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 4676 to 4700 of 4959 results

4676. A Vision of Beauty and Hope

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... . There have been times when war was essential to protect humans or preserve freedoms. But war is still a rebellion against God’s original plan for humanity. And the prophet Isaiah makes it clear that when humanity is restored to God, we will no longer desire war. We will turn our weapons into instruments of peace. Robert Capa was a famous photojournalist who specialized in war photos. He risked his life on the front lines of battle, and his photos of the Spanish Civil war and World War II are legendary ...

4677. Get the Garbage Out!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... that we have a problem. But listen: the fruit of repentance is joy and peace. John’s message might sound harsh and undiplomatic to us. It might sound out of keeping with the soft, warm feelings of the Christmas season, but it’s motivated entirely by love, by a desire to shake us awake and get us to turn back to God while there is still time to experience His love. Festo Kivengere is a former Bishop of the Anglican Church in Uganda. Festo was raised in a pagan family, but he became a follower of Jesus in ...

4678. Portraying Jesus

Illustration

Phillip Yancey

... as there were many who were appalled at him--his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness . . . “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Because of the Gospels’ silence, we cannot answer with certainty the basic question ...

4679. How To Be Truly Happy

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... of our Lord. Happiness is found in giving ourselves to a high and noble purpose. The second is that happiness is found in being people oriented. Indeed, such terms as meekness and mercifulness and pure in heart suggest a willingness to subordinate our desires to the well being of others. Please do not misunderstand. We are not talking about becoming a doormat for others to trample upon. There was a time, however, when Christians believed that joy was spelled “Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last ...

4680. Déjà Vu or Divine Revelation?

Luke 23:35-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... sin. Let me say that again. The first thief wanted to be saved from his situation. But he didn’t want to be saved from his sin. His cry was simply, “Get me down off this cross. Be the Christ of convenience, the Messiah of magic tricks.” That was the desire of his heart. He didn’t want to be redeemed, just rescued. And that’s us, isn’t it? “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down (from the temple).” If you’re the Son of God, save my marriage. Heal my child. Take away my pain. Just ...

4681. Dead Churches

Illustration

Staff

A minister was approached by a man who expressed a desire to become a member of the congregation. The man said that he was rather busy, and didn’t have time to volunteer. “I don’t want to be called on for any service such as committee work, teaching a class, or singing in the choir. Then, too, don’t expect ...

4682. Get Home Safely

1 John 1:9; John 14:15-31

Illustration

F.B. Myer

... to just stay in his seat in Dallas. Now as you take the child to the airport you have only one message for him. “Remain in the plane. Everything is taken care of; all you have to do is just remain in your seat. And you will arrive at the desired destination.” That’s what Jesus is saying to these disciples. I have gotten you on board with me. Don’t get off the plane in Dallas. Just remain there and I will get you home safely.”

4683. Less Fear; More Fruit

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... lamb people. Cow people and bear people sit down and eat together. And, dare I say it? Even elephant people and donkey people love and respect each other. Whoa! In short, we live in peace because we have found the inspiration and ability to put our own needs, our own desires, our own egos aside and that inspiration comes from what Isaiah called “the fear of the Lord.” But the fear he speaks of is not fear as we know it, as it is sold to us nightly on the 11 o’clock news. It is awe. It is wonder. It ...

4684. On the Pathway of Pain

Illustration

Author Unknown

... at the end of the road? If I never knew sickness and never felt pain Would I reach for the hand that helps and sustains? If I walked without sorrow and lived without loss Would my soul seek sweet solace at the foot of the cross? If all that I desired were mine day by day Would I kneel before God and earnestly pray? I ask myself this and the answer is plain If my life was all pleasure and not any pain I’d ask God less often and need Him much less; For God is sought most often in ...

4685. Eat, Drink, and See Mary

Luke 1:26-38

Illustration

Rev. Don Frank

... mother Mary would appear on the 13th of each month, and her human conduit would speak her words to a throng of eager listeners that would gather on a country hillside outside the house. Such appearances occurred for many, many months, drawing huge crowds, some desiring to hear a message they believed was from God and some even looking for healing and other miracles. The “show,” as many of us came to believe it was, was so popular, that roadside stands sprang up, serving everything from Mary statues and ...

4686. Campground Commode

Illustration

King Duncan

... more seats. They plan to hold the supper in the middle of the B.C., so everyone can watch and talk about this great event. I would like to say it pains me very much, not to be able to go more regularly, but it is not for lack of desire on my part. As we grow older, it seems to be more and more of an effort, particularly in cold weather. If you decide to come down to the campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the ...

4687. Forgiving One's Enemies

Luke 17:1-10

Illustration

Ralph W. Sockman

... Whiting. Without hesitation Lee commended Whiting in high terms and called him one of the ablest men in the confederate army. An officer present motioned Lee aside to suggest that he must not know what unkind things whiting had been saying about him. Lee answered: "I understood that the president desired to know my opinion of Whiting, not Whiting's opinion of me."

4688. Praying Hands

Luke 2:21-40

Children's Sermon

Edward G. Hunter

... artist, for he (Durer) made enough for both of them to live. But his older friend had found that his fingers had become too sore (from the hard work he had been doing to make a living). He was unable to paint anymore, so he had to give up his desire to become an artist. One day when Durer returned home he thought he heard the voice of his friend in prayer in another room. He quietly opened the door and saw him praying at a table with his hands folded in prayer, like this (show the picture or the statue ...

4689. An Invitation That Went Astray

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... willingness to use every resource we have to share God’s love and truth with others. Jesus was without sin, completely righteous. He didn’t need to undergo a baptism of repentance. He did it to show us the attitude of obedience, faith, willingness that God desires from His children. God uses this misunderstanding between John and Jesus to show us what it means to be baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ. It means, first of all, leaving our old life behind. But it means a second thing—it means making ...

4690. The World's Most Extraordinary Club

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... live by a bunch of boring rules. But Kyle discovered something entirely different. He says, “As I started putting into practice some of the things Jesus told us to do, I began to see why His way is so much better than my own. I found myself desiring more of Him. That’s a point we are all meant to reach,” he continues, “because Jesus literally asked His followers to exchange their individual identities and ideas for His with the kind of joy you’d expect from someone who just won the lottery.” (7 ...

4691. The Art of Impersonation

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... up to that action. You see, Jesus is saying that sin doesn’t start where we think it does. Sin doesn’t start with an action. Sin starts with a decision—the decision that our life is our own and that God has no business interfering with our desires. If you think sin begins and ends with your outward actions, you are fooling yourself. No one wakes up one day and decides to commit murder. The act of murder starts with contempt or hatred or envy or anger or resentment or pride. It thrives in the heart ...

4692. The Problem with "Fawneys"

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... who “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” There was nothing phony about the Master. There was no desire to impress others by seeming to be something he was not. He was real to the end, even as he reached out in love to the thief who hung next to him and forgave the soldiers who taunted him and ultimately crucified him. And that’s what he ...

4693. Christ's Monarchy

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

Molly F. James

... world a better place — to transform this earthly world into a kingdom that better reflects the kingship of Christ. Just as in a monarchy, Christ asks us to give our all, to be faithful and obedient. While we may tempted by the allure of worldly power or the desire for self-control, we are called to trust. We are called to trust in Christ as our Lord and Savior. We are called to turn our lives over and give ourselves to the building up of God’s kingdom. If all that we believe about God is true — and ...

4694. God Moves Slowly

John 11:6

Illustration

Jon L. Joyce

... creation. The old axiom states that "the mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine." God often moves slowly in stark contrast to the feverish activity of little mortals. Perhaps he delays an answer to our prayer to test us, to see whether we really desire what we are requesting, or whether we have sufficient confidence that he hears. We want what we want when we want it. But a wise man has said that life is "a song of degrees"; it is a ladder, up which we must climb step by step. When ...

4695. Second Sunday of Advent

John 4:1-26, Isaiah 51:1-16

Bulletin Aid

Heth H. Corl

... skilled in preventing Him from living in me. Forgive me for running from one hell to another. Forgive me for creating unrest instead of peace, apathy instead of concern, and self independence instead of obedience. May your presence in my life give me a new reason for being, and a desire to become released from bondage and alive with faith. In Jesus' name. Amen. HYMNS "Come, Thou Almighty King" "The People That in Darkness Sat" "O Come, and Dwell in Me"

4696. Grace Upon Grace

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... up the bishop, thus: “There are men who toil at extracting gold; he toiled at the extraction of pity. Universal misery was his mine. The sadness which reigned everywhere was but an excuse for unfailing kindness. Love each other; he declared this to be complete, desired nothing further, and that was the whole of his doctrine.”4 One night the protagonist of the story, Jean Valjean, shows up at his door, desperate, cold and hungry. The bishop invites him in, feeds him, and offers him a bed for the night ...

4697. For the Glow of It

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... are open to their questions? If I don’t preach that there is great value in following the discipline of giving by sharing my own story of giving, not to puff up myself, but to point to God, how will the gathered community know what to do with their own desire to give? If we do not demonstrate that we practice the gifts of fasting or the value of a 24-hour period of silence, how can we expect them to know just how valuable a gift it is? The way I like to think about the paradox and dilemma of ...

4698. The True Story Wins

Matthew 28:11-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... all can participate using the hand motions of “rock, paper, scissors” Are you a liar? That might be a question asked of you if you live in the mountains of West Virginia, where the art of storytelling is called “lying.” It is every artist’s desire to become a “great liar.” To be a great “liar” meant that you could not only write a crafty short story, but you could “tell” the story out loud in an inviting, enticing and mesmerizing way that would leave your audience spellbound. The gift ...

4699. Lost in the Wonder of God

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... mystery of God, to allow for the experience of the “super-natural” power and presence of God even when face-to-face with the divine. Sin rejects the mystery of God that threatens our human “take” on what is possible. Sin then is the desire to determine our own sense of “truth,” and the refusal to accept what does not conform to “our reality.” When self-determination underwrites one’s assumptions and definition of reality, the result will be to doubt the wonder of God, deny dependence on ...

4700. Godstruck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... are we! Send us upon your errand, let us your servants be. Our strength is dust and ashes, our years a passing hour; but you can use our weakness to magnify your power. 4. From ease and plenty save us; from pride of place absolve; purge us of low desire; lift us to high resolve; take us, and make us holy; teach us your will and way. Speak, and behold! we answer; command, and we obey. *Dandelion Photo compliments of Deanna M. Ness. Thank you Deanna! Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text Acts 2: The Day of ...

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