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 4901 to 4925 of 4962 results

4901. Grace The New Fashioned Way

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the favorite television commercials of many of us, for the past few years, has been John Houseman's commercials for a banking investment firm. You remember his famous words in that commercial. In a beautiful British accent he would say, "We make money the old fashioned way. We earn it." Houseman expresses the deeply held belief of many people that what resources one has should be earned. Expecting to get something for nothing is wrong. Gains that come too easily or too quickly or as the result of ...

4902. God Loves An Underdog

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Thomas Wheeler, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, told a good story on himself. He said that while he and his wife were out driving he noticed they were low on gas. So he pulled off at the first exit and came to this dumpy little gas station with one pump. There was only one man working the place, so he asked the man to fill it up while he checked the oil. He added a quart of oil, closed the hood, and he saw his wife talking and smiling at the gas ...

4903. Finding The Real Thing

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Frank S. Mead once wrote a story titled, "The V.I.P." In his story the small town of Mayfair is excited over the anticipated arrival of a rich and important stranger, Henry Bascom, who is coming to spend Christmas in their town. The whole town turns out to meet him at the airport, but he's nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a quiet man slips by the people at the airport and heads into town. This quiet man does not appear to be a man of means. He is ignored and mistreated by the insensitive people of Mayfair. ...

4904. What Is True And Who Can You Trust?

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

(Christ the King) Leo Rosten tells a story about Yuri Smolenski, a Jewish engineer in the former Soviet Union. Yuri had been ordered to move to a minor position in a faraway, frozen Siberian outpost. His parents, in tears, were watching him pack. "I'll write every day," said Yuri. "But the censorship," wailed his mother. "They'll watch every word." Yuri's father said, "I have an idea. Anything you write in black, we'll know is true. But anything you put in red ink, we'll know is nonsense!" A month passed; ...

4905. The Forgiven

Hebrews 10:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometimes it's called sweet revenge. This report is from London. Janine Brooks was a dental student when a man ran into her car and drove away. That was ten years ago. Her damaged car resulted in a considerable financial burden on her student income but the motorist neither apologized nor ever paid for the damage he had done. Now it is 10 years later. Janine Brooks, the former student, is a dentist, and guess who comes to her office needing a tooth to be pulled. He did not recognize her; she did recognize ...

4906. We've Been Bragging About You!

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Generally we consider it unseemly to boast. You may know the terrible story of the large chess tournament that was being held in a big hotel. The players were gathering in the lobby to brag about how smart they were, who they had defeated, and the strategies they had devised. At that point, the manager came on the publicaddress system and said, "Will the hotel guests please go to their rooms now?" As the area quickly emptied, the assistant said, "You were right to send them away." The manager replied, "Yes ...

4907. Damaged In Transit, But Deliverable

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Author Barbara Johnson, in her book, Fresh Elastic for Stretched Out Moms, tells about a package she once received that was marked DAMAGED IN TRANSIT, BUT DELIVERABLE. There was a space at the top that said either DELIVERABLE or UNDELIVERABLE, and a big black crayon marked this package as DELIVERABLE! The string was hanging off it, the label was torn off, and tapes were hanging out of one corner, but it was still deliverable. Barbara Johnson says she thought of how many lives like her own are damaged and ...

4908. Balancing Act

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

A lady opened her refrigerator and saw a rabbit sitting on one of the shelves. "What are you doing in there?" she asked. The rabbit replied: "This refrigerator is a Westinghouse, isn't it?" To which the lady replied "Yes." "Well," the rabbit said, "I'm westing." I guess everybody needs a westinghouse. Everyone needs a quiet spot--a place that they can get away to recharge the batteries, to re-nourish the spirit. In the 1970s, Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier co-starred in the movie Zulu, which was shot in ...

4909. It's A Good Thing There Weren't Unions . . .

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

It's a good thing that today's text did not fall earlier in September--say Labor Day weekend. The moral of the story goes against most of the things you and I believe about the relationship between capital and labor. You know the story well. A landowner went out about six in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them $20 for the day. That should tell you right off that the workers were not unionized--though some of you can remember when $20 was good pay for a day's work. About ...

4910. Who Are You?

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

I'd like to ask you one of the most profound questions I can think of. Who are you? One practical joker produced a book that looked like any other. The title on the outside read, Wild Animals I have Known, and on the inside was a mirror. When his friends opened this book, they found themselves staring at their own reflections. Is that who you are? Are you just some kind of animal? A higher primate? A "naked ape," as Colin Morris called us a few years ago? Or is there a reality beyond the world of the flesh ...

4911. God's Design and Our Destiny

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt prepared to receive a diplomatic visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain. Every detail of their visit had to be planned meticulously. Only the finest accommodations, food, and entertainment would be appropriate for the royal couple. But on the second night of the King’s visit, Eleanor Roosevelt decided to break with protocol. She invited the King and Queen to come to the Roosevelt’s private cabin for an ...

4912. A Sign for a Sign

Mark 8:11-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I happened to see part of a comedy program on television a couple of weeks ago. One of the segments of the program consisted of two or three short movies made by a producer unfamiliar to me. I take it that he is just getting started in this business. But he had a terrific “gimmick.” He found out when buildings were to be demolished in New York, and then arranged to take pictures of them being blown up or torn down. Only he interwove himself and his own dialogue into the picture. He would talk to the ...

4913. The Lord's Prayer: Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today I want to begin by sharing a story that I once told at the annual Thanksgiving meal that we lovingly shared with the homeless persons in the greater Easton area with the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Salvation Army headquarters. Perhaps one or two of you who were there will remember it. There was a very wealthy Texas oilman who had a gorgeous daughter, and he wanted to find her a man who was brave and courageous like himself. He decided to throw a huge Texas-style barbecue as a ...

4914. Resting at the Mediocre Inn

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

On the way to the top of the highest peak in the French Alps there is a small inn. This inn provides rest and respite for mountain climbers. It is called the Mediocre Inn, which in French simply means “halfway.” "Imagine coming off a day of climbing in the icy, windy French Alps,” says Dr. Jay Strack. “The cold has seeped into your bones. You’re exhausted, and every muscle in your body hurts. At the Mediocre Inn, you find a hot meal and a warm bed. You begin to relax, put your feet up, get comfortable. Who ...

4915. Prepare The Way Of The Lord

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

No shout in Scripture is more familiar than the shout of the prophet Isaiah. "Get ready!", he is saying, "The Messiah is coming. Prepare the Way of the Lord." Isaiah 40 is one of the most familiar passages in the Old Testament, made so in large part by Handel's MESSIAH. It's the call of Advent: "Prepare the way of the Lord." Now I know that the coming of Christ is always gift, always grace. So we need to think a little about how the spontaneous working of God's grace, unearned, unexpected, undeserved how ...

4916. Slaves of a Different Master

Romans 6:12-23

Sermon

William G. Carter

Earlier this week somebody asked what the sermon was about. I said, "I'm preaching about slavery." That was a good way to stop a conversation. Slavery. In Romans 6, Paul talks about slavery. It was an established institution of his time. There is no evidence that he tried to reform it. One of his letters was written to a slave owner named Philemon. During one of his vacations in jail, Paul met a runaway slave named Onesimus. They got to talking, and Onesimus became a Christian. When his sentence was up, ...

4917. Believe in Jesus

Acts 16:25-34

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago on a ranch in South Texas, an elderly woman was critically ill. She was in her 90’s and was at the point of death. All of the family, the ranch hands and the neighbors had gathered around her bed. Quietly, respectfully, they waited and watched and prayed. The doctors had told them that the end was near and there was nothing else that could be done medically… and that it wouldn’t be long now. Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. It was a traveling, revival preacher. He had arrived ...

4918. Sending Good Messages

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The scenes I am about to describe happen thousands of times per day across America, with many variations. The setting may be the office of a pastor or counselor. Or these words could be spoken to a best friend over coffee or out jogging. First, the voice of a wife: “You’ve heard of the great stone face? Well, I married it. All I ever see of Bob at breakfast is a hand groping for his coffee from behind the morning paper.” Then we hear from a husband: “My wife is a really attractive person, until she opens ...

4919. Epiphany 4

Mark 1:21-28, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 The book of Deuteronomy came out of the reform movement during Josiah's reign in the seventh century. The book is put in the form of Moses' last address to the people before entering the Promised Land. This pericope is a part of a section dealing with prophecy. A prophet like Moses is promised to replace the false prophets. This true Moses-like prophet will mediate Yahweh and the people. The passage explains how through Moses God provided for the institution ...

4920. In the Waiting Room

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed how uncomfortable people are when nothing is going on? The great pianist Rachmaninoff tells of giving a piano recital when he was very young. He began with a Beethoven sonata that had several long rests in it. During one of those long rests, a motherly lady leaned forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said kindly: “Honey, play us something you know.” There is an awkwardness in silence, in waiting. Do you remember your first date? Do you remember those long, painful periods of ...

4921. Don't Settle for Half A Glass

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

How many of you watched the Super Bowl religiously like I did last week? Some of you have told me that you watched so you could see the commercials and try and figure out which ones I'd use today. A number of you have told me you figured out which ones I wouldn't use. They were kind of obvious. Today is the first Sunday in Lent. Lent is that season of preparation for the devastation of Good Friday and the joy and celebration of Easter. It remembers and celebrates the preparation of Jesus on His road to the ...

4922. Lessons from Rephidim - Being the Lord's Intercessor

Exodus 17:8-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last Sunday we began to talk about Lessons from Rephidim. We said there were three lessons. One, being the Lord’s instrument; two, being the Lord’s intercessor; and, three, being inter dependent with the Lord’s people. We considered only the first lesson last Sunday. Today, we want to look at the other two. Our scripture story is a dramatic one. It was Israel’s first battle. They met the Amalekites at Rephidim. Joshua commanded the forces of Israel, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up on the mountain to pray ...

4923. The Heart of the Matter Is the Heart!

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Traditionalism is the living religion of the dead or the dead religion of the living. Tradition imagines that nothing worthwhile will ever again be done for the first time because everything worth doing has already been done. Therefore, traditionalism repeats what it imagined always was and what it imagines always will be. The problem with tradition for tradition's sake is a terminal case of spiritual heart disease. In this scripture reading, a delegation of religious leaders makes their way from Jerusalem ...

4924. Dealing with Cantankerous People

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old, old story about a cantankerous, crabby old man. His neighbors avoided him. His four boys moved away from home as soon as they could. You get the picture. His poor wife stood by him, but it was not easy. One night he went to bed and just slipped away. His four boys were called in. What should they do? “He was hard to live around,” one of them said, “and no one could get along with him, but he was our pa. We owe him a decent burial, out in the meadow beyond the field.” So they went out to ...

4925. Paul's Concern for the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

4:8 After proclaiming what the Galatians are, Paul reminds them of what they were. In contrast to their present state, in which they know God, the Galatians’ former life was one of slavery to those who by nature are not gods. This may recall Paul’s evangelistic preaching, in which he brought them to a recognition of the one God. Implicit in this description is the contrast between slavery and freedom, which will become an increasingly prominent theme of the letter. 4:9 Paul again describes and contrasts ...

Showing results