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 301 to 325 of 1164 results

301. A Breadbasket Full of Goodies

John 6:25-35

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

In this the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus begins to withdraw to the east side of the Sea of Galilee. He has fed the 5,000, and he has walked on water. The press of the crowds had become all consuming and he needs some solitude to prepare himself for what lay ahead. Considering that the crowds that followed him more than likely knew of the feeding of the 5,000, and some may even have heard of the miraculous walking on water, it is difficult to explain why in these verses, they would doubt anything ...

302. Country Songs and Easter Hymns

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Thomas Long

As the van rolled down the interstate, Kitty Wells' hillbilly alto rattled the radio speakers; "When you're lookin' at me," she belted out, "you're lookin' at country." In the van were ten of us, all seminary seniors, heading away from our rural South Carolina campus toward the big city of Atlanta, and Kitty Wells had it right: If you were looking at us, you were looking at country. It was not that we urbanly-challenged folk actually wanted to go to the city; the faculty was forcing us to do so. Terrified ...

303. The Compelling Call

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Paul: Apostle To The Early Church This set of four scenes is especially suitable to accompany a series of sermons or studies on the early church. The scenes carefully follow the scripture text while making the struggles of the early church, and particularly those of the apostle Paul, come alive. This drama is very useful for teaching profound Biblical truths, as God's plan for his church powerfully unfolds. These scenes can easily be produced on consecutive Sundays or used individually as stand- ...

304. Building a Successful Life

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

An elderly woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch. Though he looked weathered and feeble, he had a content smile on his face. “I couldn’t help noticing how happy you look,” she said. “What’s your secret for a happy life?” “Well, I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day,” he said, waving a wrinkled hand through the air, with a smoldering cigarette between his thumb and finger. “I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise.” “That’s amazing!” said the ...

305. If You're Not Loving You're Not Living (Fruit of the Spirit: Love)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

I am beginning a series of messages that I have entitled: "Home Sweet Home." These messages are going to deal with the fruit that every family tree ought to bear. I want you to imagine what your marriage would be like, what your kids would be like, what your spouse would be like, what you would be like, if the tree of your home and your heart bore the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control. Now quite frankly, if a lot of us started bearing ...

306. Love: The Happiness of a Godly Family

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Sermon

James Merritt

Thomas Jefferson could truly say, "Been there, done that, now what?" He was Ambassador to France, the first Secretary of State, a Vice President, the President of the United States, founder of a major university, author of the greatest political document in history, a multi-faceted inventor, architect, author, farmer, and scholar. He was perhaps the most brilliant man ever to occupy the White House. He was present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence; he attended the second Continental ...

307. Risk Takers

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

"Louise, can you and Pastor Hal come to Thanksgiving dinner at our house this Friday? I have this really, really big turkey, and I don't want a ton of leftovers," Tracy implored her friend. "Well, I'd love to, but we always invite a widower, Andy Vespa, each Thanksgiving. I don't want him to be by himself with his pork and beans. Of course, Steve and Vicki will be here, too," Louise replied. "Andy's always been a part of this family gathering." "I know Andrew! I visited his wife, Della, at the VA Hospital ...

308. What Do You Expect?

John 6:24-35

Sermon

King Duncan

We are heading into the second half of 2021, and I think it’s a good time to check in with our expectations for this year and see if anything needs to be re-adjusted. Some of us have had a better year than we expected; some of us have had it worse. All of us have certain plans and expectations for how the rest of the year will go. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the next five months? Pastor Daniel D. Chambers learned an expression from a college professor: “Expectation is the mother of regret.” ...

309. The Lord's People Together

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

"... if two of you agree ... about anything ..." - Matthew 18:19 The inimitable Will Rogers was once asked, "What's wrong with the world?" And he replied, "People!" Of course, the famous humorist was being humorous. Others have been seriously cynical concerning the human race. One said, "The world would be a pretty good place to live if it weren't for the people in it." But when all the cynics have had their say, I will still believe, that in general, we human creatures really have some pretty good things ...

310. I Voted for God

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

The Gospel for today begins with these words of Jesus: Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Is that what it means to be a Christian? That we should hate the members of our own family? We must make allowances here not only for the circumstances, but also for the fact that Eastern language is sharp and vivid ...

311. Walk In Newness Of Life

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Jerry and I celebrated our thirty-third anniversary on March 15. Well, some might question the word "celebrated", and she might have even questioned it a bit. On that very day, Thursday, March 15th, I was in a meeting of the Regional Secretaries of the World Methodist Council. But we celebrated, though I'll not tell you how! One thing I did was reread an anniversary gift of years back -- a book by Lois Wyse entitled Love Poems for the Very Married. If we were very married then -- we are very, very married ...

312. The Little Miracle Before The Big One

Luke 22:47-53

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

If you were a Miracle-Worker, and you had one final miracle to perform before dying, what would you choose as a big, never-to-be-forgotten climax? Suppose you had already done such things as calm a storm at sea, multiply five loaves and two fishes into enough food to feed 5,000 people, walked on water, opened blind eyes, caused the dumb to speak, the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear, turned water into wine, and even raised the dead - now you are about to do one more miracle before you die - what would it ...

313. Courageous Preaching

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

Suppose reliable word came that within hours this area of the country would be attacked by enemy missiles. Orders from the military broadcast over the emergency stations tell us to evacuate our town and literally run for our lives. Perhaps we would quickly plan some strategy of escape, maybe with some close friends and relatives. Or we might hold a hurried congregational meeting and decide to leave in some sort of protective caravan. No matter what our specific response, all of a sudden we would experience ...

314. Swords Into Plowshares

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

One Sunday after church, a mother was talking to her young daughter. She told her daughter that, according to the Bible, Jesus will return to earth some day. "When is he coming back?" the daughter asked. "I don't know," replied the mother. "Can't you look it up on the Internet?" the little girl asked. (1) Well, you can find lots of interesting things on the Internet, but to read an authoritative source about the return of Christ, you will need to turn elsewhere. Eight hundreds years before Christ, the ...

315. Not the Seasons for Figs

Mark 11:12-19

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I am surprised that this strange story of Jesus cursing the fig tree ever got into our New Testament. Among all of the stories about Jesus recorded in the Gospels, this one is just about the most embarrassing and difficult to explain. On the face of it, it goes like this: Jesus had just ridden into the Holy City in triumph, accompanied with crowds singing His praises and strewing palm branches before Him. Those who remembered the old prophecy of Micah realized that in riding into town on a donkey, Jesus ...

316. In Our Pastor's Success, So Is Our Own!

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Did you hear about the farm boy who always wondered what would happen if he twisted the tail on the mule? One day he tried it. And now they say about him, he's not as pretty as he used to be, but he's a whole lot wiser. When I was a young man, I wondered what my life would be like if I became a pastor in answer to God's call. Now, thirty years later, I'm not as pretty as I used to be, but I am a lot wiser. Ministry is not for cowards, the lazy, the easily discouraged, the thin-skinned, or those without ...

317. The Challenge Of Simplicity

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

The crowds had grown. Jesus had been in Galilee for a while now, speaking, healing, and calling his disciples to follow him. The leaders from Jerusalem certainly had their spies keeping an eye on him, but with the crowds he was gathering, all they could do right now was watch and listen. Wherever Jesus went, there were always a few Pharisees and Sadducees in the crowd looking for things he might do or say they could use against him when they did finally get the chance. His disciples occasionally reminded ...

318. It's Performance That Counts

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Nothing aggravates me more than buying something that does not work when I get it home. Whether it is purchased at a local store or through the latest mail-order catalog, if the item does not live up to its advertised promises, I feel cheated. Most people do not mind spending money on those objects of their desiring, some of them necessary, others frivolous, provided they live up to the expectations which were made on the packaging. At one time or another, I suppose, we are all tricked by the slick ...

319. Resuscitating An Iguana

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Officer Tori Matthews of the Southern California Humane Society got an emergency call: a boy's pet iguana had been scared up a tree by a neighbor's dog. It then fell from the tree into a swimming pool, where it sank like a brick. Officer Matthews came with her net. She dived into the pool, emerging seconds later with the pet's limp body. "Well, you do CPR on a person and a dog," she thought to herself, "why not an iguana?" So she put her lips to the iguana's. "Now that I look back on it," she says now, "it ...

320. God Never Gives Up on Anyone

John 14:15-21

Sermon

Richard Gribble

The name Robert Stroud is not one commonly heard in ordinary conversation, but this man's contribution to humanity will live on in the minds of many under a different title, "The Birdman of Alcatraz." By nature, Robert Stroud was not a congenial man. As a youth he was always getting into fights, disagreements, and various altercations. When he was only nineteen he killed a man in a barroom brawl, was convicted of second-degree murder, and was sentenced to the Federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, ...

321. Christmas 1

Galatians 3:26--4:7, Galatians 3:15-25, Colossians 3:1-17, Hebrews 2:5-18, Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 63:7-9 The prophet recalls the goodness of God when the nation was being born. He harkens back to the covenant God made with his people at Sinai and his guiding them through the wilderness. Though God punishes his people for their sins, he continues to love them, care for them, and guide them. God carries on his gracious work of salvation. Lesson 1: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 God placed parents in authority over their children and those who honor their parents will be blessed by God. ...

322. What, Then, Would You Be?

2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was an enthusiastic swimmer. Before starting each day’s work he would swim and bathe naked in the Potomac River. There was a newspaper woman, Anne Royall, who tried for weeks to get an interview with the president, but she was always rebuffed. One day she followed Adams to his watering hole. After he disrobed and got into the river, she promptly sat down on his clothes. Recognizing who she was, Adams pleaded, “Let me get out and dress, and I ...

323. The Servant-king

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Angela Akers

A few weeks into a new school year, Susan Moser, a mother from Pennsylvania, asked her young son what he thought of first grade. With enthusiasm, he replied, "Oh, I love school. It's great!" Then, after a brief hesitation, he added. "Well, except for one thing . . . I don't really like it when Mrs. Decker tries to teach us stuff." (1) Well, that's a problem, isn't it? Some of our students here can attest to the fact that learning isn't all fun and games. It can be frustrating for both the student and the ...

324. Rejoicing in Reality

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Our text says that Jesus "went up to the mountain" and, oh, what a beautiful mountain it is! The Mount of the Beatitudes is not all that high, but in Galilee it is the equivalent of Mount Everest. Stretched out below is the most fertile agricultural land in Israel, intricately laid out next to the jeweled sea, that breathtaking, blue prism reflecting the hot beauty of the Middle Eastern sun. A few years ago, after wandering around on the hilltop for a while, our pilgrim group decided that this was the ...

325. Soul Deep Not Skin Deep

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In the Pacific Northwest (and elsewhere), it's now hunting season. But instead of gun-racks in the pick-ups, our most fearless, intrepid hunters drive around with old doors or ratty-looking sheets of plywood strapped to the hoods of their cars, or hanging out the tailgates of their pick-up trucks. These hunters are after one of the most vicious of quarry, one capable of both long slashing wounds and deep punctures. It can only be approached by cautiously creeping towards it on a broad protective plank - ...

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