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 251 to 275 of 399 results

251. Mary, Martha, and the Martha Stewart Church

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . But what might be true for our human connections does not hold true for our spiritual needs. Our soul needs only “one thing.” No matter what your denomination. No matter if your spiritual temperament is exuberant, reserved, flamboyant, or meditative. Whether your soul craves cathedrals, or soars under the blue dome, it is all the same as long as we have that “one thing.” That “one thing” is Jesus. In today’s gospel text Martha, the mistress of the house, rushes around trying to make sure ...

252. Sisters

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... in The Birth Order Book, Why You Are The Way You Are. It is book on family dynamics and sibling relationships. Dr. Leman maintains birth order often presages accomplishment in life. The first born is the achiever, the middle sibling goes along, and the baby craves and gets all the attention. The oldest and youngest often have this love/hate rivalry says Dr. Leman. Leman must have been an older brother himself. He says the original title of his book was “Abel Had It Coming.” (2) Differences in sibling ...

253. Faithful Servants

Luke 12:32-40

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... chair, much less settle in for a nap between jobs… Faithful servants are more than ready. They are the kind of people who not only leave the porch light on for you but also meet you at the door with warm milk, and when you say that your bride is craving for anchovy ice cream, they ask whether she would prefer a cup or a cone…" Faithful servants are more than alert. They live their lives on tiptoe, with their ears trained for the call. Before the phone can ring a second time, they answer.

254. Choosing a Master

Matthew 6:16-24

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... . Clothes are supposed to protect us from the elements. Clothes also protect our emotional vulnerability. As Adam and Even in the garden, we are ashamed if we don't wear them. Clothes are a necessity, but look at how they end up controlling us. Not only do we crave the latest fashions, but we even wear clothes that are uncomfortable just to be popular. We wear shoes that pinch or limit our mobility if that's what's in style. Men complain about having to wear neckties. Ties add color and beauty to a man's ...

255. The Road No One Wants to Travel

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... 't do that. We've already prayed to God. We can't do it again. It wouldn't be right." But that's what Peter wanted, wasn't it? That's what the other disciples desired as well. With Phil Donahue they wished the moment of truth to linger. They craved for the passion to last. They wanted to hold hands and speak kind words and sing those songs of love. They begged for the cameras to roll, and then they hoped to play the video over and over and over again. That's when Jesus reminded them that life is ...

256. A Friday We Call “Good”

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

David O. Bales

... going to the doctor can strike a little fear in you. No matter how much people enjoy criticizing worship on the drive home from church or dining at Sunday's dinner of roast pastor, the book of Hebrews points us toward a problem that's deeper than craving for novelty or yearning for the good old days in worship. Our problem with worship isn't because we're bored with old songs or hate new ones. Our problem isn't that the preacher is too intellectual or too ignorant, too liberal or too conservative, that ...

257. A Living Hope (If It Hadn’t Been for Easter)

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

David O. Bales

... to music, and music sets people dancing. Hope is something that gets into our bones and into our muscles and moves us joyfully in God's praise and obedience. In times of social change and especially in times of war, people seek security. Some people who crave certainty leap for a faith that gives them all the answers. So they chatter away saying, "Everything's going to be all right." Many other people turn away from an uncertain future toward the past with a fit of nostalgia. Weren't things better in the ...

258. We Are the Champions

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Larry Lange

... , but he was also a champion at his church. When an interim pastor began serving at Jack's church that year, he immediately recognized Jack's energy and willingness. He took Jack under his wing. He bestowed upon Jack the great praise he sensed Jack craved. The interim pastor whispered into Jack's ear all the world champion ideas he had developed over the span of his forty years of ministry. Superb ideas that they were, the congregation loved them and quickly came to love their interim pastor who had come ...

259. More Than A Kumbaya King

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... want to see the “proof” of any power, of any positive force, in purely physical form. The ideas and ideals we “crown” are those that “win” at the ballot box, or in our bank accounts, or that help us achieve the social or professional status we crave. It is far too frightening to give kingship and obedience over to a “king” whose reign began on a cross. We don’t want to hear that Jesus’ kingship, the reign of Christ, began with sacrifice. Instead we would prefer to think of Jesus as a ...

260. The Irrational Season

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... than the “new,” “cool,” “hot” thing you suffered for. But wait a minute? Isn’t the exact opposite equally true? It’s the “old” stuff that we hanker after and hunger for. We hang the ratty old homemade ornaments on the tree. We crave the same old cookie recipes. We want to hear the old arrangements of the familiar carols we heard as kids. The candlewax spotted tablecloth is reinstated. That strange cheeseball thing reappears. So much of the joy of Christmas Is the sameness of it all ...

261. Accepted Warts and All

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

John Bedingfield

... to hear, says, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." Everyone in this church this morning is someone's child. And if you've been alive very many years, I promise that there have been times in your life when you craved hearing those words from your own father. Most of us have had times where we rebelled or for some other reason the relationship got strained with our parents. Or perhaps you were in the situation where the parent was just lost to you, either physically or emotionally ...

262. Dreaming to a New Future

Matthew 4:12-22

Illustration

Keith Wagner

In 1904 a man from Milwaukee took a neighbor girl, Bessie Cary to a picnic on an island in Lake Michigan. After awhile Bessie got a craving for a cool, refreshing dish of ice cream. Ole (that was his name) rowed 2 ½ miles back to the mainland to get some. Unfortunately, the summer heat melted the ice cream into a globby mess by the time Ole made his return trip. The embarrassing incident prompted the young mechanic ...

263. The Rewards Program for Christians

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Messiah, the Christ. To Jesus, God gave the greatest reward anyone can ever receive: “This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This is a “reward” the world will never hear, the world will never acknowledge. As small children we crave our parents’ attention and approval. Whether kicking a soccer ball, turning a cock-eyed cartwheel, presenting a piece of macaroni artwork, or massacring Mozart, all we want is our parent’s to “look at me” and say “Great job, I’m so proud of ...

264. The Holy Grail

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-46

Illustration

J. Howard Olds

... eyes innocent and kind. Surely the love of a woman and the sweet shelter of home are my heart's desire, reasoned the knight; "But when I touched her, Lo! She too, fell into dust and nothing, and the house became no better than a broken shed." His soul still craving, he traveled on. He found a warrior clad in golden armor. But he also turned to dust. Then he came upon a city that sat upon a hill. Surely civic service and the affection of his fellow men will mean his journey's end. But when he reached the ...

265. Actions Speak Louder than Words

John 17:6-19

Sermon

John Smylie

... the Ascension Day and Pentecost we, too, would be wise to gather together in one another's presence, quietly awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. The world brings us many challenges and most of us have likely gone through emotional and momentous occasions and we likely crave the presence of others who have walked that road. We may long to be with others who have faced this world and at times felt crushed by it. Perhaps we need to gather in community because we have discovered a cancer or are about to get ...

266. At the Banquet...In Your Pajamas

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... falling out of love with potbellied pigs. Fortunately, a man named Dale Riffle came to the rescue. “Someone had given Riffle one of these pigs, and he fell in love with it. The pig, Rufus, never learned to use its litter box and developed this craving for carpets and wallpaper and drywall. Yet Riffle sold his suburban home and moved with Rufus to a five‑acre farm in West Virginia. He started taking in other unwanted pigs, and before long, the guy was living in hog heaven. “There are currently 180 ...

267. What Does It Mean to Be Blessed?

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... in a blessed location. One of the ways you know that you aren’t blessed yet in the biblical sense of the word is that you got to keep leaving the island to have fun. You need more than your relationship with God to have peace. You crave more than your communion with the Father to have joy. The blessed person finds their sufficiency with Him.” (5) But perhaps the best explanation of being blessed comes from rock star Bono, lead singer of the rock group U2. Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast years ...

268. The Science of Happiness

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is “healthy body/healthy heart.” The number of professional athletes who succumb to drugs, despair, and personal destruction each year tends to temper that mantra. Still we keep trying. We struggle to find some equation that can bring us the end we crave—-true happiness. Did you hear that the Girl Scouts of America just revamped their merit badges? The Girl Scouts’ new merit badges encourage and reward skills that reflect 2012 more than 1912, the year GSA was founded. Accordingly there are now merit ...

269. In Your Own Backyard

Illustration

George Sweeting

... gardens... and was a wealthy contented man." One day a wise man from the East told the farmer all about diamonds and how wealthy he would be if he owned a diamond mine. Ali Hafed went to bed that night a poor man poor because he was discontented. Craving a mine of diamonds, he sold his farm to search for the rare stones. He traveled the world over, finally becoming so poor, broken, and defeated that he committed suicide. One day the man who purchased Ali Hafed's farm led his camel into the garden to drink ...

270. He That is Down

Illustration

John Bunyan

He that is down needs fear no fall; He that is low, no pride; He that is humble, ever shall Have God to be his guide. I am content with what I have, Little be it, or much; And, Lord, contentment still I crave, Because Thou savest such. Fullness to such a burden is That go on pilgrimage; Here little, and hereafter bliss, Is best from age to age.

271. What a Hug Can Do

Illustration

Dean Walley

... it We scarcely could survive without it! A hug delights and warms and charms; It must be why God gave us arms Hugs are great for fathers and mothers, Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers; And chances are your favorite aunts love them more than potted plants. Kittens crave them, puppies love them, Heads of states are not above them. A hug can break the language barrier And make your travel so much merrier. No need to fret about your store of 'em; The more you give, the more there's more of 'em. So stretch ...

272. Monster Rehab

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... — the eternal human quest to try and make ourselves “godlike.” Ever since Adam and Eve’s fruit picking expedition, “godlikeness” has been the most monstrous desire that has driven us. We lust for the best seats. We crave titles and entitlement. King, prince, duke and earl, have been replaced by CEO, CFO. COO, President, Senator, Rock Star, Celebrity — but they all reflect the same desire for distinction. Power, prestige, prerogative, recognition, respect, reverence. Our “monstrous” side ...

273. Mother Spells Bankrupt

Illustration

Staff

... than the gift itself. The person who has learned this will not be frustrated because his gift is small, like the husband who wrote the following lament to his wife on Mother's Day: M is for the mink coat you want, dear, O is for the opal ring you crave, T is for the tiny car you'd love, sweet, H is for the hat that makes you rave, E is for the earrings you'd admire, love, R is for the rug on which you'd tread; Put them all together, they spell bankrupt, So I'm giving you ...

274. Training for Delinquency

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

... he can get his hands on...[never think of monitoring his TV programs]. Sterilize the silverware, but let him feast his mind on garbage. Quarrel frequently in his presence. Then he won't be too surprised when his home is broken up later. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. Every sensual desire must be gratified; denial may lead to harmful frustrations. Give your child all the spending money he wants. Don't make him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you did? Take his side ...

275. The Bank of Heaven

Illustration

C. H. Spurgeon

Spurgeon on prayer: There is no need for us to go beating about the bush, and not telling the Lord distinctly what it is that we crave at His hands. Nor will it be seemly for us to make any attempt to use fine language; but let us ask God in the simplest and most direct manner for just the things we want...I believe in business prayers. I mean prayers in which you take to God ...

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