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 2576 to 2600 of 5000 results

2576. While You Wait

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... you still can’t seem to get off the couch. Perhaps you are lonely, wanting to meet new people and you have been praying for God to bring new people in your life but nothing has changed. I am sure many of you are wondering what is taking God so long to answer, to act, to move on your request! You have prayed persistently and faithfully. The Bible says, “Ask and it will be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open to you” (Luke 11:9). You have asked until your throat is sore ...

2577. Less Is More

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... squeezed my hand so tight I thought he was going to squeeze it off. When I finished praying, there were tears in his eyes. He looked up at me and said, “I’ve found the way to peace in my life. I don’t know why it took me so long to learn it. I’ve learned to be grateful, not angry.” He was right. The way to contentment is through an attitude of gratitude. An attitude of gratitude is appreciating the good things in your life and giving thanks to God for all his blessings. John 1:16 (NIV) plainly ...

2578. Prayer Changes Things

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... and be absolved. How convenient. You know what I thought when I heard about this? Big deal! I have had an “app” like this long be-fore there were cell phones. All of us have this “app” and it costs us nothing. We don’t need a cell ... could this happen? I don’t remember a lot about being in the hospital during my treatment.... I think I’ve tried to block out the long days... but I do remember watching one of your sermons one day or night while I was in there and I can honestly say that it brought ...

2579. Learn To Play Again

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with every-thing for our enjoyment. A long, long time ago a group of people in the church got together and thought it was important to make a list of the most important beliefs of ... Christianity. They called it “catechism.” They soon discovered that the list was too long and difficult to memorize, so they came up with a “short catechism.” This was to be a summary of the key beliefs of ...

2580. Pop Verses!: Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4:13

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... many people. It expresses a deep hope and desire to find strength. We like the verse because we hope for strength. We yearn for it. We long for it but many of us don’t experience it. Well, you have come to the right place today. I am going to share with you ... do all things, like swim the English Channel or win a Green Jacket!” I had to give up my dream of a Green Jacket a long time ago! For Paul "all things" meant all the work and ministry Christ had called him to do. Paul didn’t say, “I can HAVE all ...

2581. The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... s Prayer (“Forgive us … as we have forgiven,” Matt. 6:12; cf. 6:14–15) and James 2:13 (“judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful”). Gamaliel of Jabneh (a late first-century rabbi) is quoted as saying, “So long as you are merciful, the Merciful One is merciful to you.” This quid pro quo ethic should be taken seriously but not legalistically. Those who are genuinely forgiven cannot help but forgive. Blessed are the pure in heart. The primary reference is not to ...

2582. The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-23

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... 17 that points out how fortunate the disciples were in learning truth that former generations of righteous people had longed to know. Parables were Jesus’ method of teaching believers about the coming of the kingdom while at the same ... healed. To his disciples Jesus exclaims how fortunate they are, for they are privileged to enter into truth that prophets and upright people have long desired to know; 1 Peter 1:10–12 also speaks of the Old Testament expectation about the times of the Messiah (cf. also Heb ...

2583. Despair, Hope, Easter, and Pentecost

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... when they got there, the stone was rolled back and the tomb was empty. It did not occur to them at first that what they were encountering was something God had done. They looked on it as yet another expression of human depravity, one more tragedy in a long string of atrocities. They assumed that grave robbers had added insult to injury by taking the body that had been crucified and further desecrating it. "Where have you laid his body? If you will only tell us we will go and get it." This was the extent of ...

2584. Face-to-Face with the Kingdom

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... the seasons of the year winter is my favorite, and the part of winter that I like best is the coming of that "icy white stuff." As long as I can remember, I have loved to see it fall, delighted to walk in it and slide on it, and to my wife's dismay I ... one of unmaking and disintegration rather than creating and building up. This happened to the boy. It was his "moment of truth," like mine long ago. The Greek term is that "he came to himself." It is a medical image for recovering from a coma or waking up out ...

2585. Paying What's Due

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... up public sentiment against the hotel owner Leona Helmsley a number of years ago was her alleged statement: "Only little people pay taxes." Her feeling was that the better off one is, the less necessity there is to pay for what one receives. This is a long way from Jesus' admonition to give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's. One further thing the citizens of a republic owe to the government is continuous scrutiny of its policies. One commentator on the American scene urges us to behave toward ...

2586. Jesus' Sorrow for Jerusalem

Luke 13:31-35

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... sent to it (see note below). Jesus’ statement that many times he wanted to gather Jerusalem’s people may imply previous visits (see John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55 where three Passover visits to Jerusalem seem to be implied). The idea is that Jesus had longed to gather all of Israel into the kingdom of God. Within this kingdom (and not the one of popular expectation) would salvation be found. But Jesus and his message had been rejected and so Jerusalem’s house (perhaps the temple, see note below), the center of ...

2587. The Coming of the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20-37

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... to be mentally and spiritually prepared. In the Lucan context true spirituality involves a correct attitude toward possessions. One who rushes back to a house to get personal belongings is not ready to meet the Lord. That one is like Lot’s wife, who looked back longingly for the things that she had left behind in Sodom, and in so doing she lost her life (Gen. 19:26). Therefore, Jesus says, whoever tries to keep his life (by his own selfish means) will lose it, and whosoever loses his life (in service for ...

2588. Abraham Justified by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... has found”) seems oddly suited to the verse and may derive from 1 Maccabees 2:52 and Sirach 44:19–20, which utilize the same word. The language suggests that Paul is appealing to a Promethean figure in Israelite tradition whose name has long been encoded in formulaic phraseology. Abraham was a brave choice on Paul’s part because Paul hoped to prove by his example a point quite at variance from the established rabbinic understanding of him. The rabbis believed that Abraham was counted righteous because ...

2589. The Scroll and the Lamb

Revelation 5:1-14

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... and earth. John has this eschatology in mind when shaping his book. Thus, the concluding visions of Christ’s parousia begin with the destruction of evil and death before describing the final transformation of God’s people which can now take place at long last. And the inevitability of such an outcome is already understood in this vision of the Lamb’s enthronement: the forward movement of God’s saving and judging grace, begun by the executed and exalted Messiah, simply has too much inertia for the ...

2590. 144,000 Sealed

Revelation 7:1-8

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... 144,000 enumerate the remnant of martyrs, it does make sense of the immediate context to identify this group with those who earlier cry out for vindication (6:10). This first part of the visionary interlude, then, responds directly to the martyrs’ earlier question, “How long?” (6:10). If we are to take the phrase more literally as referring to the saints of “old” Israel, then the 144,000 would form a “cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1; cf. Heb. 11:4–38) whose faithfulness to God established the ...

2591. The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... to a Philistine. It may be that Obed-Edom was a Levite who had resided for some time in Gath and is therefore described as a Gittite. Perhaps he was there as part of David’s exiled group. It is possible, however, that his family had been long-term resident aliens within Israel and he, although still known as a Gittite, was a fully accepted member of the Israelite community. 6:12–15 This account is sometimes taken not as describing a particular event taking the ark to Jerusalem but as a description of a ...

2592. Job's Reply to Eliphaz

Job 6:1–7:21

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... in the face of his suffering; it has become Job’s “bottom line.” He is willing to suffer and even to die, as long as his tombstone reads: “This was a righteous man!” 6:11–13 The final verses of this opening section of chapter 6 ... ? The chapter concludes with the note that the need for action is urgent because, unless divine redress is immediately forthcoming, Job is not long for this world. Additional Notes 6:4 For the image of arrows as the instrument of divine punishment see Pss. 38:2; 120: ...

2593. Job's Second Reply to Bildad

Job 19:1-29

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... up their shaky worldview, torment . . . and crush Job in hopes of forcing an admission of sin from his lips. Their hopes are in vain, however, since Job remains committed to his innocence. Job begins his reply ironically by using the same frustrated cry (How long?!) with which Bildad began his second speech to Job (18:2). The mutual escalation of frustration is evident. Job seems to be saying, “I am just as irritated with your refusal to accept my protestations of innocence as you are with my rejection of ...

2594. Epilogue

Job 42:7-17

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... as part of the doubling pattern employed in the final blessing of his possessions. Gordis (Job, p. 499) believes that Job was “in the prime of life” when he began suffering but sees no reason to limit Job’s total life to 140 years. Regardless, Job’s long life serves as an additional confirmation of his righteousness (Deut. 6:2; 22:7; Ps. 91:16). Job saw his children . . . to the fourth generation. Job’s lineage was insured—and not cut off, as the destruction of his family at the beginning of the ...

2595. The Divine King Is Mightier than the Chaotic Waters

Psalm 93:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... and his people at the temple. In sum, this psalm presents two things that are established (v. 2) or firm (v. 5) by virtue of Yahweh’s established throne (v. 2): the world and his “testimonies.” Verses 1–4 look especially toward the past, “long ago,” and verse 5 toward the future, for endless days. His creation and his word exhibit his stable rule. Additional Note 93:5 Holiness adorns your house: The MT’s naʾawâ is an odd form possibly meaning “befits” or “adorns.” We should perhaps ...

2596. Blessings of Those Who Fear the Lord

Psalm 112:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... that “in the meantime” he may not. The promise here is not for a cushy life but for one upheld by God. 112:10 The final verse drives home the fact that righteousness is the only means for obtaining ultimate satisfaction. The wicked will see their longings . . . come to nothing. We may infer from this psalm that one can argue for righteous conduct not only on the grounds that it is right but also on “selfish” grounds. The wicked, despite their complete freedom to choose whatever means to obtain their ...

2597. Life Through the Son

John 5:16-30, John 5:1-15

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... City of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), pp. 79–83. 5:6 And learned: There is no reason to think (with GNB, “and he knew”) that Jesus’ knowledge at this point was supernatural (as, e.g., in 2:24–25). The aorist tense implies that Jesus found out how long the man had been sick, presumably by being told. 5:10 The law forbids you to carry your mat. Ironically, it would not have been against the Sabbath law for someone to carry the man on his mat or couch (cf. Mark 2:3). See Mishnah Shabbath 10:5 ...

2598. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-31, John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (v. 17). Again in verse 19 he had picked up the language of his opening pronouncement in 13:33, but now with a crucial qualification: Before long [Gr.: eti mikron; cf. 13:33], the world will not see me any more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. This was what called forth Judah’s question. The world will not see Jesus after he departs. As far as the world is concerned ...

2599. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... between 12:1ff. and 2:14–17). As we shall see, our passage is also otherwise linked with 2:14–4:6, where Paul argues that he is a revelatory mediator on par with Moses. Even without the allusion to 2 Corinthians 2:14, 17, our passage has long been suspected of referring to Paul’s encounter with the divine throne-chariot (cf. G. Scholem), for the text recounts that Paul was caught up to the third heaven. The verb harpazein is used here as elsewhere in the sense of being taken up and carried away at ...

2600. Two Kinds of Wisdom

James 3:13-18, James 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... new point James will make about the tongue, namely, the evil in it. 3:6 The likening of the tongue to fire has an Old Testament background: Pss. 10:7; 39:1–3; 83:14; 120:2–4; Prov. 16:27; 26:21; Isa. 30:27. Sirach, commenting in a long passage on slander, states, “[The tongue] will not be master over the godly, and they will not be burned in its flame” (28:22; cf. Psalms of Solomon 12:2–3). The structure of this verse is difficult, for the grammar is unclear; but the general sense is clear. The ...

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