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 376 to 400 of 3108 results

376. The Merciful

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

John A. Terry

The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as a gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown. (The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, scene 1) In our practice of "mercy" there is a kind of "I'll scratch your back -- you scratch my back" philosophy. Be decent to others and they will be decent to you. It is like the story on which George Bernard Shaw based ...

377. Happiness Is Finding the Lost

Luke 15:8-10

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A coin. Lesson: Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever lost some money? (Let them answer.) Was it a lot of money? (Let them answer.) I think that people really are upset when they lose money, because it is usually money that was needed to spend for food, or clothes, or maybe a gift for somebody that they loved. Money is very important to ...

378. Step Seven - Humiltiy

Mt 23:25-36 · 2 Ti 2:20-26 · Ps 51:1-14

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step seven: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Psalm 51 is basic to the biblical foundation of this step. The introduction to this Psalm sets the context for its writing. Nathan, a prophet of God, went to David, the King of Israel, after David's affair with Bathsheba. David had gained fame and power and wealth. David had not only committed adultery with Bathsheba. When he discovered she was pregnant with his child, David sent her husband, Uriah, into battle, had the troops around him pull back ...

379. Sole Brother

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

It was an hour before conference time. They were getting off to a late start and it looked like speed limit all the way for any chance of making it in time for the opening gavel. The pastor behind the wheel had experienced the inevitable last minute problems relating to Sunday’s bulletin. One of the hymns he’d picked for the service had only the second tune in their hymnals. The congregation wasn’t familiar with it and the choir couldn’t lead it without practice, and they weren’t practicing this week. It ...

380. How To Be A Saint In A Storm

Acts 27:13-26

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

How do you act in a storm? A friend, who is terribly afraid to fly, was invited to speak at a special gathering of the religious body of which he was a part, in Frankfurt, Germany. As he approached the airport in New York a terrific storm was taking place. He dreaded the trip, and now that the storm increased in velocity, he was sure that the flight would be cancelled. He continued to think this, even as he approached the ticket desk, and finally was ushered aboard his plane. He began to think seriously ...

381. Here Comes Jesus

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

James Bjorge

Johnny Carson has a side-kick who opens the evening television talk show with a phrase that never varies. Big Ed McMahon bursts forth with the introduction, "Here’s Johnny!" Then the talk man comes forth from the wings to entertain his audience and television viewers. As the herald of the show, Ed McMahon plays an important role in getting the show off the ground with gusto. Jesus was coming to stage the greatest drama the world would ever witness. It would unfold the mighty act of redemption. While he was ...

382. A Lesson from Lettuce

Philippians 3:17--4:1

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some produce from the grocery that is not good and some that is very good. [Heads of lettuce would be the best choice.] Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about being able to make choices, good choices. It is easy to be fooled about things and it is easy to be fooled about people unless we know what we are looking for when we are choosing. Have you ever gone to the store with your mother when she shopped for lettuce? I have watched how carefully women in the store choose a ...

383. Humankind: The Climax of Creation

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

We live in a culture in which many things are disposable. Do you remember when basketball games were routinely interrupted because a player had lost a contact lens. Not any more! Now most players wear disposable contact lenses. If one is lost, just go to the bench and pop in another. Nowadays we don't have to worry about our cameras. Just take 24 pictures, remove the film, and throw the camera away. It's disposable. Just consider all the disposable things in our culture: diapers, (hallelujah!) Paper plates ...

384. Judas

Luke 22:1-6

Sermon

Carl E. Zahrte

Remorse or Repentance? Were you there? Is that what you people were just singing? Is that what you’ve been thinking? Was I there? Of course I was. Do you have to ask that? My name is Judas, the son of Simon. There are not many people who know anything about Jesus Christ who do not know something about me, too. Yes, I was one of the twelve whom Jesus chose to be his apostles. Almost 2,000 years have passed since I lived and died, but people still remember me. They recall that I used a kiss as the sign to ...

385. Luther of Wittenberg

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death ..." Philippians 3:8-11 Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn, "In the Hour of Trial." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins. LECTOR: I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown ...

386. Happy New Year?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

At the beginning of a new year it is customary for us to greet each other with "Happy New Year!" Do we mean "day" rather than "year"? We give the greeting on New Year's Day, but on this seventh day of the new year, are we still saying it? Are we wishing friends to be happy for only a day or for a whole year? How can one be happy for a whole year when the forecast for the new year may predict unhappy times? Can you be happy if in the coming year you may have less to eat, if you must make old clothes do for ...

387. The Ten Commandments #2: No Idols!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Back to Basics. Commandment # 2 - No Idols. Listen to what Isaiah has to say on the subject: All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know. And so they will be put to shame. Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good? Look, all its devotees shall be put to shame; the artisans too are merely human. Let them all assemble, let them stand up; they shall be terrified, they shall all be put to shame. The ironsmith fashions it ...

388. Hope For Those Whom Life Has Cheated

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

According to Victor Borge, the composer Bizet was the original hard-luck man. He stayed up nights to finish an opera by the deadline, only to find out afterwards that the production had been postponed for a year. He wrote a symphony and misplaced the manuscript before anybody could play it. He entered a composing contest with only one other entrant, and ended up with second prize. Once he went to visit his girl friend and tapped on her window at the precise moment her mother was emptying a chamberpot from ...

389. Set Free

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago a large group of Vietnam veterans met in New York to commemorate the Vietnam War and its effects on their lives. Many were still suffering emotional wounds from that devastating conflict. A Vietnamese Buddhist monk came to the gathering and told a moving story. During the war, a young Vietnamese woman was killed. She left behind her husband and her young son. The husband, needing to provide for himself and the boy, traveled far and wide looking for odd jobs. Often he left the child with ...

390. Dark Shadows

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Orben says he lives in a very religious neighborhood. One time he asked a priest, "Is it true that in this neighborhood, if you carry a cross, you never have to worry?" The priest said, "Yes. But it all depends on how fast you carry it!" The children of Israel were out in the wilderness and they were thirsty and they were afraid. And they murmured against Moses: "Why did you bring us out of Egypt--to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" It must be a terrible feeling to worry about ...

391. About Work

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

There's a silly story going around about two factory workers, Joe and Lester, who were talking. "I know how to get some time off from work, " said Joe. "How do you think you'll do that? " asked Lester. At this, Joe climbed up to the rafters of the factory and hung upside down by his knees. The boss walked in, saw Joe hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he was doing. "I'm a light bulb," Joe answered. "I think you need some time off," said the boss. So Joe jumped down and walked out of the ...

392. Good Neighbors

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

During his sermon, a pastor quoted Jesus, "Love your neighbor as yourself." To emphasize the point, he asked three times, with increasing intensity: "Who is my neighbor? Who is my neighbor? Who is my neighbor?!" Each time he asked this, a young boy in the congregation answered quietly: "Mister Rogers! Mister Rogers! Mister Rogers!" (1) Fred Rogers of children's television fame was a good neighbor. But the lawyer's question to Jesus is just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. Who is our neighbor? ...

393. Hope in the Shadows

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Darrick Acre

This is the season we celebrate Christmas. The shopping has begun. The countdown of days left to make purchases is underway. Jewelry commercials are dominating the airways. People are passing by the Salvation Army bell ringers as they go in and out of the mall looking for just the right gift. It’s Christmas! This is the time of year when we decorate with lights, greenery, and all the symbols of the season. We sing carols. We greet the people we pass with tidings of good cheer, “Merry Christmas!” We rejoice ...

394. Slippery Rock

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Some “rock” Peter turned out to be! Immediately following Jesus’ giving him that new name, the very first thing he did was to say something so stupid that Jesus had to call him a “devil,” and tell him, “You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” (Matt. 16:23) Some rock! In J.D. Salinger’s novel CATCHER IN THE RYE, fifteen-year old Holden Caulfield gives us this profound theological reflection: “I like Jesus and all, but I don’t care too much for most of the other stuff in ...

395. On Claiming One’s Inheritance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

As the salesman came to the front door, he turned to the little boy sitting on the steps and asked, “Is your mother home?” The boy said “Yes,” and the salesman began to ring the doorbell. After several rings and no response, he turned to the boy and said, “I thought you said that your mother was home.” To which the boy replied, “She is, but this isn’t my house.” Sometimes we get the wrong answers because we don’t ask the right questions. In Mark 10, we read: “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ...

396. Meeting And Mastering Temptation

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A man went to his counselor about a personal problem. He said to the counselor, "I have a real struggle here. I feel like I'm violating my conscience. I'm not being completely honest with myself. I'm living a broken life." The counselor said to him, "Well, would you like to see me about strengthening your will power?" The man thought for a moment and replied, "No, what I would like to talk to you about is weakening my conscience." That reflects our age, doesn't it? We are not so much interested in ...

397. Will The Real God Please Stand?

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

398. Can You Hear The Rooster Crow?

Luke 22:54-62

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

"The noted writer, Thomas Carlyle, once built a soundproof room in his home in London. He did it so he could do his work without interference from outside noises. His neighbor had a rooster that crowed and the crowing bothered Carlyle. Carlyle protested to the neighbor, but the neighbor answered that his rooster crowed only three times a day...and surely that was not a great annoyance. "But," Carlyle said to him, "If you only knew what I suffer just waiting for that rooster to crow!!" (Dr. Jim Moore, "How ...

399. Faith for Troubling Times

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Two-year-old son Jack leans on his father’s knee. His rumpled baseball jersey bears a fresh spaghetti sauce stain from that night’s dinner. "Daddy, tell me a bunny story." Rob tears his gaze away from the computer screen. "What was that, son?" asks Rob. "Tell me a bunny story," says Jack. "One with a truck in it." Rob sighs as his glance swings back to the screen. His paper is due in two days. His professor tries to be sympathetic, but there are only so many times she’ll let her students stretch a deadline ...

400. Dealing With Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

How do you treat your enemies? This is an ancient question, and it is a question that is still relevant to our world today. A little girl came home from Sunday School and asked her father if she could send a note to Osama Bin Laden. “Why him?” asked her startled father. “Because,” said the little girl, “if Mr. Bin Laden got a nice note from a little American girl, maybe he’d think that we’re not all bad and he might start liking us a little. And then maybe he’d write a note back and come out of his cave ...

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