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 3101 to 3125 of 5000 results

3101. Talk! Talk! Talk!

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... all of us." I reflected on how true that is. Unless the words are clothed in flesh, they are certainly of little consequence. If the Word of God had remained merely word, we wouldn't be preaching it today. But the Word was clothed in flesh. God's Word, his love, his grace, his concern for us his children, all became real for us in the person of Jesus Christ. As Christ himself reminds us:"The witness of the Holy Spirit is true to us, because he speaks to us of Christ." If the Spirit had spoken to us of an ...

3102. Lovers Never Ask, 'What's the Least I Can Do?'

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Alvin Rueter

... seen millstones in museums. The ancients put their grain between two of them to grind it into flour. The bottom one was stationary. The top one had a handle on it on which two men would tug and shove. That gives you some idea of its size. Our kind and loving Jesus said that if anyone caused one of these little ones to sin, it would pay to have that rascal have such a millstone hung round his neck and be thrown into the sea. It’s a question whether by little ones he meant children only, or whether he didn ...

3103. The Spirit and the Truth

John 16:5-16

Sermon

George Bass

... He comes to us in the world to tune us into the truth about God the Father and the Son. He convinces us that God is love, and that we can rely on what he has done for us in the precious gift he gave us, Jesus Christ, our Lord. The Spirit assures ... us that God has conquered sin, death, and the Devil and that, through Christ and the Spirit, we can live life to its fullest - in Christian love and hope - right now. He helps us to treasure the life God gave us and to hold all life as sacred. He enables us to face ...

3104. The Sermon on the Level

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

... loan. Not a dime has ever been repaid. The good saint said to me a few years later, "If someone needs some money, I prefer to give it, not to lend it. That route protects the fellow from a guilt conscience when he doesn’t pay." "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? ... and if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that?" Another one of my acquaintances who thrives on acclaim numbers a host of friends, but in that number there is not one who questions, contradicts ...

3105. Advancers Over Decliners

Luke 19:11-27

Sermon

... and employ it and invest it as his servant. John Powell, an author and a Roman Catholic priest of popular renown, has hanging on his bathroom mirror a sign that he will see each morning as the first thing on the day’s agenda. "Good morning, Jesus! Thank you for loving me. What have you got going today? I want to be part of it." At a church that I attended recently, the pastor had prepared a copy of that sign for everyone at worship to take home. I put it on my mirror, too. But I confess that often with ...

3106. No Snap Courses

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

... personality and joining a happiness cult. There is a joy, a sense of forgiveness, a peace of mind that comes from believing in Jesus as our personal Savior. There is a certain winsomeness as we see the Christian life in action - its patience, its kindness, its love, its forgiveness and its generosity. However, there is another side to it too. There is that which is expected of those who would be his disciples. This is one of the places where Jesus tells us what it is. He uses the hard, unyielding word "duty ...

3107. Formula for Life

Amos 5:1-17

Sermon

... , mercy, grace, and companionship. In this context, faith means obedience to the will of God. It means not reluctant submission to an imposed will, but a glad union of wills formed in a fellowship of love. Responsive love in the person alive to God seeks to obey God’s love by becoming one with it. Are we, then, living the life of faith? Are we making our lives expressions of confident in-Godness? Is the salvation we seek that of God’s kind of fulfillment in our lives? Or are we looking upon faith as a ...

3108. How Was Jesus' Death Different?

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

... . His death was an offering for sin. No other death had this meaning or purpose. For some years now, we have been emphasizing the love of God to the exclusion of the other side of God, his justice and holiness. When we sin, we deeply offend and grieve God. ... team offends the rules, the penalty is a loss of a certain number of yards. That is part and parcel of life. God is a God of love, no doubt about it. But it is equally true that God is a just and holy God. When we go against God, we are subject to ...

3109. Nooses or baby Bottles?

1 John 3:18

Children's Sermon

... a wonderful thought to get up every morning and thank God for all the good things that he has given us and particularly for the wonderful life that we have to live. Of course, the Bible teaches us that living is more than just breathing. Living according to God is loving. Let me show you what I mean. Here is something that I am sure all of you have seen in the movies or on TV. [Hold up the noose.] Who knows what you call a rope that is tied like this? [Wait for the answers.] It sure is a scary ...

3110. The Day of Pentecost

Isaiah 44:1-5

Sermon

... a bothersome call came over the telephone: 'I'm writing a great sermon on sympathy and do not have time for individuals.' " (Preaching Values in the Epistles of Paul) In the writings of Deutero-Isaiah, we find a reference to the breadth of God's love; God is depicted as reaching out beyond the Israelites, and unbelieving people find new birth because of the action of his Spirit. One nonbeliever will say I belong to Yahweh; another will enter the family of God and call himself by the name of Jacob; still ...

3111. The Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

... , embarrassment, and hardship required if we attempt a greater achievement. Therefore, we decide not to hear God calling to us, not to respond to his urging that we go forward, even though he may say, "Look what I have done for you in the past; look how much I love you, how much I care for you. How can you think that I will fail you?" It is far more comfortable to confine him to the museum of ancient history, where all that is required is to look and admire. However, from the biblical writer's point of view ...

3112. Good News for the Multitudes

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Thomas C. Short

... promising to set up a new kingdom in Israel and to push the imperialistic Romans into the sea. No doubt others followed because they were looking for a handout. No, not money, but any of the good strokes that might come as fallout from his great ministry of love. This multitude followed after him, and Jesus thought it was appropriate to remind them of what would be required for any one of them to become one of his disciples. So he told them clearly. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and ...

3113. Was I Baptized Right?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Kendall K. McCabe

... programs. He has always stood for wholesome living and, since college days, has been known to excel in studies, sports, and love. He seeks to bring the teaching and example of Jesus to every aspect of life. But when I learn that, after ... I baptized right?" We are really all asking the question Nicodemus was asking. How can I be sure? What guarantee do I have that God loves and accepts me? How can God love and accept me when I make such a royal mess of things so much of the time? How can I be born again, be ...

3114. Christ's Passion Portraits

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Paul Hegele

... Antioch were first derisively called Christians, which literally means "little Christs," we've tried to be just that - wise and warm, strong and loving. But what of the darker side of Christ? The Lord we see in these tragic days of Holy Week is one few want ... cannot be chipped away by convenient compromise with entrenched evil. And it cannot be scratched by jealous critics. It's hard to love a face like a flint. But, respect for it comes naturally, the kind of respect not generated by the popular portraits ...

3115. Parable of Choosing a Gift

John 15:1-17

Illustration

... my presence to be felt wherever he goes and I want it to be a useful love. That is what I want my gift to represent." Christmas indeed, is a time when we seek to express our love even as God seeks through the gift of Jesus to express his useful love, which endures to all generations. Love cannot give a gift, which is destructive or detrimental to health or happiness. Love came down at Christmas and echoes through the loving kindness which man gives to man in his awareness of God. The lady was choosing her ...

3116. The Two Washings

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... when we have played the part of Pilate are behind us, not ever to claim us and defeat us in the despair which the knowledge of our sins creates. All that is put away, washed clean from us. We have been served by the Son of God who loved us with a love so great and deep and pure that we can only respond with the deepest thanks of our hearts. Not to Refuse This Washing Peter was startled at first by the washing Jesus initiated around the circle of the disciples. And then he was offended. This turning-of-the ...

3117. Whose Meal Is It?

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

... participation in the Body of Christ?" All of us, as many as we are, are one family gathered for the family meal because we all partake of the same loaf, who is Jesus Christ. Remember it was for us, it is for us and it is about life and about love. I love to sit around long tables, or even better, large round tables where the whole family can gather and sit and look into each other’s eyes so that you see and feel the emotion of their telling the story. "I remember ..." Maybe it will be like that in the ...

3118. Easter 6

Jn 14:23-29 · Acts 14:8-18; 15:1-2, 22-29 · Rev 21:10, 22-27

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... :22). Need: Who would dare to live in a city without a church? Without a church a city would become godless and utterly corrupt, a place unsafe for decent people. It is the mission of the church to plant churches wherever they are needed that people might know, love, and obey God. Through the work of the church, sin is curbed and righteous living is fostered. In the text, John sees the time when a church (temple) is not needed. This is the city of God - heaven. This is the goal of Christian work: to build a ...

3119. Proper 18

Lk 14:25-33 · Eze 33:1-11 · Phm 1-20 · Prov 9:8-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... self, may come before Christ. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus unless one renounces all one has by placing Christ first in life. THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION Gospel: Luke 14:25-33 1. Hate (v. 26). Unless one "hates," one cannot be a disciple of Jesus. Whom do we probably love the most? First is ourselves and second is our families. To be a disciple is to hate them. This is a hyperbole, for Jesus did not mean "hate" in the popular use of the word. For the sake of emphasis, he used "hate" to say that a disciple of ...

3120. Lent 3

John 4:1-26

Sermon Aid

... bring us to a good land. Knowledge of our plight is not enough. God goes beyond knowledge to concern which comes out of his love for his people. c. God devises a plan of deliverance - vv. 10-12 God takes the initiative by coming to Moses and by sending ... -disclosure. In our text God reveals his identity. Outline: Who is your God? a. God is goodness - yes, but more than that! b. God is love - yes, but more than that! c. God is justice - yes, but more than that! d. God is - the most we can know about God. (vv. ...

3121. Tuesday in Holy Week

Isaiah 49:1-7, John 12:20-36, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Bulletin Aid

... revealing God's salvation to the ends of the earth. People: His light has shone upon us. May we share in his mission, that all in our world may hear and believe. Collect Father in heaven, whose love reaches to every person, and who has revealed that love in your Son, Jesus: Keep us in the light of your love; that we may not drift into the darkness of sin, deprived of the blessing of your salvation. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer of Confession We bow before you in worship, Father, and the ...

3122. Wednesday in Holy Week

Isaiah 50:1-11, Hebrews 12:1-13, John 13:18-30

Bulletin Aid

... us for our unconcern about our sinful attitudes which deny his Lordship over our lives. Increase our responsiveness to our Lord's mission, that his obedience may result in our salvation. In his name we pray. Amen. Hymns "Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed" "O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done" "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" "What Grace, O Lord, and Beauty Shone" Second Lesson: Hebrew 12:1-3 Theme: Encouraged in discipleship Call to Worship Pastor: Life imposes many crosses for us to bear; but our faith gives us the ...

3123. First Sunday After Pentecost

Deuteronomy 4:32-40, 2 Corinthians 13:1-10, 2 Corinthians 13:11-14, Matthew 28:16-20

Bulletin Aid

... Call to Worship Pastor: We are people who have been assigned to a great task by our Lord Jesus Christ. People: We are his church, and he has commissioned us to go to all people to make them disciples. Pastor: Our goal is to convince them of God's love, baptize them into the Christian faith, and teach them to live the Christian life. People: We strive toward that goal, because we know our Lord is with us all the time! Collect Great God, our Father, whose Son has commissioned us to go into our world to make ...

3124. Proper 6

Genesis 25:19-34

Bulletin Aid

... to us even as we sin. People: There would be no hope for us if we have to become righteous before God would accept us. Pastor: God has taken the initiative to save us through the death of his Son on our behalf. People: We praise God for his love he gives to us in our sin, through Jesus who died to save us. Collect Heavenly Father, whose Son comes to us even as we sin, offering reconciliation with you: Open our hearts to his redemption; that we may be forever in a right relationship with you. We pray in ...

3125. The Promise of Redemption

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

... our hearts. The holiday cheer surrounds us and envelops us in glad thoughts of a baby born, whose life is pure gift to us, to put back together all that has been ripped apart. We have, once again, heard the old, old story of God's faithful and steadfast love for us. And who can resist a warm, cuddly baby? Yet we know deep in our guts that the world in which we live is still rocking and rolling in sheer madness. We know the threat of death from terrorists or nuclear disaster or cancer or traffic accident. We ...

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