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 2851 to 2875 of 5000 results

2851. A Lesson Learned from a Snake

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... from guilt--without changing--so we still wear the chains of slavery. We are still tangled in a prison of cellophane. We see now what Jesus saw in Zacchaeus. We also see what Zacchaeus surely saw in Jesus. What did the crowd see? That is the third thing we want to deal with. That crowd of people who had gathered mostly out of curiosity to see this popular religious figure who had come to their town--what did they see? They also saw two things, did they not? First of all, they saw Jesus go home with a sinner ...

2852. A Jiffy for Eternity

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... self-centered desire and say, "I love you for what I can take from you." The implied message is "when I receive from you what I want, my love may well dissipate like the morning fog." Or human love may be motivated by hope of mutuality and say, "I love you so long ... wild lions just to prove how much I love you, my one and only sweetheart!" he exclaims. Then he adds, "And if my buddies don't want to go to tonight's baseball game I will come by and get you so that I don't have to sit alone on the bleachers ...

2853. God Is Trying to Tell You Something

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... of our lives, someone who comes to lead us to the fulfillment of our own highest possibilities. If we can really believe that, it can make a big difference in the way we go to meet life, couldn't it? There is an even better way of hearing what God wants to tell us. Read the story that John tells. Read the stories that Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell too. Read them as if they were really written to you. When you read something that Jesus said, assume that he said it to you. When you read about Jesus having some ...

2854. A Vexing Vision

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... and follow Jesus Christ, we are going to be called to think outside the box and go places we probably would never want to go. We will be asked to go to great depths and heights that may be unreasonable, according to society’s standards. ... . We are willing to receive the un- conditional love of Christ but not willing to give the same love to others. We want justice to be served but do not want the unjust to be called to serve Jesus Christ. We are bold enough to claim Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord ...

2855. Dealing with Difficult People

1 Peter 3:8-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... difficult person? How many of you live with a difficult person - never mind, don’t raise your hand on that one. You may be sitting next to them! For those of you who didn't raise your hands you are probably not getting out enough. You may want to beef up your social calendar! The truth is all of us have to deal with difficult people. Some of you work with difficult people. Some of you have neighbors that are difficult people. Some of you will have Thanksgiving dinner this week with difficult people! Some ...

2856. I Wonder if God Exists

Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... school class. The subject was on being “born again.” A national magazine had just done a story on the issue, and the class wanted to discuss it. The teacher of the class that day was a prominent doctor in the community. He said to the class, “Five years ... And at that moment I fell backward into a 10,000 fathoms deep pit. For the first time in my life the thing I wanted most I could not have. And I fell back further and further and further. Then something pulled me to reach out. And something grabbed ...

2857. The Real Thing

Matthew 5:21-48

Sermon

James L. Killen

... have been looking toward a kind of life in which there will be no divorces. Jesus said, "Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely.'... But I say to you, 'Do not swear at all...' " (vv. 33-34). Jesus wants us to be so completely honest that it will never be necessary for us to swear. (Does anyone remember the old cartoon character Popeye, who used to say, "I yam who I yam and no yammer"?) Then Jesus moved into some of the most radical teachings of the New ...

2858. A Light In the Darkness

John 1:1-6, 19-28

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... to claim that God emptied himself completely and went through the entire human experience. God gets down beside us to feel our pain and to heal our lives. Isaiah 40:11 (NIV) says, “He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.” You want to know where those precious children are? God gathered those lambs close to him and said: “Don’t you worry. They are in the safest place imaginable. I have tucked them close to my heart and I will never let them go.” Where was God on that ...

2859. Mission Possible!

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... separated. A faith worth having is a faith worth sharing. This is the rub of the faith, isn’t it? It is easy to come to worship and Bible study. It is even easy to serve the church in some way. But sharing our faith? That is another matter. Many want to leave that job to someone else. A while back my wife and I were having dinner with some friends at a new restaurant. The food and service were fantastic, but there were not many people at the restaurant. A friend of mine spoke up and said, “We have to ...

2860. The Great Omission

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... had reached a dangerous level. She suggested to her friend that it might be a good idea to see a counselor. Then, in the middle of sharing coffee, she felt led to say to her friend: “I guess we have never talked about something like religion or spirituality, but I want you to know that I believe that Jesus Christ is more than an idea. He is a presence. He loves you very much and because he has helped me through so many crises in my own life, I believe he can help you through this crisis. Would you like to ...

2861. Unstoppable Love

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... and everyone flocked to Jesus. That is a great picture. The best advertising is word of mouth, and the best evangelism is word of mouth — telling others what Jesus’ love has done for us. When the love of Jesus gets hold of us, there is no stop-ping it. We want to tell others and show others what his love has done for us. I can preach about sharing our faith, but the better part of me knows that when Jesus gets hold of people I will not have to tell them to share it. It will be unstoppable. The other ...

2862. Face-to-Face with the Kingdom

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... All through the gospels Jesus speaks of this kingdom as something positive, attractive, and appealing. He compares it to a treasure one finds in a field or a pearl that is obviously of great value. The moment a person discovers this sort of thing, he naturally begins to want it above all else. But how do we develop such positive feelings about the kingdom of God? What has to happen to us so that we realize that the rule of God is infinitely superior to any form of words, how do we come to the place where ...

2863. Smother Love

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... nearly said, "I have only one thing to add to my defense. Take my goods, my honour, my children, and wife; the body they may kill; God's truth abideth still, his kingdom is forever." Just a moment ago I cried a little, not sadly, not pensively, not because I want to go back, but out of gratitude and awe at this documentation on the part of God. It is not granted us to see him face-to-face, but we cannot but be overawed when suddenly we recognize that throughout life he has gone before us as a cloud by ...

2864. Being a True Disciple

John 8:31-36

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... . When the Council finally ended its meetings, one Catholic woman was heard to say, "Thank God that Vatican Council stopped meeting. If they'd gone on any longer, I would have died a Protestant." Growth leads to change but it is not appreciated by those who don't want to admit that change is appropriate. Bud Freeman, in his book You Don't Look Like a Musician, tells of an incident out of the life of Louis Armstrong. He says that Louis Armstrong spent a lot of time walking the streets of Chicago's South Side ...

2865. Mary: The Handmaiden of the Lord

Luke 1:38-45

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... when you need him and will empower you with blessings that give your life joy, purpose and meaning. Mary showed us what belief and faith look like. We talk a big game about having faith and believing in God, but I think we often miss what it really means. You want to know what faith is? Faith means allowing God to work. That’s what Mary did. Take a look at the last thing she said to Gabriel. It is key! “Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her. –Luke 1:38 (CEV) Let. Let! Mary got ...

2866. Why?

Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:1-9

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... to make it better. (Demonstrate this on yourself) You go to your mommy or daddy because you know they love you, and they don't want you to hurt. Maybe they can't take the hurt away, but they can love you and help you to cover up the hurt place ... , have you ever thought of taking your hurt to God? You know, God loves us even more than our mommies and daddies do. And God wants to help us with our hurts, especially the things that hurt us on the inside. Some hurts are on our bodies, like scratches and bruises ...

2867. When You're Rejected

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... about a remarkable young African-American woman from Jamaica who felt a deep connection to these verses about Christ’s rejection. Here is the testimony she gave to him: “I am the second child of my mother and when she gave birth to me, she decided that she didn’t want me, so just like Moses was placed in a basket and sent down a river, I was placed under a plum tree in front of my father’s house. A lady was passing by and told my paternal grandmother that I was outside under the tree. My father came ...

2868. You Are God's Handiwork

Ephesians 2:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... a poor self-concept. This poor self-concept came partially from the fact that she was born with only her pinkie fingers and two partial fingers on both of her hands. She was too embarrassed to learn square dancing because she didn’t think the boys would want to hold her hands. But through the encouragement of her P.E. teacher, who chose Nancy as his partner, she learned to accept herself and believe in herself. Today, Nancy Miller is a mother of four who plays the piano and types 65 words per minute--all ...

2869. His Final Words

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

King Duncan

... just about Jesus’ death. Even Pilate confessed that he could find no basis for a charge against him. That’s why he wanted to wash his hands of the whole affair. But the mob would not be deterred. “Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!” they ... on you that is making you sick. It is not your fault, but it has to be taken out. You are going to feel great pain. But I want you to know, even while you are feeling this pain, I love you and I will always love you. So be brave, my son.” The operation takes ...

2870. Would You Take the Crown Without the Cross?

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

... and tells him that all of this will be his, if, for a just moment, he will bow down and worship him. He is saying, “You want people to follow you, do you not? Then simply blink your eyes at evil and they will come in droves.” But Jesus refuses to change the ... But he did not turn those stones into bread. He fed himself the word of God. He did not fling himself upon the rocks. He wanted no man’s approval but God’s. He did not render service to Satan. He obeyed his father in Heaven. And this, I suppose ...

2871. Without Conflict There Is No Story

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... what is happening to us. That's what the community of the church is all about. In the Bible, that special fellowship in Christ is called koinonia." "That's a new word for me. There are lots of new things in the church I don't know about, but I want you to know more and believe it or not, I memorized that Bible passage about Jesus overcoming the world. I haven't gotten over that terrible experience I had a few months ago but I have set up an appointment with the rape counseling center and I will be going ...

2872. Giving Up Control

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... afraid of the rough waves and the violent wind. They were more afraid when they saw a shadowy figure coming toward them, walking on top of the water. They were terrified. Jesus saw what was happening. Jesus had just fed 5,000 men. When they were so impressed that they wanted to make him king, he sent his apostles off in a boat on the Sea of Galilee and started up the hill to be alone with God in prayer. From that perch on the hill, Jesus saw what was happening on the sea below him. The boat was in trouble ...

2873. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Success

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... if we're honest with ourselves, you and I both know that it's not always easy to put into practice. We may talk about service and sing about service, but the truth is, most of us have a hard enough time just doing the things we need and want to do in our own lives -- our own cooking and cleaning, taking care of our family, going to the doctor, running errands, having tea with friends.... How can we possibly find the time and energy to do even more? Yet scripture confronts us with the example of Jesus, and ...

2874. What Really Counts

Mark 9:38-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... a cup of cold water, he is there. They may not even know his name, but he is there. And that brings us to our particular task. We are called to introduce people to the Lord of kindness. No person ever lived who was kinder than Jesus, and he wants us to do acts of kindness in his name. Mark Twain once said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Actually, kindness is the only language that communicates what it means to be the family of Christ. Kent Millard, a pastor, has ...

2875. What Will It Take to Make You Happy?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christianity. “So let go of that gloom, let go of that depression, let go of that discouragement, let go of that weakness, let go of that sense of failure. Get yourself with Jesus--really, personally. Go to Him, pray to Him, tell Him you want to live with Him, tell Him you want to be guided in your life by Him. “And I will guarantee, on the basis of everything I have seen happen in my ministry, that you will become optimistic; you will become victorious; you will have peace in your heart; you will love ...

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