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 4626 to 4650 of 5000 results

4626. Right Next Door

Mark 12:28-34

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... . We were just making small talk. STAN: Small talk about what? CHLOE: Just about his work and stuff. I don't know. STAN: I don't want you talking to him anymore. CHLOE: He's our neighbor, our next-door neighbor. How can I not talk to him? STAN: Just don't. That' ... SHE DOESN'T. SHE STUMBLED INTO SOMETHING BY ACCIDENT) What's the matter with you? What is it with you? Why is it you don't want me to talk to them? There's something there, isn't there? What is it? You aren't jealous, are you? No, it's not jealousy ...

4627. The Courage to Be Me

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... in your own childhood lumber yard. You are at the top, having thrown everyone else down in a heap. Suddenly, you see a new pile of sand which has been unloaded from the gondola car on the other side of the yard. In an instant, the challenge is clear. You want to be king (or queen!) of a bigger hill. But in order to do that, you have to come down off the smaller one, and race across, with no certainty that you will again arrive on top safely. Faith is like that. You cannot pursue high adventure until you let ...

4628. The Measure of Greatness

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

... simply do not see it. Here is what happened with the disciples. One day Jesus is passing through Galilee. We are told that he did not want anyone in the area to know where they were? Why is that? Because, he had something important to tell the 12. It was a strategic part ... We all have deep within us a desire to be great. We have a desire to be the best at what we do. To excel. No one wants to be no one. But what is it, that measure of greatness that will get us there? And how can we recognize it when we see ...

4629. Advent 4. Won't You Let Him Into Your Christmas?

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... the hospital in East Texas in the month of December, and had not been able to take the children or their letters to Santa. Matt became concerned. They had moved to Tyler that year, so Matt became convinced that not only would Santa not know what they all wanted for Christmas, even worse, he wouldn’t know where they lived now. Matt decided that he would have to cover for Santa Claus that year. He had to play like he was Santa. So, on Christmas Eve in Tyler, Texas in 1966, Matt hung five of his long, used ...

4630. You Don't Need Jesus

John 1:19-28

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.' " It was a voice making people realize their need of a Savior. Before you want a Savior, you must be convinced that you are a sinner in need of someone to save you. John the Baptist made the people of ... later the bishop returned to England. The same native came to another missionary for baptism. When he was asked in what name he wanted to be baptized, he replied, "Call me John Selwyn, for it was he who first taught me what Christ is like." Really the ...

4631. God With A Human Face

John 1:1-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... love you," with a gift. Of course, there is a danger in this. It is quite possible that this principle can be prostituted so the meaning is distorted and nullified. We all know that gifts can be given out of a sense of duty and obligation. Though we may not want to give, we are ashamed not to have a gift for one whom we know will be giving to us. Often a gift is presented without any love at all. We will all agree that such a gift without the heart of the giver is bare indeed and it may ...

4632. Wrinkled Wrappings

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... baptism and Holy Communion and when we hear or read the Scriptures. The Spirit gives us vision and enables us to dream dreams. If we want to receive the Spirit or grow in the Spirit, it is obvious that we need to faithfully come to church for the Word and Sacraments ... the Christ. In our text we are told that Simeon blessed God and blessed the Holy Family. One who has found God in Christ wants to be Christ's slave or servant for life. To serve him is a privilege and honor. Our highest pleasure is to do something ...

4633. A Voice to be Heard

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... God. Make a straight path to your heart for him. Are you resistant or afraid? You have every right to be. I am afraid, for when I look into the power of God, I am afraid I may lose control, afraid he will make me into something I do not want to become, afraid he will destroy my self-image or alter it beyond my planning, afraid I will lose some friends or ruffle some feathers, afraid my religion will become unreasonable. Afraid? Yes, we're afraid because, as T.S. Eliot put it, "Our age is an age of moderate ...

4634. Splashed with the Spirit

Luke 3:21-38, Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

William G. Carter

... someone into the Christian community. We initiate someone only once. The first baptism is the only baptism that counts, whether we know it or not. The rest of our life is a response to that first event. Yet there’s also something about my friend’s experience that I want to affirm. The seed of faith is blooming in him. The presence of God is real to him in a way that was not real before. He has the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, how could he grow in his faith like that? Faith takes a while to grow. Who knows ...

4635. When the Sermon Turns Sour

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... ; but his own disciples didn’t believe it. Jesus joins two of them on the road to Emmaus, but they do not recognize them. So as they walk, Jesus interprets the Bible. He reminds them of what the Good Book says. And it fills his disciples with heartburn. Luke wants us to know that the most scandalous thing we can ever do is to hear the Bible. The most outrageous thing we can do is to take the Bible seriously, not only as a comforting word, but also as a deeply disturbing word. The main reason why it is ...

4636. Getting It Together

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

William G. Carter

... opinion, which would have reduced the feedback to her word against mine, which is always a dead-end street. Rather she pushed me to speak with the kind of integrity that sees life for all of its promises and pitfalls. God knows we are not the people that we want others to see. There is always a shadow between our intentions and our accomplishments. But God has sent Jesus Christ to save us from our own poor records of achievement. Jesus never had a log in his eye, but he was nailed to a great big piece of ...

4637. The Next Step

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... was then virtually empty. I had nothing to wear. Consequently I had to go shopping for an entirely new wardrobe. Trying to find something to “put on” was more expensive, tiring, and agonizing than tossing out the old attire. To get rid of that which isn’t wanted is fruitless if one does not take the next step and replace it with something that is much more effective. To decide to stop paying rent is a momentous decision only if one is willing to take the next step and purchase a house. To remove a ...

4638. The Scattering of Lesser Figures

Acts 8:9-25

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... said, “I read in this morning’s paper about how great my violin was. So I walked down the street to a pawn shop. For thirty dollars I purchased a cheap violin. I put some new strings on it. That’s the violin I played this evening, then smashed. I wanted to demonstrate that it isn’t the violin that counts most. It’s the hands that hold the violin.”3 In this image-conscious world you and I need to pause every now and then and reflect on the God who inspires our faith and is the reason for the ...

4639. What Are Spiritual Gifts For?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... to the Corinthians about their earlier pagan days and the emotional practices of the mystery cults interests preachers. The placement of the gift of tongues in the last position also commands a lot of “air time” in pulpits. We all want to make certain we are dealing with people who are in contact with God and not their latent childhood fears, infantile needs for parental authority, or sweaty, adolescent emotionalism. Fine. Authentic spirituality is a real concern in contemporary American culture ...

4640. Taking the Sting Out of Death

1 Chronicles 15:1-16:6

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... an unborn fetus the realization, “You can’t stay here forever. You’re going to be born.” That to the baby would be death. It would mean a change from security to insecurity, from a certainty to an uncertainty. You can imagine the thinking of the infant. “I want to stay here. I’m comfortable. I’m fed. I’m loved.” When a baby is born, that infant is screaming and shaking all over. The infant shakes in fear with every fiber of its being. Going into a new world is frightening. But as the child ...

4641. Salvation Includes Social Justice

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... there is as important as where you got.9 In essence, this eminent Yale professor is saying, our faith teaches that it does not mean much if you have acquired wealth or fame by oppressing people with poverty. When Christ rules as King in your life, Jeremiah says, you will want to do all that you can to ensure that this nation’s wealth is not at the expense of the poor. That is not the way it is in the United States today. This is a society in which the gap between rich and poor is ever widening, even while ...

4642. The Second Touch for the Out of Touch

1 Kings 19:1-18

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... . Suddenly she screamed, “I’m a woman on the edge!” It was a cry for help that I suspect is being made by many young mothers in our high-pressure world. Elijah was on the edge. He was frightened. “He was afraid” (1 Kings 19:3). He wanted to be left alone. “He left his servant there” (1 Kings 19:3). One of depression’s primary symptoms is the desire for aloneness. Then, often when we are left alone, we crave company! He was detached from reality and caught in a web of ambivalence: “He got ...

4643. One-Fired Up Preacher!

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... us may expect to go that way but all of us can learn some valuable lessons from Elijah’s homegoing. There are three things I want us to see in our Scripture reading. I. First, there is a life to come and we should prepare for it. “As they continued walking ... prayer? Could it be that God has already sent his answer in a way you have not yet recognized? Don’t sit around waiting. If God wants to tap us for special service, he is more likely to call on us if we’re busy at our daily task than if we’re ...

4644. Reproached Rolled Away

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... to maintain compassion and humanity in face of hatred and dehumanization and to maintain human dignity and integrity in the face of the forces of annihilation and despair. Many of the Hebrews left Egypt with Moses because they no longer wanted to live as victims but wanted to claim sweet victory over their victimizers by denouncing oppression and permanently leaving Pharaoh’s house. Some of the Hebrews carried the oppressors’ image of them in their minds when some of them, after being sent to scout out ...

4645. The Hospitable Servant: A Woman Named Lydia

Acts 16:11-15

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... for husbands and wives and children and others to come to Christ! It is a beautiful thing to behold, indeed, when entire families and households can come to Christ and know his joy. Lydia was undoubtedly a woman of influence. Already a worshiper of God, she wanted more. She was a seeker of truth. Although she was a worshiper of God, she was open to new ideas and new possibilities. She may have felt that the God she served did not provide the answers she so deeply sought. Or being satisfied with her religion ...

4646. Saturday Night Live?

Drama

Dave Marsh

... nothing in common. And Debbie, well,…smokes like a chimney. Cough cough cough. I just can’t take it. April: (sighs) fine. (looks at book) Margo and Tim. Jeff: Oh, the movie people. April: What? Jeff: They let their kids see R rated movies. The last thing I want is their kid telling our little Jason how folks die in Pulp Fiction. No way. April: (looks at him) Fine. What about Raymond and Sandy. Jeff: Beer boy. April: (shakes head) What? Jeff: Beer boy. I saw him at Food Lion buying like what seemed 3,000 ...

4647. Don't Be A Grumbler

Luke 9:57-62

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... was a great leader of his people. God called him to help get the chosen people out of Egypt where they were slaves to the Pharaoh. Do you know what a slave is? (Let them answer.) That's right -- being a slave was a terrible thing. The chosen people wanted to be free so they could go back to their homeland. So Moses, with the help of God, finally convinced the Pharaoh to let the people go. Well, you can imagine that the people were pretty excited when God helped them get away. The Lord sent all kinds of ...

4648. Who Is Your Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... funny situations, isn't he? In the show that I saw not too long ago, people were upset with him because he operated on a teenage gang member and saved the man's life. Do you think that he was wrong in doing this? (Let them answer.) Today I want to share with you a very important message which we hear in one of our scripture lessons. It was an important law for both Jews and Christians. The law said: ``Love your neighbor as yourself!'' What do you think that means, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) Do you ...

4649. When Our Children Teach Us

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

... of all, there is GRATITUDE Some years ago in a Midwestern town a little boy was born blind. His mother and father were heartsick, but they struggled with his blindness the best they could. Like all such parents, they prayed and hoped for some miracle. They wanted so much for their son to be able to see. Then one day when the little boy was 5 years old, the community doctor told them that he had heard about a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who was specializing in a new surgical procedure that ...

4650. The Next 5 (A Drama about Love)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Drama

Dave Marsh

... don’t you just show me what is, Dr. Joyce. Beth: Okay. Give me that. (she goes to her first channel.) Okay, there. The Andy Griffith Show. Dave: You don’t have to take the first show. Beth: I know that. Doesn’t matter. This is the show I want. Dave: What in the world does Andy Griffith have to do with exemplifying love? Beth: You’re kidding right? (starts counting on her fingers.) First there was how Andy loved Opie. He always went out of his way to listen to him and talk to him about his problems ...

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