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 3126 to 3150 of 5000 results

3126. The Beginning of a New Life

Ruth 2:1-23

Sermon

... fields as a gleaner, and he met the woman about whom he had heard so much. You see, the key to his response, in which he told her to stay in his fields, close to the reapers and also offered her protection from the young men, was her self-sacrificing love on behalf of Naomi. When Ruth asked why she had found favor in his eyes, Boaz answered, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land ...

3127. The Necessity Of Forgiveness

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... but in the wrong we can do to ourselves if we let ourselves become inwardly hardened. Can you imagine having to work in a job which stirs up a vindictive response in you? Who has the reward? You or your enemy? How impossible Jesus' ideal seems at first - "love your enemies and pray for them that persecute you." But it is not impossible. In fact, on second glance it seems to be the most practical and rational rule for daily living that could be laid down. The only rewards in life come through working through ...

3128. Repentance

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

... calls attention to it. Her life bears fruit as naturally as a new shoot emerges from the root of a freshly hewn tree. Repentance, as turning toward the One who is yet to come, does not lead to self-centeredness. We are free to serve and to love. The following letter from an unknown source tells a similar story: Dear _________, I appreciated very much your gentle letter about the Central Shelter. For me, it was the location for an occasion of grace which I wish to share with you. In December 1981 I became ...

3129. Responding to Christ's Birth

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

... community is simply not a church of Jesus Christ. The will of God is done when people are fashioned into communities of mutual love and respect. The third gift box contained myrrh, used in the ancient world to embalm the dead. It is a symbol of ... missing, the powers to resist evil are paralyzed. Therefore, it we want to live today, we must consciously will life. We must learn to love life with such a passion that we no longer become accustomed to the powers of destruction. We must overcome our own apathy and ...

3130. Pentecost 4

Psalm 100:1-5, Genesis 25:19-34, Exodus 19:1-25, Romans 5:1-11, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon Aid

... His prayers were answered - with twins, who "struggled with one another" in their mother's womb, according to the story. Esau was the first-born; he was covered with red hair and grew up loving the outdoors and becoming a skillful hunter. Jacob was born "with his hand grasping his brother's heel;" he was quiet, a man who loved to stay at home - and definitely "mother's boy." Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob; he was his kind of child. But, while they were still young, Jacob obtained Esau's birthright from him ...

3131. Proper 13 & Pentecost 11

Matthew 14:13-21, Nehemiah 9:1-37, Exodus 12:1-30, Romans 8:28-39, Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon Aid

... another Sunday, the 31st Sunday of Year C (145:1-2, 8-11, 13c-14), but only two verses (8-9) are said or sung on both Sundays. Those two verses read: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is loving to everyone and his compassion is over all his works. Verses 16 and 17 have found considerable use in table prayers and are most appropriate in connecting the Old Testament reading and the Gospel for the Day: The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give ...

3132. The Prodigal Prince

2 Samuel 14:1-33

Sermon

... he longed to see from the time the sun climbed to the peaks of the Judean hills at dawn to the time his weary head was laid upon the palace pillow at night. The exile was ended. Absalom returned to his father’s kingdom. A father’s love was stronger than a king’s justice. Absalom would live. David had himself been guilty of murder. He had with malice aforethought plotted the death of Uriah the Hittite to win Bathsheba as his most prized paramour. David the murderer forgave Absalom who also lived by the ...

3133. Epiphany 7

Matthew 5:27-30, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon Aid

... desire to know you and to do your will. Forgive me the fake gods to which and to whom I give my time and energy. Grant me the purity of a single and simple desire to seek first your kingdom at the core of nature, so that I may love you, and your world, with all I am and have. (author unknown) Then, introduce the assurance with words similar to these: "No matter what your past has been, your future is spotless in the name of the living God." Receive new life, beginning now. Invite the congregation to pray ...

3134. A Glory Revealed in Truth and Faithfulness

John 19:28-37

Sermon

... up, then, at Jesus lifted up on the cross. Let Jesus’ words be fulfilled in you: "If I am lifted up from the earth I will draw everyone to myself." (John 12:32) God showed how much he loved the world by giving over Jesus, his unique, irreplaceable Son, to death - that we might have life. Don’t let the Father’s love for you be in vain. Look on the Son, believe in him, receive him and his finished work, and you, too, will experience eternal life. Jesus said, "This is the will of my Father, that all who ...

3135. For Freedom!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

... not. Instead, (and we might imagine him a foolish God for doing so) he cancels every claim against us, so that we may live and love and proper in his care. 3. What Shall We Do With It? What happens when you cancel someone’s debt and set him free? What ... or the favors we supply be noted on a balance sheet and, somehow, be paid in kind at some time in the future, that gift of self-love and self-esteem begins to come apart. Do we want to live in a world where a Great Uncle Max will bill us for his services? ...

3136. The Inn Keeper

Isaiah 51:17--52:12, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Drama

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... . He ran a busy inn right in the middle of one of the Roman tax centers. You might know of it -- Bethlehem? Anyway, we were happy for a couple of years. Then my husband died. It about killed me. I decided that love was not for me, and I've managed fairly well without it. Wished we'd had a child, though. At least I still had the inn. That one year at tax time there were extra crowds because of the comet everybody was coming to gawk at. I was full up, ...

3137. Kindness That Makes You Sorry!

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... . Several times, I almost decided to confess Christ, not because I really felt any urgency for repentance, not because I was sorry for my sins, but because I was "caught." Then one day I heard a preacher tell the story of Calvary’s cross in love. He described the great lovingkindness of the Son of God, hanging there, dying for me. Near the end of the sermon, he said, "Close your eyes, forget the minister, forget who’s sitting next to you, forget the past, forget everyone and everything else, and think ...

3138. Bitter-Sweet Recollections

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... because it’s dead," replied the youth. The preacher replied, "That spirit, too, is dead which feels no load of sin." It is bitter, bitter gall as we stand around his cross, by faith re-living his time on earth with us. Maybe we say, as we do when other loved ones die, "He was so young." "He was struck down in the prime of life." "Such a shame!" "Too bad!" "I wish I could have died in his place." William Barclay told the story of a missionary who went to an Indian village and told the story of Jesus. Then ...

3139. The Spirit - For Me Too?

Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... Spirit is in us, we will produce the fruit of the Spirit. According to Paul, one of the fruits is love. Do you love God and people? Love is of God, and to love means that God, the Spirit, is in you. Faith is another fruit of the Spirit. In fact, Paul writes that ... could see that Jesus Christ is the answer to all our problems! If only we could see that the most precious element in life is love! Only the Spirit can give us this vision. If we are sure that we have received God’s gift of the Spirit, why should ...

3140. Free and Faithful

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... than what God actually requires of us. We dare not forfeit our spiritual freedom, for to lose that is to lose our souls as well. To borrow a phrase from an ancient Church Father, God has made this world to be a place for "soul-making." God in his love, wisdom, and providence provides many opportunities for us to choose ways which are at odds with his own. These temptations are vexing to us, and yet we should see them not as obstacles to our faith, but rather as the means by which our faith may be upbuilt ...

3141. Messages From God

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Brett Blair

... Part of "Thou Shalt Not ..." Didn't You Understand?--God We Need to Talk.--God Keep Using My Name in Vain And I'll Make Rush Hour Longer.--God (This add is placed in congested Urban areas). Loved the Wedding, Invite Me to the Marriage.--God That "Love Thy Neighbor" Thing, I Meant It.--God I Love You ... I Love You ... I Love You.--God Will The Road You're on Get You to My Place?--God Follow Me.--God My Way Is the Highway.--God Need Directions?--God You Think It's Hot Here?--God (During the Summer) Tell the ...

3142. Father Damien

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... for Damien to do all he needed to do. There is never enough time for any of us to do what needs to be done. Therefore, if a good deed needs to be done, do it immediately. If a kind word needs to be spoken, speak it immediately. If love needs to be shared, share it immediately. If the gospel needs to be proclaimed, proclaim it immediately. If God’s people need to be ministered to, minister to them immediately. In a sermon several years ago, I said basically what I’ve just shared. I believe we often take ...

3143. Telling the Right Story

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

George Bass

... the right choice. He chose the right story to tell the world, and that seems to be a forthright gift of grace from God. He had to be under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to make such a decision, didn’t he? That he knew and loved Christ is unquestionable - and he must have loved Jesus’ story, the gospel, with all of his heart; he certainly must have told it to all who would listen, and he just had to write it down so that it could be told to people who were beyond the sound of his voice. John Mark ...

3144. God Knows The Thoughts Of Our Hearts

Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 5:27-30, Matthew 5:21-26, Matthew 5:17-20

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... ! All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, You know even the deepest thoughts in our hearts yet in Your mercy You love us. Give us the strength to love and accept others even as You have loved and forgiven us. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, so often we have failed to see Your love and presence in our lives. So often we have lived as though Jesus did not die for us and the Cross was not real. So often we act as though You are too distant to really understand our problems in ...

3145. CHEEK-TURNING POWER

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... child has done just that on the way home from school at a predetermined spot. Those of us who are mature are more sophisticated but no less harmful as we unleash a lethal tongue, or verbally stab people behind their backs. God reminds us in the epistle that love is not resentful. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us some pretty tough advice while he was alive. On the subject we are considering, he says, "But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Jesus states that the mere fact that ...

3146. WHAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO HONOR?

Illustration

John H. Krahn

... thing. Morality seems to be becoming a thing of the past like bobbysocks and bloomers. Foolish is the person who does the honorable thing and winds up with less profit because of it. Practical considerations have replaced principle-decisions. What has ever happened to honor? When we love and honor the Lord completely without reservation, we are also motivated by the Spirit to live lives that outdo one another in showing honor. The Christian should be an outstanding citizen. Today, God is saying to us ...

3147. Magnify Your Ministry!

Romans 11:11-24

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... . We must be full of the Holy Spirit and full of the knowledge of God, fully committed to Christ, full of zeal, full of love, fully dedicated to the task of ministry in which we serve God and our fellow human beings. Finally, we must magnify our ministry as ... treasure in earthen vessels," and it is our ministry, our responsibility. No one else will do it for us. If the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ is to be made known to others, it is up to us to magnify our ministry right here, right now, in our ...

3148. Genuine Imitations

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... sane man do something like that? The answer is that my friend believed in God as "one who is able to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20); and because he put his faith to work, he is now a competent, loving, sensitive pastor in Mississippi, his wife still adores him, and all three of his children have graduated from college. What was true for my seminary classmate must become true for all of us who seek to become genuine imitations of Christ. Like him, like St. Paul, like ...

3149. Jesus Makes House Calls

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... all alone as the Prodigal was. A sinful life is a lonely life. Or, it may be that we leave home for marriage. We may have married someone our family did not approve because they feared we would not make it together. Nevertheless, we were sure we loved each other and love could surmount any obstacle. Then in a few years troubles mutliply. A spouse cannot go home now. He or she cannot ask parents what to do. To divorce or not to divorce no one can answer; in his/her aloneness he/she must face the problem ...

3150. When Christians Quarrel: Resolving Conflict in the Church

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... rule that Jesus gives us to resolve conflict is: tell it, speak it, get it out into the open. Irving Stone, in Love is Eternal, concludes his narrative account of Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln with an interview between Mrs. Lincoln and Parker, the President ... listens to you, you have gained your brother." That’s a beautiful picture! We make the effort take the first step - go in Christian love and there is a bonus in it for us! We have a brother or sister! Those with whom we have struggled and resolved ...

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