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 3676 to 3700 of 4962 results

3676. Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Psalm 102:6-7

Sermon

James Merritt

There is an interesting place called Thorofare Ranger Station in the Southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park. To get to the station, which is no more than a cabin, a barn, and a corral, Lloyd Kortge, who works as a ranger in Yellowstone National Park, drives about fifteen miles from his home. Then he saddles up on horseback; he then travels 32 miles back into the wilderness, which is for him the shortest route to get to the station. Now what is so interesting about this particular place in ...

3677. A Time for Penance and a Time for Partridge

Ps 100, Col 2:1-7

Sermon

Coming home from the Royal Oak's Farmers' Market along about 9:30 yesterday morning, the lovely lady I live with was overheard to say: "Let's see, we've got brussels sprouts, new potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans for the casserole, shrimp for the appetizer….Becky said she would bring the dessert….I've got everything but the turkey. Unless, that is, you want me to get a ham." Which I don't. Although I'll concede that a ham might be easier than a turkey. I don't really think Kris wants a ham. And I know ...

3678. Thorns of Grace

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a calendar titled The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said. Each day features a stupid statement from somebody. A page in the calendar had this amazing quote. Listen closely: “If you bought our course, ‘How To Fly In Six Easy Lessons,’ we apologize for any inconvenience caused by our failure to include the last chapter, ‘How To Land Your Plane Safely.’ Send us your name and address and we will send you the last chapter posthaste. Requests by estates will be honored.” (1) If you are a pilot, I hope you ...

3679. Jesus Rewards the Just

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Imagine picking up the Sunday paper, opening it and reading in giant letters, Jesus Christ Will Return In Two Weeks. What would we do? How would we react to this astonishing information? I think there would be two basic reactions. Some of us, out of fear, would change our lives immediately. The Lord is coming and we are not ready. We might start going to church more often, probably every day. Prayer would become a much higher priority in life. We would pray not only in the morning and evening, but many ...

3680. A Chance To Drink

John 4:5-29

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There was a cartoon I saw sometime back which showed a little boy kneeling by his bed saying his bedtime prayers. He prayed: "As you know, God, Monday is the first day of school. I hope you won't lose sight of me in the crowd. Amen." Then he climbs in bed, thinks for a minute, and then crawls out again and adds to his prayer: "Oh, and by the way God, I'll be the one wearing the red shorts and a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt." Like this little boy, the woman in the passage for today, needed someone to see her. She ...

3681. What Would Jesus Say About Medical Care?

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The gentle healer came into a town one day. He touched the blind and helped the lame to walk away. But more than that, he forgave the sins of those who stray. The gentle healer comes into our town today. [1] A full twenty percent of the gospels deal with the healing ministries of Jesus. Seeing the crowds he has compassion on them and one by one, person by person, individual by individual, he heals their diseases, casts out their demons, forgives their sins, and challenges them to live a life of wholeness. ...

3682. Freedom and Slavery

Romans 6:15-23

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Freedom is the defining value of American culture. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, and the Revolutionary War was fought against England for the sake of freedom. The bloodiest and costliest war in our nation's history, the Civil War, was fought largely for the sake of the freedom of slaves. Our modern society has seen a proliferation of "rights" and, if you violate one of them, you will probably get sued. This is the land where you dare not violate anyone's "First Amendment ...

3683. Life After Life

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

In an ever-lengthening pastoral ministry, I have had occasion to officiate more funerals than I can count. Some are more memorable than others. My father-in-law's, for example. He was 76-yearsold and suffered from Alzheimer's. He was a good husband, father, brother, friend, Pop-pop, even in-law (and, no doubt, I sometimes made that difficult). Fred Eaton served his country with distinction as a pilot during World War II flying over 100 missions both in Europe and the Pacific. He was forced to ditch in a ...

3684. You Never Noticed

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

“I used to think I was poor,” says one comedian. “Then they told me I wasn’t poor, I was needy. Then they told me it was self‑defeating to think of myself as needy. I was deprived. (Oh, not deprived but rather underprivileged.) Then they told me that underprivileged was overused. I was disadvantaged. “I still don’t have a dime,” this comedian concludes, “But I have a great vocabulary.” Maybe that comedian was laughing to keep from crying, because whatever you may call it, being poor isn’t any fun. “There ...

3685. The Parable of the Careless Farmer

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Somewhere I saw a long list of wise sayings attributed to farmers. Let me list just a few of these wise sayings for you. Maybe you will relate to one of these: 1. Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance. 2. Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads. 3. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. 4. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. 5. When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. 6. And this last bit of advice: Always drink upstream from the herd. Jesus told ...

3686. Peter Speaks to the Onlookers

Acts 3:11-26

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Luke’s report of Peter’s speech in Solomon’s Colonnade very likely contains a genuine recollection of what was actually said on this occasion. But in any case we may regard it as typical of what was generally said at this time by Christians in their approach to Jews. The speech exhibits a more developed Christology than that of the Pentecost address—or at least the Christology is expressed in far richer terms, though these are still distinctively Jewish and of the earliest period of the church. Here Peter ...

3687. God’s Judgment of Babylon Calls for Celebration

Revelation 19:1-10, Revelation 18:1-24

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: God’s people are called to rejoice over his judgment of the evil city and his vindication of the saints. Understanding the Text We now enter the final stage of Babylon’s destruction (17:1–19:5). The laments of Babylon’s codependents in 18:9–19 are contrasted with the rejoicing of the righteous in 18:20–19:5. God’s people are urged to celebrate God’s judgment of the “great city” (18:20). This command is followed by the announcement of Babylon’s certain destruction (18:21), which focuses upon what ...

3688. Faces of Failure: Peter

Matthew 26 (selections)

Sermon

Don Tuttle

On the counter above our kitchen sink, my wife keeps a little flip calendar. It’s called, “If You Want Breakfast in Bed, Sleep in the Kitchen,” and each day it offers a bit of pithy wisdom. Things like—“We all get heavier as we get older because there’s more information in our head,” or “Confidence is the feeling you have before you really understand the situation.” One saying this week seemed appropriate for our current series on the Faces of Failure. “It may be your purpose in life,” it read, “to simply ...

3689. The Light Still Shines

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

Is there any night more beautiful than Christmas Eve? Our boys and girls are waiting expectantly on a visit from St. Nick. Each of us as adults love the joy we see in their eyes. We have our own kind of joy. Those who are parents love giving their children nice things. That is when we truly learn that it is more blessed to give than to receive. And most of us remember the joy we felt as children at Christmas. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Even more important is the knowledge that as the ...

3690. Go!

Acts 9:10-19

Sermon

Will Willimon

About a year after he graduated from Duke, he left an excited message on our telephone answering machine. "I've got my big break! I got hired for a TV show! I'm going to be on 'Friends,' tonight, Eastern Standard Time, 8:00 p.m. Watch for me." I was surprised, but pleased for him. I had advised him, just before graduation, that attempting to go into acting was the dumbest thing I had ever heard of ''Nobody gets hired for TV," I said. "It's mostly about being a waiter for the rest of your life," I had said ...

3691. For the Love Of God is Forgiving

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

The headlines, news reports and newspaper stories all make it very clear that there is something out of kilter in our world. Whether you agree with its content or not, the crime bill is the biggest of its kind. It's because dealing with crime is on everyone's mind. Who'll be the next victim of a drive by shooting or a drug problem. Who'll be the next victim of gang violence or a drunk driver. While the Peace Talks are going on in the Middle East between Israel and Jordan and the Palestinians, the fighting ...

3692. The Temptation Of His Life

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Robert Penn Warren wrote a novel called All The King's Men. It was the story of a governor of Louisiana and his rise to power. His name was Willie Stark. At the end of his story he is shot down dead.1 Here was a man who gained a kingdom and lost all he ever had. Two thousand years earlier a man from Galilee said, "What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lost his soul?" Perhaps when He made that statement He was not only addressing it to those who heard Him, but also was looking back to ...

3693. The Pop Quiz

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Johnny Dean

Once there was a rich man who wanted to do something good for someone in his community. He spent a few days just traveling around his neighborhood and the general vicinity. During his travels, he noticed the poor living conditions of a certain carpenter who lived nearby. So the rich man went to the carpenter and hired him to build a house. "Now this isn’t just any old house you’ll be building," the rich man said to the carpenter. "I want you to build this house for a very special person. I want you to use ...

3694. Opportunism? Or Opportunity?

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

A striking television commercial came into our living rooms not long ago. It showed a funeral procession of expensive vehicles, driving single file behind a hearse, toward a cemetery. As the camera focused on the passengers in the first one, and then the next and the next of the procession of luxurious automobiles, a voice could be heard. It was that of the lawyer, reading the will, which each would soon be hearing. "To my nephew," said the voice, "who didn’t know the value of a dollar - I leave one dollar ...

3695. Nag, Nag, Nag!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost XIII And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And ...

3696. Mary's Revolutionary Song

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

At home I have a yellow copy of one of the world's most revolutionary documents. In it are found these immortal words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Of course, that document, the Declaration of Independence, is the charter of the American Revolution. Though we have not yet lived up to it, it has been the vision that inspires us. The only document I know that is more revolutionary is in our Bible. It is called the Magnificat and is found in Luke, chapter 1, ...

3697. God’s Wounded Healers

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

ROBERT A. RAINES is a prolific author, currently Director of Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center in Bangor, Pennsylvania, following twenty years in parish work. His sermon, God’s Wounded Healers, was preached on a return visit to First United Methodist Church of Germantown, Pennsylvania, where he had been co-minister from 1961-1970. In it he lifts up the principle that our preaching has its greatest strength and integrity sometimes when we are speaking from the experiential knowledge of our own wounds such ...

3698. A Meal with Friends

Luke 9:10-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"...looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke..." Familiar sounding words. Reminiscent of the Last Supper. A foreshadowing of what we ourselves will do today. Our lesson is a well-known one, the feeding of the 5,000. Of all Jesus' miracles, this is the only one repeated in all four gospels.(1) Five loaves, two small fish...and by the time it is all over, 5,000 men PLUS their women and children had been fed and were satisfied, with twelve baskets of left-overs collected. How did Jesus do that? I have ...

3699. Good Taste Or Good Religion?

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

You may remember reading several years ago about a pair of polite gunmen with British or Australian accents who were robbing homeowners in moneyed neighborhoods of suburban Montgomery County, Md. The masked duo struck several times, usually entering the homes through the garage or unlocked doors. The intruders were unfailingly polite and as far as we know, no one was hurt. One homeowner in Potomac, Md., was robbed after letting his dogs outside at about 5:30 a.m. and leaving a sliding glass door unlocked. ...

3700. When The Recession Reaches Your House

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone has defined the difference between prosperity, recession, and depression like this: During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food you buy for them. In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won't eat the expensive canned food. You hope they remain finicky until things get better. In a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat. The recession is officially over according to experts in Washington. A lot of Americans are ...

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