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 4751 to 4775 of 5000 results

4751. Harmony and Humor: The Ties That Bind Christianity’s Many Christianities

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to use the human body as an example of unity and diversity together. The hand does this, the eye does that, the foot does another. But all ultimately are connected to the body. The twenty-first century question is this: how big is our body? How long are our arms and feet? How big are our hands and heart? How many different gifts and graces does this one body have? Is this body still developing stronger muscles and tougher talents? But there is one more theorem that binds together the many Christianities of ...

4752. Blessed Are Those Who Hand Over Their Controllers

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stretch of water that has claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of “boat people” seeking freedom and family in the US have created desperate “boats” out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach US soil. The goal of these “boat people” is simple: hit dry land. As long as these refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the US has agreed either to return rescued or captured boat people back to Cuba or transport them to a neutral third country ...

4753. It'll Come Back to You

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43)

Illustration

... lawn mower just won't start." The young man said, "Preacher, I hate to tell you this but it's a special kind of lawnmower. You have to cuss it to get it to start." The preacher looked at him and said, "Well, I've been in the ministry so long I don't think I can remember how to cuss." The young man grinned and said, "Pull on the rope some more and it'll come back to you." The point is this, we ought not stay on the mountain top so ...

4754. Luke 13:31-35

Luke 13:31-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... changed their minds and wanted to help save Jesus, Jesus himself continued to stand firm and unswerving. Rather than heading for the hills, Jesus instructs the Pharisees to report back to Herod what he is doing and how long he will continue. How long is that? Until he “finishes” or “accomplishes” (“teleioo”) his work. Jesus dismisses Herod nothing more than a “fox” (“alopex”), a vulpine that symbolized craftiness and slyness in Hellenistic culture (even as it continues so today). A mere ...

4755. Giving Up

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... real Lenten challenge try giving up your cell phone for forty days! [At this point you might want to make a karaoke moment and ask what people are “giving up.”] But even that might be enough to get you in a true Lenten mood. Preacher Kimberly Long tells this story at the beginning of one of her Lenten sermons. Entering church on Ash Wednesday, Nora Gallagher encounters a friend who, when asked what she is giving up for Lent, quips: “Anne’s giving up drinking, Terri’s giving up chocolate, and I’m ...

4756. Under His Wings

Luke 13:31-35

Illustration

Brett Blair

... songs were sung? They are the songs found in the book Psalms. Psalm 17, 36, 57, 61, 63, and 91 speak of the protective wings of God. So when Jesus expressed his desire to comfort Jerusalem he used an image widely understood, “I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gather’s her chicks under her wings.” But Jesus’ desires go unfulfilled for Jerusalem was “unwilling,” Jesus said, to receive the shelter he offered. But let us not miss a significant point being advanced here: In ...

4757. The Road Is Too Rough

Illustration

Olga J. Weiss

The road is too rough," I said, "Dear Lord, there are stones that hurt me so." And He said, "Dear child, I understand, I walked it long ago." "But there's a cool green path," I said; "Let me walk there for a time." "No child," He gently answered me, "The green path does not climb." "My burden," I said, "Is ... , Content at last to know That where my Master had not gone, I would not need to go. And strangely then I found new friends, The burden grew less sore; And I remember long ago He went that way before.

4758. We Serve a Risen [and Rising] Savior

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... all a starfish needs to regenerate a whole new creature is one arm and a smidgen of the central disk of its body. A starfish can re-member itself. It can form a completely new, whole starfish out of a small start. Resurrection Christians are starfish. As long as we take with us the defining miracle of an empty tomb, we can re-member the body of Christ anywhere, anytime, in every age. Remembering is a life-time endeavor. The new incarnations of Christ’s body might not have perfect symmetry. They might need ...

4759. What Matters In the Light of Eternity: “Church Matters”

Acts 20:13-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... we are sinners saved by grace trying to learn the Christian life. Churches are filled with people who still have a long way to go. Some have unstable backgrounds, poor role models, a history of tragedy and disappointment. You are burdened with ... the way we speak, the way we work, the way we live, and the way we treat other people. The Lord and I had an argument not long ago. I wanted to know why He would cut my ministry short when He had introduced so many ideas into the life of this church that remain ...

4760. When God Is Like a Mother

John 14:15-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , the Virgin’s breast was a symbol of God’s loving provision of life. People were invited to find comfort in the bosom of Mary. There is a hunger in the human soul to lean on the everlasting arms, and nurse from a fountain that never runs dry. Our souls long to be rocked in the bosom of the Almighty. Let some soul near despair in the lowlands of strife be so filled with the Holy Spirit today that you will go home knowing you are never alone. III. Like a Good Mother, the Holy Spirit Loves Us with a Love ...

4761. Resurrected Peace (Series: Living on the Resurrected Side of Life)

John 20:19-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... live in a world of fear. I had lunch with the President of the United States a few weeks ago. It was quite an honor. During the time for questions, I asked President Bush how the event of 9/11 changed him personally. He responded with a long speech about being whisked away to a military base and informed that the United States was under attack. He described in great detail the ultra-secure bunker in the White House where he, Laura, Vice President Cheney and a few others spent the night. More importantly, he ...

4762. Come and See

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... don't do anything with them. What good is having the Good News is we don't live it and show it. Telling is great as long as we Show what we Tell. Sometimes, the Telling is louder when all we do is show. One day Francis of Assisi, invited one of the ... town square where Francis lifted a bucket of water from the well for an old woman and carried it home for her. All day long he and St. Francis walked through the streets and byways, alleys and suburbs, and they rubbed shoulders with hundreds of people. Each time ...

4763. Discover the Meaning of Christmas

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... an unusual situation here. I know you've got that pick-up truck. Do you still have some oil in that barrel on your truck? You do?" By this time the rest of the family was pulling clothes out of their closets and toys off of their shelves. It was long after the kid's bedtime when they were wrapping gifts. The pickup came. On it were chairs, three lamps, more blankets, boxes of food and gifts. There was even a Christmas tree. Ed had made a call to some of the members of their church and in no time flat ...

4764. The Gift Unwrapped

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... history. I want God to step out of heaven to become one of us and live among us." Even the most devout believer probably wouldn't have asked for that. Why? Because it's too frightening. God in the flesh, wandering around messing in our affairs, expecting a relationship. As long as God's in heaven and some distant figure we don't really have to deal with it's OK. But if God becomes one of us, real flesh and blood like the rest of us, then suddenly God is real and not some theological head game. And if God ...

4765. Jesus Saves, We're Called To Invest

Matthew 25:14-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. [19] After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. [20] Then the one who had received the five talents came forward ... it. But according to one source, the one talent servant's actions were devious and conniving. He figured if his master was going on a long journey, there was a chance he might never come back. If the servant put the money in the bank, he would have to register it ...

4766. Dare To DV8

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , "to uphold them as inspiring examples. I wasn't prepared to envy them." But envy them he did. As he reflected on the two groups, stars and servants, he declares that "the servants clearly emerge as the favored ones, the graced ones. They work for low pay, long hours, and no applause, "wasting" their talents among the poor and uneducated. Yet somehow in the process of losing their lives, they have found them." (2) That's a message we all need to hear. It's a non-conformist message that runs counter to the ...

4767. Getting It Right

Romans 5:1-8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... And it's not unusual for horrible or just weird circumstances to yield beneficial results and be a means of bringing glory to God. A man once tried to kill Samuel L. Brengle by throwing a brick at his head. Brengle survived the attack, but had a long convalescent time. During that period he wrote many inspiring articles which were put into a book entitled HELPS TO HOLINESS. The book was a huge success. Later his wife said, "Had there been no brick, there would have been no book!" She kept the brick and had ...

4768. On Finding Pentecostal Power

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in the deep rivers of hope that flow through the soul. As the hymn goes, “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” I intend to proclaim that as long as life and thought and being lasts, or immortality endures. III. The Holy Spirit Empowers Us to Be Saved “And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (v.21). Theologian Walter Bruggman says all who desire to be saved must live ...

4769. Is God For Real? (Series: Read Faith For Real People)

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and other things unfair. We do not break the laws of God; we are merely broken upon them again and again. The image of God creates a hunger. There is a hunger for God in our souls. Even when life has given us more things than we could even long for, more pleasure than we can imagine, more opportunities than we ever dreamed about, there remains in our soul a deep hunger. It is our need for a vital relationship with the living God. The last words John Wesley spoke on earth were these: “Best of all, God is ...

4770. Could We Start Again, Please? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

John 3:1-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . In fact, I encounter smart people all the time who just don’t get this religion thing. That’s why you are bored in church, turned off by people of faith, skeptical of any revelation. Yet, like Nicodemus, you long for something more, more faith, more love, more hope. There is that deep, deep longing—could I start again, please? Could I start again? Open our eyes, Lord. We need to see Jesus. Spiritual Birth Opens Up a Whole New World. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only ...

4771. Follow Your Calling (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... It all makes you feel kind of accidental, does it not? No wonder we have trouble treating the unborn with the same dignity and reverence we attach to human life. In the beginning we are not even a good lottery bet. We are not on this earth very long until we come to realize that we have relationships that come with expectations. We have mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, and lots of others who feel compelled to tell us what to do. Parents want us to sleep all night. They expect us ...

4772. Reassessing Our Laughter (Series: Questioning Our Values)

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... fortify, to strengthen, to support. The house we own is built on a hillside. It has a deck that is held up by long posts. A member of this congregation took one look at our house and exclaimed, “Howard surely bought this house in the dark. Nobody would locate ... on a hill like this in the daylight.” He is right. My point is this. Those long posts fortify and support the deck. They hold it up. I could correctly say that my deck is “comforted” by these posts. Do you ...

4773. Winning the War Over Stuff (Series: Winning The War Over Daily Life)

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , but it’s no honor either. So what would have been so terrible if I were a very rich man?” After all, “If I were a rich man, I’d build a big tall house, with rooms by the dozen Right in the middle of town. There would be one long staircase just going up, And one even longer coming down. And one more, going nowhere, just for show. If I were a rich man, there would be chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks in the yard. Everybody who passed by would say, ‘Here lives a very wealthy man.’” I suspect ...

4774. Radical Love is Reconciling (Series: Radical Love in a Risky World)

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , out of the wind and the cold, but one strayed away to the mountains bare, far from the shepherd’s care. What does the shepherd do? He leaves the ninety-nine to search for the one lost sheep. As we used to sing in our little country church a long time ago: None of the ransomed ever knew, How deep were the waters crossed; Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through, Till he found his sheep that was lost. About twelve years ago, I visited Rick Warren at Saddleback Church out in Orange County ...

4775. Why Am I So Lonely? (Series: Real Faith For Real People)

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... themselves to prayer. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief’s to bear! Friends are those rare people who come in when the rest of the world is going out. Friends are the people who ask how you are, and then stay around long enough to hear the answer. Friends know your deepest and darkest secrets and love you anyway. Have you found Jesus to be a friend? Sandy and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary last Wednesday. She is a patient woman. I wanted to show her my deepest appreciation ...

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