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 3351 to 3375 of 4961 results

3351. Preaching The Miracles

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Discipline (v. 7) - Who is "the disciple whom Jesus loved?" In John's gospel, John never mentions his name, but describes himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." It was not that John only was loved by Jesus, but apparently there was an exceptional closeness to their relationship, akin to David and Jonathon. In this instance, John was the only disciple who recognized that it was Jesus standing on the beach. Love has the power of vision and insight into the nature of people. Love lets you see who a ...

3352. On Being a Beautiful Christian

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

To have courage without pugnacity, To have conviction without bigotry, To have charity without condescension, To have faith without credulity, To have meekness with power, and emotion with sanity, To have love for humanity without mere sentimentality - that is Christianity. (Charles Evans Hughes) Being a "beautiful Christian" is that second mile that a true experience of Christ produces in us. There are no "ugly Christians" not really. When I was a student at the Duke Divinity School the bells were just ...

3353. Taking the First Step

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

Create in your minds, if you will, a scene where the people are gathering at a small church for worship. They are drifting in one by one. One man storms in, unaware that his entry is causing a disturbance. He's angry! He's mad! He's fuming! As he sits down, his mind begins to recall the events of the day. Someone he thought was his best friend took an idea of his, lied to him, lied about him, and gave the idea to the boss. Now, this so-called friend will probably get the advancement that should have been ...

3354. Running the Race

Philippians 3:4-11, 2 Timothy 4:7

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Every week in our country millions of people go to stadiums and arenas to participate in the thrills and chills of athletic competition. Athletic competition attracts people as participants and spectators for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the most universal reason for the appeal of sports is the similarity between what goes on in the arena of athletic competition and the arena of life. Athletic competition is a microcosm of life, because we all love to compete and win. In our second lesson for today, Saint ...

3355. Eyewitness News

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Country music star Kenny Chesney sings a song that contains this refrain, Everybody wanna go to heaven; Hallelujah, let me hear you shout; Everybody wanna go to heaven; But nobody wanna go now. (1) Deep in our hearts we know it’s true. We talk about heaven, but regardless of how wonderful we have heard it described, most of us are not eager to make the journey. We’re like the man who was sentenced to death. He was asked if he had any last requests. He said that he loved to sing and wanted to sing his ...

3356. When the Drought Gets Really Bad

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

In a book titled God’s Little Devotional Book there is a delightful story of a great drought that struck Baghdad during the reign of Abdullah the Third. Moslem leaders in the land issued a decree that all the faithful should offer prayers for rain. Still, the drought continued. The Jews were then permitted to add their prayers to those of the Moslems. Their prayers didn’t seem to do the job either. Finally when the drought resulted in widespread famine, the Christians in the land were asked to pray. Almost ...

3357. No More Tears

Sermon

King Duncan

One of these days I ought to give you a quiz on my sermon from the week before. Don’t worry. I’m not actually going to do it. It would be too embarrassing. Truthfully, there are times when I can’t remember what I preached on the week before. That’s why it caught my attention when a pastor named Benton Lutz told about the one sermon he most remembers. The pastor who preached this sermon described an experience he once had in a bathtub. The preacher said, that he was in a tub, the water was running; the tub ...

3358. Peace and Joy

Romans 5:1-11

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Romans 5:1–11 is a victorious passage. “In the whole Bible there is hardly another chapter which can equal this triumphant text,” said Luther (Epistle to the Romans, p. 72). It is like a mountain pass from which one revels in scenery after having labored through the inclines and switchbacks of argumentation in the earlier chapters. The view cannot be fully appreciated without the effort it took to get there. Commentators are divided whether the passage is the conclusion of Paul’s argument so far or the ...

3359. Lady of the House / The Practice of Joy

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.” (Deuteronomy 12:7) “Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. ...

3360. Will The Real Messiah Please Stand Up?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

In the early days of television a popular game show, To Tell the Truth, held the attention of the American audience. A panel of interesting and colorful experts was in place, along with an engaging host. They were presented with three contestants, each claiming to be a famous person or a person who had accomplished an unusual feat. The identity of the real person was known only to the host. After a period of questioning by the panel when the panel and everyone else had been given a chance to vote for their ...

3361. Seeds And The Kingdom

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

At this writing the U.S. House of Representatives has just completed its 100 days of legislation on the so-called Contract with America. It was an effort to change quickly a process which was at work through several decades. Some analysts criticize the legislation for having been put together too hastily. It was driven by a desire to demonstrate instant results. The probability is that the legislation will move through the Senate with more "deliberate speed." The Senate will look more closely to discern ...

3362. Easter 7

John 17:6-19, Acts 1:12-26, 1 John 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The church organizes for mission and Christ prays that the ways of the world will not subvert that mission but that the Father would keep them in his grace. COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 1:15-26 The post-resurrection church begins very small, some 120 souls. Once again, Peter takes the lead in filling the slot left by the bloody death of Judas. They selected two men who met the criteria: (1) They had witnessed the resurrected Jesus and they were in the company of Jesus' disciples since the baptism of ...

3363. The Conversion of Saul

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Saul's conversion is important to us because we are always wanting detailed accounts of the journey of those people who have become great or famous. They always fascinate us. We avidly consume all the minute specifics we can find about them, sometimes even stooping to seek out tidbits of gossip. We are titillated by the trivial. Why was Sir Winston Churchill buried in a small country cemetery rather than in Westminster Abbey? Why was Churchill born in the servant's quarters of Blenheim Palace rather than ...

3364. The Bells Of Christmas Eve

Drama

The Cast (in order of speaking) Sebastiano Franco Sister Sophia Bruder Hans Antonio Francesca Mario Marchesi Pietro Vermelli Giuseppe Synopsis Scene The First in which Father Sebastiano Franco is bemoaning the non-ringing of the church bells on Christmas Eve and is visited by a panic-stricken nun and a strange monk from Germany. Scene The Second in which a girl and her brother stumble upon a man dying in the cold. Scene The Third in which a rich man and a poor man commit insufficient acts of love. Scene ...

3365. Jesus Came Preaching

Mark 1:14-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

“Jesus came preaching,” says St. Mark. Now, that may not seem like anything earth-shaking to you, but I suggest this morning that it is nothing less than astounding! Of all the methods that God might have chosen to change the world-the frailty of human words is just about the most surprising! I find it incredible that God should launch God’s movement to save the world in so frail a vessel as preaching. St. Paul found it surprising, too. Our Epistle Lesson was from II Corinthians. But in I Corinthians Paul ...

3366. Let Me Say That Again

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Preaching is an awesome responsibility - to mount a pulpit and proclaim God’s word. I remember my first visit to China in 1979. The Bamboo Curtain was just being drawn a bit. Miraculous things have happened since then, as you very well know. But back then you couldn’t meet publicly with Christians - so, on my trip we met in secret. I remember being with three couples in a hotel room in Beijing. It was as near to what I think it must have been in the early church when Christians gathered in the catacombs to ...

3367. Alesander The Mediocre

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme\n It is never pleasant to be humbled but it is necessary to be \nused by God. \nSummary\n Alexander is the type of ruler who cannot get started with a \nproject, blames others for his misfortunes, and ends up hurting \nhimself and his people; but he is finally humbled before God. \nPlaying Time 7 minutes\nSetting The throne room, Macedonia\nProps Agamuse -- a pot of mud\nCostumes Ancient Greek with half masks and cothurni\nTime Ancient Greek\nCast ALEXANDER -- the king of Macedonia\n CHOREGUS -- the ...

3368. Miracle Three: Healing A Leper

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

BACKGROUND MATERIAL There is considerable variety to the miracles performed by Christ. One was performed in a synagogue (curing the demoniac), another in a home (healing Peter's mother-in-law), and this one he performed on a public thoroughfare. While Jesus and his disciples were walking, a man afflicted with the terrible disease of leprosy approached them. Fear of leprosy was so great that strict laws had been passed concerning the actions of one so afflicted. The law demanded that lepers should isolate ...

3369. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16

Sermon

Thomas Long

It is difficult to find anyone who has a kind word to say about hypocrites. Nobody likes a hypocrite; no one wants to be around one; the last thing one would want to be called is a hypocrite. Hypocrites are, by definition, deceptive, two-faced and treacherous. If discovered, hypocritical politicians are defeated at the polls, hypocritical friends get dropped and hypocritical preachers lose the trusting ears of their congregations. It may well be that our age is particularly tough on hypocrisy. In some ways ...

3370. A Love Feast

John 13:1-17, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

A: The Examination Service Call To Worship O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 117 KJV) Unison Prayer Lord God, this day we are gathered to share fellowship, service, and suffering. Let us be true to you, kneeling as Jesus knelt, girding ourselves with a towel, washing each other's feet, and coming to your table. We thank you for this invitation, and pray that we ...

3371. You Can Be Happy

1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

Jesus said, "I have come that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." Jesus came that we might be, in a word, happy. Paul, history's greatest interpreter of the teachings of Jesus, identified three sure-fire ways to find the joy Christ was talking about, three indispensables for happiness. They are: 1 -- Find someone to believe in. This is the spiritual dimension of happiness. Paul said it this way when writing to his friends in Corinth: "Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual ...

3372. Essential Personnel!

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

In some parts of the country it doesn't matter, but in many areas the snow which falls during this time of the year can bring things to a decisive halt. Schools close. Events are canceled. Travel becomes tricky. If the conditions become severe enough, the decision may be made that not everybody should try to get to work. Only those who are absolutely necessary should report. For those occasions we have coined an interesting phrase to describe these people upon whom we depend so much. This phrase sends some ...

3373. Church People Beware!

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

William J. Carl

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think much of the choices Jesus offers in this passage. Think about it with me for a moment. Two sons. The father tells each one to go and do a little work in the vineyard. It’s not much to ask, like mowing the lawn every once in a while. Parents don’t ask their children to do that many chores around the house. Besides, it’s the least they can do to earn their keep. So, says Jesus, this particular father asks his two boys to help out a little around the vineyard. But get ...

3374. Playing By A Different Set Of Rules

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Obscenity, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. With words to that effect more than two decades ago the Supreme Court of the United States of America left the decisions regarding pornography in the hands of local communities. During the intervening years states and cities have struggled with the issue, desiring to uphold the basic rights of freedom of speech and expression, and at the same time attempting to establish and maintain what is decent and acceptable to the majority. The latest entry to ...

3375. How Was Jesus' Death Different?

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. (John 19:17-18) Death is a common experience of life. All who lived in the past died. Every one of us now living will die sooner or later. Approximately five thousand Americans die every twenty-four hours. Almost two million deaths occur in our country every year. There are ...

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