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 3301 to 3325 of 4961 results

3301. Sovereignty: God’s Domain

Zephaniah 1:4-13

Sermon

Christian unity kneels before the awesomeness of the sovereignty of God. Sin, more often than we admit, pushes us in directions that exceed anything resembling a belief in human freedom of the will. It is only by his grace we begin to understand, in the Book of Revelation, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (1:8) I have been brought to my knees by the God of all, who insisted he was before the beginning and after the ending, as we ...

3302. More Than A Mannequin; Not Quite A Masterpiece

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

One of my favorite pieces of humor is the blooper. These unique manifestations of our humanness appear from time to time in newspapers, magazines and even church bulletins. Often they are typos that give a whole new meaning to a sentence or a phrase. Kathleen Hunzeker in Kimball, Nebraska noticed this item in the President's Report of the First English Lutheran Church of Kimball: "We as a congregation have achieved many accomplishments. We have been truly blessed in our missions and ministry. All of the ...

3303. Preparing For A Royal Visit

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

[Note: While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Name: Preparing for a Royal Visit New Name: Getting Ready A little boy attended his first symphony concert. He was excited by the splendid hall, the beautiful people in all their formal ...

3304. The First Easter Sermon

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book, JUST AS LONG AS I'M RIDING UP FRONT, Ray McIver tells of belonging to the Kiwanis club in the 1950s in the small town of San Marcos, Texas. The Kiwanians were a lively group, says McIver, all except for Roger Shelton. Roger came to meetings late, sat by himself, and rarely said a word. The Kiwanians would usually have entertainment of some kind before they got down to club business. At one particular meeting, the entertainment consisted of a barbershop quartet composed of local college ...

3305. A Tale Of Two Brothers

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

Americans are amazingly law-abiding folk. We obey the rules. If you don't think so, travel to other countries. Watch people in countries we normally think of as civilized push in front of one another while waiting in line. Try driving in many of the great cities of the world. Those who travel greatly have horror stories to report. People drive through stop signs as if they were not there. And traffic lights receive not much more respect. Meanwhile, in the home of the free and the brave, we passively do ...

3306. The Saint Who Played Second Fiddle

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

If your life depended on it, could you name the Twelve Apostles? Probably not. I have a hard time remembering all of their names myself. Perhaps when I finish this series of sermons on the Apostles, I will have them more firmly fixed in my mind. But I have to confess that right now I couldn’t do it. Let’s see: There was Peter, of course. And James, and John (the inner circle). There was Matthew, and Judas, of course. And wasn’t there somebody named Philip? And Thomas...we all remember him. He was the ...

3307. What Is Your Response to the Resurrection?

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Were you as surprised or shocked as I was to read that Mark concludes his marvelous Gospel writing in chapter 16, verse 8 with the words, "and they said nothing to anyone--for they were afraid." We know from personal experience that fear is not always a negative response, but to end a portion of God''s word in this way almost seems out of place. However, it is not God''s response to the resurrection that Mark is being honest about; it is the human response. The resurrection was God''s response, but the ...

3308. God Does The Unexpected

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The title of the book is simply KARSH. If you've ever seen it, you may remember it by the eye-catching cover picture of Sophia Loren wearing a large red hat. But you probably remember more than that, because Yousuf Karsh is recognized as the premier portrait photographer of our time -- and the book that bears his name is a collection of famous faces. There are 185 of them from Franklin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan, from Pope John the 23rd to Andy Warhol, from Betty Davis to Helen Keller. There's one portrait ...

3309. 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 ...

3310. The Model of Success

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Some of you know that the church is involved inevitably in matters of business. In some churches, particularly smaller churches, the ministers take a very important role in administering the business side of the church. This church decided not to do that with its minister. Its business affairs are managed by the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee. They have done a wonderful job, and I congratulate them. I am not allowed to manage the business affairs of the church, but I am still interested in ...

3311. Here We Go Again

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Mark Trotter

This last week I got a letter addressed to, "The Pastor of the MethodistChurch," unsigned. It began, "To the church that awaits my coming. I am the Lord." That got my attention. This is from Jesus, I could see. It was handwritten, which I want to point out to all of you who have been trying to get me to get a computer. I just follow Jesus. When he gets one, I'll get one. I read on. "I am not pleased with those who claim to be members of my body. You have turned away from me." The letter continues with an ...

3312. Seeing the End from the Beginning

Numbers 13:1-2, 17-33

Sermon

James Merritt

Disney World. It is the most popular tourist attraction on the planet. The four theme parks, The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney MGM, and Animal Kingdom individually rank among the top ten theme parks in all of the world. In 1998, forty-two million people went through the turnstiles at Disney World alone. It sits on forty-three square miles of some of the most prime property in the entire state of Florida. It is twice the size of Manhattan Island. Originally, it took seven years to plan, and four and one-half ...

3313. Final Destination

Psalm 23:6

Sermon

James Merritt

I have been preaching through the 23rd Psalm, and I have entitled this series of messages “Good Vibrations.” Good vibrations are important. Dr. Michael Jacobson cited a recent study in which patients were asked to recall various types of emotional experiences, while doctors monitored their physiological reactions. They were first asked to recall an argument in which they became very angry or frustrated. The patient was to relive that experience in their mind for five minutes. The doctors noted that these ...

3314. The Awesome Power of a Mustard Seed (Father's Day)

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

A man was out on the golf course. He spotted another man who seemingly had four caddies. “Why so many caddies?” the first man asked the second. The second golfer replied, “It’s my wife’s idea. She thinks I should spend more time with the kids.” Well, that’s one way of doing it. I suspect he’s the same Dad who was asked by his wife when they brought home their first baby to help with changing diapers. “I’m busy,” he said, “I’ll do the next one.” The next time came around and she asked again. The husband ...

3315. The Servant Leader

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Actress Mae West produced many memorable quotes, some of them quite naughty. It was she who said, “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before” and, “Any time you’ve got nothing to do and lots of time to do it come on up.” Her most revealing quote however is the theme of many celebrities today, “I never loved another person the way I loved myself.” That is a typical celebrity attitude. However it is not true of every celebrity. Veteran television star Tom Selleck seems to have avoided the ...

3316. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Lent 4) A father tells of putting his 4-year-old daughter to bed one evening. He read her the story of the Prodigal Son. They discussed how the younger son had taken his inheritance and left home, living it up until he had nothing left. Finally, when he couldn’t even eat as well as the pigs, he went home to his father, who welcomed him. When they finished the story, the Dad asked his daughter what she had learned. After thinking a moment, she quipped, “Never leave ...

3317. The Impending Departure II

John 16:5-16, John 16:17-33

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The second farewell discourse runs most closely parallel to the first precisely where it is most properly a “farewell” (i.e., where it addresses directly the question of Jesus’ impending departure; cf. 13:33). Here, inevitably, is also where the differences between the two discourses become most noticeable. Whereas the first discourse was largely structured around a series of questions by various disciples, here the question-and-answer method seems to be consciously abandoned. The earlier discourse began ...

3318. Ingrafted Branches

Romans 11:11-24

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

A skeletal outline of the history of salvation can be found in the call to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3. It ends with the promise that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” The fulfillment of that promise lay conspicuously fallow throughout the OT. Only in Jonah and Second Isaiah is the blessing to the Gentiles again taken up. In Isaiah 49:1–6 the servant is told, “it is too small a thing for you to … restore the tribes of Jacob.… I will make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my ...

3319. The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy

John 16:17-33, John 16:5-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

3320. Jesus Prays for His Disciples

John 17:6-19

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

Just as in verses 1–3, the Son’s work of “glorifying” the Father is defined as revealing or making the Father known, but in this case the revealing is to the specific group of disciples gathered to hear Jesus’ last instructions. The phrase those whom you gave me focuses on this limited group in contrast to all those you have given him (out of all people) in verse 2. Such phrases as they have obeyed (v. 6), now they know (v. 7), they accepted, they knew, they believed (v. 8) are Jesus’ testimony to the ...

3321. You Are My Beloved

Mark 1:10-11

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

"And just as He was coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens torn apart and the spirit descending like a dove on Him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved: with you I am well pleased.' " Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I tell you a tale of a little village in an isolated land where the people shared a boundless sense of happiness. The people in this village showed only one unusual feature about their life together. They had a custom -- a delightful custom -- of giving fuzzies to ...

3322. Hungering for Some Time Off

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

King Duncan

How many of you have a hard time taking a vacation? We all want a vacation. We all need a vacation. But do you have trouble finding the time for one? Do you have trouble leaving work back at the office when you go on vacation? Do you feel like your vacation is re-charging you or draining you? Futurist and author Faith Popcorn claims that, compared to the rest of the world, Americans suffer from a condition called “vacation starvation.” The average employee of a large business gets about two, maybe three, ...

3323. No Sooner Said Than Done!

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"For the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Words! Words! Words! Today we are bombarded on every side and saturated throughout with words coming to us through press, radio, and TV. There are 490,000 ...

3324. A Story Worth Sharing

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

WATCH YOUR MOUTH! What a lesson. There is a classic story about a minister who comes to church one snowy Sunday morning to find that only one lady has been able to make it to worship. As it happens, the text and sermon for the day came from this third chapter of James and focused on the damage done by gossiping. It also turned out that, of all the people in the congregation, this one lady was more guilty of this particular sin than anybody! So, one-person congregation or not, the pastor proceeded as if ...

3325. The Get-ready Man

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

James Thurber once told of a thin and lanky prophet who went around his boyhood hometown crying, "Get ready! Get ready! The world is coming to an end!" The community called him the Get-Ready Man. That tag could have been applied to John the Baptist. He was a get-ready man if there ever was one: "A voice crying in the wilderness, ˜Prepare the way of the Lord.’" This is the season of getting ready. That is the purpose of Advent. It is a time to get ready for the celebration of the Lord’s birth. Norm Lawson ...

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