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 2826 to 2850 of 3108 results

2826. Let God Be God - As if It Could Be Otherwise

Exodus 7:14-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

John Newton once wrote, “If you think you see the Ark of the Lord falling, you can be quite sure that it is due to a swimming in your own head.” (Gerald Kennedy, Fresh Every Morning p. 8). Now I don’t expect you to understand the richness of that statement at this point —- but I hope it gets your attention. If you think you see the Ark of the Lord falling, you can be quite sure that it is due to a swimming in your head.” Today, I’m going to talk about God. No what’s new about that, you ask. There’s nothing ...

2827. Ministering Angels

Exodus 23:20-33

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Frederick Buechner is one of my favorite writers. I don’t know of any contemporary writer who says anything clearer or more creative than Buechner, He has one book entitled “Wishful Thinking” which he subtitles “Theological ABC”. In this book he defines words, words that are common in our Christian vocabulary. He’s the one I quoted a couple of weeks ago defining glory as “what God looks like when for the time being all that you have to look at him with is a pair of eyes.” He defines a glutton as “one who ...

2828. Lean Thine Arm on the Windowsill of Heaven (Growing Old Gracefully)

Psalm 90:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In my last sermon, I talked about Parent Burnout. I told some of you that you would get equal time. Today, I’m talking about “growing old”. Next to dying, the recognition that we are aging is the most profound shock of our lifetime. The truth is that the sermon is not just for one segment of the congregation; it’s for all of us. We’re all growing old. And as someone has said, “growing old is not so bad when you consider the alternative.” A 90-year-old was asked what he felt like when he woke up in the ...

2829. Emmanuel - God with Us

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In his little book, Portraits of God, Harold T. Bryson tells boys who asked their minister for a service project where they could help somebody. The minister gave them the name of a blind man who wanted someone to read the Bible to him. When the boys arrived at the blind man’s house, they agreed that over a period of time, they would read the entire New Testament to him. However, when they started reading the first chapter of Matthew, they quickly came to all the “begets” and begats”. Abraham begat Isaac, ...

2830. Two for the Price of One

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

No one would accuse me of being a baseball fan. I am a World Series fan. My time investment in the game is compressed into about eight or ten days when the national championship is determined by seven games. I’m always happy when it’s played out to the most dramatic possible end - one team winning four, the other, three. But there are other baseball times when my attention is caught by the drama of some record in the making. Such was my interest in Willie Mays, that phenomenal hitter who caused all America ...

2831. Fulfilling the Vision

Acts 2:14-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

God said “I will pour out my spirit on all kinds of people and your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams and whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved". A vision. Without it a church flounders and with it a church flourishes. A vision is, in essence, a picture of God's preferred future. And the vision I want to share with you today is as old as the prophet Joel, as powerful as the one on the day of Pentecost and is as current as ...

2832. When It's Time For Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A Gallup Poll asked Americans what they try to do when they are wronged? Forty-eight percent said they try to forgive; eight percent said they try to get even. In our minds at least, forgiveness outdoes revenge six to one. Forgiveness—what a wonderful idea! Forgiveness is the oil that lubricates the human machine. Without it, all of life becomes hot and squeaky. Or as my favorite author on the subject Lewis Smedes says, “God has invented forgiveness as a remedy to the past that even He could not change.” ...

2833. Why Join a Church?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

At the tender age of 18, I accepted my first appointment as pastor of a local church. Almost every Sunday for the past 38 years, I have stepped into some pulpit to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. For a lifetime, the local Church has captured my heart, my mind, my strength, and my deepest devotion. Today, I believe in her mission more than ever before. The local Church, in my opinion, is still God’s best hope for humanity. What makes a church great is not its building and not its steeple. What makes a ...

2834. The Kingdom for Which We Long

Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

We’ve a story to tell to the nations, That shall set their hearts to the right. A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, And dawning to noonday bright. And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, A kingdom of love and light. Do you believe that? We come to the second petition in the Lord’s Prayer this morning and it may take the greatest faith and the greatest imagination of all that we are taught to pray. So we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be ...

2835. Using the Best Materials

Galatians 5:16-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd, There’s one who’s humble and one who’s proud. There’s one that’s broken-hearted for his sins, And one who unrepentant, sits and grins. From much corroding care I would be free, If I could just determine which is really me. Life is a choice. Day by day we make decisions which shape the character of our lives. The habit of good conduct is an indispensable element in the construction of a good life. So what does it mean to be a good person? What do good people have ...

2836. Stepping Into the Stream

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When it comes to water, I am fundamentally afraid. It’s my mother’s fault. She was so concerned that one of her children might wade into a pond or fall into a creek that she put the fear of water into our psyche. So I was an adult before I learned to swim. When the water is deep and the waves are fierce, I can still find myself getting anxious. Perhaps that is why I have never preached a sermon on this text about Peter walking on the water. It’s just too personally intimidating. But, here it is, in three ...

2837. Believe

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said that even the deepest meaning of Christmas is chocked full of make-believe. God does the making and invites us to do the believing. That’s what I would like to talk about today. Why not make this Christmas more than an adventure in fantasy? Why not, for you personally in your life, make this Christmas an affirmation of faith? For beyond the tinsel and beneath the hay and more important than all the cultural wrappings of Christmas, lies the truths that can shape and form our lives for today ...

2838. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Sooner or later it’s bound to happen. A child will climb into your lap and ask the question, a friend facing some struggle will want to know, or lifting up the floorboards of your own faith you will examine your basic assumptions. From age to age the question is the same, WHAT IS GOD LIKE? People in Jesus’ day needed an answer to the God question, too; so Jesus gave us the greatest story ever told. A certain man had two sons. We call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but really it’s a story about a ...

2839. When You Are Up And Out

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person, it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed, until he found where the real problem was and there he landed. He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the question of marriage. “Go call your husband,” Jesus said to her. He did that with the rich young ruler and landed on the question of money. “Go sell all of your possessions and give them to the poor,” He said to that man. He did that with Zacchaeus and landed on the ...

2840. The Door of Prayer

1 Timothy 2:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

During my seminary days, I pastored two small churches near Bardstown, Kentucky. One of those churches had Sunday night services. Since it has always been a challenge for me to produce one sermon a week worth hearing, the thought of two sermons a Sunday seemed overwhelming. So we had a lot of hymn sings for Sunday night service. At a hymn sing the people present call out their favorite tunes and everybody sort of sings along. Mrs. Stora Barlow was a public school teacher in that congregation. Every time I ...

2841. Worship

Hebrews 10:19-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

According to the Westminster Catechism, the chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The Ten Commandments of Moses instructs us to “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." I can still hear my mother say, “Get out of bed; it's time to go to church." I will never forget that command. Thousands of you have made a commitment to worship at least once a week these fifty days as disciples should and do. What is this thing we call worship? Why do nearly forty percent of Americans worship ...

2842. Ezekiel: The Problem of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached about daughters prophesying, young men seeing visions, and old men dreaming dreams. The Church was born not on what was, but what can be when the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of the faithful. Maybe it is still true that dreams and visions more than facts and functions shape the future of our faith. One of the most visionary prophets of the Old Testament was a priest named Ezekiel. He lived about 2,600 years ago. He witnessed the terrible siege of Jerusalem by the ...

2843. Loosening Up for Better Production

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Some unknown lover of nature wrote this little poem: The kiss of the sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth, I'm closer to God in a garden, Than anywhere else on earth. For all of you nature lovers and garden growers, Jesus told a story just for you. In it He drove home a truth essential for the rest of us, too. We call it the Parable of the Sower, though Jesus interpreted it as an allegory of the soils, which poses no problem for ordinary readers, only for Biblical critics of the 20th Century. ...

2844. By Humbly Doing Good

1 Peter 5:6-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The pastor of a congregation preached an unusually short sermon one Sunday. As he came to the conclusion, he offered this explanation for the brevity of it all. “We have a new dog at our house," explained the pastor. “The dog is prone to get into things and chew them up. Last night the dog got hold of my sermon and chewed up the last several pages." The congregation seemed to understand the plight of the pastor. In fact, one visitor to the church shook the preacher's hand after service and said, “If that ...

2845. Living in Gratitude

Philippians 4:4-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Have you heard the old story about the young man who enthusiastically joined the monastery? Wanting the highest and the best, the young monk immediately took the vow of silence. The solemn vow meant the monk could only speak two words a year and those were reserved for his annual evaluation with the Abbott. The first year passed and the Abbot asked the monk how he was doing. Without hesitation the monk replied, “Food Bad." Another year passed and the Abbott again asked the monk how he was doing. The monk ...

2846. Jesus Took the Man by the Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

Barbara Johnson

A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out. A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there." An objective person came along and said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there." A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into a pit." A mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit. A news reporter wanted an exclusive story on his pit. A fundamentalist said, "You deserve your pit." An IRS man asked if he was paying taxes on the pit. A self-pitying person said, "You haven' ...

2847. Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

One of the worst things you can say about anyone is this: Greatness passed by, and they did not recognize it. Ever been somewhere, in a classroom, a meeting, a concert, a church, a family gathering, when some life-changing, reality-shifting, soul-lifting insight has been revealed? Even if most of those listening with you realized they were hearing something amazing, there is always some dimwitted dipstick who has no idea they are in the presence of greatness. Things weren’t any different in the first ...

2848. Strong in God’s Name

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Lee Griess

A young man was sent to Spain by his company to work in a new office they were opening there. He accepted the assignment because it would enable him to earn enough money to marry his long-time girlfriend. The plan was to pool their money and, when he returned, put a down payment on a house, and get married. As he bid his sweetheart farewell at the airport, he promised to write her every day and keep in touch. However, as the lonely weeks slowly slipped by, his letters came less and less often and his ...

2849. Behind Closed Doors

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lee Griess

There are some jokes that are just too terrible to tell from the pulpit. A pastor would have to be nuts to try to slip such a story by his congregation. For example, there is a story of a man who went to a psychiatrist one time with a sleep disorder. "Doc," he says, "I've been having trouble sleeping because of weird dreams. For example, last night I dreamed that I was a wigwam." "Oh yes," the psychiatrist said. "That is terrible. Yes, yes indeed ... Please try very carefully to remember more and come back ...

2850. Why Is God Unfair?

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

One of my favorite courses to teach is "Introduction to Biblical Literature." It is a 200-level course, and therefore only open to upperclassmen. These are college students who have already been around the block once or twice, and they know the rules of the game for getting good grades. Because the course is a biblical survey, there is a lot of material to cover, and little that can be pursued in depth. Yet, I want my students to think theologically, so I place before the group every year one question that ...

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