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 2751 to 2775 of 5000 results

2751. AAA=A

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... they all profess it. But John especially reveals many of the metaphors that Jesus uses to define himself. This very long interchange between Jesus and his contemporaries can’t be any plainer, at least not for a metaphor. And this disturbs ... Even Paul said, “I mean to do one thing, but I end up doing another!” Ever try to walk in a perfectly straight line. How long can you keep that up! Yet, when we intentionally keep aligning our hearts with God, we take yet another step in the right direction. Love God ...

2752. Comma

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Sermon

Scott Bryte & Kimberly Miller van Driel

... gave birth to him. He suffered, he was crucified, he died, and he was buried. He went where the dead go. And then he rose. He came back to life. He rose up into heaven and took his seat at the Father’s right hand. All of that happened a long time ago. All of that is the story of Christmas and Epiphany and Easter and the Ascension and everything else in between. And it is history; it is ancient history. All of that forever changed the way God interacts with the world. What follows is in our future. Jesus ...

2753. The Power of Weakness

Mark 8:27-38 · Psalm 19

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... deadline that is Sunday morning. The psalmist wrote of the teachings of the Lord found in scripture that they are sweeter than the drippings of the honeycomb and more desired than gold. Think about that! God’s laws are something we can taste and something we can long for with our hearts, they are very personal and close to home. The psalm goes from the beauty of the stars in the heavens, the majesty of creation, to the gift of God’s law which we learn and internalize and concludes with a prayer that his ...

2754. Steadfast Change

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... than her husband, her husband’s other wife, or any of the other wife’s bratty kids did. Hannah made a vow. She had a son and named him Samuel, which means, “I have asked him of the Lord.” And then she lent the son that she had longed for to God. Samuel became sort of a priestly intern. Later, he replaced Eli himself as priest. And it was Samuel who anointed Israel’s first king, Saul, and its second and greatest king, David. See, it wasn’t only Hannah’s life that was transformed, though her ...

2755. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... the stars were all around me and I was so tiny. I looked straight up and suddenly realized that though I am a tiny, tiny part of the universe, there was nothing that separated me from God. I could look straight up into heaven and I did, for a long, long time. I didn’t need to be king then, because I knew the difference between being an insignificant part of an infinite universe and being a tiny, treasure, beloved part of God’s kingdom. I admit it’s a daily struggle to keep Christ on the throne in my ...

2756. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

2757. Finding the Sermon

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

John B. Jamison

... the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, where he would be seen and heard, and he could begin doing the things he had been sent to do. His work would no longer be a once-a-year holiday activity, but it would become his way of life for as long as it would last. That is the sermon I hear. And I think it is appropriate for the week after Christmas. Christmas is safe. It is joyous. It is about beginnings, and hope, and miracles. But now we begin the journey from Christmas Day to Good Friday, and then to ...

2758. Coming Home

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... wherever you go” (Genesis 28:15). Jacob’s experience assures us we can become conscious of God’s presence wherever we are. A nomad, Jacob would often not have had a specific “home,” as a place to hang his hat, but for him, he would be “home” as long as he realized that God was with him. Or as we might say today, “home is wherever God resides within your heart.” In our scripture for today, we see Jesus reacting in a way that would frighten most parents! In those days, people of a town would ...

2759. In the Mirror

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... , we are caught staring at ourselves. Jesus held the mirror up to us, and we see ourselves. At first we do not even realize it. After all, Jesus talked about sheep and the one that was lost. We are not sheep farmers. This was a tale of folks who lived long ago and far away, wasn’t it? And then Jesus told the tale of a woman who lost a coin. It dropped and rolled out of sight. She crouched and looked, she swept and moved furniture. She pointed her light into dark corners. Finally, the coin winked, and she ...

2760. Scandal

Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... would thrust the baby into the arms of a young woman. All knew what this meant. A son from one mother was now the possession of the other tribe. Both tribes had a stake in the child’s future, and all warfare would cease for as long as that child lived. The “peace child” reconciled the foes. With interest mounting, Don asked a further question. What would happen, he queried, if someone should kill the “peace child”? Horrified, the group shook their heads aghast. No one would ever think to do such a ...

2761. Faces at a Funeral

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... he remembered, loves what he loved… The world is emptier” (Lament for a Son). That’s true, as well, of my great-grandmother Bolt. True, too, of a host of good people whose gravestone legacies weather to indecipherable under time’s polishing. It won’t be long before I join them, erased from life’s hard drive by the re-programmers of a new generation. Some years ago we were comparing ages in our family and one of my daughters remarked to another, “Dad has probably lived more than half his life ...

2762. Creation Reborn

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... time of the murder of her son and his family, and now she lived in exile. If anyone could know if Anna was truly her granddaughter, this woman would be that person. One day she came to see Anna. The two women talked together for a long time. When she left, the elderly woman was accosted by reporters, and told the world: “Anna is my granddaughter Anastasia!” Suddenly Anna began to change. She blossomed as a person. She took hold of her life. The suicide threats were gone. She washed herself and combed ...

2763. What If It's ALL True?

John 20:1-18 · Matthew 28:10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... was that the flowers had grown from seeds that had lodged in the coats of lions brought from Africa to eat Roman prisoners in the Colosseum 2,000 years before."[2] The seeds fell off the lions as they tore into the Christians in the arena. The lions are long gone. The suffering is over. But those seeds are still bearing fruit, bearing witness to the power of life to win out over death. “I know . . . I KNOW . . . I KNOW . .that my Redeemer liveth.” He lives in us and He lives among us. That’s the proof ...

2764. Faithfulness In These Days

Romans 10:8b-13

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

... Come.” My fears evaporated. Ignoring my fear, the darkness of the basement of my sin, the dankness I had felt only a moment ago, I raced down the stairs into the embrace of my Savior. I stayed in that embrace for some moments ― I have no idea how long. When I reopened my eyes and came back to the room, my own arms were wrapped around me. My friends’ hands were still laid on me and tears were running down my cheeks. I was loved. No matter my sinfulness, I was loved. This was the most profound spiritual ...

2765. The Great Reveal

Luke 4:14-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a potentially dangerous agitator or insurrectionist. Some would see him as a delusional or heretical figure. His home town would wonder who he thought he was! Others would become fascinated and wonder what he meant to do. The wealthy would watch him cautiously. Those longing for the physical restoration of Israel would put their hopes in him and vie for power in his coming “kingdom.” The poor would come to him for help and healing. Still others would turn back to God at his message of repentance. But no ...

2766. For Someone Who Will Be Terribly Missed

Isaiah 43:1-5 · Job 19:23-27

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... husband John would always say that she looked better after a full week’s work that she did after a full week’s vacation. Nursing was never a job to Tessie. It was her life’s calling. Even when she retired to spend more time with John, it wasn’t long before she returned to work per diem, which, in a matter of months, morphed to full time labor. And Tessie was so dedicated as a nurse that an eight-hour shift would never provide enough time for her to do justice to her patients. Time was never of the ...

2767. For Someone Who Led A Magnificent Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 · 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 · 2 Corinthians 4:6-11 · Luke 24:13-35

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... soda would prime Bill to do his famous Bishop Leo Smith imitation, Smith being the Diocesan Chancellor at the time. It wouldn’t be long thereafter when his buddies would get him to call one of the priests and as “Bishop Leo Smith” inform him of a change of ... needed to cry. Think of the tremendous eulogies he gave for so many who had died and how so many of us hoped he’d live long enough to preach at our funerals when the day of our death arrived. Think about how he made us laugh, how he pumped so much ...

2768. God Is Like...a Face

Genesis 33:1-11 · 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

... Not in a literal sense, of course, but in a figurative sense. Your face, Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me. So exclaims the psalmist (Psalm 27:8b-9a). In another prayer, a desperate prayer, the psalmist cried: How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). We find in the scriptures what appears to be contradictory feelings about seeing the face of God. The thought of looking on God’s face is a terrifying prospect said the Old Testament ...

2769. A Place at the Table

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

... new pastor in ways you couldn’t. But what I want to say to you in that, there is a blessing embedded in this longing. And that blessing is this: You know the church, the Body of Christ, the household of God, the communion of the saints is well ... me the security code for the door. “You know, so you can come back whenever you want to.” And I do want to go back. I long for the day when it is safe for us all to be back, together, around the communion table, and in the fellowship hall and on folding chairs ...

2770. The Three Tenses Of Our Faith

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... off now, Dad?" His dad said, "No, not yet." About thirty seconds later, the boy asked, "Are we going to take off now, Dad?" "No," his dad said. "We won't take off until all of these people get seated on the plane." With that, the dad pointed to the long line of people slowly making its way on the airplane. Then the father made an attempt to end the discussion so that it wouldn't drag on with endless questions. He said, "When all of these people have gotten on the plane and are sitting down, we will take off ...

2771. A Living Memorial

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... shame after coming face-to-face with the destructiveness of his actions. At that moment, he had a great desire for forgiveness. He longed for and needed the reassurance that his father still loved him. Grace The second stage in our spiritual development is our experience of ... to experience difficulty in the world of business. Investments went bad and business ventures turned sour. Before too long, Jim was in considerable debt. All of the applause and accolades had ceased for Jim Tyrer. Financial hardship ...

2772. Witnesses For The Lord

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... Webber used to work as a Senate aide in Washington, D.C. Ironically, he moved to Oklahoma City to escape the violence of city life. He longed to raise his family in the serenity provided by life in the Midwest. On April 19, 1995, Dan dropped off his three-year-old son at ... , the elder said, "I love you." In response, the minister said, "I love you, too." Instantly, the phone went silent. After a long pause, the elder said, "Do you know that this is the first time you have ever said that back to me?" The ...

2773. In Pursuit Of The Promise

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, 'you heard from me ...' " (Acts 1:4). The striking similarity of these two passages from the pen of Luke illustrates how important he considered this message to be. Long ago, I heard a story about a young boy who was hired to do odd jobs and help with the cleanup around an ice-packing plant. As they were working one day, the plant foreman lost his watch in the piles of sawdust in which they packed the ...

2774. Naaman Is My Name!

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... 's and Israel's God was not served, but to Naaman this place where he found his healing would always be "holy ground." He felt he just had to have some dirt from the place where he found the cure. Again, he is not too different from us. We've long since learned that the church pointed us to Christ. But though you can't live your life at church, you can take some of the experience back into the world from whence you came. You can take Christ where you live, where you work, where you play. Like Naaman, take ...

2775. Unusual, To Say The Least!

Amos 7:1-9, Amos 7:10-17

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... decided he had to go! Amaziah invited him to leave, to go back go Judah and tell his message to them. Preaching of God's displeasure with our sins and of his impending judgments upon our lives of disobedience is no more popular today than it was a long time ago. If Amos' oracles are to mean anything to us, we must realize that it is just a single giant step from this 8th century prophet of the Old Testament to the modern 20th century. The lessons are the same. God still governs nations and individuals and ...

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