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 426 to 450 of 2173 results
426. A Happy Ending
Joshua 5:9-12
Sermon
Charley Reeb
A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six: When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly Me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I’m as clever as ever. So I think I’ll be six now forever and ever.[1] This is a cute poem, but beneath its adorable rhyme lies a very sensitive issue for all of us: resistance to change. The truth is that most ...
427. In Search of Heroes
Matthew 16:21-28
Sermon
King Duncan
On one of his programs years ago, legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey told the thrilling story of a man named Ray Blankenship. It seems that one summer morning as Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window and saw something that made his heart nearly stop. A small girl had fallen into a rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his home and was rapidly being swept downstream. Blankenship knew that not far away the drainage ditch disappeared beneath the road and then emptied into the main ...
Sermon
King Duncan
I hate to admit it, but I admire advertisers and their ability to sell us products we didn’t even know we needed. Some of these advertisers are geniuses at convincing us that if we just had their product, it would fill some hole in our lives and would bring us complete satisfaction. One of the more famous ads along these lines came out in the early 1970s. It was an ad for Schlitz Beer. The ad implied that Schlitz Beer was the ultimate beer experience. The tagline went like this, “You only go around once in ...
Sermon
King Duncan
I know they’re corny, but I love good news/bad news jokes. We laugh at them because of the element of surprise, but also because we can relate to the scenarios in them. They appeal to the cynic in us that just expects the world to operate in that order--good news, then bad news. A young man phones up his dad at work for a chat. Dad says, “I’m sorry, son, but I’m up to my neck in work today” Son says, “But I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you, Dad.” Dad says, “OK, but since I’ve got no time now ...
430. The Alabaster Jar
Mark 14:27-31, Mark 14:12-26, Mark 14:1-11
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“Your fragrance is sweet; your very name is perfume. That's why the young women love you.” (Song of Songs 1:3) “While the king sat at his table, my spikenard sent forth its fragrance.” (Song of Songs 1:12 Tanakh) “May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship. O Lord, put a watch over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart turn to any sinful thing, to do wrong with men who sin. And do not ...
431. A Spooky Kind of Love
1 Samuel 28:1-25, Matthew 28:11-15
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Last week we remembered that Jesus walks beside us even when we don’t notice He is there. This week we are reminded that God is in charge, even when we try to take matters into our own hands! There’s an old saying, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” The phrase was coined by Allen Saunders in a Reader’s Digest article in 1957, later appropriated by John Lennon in his song, “Beautiful Boy.” I think all of us can resonate with that line, as well as its companion wisdom, “Want to make ...
Sermon
King Duncan
If you could spend an evening hanging out with a celebrity, who would you want to hang out with? An organization named CharityBuzz is an online auction site that allows people all over the world to bid on exclusive experiences with world-famous celebrities. All the money raised goes to support various charities. You can bid on a private tour of the Vatican, or a golf game with a professional golfer and caddies, or a behind-the scenes tour of Conan O’Brien’s show with Conan himself as your tour guide. In ...
Sermon
King Duncan
How many of you have a hard time taking a vacation? We all want a vacation. We all need a vacation. But do you have trouble finding the time for one? Do you have trouble leaving work back at the office when you go on vacation? Do you feel like your vacation is re-charging you or draining you? Futurist and author Faith Popcorn claims that, compared to the rest of the world, Americans suffer from a condition called “vacation starvation.” The average employee of a large business gets about two, maybe three, ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Would you consider yourself a competitive person? Or maybe I should ask, in what area are you most competitive? Maybe you’re competitive in getting the best grades in your class or the best parking spot at work. Maybe you compete to make the best pancakes in your family or tell the funniest knock-knock joke or to get up the earliest on Christmas morning. Humans are naturally competitive. We like to have an edge over those around us. Rabbi Harold Kushner tells the story of a driven young man in the pre-med ...
Sermon
Derl G. Keefer
Jesus wanted people to know and experience his loving Father — the true God. Anything else was false love….false gods. Christ’s message came directly from the heart of God. He and the Father were so intimately connected in heart, soul, and spirit. His whirlwind preaching and teaching tour in the synagogues in the communities of the region of Galilee landed him in his own hometown of Nazareth. His celebrity status brought in the crowds on that powerful Saturday. The liberal minded people of Galilee were ...
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
When was the last time you had trouble communicating with someone? It happens to all of us at some time. Maybe it’s because you didn’t understand the other person’s language or culture. Maybe it’s because a word can mean different things to different people. There’s an old joke that used to be popular around the Pentagon that the different branches of the Armed Forces have trouble operating jointly because they don’t speak the same language. For example, if you told Navy personnel to “secure a building,” ...
437. Therefore Go
Matthew 28:16-20
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
If you’ve ever worked as a team, then you know there are certain behaviors and attitudes that increase productivity, and just as many behaviors and attitudes that decrease it too. Good managers, good coaches, good leaders know how to correct unproductive behaviors and improve the performance of their whole team. But what if your aim is to make your team less productive? Some of you might be muttering to yourself, “I’ve worked with folks like that before.” During World War II, the U.S. Office of Strategic ...
Bulletin Aid
Rolland R. Reece
Our Creator, how we enjoy the arrival of spring. Lush green grass rises in our lawns decorating our streets with home to home carpeting. Bird songs, silent in winter, now fill the air with enchanting melodies. The brown loam of our gardens and fields warms in preparation for the coming seeds and plants. The brilliant colors of jonquils, tulips, and hyacinths edge our flower beds and ring our trees. Who are we that you lavish upon us such splendor? The air warms as the sun dispatches the winds of winter. ...
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme For The Day: A call to spiritual renewal and cleansing. Since God has come to us as holy redeeming love, our response is to be cleansed of our sins and live holy lives. The Ten Commandments (First Lesson) are guidelines for such lives. Jesus' cleansing of the temple (Gospel) constitutes a call to moral and spiritual renewal, beginning with God's house and God's people. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-17 The decalogue, the Ten Commandments, is presented as Israel's response to God's act of ...
Sermon
R. Blaine Detrick
Another of the apostles of Jesus, the Messiah and Savior, was selected by our congregation as one of the favorite men of the Bible: John, often called "the beloved disciple." Like Simon Peter, he too was one of the "inner three" - the three disciples whom Jesus seemed to choose to be with him on special occasions. Jesus had a large group of followers; of those, he selected twelve. Of the twelve, he seemed partial to the "inner three." And if we go one step farther, John was probably even closer to Jesus ...
441. Proper 27
Psalm 98:1-9; 145:1-5, 17-21, Haggai 1:15b-2:9, Luke 20:27-40, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Bulletin Aid
B. David Hostetter
READINGS Psalter—Psalm 98 [OR] Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 First Lesson—The prophet promised that the glories of the rebuilt temple will outshine the glories of the temple now in ruins. Haggai 1:15b-2:9 Second Lesson—The very antithesis of the Christ will come, warns the apostle Paul, before our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 Gospel—Jesus answers the Sadducees’ question about the resurrection with a strong counter proposal. Luke 20:27-38 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus ...
Sermon
James Merritt
Think about these words: dedication, devotion, discipleship, commitment, consecration, surrender, sacrifice. There are no blue-light specials on these virtues in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not k-mart. I want you to get these two statements into your heart. Salvation is free, but discipleship is not cheap. You may be familiar with the term day-trader. A day-trader is a high-risk investor who jumps in and out of the stock market often many times a day to capitalize on small price changes. ...
Sermon
John N. Brittain
A true story tells how the two sons of a ninety-year-old Fort Worth, Texas, woman were worried about her safety. "We are going to get you a pistol, mother, so you can take care of yourself. There is too much violence out there." So they bought their mother a gun, which she dutifully packed in her purse. One day, when she left Ridgmar Shopping Center to get into her car she found two young men sitting in the front seat. She took out the pistol, pointed it at them, and said: "Get out of that car or I'll ...
444. Christian Maturity
1 Corinthians 3:1-23
Teach the Text
Preben Vang
Big Idea: Mature Christians recognize that Jesus Christ must remain the church’s only foundation. The existence of church cliques testifies to infantile behavior, and God will expose those practicing it. Understanding the Text Although Paul has made it clear that those who rely on human wisdom and rhetorical inspiration are doomed to become nothing (2:6), he is not opposed to effective communication. Paul’s use of metaphor and simile to drive home his point aligns well with ancient rhetorical conventions,[ ...
Sermon
Ron Love
Benjamin Gilman served in the United States House of Representatives for thirty years. He retired from Congress in 2003. Gilman represented New York’s 27th congressional district. Gilman served as the chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and he was the congressional representative to the United Nations. Gilman, a Republican, was an outspoken critic of President Bill Clinton’s foreign policy. He especially disapproved of the favoritism that Clinton showed Russia over the former Soviet Republics ...
Sermon
Jill J. Duffield
I am telling the truth. I am not lying. Believe me. It seems every newscast contains a story about truth telling these days. We are in the throes of the election season and talk of “fact checking” abounds. Politifact has the “Truth-O-Meter” (a term that they have trademarked, by the way) that ranks candidates’ statements anywhere from true to half-truth to pants on fire. There is talk of “transparency” ad nauseam, not only in the government but in the church. The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board just ...
447. Proper 12
Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6:16-24, John 6:1-15, 2 Samuel 11:1-27
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:1-15 Here is the story of a tragedy of a great man's downfall, of one who committed two crimes both worthy of death. And can it be that one who killed a giant in the strength of the Lord, who by his playing stilled the nerves of a mentally ill king, one who was anointed king by God's prophet, one who could write, "The Lord is my shepherd," one who could offer a most beautiful prayer? David had reached a plateau of success, power and wealth. He lived a life of luxury ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Some of you may be familiar with the Darwin Awards. People are nominated for the Darwin Awards when they do something really stupid that costs them their lives. The reason that they are called the Darwin Awards is that by offing themselves in such an absurd way, it is suggested that these misguided folks have inadvertently improved the gene pool for rest of humanity. It’s a cynical view of life, but it has led to a collection of stories that are both true and bizarre. For example, there is the story of a ...
449. The Invitation
Isaiah 55:1-9
Sermon
Charley Reeb
I don’t know about you, but I love receiving invitations. They make me feel special because they are deliberate and have me specifically in mind when sent. Now, sometimes invitations can be disappointing, especially when they have a hidden catch like, “Come to the wedding, but don’t forget a gift,” or “Come on vacation with us and maybe you will want to buy a time share.” Invitations quickly lose their appeal when there is an agenda hidden behind them. But generally speaking, receiving an invitation means ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
Abraham as the Model of Faith Chapter 4 is a test case of righteousness by faith. In 3:21–31 Paul presented a position statement on salvation through faith in Christ’s sacrifice of atonement. In chapter 4 he sends the class to the laboratory, as it were, to test that thesis. Here we find the compressed and nuclear thesis of 3:21–31 developed in the discursive style of Jewish midrash. Midrash was the name given to a form of rabbinic exposition in ancient Palestine which sought to penetrate the meaning of ...
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