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 5000 results

226. The Darkness Before the Dawn

John 13:18-30, John 13:31-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... sorry for Judas Iscariot because there is a little bit of Judas in all of us." We err and stray from God's ways like lost sheep. We promise faithfulness for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health but a lifetime is a long, long time. We want to be Christian in our professional and business lives but the temptations are strong. As Al Pacino said when he played the devil in the movie Devil's Advocate, “Vanity is Satan's favorite vice." We want to be loyal to the Church, but the ...

227. What Would Jesus Say About Marriage?

Matthew 19:3-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... to your job, live for sports, always look out for number one, it would be very wise for you to stay single. It is a valid way to live a Christian life. Not everybody ought to be married. Jesus says in the text: II. MARRIAGE IS A LIFE LONG SACRED COVENANT. The setting for this teaching is this: There are two schools of thought among the Pharisees. Pharisees, like you and me, like to put people in pigeon holes for control purposes. So, they test Jesus by asking, ‘Are you a liberal or are you a conservative ...

228. The Dynamics of Being a Dad

Ephesians 6:1-4, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the commandment about family. “Honor your father and mother so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Paul reminds us that it is the first commandment with a promise. A Sunday school teacher asked ... say, “Your grandma could have put the wood on that one. The wind practically carried it out of the field.” One day against Freeport, a long, long fly ball was hit toward the centerfield fence. E.J., Jr. went for it and when he realized he couldn’t reach it, he threw ...

229. A Man of the Moment

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... and loving God as their own reward, but we don't all function the same way, and it is not wrong to work for a spiritual long-range goal. We are saved by God's grace, not by any good works on our part, but good works are essential to our faith. As ... present good health for granted. Recall the proverbial old person in poor health who said, "If I had known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself." • It's good to remember that about Jacob when there's schoolwork to be done at the ...

230. Hoping For a Hug

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you" (Luke 13:31). But Jesus will not be dissuaded. He has work to do ... even though he is not received well nor welcomed. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Luke 13:34).Sigh. There is a Peanuts cartoon that has been around for years. In the first frame, Lucy is standing next to a tree. Looking up ...

231. Really Hearing

Mark 7:24-30

Illustration

Thomas Peterson

... , "We can observe a lot just by looking." The new relationships that are opened to us give rich meaning to our lives. The same interpretation applies to the act of hearing. A wife says with a tired voice, "I'm going out for a walk a long walk," a deep sigh, " a long, long, long walk." The husband says nothing. In a few hours she comes back and tells him how upset she is over a certain issue. He looks up from the paper and says, "Well, why didn't you tell me you were upset? Then I could have done something ...

232. Fear of Missing Out

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... couldn’t afford a pew would gladly stand in the back or in the aisles if all the chairs were taken, or even watch from the outside if they weren't allowed in, just so they could be part of that worship in any way they could. And not too long ago, people in some denominations fiercely dreaded the status of being ostracized or shunned if it kept them from going to church, where they felt part of a community of worship. No matter what, you didn’t want to miss out. In late 2013, a new word was accepted into ...

233. On the Ropes: Round 1 - Doubting God

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... not dead, but are you deaf?” If you have ever had the experience of praying about something and praying about something hard and long and praying about something that you believed it was a no brainer for God to hear and God to answer and got no ... Habakkuk is, “You think things are bad now? You haven’t seen anything yet. I’ve been in the process of answering your prayer for a long time. You just didn’t know it. The reason I haven’t told you until now is because 1) if I did you wouldn’t have ...

234. Have You Had Your Caffeine Today?

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... that his disciples would have had their energy level drop and their enthusiasm go off a cliff? That would be a normal reaction to the disappointment they had experienced. Then, they discover that he has risen from the dead. This would certainly lift their spirits, but how long would that last? Would it carry them through the persecutions that they would endure now that he was no longer with them? You know the answer to that as well as I do. They were human beings, just as you and I are human beings. They ...

235. Uncovering Cover-Ups

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... not dissolved into amoral relativism. II. If the divine Spirit convicts the world of sin, it also convicts of righteousness and justice. The pastoral letters of the New Testament urge church people not to become weary in well-doing. But over the long haul, in the battle against injustice and unrighteousness, we wonder, in the words of Shakespeare, if love's labor is lost. Will darkness overcome light? Will the weeds win over the beautiful blossoms and nutritious plants? That question has grown to monumental ...

236. Encouragement to Be Faithful

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... ; Phil. 1:3–8). Paul is about to urge Timothy to loyalty (to himself) and perseverance (in the gospel), especially in the face of hardship. In so doing he will appeal to his (Paul’s) own example (e.g., 1:11–12; 2:9–10; 3:10–11), to their long association (e.g., 3:10–11), and to Timothy’s own spiritual history (e.g., 1:6–7, 13–14; 3:10–15). These are precisely the items that dominate the thanksgiving. Thus, by way of thanksgiving, he reminds Timothy of his past loyalty (v. 4) and faith (v ...

237. Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Habakkuk 2:2-20, Habakkuk 1:12--2:1

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... suggests a reference to trading, since “extortion” (the word occurs only here) is related to the verb for borrowing and lending. So Habakkuk speaks of Babylon as a trading nation that has made its profits by imposing extortionate trading terms. Habakkuk asks, How long . . . ? But “how long are you going to carry on doing this” may more likely be Habakkuk’s point, to judge from verse 7. The question is a warning. Babylon is going to find this rebounds on it, so it would be wise to change its ways ...

238. Pressing on Toward the Goal

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... :24, “all the runners run, but only one gets the prize.” But there is no such exclusiveness about this prize; it will be given, as Paul goes on to say about the wreath of victory in 2 Timothy 4:8, “not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Paul aims to win his prize, but there is a prize for everyone who finishes this race; Paul recommends his example to his readers (1 Cor. 9:24), so that they may make his ambition their own. And what can the prize be but that final gaining ...

239. The Jewish Leaders as Negative Foil for Jesus’ Followers

Matthew 23:1-39

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... only one Father and one Messiah-Teacher. Quote: Epistulae, by Pliny the Younger. Pliny illustrates the excessive nature of status divisions in the ancient world. We might do well to realize how often such excessiveness still occurs in our own world. It would take too long to go into the details . . . of how I happened to be dining with a man—though no particular friend of his—whose elegant economy, as he called it, seemed to me a sort of stingy extravagance. The best dishes were set in front of himself ...

240. Job Presents Evidence against the Retribution Principle

Job 12:1--14:22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... knows about the force and in doing so putting Luke on the path to knowing himself. Job Turns to Speak to God Big Idea: Dismissing the insights of his friends, Job takes his case directly to God. Understanding the Text Job 13 is a continuation of Job’s long speech that began in 12:1 and continues through 14:22. In chapter 13, Job begins by speaking to his friends (13:1–12), as he did in the previous chapter. He concludes his reply to them by describing their words as mere “proverbs of ashes” (13:12 ...

241. “Have Mercy on Me, Lord, for I Am Faint”

Psalm 6:1-10

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... see that David is at a very low point in his life. He has a sense of God’s displeasure that has brought emotional and physical fatigue as well as an inability to sleep. As Peter C. Craigie writes, “For most sufferers, it was in the long watches of the night, when silence and loneliness increase and the warmth of human companionship is absent, that . . . pain and grief reached their darkest point.”10 Ask your listeners, “Can you think of a time when fear, grief, or guilt kept you from being able to ...

242. “Endow the King with Your Justice, O God”

Psalm 72:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... whole. Teaching the Text To begin our lesson or sermon, we may observe that David, in his prophetic voice (cf. Ps. 71), prays for his son Solomon, asking God to make him the ideal king who will defend the afflicted and needy (72:2–4, 12–14) and have a long and prosperous reign (72:5–11, 15–17a). As the man of war, David is not permitted to build the temple, but his son, he prays, will reign over an era of peace (shalom; see the comments on 72:3). Perhaps this is even a wordplay on Solomon’s name ...

243. Praise to God for a Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... 1:8; 5:32; 1 Cor. 2:4; 1 Thess. 1:5; Heb. 2:4). Even angels: Contrary to popular belief, the Bible suggests that angels are neither all-knowing (Mark 13:32; Eph. 3:10) nor altogether superior to believers (1 Cor. 6:3; Heb. 1:14; 2:16). Long: Epithymein is used of intense desire, for good or ill. The present tense implies that even now the angels are eagerly interested in the unfolding of God’s salvation plan, and then still do not know all that there is to know about it. To look into (parakypsai): lit. to ...

244. The Bethsaida Boys

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Jamison

... he asked about it one of the people said, “My son is very sick and your disciples said they could cast out the demon that was hurting him. But they couldn’t do it!” Again, I see Jesus taking a deep breath and shaking his head before saying, “How long do I have to put up with you guys?” Think about the day they were walking back to Capernaum and Jesus heard the disciples arguing among themselves. He asked them what the problem was and they told him, “We’re trying to figure out which one of us ...

245. Garden of Love

John 20:10-18, Song of Songs 4:1-16, Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of that ethereal, eternal covenant. Your soul blooms. Your being emits fragrances that fill the air as God’s breath wavers and wafts over you, just as God’s breath once urged the seas to form from the dark of the Deep. Just as Jesus breath fills you now. You long for it. You know you do. There is a beauty and a beckoning to God’s love for us that is so much more than reason can explain, so much more than a moral compass or a reasoned doctrine. God is the eternal alpha and omega, the Root of the ...

246. Worship is Your Rest Stop

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Psalm 92:1-15, Luke 5:33-39, Luke 6:1-11, Galatians 3:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... hours, and you really need a pit stop? Maybe it’s a bathroom break you need, or a fresh bottle of water, or a snack, or a brief nap. Or maybe you need to stretch your legs, because you’ve been cramped up in a bucket seat for a really long time. Or worse, maybe you’re almost out of gas! How many have experienced that one before? That feeling of exasperation and panic, worry and anxiety when that gas gauge is all the way down to the bottom, and you’re scraping along just “knowing” you could end up ...

247. Overwhelmed

Revelation 1:4b-8

Sermon

Will Willimon

... about them. On the way out of the meeting, a man said to me, a man who has been a life-long activist in the Civil Rights Movement, "It makes you long for the Sixties, doesn't it?" I asked him what he meant. He continued, "Back in the Sixties, when it ... of my choosing. "Any topic of my choosing? What about if I spoke on, 'Current Problems on Campus'?" There was a long silence. The student then responded, "Dean Willimon, frankly, we are just overwhelmed with problems. We are exhausted from discussion. What we ...

248. It's Worth the Wait

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... in Holland about awkward pauses in conversations. Have you ever been in a conversation, and then the person you’re chatting with suddenly goes silent? It’s disconcerting, isn’t it? Researchers in Holland ran a study to measure how long a conversational gap has to last before it creates negative emotions in the people involved. They discovered that all it takes is four seconds of silence in a conversation to inspire feelings of anxiety, exclusion, incompatibility, and awkwardness. Just four seconds ...

249. An Unbreakable Christmas

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... remind ourselves that the “more” we desire has nothing to do with gifts. The “more” we need has nothing to do with money. For most of us, our true poverty has nothing to do with money or things. Our true poverty is a poverty of spirit. What we really long for, what we really need, what would really make a difference in our lives this Christmas and every day of the year is to know God more. And that’s the greatest gift of Christmas: The peace of God comes when we know the God of peace. Think about ...

250. Welcome, Joe!

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... a small gift-wrapped box. Inside was a rock. The daughter rolled her eyes. “Cute, Mom,” Said the daughter, “What’s it for?” “Read the card,” her mother said. Inside was a card that read, “This rock is more than 200,000,000 years old. That is how long it will take before I give up on you.” (8) God is never giving up on you. You are accepted. You are loved. You are welcomed and you are waited for. That was the message of Jesus’ life and the motivation for his death—to show us that God ...

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