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 4301 to 4325 of 5000 results
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... " provide the necessities to sustain the lives of the most uniquely favored of all creation, those created in God's own image? Jesus disdains for his disciples a fretful, fearful existence. There's nothing we can experience on this earth that can knock us down or out as long as we grab on to the assurance of God's love. God wants us to be leg grabbing children. Are you hanging on to the unshakeable Truth? Are you clinging to the unswervable strength of God's love? No matter how big we get, no matter how old ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... a clean life together. (Note: In Jamaica, the broom is a political symbol of the People's National Party, because it aimed to sweep the Jamaica Labor Party out of power. Party members clutch brooms in the streets.) The individual straws that create brooms have long been used to help determine our personal future every time we agree to draw straws. In fact the less we actually use brooms as cleaning implements (haven't we all moved on to Swiffers now?) the more we seem to use them metaphorically. Despite ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... the world, and he spent the entire time investing in a team. He put all his eggs in one basket. He risked the salvation of the world on 12 relationships. And when the exasperation of those relationships became almost too much to bear ("Have I been so long with you and you still don't get it?" . . . "How dull you are!" . . . "Get behind me, Peter") Jesus had a place to hang out with his three closest friends two women, one man. His best female friends? Mary and Martha. His best male friend? Lazarus. And the ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... is with us will fulfill his good purpose in our lives. (James A. Harnish, "Finding the 'New' You," sermon preached at Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Tampa, Florida, 18 July 1999.) There are many people out there who have no conception of what REAL LIFE can be. They think long life wears a frown, and real life is a pout. I love how Leonard Cohen puts it: "I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin." Scott Turow in ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... , and dedication. Leftovers are the raw materials from which casseroles, soups, stews, and stir-fries are made. Leftovers have a long and proud tradition in our history as a nation. Even as recently as the 60s and 70s. It took a ... crowds. And you're neither blind nor lame. Neither am I. But I received a miracle, too. You know me. "Always unprepared. I hadn't realized how long we'd all be there. None of us did. We brought no food. But we couldn't leave. Not while Jesus was speaking and healing people. ...
4306. Tiny Pencils
John 15:1-17
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... has loved us." And the first Christians were famous in the ancient world for this one thing: "Look how they love one another." In a world where we're all living next door to one another, Jesus' words are needed today more than ever. Not long before she died, Mother Teresa spoke to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. She was introduced to that gathering as "the greatest woman in the world." She dismissed that introduction by saying that if she were the greatest woman in the world, you would ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... out the Ethiopian's chariot and told Philip to join it. Philips' agenda was not calculated or composed. It was spontaneous and Spirit-directed. It's the height of arrogance to think that we take God anywhere. God is already active in our world and in our lives, long before any evangelist gets there. Your job and mine as evangelists is to find out what God is already doing in our world and in people's lives, and to help other people understand that what's going on all around them is God speaking these words ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... weight of the world is on your shoulders. Anyone remember where that saying "the weight of the world" comes from? Recall some long-ago learned mythology and remember the image of the great Atlas--his shoulders and arms bulging with muscles, legs slightly bent and ... took every moment of his existence, every ounce of his muscle, every shred of his spirit. But Atlas could keep the world up as long as he never ever rested or relaxed. Sounds like a great job, huh? In New York City's Rockefeller Plaza, right at the ...
4309. Fear Factor
Psalm 25:1-22
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... remain. The only one who patterns perfect love for us, who offers perfect love to us, is Jesus the Christ. Despite our fears, our imperfections, our shortcomings, Jesus promises to be "with you always, even to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). As long as we make our home with Jesus, we live in the house of love and beyond the reach of fear factors. There's a heartbreaking, love-building true story about an Amish family in Pennsylvania with nine children. One terrible night early in December of 2002 ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... . He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a big hug and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.' " What's keeping your soul cringing in the corner instead of joining in the dance? What hidden weights keep your feet fixed to the floor? What's making a slave of you, and keeping you out of "Joy's Way?" Is ...
Sermon
James McCormick
... not only do we need to be forgiven by God. We need, also, to forgive those who have sinned against us. And not just for their sake, even more for our sake. That’s garbage too, you know: the hurt, the resentment, and the anger toward others. As long as we are carrying that around with us, it is difficult to move into a new and better future. I remember talking with a woman whose husband left her and married another. When talking about forgiveness, she said, “I’m not ready to forgive him yet. He hasn ...
Sermon
James McCormick
... faithful. But when we are weak, we can ride piggy back on the faith of those who are strong. Then, when we are strong, they can lean on us. I have come to believe that we can face anything, we can deal with anything, as long as we don’t have to face it alone - as long as there are those who love us and are willing to be with us. My church family is like a cheering section, saying, “Attaboy Jim, you can do it, you can make it, we’re with you!” How can anyone make a go of life ...
Sermon
James McCormick
... I’m a strawberry man myself. But I do think that those who prefer other flavors should have access to them, as long as I get some strawberry too. Interestingly enough, the Apostle Paul had the same problem in the first century. Paul was passionate ... okay is, in the name of Jesus, to claim exclusive validity for our preferences. What is not okay is to say, in the name of Jesus, “As long as I get what I want, I don’t care about what others want. I don’t care whether this is a welcoming place, a place of ...
4314. Be Kind
Ephesians 4:17--5:21
Sermon
James McCormick
... O, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.” I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.” I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?” I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood ...
Sermon
James McCormick
... comes to us and gives us what we need to resist temptation. God comes and gives us what we need to cope. And God uses that experience to make us stronger and more faithful followers of Jesus. Scripture is not just the record of what God said and did long ago. It is the means by which we open ourselves to Him so that He can do it again right here, right now! That’s what happened to me. When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, at the instant the doctor pronounced the “C” word, there popped into my ...
Sermon
James McCormick
... I am convinced that that painful experience helped to make me who I am! What I am talking about is profoundly true of all human relationships. If all there is to a relationship is fun and games, that relationship will always be shallow. It took me a long time to learn, but there is no such thing as a depth relationship without pain. If you have a close relationship, an intimate relationship, I am sure that that closeness has been formed as a result of some shared struggle. That’s why army buddies, college ...
4317. Thanksgiving Is a Choice
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Sermon
James McCormick
... gospel song, to “count your blessings, name them one by one.” Once you start looking for blessings and giving thanks for blessings, that very act helps to multiply the blessings! The fact is, you cannot always control what life sends your way. And, if you live long enough, you will have your share of disappointment, failure, sickness, and sorrow. That’s just the way it is. We cannot control what life sends our way, but we can control what we will do with what life sends our way. It’s easy enough to ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... ). But the decline is only marginal. What is true is that winning away games, where people aren't pulling for you, is very hard. Feeling the support of those around us is often the difference between success and failure. Do you remember as a child how we longed for all eyes to be on our stunts, or in more grownup words, our efforts and endeavors? "Watch me! Watch me!" we pleaded as we turned crooked cartwheels or swung wildly at softballs. "Listen to me! Listen to me!" six-year old karaoke singers croon and ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... with more sincerity than most people will ever hear love expressed. “Then,” Redford says, “I have everything I need.” Those words had come back to him as he knew his life was about to end. He had come to the end of a very successful career, still working long after he had to and with more money to his name than hundreds of people could ever need in a lifetime. But, the one thing that sustained him in the darkest hour of his life was not his career success or his athletic good looks or his prominence ...
4320. Follow Me…
Matthew 4:1-11
Illustration
Samuel G. Candler
... , but I can't always make the net come open so that it will actually form a circle around the fish. One must learn how to cast the line on a rod. Again, some folks can cast a long way, but their accuracy is awful. There may be fish on the right, but they know only how to cast the line to the left. There may be fish on the left, but they keep casting to the right. Casting, like discipleship, is an acquired habit. It rewards practice. Fishing ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... Cha-Cha” such a wonder. The dancers can move in a variety of ways, add a succession of steps, but must always be ready to stomp out the rhythm of the “cha-cha-cha” when it comes along. Couples can separate, innovate, gyrate, spin-around — as long as they come back together and re-affirm that central, driving beat, the “cha-cha-cha.” With each and every “cha-cha-cha” the couple moves together and moves forward — advancing the dance across the room. Now we are learning that what works on the ...
4322. Advent 4
Psalm 80:1-19, Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... northern kingdom sometime before its fall in 722 B.C.E. Structure. The refrains provide clear markers for separating the psalm into three parts: vv. 1-3, 4-7, and 17-19. Section one is a plea for help; section two raises the question of how long God will remain angry with the people of God; and section three is a promise that if God comes to the aid of his people, they will remain faithful to God. All three sections conclude with the congregation joining in with a petition for salvation. Significance. The ...
4323. Easter 4
Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23:1-6, 1 Peter 2:13-25, John 10:1-21
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... dwell in the house of the LORD for ever" (KJV), but which may be translated as a declaration of desire, "May only goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life, and may I dwell in [or return to] the house of the Lord as long as I live." Perhaps when using this psalm in worship, one should turn to a truly unfamiliar translation that will cause the congregation to hear the text afresh. The danger will be, however, that only the differences will be heard. In order to minimize this possibility, use ...
4324. Proper 11
Mt 13:24-30, 36-43 · Rom 8:12-25 · Ps 139 · Gen 28:10-19a
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... with all of creation. Thus Paul can make the bold statement in vv. 28-30. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 - "God's Somewhat Mysterious Ways" Setting. The literary context is essentially the same as that observed for last Sunday's lesson. This parable, long called "the parable of the wheat and the tares" from the language of the King James Version, follows the allegorical explanation of the parable of the sower. Again, Matthew provides an allegorical explanation for this parable in vv. 36-43. Between parable and ...
4325. Proper 17
Exodus 3:1-22, Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:9-21, Psalm 105:1-45
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... sweep of His intelligence, the eternity of His being,—these are overwhelming. There is awful meaning in the words, No man can see My face and live. But when in some unexpected hour, after a fierce temptation or a bitter disappointment or a frustrated undertaking or a long and weary waiting, the still small Voice calls one by name as He called Moses, and offers one an opportunity or illuminates a duty, then one knows that the Redeemer liveth. Then one knows that one's way is not hid from the Lord in the ...
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