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 3926 to 3950 of 5000 results

3926. What Can Christians Learn from Buddhists?

Romans 8:18, 28

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and to save them from suffering in this life and deliver them from the endless circle of reincarnation. I. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS OF BUDDHISM A. PAIN IS INEVITABLE. Giving birth is painful for a mother. Growing up is painful for a child. Losing the things we love is painful for us all; disease and death happen. Life is just one pain after another; we understand that. As I prepared this sermon I kept getting distracted by the thoughts of persons for whom I am presently praying: a woman waiting for a stem cell ...

3927. Amos: The Problem of Justice

Amos 5:18-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... people speak in tongues, but a community of believers where outsiders are shocked at the depth and sincerity of their service to others. I John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, for perfect love drives out fear." Love ends competition, comparison, self-defense, judgment, bigotry and gossip. They will know we are Christians by our love. To be righteous is to care for the least of these — the sick, the imprisoned, the stranger, the poor, the naked, and the lost. We who are busy doing God's work need ...

3928. The Power to Be Saved

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... marrow. That is salvation. II. HOW DOES JESUS SAVE? A. BY HIS GRACE It's all about grace. It's all about the unmerited, unconditional love of God extended to us. You can't buy it, but you can receive it. Sometimes that is hard for us, isn't it? Did ... at the Pearly Gates and asked, “How do I get in?" “Well," replied St. Peter, “You have to spell a word. The word is love." “L-o-v-e," said the woman. “Welcome," said St. Peter. “Come on in." She lived her heavenly reward, meeting up with old friends ...

3929. Heart Religion

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of them, though, In order that we will not escape the fact that they apply to us. Coveting is one of the defilements of the heart that Paul mentions. It comes from two Greek words meaning “to have more”. It has been defined as “the accursed love of having.” It also has been defined as “the spirit which snatches at that which is not right to take,” or “the baneful appetite for that which belongs to others.” It’s not the desire for money and things alone, it includes the desire for power ...

3930. Our Father...

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... “the enemy,” the powers of evil, gain a foothold in our families. In Luke 10:19 Jesus reminded his disciples that he had given them “authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” Now he contrasts the goodness of a loving father with one who “if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?” (11:12). Are you teaching your children that God is the distributor of snakes and scorpions? Or ...

3931. Burned Beef

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Tony Everett

... and to rescue those who are imprisoned by the forces of sin and evil. We cannot do this alone. We still "burn the beef." As Isaiah reminded us in chapter 42, verse 6, it is the Lord who takes us by the hand and keeps us, surrounding us with his love. Billy and Johnny, four-year-old twins, wandered far from their daddy, who had taken them to a crowded beach. When they finally realized that they were lost, the boys just plopped down on the sand in tears. When their daddy couldn't find them, his heart sank. He ...

3932. The World According to Paul

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... , and it takes the Holy Spirit to get the message across to us. Faith is a gift of God, so that when those who are loved and chosen let the Holy Spirit work, belief does happen. "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing," ... community, people talked a lot about having a personal relationship with God, and Roger began to realize that he was indeed known and loved by God. It was at this point in Roger's life that God became a friend. Once again, Roger felt that life mattered ...

3933. How, Then, Shall We Live?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... she is probably the most beautiful of any of the angels in heaven. I'm sure she wants you to know how very much she loves you." Ben told the little girl a story of resurrection. We all need a resurrection story; to hear it again and again. We have a ... or things to come, or powers or height or depth or anything else in all creation. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). How, then, shall we live? We Christians don't know what the future holds. ...

3934. Help Me, I'm Lost

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... lost sheep, we are the lost coin. It is our tendency to think of lost people as the homeless, the addicted, the person behind bars, or perhaps the idol worshipper in a dark jungle. Friend, we are that lost person if we have never opened ourselves fully to the love of Jesus Christ. We are the lost sheep, we are the lost coin, we are Herman struggling in the waves as the Kon-Tiki moves farther and farther away if we are still keeping Christ at arm’s distance and have never opened ourselves fully to him. Don ...

3935. Broken Lives and Broken Chains

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... father. Nothing I ever did, was good enough. I was told I wouldn't amount to anything. All I ever really wanted to be was loved. I just wanted to do something that my Dad would be proud of. Or just would say he was proud of you. Dad, never ... His, too, was a broken life. He, too, came from a broken home. He was also raised in an age when men didn't express love. Or they expressed it by being faithful and providing for families' needs. Others have similar stories. Broken lives surround us. The only thing is, ...

3936. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Betrayed"

John 13:21-30; Matthew 26:14-16; 45-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... deep, deep almost soul shattering hurt that rides in the pit of your stomach for years because you were betrayed by someone you trusted and loved. I'll bet you've all experienced it in some form, haven't you. I have. And for a long time, that hurt and that ... that. It took me years to let go. It took Christ in my life to get me to forgive my Dad. Being betrayed by someone you love and trust is one of the worst experiences of life. B. But what's even worse is being the betrayer. There is nothing like the look ...

3937. When the Church Becomes a Culture of Complainers and Crusaders, What To Do?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... about the wrongness of his critics. Paul’s message always, and without fail, is focused on the rightness of Christ. Christ’s love. Christ’s grace. Christ’s gifts for the people of God. That is the sine qua non of gospel truth. Paul does ... the world’s greatest art. And she has now become bored and weary. Then she meets a Frenchman who has no money but a love for beauty and a self-acquired knowledge of art. And in his company, suddenly things became different. In her words, “I never knew what ...

3938. Get Down and Dirty for Lent

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -5 a.m. 4) Your neighbor’s septic tank alarm goes off when they have gone on vacation. But the most important thing about a septic tank? Like any living thing, you must “feed” them regularly. Every month or so you must flush down a new packet of lovely little bacteria, a new infusion of the little critters that digest waste and keep the septic tank an organic, living system. Without a fresh batch of “germs,” your “system” is doomed to fail. For a septic tank “germs” are good. We live in an ...

3939. In Our Own Language

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... Mehl. The choir began to sing in this little guy’s language, signing the words with their hands as well as singing with their voices. They were singing and signing the beautiful Lanny Wolfe chorus: Jesus we crown You with praise, Jesus we crown You with praise, We love and adore You, bow down before You, Jesus we crown You with praise. “The boy suddenly stood up in his seat. His eyes lit up, big as saucers. They were singing to him! He could hardly contain his joy. His little hands began to sing as he ...

3940. Those Kissing Christians

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Spirit.” “Trinity Sunday” is not about theology. It is about kissology. It is about kissmetrics: the ability and facility of the Body of Christ to offer the “first kiss” of salvation to a world that is desperately in need of divine embrace: the touch of love, the touch of faith, the touch of hope. As disciples of Christ we have the calling and capability to offer a “first kiss” to everyone we meet. But first we have to be willing to pucker up! First we have to risk being rebuked and rebuffed ...

3941. Super-Size Your Faith

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is nothing “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation” — I repeat, there is nothing in the universe that “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv. 38-39). Just as the art world proclaims “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,” people of faith know that faith IS the victory. An ancient symbol of the victory of faith over the “powers” that ...

3942. The Family Album

1 John 3:1-7

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... family. Turn the page in the album. A group of teens with skirts too short, pants too low, and hair too weird — church kids. Whoa. A little different from my generation. Yes, this family album has some strange photographs. But they are family. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" That is good to remember. We are an eclectic bunch. This family album has pictures of young and old, rich and poor, married and single, red and ...

3943. Curiosity and Questions

John 3:1-7

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... differently? Jesus is inviting Nicodemus to be curious about his life and look at it with a different set of assumptions and expectations. Nicodemus did not choose to be born. But he could choose a redeemed revision of his life, seeing that God loves him with a sacrificial love that overflows from this life into a life that is to come. This was a stunning new way of thinking about God. For Nicodemus, the living water of the Torah was expanding into a whole new pool of wisdom. Curiosity was opening the door ...

3944. Living in The Present

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... this piece of iron. And he has put the ‘temper' of Christ in us by testing us with trial." Because there is suffering in your heart, you are able to understand the suffering of God on a cross. Because of your suffering you have learned more about God's love and your love has been deepened. You and I have a high priest who understands our trials. He is Jesus, the Son of God. God had the power to save Jesus from death. Jesus begged God to save him. Although Jesus is God's own Son, still he had to suffer ...

3945. The Perfect Sacrifice

Hebrews 10:11-25

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... life was not just for some other people, in a far distant time. Rather it is for us, here today. We have been made clean by his love and in his blood, and we are called to hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering. We are called to hold fast without ... the other the most. In a sense, we are called to jab one another, to poke one another, and to provoke one another to love and do good deeds. It's about giving one another courage to step out into fear-filled places and to care for those of whom ...

3946. Stable Talk

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... , I was asleep — it was dreamlike. Then I was told that this Son would be Immanuel — that is — God with us. Can you imagine that? Mary: I’m surprised and I’m not surprised, Joseph. My, my, we’ve had wonderful things happen to us, haven’t we, love? But it’s getting a bit chilly — will you close the stable door, Joseph? Joseph: (walks to the side of the stage) Oh my goodness! Mary: (alarmed) What? What is it? Joseph: It’s a bunch of shepherds coming over the ridge and headed for the alley ...

3947. Who Is Isaiah’s Servant?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... . The psychiatrist asked the pastor to work with him on a team basis. The weekly sessions with the pastor soon revealed that she was oppressed with guilt. She was a bad daughter, a bad mother, a bad wife. Furthermore, she was not worthy of God's love. She was a faithful worshiper but church services only served to remind her of her guilt and deepen her despair. The sermons, the liturgy, the hymns, and the prayers all reminded her of her unworthiness and her sin. Each session became devoted to a revisit of ...

3948. A Death on a Long Friday

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... . This is Good Friday. We have to talk about death. Death is not regarded by most of us as "good." Good Friday is good because it was a Friday that led to salvation for many. The Swedes call it "Long Friday" because he who suffered and those who loved him and watched perhaps thought the agony and torture would never end. Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, certainly dragged out the horrendous ordeal. What made that Friday so long? There was a death that Friday. It was the death of an innocent. In ...

3949. What Is Our City?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... 4, we get a glimpse of life in the Christian community after the resurrection event. The text offers some answers to the question of T. S. Eliot: When the Stranger says: "What is the meaning of this city? Do you huddle close together because you love each other? What will you answer? "We all dwell together To make money from each other"? or "This is a community"?1 What makes the church community different from other communities? In the first place, we read that "... the apostles gave their testimony to the ...

3950. Three O’Clock at the Temple

Acts 3:12-19

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... (the baby, the young widow, the teacher, the wheelchair-bound beggar) has moved him to compassion. He has left his life of crime and the hatred for his father behind. He goes to jail but he goes as a free man, a man who has been liberated by love. There are many accounts of Paul, Peter, and other apostles recorded in the book of Acts that demonstrate the power of the risen Christ in the lives of his first-century followers. The Easter season is not only the time to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, but ...

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