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 451 to 475 of 1838 results

451. Love Rejoices in the Right

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Illustration

John R. Steward

... , "You see, there's no room left in our hearts except for forgiveness." The true language of love is forgiveness. Sometimes the only way we can forgive is to be so filled with the unconditional love of God that there is not room for anything else. The answer to our bitterness is to be filled with God's love in Jesus Christ. Source: Andre Malraux, Lazarus. "

452. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... overcome evil. When does the church downplay the difficulties and price of battling against evil? Do people sentimentalize Jesus as a person who never had to struggle with personal sin? Is a "sweet Jesus" presented that is not true to the kind of bitter struggle he had to go through against his own temptations and against the pressures from his enemies and even from his closest associates who tried to dissuade him from direct confrontation with the powers that controlled religion and the state? Should the ...

453. Blessed Betrayal

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

... symbol, then. This year's palm branches are burned to provide the ashes of repentance next year. Conclusion On the night of his betrayal, Jesus took bread. He could have taken a sword against those who would disobey, but he chose bread. He could have scathed them with bitter accusations, but he broke bread. He could have denied them all, the way they would deny him, but he took bread. In some word or action you have betrayed Christ this week, as I have. Come to this table, then, with a sense of sin but more ...

454. Mary Ponders

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... ourselves. What is it that goes through your mind in the midnight watches, and will not let you go? Some people chew on revenge, rehearse angry conversations, gnaw on old grudges and cannot sleep. I know people who have held onto the same debilitating bitterness for decades. It is the sole topic of their with-themselves conversations night after night. And the more they chew on the leathery sinews, the more preoccupied they are with the chewing. When I first visited Asia, I was served a salad containing ...

455. On Golf, Swimming, Gardening and Lent?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... outside Caiaphas' house identified him as the follower of the Nazarene, "I never knew him." One bad shot after another! But Peter didn't give up. He didn't give in to despair. Oh, he felt badly about what he had done. Scripture testifies that he went out and cried bitterly over it, but he didn't turn in his disciple's badge over it. He kept going on. He went back to the upper room with the others. When the women came in on Easter morning and said the Lord had risen, he raced to the tomb with John to ...

456. Milestones And Mustard Seeds

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

John G. Lynn

... 's courtyard, warming herself by the fire, set one for Peter. "You were with him," she said. "Why, your speech betrays you. You, too, are a Galilean!" Peter snared in the trap of denial cried out, "I know not the man!" Jesus looked at him and Peter wept bitterly. Legend has it that the furrows from those tears remained on his face the rest of his life. Peter felt a millstone around his neck as he realized he had denied his friend, but those hot tears streaming down his face dissolved it and washed it away ...

457. Confession

Job 42:1-6

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... given permission by God to take away Job's family, his business, and his health. Was God playing a cruel joke on Job? Because he was unable to find a purpose or a reason for his suffering, he lays the blame on God. Job confesses, "Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning" (23:2). Job felt that God acted unjustly toward him. How is he going to trust such a God? Here is where the change takes place. The turning point in Job's life is found in 42:5:"I had heard of you ...

458. God Remembers

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... by saying to Hannah, "Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?" Sadly, both lover and provoker treat Hannah as God-forsaken. While they were worshiping at Shiloh, Hannah rose early in the morning and prayed to the Lord. In her distress and bitterness, Hannah took the initiative to bring her case to God. She assumed that the God of Israel might care for those who are hurting and are without status and power. So in her prayer she cried out and said to the Lord: O Lord of hosts, if only you ...

459. Mirror, Mirror ON The Wall . . .!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... features might be considered handicaps. Some are short and have big noses. Others are tall and skinny. Some even have had burn scars from accidents. For the most part their "drawbacks" are unchangeable features. From the world's point of view, they should be bitter, reclusive, and full of self-image troubles. But no! These are some of the most refreshing people I know! They have joy. They have sincerity. In their lives are deep reservoirs of love. And they are wise. You hardly even notice their bodies, for ...

460. Miracle Nine: Healing A Deaf-Mute

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... many blessings. This metaphor opens up an opportunity to consider many such blessings: Christ closes the door of loneliness and opens the door to his rich fellowship. Christ closes the door of fear and opens the door of faith. Christ closes the door to bitterness, hate, and grudges, and opens the door to love. Christ closes the door to despair and opens the door to hope. Christ closes the door to helplessness and opens the door to God's blessings. Christ closes the door to materialistic grasping and opens ...

461. Failure Is Not Final

Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon

William L. Self

... and humiliated Jesus, Peter was hanging around the edges, following at a distance. Then Peter seemed to lunge into the depth of the valley of Achor. Suddenly, he heard the cock crow three times and he remembered what Jesus had said, and he went out and wept bitterly. The worst had happened. He had denied his Lord. Is your valley of Achor filled with regrets -- "Why did I do that, or say that?"; "How could I have been so stupid?"; "If only I had...." Is your valley choked with words you'd like to recall ...

462. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... into a sweet chariot. Perhaps life at times greatly restricts us as to movement, function, and opportunities for leadership. If we live long enough we will no longer have the physical capacity or energy to powerfully affect our own vocational and physical future. Corroding bitterness can enter even the most resilient of hearts, trying to convince us that we are of little significance. We will not be able to fight fire with fire or see the whirlwind. But we can discover that which our Lord insists is the ...

463. The Highest In The Lowest

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... came by. She was weary and, out of compassion, Conrad brought her in and gave her some of the food he had prepared for his special, anticipated guest. She ate with relish, for she was hungry. Refreshed, she went on her way. As night came a lost child, crying bitterly, into his shop. The cobbler was annoyed by the child's presence, because he felt it necessary to leave his shop and take the child to his home. As he returned to his shop he was convinced that he had missed his Lord. Sadly, he sat down, and in ...

464. The Burdens Of The Past

Haggai 2:1-9, Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... that haunts us. There are people who cannot forget a wrong committed by someone else. Refusing to forgive, these persons stew in their own poisonous thoughts. There are people who cannot forget a hateful deed they themselves did to another. They flog themselves with the bitter memories of the injuries they caused to others. And there are those who are haunted by the choices they failed to make, or the roads they have taken that have led to dead ends. Be it glorious or shameful, our past can be a terrible ...

465. Standing and Understanding with the Apostles

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... Spirit's gift of understanding! This spiritual understanding defies gravity and reason; the conventional way of thinking is turned upside down. So Peter's words to the crowd, which he knows includes many who called for Jesus' crucifixion, are not words of revenge or anger or bitterness. He proclaims to them that God still holds out to them the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit -- "to you and to your children and to all that are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." The scripture tells ...

466. The Gift of Wisdom

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... of our faith's journey), but likely sometime before last Sunday when first we heard the compelling word of God's abiding and gracious love for us. Out of all life's distractions and pain, all the serious and silly reasons to be petty or greedy or bitter or self-righteous or self-important, our hearts were opened to hear and welcome the witness that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and that this Jesus Christ is our living Lord. Such miracles, we know, began happening a long time ago. On ...

467. God's A Catcher

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... Pharisees. Even his parents distance themselves enough to let him be interrogated by their suspicious neighbors. Unsatisfied with his answers, those who ran that village cast him out. To an outcast, perhaps blindness wasn't so bad after all. Foolish man. You wouldn't catch us bitter for new challenges. We'd never long for old sins. Or would we? Last week we spoke of the need to trust that God has called us to leave those aspects of our lives which are hurtful to us and others, and to trust in his guidance ...

468. Live Together In Harmony

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... people; but they don't know now what the row was about in the first place."1 How true that dialogue is. We all know of feuds in families, in neighborhoods, and yes, in churches that happened so long ago and yet the embers of hate and bitterness still burn today. The details of the original issue are now lost, but the feud itself continues. Even though we bask in the Epiphany light of the universality of the gospel in these opening weeks of a new year, yet we know that there is much hurt, misunderstanding ...

469. Surviving The Present Trials

1 Peter 1:1-12

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... that God wants us to suffer, but our sufferings may be used to make us finer than we were, more refined, more gracious, more understanding of others. Suffering can go either way. We have all known people who, having lost a child, become bitter, isolated, God-hating people. Others, having suffered the same loss, go out and start organizations to remove drunk drivers from the road, insist that seatbelts and airbags be standard equipment on all automobiles, provide support for parents who have lost children to ...

470. Signed, Sealed And Delivered

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... , traditions that help define who we are, where we came from, and where we are all going. On all of these meanings, Paul and Jesus were always in agreement. Wherever Paul celebrated that Passover, he and Jesus sang mostly the same songs, ate the same bitter herbs, drank the five cups of wine, and had small children ask the same basic questions ("Why is this night special above all other nights?"). Both meals began with the same breaking of unleavened bread (to remind them that they had to leave Egypt with ...

471. Week Of Ash Wednesday

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Ash WednesdayJoel 2:12-182 Corinthians 5:20--6:2Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Spring Training As all those who follow baseball know, this is the time of spring training. Although in many areas of the country it is snowing and bitter cold still lingers, in Florida, Arizona and California the best baseball players in the country are working hard to prepare themselves for the coming season. All the players come to their respective training camps with one goal in mind -- to make it to the World Series in October. The ...

472. Boast In The Lord

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... he keenly felt the reserve that people had for him. He was only allowed to attend the services if he sat in the balcony assigned to black persons, but he was not permitted to receive communion. A lesser man than Amos would have been bitter experiencing such rejection Sunday after Sunday, but he determined that he would not permit the prejudice against him to make him hateful toward others. One day observing the communion table, he noticed that the cup and bread trays were rather common when he thought ...

473. The First Meal

Sermon

Robert F. Scott

... come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance." What a way to start! We think of sharing a meal together as a sign of friendship, a time for good conversation and pleasant experiences. The first meal in this Gospel is a scandal, and it starts a bitter, dangerous fight. Levi was an outcast, a traitor, a scoundrel, and most probably a thief. He was no saint, no pillar of the church; in fact, the good people of the town wouldn't let him in the church door. He was one of the Jews who collected taxes ...

474. When Life Doesn't Go According To Plan

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... miss the point. At several junctures in the story, God intervenes. Frankly, that doesn't solve everything. Sarah wanted her husband to have a son. She encouraged him to have one by the maid. God gave her the gift of a son, but she is resentful and bitter. Abraham loved both his sons. He wanted to raise them both. When that plan didn't work out, God promised to take care of Ishmael and to make him the father of another great nation. But Abraham still feels guilty about sending Ishmael away. That boy was ...

475. Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... , I'll trade you." He slipped off his shoes and set them on the counter. "You may have to break them in a bit," he explained, "they're new!" Having finished unloading the van, he wished us both a nice day, and walked out onto the cold, bitter pavement of that February morning, wearing those old, cracked shoes -- gift-wrapped with twine. Looking back, I now realize that something of God's glory passed before me that day -- veiled in the love which is constantly walking in our midst, seeking always to find us ...

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