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 2951 to 2975 of 5000 results

2951. John Mellencamp and the Danger of Procrastination

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... way of playing tricks on us. We may not have as long as we think. And think how much peace and joy John Mellencamp could have in his life in the meantime. There are some things in life that should not be put off. Telling people we love them is one of them. Correcting a destructive lifestyle is another. But the most important is saying “Yes” to God. Won’t you take that step today? 1. Contributed. Source: http://www.jtdyer.com/faith-works-two-sides-coin/. 2. Illusaurus. 3. Contributed. Source unknown. 4 ...

2952. Before You Start Ripping Your Clothing

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... the liver, do not say that God is punishing you for your sin. The truth is that God is grieving right along with you. God loves you. He does not want to see any of his children suffer--and that includes you. God wants each of us to be happy and ... more committed to his faith than most people who had large, healthy families. How could this be happening to his family? How could a loving God do this to him? And even if he could persuade himself that he deserved this punishment for some sin, on what grounds did ...

2953. Noah and the Robots

Genesis 9:8-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... us to our lesson for the day from the book of Genesis. It is the story of Noah--one of the best known and best loved stories in the Scripture. You know the story. God created humankind in His image, giving us the freedom to decide our destiny, and what did ... ! She exclaimed: ‘Daddy! Daddy! I found you! I found you!’” (6) Max Lucado, in his book, A Gentle Thunder, talks about the natural love of a mom for a newborn baby: “Your baby didn’t even tell you she was coming. She just came. And what a coming ...

2954. His Final Words

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

King Duncan

... 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 place, and the child is strapped to a makeshift operation table. As the surgeon’s ... with pain. He looks to his father who stands near the door to seek comfort from the one whom he has trusted and loved since birth. The father looks at his son in terrible pain, but there is nothing he can do. He turns his head from ...

2955. Faces of Failure: Peter

Matthew 26 (selections)

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... Christ, the Son of the Living God. He’s also the one who rebukes Jesus for saying he would die in Jerusalem and vows not to let it happen. Peter’s promise to never fall away is another example of his devotion to Jesus. He believes in him. He loves him. He wants to be faithful, and he promises to do so. And isn’t that what all followers of Jesus do? In our tradition we practice “believer’s baptism.” That means we baptize those who are old enough to freely choose to confess Jesus as Lord. Baptism ...

2956. Uncertain Certainties

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John Jamison

... thing about choice is that when we make it, it is because it is based on what we believe inside, in our hearts and minds. It is a true act that reflects who we are and not something we do because we have to. It is the act of intentional love that we have chosen to base our lives around. It can never be shaken by questions or doubts, because it does not rely upon that type of proof. Ask your questions, voice your doubts, and choose to believe in spite of them all. “Blessed are those who have not seen ...

2957. She Gave More than Bill Gates

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... sometimes become bogged down in one of these stages of grief and never really come out on the other side. We don’t have time to deal with each of these steps, but consider for a moment that third step--anger. It is not unusual for a person who has loved someone very dearly and that person has died, to be angry, first of all, at the one who has died. “How could you leave me in this situation?” they cry out to someone no longer capable of hearing them. It’s also not unusual for that person to be angry ...

2958. Eyes Set on Jerusalem

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... who believe that about their own people. That is why human history is most often told in the great wars we have fought. The Jewish people looked at themselves as God’s own people. And to a point, they were right. But it was not because God loved them any more than He loved anyone else. It was because God had given them a special task. They were to show forth God’s divine purpose for His world. They were to be a light to the nations of the world. But they wanted the spotlight, not to be a searchlight ...

2959. It Is Always the Third Day

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... first came into view, the hen started to bring her chicks under the shelter of her wings. If the fox got too close, the hen launched an attack against the predator. The hen was willing to sacrifice her life for her brood. Jesus tells us that God’s love for us is like that. “There have been so many times that I wanted to gather the children of God together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” On the one hand, that is a warm and wonderful simile. We should not, however, misunderstand. The hen ...

2960. Fruit of the Spirit

Illustration

Donald Grey Barnhouse

Love is the key. Joy is love singing. Peace is love resting. Long-suffering is love enduring. Kindness is love's touch. Goodness is love's character. Faithfulness is love's habit. Gentleness is love's self-forgetfulness. Self-control is love holding the reins.

2961. Listen to the Angels

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” Forget for a moment the primitive nature of Abraham’s faith. If you or I hear a voice telling us to sacrifice someone we love, we had better get some professional help in a hurry. This story must be understood in the context of Abraham’s unique relationship with God. The story indicates that Abraham did not question God’s command. God told him to go to the land of Moriah, and that is ...

2962. Beyond a Friendly, Cuddly Christmas

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... didn’t just take on human characteristics; he took on the human condition. He did it to show us that God can work in the toughest circumstances and the strangest places. And through Jesus, God showed us that God’s ways can be trusted because God’s love has been tested. Just because you’re in a place of confusion or loss or suffering doesn’t mean that God is not working. The ending to the story of the first Christmas is neither friendly nor cuddly. Jesus took on weakness and frailty and poverty and ...

2963. The Law of Unintended Consequences

Matthew 5:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... Mosaic Law, the first of the 10 Commandments is “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” The Law establishes a relationship with God and serves as a reminder of God’s love for us. This is the God who set us free from slavery. Don’t spend your lives chasing after and making sacrifices to false gods. Says our Father God, “I am your God, and I have set you free.” The Law was given to bring us into a relationship with ...

2964. Scrubbing Our Social Media Accounts

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... as possible all over the world could hear the word of God. As he described her, “There was no limit to how much Marjorie loved the Lord.” Then he said, “You can't let this ruin your life, Shannon. God wants to strengthen you through this. He wants to ... who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Jesus is the way to God, and to all the blessings of God’s loving-kindness. If you have not given your life to Jesus in faith, please ask God to speak to you and show you the truth. If you ...

2965. A Taxing Encounter

Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , don’t we? Sometimes, we think quiet is so important that we chase our children out because they aren’t quiet enough. And we wonder why they don’t come back! You KNOW our meetings are important! We think our money is important! Yes indeed we do! And we LOVE our buildings, don’t we? They are SO important, we will do anything to preserve them. We also think the roles we play and the positions we hold are SO important sometimes that no one else in the whole church could do what we do. But… the real ...

2966. Scandal

Matthew 16:21-28, Matthew 17:14-23, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 26:1-5

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Jesus. Jesus replied to them: ‘Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life. If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him. Now my soul is ...

2967. The Great Dinner

Luke 14:1-14, Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... receiver. But if all we do is take from God, and never give anything on our end, no worship, no prayer, no thanks, no love and devotion, it would be a pretty empty covenant. A covenant is a two-way street. It’s a blood contract between two entities: ... with those around us, and to give to them the “best” that God could have to offer. Do we even let them know that God loves them, wants them, even them, and wants them to have a place at Jesus’ table? Jesus said….be least if you want to be first. ...

2968. No Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to judge who those people may be. God’s ways are not our ways, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. God celebrates every single time a person comes to work in God’s vineyard. And in God’s overflow of joy, God gifts all of us with the grace, love, joy, well-being we need. Jesus spent a lot of time in his last weeks of life telling parables. From the prodigal, to the lost coin, lost sheep, to those seated at the feast, to those working in God’s vineyard, the message is the same. God welcomes those ...

2969. Are You a Lemming or a Lassie?

Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:54-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Lassie. Was it because she brought out the best in us? Or personified the kind of person we wish we could all be? Or was it that “something” authentic and true in her, innocent and pure that saw her role in the world not as complicated, but as simply “to love and honor”? Who knows what truly drew us (still draws us) to the brave and regal dog. But we can safely say that for most of us who grew up watching Lassie, none of us missed an episode! She was our hero. If humankind’s BFF is the dog, our ...

2970. Song of Promise

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... sadness as others join in feasting. Others may simply be lonely. So many are without family, without friends, without joy, and without hope. And yet, even in that kind of darkness, you can still hear God’s song. It’s a song of hope, of courage, of faith, and of love. And it’s a song of change…if you dare to embrace it. There’s a story about a girl who grew up in a very poor family. They didn’t have much to eat. They had suffered a lot of loss. But when Christmas came, they gathered around their ...

2971. Dangerous

John 12:12-19, Zechariah 9:9-13, Zechariah 9:14-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , I saw the movie, “I Can Only Imagine,” the biography of Bart Millard of Mercy Me, who wrote the bestselling hit song as a result of a dynamic faith journey, in which he witnessed his formerly abusive father repent and turn to God in love and faith –a love that changed their relationship and challenged Millard’s capacity to forgive. So often we underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. We put so much stock instead in our own devices. We are truly people of Babel. And God again and again must send ...

2972. Jubilaeum

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Genesis 2:4-25, Leviticus 25:8-55, Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... God’s witnesses to the miracles that God can and will do in your lives and in your communities. For you are God’s apostles of love and mercy who will be today anointed with the power to heal and to serve, to forgive and to lift up. Yes, you are God’s ... lives, to walk where others won’t go, and to reach out to those no one else will touch. You are the fruit of God’s love, followers of Jesus, the Son of God, who Himself was the first fruits of all who have fallen asleep. You are His alarm clocks to a ...

2973. Job and the Mind Storm

Job 42:7-17, Job 42:1-6, Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... state of disorder) is beauty, good, and true. Sometimes, we need to allow disorder and messiness in our lives, in order to allow God to re-form us as the Grand Divine Potter of our lives, to fire us up into beings of breath and passion for God’s love and mercy. The metaphors in Job describe the kinds of things going on in the character’s mind and emotions, as is typical in the Hebrew scriptures. As powerful as these forces are, they are no match for God, whose voice is more powerful still. And who can ...

2974. Star Maker

Matthew 2:1-12, Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Starry starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze Swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china blue Colors changing hue, morning fields of amber grain Weathered faces lined in pain are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand Chorus: For they could not love you, but still your love was true And when no hope was left in sight, on that starry starry night You took your life as lovers often do, But I could have told you, Vincent, This world was never meant for one as beautiful ...

2975. Raison d’Etre

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... grow. Will we grow toward the light, or will we grow toward the darkness? It’s up to us. In Jesus Christ, God has shown us the direction God wants us to evolve. God has shown us how to live if we want to orient the universe toward light and love, toward compassion and generosity and hope. God has shown us, in other words, the path to God’s kingdom, to authentic human living. In fact, Jesus tells us, in today’s gospel lesson that his way is not just the preferred way of living and evolving, it is not ...

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