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 483 results
Sermon
Barbara Brokhoff
"The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn away. I gave my back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set my face ...
377. Controlling Our Cravings
Luke 12:13-21, Exodus 20:1-21
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
When I was 12 or 13 years old, I worked one summer as a general flunky at a service station. Often I assisted a young country boy who worked in the grease pit. As he worked he sang a song, probably a popular country music hit of that time. Don't worry. I'm not going to sing the song, but here are some of the words: "How many times have you heard someone say, If I had his money, I could do things my way. But little they know that it's so hard to find One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind. Money can't ...
Sermon
King Duncan
An old story comes to us from Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire. In that conquest Alexander's soldiers overran the palace of Darius the king. Looking for things to steal, one soldier came upon a leather bag containing the crown jewels of Persia. The stones were worth millions. However, the ignorant soldier dumped them on a rubbish heap, saving only the leather bag. He ran around the camp telling the other men about the marvelous bag he'd found to carry his food. How often in life we ...
Sermon
James Merritt
There was a cowboy who was going to take a stagecoach west. When he went up to the ticket agent, the agent said, "Do you want a first-class, second-class, or a third-class ticket?" The cowboy said, "All the seats are the same, why should I buy a first-class ticket?" The agent said, "You'll find out later on. I would advise you to buy a first-class ticket." The cowboy did. When they reached a muddy hill, the driver called out, "All second-class ticket holders get out and walk." He then said, "All third- ...
Teach the Text
Robert B. Chisholm Jr.
Big Idea: The Lord opposes those who treat him with contempt and withholds his promised blessings from those who despise him. Understanding the Text Samuel’s arrival at Shiloh (1:28; 2:11) provides a contrastive backdrop for the author’s negative portrait of Eli and his sons. The narrator alternates between negative accounts of Eli’s house (2:12–17, 22–25, 27–36) and brief positive observations about Samuel’s growing relationship with the Lord (2:18–21, 26). This culminates in the account of how Samuel ...
Sermon
Ron Lavin
We have before us two stories, the story of a sick woman with a twelve-year-old hemorrhage and the story of a twelve-year-old girl who has died. The stories are integrated by one theme -- the compassionate healing of Jesus. The Sick Woman Our stories start out with Jairus, a synagogue leader, approaching Jesus with a request to come and heal his sick daughter. On his way to the home of Jairus, Jesus was met by a woman who had been sick with bleeding for twelve years. In terms of modern medicine, she ...
Sermon
Jon L. Joyce
1. The Master needs them [Matthew 21:2] There is much talk of priorities today, the placing of things in their proper order of importance, with first things coming first. When Christ needed the donkey to ride into Jerusalem, it was enough to say to the owner that the Master needed the beast. Christ was to have first call on its use, as a matter of course. This should be the case in Christ’s requests of us. The proper priority in life is Christ first, others second, selves third. Unfortunately, most people ...
Sermon
Ron Lavin
In his sermon to the graduates of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Paul Tillich, the theologian, preached on the theme of healing and casting out demons. He told the graduating seminarians that they would experience two difficulties as they went to their new parishes with this message of healing and casting out demons: (1) Many people will say that they do not need to be healed and (2) Many will laugh at the absurdity of casting out demons that rule their lives; they may tell the proclaimer ...
384. Amnon and Tamar
2 Samuel 13:1-22
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom: 13:1–11 The story of Amnon’s abuse of Tamar, when he treats her solely as the object of his desires with no rights or value of her own, follows directly from the story of David’s abuse of his power. Amnon followed his father’s example. For a parent there is no private morality. Behavior and attitudes have repercussions within the family, and the repercussions of David’s actions were manifesting themselves, although not in a way that he would have wished for or envisaged. Amnon ...
385. Absalom Kills Amnon
2 Samuel 13:23-39
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom: 13:1–11 The story of Amnon’s abuse of Tamar, when he treats her solely as the object of his desires with no rights or value of her own, follows directly from the story of David’s abuse of his power. Amnon followed his father’s example. For a parent there is no private morality. Behavior and attitudes have repercussions within the family, and the repercussions of David’s actions were manifesting themselves, although not in a way that he would have wished for or envisaged. Amnon ...
Sermon
Michael Milton
1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’ 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’ 7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have ...
Sermon
David J. Kalas
Statues don't perspire. The characters portrayed in stained-glass windows don't blink. And so we are tempted to forget that the people they so nobly represent were human beings, just like us. In the statue's solidness and in the window's beauty, they cannot do jus­tice to the blemishes and the frailties of the men and women they depict. We have seen so many of our biblical heroes portrayed in art: in glorious stained glass, in noble statues, and in sweet portraits on Sunday school room walls. Those ...
Sermon
I want to begin with a situation that might happen to a young person. I hope that those of us who are older will think back to our youth and put ourselves into the same story. Let’s say you’re still living at home and going to school. On a Saturday night you take the family car. Let’s admit you’re an excellent driver and that you have the right to think of yourself as careful and prudent at the wheel. This is the image your parents have of you and you’re pleased with that. Good for you. You are with the ...
Sermon
Robert Allen
It happens so often that it seems almost routine in our modern world. We read or listen to certain stories with interest and then make little jokes about how public figures shoot themselves in the foot when they yield to temptation and it becomes public knowledge. In recent years, we have become privy to the temptations which have seduced several public figures. Not long ago, Gary Hart was the leading candidate in the Democratic Party for the nomination for President of the United States. But, when he took ...
Drama
Sarah Walton Miller
This is actually a brief play. It is planned for discussion afterward, preferably in small groups so that all will share. It is a play about conviction. For more impact, let adults play the adults. The cast: Dr. John Whitney, a surgeon; Helen, his wife; Nancy, their fifteen-year-old daughter; Rod, her seventeen-year-old boyfriend. The play takes place in the living room of the Whitney home. However, all you really need is some folding chairs, two put together as a sofa. Props needed are an ashtray and a ...
Sermon
Thomas D. Peterson
Cinderella was a very misused young girl. Her father had died and she lived with a stepmother and two half sisters. The stepmother proved to be extremely mean and the half sisters demanding as well as vain and haughty. Very quickly Cinderella became their maid, and in due time their slave. Cinderella became a slave for two reasons. For one she was a prisoner of the household. She had no other place to go and was helpless before the power of the others. Secondly, she felt herself to be inferior. When the ...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Ernest Hemingway wrote a story about a father and son who had a serious misunderstanding. In the story, the boy finally runs away from home. The father, however, is not content to let his son go. In an effort to find the boy, the father puts an ad in the Madrid, Spain newspaper. It contained these words: Dear Paco, Meet me at the town square at noon on Sunday. All is forgiven. Your father. That Sunday 800 males by the name of Paco showed up at the town square. They all came seeking forgiveness from their ...
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
It was my most embarrassing moment in the sixth grade. At recess my friend Johnny had done something I did not like. After returning to class I decided to send a message to him. As Mrs. Ferguson wrote on the blackboard I scribbled a message on a piece of paper, folded it into a type of glider that would sail, then tossed it in the direction of Johnny. That aerial production must have been flawed. It made a left turn and headed toward the teacher's desk just as she turned away from the blackboard. Then with ...
Sermon
Roger Prescott
Introduction Judged by any standards, the greatest king Israel ever had was David. He seemed destined for leadership even when he was a young boy watching his father’s sheep on the rocky Judean hills around Bethlehem. His ascent to Saul’s court, his military victories, his capture of Jerusalem - these and other events caused the people from the tribes of Israel to ensconce David as their King. In Israel a man’s right to lead was authenticated by divine inspiration. A leader did not hold his position ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
How do we deal with evil? More precisely, how do we get rid of evil without destroying good? Today’s parable addresses this question. Like all parables of our Lord, this one comes straight from the life of his own day and people. We find it a bit hard to understand because this incident could not have occurred in the wheat-growing sections of America. We know about farms stretching over hundreds and hundreds of acres. The sowing and the reaping is done by sophisticated farm machinery. Land is sprayed ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
1:18–5:21 Review · The justification of sinners on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ: In the first main section of the letter, Paul explains the gospel as the saving revelation of God’s righteousness, which justifies sinners, whether pagans or Jews (1:18–3:20), on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ (3:21–5:21). 1:18–3:20 Review · God’s wrath against Gentiles and Jews:Paul begins his exposition of the gospel with a statement concerning the revelation of God’s wrath on account of human sinfulness (1:18), ...
397. Getting It All Together Inside
Psalm 51:1-19, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
R.D. Lange is an imminent philosopher, and one of the most perceptive observers and discerning describers of the human situation. He has said this, what we think is less than what we know. What we know is less than what we love. What we love is so much less than there is, and to this precise extent we are much less than what we are. What a challenging assessment. We are much less than what we are. Now that’s a needed perspective, but unfortunately our perspective is poisoned. We are confused about what is ...
398. Poison Control
Romans 7:7-25
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
It's every parent's nightmare. You walk into the room only to see your toddler happily playing with open bottles of pills. The contents of several bottles spilled across the floor. This was the sight we took in one suspiciously quiet morning when our daughter was about eighteen months old. Somehow she had created a climbing wall for herself that had enabled her to reach a high-shelf basket containing a cornucopia of "cure-it-yourself" vitamin pills. Also nestled somewhere in the bottom of the basket was ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
When Billy Graham was a young preacher, he was leading a series of services in a small-town Baptist church. Because his wife, Ruth, had not accompanied him on this particular trip, he wrote her a letter. It was a small town so he knew that he could find the post office. So he started down the street, but the post office wasn't in sight. Finally, he asked an 8 or 10-year old boy, "Pardon me, son, but can you show me the way to the post office?" "Sure," the boy answered. "It's just down this street and ...
400. Matthew 5:21-37
Matthew 5:21-37
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
As Jesus' great sermon called the "Sermon on the Mount" progresses, its message grows in pungency and particularity. The soaring Beatitudes that begin this section are surprising in content but so lofty in scope that listeners or readers could avoid finding themselves personally challenged. Jesus' directive about "salt" and "light" begins to personalize his message by evoking the emphatic "you." Yet the call to be "salt" and "light" is sufficiently vague that the audience could remain reasonably ...
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