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 3801 to 3825 of 4959 results

3801. Are You a King?

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot" (23:6-7). The king can count not only on Yahweh's defense, but on Yahweh's blessing. David asks, "Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?" (v. 5c). What might it look like for the king to prosper? David paints a beautiful picture of what such a blessed king could be compared to. He "is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land ...

3802. Rebuilding Your Broken World

Illustration

Gordon MacDonald

In Rebuilding Your Broken World, Gordon MacDonald suggests twenty-five questions to help develop accountability and invite feedback. If we desire to grow, we should submit ourselves to a spiritual mentor and answer these questions honestly. 1. How is your relationship with God right now? 2. What have you read in the Bible in the past week? 3. What has God said to you in this reading? 4. Where do you ...

3803. A Courageous Mr. Nobody

Illustration

Jon Johnston

... , the Chief Justice asked in a trembling voice, "Mr. Senator Ross, how vote you? Is the respondent Andrew Johnson guilty as charged?" Ross later explained, at that moment, "I looked into my open grave. Friendships, position, fortune, and everything that makes life desirable to an ambitions man were about to be swept away by the breath of my mouth, perhaps forever." Then, the answer came unhesitating, unmistakable: "Not guilty!" With that, the trial was over. And the response was as predicted. A high public ...

3804. The Fake Stanford University Story

Illustration

Brett Blair

... his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple into his office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial, Eliot impatiently said, "Perhaps you have in mind a scholarship." "We were thinking of something more substantial than that... perhaps a building," the woman replied. In a patronizing tone, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too ...

3805. The World Needs Men

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

... compromise with wrong; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will not say they do it "because everybody else does it"; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hardheadedness are the best qualities for winning success; who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for ...

3806. The Christ-Child Lay

Illustration

G. K. Chesterton

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap, His hair was like a light. (O weary, weary is the world, But here is all aright.) The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast, His hair was like a star. (O stern and cunning are the kings, But here the true hearts are.) The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart, His hair was like a fire. (O weary, weary is the world, But here the world's desire.) The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee, His hair was like a crown. And all the flowers looked up at Him, And all the stars looked down.

3807. A Friend In Me

Illustration

Throughout his administration, Abraham Lincoln was a president under fire, especially during the scarring years of the Civil War. And though he knew he would make errors of office, he resolved never to compromise his integrity. So strong was this resolve that he once said, "I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down ...

3808. Profit From Rebuke

Illustration

Staff

Criticism is always difficult to accept, but if we receive it with humility and a desire to improve our character it can be very helpful. Only a fool does not profit when he is rebuked for his mistakes. When we are criticized we ought to ask ourselves whether the criticism contains any truth. If it does, we should learn from it, even when it is not ...

3809. A Long Shortcut

Illustration

Nancy Shulins

... Bob Harris, weatherman for NY TV station WPIX-TV and the nationally syndicated independent Network news, had to weather a public storm of his own making. Though he had studied math, physics and geology at three colleges, he left school without a degree but with a strong desire to be a media weatherman. He phoned WCBS-TV, introducing himself as a Ph.D. in geophysics from Columbia U. The phony degree got him in the door. After a two-month tryout, he was hired as an off-camera forecaster for WCBS. For the next ...

3810. Phone Home

Illustration

Dennis Miller

Out of parental concern and a desire to teach our young son responsibility, we require him to phone home when he arrives at his friend's house a few blocks away. He began to forget, however, as he grew more confident in his ability to get there without disaster befalling him. The first time he forgot, I ...

3811. I Vow To God

Illustration

In the 1880s a young man who was an earnest Christian found employment in a pawnshop. Although he disliked the work, he did it faithfully "as unto the Lord" until a more desirable opportunity opened for him. To prepare himself for a life of Christian service, he wrote on a scrap of paper the following resolutions: "I do promise God that I will rise early every morning to have a few minutes, not less than five, in private prayer. I will endeavor to ...

3812. Treat Your Neighbor As Yourself

Illustration

Thomas a' Kempis

... in bearing with the defects of others, whatever they are; for you also have many failings which must be borne by others. If you cannot make yourself be as you would like to be, how can you expect to have another person be to your liking in every way? We desire to have others perfect, and yet we do not correct our own faults. We would allow others to be severely corrected, and will not be corrected ourselves. We will have others kept under by strict laws, but in no case do we want to be restrained. And so it ...

3813. A Cultural Shift in Decline

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

... culture Zimmerman studied. Marriage loses its sacredness...is frequently broken by divorce. Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost. Feminist movements abound. Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general. Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion. Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities. Growing desire for and acceptance of adultery. Increasing interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes.

3814. Too Much to Let Go

Illustration

... , will you send him the bracelet you wear on your arm?" "No," she replied firmly, "that would be too much." True forgiveness is hard to extend because it demands that people let go of something they value not a piece of jewelry, but pride, perhaps, as sense of justice, or desire for revenge.

3815. Friendship is a Long Jump

Illustration

David Wallechinsky

... feet, 8 1/4 inches a record that would stand for 25 years. As he walked to the long-jump pit, however, Owens saw a tall, blue eyed, blond German taking practice jumps in the 26-foot range. Owens felt nervous. He was acutely aware of the Nazis' desire to prove "Aryan superiority," especially over blacks. At this point, the tall German introduced himself as Luz Long. "You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed!" he said to Owens, referring to his two jumps. For the next few moments the black son of a ...

3816. The Kite and Its String

Illustration

John Newton

... without a string! My heart reply'd, "O Lord, I see How much this kite resembles me! Forgetful that by thee I stand, Impatient of thy ruling hand; How oft I've wish'd to break the lines Thy wisdom for my lot assigns? How oft indulg'd a vain desire For something more, or something high'r? And, but for grace and love divine, A fall thus dreadful had been mine."

3817. Do's and Don'ts

Illustration

... drawn up for her. As she looked it over, it dawned on her that even though her present husband hadn't given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband's list required anyway. She realized she was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation.

3818. A Compliment to Freedom

Illustration

Lieghton Ford

... who worshiped himself through his art can't play a simple scale. The man who lived for sex goes on in eternal lust, with no body to exploit. The woman who made a god out of fashion has a thousand dresses but no mirror! Hell is eternal desire eternally unfulfilled. But there's another side. G.K. Chesterton once remarked, "Hell is God's great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of human personality." Hell, a compliment? Yes, because God is saying to us, "You are significant. I take you ...

3819. Rise Again

Illustration

Martin Luther

... God, also struggle. Those who say that saints do not sin would deprive us of this comfort. "Samson, David, and many other celebrated men full of the Holy Spirit fell into grievous sins. Job and Jeremiah cursed the day of their birth; Elijah and Jonah were weary of life and desired death. "No one has ever fallen so grievously that he may not rise again. Conversely, no one stands so firmly that he may not fall. If Peter (and Paul and Barnabas) fell, I too may fall. If they rose again, I too may rise again."

3820. The Leverage of Prayer

Illustration

C. H. Spurgeon

... ask His teaching and His guidance unto all truth. When the prophet Daniel sought to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream, what did he do? He set himself to earnest prayer that God would open up the vision. Therefore, if, your own and others' profiting, you desire to be "filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding," remember that prayer is your best means of study. Like Daniel, you shall understand the dream, and its interpretation, when you have sought God. You may force your ...

3821. Twice the Wish

Illustration

Thomas Lindberg

... you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you wish to be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?" The man frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!" One sign of jealousy is when it's easier to show sympathy and "weep with those who weep" than it is to exhibit joy and "rejoice with those who rejoice ...

3822. Sleeping Soundly

Illustration

... s conference in Spokane, Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp. The first day there a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Swindoll speak and his delight at now finally being able to realize that desire. That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day's drive and couldn't help himself. But the same ...

3823. Matthew 23:1-12

Matthew 23:1-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of stone seats that were placed at the front, with simple benches then filling up the rest of the house of prayer. Obviously up front meant “best,” the roost for the most respected. But it is not just good geography that the Pharisees desire. It is to be singled out and honored wherever they go, to be addressed even in the midst of the marketplace — a purely economic setting — as “rabbi.” In first century etymology “rabbi” meant “great one” or “my lord.” After the destruction of the ...

3824. Truly Thankful

Illustration

... And what else do you thank God for?" he said with a touch of sarcasm. The porter smiled, and in the spirit of meekness replied with joy, "I thank Him that He has given me my life and being, a heart to love Him, and above all a constant desire to serve Him!" Deeply moved, Wesley recognized that this man knew the meaning of true thankfulness. Many years later, in 1791, John Wesley lay on his deathbed at the age of 88. Those who gathered around him realized how well he had learned the lesson of praising God in ...

3825. What the Bible Teaches Leaders

Illustration

Millard J. Erickson

... do what they are unwilling to do themselves. Leaders will seek to distinguish their own preferences from the will and welfare of the group as a whole. Normally the position should seek the leader. There may be some situations in which persons may apply or volunteer. Nevertheless, when someone strongly desires a particular responsibility, his or her motivation should be carefully examined. We must learn to see each other as valuable to the Lord and basically equal in his sight.

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Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 3801 to 3825 of 4959 results

3801. Are You a King?

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

3802. Rebuilding Your Broken World

Illustration

Gordon MacDonald

3803. A Courageous Mr. Nobody

Illustration

Jon Johnston

3804. The Fake Stanford University Story

Illustration

Brett Blair

3805. The World Needs Men

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

3806. The Christ-Child Lay

Illustration

G. K. Chesterton

3807. A Friend In Me

Illustration

3808. Profit From Rebuke

Illustration

Staff

3809. A Long Shortcut

Illustration

Nancy Shulins

3810. Phone Home

Illustration

Dennis Miller

3811. I Vow To God

Illustration

3812. Treat Your Neighbor As Yourself

Illustration

Thomas a' Kempis

3813. A Cultural Shift in Decline

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

3814. Too Much to Let Go

Illustration

3815. Friendship is a Long Jump

Illustration

David Wallechinsky

3816. The Kite and Its String

Illustration

John Newton

3817. Do's and Don'ts

Illustration

3818. A Compliment to Freedom

Illustration

Lieghton Ford

3819. Rise Again

Illustration

Martin Luther

3820. The Leverage of Prayer

Illustration

C. H. Spurgeon

3821. Twice the Wish

Illustration

Thomas Lindberg

3822. Sleeping Soundly

Illustration

3823. Matthew 23:1-12

Matthew 23:1-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

3824. Truly Thankful

Illustration

3825. What the Bible Teaches Leaders

Illustration

Millard J. Erickson

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