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 3976 to 4000 of 4962 results

3976. Blinding Specks

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

It is not uncommon for someone to be temporarily blinded or at least to have his or her vision impaired by the presence of a small foreign object in an eye. A large object is not required to cause this problem; a mere speck will do it. One’s eye becomes irritated; it hurts; tears begin to form, and one’s vision becomes clouded, all because of that speck. We can all empathize with one having this experience, for we have had it, too. We know what it is to be blinded by a speck in our eye. Jesus had something ...

3977. Deadly Sins - A Matter Of Sutton's Law

Romans 7:14-25

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

You have said it before and I have, too, to a friend, your husband or wife: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I'm just not myself today." And then maybe you have heard it said: "He's not really a bad boy; he's just trying to find himself." Or perhaps you have used this expression: "He's not human, he's an animal." Perhaps also you have said this about your boss: "He thinks he's God Almighty."1 All these expressions describe the contradiction that plagues all of us -- that I am not, you are not, what ...

3978. A SERMON-DRAMA FOR EASTER

Drama

Tom Eberle

Easter Prior to the 4th century, Good Friday and Easter were celebrated as one festival in the church. This is the background for the sermon-drama for Easter. They were not observed as historical pageants as we do today, commemorating the death of Christ on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Rather, the early church observed a festival of redemption, combining the death and resurrection of Christ within the framework of an all-night vigil, concluding with the first rays of sunlight on ...

3979. Jesus: The Hope of a Godly Family

Psalm 127:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

In 1947, fifty years ago, the imminent Harvard sociologist and historian, Karle Zimmerman, wrote a book entitled, Family and Civilization, in which he compared the disintegration of various cultures as the family life declined in those cultures. He discovered eight specific patterns of domestic behavior that signaled the downward spiral of each culture. Marriage loses its sacredness...is frequently broken by divorce. Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost. Feminist movements abound. Increased ...

3980. An Extraordinary Wedding Gift

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

During a wedding rehearsal, the groom approached the priest with an unusual offer. “Look, I’ll give you $100 if you’ll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I’m to promise to ‘love, honor, and obey’ and ‘forsaking all others, be faithful to her forever,’ I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave that part out.” He slipped the priest the cash and walked away. The wedding day arrived. When it came time for the groom’s vows, the priest looked the young man in the eye and said, “Will you promise ...

3981. Proper 20

Lk 16:1-13 · 1 Tim 2:1-8 · Amos 8:4-7 · Hos 11:1-11

Sermon Aid

THE LESSONS Hosea 11:1-11 Yahweh so loves his disobedient people that he cannot give them up to destruction. In one of the most moving passages in the Old Testament (Lesson 1), Israel is pictured as Yahweh's prodigal son. Hosea sees God and the nation as a loving father and his rebellious son. As a loving father Yahweh loves Israel when a child, brought him out of slavery in Egypt, and cared for him in the wilderness. He took his child in his arms, taught him to walk, and nurtured him. In spite of this, ...

3982. Repairing Your Broken Dreams

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Dreams and visions are important in life. Every action we take in life was designed by someone. Every piece of clothing, every building, every hymn book, every chair, every light fixture, and every automobile existed first in someone's vision. Someone had to have the idea or the dream to turn out the product. The same holds true for the way we act. As Jesus said, "The eye is the seat of the body." If you cannot dream it, cannot envision it, then you simply cannot do it. Dreams and visions can also be very ...

3983. The Un-Parade

Matthew 16:21-28, Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Robert Noblett

In the section of the country where we live, February and March are always cold and slushy months. So come April, nothing dampens my ardor for the coming of spring. I’m ready for it! Part of the reason I am ready for it is the fact that warm weather means the return of parades, and as the song says it, "I love a parade!" A community in which we lived some years back boasted the first Bicentennial parade in the nation, and well do I remember a family’s invitation to share that event with them from the bluff ...

3984. This Adulterous Generation

Matthew 5:27-30, Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

A cartoon in a national magazine showed Moses with two stone tablets under his arm coming down from Mount Sinai. He said to the Israelites, "I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that I got Him down to ten. The bad news is that adultery is still in there." The seventh commandment is very simple: "You shall not commit adultery." The word adultery means the sexual involvement of a married person with someone other than his or her spouse. In the original Hebrew it meant to add something to a ...

3985. Losing Favor Or Losing Flavor?

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

King Duncan

Jesus said on one occasion, "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake." I doubt that many of us are very offensive to other folks because of our religion. Indeed, it is the norm to be a "Christian" in our society today. We have gained the favor of men, but in gaining favor, have we lost our flavor? That is in our text for the day. Jesus said, "Salt is good but if salt has lost its saltness wherewith will ye season it," or if salt ...

3986. Narrow Doors-limitless Horizons

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

An assistant to former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes once told how he and another coach were looking out a window one day and saw Coach Hayes slowly easing into the last empty space in the parking lot, barely wide enough for a car. But he couldn’t get out of the car once it was parked. There weren’t more than four inches alongside and he couldn’t open either door. A moment passed, and then he backed the car out. Now, as they stared in disbelief, Hayes got out of the car, walked to the rear, planted his ...

3987. Want to Be Happy?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Theme: Pleasing God is what brings true happiness in life. The Word-Became-Flesh . . . Exegesis: Matthew 3:13-17 All four gospels record the events of Jesus’ baptism at the hand of John. And each one of the four gospel writers add their own unique touches to the story. Our text this morning from Matthew contains elements not found in any of the other gospels, suggesting he had either a unique source for this information or was writing out of a community concern that required a special perspective. To begin ...

3988. What Church Is All About

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

A U.S.A. Today poll asked people why they went to church. 45% said they went "because it was good for them." "Worship" didn't even rate in the survey.[1] There are all kinds of reasons to go to church, and I would say good reasons. Some people go to church for the fellowship; some go for service; some go for Bible study; some go for the music; some go for the atmosphere; some go for the preaching. But if you come to church for any other primary reason than to worship God, you are coming for the wrong ...

3989. Our God Is an Awesome God

Psalm 139:1-18

Sermon

James Merritt

Robert Wells wrote a book entitled: Is A Blue Whale The Biggest Thing There Is? It is a children's book to help little ones see just how big the universe really is. The largest animal on earth is the blue whale. Just the flippers on its tail are bigger than most animals on earth. But a blue whale isn't anywhere near as big as a mountain. If you could put one hundred blue whales inside of a huge jar, you could put millions of those whale jars inside a Hallowed-Out Mount Everest. But Mount Everest isn't ...

3990. He Stands Alone

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

King Duncan

Prior to their immigration to the United States, Albert and Elsa Einstein lived through the severe economic times of post World War I Germany. Apparently during this time Elsa saved old letters and other scraps of paper for Albert to write on. Years later, Elsa engaged in a public relations tour of American research laboratories. On this tour American scientists, seeking to impress her, explained the latest scientific equipment and developments. Eventually she was ushered into a high‑chambered observatory ...

3991. Proper 8

2 Samuel 1:1-16, 2 Samuel 1:17-27, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, Mark 5:21-43

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 In a battle with the Philistines King Saul and his sons lost their lives. An Amalekite soldier describes how Saul died. Saul was severely wounded and asked the Amalekite to kill him. Though Saul requested the Amalekite to kill him, David ordered one of his men to kill the Amalekite for slaying the Lord's anointed. Then he sang a lament for Saul and Jonathon. Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 In chapters 8 and 9 Paul discusses the stewardship of money. The pressing ...

3992. Walls, Walls, Everywhere Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

King Duncan

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That wants it down!” wrote poet Robert Frost. I wish that everyone shared that sentiment. Unfortunately most people do not. Most people love walls. They see walls as their security, even their salvation. It is interesting that the largest construction project ever undertaken by humanity was the building of a wall. I’m talking, of course, about the Great Wall of China. It is said that enough stone was used in that 1,700‑year project to build an 8‑foot wall ...

3993. Judah Unfaithful

Malachi 2:10-16

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

Do Not Break Faith: This third address is different in form from the others in the book, and it includes several obscure Hebrew phrases and sentences. In the prophet’s opening statement he speaks initially in the first person plural as one of the people (v. 10). He then goes on to accuse Judah (in the third person, vv. 11–12) and his audience (in the second person, vv. 13–15). He quotes the Lord’s word in verse 16. This address ends with an admonition, while the others conclude with either judgment or ...

3994. Which Self Are You?

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

You no doubt have heard the old story of the three inmates of a mental hospital who were having a discussion. The first insisted that he was Napoleon Bonaparte. The second asked how he knew he was Napoleon Bonaparte. The first replied, "God told me!" And the third chimed in, "I did not!" And then there was the patient who appeared unexpectedly at his psychiatrist’s office, and asked what was wrong by the doctor, he replied, "I just HAD to come today, Doctor. For some reason, I just feel myself." Well, ...

3995. Tying Up A Strong Man

Mark 3:20-30, 1 Samuel 8:1-22, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, Mark 3:31-35, Psalm 138:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Mark's gospel account very quickly gets into the conflict that will eventually culminate in the death of Jesus. Despite, or because of, Jesus' works which aroused wonder and amazement in the multitudes, opposition also arose. Any activity so extraordinary upset the status quo. His popularity threatened the authority and leadership of the official religion. They had to try to put it down before it got out of hand. Even the friends and family of Jesus were concerned about him. How often do people try to ...

3996. Wine from Water: The Wedding

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Steve Swanson

Wouldn't you think that when early man and woman learned to make wine they thought it a miracle - or at least a mystery? Picture some prehistoric person putting a bunch of grapes in a stone jar, then getting so busy hunting pterodactyls for a week or so that they forgot all about those grapes. Imagine their surprise when they finally came back to find the whole business bubbling and gurgling away with great vigor. That amazing process is called fermentation. Fermentation is an important process in this ...

3997. No Freudian Slip!

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

It's late afternoon but it is still several hours before supper is served. You are hungry. You remember that cookie jar in the kitchen and decide to indulge yourself in a little afternoon snack. You open the jar already imagining the taste of those chocolate chip cookies. But the cookie jar is empty! No cookies! Who ate them? You turn around, and standing there behind you, looking up at you with a funny look on his face, is your six-year-old. "I didn't do it, Daddy. I didn't eat those last four chocolate ...

3998. The Wisemen

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

January 8, 1984 Comment: This was the first story sermon for adultsthat I wrote and dramatized during worship. I had written anumber of story sermons for children, but the breakthoughcame because an old sermon I had been revising every half-dozen years was not taking shape. I started to write.Usually, I have just outlined sermons and "talked" them tothe congregation. When I got started on this one, I found atext forming with which I decided to stay. There were two major problems that I had with this one. ...

3999. Safe With The Shepherd

John 10:22-42

Sermon

John M. Braaten

Listening to a television talk-show one night I heard the cartoonist Jules Pfeiffer discussing a comic strip he once drew. In it, a little boy was afraid to go to school because he thought his parents might move away while he was gone. He didn't want to go to bed at night becuse he feared that his parents might die while he slept. "Coping with fears is a terrific battle for a child," said Pfeiffer. "It's like being on 24-hour guard duty." He went on to say that he had received many letters about the ...

4000. Don’t Be Alarmed

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

In the Des Moines Register was a story titled, “Man, Believed Killed by Log, Sits on It.” “It happened in Hamburg, Wisconsin. William Bartelt, 71, of Hamburg, was recovering in a Wausau hospital Saturday after friends gave him up for dead after a log struck him on the head. Bartelt was hit by a limb cut down by his hired hand at his central Wisconsin farm, officials said. The limb knocked him out and the hired hand, Gerhardt Stueber, determined that Bartelt was not breathing and called relatives to the ...

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