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 4651 to 4675 of 5000 results

4651. God's Getting Better at It

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Illustration

Lane Boyd

... that we would understand. It is in the living, breathing person of Jesus that we really see all things we call holy, such as forgiveness, sharing, joy, vision, courage, perseverance, and especially love. We might think we understand love, for example, but when we receive totally unconditional love from another person, love takes on a completely new meaning for us. Jesus shows us the ultimate example of love, namely, God's love. Seeing this example in the flesh makes all the difference in the world for us.

4652. Altar Your Witness

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... a while and Carl's life is tied up with her memories. She was the fuel for his fire, and now he burns very low. Carl is alone on purpose, imprisoned in his home and his memories. Into his life comes Russell, a young Wilderness Scout who is looking for love and acceptance from his father by getting as many badges as possible, in hopes that his father will notice, come to a ceremony and be proud. Russell comes to Carl with an offer of help. Over and over again he is rejected as he reaches out to Carl in his ...

4653. Nehemiah: The Fix

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Jesus told Zaccheus to come down out of the tree so he could have lunch with him, Zaccheus was so moved and touched by God's love that he was changed and he repented. B. Repenting is sort of like getting a do-over from God. We get to start over. Our lives ... had to move some obstacles our of their lives in order to be here to work and play. But because they wanted to honor God's love in their lives, with God's help they moved those obstacles out of their lives so they could be here. And we thank them don't ...

4654. A Chance To Be Made Whole

Matthew 9:18-26

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... what Jesus had taught, something of the miracles that Jesus had performed had planted itself in this man's heart. The hope of the Messiah that all Jews carry in their hearts was awakened enough to see Jesus might very well be who everyone claimed he was. And out of love for his daughter he had to take the chance, A Chance for his life and his daughter To Be Made Whole. He took that Chance and Jesus raised his little girl to new life. III. The Response A. I think the real message of this passage is in Jesus ...

4655. The Character of Christmas; Wise Men: Seeking

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... We may mangle it. We may wrap it in shiny paper. We may try to store it away with all the Christmas decorations, but like the star in the East, it will always be there guiding us back to the central purpose of Christmas, Salvation through God's unconditional love wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. That's what the Wise Men were seeking. And through that innocent baby, one of us and yet one with God, God was seeking each of us. Only Matthew has the story of the visit of the Magi, the Scholars ...

4656. It's Everybody's Business

John 1:35-51

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... News of Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Dance. We've heard the melody of the future. We know the hope Christ gives. We've taken that step of faith and begun to dance to the melody. We're called to invite others into this glorious relationship of love, acceptance, and forgiveness in Christ. We are witnesses of the resurrection and we're called to invite others to the dance of faith, and then ask them to dance. As you go about your busy week this week, look around. Think about your coworkers, your friends and ...

4657. Show and Tell

Mark 1:16-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... about the gospel accounts. 2. Because of the Christian ethic. This is one of my favorites: most of the world's religions have an ethic of retribution or justice. The eye for an eye evening the score kind of ethic. The Christian ethic stand that on its head and says "love your enemy, do good to those who despise you." 3. The compelling picture of God in Jesus. Jesus is the very image of God in flesh and blood. When we look upon the face of Jesus we see the heart and soul of God. And Jesus' life, his words ...

4658. Spiderman: Saved To Serve

Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... belief. But rather our faith is all about what's in here, the heart and how our heart guides all that we do so that the love of God in Christ emanates through everything we do. We aren't saved so we can feel good about ourselves. Just like Paul and Peter Parker, ... forgotten, and adds, "But you made a brave move in telling me the truth, and I'm proud of you." She tells him that she loves him, and they embrace. The young boy from across the street, Henry, is helping Aunt May move. He asks Peter if he is the one ...

4659. Highest Act of Life

Luke 4:14-21

Illustration

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

What is the highest, most exalted act of intelligent life? It is to love. Love seeks no cause, no end, no reward beyond itself. "I love because I love; I love that I may love."

4660. A Simple Answer

John 12:1-11

Illustration

Lee Griess

... you, forgives you and accepts you as his child." Such a simple answer. But it worked for that man. He realized after much soul-searching that she had spoken truly. And over a period of some time, he came to believe and accept God's love for him. There is a way to God. Jesus died to provide it. We may not be Mary or that "woman of the city," but there are sins that weigh upon our hearts. There are scars and cuts that we have inflicted on others. There is a darkness within each ...

4661. Resurrected Peace (Series: Living on the Resurrected Side of Life)

John 20:19-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... citizens of the kingdom of heaven which was established on earth through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and over which He shall reign forever and ever. The core ethic of the Christian faith is love, love for God, love for one another, love for all God’s children, including love for our enemies. This love is expressed in the world through acts of peace and justice and deeds of service and ministry to the least of these. We pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth and pledge ourselves to ...

4662. Valley of Rejection (Series: Peace in the Valley)

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in his home country” (Luke 4:24). That old proverb drives a stake of resentment between Jesus and his relatives. They become furious. They drive him out of town. They are of the mind to throw him over a cliff to his certain death. How can love turn so quickly to hate? Ah, that is the question of rejection. This is not the only time Jesus drives a wedge between himself and his family. His pronounced differences with relatives prompted someone to say, “If your family doesn’t appreciate you, take heart ...

4663. The Gift of Preparation

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the nativity was wrong or out of place. Who would have thought of Bart Simpson as the baby Jesus. And putting him in a shopping cart as a manger. But at the same time, it was almost perfect, too. Not because of the characters, but because of this boy's love for God and Jesus and Christmas that went into building the scene out of materials at hand and wanting to share it with his parents. What could be more perfect than that? Even if it did feel like drinking a dill pickle milkshake. That's the way we feel ...

4664. Who Do You Put On?

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... actually put on Christ, others simply "put us on" about having put on Christ. They only wear the outer garb. Putting on Christ means dressing from the inside out. We not only have let Jesus live in our hearts, we have to wrap our hearts in his love and presence. Then Christ will stick out in everything we do. Putting on Christ means living for Him, living from the inside out. B. Let me tell you how some of us are doing that since Katrina. Gulf Port, Mississippi The Rev. Ray Stokes, pastor of Trinity United ...

4665. We Believe in the Trinity

John 16:5-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the community of God as expressed in the Holy Trinity? What if there was power in the church to really transform chaos into creation? What if our sins really were confessed and forgiven? What if the Holy Spirit really did bind us together in a kind of radical love that the world had never seen before? O, deep in my heart, Sometimes I catch the vision Of what it might really be like To embrace the Holy Trinity! In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Brought to you by FaithBreaks ...

4666. The Real GPS: Gospel Positioning System

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... want to go, foreshadow a follower’s life. Or in other words, a life taken out of our own hands, and a life put into the hands of another, a life of following Jesus, a life for Christ’s sake. As Jesus’ disciple, as one who lives and loves the way of his Lord, Simon Peter’s “way” will not be “his way.” Jesus and Yahweh will be his Way. Simon Peter would never call himself a “hero.” But Simon Peter would, at the last, hope to call himself a “disciple,” a “follower,” a shepherd who ...

4667. The Inheritance

Colossians 1:11-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... King of Kings and celebrate days like today: Christ the King Sunday. This passage is given to us to remind us of God's love and to rekindle the fire of our hearts so that we can Keep the Fire Burning. Today we're reminded that through Christ the ... , "Yes, son, all this was done to save you." That's what Christ and the cross mean to us. Jesus did all that for me. Through His love, through the Grace of God, we've been RESCUED. That's part of our Inheritance and all we have to do is claim it. (1) II. Reconciled ...

4668. They Said 'Yes!'

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Did you hear how proud Paul is of the church at Ephesus? News of their great faith and their love for one another and the entire community of faith spread to point where Paul was hearing about it from others. As a result, he gave thanks to God for them every time he remembered them in his prayers. And he spoke of the community of "all the saints." Today we ...

4669. Chosen by God

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to close. That’s what it means to be holy, that’s what it means to be called; that’s what it means to be full of love. That’s what it means to be a sign of contradiction and a sign of hope God has put his stamp of ownership upon us. In October, ... requires of us. Paul said, “You are chose, you are chosen by God, you are chosen for a purpose, you are chosen to be holy and full of love.” To be holy is to be a sign of contradiction and a sign of hope. That’s who we are and I want us to keep that ...

4670. More Than We Are

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... never know his or her own parents. Yet, at the other end of the flight, in Pennsylvania, in this instance, there were a man and a woman - their name was on the little band around the baby’s arm - filled with joy and excitement, ready to give their love and care to this little one that they had adopted as their child. That picture sheds light on our scripture. In the sense of paternity (creation) all people are children of God; but in sense of parenthood, we are children of God only as we respond to God ...

4671. Assurance: The Privilage of All Believers

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... and I found all my strength lay in keeping my eyes fixed upon him, and my soul waiting on him continually. Then at St. Paul’s in the afternoon, I could taste the good word of God in the anthem which began, ‘My song shall be always of the loving kindness of the Lord: with my mouth will I ever be showing forth thy truth from one generation to another.’ Yet the enemy injected fear, ‘If thou doesn’t believe me, why is there not a more sensible change?’ I answered ‘That I know not, but this I know ...

4672. The Gospel of Marah

Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to sit together and share about this new situation. The conversation began. “Son, I want you to know there are four persons here - you, your mother, and me, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is here because I’ve invited him; I want you to know I love you and I believe the Holy Spirit is going to give us the wisdom and the power to deal with this situation.” What could have been the most destructive estrangement a son and a father could experience had been short-circuited by the power of the Lord ...

4673. When Nature Says No

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... not destroyed; always carrying in…so we do not lose heart, though our outward nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day.” Paul has another marvelous word for us that supports this one. In Romans 8, he asks the question, “What shall separate us from the love of Christ - shall tribulation or distress or persecution or peril or sword - and on and on he goes. Then he shouts, “NO, in all these things, we’re more than conquerors through him who ...

4674. In the Lions' Den (Dealing with Stress)

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... else in the front of the house. When Kirby laughs, she laughs loudly and she means it. The note read: “Dear God - give me faith to be strong and to heal my body. Please make me a better person to be around. Dear Lord Jesus, please hold me. Love Kirby” Her father added this word, “I know the Lord is holding Kirby, and she knows it, too.” (quoted by Clarence J. Forsberg in “How to Keep Life From Being So Daily”, September 22, 1985) Kirby teaches us about allowing God to be God. We can live in ...

4675. Joy Comes in the Morning

Psalm 30:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... verse 7) The bottom fell out. A heart attack reminded us of the stress were under keeping up with the good life. Cancer wrapped its terrible clutches around our spouse, and we became aware of how fragile is life, how meaningless the accoutrements of prosperity and how precious the love of husband and wife. A son or a daughter hit their own bottom, went to depths of rebellion. All of a sudden it comes clear to us. What we had given so much energy to, what we thought was so important, that in which we put our ...

Showing results

Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 4651 to 4675 of 5000 results

4651. God's Getting Better at It

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Illustration

Lane Boyd

4652. Altar Your Witness

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

4653. Nehemiah: The Fix

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

4654. A Chance To Be Made Whole

Matthew 9:18-26

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

4655. The Character of Christmas; Wise Men: Seeking

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

4656. It's Everybody's Business

John 1:35-51

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

4657. Show and Tell

Mark 1:16-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

4658. Spiderman: Saved To Serve

Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

4659. Highest Act of Life

Luke 4:14-21

Illustration

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

What is the highest, most exalted act of intelligent life? It is to love. Love seeks no cause, no end, no reward beyond itself. "I love because I love; I love that I may love."

4660. A Simple Answer

John 12:1-11

Illustration

Lee Griess

4661. Resurrected Peace (Series: Living on the Resurrected Side of Life)

John 20:19-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds