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 3326 to 3350 of 5000 results

3326. Second Lesson

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

... he was operating on a superficial level and was not wired into the power source existing in the Word and the Holy Spirit. Before long, he moved on and soon was forgotten. To be "the light of the world" means we are not simply to shine by ourselves; ... have any wiring. The prongs that fit into an electrical outlet fold down into the flashlight - a neat little unit. It gives excellent light, as long as it is charged up. But if its power is used up and it is not plugged in regularly, it gives little or no light ...

3327. Magic Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

... say John the Baptist, others say Elijah or Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets." "But who do you say that I am?" Jesus questioned more directly. Peter immediately spoke up and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." A breakthrough had come at long last; one of the disciples had perceived who he really was and, to him, Jesus said, "You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my church." And then, once more, Jesus told them they were going to Jerusalem where all the things written about him ...

3328. Hid in God

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

... in our lives: to get us to rely on him and not on our high polish, sharp points or fine feathers. It is God, after all, who shoots the arrow to the mark. Luther certainly had his quiver years. God polished, pointed and feathered him for a long time in the monastery where he gave him great powers of speech, thought, administration and leadership. For many years this was all hidden away. When God finally put Luther in the bow and pulled the string, that arrow sped around the world. It is still speeding today ...

3329. Never Forgotten

Isaiah 49:8-26

Sermon

... days later, my care package arrived, but I still went through three or four days of "they don’t care; they have forgotten me." God never forgets us. No matter how often we forget God or forget each other, he never forgets us. It has taken me a long time to believe that, but I believe it now. I hope I will never lose that belief, because I know how much it feels like a post hole digger in the stomach to feel forgotten. Luther said some beautiful things about this passage from Isaiah when he was lecturing ...

3330. Prayer in a Pinch

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

... plant? Think about that. We don't like those kinds of times. There is so much darkness, so few answers. Even for Jesus on that day long ago, it was the same. In order to go and pray, it is written that Jesus "made the disciples get into the boat" and go across ... same man, uplifted by Christ, struggles for respect and justice - and even is able to practice forgiveness. As with Peter of long ago, Christ reaches him in the raging whirlpool called "this world." Peter's experience is that of every believer. At ...

3331. Sharing Your Safety

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Children's Sermon

... taken all of the animals to come on board in pairs. First the lions, and then the bears, the eagles, the snakes, and even a place for two mice. It was a big boat, 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. It was also a very safe boat. When Noah and his family boarded the boat, they had no idea how long they would be living on it, but they knew it was safe because they had plenty of food and they had each other. The ark was their home. Do you feel safe in your home ...

3332. Victory and Protest

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... may not have the last word on such processions, but I like what he says. It is a procession, he insists, which "threatens no one, excludes no one, and whose blessing even falls on those who stand astonished at its edge." It is a procession which testifies that "as long as he (Christ) goes with us we have with us the one who can make every way straight and purposeful." It is to just such a procession that you and I are joined by eating the living bread given for the life of the world. 1. Martin Luther, The ...

3333. And You Thought God Didn't Care!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

... God didn't care, let me tell you he will turn heaven and earth upside down and inside out to help you. Everything about you, and all that happens to you, is of vital interest to God. Sometimes people get tired of hearing our problems, especially if they last a long while. Others are willing to help us for a time, and then soon their love runs out of breath. It isn't that they don't want to assist us, they just have so many demands upon their time and energies, they can't spread themselves to cover all the ...

3334. Trouble on the Mountain

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

... to." "They don't sing the 'old' familiar songs anymore." "The church is full of hypocrites." "If acting the way 'they' act is being a Christian, then I want no part of it." "You can't be a Christian and stay in my kind of business." "Preachers preach too long (or are too dull, too simple, too deep) and the services are not over by twelve noon." "It's too cold in the winter and I'm afraid of snakes in the summer!" Will these excuses for our defection stand the scrutiny of the allseeing, all-knowing eyes of ...

3335. Communion Is Reunion

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Sermon

... in her pastor that she had invited her family and relatives to dinner the night before. She had sacrificed many long hours planning and preparing the meal in the hope that the family could enjoy their time together. But her ... in his family - the Christian Church - when one group won't commune with another because of some minor point of doctrine? Jesus sacrificed more than long hours - he sacrificed his very life on the cross in order to prepare this feast of forgiveness for you and me. His body was broken ...

3336. Communion Is Rejoicing In Christ's Return

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

... as a foretaste of the delicious banquet that was soon to be enjoyed by our whole family. That illustrates for me how it is in God's family as we wait for the heavenly banquet. In a similar way, we ask, "How long, O Lord? How much longer do we have to wait for your return. How long do we have to endure the pains, burdens, sorrows and temptations of this life? How much longer will it be before we can celebrate the heavenly banquet with you and all your family?" Then the Lord whispers to us, "Be patient my ...

3337. Communion Is Running No More

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

... cause us and others. Let me give you a few examples: Do you have a hot temper which strikes at others as fierce and quick as a bolt of lightning? Then perhaps Jesus' word to you is to remove yourself from those situations which call forth your anger just long enough for you to be able to talk calmly and sensibly about the problem and find a solution. Perhaps you find that lust can rise quickly in your heart and mind? Than the Lord would tell you to be careful about the movies you see and magazines you look ...

3338. Communion Is Realizing Forgiveness

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

... see, some people pride themselves in their skill for getting revenge ... in their ability to be one up on the next person ... to always have the last word or a cutting comeback. But one of the best stories of revenge I've seen is one I read not long ago: There was a quiet truck driver hauling a load across country. Late one evening, he stopped at a roadside diner for supper. As he was eating, three rather rough-looking motorcyclists roared-up to the diner's entrance. All eyes were upon them as they strolled ...

3339. Communion Is Response to an Invitation

John 6:25-59

Sermon

... very religious man ... known by everyone to be a devoted Christian. But Uncle Joe never laughed or smiled and usually had a long, sad look on his face. Terri began to think that being a Christian meant being sad and serious all the time. That afternoon Terri went with ... Uncle Joe to the barn to feed the old mule. She noticed that the mule also had a long, sad face. When they put his food into the trough, the mule snorted and grunted very gruffly. Little Terri looked at her uncle and ...

3340. Life in The Meantime

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

D. Wayne Burkette

... makes his appearance and they all take their places. When the five foolish maidens return to the church, they discover the service already in progress and the door closed and locked. Sadly, they miss out on the very thing to which they had looked forward for so long, and all the oil in the world cannot rekindle the light of joy in their hearts. It is a tragic story about five maidens whose vision was so focused on the future that they failed to notice the demands of the present. They lived with a strong ...

3341. In Defense of the One-Talent Servant

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

... of mine. (The witness points to the defendant.) Not once has he failed to return them. Why, last summer while I was on vacation, the defendant deposited my weekly paycheck in the bank for me. I trust this man, your Honor; he’s as honest as the day is long. Second Witness: Your Honor, let me be candid. It’s true that Brother One-Talent has not been the most active person in the church, but he has been a member virtually all his life, and his parents before him. The day the master had Brother One-Talent ...

3342. The Freedom of Necessity

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... for the taking. At last, I thought, I could be my own person, no longer dependent on parents or older friends to take me where I wanted to go. My sixteenth birthday would be "Independence Day," "Bastille Day," the day of liberation. A couple of days before that long-awaited anniversary, I was with my family as we returned home from an evening out. I don’t remember where we had been, but it was nearing midnight when the four of us turned onto the highway leading to our house. Rounding a sharp curve we were ...

3343. An Intimate Conversation and an Exclusive Covenant

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

... in a way that even a child can understand, that the covenant contained in Christ’s cross is meant for all and will last as long as the earth itself. God’s word can actually reach any one of us and move us to faith. The people of God are peculiar ... for people to fulfill who live in a world that tells them there is no God, and they may live any way they choose, as long as they are within the law of land and the limits of decency and decorum. Jonathan Swift is buried in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, where ...

3344. The Keeper of the Covenant

Exodus 31:1-11

Sermon

Moses had been gone too long from the people of Israel. He had stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, after he had given them the terms of ... note at the end of the sermon). The Israelites went further than that, to God’s consternation and their near-destruction. But Moses did not go down from the mountains right away. He stayed long enough to plead with God, "Don’t let the Egyptians, who felt your wrath and power, make fun of you now. Don’t let them think you brought the people out to slay them ...

3345. Interrupting Worship

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

... bodies, but also the approving smiles of whites who were standing about. Sometimes we have to put a face on evil and see it in all of its consequences to understand it. Sometimes people personify evil by calling it Satan. I would not argue with that, as long as people understand that even in a satanic world, we still possess free will. People may be brainwashed, but they are not in a hypnotic trance. It was the free will of people who brought down the World Trade Center. It was the free will of teenagers ...

3346. The City Unshakeable

Psalm 46:1-11, Hebrews 12:25-29

Sermon

... the woman why she was on the tour. "It's a last loving look at the city," she said. "It's got to last me for a long time. I'm taking it with me." That's an example of what it means to be a citizen of a spiritual city. There is that to ... believe we will find comfort from each other. We will probably find at least some of those behind the crime and may even, in the long run, be able to make terrorism so costly to perpetrators that it will diminish. I certainly hope so. But whatever comes, if we trust God, ...

3347. Why Jesus Came Back

Illustration

Staff

When Jesus came forth from Joseph's tomb on that unprecedented Sunday morning long ago, what was the first thing he did? Think about it: he met his people, his followers ... here today. Our meeting together with him is, I think, important to him. It is something he wants, something he yearns for, something he chose to do on that first Lord's Day long ago, and something he chooses still. And I believe he is glad when we choose it too. Having died, he might have gone on from his grave, but he chose to come back ...

3348. The Deeper Happening

Illustration

Staff

... the hymns, the Scripture readings, or what the sermon was about. Some younger people, teasing her about this, said, "It didn't do you much good, did it?" Her reply contains a priceless insight. She said, "Oh, I'm sure it did me a lot of good. I found out long ago that you can't carry water in a wicker basket, but the basket will be a little cleaner because you tried." Yes, it's usually good to remember, if you can, what was said in church. But, my friend, never let yourself believe that all the values of ...

3349. To Touch The Untouchable

Luke 5:12-16

Sermon

... bring a physical healing, it helps us in other ways. "Prayer's greatest healing is ... not healing, but the courageous acceptance of the terms of mortal life. True prayer does not evade pain, but gains from it insight, patience, courage and sympathy; and at long last, makes it an oblation to God. True healing does not sidestep death, but greets it. This is healing beyond healing."4 Paul Brand is a British physician who has worked with lepers for most of his medical career. He is recognized throughout the ...

3350. Living Life The Easy Way

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... an unbearable impediment to any communication, she thought. All I said was, "Nothing has to run in the family." She timidly drove the long hours to talk with her father. Through the sharing of her pain, her father revealed his unfulfilled ambition to be a math teacher ... praise me." Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, not hard. There is an easy way to live life. Follow me and it's yours." For however long or short a time I am at High Point College you will hear me repeat often what I tell you now. In my career as a ...

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