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 483 results

451. The Call to Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon

March of 1980, I was in Concord, North Carolina, to visit with my daddy. Less than a month before my visit, Daddy had moved from his apartment, on the edge of town, to a two-room suite at the local hotel. He had made the move because his eyesight was failing and he could not get his driver's license renewed. The hotel was in the center of town, and he was in walking distance of needed services. When I asked him how he was doing, he responded that he was scared to death. He was not sure he could make it on ...

452. Which Self Are You?

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

You no doubt have heard the old story of the three inmates of a mental hospital who were having a discussion. The first insisted that he was Napoleon Bonaparte. The second asked how he knew he was Napoleon Bonaparte. The first replied, "God told me!" And the third chimed in, "I did not!" And then there was the patient who appeared unexpectedly at his psychiatrist’s office, and asked what was wrong by the doctor, he replied, "I just HAD to come today, Doctor. For some reason, I just feel myself." Well, ...

453. Rushing And Realizing

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

Advent was one week away, so Michelle Hardie and her husband thought they'd see what their children remembered from their family devotions the year before. "Who can tell me what the four candles in the Advent wreath represent?" Michelle asked. Luke jumped in with seven-year-old wisdom and exuberance. "There's love, joy, peace, and . . . and . . ." "I know!" six-year-old Elise interrupted to finish her brother's sentence: "Peace and quiet!" (1) I don't know about you, but peace and quiet would get my vote. ...

454. Parables of the Kingdom

Mark 4:1-20

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Jesus has sown his kingdom truths among the crowds, the leaders, and his disciples. They are the soil in which his gospel seed is placed, and God holds them responsible for their receptivity to the message of the kingdom. Understanding the Text This parable discourse (chap. 4) is one of two extensive teaching sections (with chap. 13) in Mark, and it interprets the action and mission of Jesus in chapters 1–3. These are “kingdom parables” describing the implications of the arrival of the kingdom in ...

455. Making a Successful Future

Numbers 34:1-29

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Success requires obeying God and trusting in his promises. Understanding the Text Numbers 33:1–49 reviews the past: the places where Israel has gone from Egypt to the plains of Moab over the course of forty years. Now the focus moves to the future. In the immediate future Israel must carry out the conquest of Canaan, eradicating the Canaanites (Num. 33:50–55). Two and a half tribes have been assigned the Transjordan as their settlement. The text goes on to describe the coming division of the land ...

456. The Hiding Angel

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In art class some children were working with plasticine, a clay-like substance that can be used over and over because it does not harden. A little girl had made a very nice model of a creature with wings. She held it up and said to everyone, "Look at the angel." There were exclamations of delight from the class and teacher. Then the girl quickly molded the angel back into a ball and asked everyone, "Now what is this?" Someone said, "It looks like a ball to me." "No," she said, "It's a hiding angel." The ...

457. Are You a GOT TO or a GET TO Christian?

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When I was growing up in the 60's we practiced drive-by littering. The big game was to see if you could get in front of a pick up, throw out the window a Carrolls hamburger wrapping (they were the competitor to McDonalds that went belly-up), and have it land in the lap of the pickup bed. Today kids don't do drive-by littering. They do drive-by shootings. Or in-school shootings. Do you remember the rash of in school shootings that affected areas around the country? · Jonesboro, Arkansas. · Paducah, Kentucky ...

458. How to Deal with Demons

Matthew 12:38-50

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is an old story about Albert Einstein. He was going around the country from university to university on the lecture circuit, giving lectures on his theory of relativity. He traveled by chauffeur-driven limousines. One day, after they had been on the road for a while, Einstein’s chauffeur said to him, “Dr. Einstein, I’ve heard you deliver that lecture on relativity so many times that I’ll bet that I could deliver it myself.” “Very well,” the good Doctor responded, “I’ll give you that opportunity ...

459. Slavery and Freedom

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will be made free’?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes ...

460. The Five Adjectives of a Noun Christian

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a world of rapid change, the elementary becomes the elemental. What exactly is a "Christian?" What does that word really mean? It is time to make Christianity Christian again. Bruce Larson tells of the guide who was hired by some hunters to take them into the backwoods of Maine. After some days, they became hopelessly lost and quite naturally began to doubt the competence of their guide. "You said you were the best guide in Maine," they reminded him. "I am," he said, "but I think we're in Canada now." ...

461. How to Make Heaven Our Home

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The year was 1846. Abraham Lincoln was running for a seat in the U.S. Congress. His opponent was a Methodist Circuit Rider by the name of Peter Cartwright. One night, Lincoln went to hear Cartwright preach. As the fiery Cartwright came to the conclusion of his sermon he said to the congregation, “Everybody here who wants to go to heaven, stand up.” The whole crowd stood up except Lincoln. Cartwright, who considered Lincoln an infidel said, “I observe that all present want to go to heaven except for Mr. ...

462. Work

1 Corinthians 3:9-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who left their mother to build homes of their own. The first little pig built his house of straw. The second little pig built his house of sticks. The third little pig built his house of brick. Soon the Big Bad Wolf came to visit the three little pigs. When the little pig in the straw house would not let him in, the Big Bad Wolf huffed and he puffed until he blew his house in. When the little pig in the house of sticks would not let the wolf in, the Big Bad ...

463. Saints With Crooked Haloes

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Most of you know that great country comedian from McComb, Mississippi, named Jerry Clower. He is a former fertilizer salesman and a devoted Baptist layman. Jerry tells about a lady he knew down in Amite County. She lived near a construction site where workers were putting a tar roof on a building. This lady had sixteen children--or "young'uns," as Jerry called them. One day she lost one of her children. She hunted around and found that he had fallen into a fifty-gallon drum of black roofing tar at the ...

464. A King - A Kingdom

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

"For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world ..." (v.37) Who is this Jesus? Shakespeare said, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."1 In Revelation we are told Jesus is "King of kings and Lord of lords" (19:16). Still we ask, "Who is he?" One of the essential, significant elements of our Christian faith is the concept of the Kingdom of God. We pray daily, "Thy kingdom come." As disciples we live in light of that kingdom as a reality. Indeed ...

465. Hebrews 13:1-8

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The 13th chapter of Hebrews stands out, and some say stands apart. Whereas the first 12 chapters lay out complex patterns of themes and develop the author's thoughts with creative images, chapter 13 turns suddenly brusque and clipped. So dramatic is this stylistic change that there has been some suggestion that a different author composed this addendum at a different time and place - leaving the church to affix this conclusion at some later date. But while most scholars note this possibility, few actually ...

466. Hebrews 13:1-8

Hebrews 13:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

467. Proclaiming Death

1 Corinthians 11:26

Sermon

Will Willimon

Do you remember when the Lord's Supper used to be sad? An old Presbyterian Service made clear that Holy Communion was an occasion for penitence, a time to talk about sin: "It is my duty to warn the scandalous and the lewd, and all those indulging in any known sin, that if they come unworthily to the Lord's Table; they do eat and drink damnation to their eternal souls." Aren't you glad that, in recent years, we have recovered the ancient emphasis upon the joy of eating and drinking with Jesus. We are joyful ...

468. Faith-Filled Living

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, 'I repent,' you must forgive him." The apostles said to the Lord, " ...

469. Eyes Like a Hawk

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:7) “Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” (Mark 8:25) “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” (Matthew 6:22) Your eyes are your soul’s window. The idea of our eyes betraying our innermost thoughts, emotions, and ...

470. Paul’s Teaching

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3:10–17 · Third appeal, part one: Stay with what you know: The false teaching being circulated among the Ephesians is that the resurrection is entirely “now.” In his controversy with the Corinthians over whether there was still a resurrection to come, Paul pointed to his own sufferings as proof that “we have not yet begun to reign” (1 Cor. 4:8–13). Here in 2 Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy of the normalcy of suffering by taking him back to the events of Acts 13–14, when Paul ministered in Lystra, Timothy’s ...

471. A Princely Passion

2 Samuel 13:1-22

Sermon

She has just passed her twenty-fifth birthday. A pert miss, young, attractive, and popular. Possessing more threads in her closet than could be found on your Singer Sewing Machine’s spool. She is a doll. She is rich and famous. Her name is Barbie. Her boyfriend is tall, dark, and handsome. His tennis outfit would make Jimmy Connors’ eyes turn green with envy. His tailor-made gloves would make the likes of Michael Jackson drool with jealousy. His well-tailored suits are a model for budding executives on ...

472. Listening or Hearing?

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were ...

473. Wrestling Alone at Night

Genesis 32:22-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The poet, James Thurber, once said, “All men must learn before they die, what they are running from and to and why.” We catch up with our hero, Jacob, today on the muddy banks of the Jabbok River. Twenty years have passed since he left Bethel where God promised to go with him and guide him through all his days. In this productive period of Jacob’s life, he accumulates a couple of wives, eleven children, a host of servants, and a wealth of cattle, sheep, and camels. He has left his father-in-law, Laban. He ...

474. Epiphany 4

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, Micah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Micah 6:1-8 God brings his chosen people to a cosmic court where even the mountains and hills bear witness. The charge: the people had forgotten the Lord's mighty works of redemption and the wealth of past blessings. In verse three he puts them on the witness stand to make their case but they apparently have nothing to say. Therefore, God presents his case, detailing his acts of mercy and deliverance as he brought them out of Egypt and into the promised land. Though guilt is ...

475. Drastic Surgery

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

In February, 1966, a young surgeon from India, then a resident at a St. Louis Hospital, took a radical step in an attempted reconciliation with his estranged wife. She was a staff physician in Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, and was living in a dormitory there. The surgeon called a taxi driver to his apartment door and gave him a package which he asked him to deliver to his wife’s room. His wife’s roommate answered the knock at the door and accepted the package. It was blood-soaked, and when she opened ...

Showing results