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 4401 to 4425 of 5000 results

4401. Guilt: How to Keep Your Conscience Clear

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... In other words, you not only admit your sin to God, but you would agree with God that it really is sin. You take God’s side against your sin. Because you are either on sin’s side against God, or you are on God’s side against sin. Not long ago there was a front page headline across the top of the Chicago Tribune that read “Guilty Plea Sets Inmate Free.” The picture showed a former convict embracing his sister, and the article told how a man who had been in jail for eight years cut a deal with a ...

4402. Why You Should Spend Time with God

Psalm 37:4-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... . If done correctly, costs can be minimal and the dividends can be tremendous. Likewise, when you will leverage your time and invest a certain part of each day where you do nothing but spend time with God, you will enjoy the benefits of that all day long. We find here in several verses the great benefits that come when we spend time with God. I. Spending Time With God Brings Fellowship In Your Worship “Delight yourself also in the Lord,..” (v.4a) Everything that David is going to say in the next several ...

4403. The Great Depression

Psalm 42:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... down in the dumps” and we just feel like it’s going to be a bad day, and our mood is affected all day long. When those days turn into weeks, and those weeks turn into months, the problem then becomes one of depression. Depression has become an epidemic ... love, His presence, and His Word in your life. You may be in the middle of the great depression, but just remember as long as there is God, there is hope for real victory. 1. “Depression is Growing with Each Generation,” USA Today, 1992. 2. Psychology ...

4404. Why You Should Study the Bible

Psalm 119:105

Sermon

James Merritt

... results of 20 pilots in a simulator. Each of the pilots were skilled aviators, but had not taken instrument training. As long as the weather was good they were all experts in flight. In this study these pilots were placed in a simulator, and ... have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” I am working more and more in becoming computer literate, and I have come a long way from where I was when I started several years ago. But one of the things I have learned about a computer is it only has so ...

4405. No Place Like Home

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... America will never be right until our homes are right, and our homes will never be right until our fathers get right. Not long ago, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City assigned several staff members to go into a penitentiary to provide free greeting cards to any ... children. Peace be upon Israel!” (v.6) We’ve gone from Zion to capital, to Jerusalem the city, to Israel the country. Plato said long ago, “The life of a nation is the life of the family writ large.” The pulse of a nation is determined by the ...

4406. The Marks Of A Spiritual Counterfeit

Jude 1:12-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... , 11 stories high, and had a rudder that weighed over 10 tons. Yet, it brushed up again an iceberg, a hidden reef, a sunken rock, and it sank. Icebergs can vary in size from a large piano to a ten-story building and can be up to five miles long. But the amazing thing about icebergs is that close to 90% of the mass will be hidden below the sea’s surface. Apostates hide in the fellowship of churches. They hide in the faculty of Christian universities, and then at the right time they pop up just high enough ...

4407. In Love with Howard

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... name,’ I thought about my grandfather and what a big shot he was because, of course, the prayer ends with ‘For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.’ I went to bed feeling well connected to the universe for a long, long time. It was a Howard Family Enterprise . . .” (1) That’s a pretty healthy view of the universe for a child to have. He is part of the universal family enterprise. Jesus told many parables about the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven (the terms ...

4408. Deal with It, Get over it, and Get Help

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... shopping mall food court our family dining room, all in order to enable us to consume more material goods. We are slaves to wanting more “things;” We are slaves to wanting more “stuff;” We are slaves to wanting more “toys” (anyone notice the long lines at Apple and ATT stores these past few weeks?) We are slaves to more goodies, more clutter, more junk; We wrap more and more chains around our lives, chains draining our time, our attention, our money, our love. Our “Stockholm Syndrome” is in ...

4409. Catching the Kingdom

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Illustration

Russ M. Locke

... compared the attitude that many people have about the Kingdom to a yapping dog that resided in his neighborhood. The dog was always chasing a cat that lived next door. Whenever he saw the cat, he would go after it as if it were his only aim in living. So long as the cat ran, everything was lovely. But occasionally the cat would stop suddenly and face the dog. Then the dog would put on the brakes and act as if the whole thing were only a joke. Evidently the cat was to be chased but not to be caught, and ...

4410. On Running Afoul of the Dress Code

Mt 22:11-14

Sermon

... night my girlfriend and I would come down from the bleachers to get saved. Then, when they turned out the lights and everybody went home, we'd go down under the bleachers and give ourselves fresh reason to get saved the next night. If you think about that long enough, I think you'll agree that it's possible to abuse grace. Or, as Hays put it: "Guests who accept God's gracious invitation must not assume that being invited is an invitation to laxity." Some years ago, a group of us were invited to tour one ...

4411. The True Feng Shui Life

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... river (for him it was the Sea of Galilee). The closest Jesus came to picking a place to live was the freshwater lake, fifteen miles long and eight miles wide, known as Lake Tiberius, or as we know it, the “Sea of Galilee.” 650 below sea level, the beautiful green ... a shy, reclusive librarian finds himself founding a hospitality center for recent immigrants. *This is how a life-long teacher finds himself a student of horticulture and running a community greenhouse. The Greek word for “moved” (phero) ...

4412. Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-36

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... be a more “militantly appropriate” messianic figure. If this is true, it helps us understand Jesus’ urgent need to get away and reconnect via prayer with God the Father. Leaving the crowds behind, sending his disciples out to sea, Jesus spends a good long time in solitary prayer. The focus of the text next shifts suddenly. Already in Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus had stunned his disciples by delivering them from hazardous sailing conditions, stilling the storm when his voice. Today’s text in Matthew reveals ...

4413. Walking on the Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... out his hand to catch them. And so can we. Keep your eyes upon Jesus. Do not be afraid to walk out on the water. Your faith will be rewarded. If your small boat is being buffeted by the wind and the waves, if you have entered a long, dark tunnel in your life situation, listen to the Master: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” 1. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), p. 19. 2. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2006), pp. 43‑44. 3. Gilbreath, Edward, ed., Today’s Christian, Nov./Dec. 2006, pp. 26 ...

4414. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... him. Is it any wonder that the book about Jesus continues to be the # 1 best-seller? Jesus had such charisma that people would sit three days straight, without food, just to hear his riveting words. Today no one will wait that long, except maybe for tickets to the Super Bowl or some rock concert. Jesus was a fascinating, unpredictable character. He displayed a wide range of emotions: compassion for a dying leper, exuberance over his disciples' success, a warm hospitality that callously disregarded racial ...

4415. Finishing Strong

Philippians 3:12-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... a minute or two, patting him on the knee. Finally Ira asked, “What’s wrong, son? You’ve lost races before but it hasn’t hurt this badly. Why does this loss hurt so much?” Jerry replied, “Dad, I could have won that race. But I held out too long and waited too late, and I finished with something left over.” It’s tough to look back on any important endeavor in our lives and know that we didn’t give it everything we had. St. Paul was determined not to finish with something left over. You can ...

4416. Almost Persuaded

Matthew 19:16-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... you meet Christ and receive him by faith, you are living in a B.C. world, regardless of the year. Jesus asked the rich young ruler long ago, "Are you still living in a BC world?" "Do you have that glimmer of faith necessary to cross over into the beautiful land of ... but also created marriage problems. His wife decided to file for divorce. But before the divorce was finalized, they had a long talk. They decided to attend the Tour Bible Study. The guest speaker happened to be Billy Graham, who was playing in ...

4417. Practical Tips For Powerful Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... BY SIMPLE FAITH AND SINCERITY. Some of the best prayers are the shortest ones, like this prayer by a layman in Arizona: “Dear Lord, help me be the person my dog thinks I am. Amen.” That prayer warrior Terry Teykl says that some folks pray long, repetitious prayers because they believe in the lottery principle. That is, the more lottery tickets you buy, the better your chances of winning. Chapter 18 of the book of First Kings describes a prayer contest between the prophet of God, Elijah, and the prophets ...

4418. Never Say What You Won't Do!

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... or thank-you, but those little words have impact. I confess that occasionally I forget to open the car door for my wife, and when I do, she notices. Courtesy is something you extend to strangers every day. You set aside your bad mood and your worries just long enough to return a smile, let a driver into your lane, or ask “How are you?” Surely we can do at least that much for the person we love most. (3) Guideline number five is this: ALL SIGNIFICANT DECISIONS SHOULD BE SHARED. Yes, the roles of husband ...

4419. The Love Triangle: Man-Woman-God

Psalm 127:1-5

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... to be one of the best gifts God has given you (at least on most days). Perhaps you could agree that you both are God’s gifts to each other. Remember, every great marriage is a glorious triangle, a three-way relationship between man, woman, and God. As long as the relationships are kept healthy all three ways, the home is founded on solid rock. Houses can be built by contractors, but only God can build a home. “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Ps. 127:1) I heard about a ...

4420. The Treasure Principles

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Allen gave Charles a dime, the first dime the boy had ever had. His father told him he could spend it any way he liked. Now back in those days, almost 100 years ago, a dime would really walk and talk. And it would buy lots of things. Charles shopped long and hard in Cleveland. He could buy any number of toys, or lots of red-striped candy, or a big red tablecloth with the Constitution of the United States printed on it. Charles saw oranges that day for the first time. He could have bought several of them for ...

4421. Not Bad, Just Too Busy

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... invade our peaceful home. Now I know that there were several reasons. Part of their purpose was to teach me the real meaning of Christmas. You know the primary problem we Christians face this month. It is so easy to get caught up in a month-long frenzy of buying, rushing, decorating, and partying. How else do you explain the reports of riots in Connecticut and California as people fight to claim one of Sony’s latest video game players, PlayStation 3? Each day the Commercial Appeal is loaded with colorful ...

4422. Hope In A Hostile World

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... 1944. As a penalty for having harbored Jews, Corrie and her sister Betsie were sent to a horrible place called Ravensbruck. Yet, wherever a Christian goes, hope tags along. Later, Corrie wrote, “So Betsie and I came to our barracks at Ravensbruck. Before long we were holding clandestine Bible study groups for our ever-growing group of believers, and Barracks 28 became known throughout the camp as ‘the crazy place, where they hope.’” (1) If we like Corrie are “crazy enough” to hope, what are the ...

4423. Saints By Faith: Good to the Last Drop

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... but little exactness! But listen…can you hear it? St. John says the white-robed saints are gathered around, singing and praising and worshiping God, and even Ray, who could never carry a note, is joined in the song. Listen… When the strife is fierce, the warfare long, Steals on the ear the distant triumph song. And hearts are brave again and arms are strong. Alleluia. Listen…just on the other side. Their song is for us. It is a call to "Have Faith," to carry on the work they left behind: Oh, may thy ...

4424. Only Matthew…Only Joseph

Matthew 1:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... that in Matthew. Matthew begins with what we in our day consider to be the somewhat boring details of Joseph's genealogy, tracking back across the centuries to show the connection of this baby with all that has gone before, linking Jesus through Joseph to the long journey of faith from Abraham and Isaac, David and Solomon, through the exile and the Babylonian captivity, all of it building to the birth of this child. He focuses on Joseph's dream and Joseph's response, and in less than a sentence he tells the ...

4425. The Revelation Code I: DaVinci, A to Z

Revelation 1:1-20

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... image of hope and victory, bringing back the sun as he rides in to inspire the troops of Rowhan at Helm's Deep. [3] Standing in the midst of the seven lamp stands, which represent the seven churches, John sees: One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and golden girdle. His head and hair were white as snow, his eyes like flaming fire, his feet of burnished bronze, his voice like the sound of many waters, his face like the sun, shining in full strength, and in his mouth a sharp, two-edged sword. In ...

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