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 2415 results

276. What a Serve!

Acts 6:1-7

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... years, has it always been so hard for the church to get it right? It seems the church is always getting caught between the two and, depending on your theology, drifting to one extreme or the other—evangelism, preaching the word, saving souls on the right, passion for social issues on the left, favoring Peter's preaching or Stephen's serving, all the while failing to find the fullness of ministry Christ intended for the church. When I was a kid back in Clarion, the church life I experienced was marked with ...

277. Rock-Bottom Living

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Sermon Ideas Don't Count the Cost Just as Mary Magdalene pours out her expensive ointment without counting the cost, so we are to pour our precious love on the vulnerable and invaluable we are to be spendthrifts with love; reckless with forgiveness; imprudent with passion. But how do we decide where to pour out our love? How do we determine what is our mission together? How do we look for our mission, our future, as individuals and as a church? Joanna Macy, an educator, ecologist and author, suggests three ...

278. Mark 15: 1-39 (40-47)

Mark 15:1-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to “satisfy the crowd.” At both the beginning of this “trial” and at its conclusion, Jesus is “handed over” (15:1,15). The sacrificial “handing over” (“paradidonai”) is a major motif throughout Mark’s gospel and an integral part of Jesus’ own passion predictions (see 9:31; 10:33-34). Those who “hand over” Jesus do so out of envy, weakness or evil. But they also unknowingly are “handing over” Jesus for the redemption of the world. The details Mark’s text provides about the ...

279. Lent 2

Mark 8:31--9:1, Romans 4:1-25, Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... tags this on to the end of the distressing forecast: suffering, rejection, death. As a kind of postscript, Jesus adds that he will rise again. It seems to detract from the dreadfulness of the cross. Sometimes we wish it were not there because it seems to detract from the passion of Lent. It belongs to Easter, and we are not ready for it now. On the other hand, it is a most important phrase, for it tells us how it is going to end. We can, therefore, go through Lent with its sorrow and pain in a joyful spirit ...

280. Ordinary or Extraordinary?

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... three things we learn about him in this prayer. What took him to the top can take you to the top as well. I. Be Passionate In Your Ambition For Life "Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that You would bless me indeed…'" (I Chronicles 4:10a ... much a candidate for God's blessing as anybody else on this planet. Jabez had an ambition to be blessed by God and he was passionate in that ambition. He didn't mind saying, "God I want the best that you have. I am grateful for what I have already, but ...

281. The Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23-34

Sermon

James Merritt

... . In verse 20, we are told specifically this is, "The Lord's Supper". Keep in mind that we are the guests, He is the host, and our focus is to be solely on Him and what He did for us on a cross 2000 years ago. In other words, The Passion Of The Christ is not just a movie; it is also a feast, a supper and a celebration. There is not a more beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us and what He means to us than the Lord's Supper. In a day when people agree that Jesus ...

282. April Love

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... is speaking when. In the original Hebrew, the gender of certain pronouns helps, but in moving the words to English, not everything transfers. Nonetheless, it is almost unimportant to identify the speakers because no matter which one is talking, the words are the language of passionate love. (If you do want to know who is speaking when, read the book from the NIV or the TEV, both of which add headings to identify the speakers.) Thus, we need to give ourselves permission to read this book as part of our study ...

283. A Father's Heart Cry

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... as a cheating spouse. A marriage gone bad is one kind of heartache, but a rebellious child is another matter altogether. You can't divorce your children regardless of how much you might want to sometimes. The parent-child relationship holds a different kind of passion — and, when things go awry, a different kind of grief. "When Israel was a child, I loved him," God pronounces, "and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me." Nearly every parent can relate, one ...

284. Freedom to Set Free

Galatians 4:21-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Sunday. Now the other aspect of freedom. Christ frees us to something. I. THE FREEDOM TO BE First, it is the freedom to be. Now that is not just a play on words, nor is it an excuse for the kind of free expression of all our drives and passions that some are calling for. It is the freedom to be a person, unique and individual. Have you ever noted the way Jesus dealt with people? His way with the rich young ruler is completely different from his way with the Samaritan woman at the well. Rather sternly Jesus ...

285. Peter, Our Folk Hero

Mark 14:27-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... word “all of you will fall away.” I can feel with Peter his shock and consternation when the Lord confronted him with that. It was personal hurt and indignation which burned in his heart. Again, he is vehement in his expression of feeling and passionate in his commitment. He blurted out his courageous reply. “Even though they all fall away, Lord, I will not.” I can imagine that, at that point, his eyes met those searching eyes of Jesus, and Jesus addressed him personally. “Truly, I say to you ...

286. Something to Brag About

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... It’s remarkable for another reason. It is a sign of how seriously Paul took the cross. Maybe we are blasé about the meaning of the cross, but that cannot be said about Paul. He was passionate on this one subject more passionate, perhaps than anyone who has ever lived. What did the cross mean to Paul that made him so passionate about it? First of all, it meant salvation. How much does God love us? Look at the cross and you will see. How desperate is our situation without Christ? Look at the cross and you ...

287. Streams of Living Water

John 4:5-42

Sermon

Lee Griess

... what's when you say, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Friends, it's time for us to take our faith seriously. It is time for us to dedicate ourselves to deepening our faith. It is time to send down our roots and its time to get passionate about our faith. Jesus says to us, "If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink." For I will give you streams of living waters. That is what Jesus offered the Samaritan woman and that's what he offers us as well: streams of living water that flow ...

288. Being a Witness

Acts 2:14, 22-32

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... , we won't be droning on about doctrine or history. We won't get caught up in our committees or our own ego investment in church program and structure. We will no longer feel the need to be in charge of a diminishing legacy. We will possess the passion, the immediacy and the power of true witnesses. People will stop and pay attention. They'll sit and want to hear more. Ears will open, hearts will soften, and God's love will flow out because we have had the firsthand experience of new life in Christ Jesus ...

289. Balance: The Law of Love

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

... the wilderness of life, with the soul as the charioteer trying to rein in two powerful horses: the horse of anger or passion, and the horse of reason or order. Plato understood that both passion and reason can be life-giving, but only when they are held in dynamic tension, only when each power neutralizes the potential destruction of the other. This morning Jesus tells us that we must balance the passion of anger with the discipline and reason of love. And he tells us that the law of love can best be ...

290. The Last Compact

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... town near Berlin. There he comforted the populace, victims of the ravages of the Thirty Years' War. Gerhardt experienced in his lifetime the unholy violence of destruction and man's inhumanity to man. In his hymn, "O Sacred Head Now Wounded," he contemplates the violent passion of the Christ upon the cross. Gerhardt knows about the suffering of the man, Jesus, because he too has seen it all. (It is a minor miracle that he lived to be 69 years of age.) Therefore, he recognizes the abuse and scorn, the pale ...

291. Who Is Isaiah’s Servant?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... his mask in the presence of the children and reveal the familiar friend who often sat at the family table. The mystery was solved and fearful anticipation directed to other riddles in the lives of three imaginative children. The Old Testament lesson for Passion/Palm Sunday embodies a mystery about the identity of the "servant of the Lord" (certainly not the little green man) proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah in four passages. The "servant of the Lord" texts are included in the section of the book of Isaiah ...

292. Growing In Grace

1 Cor. 15:9, Eph. 3:8, 1 Tim 1:15, Ps. 34:1

Illustration

James Packer

I am the least of the apostles. 1 Cor 15:9 I am the very least of all the saints. Eph 3:8 I am the foremost of sinners. 1 Tim 1:15 Humility and a passion for praise are a pair of characteristics which together indicate growth in grace. The Bible is full of self-humbling (man bowing down before God) and doxology (man giving praise to God). The healthy heart is one that bows down in humility and rises in praise and adoration. The Psalms ...

293. God's Opposition

Illustration

Albert Barnes

It is clear that when we think of the word "wrath" as applicable to God, it must be divested of everything that is like human passion, and especially the passion of revenge. It is one of the most obvious rules of interpretation that we are not to apply to God passions and feelings which, among us, have their origin in evil. [God's wrath] is the opposition of the divine character against sin; and the determination of the divine mind to express that opposition in a proper way, by excluding the offender from ...

294. Were You There?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... was there encouraging this . . . the most tragic crime in history. Actor and director Mel Gibson has become a sad and controversial figure the past couple of years. Most tragic of all, his personal life now overshadows his remarkable accomplishment in producing the film, The Passion of the Christ. In the film, Gibson makes the point that all of us were there when Christ was crucified. None is exempt. Gibson, the actor, does not appear in the film, but his hand does. At the crucifixion he holds the nail to ...

295. Leading Others to Jesus

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... bear the name of Christian, we must always be mindful that responsibility is an essential element of the Christian life. The letter to Titus today suggests our need to be countercultural, to move away from the teachings of the world’s passions, materialism, and self-autonomy, which twenty-first-century America tells us is normative, and seek instead an attitude of community and greater simplicity of life. Additionally, we are challenged to exercise self-control and to live upright lives according to the ...

296. Leading Others to Jesus

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... who bear the name of Christian, we must always be mindful that responsibility is an essential element of the Christian life. The letter to Titus today suggests our need to be countercultural, to move away from the teachings of the world's passions, materialism, and self-autonomy, which twenty-first-century America tells us is normative, and seek instead an attitude of community and greater simplicity of life. Additionally, we are challenged to exercise self-control and to live upright lives according to the ...

297. But When God ...

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... edges left in his life. God wasn't finished with him yet. For us, too, each of us is unique, each of us has our own rough edges, and God isn't finished with any of us. Whether we've lived for nine years or ninety, whether we're very passionate and very active like Paul or maybe not so much, God's work in our lives continues, and God isn't finished with us just as God wasn't finished with the apostle Paul. His one-minute written testimony was actually much more than that. It was a lifelong testimony ...

298. Divided We Fall

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... the entire nation. He longed for the day when the color of a person’s skin no longer mattered. We continue to be diligent in combating the sin of racism in fulfilling that vision. Powerful God-inspired visions can and do change people. A passionate sense of mission and vision should motivate everyone within the church. Wonderful ministry can happen when everyone is working together, on the same goals, all for the glory of God. Unfortunately we know what can happen when people do not work together, or see ...

299. A Faith that Works

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... just one of the things in my life. I have my social life and my career life and my sexual life and my family life and over here is a little piece of the pie called church. God says, ‘How dare you! I love you this much. I love you passionately. I made you, created you, planned you, purposed you, saved you, have a place for you in heaven, and you would treat that with half-hearted indifference saying, Excuse me but there’s a good TV show on tonight.’ “Jesus says, ‘I’d rather have you hot or cold ...

300. A Global Celebration

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... of him. He was clinching his fists and grinding his teeth. Finally, he stopped . . . looked at the heckler . . . and said, “I’ll meet you after the resurrection!” (1) Now you won’t find that story in the New Testament. It’s not part of the passion narrative. It certainly doesn’t accurately reflect the story of Christ’s character. Thank goodness. If Christ came back from the grave seeking revenge on all who persecuted him, or let him down, or denied him who of us might be on his list? We call ...

Showing results