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 2676 to 2700 of 5000 results

2676. Hold Me When I'm Angry

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carl Jech

... name Gilgal means), and in place of disgrace there is now grace and peace in the family of Israel again. 1. Anger Must Not Be Kept In The Shadows During this Lenten season we are talking about "the cross and our shadows." Today as we consider the end of the long-running story of Israel's experience with the manna in the wilderness, I believe we are confronted with the issue of anger. How are we to understand the wrath, the anger, the disgrace which seems to be as much a part of God's nature as is love and ...

2677. It's Hard to Be an Atheist with Neighbors Like That

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... enough money from you to supply fuel to get them through this cold winter.” Immediately the rich man peeled a roll of notes from his wallet and handed it to the vicar. The man explained his generosity like this: “Vicar, now I know why you left me standing so long out here in the cold. You knew that never in my comfortable life had I been really cold. Now that I have experienced this misery for myself, my heart has opened up to a need of which I was before unaware . . .” (3) Many of us are unaware of ...

2678. Trapped!

Romans 6:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... ) The point is that the closer we are tethered to God, the more freedom and joy we can experience as we make our way through life. When we are tethered to God it makes it easier to resist those temptations that may appeal to our baser instincts, but in the long run bring only heartache and estrangement from those we love and from God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The truth of the matter is that you and I don’t have to be trapped. Ask ...

2679. Rise Up

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... online connections, people will inevitably feel more depressed, more alone, more fearful than they may have felt in their lifetimes. This is the time when people need hope, love, and faith. They need to know that this situation is not endless, though it may last a long time; that this time is not the worst, although it may get still worse than it is now; that their plight is not hopeless, though they may feel sorrowful and without hope at the present time. We all need reassurance during times of stress and ...

2680. The Howling

Acts 2:1-13, John 7:25-44

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... our social behavior is closest to other intelligent species, such as wolves and dolphins. Scientists believe that studying the howls and sounds of wolves and dolphins can help us understand what our own pre-verbal human communication may have been like long, long ago. In an article in phys.org, the University of Cambridge posted an article noting that wolf species have different types of dialects. This assumption is based on a study of the wolves’ howls and other sounds they make within their communities ...

2681. Remember to Say Thank You

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... worked full-time and had delayed some of her own dreams to put him through school. In some ways, it had been harder on her than the long hours of study had been on him. When the day arrived, he arranged to get her away from the party site, and while she was gone, he ... become more kind and friendly. (4) Science is confirming what sensitive souls like A. J. Cronin have known for a long time—the many benefits of an attitude of gratitude. Several years ago, two researchers at the University of California, Davis ...

2682. The Lighted Path

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’t experienced before in our lifetimes. We feel alone. We feel isolated. We feel sad. And we feel afraid. A few months ago, we felt that nothing would ever change, that life would go on “endlessly”in this sad state of despair. We felt that the darkness had become long, and that a “light” at the end of the tunnel would never come. Then word of vaccines began to emerge. And as though a light had come on, we began to feel hope. God knows, we are a people who need light. We need it to live, to work ...

2683. The Museum of Failed Products

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... and replied, “Well, I used to know.” Actually, a cubit is a little short of two feet. This would make the ark over 450 feet long—the size of one and one-half football fields. That is a large vessel indeed. No wonder it took Noah 120 years to construct it. ... to do? It didn’t work for Him to destroy humanity and start over as he did with Noah. He knew that it would not be long until humanity slipped back into the slime again. What is He to do? For you see, God has another problem. It can be stated like ...

2684. We Would Like to See Jesus

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... so important to men and women and young people and boys and girls today: “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” That is the most sincere desire of our hearts. We want to see Jesus. We want to experience him for ourselves. A second-hand report is not enough. We long to be in his presence. We want to assure ourselves that he is real—that he is relevant—that he is resurrected. We, like Thomas, want to put our hands into his hands and feet and side. We want to know him as our Savior and Friend. We want to ...

2685. The Road to the Passover

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... Jesus pushed his way past the Jews and toward the gate. Samuel didn’t understand what he had meant by the temple. He looked around him at the great structure and he could not understand how one man could build it again in three days. He thought long and hard over the next few days as they finished the Passover Celebration and began their journey back home. He listened to learned men discuss what they had seen and heard. They discussed the scripture and the words sunk deep into his mind. Over the next two ...

2686. A Costly Cross

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

King Duncan

... and by his wounds we are healed. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Not everybody in these enlightened times wants to be reminded of that dark night long ago when our Master was crucified on a cross. As Bible scholar William Barclay described it in his study of Luke, crucifixion was one of the cruelest means of persecution that has ever been devised. A crude structure of wood shaped like a T with no top piece ...

2687. Advice

Romans 12:2, 9-20; 13:8-9

Sermon

Will Willimon

... wish they were. Laertes, like most eighteen year olds, politely stands on one foot and then the other while his old man prattles about, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be;...to thine own self be true." After all, parental advice doesn't usually do harm as long as it's not taken seriously. Can you imagine some of the things your parents have told you printed in six foot letters across the wall of a university cafeteria? "PICK UP YOUR SOCKS OR YOU'LL NEVER GET MARRIED." No wonder that by the time most ...

2688. Patience

Matthew 11:2-11 · James 5:7-10

Sermon

Will Willimon

... the Chapel celebrating a wedding of a couple who waited until they were past thirty before being married. Yet who knows how long it will be before they are truly married? Marriage is but one of the everyday human activities which require patience. So I' ... lifetime. Today, the traditional engagement period appear to be passe. Most couples can't see the point of waiting, through a long time of public anticipation, before they experience marriage. Yet the good thing about the old engagement period is that it had ...

2689. Our Light

Genesis 1:1-5 · Mark 1:9-11

Sermon

Will Willimon

... twinkling of an eye, the message fades into oblivion. We want to be certain. The desire for proof, scientifically demonstrable proof is strong in the human heart. But, in the long run, what difference does it make? It would be fine to know, once-and-for-all, beyond any doubt, that God exists. But would that really satisfy our deepest longings? What good would it do us to know that there was some great, cosmic mechanic, keeping the whole thing going, writing messages with his stars? What good would that do ...

2690. Shuttered

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the aftermath of Easter lasts until Pentecost on May 23rd! That’s nearly two months away for us. Because it took that long for the disciples to “go out” and start fulfilling their mission. For the shock to wear off. For new life and new energy ... rejoin our efforts in a different way. But eventually, we do. Or at least that is the hope. It may have taken Jesus’ disciples a long time, but eventually, they did understand. And after a period of time for them to figure out how to proceed and what to do ...

2691. Will the “Real” Jesus Please Stand Up

Mark 3:20-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... on what touches our souls, and how they make us feel. If the Enlightenment age was the age of the mind, today’s world is the age of emotion, self-awareness, others-awareness, and connection on a level that says we can be as weird as we like as long as we respect everyone else’s weirdness. For kids today, disrespect doesn’t come from holding a differing opinion or living a different lifestyle but from judging someone else’s right to be human in their own way. All you need to do is look at Tiktok’s ...

2692. Like a Phoenix

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... to get along with these guys you had to keep your mouth shut and admit that you were, just like them, nothing. That’s what Jesus was confronting. He was nothing special to these people. He had nothing to say that they want to hear. They’ve known him too long and too well. To them, he ain’t nothin’. And because they aren’t receptive, he was unable to help them. Do you hear that? He can’t help them. I always thought Jesus could do anything but, apparently, he can’t. He can’t un-ring a bell. He ...

2693. The Invitation

Matthew 20:1-15

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , coming to us, as God did, so late in the day, after they had believed (and suffered, too) all down through ages of persecution, misunderstanding, and exile. But, that's tough. Even though we are last, we get the same generous grace which God offered to them so long ago. The first shall be last, the last, first. God's grace is the same. The wages are the same for the last as for the first. But such interpretation may not get at the true scandal of this little story. On the first day of class the professor ...

2694. A Commitment to Hope

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... out perfection. The man got up slowly and walked around Alice. At times he would stop, glance toward his wife, and raise an eyebrow. After what seemed an eternity to Alice, he sat down next to his wife. They looked into one another’s eyes for a long time, not speaking. Then he turned to the superintendent of the orphanage and said, “Yes, she’s the one.” Alice was stunned. In a stuttering voice she said, “You mean you want me to be your serving girl?” The young wife smiled and said, “Oh, no ...

2695. Joy on an Elephant

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

Mary Austin

... where she feels at home. In embracing all of herself — energy, passion, and disability — she tapped into a deep, living joy within herself. On the way to her TED talk, she used her white cane, the symbol of the disability she tried to escape for so long — and guess what? It allowed her to avoid a lot of lines at the airport. In being truly ourselves, the people God created us to be, there is the deepest joy we know. In embracing our whole lives, happiness and sorrow, grief and delight, failure and ...

2696. Public Sex

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Will Willimon

... yourself, sex or discipleship. You need somebody to back you up. There are just too many corrosive acids in modern life, eating away at our ability to be faithful to our commitments. We name them individuality or autonomy, hedonism, or the old who-cares-so-long-as-nobody-gets-hurt? You have been so schooled in the notion that your genitals are your own private, personal business that it is tough for you to sustain a public commitment to another human being. The modem corporation needs mobile people who are ...

2697. Impetuous Faith

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... gets down on the floor with a cloth and washes his disciples feet. This is one of the hardest lessons for Jesus’ disciples to learn. And it’s still hard for us today. But I want you to think for a moment about the people whom you have long admired, whether still alive today or who have passed on, those people whom you would name a true Christian. What were they like? What made you feel they were so good at heart? What was their nature? What characteristics did they possess? It’s likely that you’ll ...

2698. In the Wilderness of Temptation

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the same thing we're going through. That's what support groups are all about. There is real solidarity and strength when you find out that others have the same problems as you. You don't feel so cut off and alone. You are strengthened for the long haul. You are encouraged by those who have gone through what your are currently going through. They give you help and advice. They stand by your side. Sometimes they even hold you up. We need that extra strength because temptation is very real. It doesn't tempt ...

2699. Which King Do We Worship?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... no problem lying on behalf of his employer. Until the day he visited his father who lived in a rural part of East Tennessee. A local nonprofit was advertising a free health clinic for local families. The executive drove out to the event. What he saw was appalling. He saw long lines of people waiting in the rain for hours who were desperate to see a doctor or a nurse. He met families who had lined up early and slept in their cars for two or three nights for this event. He says that as he left the event that ...

2700. What Are You Bananas About?

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... and the tools to empower them to hold on to their faith in Jesus Christ. Obviously, he didn’t choose, “Win the Whole Banana.” We can read the rallying cry he did choose in Philippians 4: 1, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!” “Stand firm in the Lord.” That’s his rallying cry. That’s his challenge to the Philippian church 2000 years ago, and it’s his challenge to us today. “Stand firm in ...

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