...

243. Liturgy of the Palms

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, Luke 19:28-44

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... we can pay our bills, care for our bodies, and minister to people in need. Amen. Intercessory Prayers God of Palms — we get excited when a crowd gathers. Even here, we feel elated when the seats are full and the space is filled with music! We pray for keen awareness of your closeness on Sundays and in our attitudes and decisions the rest of the week. Help us move with the crowd that consistently honors you. We know the whole story of Jesus the Christ and pray that our twenty-first-century understanding of ...

244. Liturgy of the Passion

Luke 22:14-23:56

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

245. Christ the King

Psalm 46:1-11, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Luke 1:68-79; 23:33-43, Colossians 1:11-20

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... ! A “chip off the divine block”! You carry the genes of the Creator. You are talented to participate in peace-making, teaching, healing, and feeding individuals throughout this global village. The words of Jesus provide you with wisdom. Go into this realm called life with a cheerful attitude, with a keen sense of responsibility, and with the ability to share the justice of the living God! Be contented with life, at peace with yourself, and with everyone you meet! Amen.

246. The Power of Observation

Mark 10:46-52

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... -part to my fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes." "There is one other thing," the driver said. "What is that?" Doyle asked. "Your name is on the front of your suitcase." It wasn't the powers of deduction. It was the power of observation. That taxi driver's lenses were clean and keen enough to observe what was going on around him.

247. Transformed to Christ

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

One magnificent, moonlit night, a fisherman climbed the wall of a private estate to partake in the bounty of its fish-stocked pond. He moved with stealth and upon reaching the banks of the pond observed with keen awareness that there was no activity in the bungalow below. All the lights were out. With a sense of confidence, he envisioned his fishing needs taken care of for the full week. Thus, he cast his net into the pond making the light splash. The master of the house remarked ...

248. Enemies of the Cross

Philippians 3:17 - 4:1

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... , like just another appeal to our "belly" that is eternally craving to be somebody. But this is something entirely different. When Paul asks us to "imitate" him, this is not a have to. It is a get to! Paul is not asking us to imitate his virtuous life. He is keenly aware of his shortcomings and failures. "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do" (Romans 7:19). "Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ" (Philippians 3:7). Instead Paul ...

249. Parenting — Not For The Faint Of Heart

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

... . I bent down to them and fed them. — Hosea 11:3-4 Can you hear the anguish and pain the Lord feels? It is the pain felt by a loving parent whose provision has been forgotten, whose guidance has been rejected. Some among us might be able to relate very keenly to this pain of which Hosea speaks. We have given the best we could to our children. Some of you have sacrificed your own dreams so that your children's lives might hold more promise than your own. All this seems to have been lost on your sons and ...

250. When God Calls

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

... business. In many Roman Catholic families, it was common practice in early times to strongly urge at least one son into the priesthood, and/or one daughter to enter a religious order in service to the church. Today our sons and daughters would not be too keen on the idea of their occupation in life being determined for them. But according to God, Jeremiah's vocation was determined even before he was born. I was not reared in the Wesleyan tradition, but I know that there is a phrase that describes the way ...

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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 376 results

226. Our Everyday Life Isn’t Everyday

Mt 17:1-9; Gen 1

Illustration

Brett Younger & Brett Blair

227. To Jesus from the Pharisaic Management Consultants

John 9:1-41

Illustration

Ray Osborne

228. John 10:1-10

John 10:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

229. Finding Our Roots in God and Country

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 6-10

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

230. How To Even the Score

Illustration

231. Saved From Silence

Illustration

Staff

232. A Cultural Shift in Decline

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

233. Truly Thankful

Illustration

234. Do Not Spit Here

Illustration

Staff

235. Lick to Death

Illustration

Chris T. Zwingelberg

236. Disease of the Soul

Illustration

James Packer

237. The Witnessing Hitchhiker

Illustration

J. Kirk Johnston

238. Unwittingly Brutally Honest

Illustration

Staff

239. Thoughts About the Tongue

James 3:1-12

Illustration

Staff

240. A Vacant Pulpit

Humor Illustration

241. Let the Gospel Run Its Course

Mark 4:26-29

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

242. Advent 3

Isaiah 12:2-6, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 4:4-7

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

243. Liturgy of the Palms

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, Luke 19:28-44

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

244. Liturgy of the Passion

Luke 22:14-23:56

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

245. Christ the King

Psalm 46:1-11, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Luke 1:68-79; 23:33-43, Colossians 1:11-20

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

246. The Power of Observation

Mark 10:46-52

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

247. Transformed to Christ

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

248. Enemies of the Cross

Philippians 3:17 - 4:1

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

249. Parenting — Not For The Faint Of Heart

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

250. When God Calls

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

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