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 3076 to 3100 of 5000 results

3076. The Kingdom of God Is Like… a Joke!

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Steven Burt

... need to discover ourselves suddenly ministered to by an unexpected neighbor, a neighbor we either hate or fear -- a Communist, an atheist, a black, or a homosexual. I don’t know. But let’s stop looking for limits, for checklists detailing whom we must love and whom we can exclude. Instead, let us be neighbors. And let us be open to the present reality of the Kingdom of God. 1. Robert McAfee Brown, unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes (Philadelphia Westminster, 1984). 2. Dee Horn, in ...

3077. Jesus Is Rejected

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

James Garrett

... printed in U. S. News and World Report said: “The great sermons my father preached were not from the pulpit. My father stood up when they took the Japanese Americans away from the West Coast at the beginning of World War II. He took a very unpopular stand. I would love to tell you that I stood up for my father and was very proud of him, but I remember being embarrassed by what he had done. Now, it’s one of the things I’m proudest of my father for. And it taught me a great lesson. If you believe ...

3078. The Pitfalls Of Practicing Piety

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... it to self-centered consumerism where the one with the most is best blessed by God. There are rewards in the Christian life and they are abundant, but they seem strange to the person who does not possess a vibrant faith, absolutely unintelligible to anyone who does not love God. Nor does the great song, the great verse of hymnody make any rhyme or reason at all, "Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress; Helpless, look to thee for grace; Foul, I to the mountain ...

3079. Beyond Togetherness

John 17:20-26

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... recommended by God; at least that's what our clergy tell us. So we are suspect of those who indulge in denominational dishes of a different sort. It is important to realize, however, that God's docrtinal tastes are not so narrow. According to Jesus, all who love the name of the Lord are welcomed. Notice, that while he wants us all to be one with him and the Father, he doesn't suggest that our unity is dependent upon our ability to develop a theological recipe which all Christians everywhere could find tasty ...

3080. Through the Valley of the Shadow

Psalm 23:1-6

Eulogy

Carl B. Rife

... through the Valley of Death. She was ready to face her Lord. Her faith rested in God's goodness and grace. And thus, with an assurance rooted in the God we know in Jesus Christ we can be comforted by the knowledge that she indeed is in God's loving care. But the difficult thing is that Aunt _______ not only passed through the Valley of Death, for which we feel a loss and seek assurance, she also passed through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, marked by suffering, pain, and the fear of unknown aspects of ...

3081. There Is a Season

Romans 8:28-39

Eulogy

Mark P. Zacher

... struggle and loss and grief. Perhaps in our grief and sorrow, we wonder whether there is a right time, for we cannot understand death, We cannot understand this time or this season. We cannot understand this loss. We cannot understand death; the death of a loved one, the death of our wife and mother and sister and grandmother and friend, the death of ___________. We cannot understand death, even our own deaths. We cannot understand. We gather here today, to worship God, not in order that we may find answers ...

3082. Illusion Or Reality?

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... is about reality, not illusion. We can study science and history and we must. We can study morals and we must. We can get to know a foreign language by amassing its vocabulary and studying its syntax and we must. But we cannot get to know a person except by loving him or her and there is no exception to this rule. We have to get real about this and de-hypnotize ourselves. The Bible deals primarily with reality: we do not pull ourselves out of our messes with our own hands. It's an illusion to think we can ...

3083. Our Dwelling Place In All Generations

Psalm 90:1-17

Eulogy

Joe Barone

... for one who, such as *, lived not as a saint, but as an imperfect and yet hopeful human being. “Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad in all our days.” Psalm 90 is a prayer for deliverance from pain. It’s a psalm prayed by the ... is changed. Every act we take is like a pebble dropped in water, rippling, we know not where or how. We all loved *. We are grieved by his death, though we don’t want to claim for him something which he would not claim for himself ...

3084. Wash Up First For The Meal Before You Eat!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them ... A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another (John 13:16-17, 34)." Jesus was aware that he had humbled himself, that he had assumed the role of a servant, when he washed the disciples' feet.2 (Of course, the Bible gives testimony to the fact that servanthood is at the ...

3085. Wedding: The Mystery of Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon Aid

Jeffrey K. Kimpel

... woman.In his wisdom, God brought you together.In his grace, God will make you one. In the mysterious future, in the days ahead, you have each other and Christ; to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part. Out of all the people in the world, you will now have each other. Marriage is a mystery, so profound that you will never exhaust its meaning; so deep and complex, that each day will be a new adventure. In the ...

3086. Religion's Built-in Hazard

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... pleasing to God - this will be denied to them. Now it is not easy to let one's piety be hidden. If one has a lovely voice and sings in the church choir, the temptation is almost irresistible to let one's voice sound out above the others. "Listen to me. ... , and you knelt beside your bed and thanked God for your health.I was homeless, and you preached to me about the spiritual shelter of the love of God.I was lonely, and you left me alone to pray for myself. You seem so holy, so close to God, but I am still ...

3087. Simon the Zealot · A Man Who Changed His Mind

Mark 3:13-19

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... the people never change. They may do something because they are afraid of us for a while, but they never do anything because they want to. Then we remember what Jesus taught, and we try it his way. What a difference. People do change when we love them. We change when we are filled with love. It isn't easy, but it works. That's what Simon learned and that is what we all must learn if we are going to follow the teachings of Jesus. Simon was a man who changed his mind and was glad that he did.Simon The ...

3088. Crown Him Lord!

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... cross: "This is the King of the Jews." The ridicule of the bystanders and the hope of the penitent thief are bound up in this same kingship in today's gospel lesson. "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" the soldiers taunted. The crowd loved it! The penitent thief cries out: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power." In the title of "king" there is the occasion of ridicule and the opportunity of hope. It was so then. It seems equally so now. In the good news of the resurrection ...

3089. What Will He Find ... When He Comes?

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... found great assurance in this story. Never would they have thought of the judge as an example of God. They had God's word in his promises. If an uncaring judge can act, how much more should the people of God, filled with hope, expect God to act lovingly and responsibly in their behalf? Prayer, that gift of conversation with this faithful Father, becomes God's way of including us in his work. Never our way to manipulate God's will, prayer is, our way of discovering God's will. We have no better example than ...

3090. The Vine And The Branches

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... our own ego or to get church members for our “fine church.” Rather, Christ must be central; we go and witness because we love him who loves us. We go because we know the joy of being in him and want to share that privilege with others, and because we ... and parents are all critical issues for us who live from the vine. When God is central: revenge changes to support, hate turns to love, greed moves to sharing, don’t care looks like concern, and me first becomes after you. Not only that -- to be a branch ...

3091. Death of a Newborn Infant

Luke 18:15-17

Eulogy

Walter A. Schmidt

... old. Jesus Christ suffered, died and arose again for us whether we are young or old. God has prepared his heavenly kingdom for us, through Christ our Lord whether we are young or old. Age does not matter; what does matter is God's great and gracious love. For God so loved Jason Reilly that he gave his only Son, that Jason Reilly might have the gift of eternal life. And I know that these last three days have been extremely difficult for you, Bill and Anne. As soon as Jason was born you were aware of his very ...

3092. Changing The Rules

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

... the teachings of men." Likewise, God displays his forbearance and shows his restraint. Not because of us or what we have done or not done. But because of Christ and what he has done for us through his life, death and resurrection. God's love, shown to us in Jesus, preempts rules, regulations and ancestral laws. God's new law written on stone. Thus today we do not celebrate your ancestral forebears but instead we celebrate God's gracious display of friendship toward humanity through his active forbearance ...

3093. Saved From Water: The Storm

Luke 8:22-25

Sermon

Steve Swanson

... running up the hillside to hide under a tree, that's why. I was the only one who stayed out in the rain to listen. I love rain. I love water. I used to tell that story sometimes in sermons. Great story. I could tell it to you here but you'd just get in trouble ... Jesus was not that he could heal a blind man or feed 5000 people or quiet a storm in the middle of the sea. What made me love him and work for him and die for him was that he stilled the storm in my mind and in my heart. Do you remember reading about ...

3094. A Faith, A Farm And A Family

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

John P. Rossing

... They were young, they could expect to remarry, and in the meantime they could move back home with their parents. Orpah did the prudent thing: kissed Naomi goodbye and went home. But Ruth promised to stay with Naomi forever, to share her house, to worship her God, to love her relatives, to thrive or starve at Naomi's side. That's remarkable enough, for a young widow to throw her lot in with her mother-in-law, but stranger yet is that Ruth was a foreigner to Naomi. Even though this book in the Bible is called ...

3095. Water Without Price

Revelation 20:1-7

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

... add to it: "To the thirsty I will give water, without price. This is the first of several comforts for us during these few minutes we have together, as we interrupt our grief with goodness and good news; as we postpone our loneliness in order to share the love of God through Christ. ____________'s future is secure! We don't have to worry about him. Salvation is a gift. There are no strings attached. It is water without price.One of the things that is most difficult for Christians to do is simply to believe ...

3096. The Men

Drama

William Grimbol

... . He is nothing but a power-seeking rebel in sheep's clothing. REED: His message ... to me ... is one this people needs to hear ... we are out of touch with God ... we do idolize money, clothes, jewels, beauty, pleasure ... we have lost our sense of love, our sense of decency, our sense of goodness ... ARNOLD: And we have lost it because of the loss of respect for family, religion, ritual ... THE LAW ... the very Law he mocks and pays no attention to ... the very Law whose scholars he calls hypocrites. BILL ...

3097. The Youth

Drama

William Grimbol

... more ... so ... so much more fulfilled. Their lives had some purpose, some value, some direction. They sounded so committed and at peace with themselves. DEAN: Look, every year some religious fanatic comes along with this year's easy answer. Follow me! Live a life of love! Give to the poor! Feed the hungry! Every year. What does it change? Does it change anything? No. Never. Who would want to follow some religious fanatic down the road to poverty and probably prison. MEGHAN: I feel like I'm in prison now ...

3098. He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear

Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Larry Powell

... for all time. Looking back at it now, we know that. We understand the principles but are left weak-kneed at attempting to explain the "how." God has provided us with an inherent desire to know him, with a soul to experience him, a heart to love him, a mind to understand him, and hands and feet to serve him - yet another example of how each inhabitant of the universe is provided with its own unique tools and equipment. Everything has its purpose and the wherewithal to accomplish it. THE REAL PRESENCE Elbert ...

3099. Monologues: Disciples Redeemed

John 20:10-18, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Drama

Raymond I. Keffer

... as my Master had died; the Romans could not understand my peace. I died before them not begging for mercy, but praying for their souls. Jesus' love had conquered me so that I could now pray for the once-hated Romans." John "I am John, the last of the disciples to die. ... the 30 pieces of silver. I tried to call the whole deal off, but the priests would have none of it. I betrayed the one who loved me with a kiss. I caused Him to die on the cross. "The agony of these selfish acts drove me to take my own life ...

3100. Don't Just Stand There! - Get Involved!

Luke 3:1-20, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Dr. John Thompson Peters

... soul, and ruins the body and mind, and kills the liberty of man. We are to carry on this war by creative and rebellious faith, rebellious not against the Supreme will, but against the intruding and transient evils of human life. But if by our own failure of faith, of love, and of hope, or by the vicarious law, we fall in the battle, we are to carry that battle as far into the ranks of the enemy as we can, to win the last inch of ground, and, in falling, to commit the unfinished battle to the Captain, who in ...

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