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 2876 to 2900 of 3108 results

2876. Expressing The Inexpressible

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

What can we ever say about God that is adequate? How can finite minds and mouths ever adequately describe the infinite? Ancient Israel understood that better than most. Those folks were not even allowed to utter God's name out loud for fear of misusing it. Still, every theological tradition, in its own way, tries to give expression to the inexpressible. Perhaps that is a foolish enterprise given that the word "theology" is a bit of a stretch. What is theology - the study of God? Really? God is not like a ...

2877. Time’s A-Wasting

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

Just when everything seems as normal as can be ... in fact, just when we almost break into wide yawns from the dull normalcy of it all, that's when something outside our control can break in with a word or experience that changes everything — perhaps forever. Do you remember when the earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay area in 1989, causing the famous collapse of the double-decker Bay Bridge? Its rumbling effect was felt far beyond the Bay area, insisting itself into the consciousness of everyone ...

2878. Looking for Jesus?

John 20:1-18

Sermon

John Smylie

The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! As we review the gospel text, we discover that it's much easier for us to say that than it was for those first disciples who encountered the empty tomb. We have been given the rest of the story while they are still discovering the joy and wonder of the events that are unfolding right before them. The first Easter didn't start off clear and wonderful. Mary Magdalene didn't rush off to the tomb dressed in her finest outfit with a corsage attached to her blouse, ...

2879. Nocturnal Christians?

1 John 1:1—2:2

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

When I was in college, they used to show movies in a lecture hall that was tiered at a deep angle down to the front of the room. As soon as you entered the door from the rear, you had to go down an aisle of very steep stairs. I remember arriving late once, after the movie had already begun. As I tried to find a place to sit, it was so dark in the room that I nearly wiped out trying to negotiate the stairs. I ended up practically crawling on my hands and knees, groping my way to a seat. At the time I ...

2880. Flesh and Spirit

Romans 8:12-17

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

Chapters 7-8 of Romans are among the most important words in the Bible for us in the twenty-first century. In these chapters, Paul wrestles with the issues of human consciousness, human will, and the Trinity. In chapter 7, he reflects a profound understanding of our struggles as human beings, whether we are a first-century Jew in Palestine or a twenty-first-century American Christian. He writes these words in chapter seven to the church at Rome and to churches everywhere in every age: I do not understand ...

2881. Bothered and Bewildered

2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

Whatever one wants to say about the apostle Paul, we must at least say this: He took Christianity out of the rural roads and countryside and spread it into the urban experiences in places like Rome, Ephesus, Antioch, and Corinth. We have two of his letters to the church at Corinth, and it was a church that bothered and bewildered him. The city of Corinth had a rough reputation. Prior to its fall to Rome 140 years before the birth of Jesus, its nature as an urban seaport had given rise to a temple to ...

2882. Welcome to the Center of Life

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

"The thickets, I said, send up their praise at dawn."1 I thought of this line from a poem by Wendell Berry as we sat with one of our church elders who was dying of leukemia. We had driven up to visit her in her rural mountain home in North Carolina where she had moved several years ago. She was in bed, looking out her window, and she said that she appreciated the trees each morning because they praised God every day. Her testimony, as she faced death, was to give thanks to God for all levels of praise in ...

2883. Wiping Away the Tears

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

It is one line. A few words cast upon a sea of words. One line that sums up all that this day is about and what it represents. One line upon which every human hope finds its fulfillment. One line in which we place our trust. One line that every man, woman, and child turns to when the losses of this life are more than they can bear. One line when the woman stands sobbing quietly beside the hospital bed of the man she has loved for more than sixty years. One line when the child, her face twisted in grief, ...

2884. Cheering for the Underdog

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

Since this is football season, I want to begin with a couple of football stories. The first is about a place kicker who was so angry with himself after missing a field goal that when he got to the sidelines, he literally kicked himself. Yep, he missed there, too. The second story concerns a game between traditional football powers Michigan State and UCLA. The score was tied at 14 with only seconds to play. Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State’s coach, sent in place-kicker Dave Kaiser who booted a field goal ...

2885. Gummy Old Men

Matthew 3:1-12

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

Theme: Reflection, remorse, repentance, renewal Characters: Norb (older man) Earl (older man) Tone: Humorous, serious, sad, hopeful Setting/Props: Bench in a city park near the retirement home Approximate time: 5-7 minutes (Musical introduction) Norb: Well, for goodness sake, if it isn’t me ole friend, Earl. When did they let you out? Earl: Hiya, Norb. They always let us out — right after coffee. “Feed the monkeys, chase ’em out.” You know how retirement homes work. Haven’t seen ya fer a while Norb — where ...

2886. Prepare: An Advent Play

Matthew 24:36-51

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

Theme: Prepare for Christmas in the proper way. Advent is for repentance and change. Characters: Santa Claus (dressed in traditional Santa suit with beard and hat) John The Baptist (dressed in rough burlap material and sandals) Tone: Humorous, serious, provoking Setting/Props: Large Santa bag Wrapped presents Toys for Santa’s bag List The setting can be anywhere Approximate time: 7-8 minutes (John the Baptist enters singing “Prepare Ye” from Godspell or a favorite Advent hymn verse.) John: (shouts) People ...

2887. Get the Monkey off Your Back

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

W. H. Auden once described life as a very grand opera played by a tenth-rate touring company. This seems never more true than after a tragedy, when people are asked “How do you feel?” What comes out of our mouths next? “What a senseless murder.” Well, is there such a thing as a sensible murder? Or “She didn’t deserve this! She didn’t deserve to die.” Well, does anyone ever? Does anyone deserve to die? Or someone was “at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Well, no, they were at the right place at the right ...

2888. Having Trouble Sleeping Through the Night

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Having trouble sleeping through the night? You're not alone. Samuel did, too. Sometimes you hear a haunting phrase that sticks with you years later. I heard one like that from Gardner Taylor, that great African-American preacher who once held forth in the pulpit of Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn. I don't even remember the sermon, which is all right — we're not supposed to remember sermons anymore than we should remember meals; we're supposed to be fed and challenged by them at the moment. I don't ...

2889. Wise Leadership

1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14

Sermon

Donna Schaper

Solomon asks for the right thing: He asks for wisdom. He asks for it from a very humble place, the place of knowing that he is but a child and still he has been put in charge of large things. Leadership is a treacherous thing. How can we possibly know so when we are but children? That is what Solomon knew. He knew, even as a child, just how much help he was going to need to be a leader. He already had some of the wisdom he seeks. Ironically, he was wise beyond his years. God rewards him with wisdom for ...

2890. Dedicating Temples

1 Kings 8:1- 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43

Sermon

Donna Schaper

So much is happening in chapter 8 of 1 Kings that we almost want to get dressed up for an amazing celebration! The Ark of the Covenant is moved into the new temple, the temple is dedicated, a cloud of glory arrives, people have a mystical experience, and Solomon explicitly takes on the mantle of his father David. Then he begins to "preach" a kind of wisdom that is just amazing. While I am tempted to stay with the spectacle of the service of dedication, the sights and sounds and smells, I am compelled to go ...

2891. The Place beyond Revenge

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

Donna Schaper

A custom is begun! Because of the vengeance that the king took against Haman for Esther, the Jews are to remember their salvation. On the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the month they are to send gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. Oh, God, help me to understand violence! Help me to understand vengeance. I am pretty good at the other sins, like lust and greed, pride and gossip, but violence I just don't understand. I also don't really understand the tribalism that is beyond it. Is that ...

2892. Oh, That I Knew Where I Might Find Him

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

Then Job answered, "Today also is my complaint bitter." With those words, we go from the patience of Job to the bitterness of Job, from a docile Job to a defiant Job. Last week, Job was the model of submission. To him we owe the powerful proverbs: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away" (Job 1:21). Last week, we left Job sitting in his ash heap, scraping away at his sores, and asking rhetorically, "Shall we receive the good at the ...

2893. The Wonders of the Word

Illustration

A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim's face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, ...

2894. You Have To Let Go

Illustration

Dr. Anthony T. Evans

One day, two monks were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own. The first monk kindly offered, "We will carry you across if you would like." "Thank you," she said gratefully, accepting their help. So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When ...

2895. From One Sufferer To Another

Illustration

Bob Greene

Douglas Maurer, 15, of Creve Coeur, Missouri, had been feeling bad for several days. His temperature was ranging between 103 and 105 degrees, and he was suffering from severe flu-like symptoms. Finally, his mother took him to the hospital in St. Louis. Douglas Maurer was diagnosed as having leukemia. The doctors told him in frank terms about his disease. They said that for the next three years, he would have to undergo chemotherapy. They didn't sugarcoat the side effects. They told Douglas he would go bald ...

2896. A Pillar of Strength

Illustration

From a national survey of strong families conducted by the Human Development and Family Department at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, a profile of a strong family: Appreciation - Family members gave one another compliments and sincere demonstrations of approval. They tried to make the others feel appreciated and good about themselves. Ability to Deal with Crises in a Positive Manner - They were willing to take a bad situation, see something positive in it and focus on that. Time Together - In all ...

2897. Make the Choice

Illustration

Staff

A woman climbed on the bathroom scale after two weeks of butterless toast and chilly jogs around the park. The needle was still stuck on the number where she'd started. This struck her as typical of how things had been going lately. She was destined never to be happy. As she dressed, scowling at her tight jeans, she found $20 in her pocket. Then her sister called with a funny story. When she hurried out to the car angry that she had to get gas she discovered her roommate had already filled the tank for her ...

2898. A Parents' Task to Counter Culture

Illustration

Ellen Goodman

Columnist Ellen Goodman wrote a powerful editorial on this topic, a portion of which follows: Sooner or later; most Americans become card-carrying members of the counterculture. This is not an underground holdout of Hippies. No beads are required. All you need to join is a child. At some point between Lamaze and PTA, it becomes clear that one of your main jobs as a parent is to counter the culture. What the media deliver to children by the masses, you are expected to rebut one at a time. But it occurs to ...

2899. Disney Motivation

Illustration

Denis Waitley

Winners see risk as opportunity. They see the rewards of success in advance. They do not fear the penalties of failure. The winning individual knows that bad luck is attracted by negative thinking and that an attitude of optimistic expectancy is the surest way to create an upward cycle and to attract the best of luck most of the time. Winners know that so-called luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity. If an individual is not prepared, he or she simply does not see or take advantage of a ...

2900. Heaven Will Know

Illustration

Konosuke Matsushita

In China's later Han era, there lived a politician called Yang Zhen, a man known for his upright character. After Yang Zhen was made a provincial governor, one of his earlier patrons, Wang Mi, paid him an unexpected visit. As they talked over old times, Wang Mi brought out a large gold cup and presented it to Yang Zhen. Yang Zhen refused to accept it, but Wang Mi persisted, saying, "There's no one here tonight but you and me, so no one will know." "You say that no one will know," Yang Zhen replied, "but ...

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