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 276 to 300 of 1838 results

276. What Is The Question?

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... feel come right out of our Old Testament Reading from Job. I don't mean to treat it lightly, but Job had to swallow a bitter pill. Job lost his wealth, his health, his family and his self-respect. Job reacted to all that by challenging God. That is a way ... God: Job bargained with God. Job asked God, "Why? Why me? Why did you do this to ME? Why did YOU do this to me?" The bitter pill took a long time to do its work with Job. He lived in a guilt-laden, miserable, sorry-for-himself state for some time, until God ...

277. Do You Have A Forgiving Spirit?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to knock on her door at 3:00 p.m. that day for a short visit. She prepared herself and her house for such a royal visit. At 3:00 p.m. the bell rang. She ran enthusiastically to the door, and she was disappointed because there stood an angry bitter, cold, frowning, grotesque looking person. She shouted out, "Who are you?" and Jesus said, "Didn't you expect me to be here?" She shouted out, "You are not the real Christ." He said, "You are absolutely right, I am not. I'm the Christ everyone sees in you." Unless ...

278. The Source Of Joy

John 3:22-36

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the journey in life is difficult. St. Paul, like Hugh Crocker, discovered that the joyful vitality of life is found in a daily appreciation and thankfulness for what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. If we aren't filled with joy, we soon will be filled with bitterness. THIRDLY, THE SECRET OF JOY IS TO SIMPLY OPEN OUR LIVES TO CHRIST AND JOY WILL FLOW IN. Do you want joy? You must begin with God. Is God preeminent in your life? The first priority in life is to be the worship of God. The worship of God ...

279. The Forgiven

Hebrews 10:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... for the good things they had brought into his life. He told them of his love and respect for them. After hours of sobbing and writing, sobbing and writing, Robert had crafted a tribute to his parents, and had cleansed himself of any vestiges of bitterness towards them. That Christmas, Robert gathered the family together and told his parents that he had something special he wanted to present to them. And then he read his tribute to them. Robert's father teared up, but wouldn't allow himself to cry. Robert ...

280. Wounded, In Pain. Serving Still

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... Still. Vance Havner wrote, "God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives perfume . . . it is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever." (4) Low moments will sometimes take us into deep valleys of brokenness. Faith in ourselves, in others, even in God can vanish. Oh sure, we bolt down the sanctuary pews and build our churches to look like ...

281. Positive Faith

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... remind her loved ones that she was looking forward to something more too. Some people look at Christian faith as a bitter pill they have to swallow. Mature believers recognize that it is the dessert. God loves us. Neither life nor death nor ... poured out on all who will receive it, we begin to see life in a different way. We start seeing possibilities we never saw before. Our bitterness is swept away and in its place we find hope for a better life. Norman Vincent Peale once told of a man who often came to ...

282. On the Wrong Plane (New)

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... that cancer patients could be separated into two groups: the transmitters and the transformers. The transmitters become negative and bitter, and they spread that negativity to everyone around them. The transformers look for positives in their situation, and they ... , Lily sewed a new costume and took up his place as the second Smiley. Karen was amazed that Lily had no complaints or bitterness about her life. She remembered with joy all that she and Albert had been able to share with others. Upon Lily's death, ...

283. Needed: Peacemakers

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... was signed in 1648. However, at the time, no representatives from the republic of San Marino, which is in Italy, attended the treaty conference. So officially, until just a few years ago, the republic of San Marino has been at war with Sweden, its most bitter enemy at the time. Finally, in 1996, as a symbolic gesture, representatives from San Marino signed the peace treaty--348 years after the war ended. (1) There's a story that fits under the heading "Better Late Than Never." Can you imagine being at war ...

284. Who Am I Supposed To Hate?

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... could change her husband. She prayed fervently for him. When he lost his job due to his drinking, Estelle went out and got a job to support the family. She urged her children to believe in God, to pray for their father, and to not be bitter. Years passed, and nothing changed in Nick's life. Finally, when Nick was in his seventies, he gave up drinking for good. He remained completely sober for the last fifteen years of his life. After decades of heartfelt prayer, Estelle's precious husband was restored to ...

285. A Word For Christian Fathers

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... to read to her the exquisite, poignant love passages that he had written about her in his diary forty-eight years previously, when they were both madly in love with each other. As he read of the happy days that were now gone forever, they both wept bitterly. (1) Is there anything sadder than to look back over a lifetime of neglected opportunities--wasted years when love could and should have been nurtured--and regret that you "blew it?" Some of you know what I am talking about. This is Father's Day. Dad's ...

286. The Coat Of Many Colors

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... of our suffering if we will just turn it over to Him and remain obedient. Jane Pauley, the anchor for Dateline NBC, credits her parents with teaching her to take responsibility for her own life. As she says, "My parents felt blessed--despite the fact that tragedy and bitter disappointment had been a fact of each of their lives. Life has been much kinder to me, but my parents taught me that the number one criterion for a truly successful life is the grace with which you deal with what you're dealt." (3) "The ...

287. Piercing A Hole In The Darkness

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

King Duncan

... pierce a hole in the darkness." (1) When we left Job last week, he was complaining over the injustice of his situation. "Even today my complaint is bitter," he says, "his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his ... by Jim Carrey is complaining that God is making him late for work because of a traffic accident. As he voices his bitterness, he is oblivious to the pain of a person on a stretcher in the background--the obvious real victim of the accident. ...

288. Because He Lives

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

The death of our loved ones who know and love the Lord is a bitter-sweet experience. It is bitter because we lose for a time the close and warm experience of sharing life and love with them, but it is sweet because beyond the sorrow of our loss there is a knowledge that life is far better for them in the house of our Heavenly Father, and because His ...

289. ONE SHRED OF SOUL

Drama

Angela Akers

... get the pastor for you." Don: "The pastor? No, no, that''s okay. I was just looking around." Custodian: "Well, if you need anything, my office is over there. Nice to have you here." Don: "Thanks." (Custodian exits. Don speaks facetiously with a touch of bitterness.) " Nice to have you here.'' Oh, yeah, I''m sure they''d love to have me here if they knew me. I''d fit in just GREAT here." (He kneels down in front of a pew.) "I guess this is how you do it." (He ...

290. Only a Carpenter

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... first casting session of Fred Astaire, and the comment written by the director at the time: “Can’t act; can’t sing; dances a little.” In 1902, the Atlantic Monthly’s poetry editor returned a batch of poems to a 28-year old poet with a bitter note: “Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse.” The poet was Robert Frost. In 1905, the University of Bern flunked a Ph.D. dissertation because it was fanciful and irrelevant. The young Ph.D. student who received the bad news was Albert Einstein ...

291. Palm Sunday (Prologue)

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... When the Sugar Comes Off the Pill.” A lot of folks thought he was going to talk about a different kind of pill...but he spoke of the fact that sometimes when we think the sweetness will last forever, the sugar comes off and we are left with a bitter taste. Jesus must have been thrilled with the crowds, but in a few days, the sugar came off the pill, and He saw how superficial it all was. The people were thrilled with Jesus, hoping that He would take arms against their enemies; but the sugar came off the ...

292. Holy Thursday

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... and an outstretched arm. And if the Holy One, blessed be he, had not brought our forefathers forth from Egypt, then we, our children, and our children’s children would still be Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt....” The Passover meal includes bitter herbs to remember the bitterness of slavery, unleavened bread, remembering the flight out of Egypt before the bread had time to rise, and glasses of wine to celebrate the sweetness and joy of freedom. But the Passover is not merely the recollection of a past event ...

293. The Tenacity of Trouble

James 4:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... --they need--to have their fire fanned . . . Resentment is like cocaine in another way, too. Cocaine can kill the addict. And anger can kill the angry. Hatred is the rabid dog that turns on its owner. Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist. Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter. And only mercy is the choice that can set them free." (3) Yes, when we surrender the self-seeking characteristics of our life to God then we are free to develop a character immersed with integrity and oneness ...

294. Living with the Aches and Alleluias

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... . Years ago, in order to escape the pace of New York City, she purchased a home on Martha''s Vineyard. It burned to the ground two days before she was to move in. "Professional rejection. Personal setbacks. Perfect soil for the seeds of bitterness. A receptive field for the roots of resentment. But in this case, anger found no home. "Beverly Sills. Internationally acclaimed opera singer. Retired director of the New York Opera. "Her phrases are sugared with laughter. Her face is softened with serenity. Upon ...

295. Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

... of God's deliverance. The foods that were eaten were symbols to remind the Jews of their captivity in Egypt . Apple sauce was eaten to remind them of brick mortar and the fact that they were forced to make bricks with no straw. A bitter herb is eaten to remind them of the bitterness of their captivity. It was this symbolic Seder Meal that the disciples were partaking of that night in the upper room. It was at the conclusion of that meal that Jesus himself added two more symbols. He took a loaf and broke it ...

296. Soul Drain

Psalm 63:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... at times. I was certainly confused and frustrated. In the midst of that ordeal, I couldn’t see any purpose in what was happening. Yet, I’m here to report to you that, by the grace of God, we didn’t succumb to the anger and bitterness, the frustration, and despair. Deep down at the bottom, we were given the strength to walk and not faint. Yes, maybe the least of the gifts, but because we were willing to settle for it, so little and yet so much, our faith made all the difference; in fact, it ...

297. Living Deliberately

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... wind with a sharp stick and his bare hands, he cut steps in the ice covered path that led down to the stream so that the men carrying water would not fall. The most dreaded housekeeping chore of all in the prison was cleaning out the latrines, and men argued bitterly over whose turn it was to carry out that loathsome task, and while they argued he’d slip out and quietly do the job. On the day they took him away to his death, the Chaplain himself made no protest. He looked around the room at all of us ...

298. Meeting And Mastering Temptation

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden, acknowledged their indebtedness to him. He wrote a marvelous poem entitled "Long Live the Weeds". In this poem he confirmed what we are talking about here. Listen to Hopkins: Long live the weeds that overwhelm my narrow vegetable realm The bitter rock, the barren soil that force the Son of Man to toil; All things unholy marred by a curse, the ugly of the universe."The rough, the wicked, and the wild, that keeps the spirit undefiled. With these I match my little wit and earn the ...

299. Will The Real God Please Stand?

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden, acknowledged their indebtedness to him. He wrote a marvelous poem entitled "Long Live the Weeds". In this poem he confirmed what we are talking about here. Listen to Hopkins: Long live the weeds that overwhelm my narrow vegetable realm The bitter rock, the barren soil that force the Son of Man to toil; All things unholy marred by a curse, the ugly of the universe." The rough, the wicked, and the wild, that keeps the spirit undefiled. With these I match my little wit and earn the ...

300. A Long Obedience In The Same Direction

Luke 22:39-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... culmination of a long obedience in the same direction. So, confronted by a world of fallen men, and having upon your shoulders the fulfillment of God's purpose for redemption, the cup would have to be immeasurably bitter. It is no wonder that Jesus pleaded that the cup might be removed. He didn't want to drink it -- He knew how bitter it would be. So, he sincerely prayed that the cup might pass -- but if that was not the will of God, let God's will be done. What commitment! What a long obedience in the same ...

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