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 4551 to 4575 of 4962 results

4551. Tears At The Tomb

John 11:17-37

Sermon

William G. Carter

By all appearances, the junior high youth group at First Church was going well. Bob and Betsy, their two enthusiastic advisors, planned a full calendar of events to keep them busy. The youth went to roller skating parties and winter retreats. They played a variety of sports, discussed a lot of movies, and celebrated every holiday with a party. But when it came to leading the young teens into the deeper waters of faith, Bob and Betsy were frustrated. One Sunday afternoon, Bob announced the group was ...

4552. Come, Learn Your Worth

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Various Authors

Therefore, if any [are] in Christ, [they are] new creation[s]; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. (v. 17) John Bishop tells of a London slum child whose major refuge was his Roman Catholic day school. In the course of things, his school was visited by a physician who did medical examinations for the students. As the skinny little fellow left the doctor’s room, one of the nuns asked, "Well, Jimmy, what did the doctor say to you?" Jimmy answered, "He took one look at me and said, ‘What a ...

4553. When Yes Means No and No Means Yes

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

What’s your opinion? If you have two sons, and you tell one of them to do a job, and his answer is no, then afterwards he does it, and you tell the second one to do the same job and his answer is, "Sure, I’ll go," and he doesn’t do it, which one is doing what you told him and following your will? That’s the story Jesus told the crowd, and that’s the question he posed to the religious leaders of his day. The crowd answered Jesus by saying the son who said, "No," and then changed his mind and did the work ...

4554. The Call of the Trumpet

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

George Bass

"Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast ..." (Joel 2:15) As they do on Easter morning to announce the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a few trumpets blow at the beginning of Lent to call the people of God together for the annual forty-day fast. Lent is that peculiar period of the year when those who are most dedicated to the faith observe the rigors - public and private - associated with this sacred season that is connected to Good Friday and Easter, the very heart of the gospel and our salvation. But the ...

4555. The Fruit of Forgiveness

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

One of the outstanding personages of the modern era was Howard Hughes. Mr. Hughes was regularly featured in the news from the 1920s through the 1970s. He set world speed records in his day for air travel. He designed and produced new planes. He contributed much to the advancement of commercial air travel. He produced motion pictures in Hollywood and made considerable innovations in that industry. He managed and enhanced the oil drill tool industry he inherited from his father and became the second richest ...

4556. The Pitcher Is Not Alone In This

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

A bright yellow highway department truck creeps along a quiet, city street. A worker slowly climbs out of the truck and laboriously digs a large hole between the sidewalk and the street. A few minutes later, a second worker gets out, fills in the hole, and tamps down the dirt. A few yards down the street they repeat the same procedure, then again and again. An elderly lady has been watching. She walks over and asks, "What in the world are you doing?" One of the workers says, "We're on an urban ...

4557. When You Are Anxious About Many Things

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed how people differ? Some people can focus on only one thing at a time. Others are not happy unless they have several projects going at the same time. Then there are some people who are so focused it's scary. I chuckled when I read Lawrence A. Keating's description of something that happened during the 1946 Oklahoma-Army football game. Oklahoma coach Jim Tatum paced the sidelines frantically as the Army team took a 21-7 lead over his Sooners. Nearby sat punter Charlie Sarratt, his ...

4558. What On Earth Is The Trinity?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

English mystery writer Dorothy Sayers was also a lay theologian in the Church of England. In one of her books she discussed the difficulty a missionary to the Orient had in trying to explain the Trinity. As you know, one of the symbols for the Holy Spirit is a descending dove. The Oriental gentleman, lost in the maze of theology, said: "Honorable Father I understand. Honorable Son I understand. Honorable bird I don't understand at all!" He is not alone! George Bernard Shaw once said that all professions ...

4559. Help Me Make It Through The Night

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Sue Monk Kidd was pregnant with her second child. Her three-year-old son, Bob, was afraid of the dark. Sue tried everything. She tried leaving a light on in the hall and a night-light on in Bob's room. Nothing she did helped; he was still scared of the dark and would cry out in the middle of the night. One night as she held him against her to comfort him, he touched her round abdomen. Little Bob asked, "Mama, is it dark inside there where my little brother is?" He was convinced that his yet unborn sister ...

4560. What Does It Mean To Be Really Free?

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

What is it that makes a person free? That's certainly an appropriate question for this Fourth of July weekend. What makes us free? By the way, do you know what famous event we will really be commemorating this week? Not sure? A little rusty on your sixth-grade civics? Well you're in good company. According to Chuck Colson, a recent Gallup poll reveals that one out of every four Americans doesn't know that July Fourth commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Even more amazing, the same ...

4561. Standing Tall

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years back, Jim Stovall decided to become a stock broker. Even though he is blind, Jim has a determination and commitment to hard work that has helped him to transcend his disability. Jim also has a wife, Crystal, who supports and encourages him in everything he does. Jim and Crystal studied hard to get through the broker exams, then went through training sessions together. Most of the other students in the training sessions were better educated and better trained than Jim. They had no handicap to ...

4562. About Marriage

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

The soloist had laryngitis. The flower girl was ill with pneumonia. The ring bearer had an accident in his blue-velvet pants just before the ceremony, and the mother-of-the-bride left her dress at home by mistake. Things continued to go downhill after the ceremony. It was the coldest day in Maryland in 20 years The newlyweds, Melissa and Tim Donnelly, had borrowed a 1941 Cadillac to ride away in. It got stuck in the ice in the church parking lot, so Melissa stuffed her gown into the back seat of a two-door ...

4563. Easter 3

Psalm 116:1-19, Acts 2:14-41, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3, Luke 24:13-35

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

TEXTS FROM ACTS AND PSALMS In bringing these readings together, the lectionary focuses our attention on making our vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. The psalm meditates on fulfilling such a vow as an act of thanksgiving for all God's bountiful provisions for us, and the account from Acts shows us certain penitent persons at Pentecost publicly professing repentance and being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ in reaction to Peter's proclamation, "God has made him both Lord and Christ, ...

4564. What Shall We Become?

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

More than forty years ago a play titled, Mourning Pictures, opened off-Broadway. Written by Honor Moore, it is the moving account of the last six months of her mother's life. Jenny Moore was no ordinary human being. She was the wife of the Episcopal Bishop of New York and the mother of nine vivacious children and an author in her own right. About a year before her death, she was in an automobile accident that led to a partial nervous breakdown, and just when she was about to recover from this ordeal, she ...

4565. I Am the Alpha and the Omega

Revelation 1:1-3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Most of you here today would know the name Lloyd C. Douglas, the author of The Robe and Ben Hur. Mr. Douglas shares an experience out of his early life when he was a student at the university. He lived in a boarding house, and on the first floor below him, lived an old man who was a retired music teacher. The fella was infirm and was no longer able to walk. And Lloyd C. Douglas said that each day they would share a ritual together. He would come down the stairway and knock on the music teacher’s door and ...

4566. Better Angels of Our Nature

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is one of those mixed blessings of parenthood. You wake up on a weekend morning and detect the unmistakable singe of burnt toast in the air. There are clanging and banging sounds from the kitchen. Checking out the noise you discover your child busily preparing a “special breakfast” as a surprise for you. Such a simple, sweet gesture touches your heart. But all too soon the fruits of your young one’s labors will touch your stomach as well. Eggshell-crunchy eggs. Pancakes charred on the outside yet ...

4567. Jesus Heals Body and Soul

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Two of our greatest presidents were born in February, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. One of the things I love about Lincoln was his sense of humor. Abe Lincoln laughed at himself, and especially at his appearance. He was reportedly a very plain looking man. I particularly like one story that Lincoln told on himself. He said, “Sometimes I feel like the ugly man who met an old woman traveling through a forest. “The old woman said, ‘You’re the ugliest man I ever saw.’ “‘I can’t help it,’ the ugly man ...

4568. About Getting Drunk

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by a traffic cop. “What are these matches and lighter fluid doing in your car?” asks the officer. Was he a potential arsonist, thought the officer or, even worse, a terrorist? “I’m a juggler,” the driver answered, “and I juggle flaming torches in my act.” “Oh yeah?” says the doubtful cop. “Let’s see you do it.” The juggler gets out and starts juggling the blazing torches masterfully. A couple driving by slow down to watch. “Wow,” says the driver to his ...

4569. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

The second half of Exodus 2 (vv. 11–25) begins with Moses walking among the Hebrew laborers. Three times in these verses he intercedes on behalf of weak persons who had been wronged, thereby showing himself to be God’s friend. Nevertheless, in addition to demonstrating the gifts God had given him, these three short scenes also reveal what was lacking in Moses’ character and education. Each encounter shows who he was and also changed him in significant ways. In striking down the Egyptian Moses encountered ...

4570. Habakkuk’s Prayer

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

A Plea and a Vision: Chapter 3 opens with a new heading that is even comparable to that of the book as a whole (1:1), and the chapter closes with its own concluding footnote (v. 19b). The heading designates it as a “prayer,” which takes the narrow form of a plea (v. 2) and of a declaration of trust in Yahweh (vv. 16–19). The main body of the chapter (vv. 3–15) comprises a description of Yahweh’s coming which is both an answer to the plea and the basis for the declaration of trust. While the book would not ...

4571. The Joy of Being Found

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

We all know that enthusiasm is contagious, isn’t it? When you’re around someone who is enthusiastic, you feel more energized and excited. Of course, if enthusiasm is contagious, then lack of enthusiasm must be contagious too, right? Pastor Ed Rowell once wrote about watching a famous country singer perform a live concert at a county fair. He said that she and her band gave a technically perfect performance. They were polished and professional, and they didn’t miss a beat. But as Rowell watched her, he says ...

4572. The Advent Of Our Lord

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

In years past the third Sunday in Advent was known as Gaudete Sunday. The name came from the Latin form of the first word of the Introit for that day: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!" In a season which was known for its solemn preparation for Christmas, this Sunday was a little respite from seriousness. The color of the day changed from violet to rose and flowers were allowed on the altar. With the rise of liturgical renewal, Christians have stressed hope rather than repentance as ...

4573. Epiphany 5

Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Salt is very important to life. If a person lacks salt, the hunger for it is one of the strongest desires we have. Any farmer knows how cattle will find a salt block and lick it to maintain the proper balance in its body. Salt is so valuable that in some societies it has been used as a medium of exchange, a substitute for money. In the scripture, light is often used as a symbol for the existence of God. It is frequently used in a variety of ways throughout the Bible. In some cultures the sun was worshiped ...

4574. To Be Somebody

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

A few years ago, Vance Packard wrote a book he called The Staus Seekers. From him and others like him we learn that having an office with a window and a carpet might be more important than getting a raise. So what encouragement is there for those who make sandwiches for a cafeteria? Or who fill mail orders at Wards? Or who make boxes at Hoerner Waldorf? Or who are retired - whose job history is in the past? Martin Luther King Jr. coined a word that says what we all hunger for: somebodiness. It seems to me ...

4575. The King's Reception (What Are You Wearing to the Wedding?)

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Brett Blair

Perhaps you have heard of the family that moved into the neighborhood and the little country church decided to reach out to the family. When they arrived at the doorstep the members of the church were surprised to find that the family had 12 kids and were for the most part poor. They invited the family to services and said goodbye. Later that week the church responded to their need. They delivered a package to the family and said, "We want you to know that you and your entire family are welcome at our ...

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