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 401 to 425 of 5000 results

401. Love and Living for Others

John 10:11-18

Illustration

Wiley Stephens

... can be demanding; in fact, more demanding than law. It has its own imperatives. Think of a mother sitting by the bedside of a sick child through the night, impelled only by love. Nothing is too much trouble for love." Jesus makes it clear as he draws near the cross that his motivation is love. He is choosing to make this sacrifice. He is choosing to be faithful to what God has put before him. There is a tale that in the first century a man came to Tertullian, a father in the early church. And in trying to ...

402. Bashful Love

Mark 9:32

Illustration

Stephen M. Crotts

... a tanned Florida Freshman, if you know what I mean. And her name was Sally. Now John, a fellow on my hall, was secretly in love with Sally. And he kept trying to get me to switch post office boxes with him. That way he could be close to Sally. You see, ... John was painfully shy. Though he longed to know Sally, he couldn't muster the nerve to ask her out. So, he secretly loved her at a distance. Once he rode a bus four blocks past the place where he wanted to get off just so he could be near ...

403. Radical Love is Reconciling (Series: Radical Love in a Risky World)

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... children of God, people for whom Christ died. The point is this, it takes one person to forgive. It takes two persons to reconcile. We are not in charge of the actions and attitudes of others. To be so would be an act of control, not an act of love. I remember the first time a family left a church I served because I was too conservative, or too liberal, or too something to please them. I agonized over it for months; I was threatened by their rejection. I was angered by their revenge. Finally, one day, the ...

404. Loving Others

John 14:15-31

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... is the essence of our faith. It is to be unconditional, sacrificial and never ending. But, let's be honest, there are times when loving others is not easy. Shoot, with some folks it's hard to get to "liking," much less loving! Take the story of the Berlin Wall when it had just been erected. In the early days of the famous Wall, hostilities flared when truckloads of stinking garbage were dumped from East Berlin into West Berlin. Many residents wrote to the mayor demanding revenge for this offense, but he ...

405. "As If" You Love

Luke 4:14-21

Illustration

J. Allan Petersen

... husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you've convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you're getting a divorce. That will really hurt him." With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!" And ...

406. True Love

John 3:14-21

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A heart and a cross Good morning, boys and girls. There are all kinds of ways to say, "I love you," aren't there? I could give you this heart. Or I could do something nice for you. I heard about one little fellow who liked ... trying to say, "I like you," but he was going about it the wrong way, wasn't he? When God wanted to say how much He loves us He sent His Son to die for us. That was the greatest gift He could give to us. So we have at the center of our Christian faith a cross. The cross says, "I ...

407. Take Your Job and Love It

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... all. In fact I can lay right down beside it and go to sleep.” One cynic said, “I don’t want to die doing something I love. I want to die doing something I hate. That way I don’t have to finish it.” Most of us have to work. Of course, ... that we genuinely enjoy. Others of us are not as fortunate. I was reading about a young mother who was a full-time homemaker. She loved being a mom, but she tired of some of the responsibilities. She was having difficulty coping with a 3 year old, a 1½ year old and ...

408. Love for Enemies not Eye for and Eye

Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 5:43-48

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Leviticus 19:18, the coordinate “hate your enemy” is not an Old Testament quotation. It may be that the sentiment is an expression derived from texts such as Psalm 139:21–22. Jesus broadens the love command to explicitly include love of enemies and prayer for them (5:44). The rationale provided is that love of neighbor fulfills no greater ethic than that of tax collectors and pagans (5:46–47). Of the six cases of torah interpretation that Jesus has specified, only the final case includes a purpose ...

409. Love That Must Express Itself

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... was trying to read a serious book, but his little boy kept interrupting him. He would lean against his knees and say, "Daddy, I love you." The father would give him a pat and say rather absently, "Yes, Son, I love you too," and he would kind of give him a little push away so he could keep on reading. But this didn't satisfy the boy, and finally he ran to his father and said "I love you, Daddy," and he jumped up on his lap and threw his arms around him and gave him a big squeeze, explaining, "And I've ...

410. Formed by the Potter's Loving Hand

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, John 8:48-59, John 9:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... smell is released, we remember that wedding or funeral or festival or romance. The more we pray and release that pungent smell of roses, the more our spirit begins to smell sweet and pleasing to God. Prayer is the smell of life in Jesus. Just as our hands lovingly embrace the rosary in prayer to God, so too have God’s divine fingers formed us in God’s own image. We are the work of God’s hands. We are that dry, dead dust that God scooped up from the created earth, and formed us into something called ...

411. Everybody Loves a Story

Mark 4:1-9

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... service to God. He had a special way of teaching. Look at this book. Everybody read the title together, The Cat In The Hat. That's right. This is a book most all of us love. All of us love stories, don't we? Everybody loves a story. Young people and old people, little people and big people, all people love a good story. That is why we read books and watch television and go to movies. Jesus told a special kind of story called a "parable." This was a story with a special meaning about God and God's kingdom ...

412. Stop in the Name of Love

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... of God. Notice what happened in verses 16-17 at the moment of Jesus’ baptism: “At that moment heaven was opened, and (Jesus) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” When Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened. This is the moment when Jesus begins his ministry with an anointing of power from the Holy Spirit and the approval of God the Father. When we are baptized in the name of the ...

413. Someone Calling Your Name In Love

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... the intensive care unit of a hospital after being mugged and severely beaten unconscious. He later told how he felt himself drifting and weakening, but just as he was about to let go he heard his mother at his bedside calling his name, “Joel! Joel! Joel! I love you!” He said he could feel strength flowing back into him, but then gradually the tide would ebb until he was almost gone. Again, he could hear his mother’s words, his father’s voice, and many members of the family as they leaned close and ...

414. Love by Action!

1 John 3:16-24

Children's Sermon

Various Authors

... child ran over and began to pick up groceries. He helped the man carry them into the house. You are probably wondering, “What does this have to do with today’s lesson?” Here is the answer: Our lesson tells us to love people by doing something for them, not just by saying we ought to do something. The child who ran over and helped pick up the groceries showed his love for his neighbor by doing something. That’s how God wants us to act toward others. This week, I want you to remember to show God’s ...

415. What is Love?

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Illustration

John R. Steward

... very well other than it is a feeling that they experience. Someone has said that love is a verb. That is what Beno Fischer found out many years ago. Beno Fischer is a survivor of ... the camp was finally liberated, the captives were taken to a hospital and given physical examinations. Beno says, "The doctor told me I lived for only one reason: out of love for my fellow prisoner, I traded my soup for the bread! The bread had enough nutrition in it to keep me alive. The soup had no source of nourishment." (Source ...

416. Brotherly Love

Romans 13:8

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A nice-looking man's jacket Lesson: Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Good morning, boys and girls. How do you like this jacket I ... and money. Joseph treated his brothers the way Paul tells us today to treat our neighbor. The only thing we should owe our neighbor is love. Loving our neighbor -- and our brothers, sisters, moms, and dads -- is the most important law for us to keep. So the next time we get in a fight with our brother or ...

417. Love Language

Mark 5:41

Children's Sermon

... of people who didn't go to school at all and only understood one language. Many people heard Jesus, but only some of them understood his language. It wasn't his words they didn't understand, but it was if they believed his message of love. Love doesn't need a language. Love shows by what we do! The story is about a man whose little girl was dying. He begged Jesus to make his little girl well. Jesus went with him, but when they got there, the little girl had died. But Jesus said, "Talitha cum!" (The little ...

418. Brotherly Love

Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

... dehumanize persons you have created in your image. Forgive us for preventing our faith from bringing our society together as a family and as your children. May Christ, living in us, change our social attitudes, that we may accept one another in Christian love, releasing all who are prisoners of prejudice and inequality. We pray in our Savior's name. Amen. Hymns "All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord” “At Length There Dawns the Glorious Day” “In Christ There Is No East or West” “Jesus, United by Thy ...

419. My Love Requires A Symbol

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... me to Luke’s gospel, Chapter 11, verse 42. Here Jesus is criticizing the zealous, self-righteous group of Jews called Pharisees. “Woe to you Pharisees,” says Jesus. “For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done without neglecting the others.” The meticulous Pharisees figured a tithe on everything. Mint and rue and herbs were seasonings for food, tiny amounts hardly worth calculating. But the Pharisees tithed even that. But their ...

420. I Love You

Proverbs 31:10-31, Psalm 139:1-24, Ephesians 6:1-4

Children's Sermon

Shirley Jennings

Object: None or have a small gift each child can take back to their mom. Mother’s Day is a time to say, "I love you." What special day is today? Yes, it’s Mother’s Day. We started having a special day for mothers many years ago. Even when I ... happy, Sometimes mothers are sad, Sometimes mothers are sick, Sometimes mothers get mad. However your mother is feeling Upon this Mother’s Day, Tell her you love her a lot And see what she will say. What do you think she’ll say? She might say, "Thank you. I ...

421. I Am The One Who Jesus Loves

John 13:23

Illustration

Brett Blair

... at the end of a day? Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees? Brennan Manning tells the story of an Irish priest who, on a walking tour of a rural parish, sees an old peasant kneeling by the side of the road, praying. Impressed, the priest says to the ...

422. A Great Love Story Gone Awry

Genesis 24:1-67

Sermon

King Duncan

... Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” That’s interesting, isn’t it? “Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” Here is the cycle of life lived out. A man and woman go out from their homes and pledge themselves to one another. They still love their parents, but they make a new life for themselves. This is one of the things that will make it bearable for them when they lose a parent to death. Now they have one another. I would like to say Isaac and Rebekah lived happily ever after ...

423. The Woods Are Lovely, Dark, and Deep

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... burial for this prince. His grave was a contemptuous one, reserved for criminals, enemies (Josh 7:26: 8:29) and rebellious sons (Deut 21:20-21). The lesson of staying in sin's woods is death. But it is more than that. It is the untold heartbreak of the loved ones of those who ignored the "Keep Out" sign. The overwhelming anguish of David as he hysterically mourns his son's death is one of the most soul wrenching scenes in the Bible. His wail O my son, Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died ...

424. A Vision of True Love

Matthew 17:1-13

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

... Lunde took that melted ice cream on a spoon and fed Cora as if she were a newborn baby bird. As he put the melted ice cream into her mouth and patted her on the cheek, there was no haze, no fog, no trees. What was seen was the genuine love of God between a man and a woman. Their love was true and that quality of love was from God. It was a vision. True love…in the flesh…right before the eyes of anyone witnessing the moment. Holiness. Pure holiness. Goodness. Pure goodness. It's a ...

425. The Flip Side of Love

Ephesians 6:1-4

Illustration

John R. Aurelio

... sixth day, God created Father Adam and Mother Eve. On the seventh day, as God was resting, they asked Him if He would give them something special to commemorate their birthday. So God reached into His treasure chest and took out a sacred coin. Written on it was the word "LOVE." On the eighth day, Father Adam and Mother Eve sinned. As they left the Garden of Eden, they asked God for an assurance that He would not abandon them. "You have the coin," He told them."But, the coin says ...

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