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 5000 results

3976. On Picking Your Battles

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... that fighting by boys in school yards is down. Picking up the slack, unfortunately, are girls, who are resorting less to name-calling and more to punch-throwing. Equal opportunity stupidity, I guess. (2) Did you know that dueling is still legal in Paraguay--as long as both parties are registered blood donors? Socially responsible stupidity. In September 1996 Mark E. Mire was convicted in Baton Rouge, La., for shooting to death a man in a bar in 1994 because the man had said Mire's dog was ugly. My guess ...

3977. Why The British Coast Guard Doesn't Like Eric, But God Does

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... . The family had already traveled hundreds of miles, but her father turned the car around and the whole family headed back to Canada to retrieve the ugly little rag doll. He knew that his daughter would not rest until she had her doll back. The Ortberg family made this long trip back because they knew the love Barbie had for her doll. (4) Barbie's love didn't depend on Pandy's beauty. Pandy was a wreck. It didn't depend on anything that Pandy could do for Barbie. She was just a lifeless doll. Barbie's love ...

3978. It's A Question Of Priorities

Mark 9:30-37

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... of the biggest, strongest animals on earth. They weigh thousands of pounds, and they can eat over one hundred pounds of food a day. Can you believe that? And elephants are so strong that they can knock over trees, or turn over a car with their long noses. But did you know that elephants are really gentle animals too? Elephants take care of one another. If one elephant gets sick, others will stay with it to protect it until it gets better again. Bigger elephants always stay around the baby elephants to keep ...

3979. I Smell Bread

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Mebane Pridgen McMahon

... , and I wanted to know how to stop it. Immediately I turned to the Holy Scriptures, thumbing through for some help. Then, when I looked at my worship schedule, I realized it was Communion Sunday. It was then that I realized that I might not get all the answers I long for, but what I did get . . . was the smell of bread. I, too, got a fragrance, an image, a symbol. What I got was the smell of bread. And surprisingly, I'm not the first to have such an experience. For in today's text, two disciples are walking ...

3980. The Bold And Beautiful

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

... it or Not for having two Air Force T-34 aircrafts chained to his arms going in opposite directions, and keeping them from taking off. He has done the same thing with Harley Davidsons, two on each side. He bends 1/2-inch steel bars, 18 inches long, into a perfect U-shape. He bends 10-inch crescent wrenches, breaks handcuffs, lifts refrigerators with one finger, and pounds nails through 2 by 4's with his bare hand. Yet, even with all of his records and accomplishments, when asked what the greatest moment of ...

3981. The Young And The Restless

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the exact same direction. He listened to the same pieces of music and watched the same movies over and over again. Even the smallest changes were threatening to Hitler. (2) It has been said that Howard Hughes--do you remember him with his grossly long toe and fingernails?--used to watch the same movie--an old movie called Ice Station Zebra--night after night--hundreds, possibly thousands, of times. Change happens, and a sign of good mental, emotional and spiritual health is the ability to adapt to change ...

3982. The Edge Of Night

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... hill, I had a cross on my back." (6) When we are young and vigorous, we believe we will live forever. We are convinced that anything is possible. As the years pass and we face life's many disappointments, we come to see that yes, anything is possible, as long as God is in it. Jesus suffered in submission. He let go of his own will. He responded to his situation in total faith and trust. 2) JESUS SUFFERED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT HIS HURTING COULD BE USED BY GOD. His suffering was not meaningless. We may not ...

3983. Life Is What Happens When You've Made Other Plans

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

Dr. Robert E. Lair

... age named Joseph is caught up in a mysterious unfolding drama. He experienced the unexpected. He was a bright young man, his father's favorite son, a bit egotistical, and with more than his share of mouth, but a good boy. His father had given him a long-sleeved robe (a supervisor's robe; workers wore short-sleeved robes). Joseph went to visit his brothers who were tending their father's sheep. The brothers plot Joseph's death. They threw him into a pit while they decided his fate. Joseph ended up in Egypt ...

3984. You Feed Them!

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... for the baby as mother's milk. Millions have been spent on research." (1) In one of his writings, C. S. Lewis says that in the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus simply short-circuited something that happens regularly in nature though normally in nature it occurs over a long period of time. For example, wheat multiplies in the fields. This is how we get bread to eat. Fish multiply in the sea. If it were not so, many nations of the world would be in trouble indeed for fish is one of the staples of their diet. Lewis ...

3985. Sons And Daughters Of God

Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars. One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-fifth is to go to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity. Now, what," she asked her class, "does each get?" After a very long silence in the classroom, Little Johnny raised his hand. With complete sincerity in his voice, Little Johnny answered, "A lawyer!" Good answer. Where there is a will, there is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Inheritance can be a complicated matter in this world. Families have become ...

3986. It's A Good Thing There Weren't Unions . . .

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... he went back to the marketplace and found still others standing around. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?" "Because no one has hired us," they answered. He said to them, "You also go and work in my vineyard." At ... got paid the same! OBVIOUSLY, JESUS IS SAYING TO US THAT ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW HARD OR HOW LONG YOU WORK! That's a difficult concept for many of us to accept. We were taught that if we work hard we will get ahead. If ...

3987. Nothing Is Impossible With God

Luke 1:26-38

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... a very poor family who always looked forward to having a Christmas tree. But one year their father lost his job and there simply was no money to buy a tree. The children were most disappointed. Their father tried to ease their disappointment by taking a long piece of wood and drilling some holes in it. There was a neighbor who had planted some beautiful evergreen trees in three even rows on each side of his house. They were a lovely addition to the neighborhood. The father went to that neighbor and asked ...

3988. The Difference Between Looking Good And Being Good

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christian and a real one? Jesus makes that very distinction in verses 11 and 12: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus never wore fancy robes with long tassels. He hung out with outcasts and sinners, not with the movers and shakers. Instead of expecting the place of honor at banquets, Jesus took the place of the lowest servant and washed his disciples' feet. "Respectable" members of society got nervous ...

3989. Any Friendly Bears Out There?

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... can I say? Listening to me each week is good for you. A healthy bank account and a healthy body will take you a long way in our society. And if you have both, you are blessed indeed. But neither will bring you any comfort if your own ... support whatever you want to do, because this is your life and your decision. But I want you to know that I'll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You're still you, and I love you." Those words gave Christopher Reeves the strength to go on. (7) There are times in ...

3990. Hope For A New Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... vocabulary a few years back downsizing. It means "trimming back" primarily at the expense of employees. In a long article in the Wall Street Journal, Susan Faludi recounted the toll just one downsizing exacted from 63, ... Antonio James prepared for his lethal injection, Burl Cain held his hand and spoke to him about God. James' last words to Cain were, "Bless you." (7) As long as there are disciples of Christ like Burl Cain, there is hope for the world. The question you and I need to ask ourselves is, are we ...

3991. There's Something About A Mystery

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... have to become a fish and "˜speak' to them in a language they could understand." (3) And that is just what God did. Still it is too big a mystery for our "fishbrains" to comprehend. And that's all right. We can live with a mystery--as long as we know that, in the end, everything works out all right. In 1994 Northwest Airlines offered some unusual round-trip passages aboard one of their planes. Fifty-nine dollars bought a "Mystery Fare" ticket that provided a one-day trip to an unknown American city. Buyers ...

3992. Finding Something Amazing To Live For

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... was keeping a log of his experience and originally wanted to await the film for two years. "I'm becoming very aware just how long an hour is," he said, and "what happens in an hour." At the time of the report on this pair of young Star War ... 've come to discover in our life experience that the affluent life is not the abundant life. We thought it was, but it's not. How we long for God to speak to our lives and give us a new understanding of life, a new ministry or mission that will fill our cup to overflowing ...

3993. Wedding, Wine, And Wonderment

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... circumstances, climates, and conditions. We serve a living Lord--not a dead Law. The Pharisees were acting as if life were a funeral; Jesus saw life as a wedding. Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day." (NRSV) When Christ is present, life is a wedding, not a funeral. Nobody fasts at a ...

3994. Scamming God

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

... Isaiah 53 and still think that way? "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53: 5, NIV) And remember Jesus' own prayer in the garden not long before his arrest, when he prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matt. 26:39, NIV) In his darkest hour, Jesus wasn't thinking about himself. He wasn't asking, "What's ...

3995. If God Is For Us

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... it clear that, if necessary, he would look after his friend's nursery. It was something each family had learned in church: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. "You would do the same for us," he told his Japanese friend. It was not long before the Japanese family was transported to a barren landscape in Granada, Colorado. The relocation center consisted of tar-paper-roofed barracks surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. A full year went by. Then two. Then three. While the Japanese neighbors were in ...

3996. Beginning Again

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... the mercy that God has shown you? Do you remember what you were before Christ saved you? Then let that overwhelming sense of gratitude motivate you to good works. Pass on the love and mercy that God first gave you. As Stephen King wrote, "Consider making your life one long gift to others." It is what our Savior did for us. It is what we are called to do for others. In her memoirs, which she published in 1997 at the age of 98, Jessie Lee Brown Foveaux shares her advice about facing hard times: "You say you ...

3997. People Jesus Loved

Mark 7:31-37

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... things that impresses me is how much Jesus loved people who had a disability-the blind people, the people who could not hear or who were sick. Jesus healed them every one. Jesus loves everybody, doesn't he? His love is wide (motion with your hands for each descriptive word), long, high and deep. We can experience God's love but we can never really understand it because God's love is so awesome. (Option: Sing the song "Deep and Wide" and do the actions.) Prayer: Thank you that you love us wide, high ...

3998. Aging Is Mandatory; Maturity Is Optional

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... along just fine until Einstein died in his sleep in 1955. The Princeton faculty was assembled and told that Einstein was dead. There came a quick gasp of surprise. Then, from the back of the room, came a voice: "So, who gets his office?" (1) It didn't take long for their true feelings to emerge. The disciples together for a little heart-to-heart chat. When he finally had their attention, he said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put ...

3999. Something To Die For

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... and his right. There are people like that. They want someone else to make the sacrifice, someone else to pay the bill. The great preacher Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick once preached a sermon titled "Parking on Another Man's Nickel." That title alone should give you an idea how long ago this sermon was preached. The allusion was to a parking meter that hasn't quite expired. We pull in and park our car and see that enough time is left on the meter for us to take care of our business. Lucky us. We won't have to ...

4000. A Picture Of A King

Psalm 72:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... straight in the eye and said gently, "You know, God really loves you." In that instant, the drunk man's hostility melted away. He sat down and said, "My mother used to talk like that," and then he began to open up. The two men sat and talked for a long time on that train, and the V.P. told the drunk man about God's love, and how God could help him turn his life around. Over the next several months, these men spoke to one another often. Think how differently that encounter could have gone. The bank president ...

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