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 3451 to 3475 of 4961 results

3451. They Lied and They Died

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

There have been some famous names in our history. Everyone knows John and Jackie, as in Kennedy, George and Martha, as in Washington; James and Dolly, as in Madison. In the Bible, there have also been some famous couples. As I thought about some of these couples, a thought immediately came to my mind about each one of them. One famous couple was Ahab and Jezebel: about them, I thought; they lived by the sword, they died by the sword. Then there was Ruth and Boaz: The thought came to my mind; they met, they ...

3452. The Heart of the Matter

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

“Let’s say it’s 4:17 p.m. and you’re driving home alone after an unusually hard day on the job. Not only was the workload extraordinarily heavy, you also had a disagreement with your boss, and no matter how hard you tried he just wouldn’t see your side of the situation. You’re really upset and the more you think about it the more uptight you become. All of a sudden you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles ...

3453. People Skills

Proverbs 12:26

Sermon

James Merritt

He was the first billionaire in the history of the world. At one time, the company he started, Standard Oil Company, controlled and marketed ninety-percent of the oil produced in America. We have today, Exxon, Mobil, Amoco and Chevron, because of this man's vision and ingenuity. For the vast majority of his life, he was by far and away, the richest man in the world. Even today, the name Rockefeller is associated with wealth. John D. Rockefeller, who probably never really knew exactly how much he was worth ...

3454. The Fellowship of Kindred Minds

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A cartoon, in a Saturday Evening Review, features a young boy sitting under a tree taking inventory of his relationships. “So far, I have 14 people who love me, 22 people who like me, six people who tolerate me, and I have only three enemies. I’d say that’s not bad for a little kid.” When it comes to relationships, how are you doing? We are made for community; we will never be satisfied to be self-reliant. We need one another. The friendships in the fellowship of the first century Church were so focused ...

3455. Stargazers

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art.” (John Keats) Animation: clip from Pinocchio Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight….. Those are the words of the age-old poem spoken by Pinocchio, wishing upon a star in the Disney classic animated movie. Following his wish, a song was sung by Jiminy Cricket (aka Cliff Edwards) that made it to the top of the music charts. It was the number one selling record in 1940. Can anyone tell me what its name was? . . . . That’s right: “When I Wish Upon a ...

3456. The Perisitent Noise Of Solemn Assemblies

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

There is hardly a better-known or better-loved story in the New Testament than that of the Good Samaritan. A Jewish scholar says that it "is one of the simplest and noblest among the noble gallery of parables in the Synoptic Gospels. Love, it tells us, must know no limits of race .... Who needs me is my neighbor. Whom at the given time and place I can help with my active love, he is my neighbor and I am his."1 So it is that Jesus illustrates in an unforgettable way what it means to be neighborly. However, ...

3457. The Heralding Of Advent

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: The Four Sundays In Advent Includes Christmas morning and an additional Sunday, if desired, to round out a longer Christmas season. Advent is a time of great expectation, not only as we remember the birth of Christ, but also as a preparation for Christ's coming again. The four candles of Advent are reminders of who Christ truly was and who he is today: the candle of Justice, the candle of Forgiveness, the candle of Love, the candle of Mercy. Advent is a time of celebration, of heralding forth the ...

3458. Doing The Right Thing

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

A well-known businessman in this community was recently asked to do something for the United Methodist Church, something inconvenient and expensive. It would require him to make available for a period of several months some facilities which he used in his business. Frankly, when it was decided to ask this man's help no one was very optimistic about a favorable response. For one thing, the man is a leading Catholic layman. He would have nothing at all to gain by agreeing to the request. At the very least, ...

3459. The Vine And The Branches

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Just outside Nazareth where Jesus grew up you can see them on both sides of the road. They grow everywhere out of that dry, rocky soil. They are the grapevines mentioned in John 15. When I stepped off the tourist bus to take pictures, I was amazed to see these short stumps of vines lying over close to the ground and propped up with a rock to keep them off the hot red soil. I had pictured in my mind all these years, grape arbors like grandpa’s that ran from the house to the garage in the backyard and which ...

3460. Let’s Face It

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

With the familiar parable which forms the text for this day, we draw very near to the close of the church year. Since the Middle Ages, Christians have used the closing days of the old church year to focus on "last things": the end of the world, the end of life, the promise of things to come, the thought of the return of Christ (one of the themes celebrated during Advent, the next season on the church’s calendar). The parable of the wise and foolish virgins fits well into the pattern. The bridegroom is ...

3461. Christ the King

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

The king of an African tribe, after many years, faced the fact that his throne was wearing out. It was repaired a couple of times, but eventually collapsed and was replaced with a new one. The king, for sentimental reasons, hated to part with his old throne. So it was hoisted on ropes to the ceiling of his grass hut and stored there. Then one night during a storm, the throne fell down and hit the king on the head. The moral of the story is that people who live in grass houses shouldn’t stow thrones. We ...

3462. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

When a child is very young, mirrors don' t mean anything to him or her. But one day, sometime between six months and one year old, the child suddenly catches on. She recognizes that the creature holding her is the same one she has been trying to train for months, the very same one who will grin from ear to ear each time she says "Da Da", the same guy who will come quickly if she screams. She also notices that if she raises an arm, the good- looking baby in the mirror will do likewise. Suddenly, with a ...

3463. Call Waiting

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

Samuel was one of those children born rather late in the life of a woman who dearly wanted a child. To have a child was Hannah’s most earnest prayer. Indeed the writers of the scriptures regarded a child born late in life as an indication of God’s special favor. Hannah, Samuel’s mother, must have thought so too, and while he was still an infant, as soon as he was weaned, he was offered into the service of the Lord in thanks to God for his birth. That’s how it happened that this young boy named Samuel came ...

3464. Advent 1: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Faith of Christmas

Luke 2:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

This sermon is based on Luke 2:15-20: You may not remember Tom Southerland but you know his story. Several years ago Shiite Muslims in the Middle East held Tom Sutherland captive for four years… much of his time was spent solitary confinement. In his speech after his captivity he asked an unforgettable question. He asked, “Do you know what it’s like to be in prison? To be held hostage? To be a captive? It’s very lonely and you worry that people will forget you. I felt abandoned. I didn’t think anybody even ...

3465. The Courage to Be Me

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." There is a certain courage to be who we are built into the dynamics of Christian faith and grace. DONALD C. HOUTS (see biographical note preceding Smart, Wise, and Foolish) relates this courage to three common debilitating fears in his sermon The Courage to Be Me: The fears of doubt, self-disclosure, and failure. There is a sense in which vitality in human life is a product of the tension between fear and faith. If all were certain, then our concept ...

3466. Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

They say, "There is no fool like an old fool." And I am afraid that is exactly what I have been. I have been so busy protecting our religion that I have been missing our God. I should explain. My name is Nicodemus. I am a member of the Sanhedrin, one of the seventy men charged with the oversight and defense of our historic and honorable faith, the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the faith of our fathers for hundreds and hundreds of years. Our task - one handed down from generation to generation since ...

3467. I'm Thankful for...

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Thanksgiving coming up. One of my friends posted the following on PresbyNet:(1) I am thankful for... • the mess to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends. • the taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed. • the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat. • my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine. • a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means that I have ...

3468. He Rose Again

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Somewhere or other I heard of a Sunday School teacher who had just finished telling her third graders about how Jesus was crucified and placed in a tomb with a great stone sealing off the only way in or out. Then, wanting to share the excitement of the resurrection, and the surprise of Easter morning, she asked: "And what do you think were Jesus' first words when he came bursting out of that tomb alive." A hand shot up into the air from the rear of the classroom. It belonged to a most excited little girl. ...

3469. Ephphatha...Be Opened

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

More than a generation of preachers at Princeton Seminary were schooled in their homiletical skills by Dr. Donald Macleod. Among the points Dr. Macleod would make during the semester was the importance of choosing a compelling sermon title. In fact, he asked students to give their sermon title before beginning each sermon. He used to tell of Mrs. O'Leary who would hop on the Fifth Avenue bus on Sunday morning in Manhattan and pass the great churches along that thoroughfare. As the bus would approach each ...

3470. Grumblers Among God's People

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

At a certain popular resort there are hot springs and cold springs side by side. Local people washed clothes in the hot spring and then rinsed them in the cold. A tourist, watching the procedure, said to one of the natives, "How bountiful of nature to supply these springs." "Not so bountiful," said the native. "You'll notice there's no soap." A new pastor was full of enthusiasm on his first Sunday. He mentioned the thrill of accepting the call of the congregation, particularly since it had been a unanimous ...

3471. Lateral Thinking

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Edward De Bono invented what he called "Lateral Thinking." He established a school in New York. He called it, "The Edward De Bono School of Thinking," and started giving seminars on how to think laterally. He also established a school in England. He gave it the more appropriately British title, "The Cognitive Research Trust," but it did the same thing. It taught people how to think laterally. He explains what he means by "lateral thinking" from an experience when he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. One ...

3472. Conversion to Christ

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Once upon a time there was a beautiful garden that was owned by an ugly and unfriendly Giant. This was truly a lovely spot -- the flowers bloomed in abundance, the peach trees always seemed to have their springtime blossoms, and the birds sang sweetly in the trees. Each day after school, children came and played in the Giant's garden. One day the Giant, who had been away visiting his friend the Cornish Ogre for seven years, returned to his home and garden. He grew angry when he observed the children ...

3473. Are You a GOT TO or a GET TO Christian?

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When I was growing up in the 60's we practiced drive-by littering. The big game was to see if you could get in front of a pick up, throw out the window a Carrolls hamburger wrapping (they were the competitor to McDonalds that went belly-up), and have it land in the lap of the pickup bed. Today kids don't do drive-by littering. They do drive-by shootings. Or in-school shootings. Do you remember the rash of in school shootings that affected areas around the country? · Jonesboro, Arkansas. · Paducah, Kentucky ...

3474. The Lost and Found Celebration

Luke 15:15-24

Sermon

James W. Moore

There is a fascinating story that comes out of World War II. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, Great Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union Premier, Joseph Stalin, met together in The Teheran Conference to shape a common policy to work together to win the war. The discussion went well and the three great nations for the most part reached cordial agreement on their strategy to end the war and to create a lasting peace. However, there was one point that Roosevelt and Churchill could ...

3475. Love Came Down at Christmas

Luke 2:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

Several years ago, Tom Southerland spoke here in Houston. His schedule was so hectic at the time that the organizers of the event had to schedule his speech for 7:00 in the morning. Fifteen hundred people turned out at 7:00 a.m. to hear him speak. Tom Southerland… do you recognize that name? Let me refresh your memory. Tom Southerland had been a prisoner and had just been released. He had been held captive for four years by Shiite Muslims in the Middle East… and much of the time Southerland was in solitary ...

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