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 3151 to 3175 of 4961 results

3151. A Demon Speaks Out in Church

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Our lesson for today may be quite disturbing to some of us. It takes place in Capernaum. It was the Sabbath and Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. The people who heard him “were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” Suddenly, however, there was an unexpected disturbance. A man began to cry out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God!” I imagine the other ...

3152. A Chance To Dance

Luke 5:17-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

He was born Fredrick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska in 1899. His stage and film career spanned a total of seventy-six years, during which he made thirty-one movie musical. He's generally acknowledged to have been the most influential dancer in the history of film and television. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. In 1932, a Hollywood talent agent made this note on his screen test: "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little." The screen test was clearly ...

3153. Children of the Heavenly Father

Romans 8:12-25

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Some consider it a secret. Others consider it almost a badge of honor. Some don't want to talk about it. Others almost seem to want to brag about it. What is it? It is "adoption." Some children won't find out that they are not being raised by their biological parents but by their adoptive parents until they are in middle school or even later. Other children are aware of their adopted status from the earliest days of their childhood. It is not something of which to be ashamed. It is essential to their ...

3154. Chosen

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Have you ever thought about the company you keep? Who you hang with? The people you associate with? Most of us don't. Our parents did or do when we're teenagers. Who you are associated with, who you're friends are, sometimes says a lot about who you are. Sometimes who you choose as friends says a lot about your own reputation. In the movie Shanghai Noon (which is rated PG-13) Jackie Chan plays Chon Wang, a Chinese imperial guard who is on a mission to save a kidnapped Chinese princess in the Old West. He ...

3155. The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

A New Revelation of Yahweh’s Arm: Like 48:20–21, the end of the previous section, 50:4–52:12, both suggested closure and questioned it. The comment about the impossibility of shalom which followed 48:20–21 led into the new twist to the servant motif in chapter 49. The point is less explicit at the end of 50:4–52:12, but the implication is again that not all the prophet’s agenda has been handled. Everything is in place for the restoration of the community to Jerusalem and for the restoration of the city ...

3156. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Chapters 9–11, which correspond to the curses component of the covenant (chaps. 5–8 enunciate the blessings), answer the question “Have God’s promises to Israel failed?” Paul answers, “No!” In 9:1–5 he broaches the problem of Israel’s unbelief. Israel previously enjoyed the blessings of the covenant but is now under its curses for rejecting the Messiah. Understanding the Text In order to situate Romans 9:1–5 in its literary setting I must briefly make four points. First, what is the relationship ...

3157. “As the Deer Pants for Streams of Water, So My Soul Pants for You, My God”

Psalm 42:1-11, Psalm 43:1-5

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Even in adverse circumstances of place, atmosphere, and our own troubled thoughts, we can rally our hearts to joy and hope in God. Understanding the Text Psalms 42 and 43 are distinct psalms in the Hebrew (MT), Greek (LXX), Syriac, and Vulgate, which suggests that they were separate compositions. Yet the seamless relationship of the two poems is indicated by these factors: (1) they share a refrain (42:5, 11; 43:5); (2) Psalm 43 has no title (Ps. 71 is the only other exception in Book 2); (3) both ...

3158. Fix It, Daddy

John 11:17-45

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book Father Care, Charles Paul Conn tells about his two-year-old daughter Vanessa who was given a helium-filled balloon at Sunday School. It was bright blue and seemed almost alive as it danced and floated on the end of her string as she ran through the halls of the church pulling it along behind her. But the inevitable happened. The balloon bumped into the sharp edge of a metal railing and popped. With a single, loud “bang,” it burst and fell to her feet. She looked down and saw what had been her ...

3159. Thank God We're Free at Last

Romans 6:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan

In January 1985, a large suitcase was discovered at the customs office of the Los Angeles International Airport. Inside the suitcase was the dead body of an unidentified young woman. U.S. Customs agents who discovered the body immediately launched an investigation. What they uncovered was a tale of a horrible tragedy that resulted from the desperate desire of two young people for freedom. The dead woman was the wife of a young Iranian living in the U.S. Her desire was to join her husband. However she was ...

3160. In Search of Heroes

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

On one of his programs years ago, legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey told the thrilling story of a man named Ray Blankenship. It seems that one summer morning as Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window and saw something that made his heart nearly stop. A small girl had fallen into a rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his home and was rapidly being swept downstream. Blankenship knew that not far away the drainage ditch disappeared beneath the road and then emptied into the main ...

3161. What Kind of Sheep Are You?

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. (Psalm 119) Animation: “What Kind of Sheep Are You” Online Test: http://selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=baaa Animation: Live Lamb (you can rent a lamb at your neighborhood 4H club or a nearby farm) Animation: Shepherd’s staff (any large natural wood staff will do) We love the Christmas story for its simplicity. Simple shepherds, simple sheep, simple message, simple mission. It all seems so simple. Hence ...

3162. Happiness Full Stop

John 15:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Good morning, and Happy Mother’s Day to all our mothers and mother-figures in our fellowship of faith. On this special day, we would like to thank all of you who shape our lives and build our families and serve as our safe place as we go out into the world. Mothers have a unique power to influence their children no matter how old those children get. Phil Keith, the former police chief of Knoxville, Tennessee, tells of receiving a call from his mother while he was in the middle of a televised press ...

3163. Getting The Face We Deserve

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

It has been advised that we always approach God quietly because God speaks in a whisper. While we are busy getting more of what we have enough of, while we are so noisy as a society, we don't hear the voice of God because we've been too loud. We must learn to receive God's whispering voice. The season of silence is the season of Lent which begins this week, but we're not into that season yet. We're in a season of bright light, the end of Epiphany. In the Old Testament Moses goes up on the mountaintop, ...

3164. Leaping For Joy

Malachi 4:1-6

Sermon

Richard Hasler

The scene was the Connecticut House of Representatives in Hartford. The date was May 19, 1780. About noon the skies began to darken and by midafternoon the sky was pitch black. Many people were struck with fear believing Judgment Day had come. Some of the representatives fell to their knees begging God to avert this catastrophe; others called for an immediate adjournment. Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the House, rose to his feet and stated: “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it ...

3165. Coming on the Clouds of Glory

Matthew 26:47-56

Drama

Joe Barone

"Then the high priest tore his robes, and said, 'He has uttered blasphemy. Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy.' " That's what the scripture says. Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to be the high priest Caiaphas, the one to whom Jesus was brought from the Garden of Gethsemane? Here's one way he might have seen these events. Dramatic Monologue: The High Priest, Caiaphas There's no question in my mind that I was right. You might expect me to be sorry that we ...

3166. Speak From Personal Experience

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

They can't refute it! Fatigue is one of the products of modern society: We tend to either get excited about the wrong things, or we don't get excited about anything. Perhaps an appropriate contemporary paraphrase of Matthew 6:25-34 would be, "Don't get excited about food and drink to keep you alive or clothes to cover your body. Surely there is more to life than this. Those who are without God get excited about such things, but you should not, because your heavenly Father already knows your needs and will ...

3167. Dealing with Stress Creatively

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

James W. Moore

One Sunday morning, a mother said to her ten-year-old son: “Billy, I’m not feeling well enough to go to church today, but I do want you to go on as usual… and then you can tell me all about it.” Obediently, Billy carried out his mom’s wish. When he returned home, his mother asked: “Well, Billy, how was church?” “Fine,” Billy responded. “Where did you sit?” Mom asked. “O, I think I sat in about the same place we always sit.” Billy’s answer was just vague enough to make mothers suspicious. “What was the ...

3168. The Gate to Grace, Goodness, and Glory

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

A pastor friend who lived in an apartment complex in San Francisco tells about the time that he and his wife parked their brand new Honda Accord under cover in the secured parking area next to their apartment complex. The next day they decided to celebrate the purchase of that new car by going out to breakfast together. Not only would they enjoy eating out together, it would give them another opportunity to drive their new automobile. Leaving the apartment building, they greeted the guard on duty at the ...

3169. Garden of Love

John 20:10-18, Song of Songs 4:1-16, Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The lure of a beautiful song is a mystery. You hear those first notes, and the music draws you in. It’s that song that you listen to over and over and over again. It is the song that in some way stirs your heart, makes you cry, softens your face, touches your soul. For you, it is the “song of songs.” When you are down, when you are out, when you are in doubt, when life seems dark, or dreary, you can put on that song, and you are transported to another place, where life feels like a beautiful dream. Soon, ...

3170. Faking It or Making It?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Last winter AT&T unveiled an amusing commercial in their “Just Ok is Not Ok” series. Many of you will remember it. The commercial features a sleazy tax preparer named Phil who is talking with a young woman who has come for help with her taxes. Phil says to the young woman, “Leave it to me. I’ll get your taxes in an O.K. place.” The young woman says, “What?” Then with the back of his hand beside his mouth, he adds, “Just as soon as my ‘audit’ is over, this gets my undivided attention.” The young woman looks ...

3171. Winning the Grand Prize

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sermon

King Duncan

“You may have already won $10,000,000!” said the flyer. It was from a company called American Family Publishers. Surely you remember them. Their main spokesperson was a famous television personality named Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s sidekick—for those old enough to remember Johnny Carson. Notice the clever wording. “You may have already won . . .” implying that it was a done deal . . . and you were the winner. American Family Publishers folded a few years ago. A similar company, Publishers Clearing House, ...

3172. Leave No Child Behind

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The familiar words of Jesus, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God," are the inspiration for a number of hymns, such as the one we have just sung. You also see that same scene in Sunday School art showing Jesus, meek and mild, a pastoral scene, sitting on hillside, with the flowers in bloom, birds singing, and little children gathered around him, leaning on his shoulders and knees, captivated with the stories he tells them. So predominant and ubiquitous is ...

3173. What Do I Do When I Can't Get Started?

Proverbs 6:6-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Today, I am going to deal with a problem that I freely admit that I have and I am absolutely convinced everyone has this problem to one degree or another. I am going to be honest with you. Sometimes, I have a problem with procrastination and starting tomorrow I am going to do something about it! The truth of the matter is everybody in this room has at least one thing that you haven't yet done in your life and the only reason you haven't done it is simply because you've procrastinated. I heard about two ...

3174. Mary and Martha: Nine to Five and Five to Nine

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

(A Dialogue Sermon) Man: Good morning! It's a pleasure to be here in the pulpit. But you may have noticed that I have someone in the lectern vying for equal time. Woman: Yes, indeed. This is a feminist age, you know — a time of equality between women and men, a time for women to catch up on centuries of lost time in subjugation and oppression. Man: That may be, but do you intend to regain all the lost time this morning? Woman: No, but at least I'd like to make some progress. Man: I don't blame you. ...

3175. Easter 7

Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 47:1-9, 1 Peter 4:12-19, John 17:1-5, John 17:6-19

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Sunday after the Ascension, as the Seventh Sunday of Easter previously was designated, was known as Exaudi Sunday and served much the same function as the Seventh Sunday of Easter does today. This Sunday is a time of reflection on the glory God has given Christ by lifting him up to his right hand on the completion of his work. It is also a period of expectation for the coming of the Holy Spirit to the church and the world to empower the church to do the work of Christ. It is also the ...

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