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 5000 results

4901. Christmas Is Out of Control

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

John Jamison

... welcoming a nice, new kingdom that gives us that control and opportunity to repay others. It is something bigger. And it is not important for us to worry about when change will take place. Our task is to simply be ready. And that simply means to love God, and love your neighbor as you love yourself… no more, no less. That is what it means to be ready. That is all we can do. That is all that we control. But, going all the way back to where we started, what does this have to do with Christmas? Again, to me ...

4902. Shiny Objects

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... carry the presence and the Spirit and the intentions of God into every moment of our lives, every interaction, into all our plans for the future. There are so many Bible verses on worshiping and serving God. But the overwhelming theme of them all is to put God’s love into action and do good works. We worship and serve God when we do good works for others. This is the purpose the devil wants us to reject. That is the devil’s ultimate goal, to make us reject God’s will for our lives. To chase after some ...

4903. The Hedge

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... toward those we don’t know or don’t agree with. We can find all kinds of conditions, exceptions, or reasons to justify feeling the way we do. In all of these cases, Jesus calls us out. He calls us to commit to the truth of what it means to love God and others (the shema or commandment we swear by but hedge much of the time) and to live authentic lives defined by a covenant with God. In the Pacific Northwest resides a kind of tree that seems to defy all standards of what it means to be a tree ...

4904. More Fully Understanding Christ

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... organization, Wendy was intimidated. She didn’t think she had the skills or resources to create something so impactful. But then, a thought popped into her head: As she put it, “The Lord created the one and only me for 1 purpose which is to share the love of Christ with others. And just like that, the 1U Project was born.” (6) With the help of her church, she collected money and clothes for the children of Ukraine. She also led trips to the Ukraine to introduce her friends to the orphanage. Her hope ...

4905. The New Family

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Will Willimon

... the prophet, Isaiah says, "The days will come when the foreigner will no longer say, 'The Lord will separate me from his people.' The days will come when the eunuch will no longer say, 'O I am just a dry stick.' The days will come when the eunuch who loves me and my house and my covenant shall have a name written in my house and my covenant which shall be better than a thousand sons and daughters and will be remembered forever." This man has been up to chapel, up to Jerusalem foraging around in the Bible ...

4906. That Beautiful Raggedy Doll

Luke 1:26-38

Illustration

Angela Akers

... Day 1988, a beautiful story by Karen Zautyk appeared in the New York Daily News titled “Remember, It is Love That Makes Us Rich.” The story tells about a place in Edinburgh, Scotland, called The Museum of Childhood. This ... tears to your eyes because it is so pitiful. And because it is so very, very beautiful” because some slum child loved it so much. Then the author of this article adds these meaningful words: “If you cannot appreciate the story of that raggedy doll, you cannot appreciate the story of ...

4907. How About Some Applause for the Creator?

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

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... That is why you and I are here this evening—to join in the applause. To celebrate an occasion so beyond our understanding that all we can do is stare in awe and wonder. God became human flesh that He might reveal to us the power of His great love . . . for us and for all people. It’s interesting. When they laid the first transatlantic cable across the bed of the Atlantic Ocean to Europe they sought to find just the right words to be the first words to be broadcast over that line. And you know what they ...

4908. The Little Bible

John 3:14-21

Children's Sermon

Various Authors

... have one of these in your home. (Children respond.) Now when I open this Bible, there is something inside it. Know what it is? (Children guess.) (Presenter opens the Bible.) Look what I found. I found a heart. And written on the heart are these words: “For God so loved the world he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” That’s John 3:16. Martin Luther called John 3:16 the heart of the Bible. John 3:16 is the Bible in miniature, the Bible made ...

4909. That Mountaintop Moment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... their minds touched the finger of the God in a way that caused what we might call a “mountaintop experience,” a kind of ecstatic encounter that left us assured that in the vastness of the universe, we are not alone.That God lovingly created humankind and this one-of-a-kind, exquisite world feels overwhelming and beautiful, doesn’t it? We as human beings have appreciated this realization from the beginning of time. Throughout the scriptures, we read reports of those who experienced a “little stroke ...

4910. Come to the Feast

Isaiah 25:6-9

Eulogy

George Reed

... be taken away and we will feast with light hearts in the presence of our God. This is what God desires for us. This is the love that God offers us each and every day. Today we are all too aware of what it means to cry and to mourn and yet underneath ... that is: the sense that God is with us and desires to heal our hurts. We have come together today to mourn the loss of our loved one, [NAME]. In the past few days we have known crying and mourning as we prepared for this service, this time of saying goodbye. And ...

4911. Hope in the Midst of Despair

Isaiah 40:28-31 · Psalm 23 · Revelation 21:1-7 · John 14:1-4, 18-19, 25-27

Eulogy

George Reed

... us. We often turn to the wonderful imagery of the book of Revelation with its promise of no more tears and no more sorrow. We love the image of God dwelling among us and of us being God’s people. We are comforted by the idea of there being no more ... to not let our hearts be troubled. Jesus gives us these promises even as he knows he is facing his own arrest, crucifixion, and death. The love of Jesus is so strong for us that even in the face of his own execution, he gives us words of comfort. He spoke them to ...

4912. Jesus Walks With Us

Luke 24:13-35

Eulogy

George Reed

... doesn’t it? Not only that we have heard the story before but because it sounds a lot like what we have experienced. One whom we loved and on whom we counted is gone from our midst. We are in grief and on the brink of despair. We feel like our world has ... have come to share what [NAME] has meant to us. We have come to hear from scripture and to hear some explanation of where God’s love is in the midst of all of this. Perhaps at some time, if not today then later in our grieving, our eyes may be opened and ...

4913. And the Sea Was No More

Revelation 21:1-7

Eulogy

George Reed

... find it today in the presence of family and friends who mourn and cry with us; who laugh and remember with us. We look forward to that day when the waters of chaos will be gone completely and we shall gather in the presence of God and of all our loved ones. Let us continue to care for one another in the weeks and months ahead doing all we can to join God in keeping the waters of grief from overwhelming each other. Let us remember that God’s plan is for a brighter day where we will bask in the ...

4914. Marketplace Christianity

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... like to say that Jesus never speaks within scripture without paraphrasing or quoting a passage from the Hebrew texts. His words and actions both in our scripture today lie deeply entrenched in what we might call God’s “gentile” mission –God’s desire to love, honor, and protect all created people.In fact, the very meaning of “house” in all of these scriptures drives this home: “My ‘house’ will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples (tribes)” (Isaiah 56:7).The word bayit or bet ...

4915. Shake It Off

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... s easy to become frustrated and want to give up when we feel our attempts at mission or relationships are useless. But Jesus’ message is clear. Let that debris that is cluttering up your life go! Dust yourself off and keep on moving. Go out to my people in love. Love them. Heal them. Share with them the good news of the gospel. Be kind, be humble, be in service, make it simple. Don’t feel defensive if they don’t hear you right away or even ever. Don’t feel you’ve failed if someone doesn’t want ...

4916. Beloved

Mark 7:24-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... There he would not only heal a man deaf and mute, but he would duplicate his feeding of the Jewish people by feeding 4,000 plus gentiles, with 7 baskets remaining, driving home to his disciples that all people are God’s beloved. And he will heal, love, bless, feed every one of them that he can! In our world today, we can be so easily tempted to “demonize” or “separate” others according to our bias and their perceived differences. But our eyes can easily deceive us! For we have more in common than ...

4917. The Power of Weakness

Mark 8:27-38 · Psalm 19

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... a bar down the street from my house in Wisconsin — there’s a bar down every street — the bar I have in mind had a sign that says, “Rules just slow you down.” That’s how most of us look at laws, so the Hebrew appreciation, even love of law takes us by surprise. And yet, there are moments when I am grateful, very grateful for clear, concise instructions. An unbreakable deadline, for example, is as much a gift as a burden. For example, Thursday is sermon writing day for me, and I know when Thursday ...

4918. Bread for the Journey

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... margin. The vote on the controversial topic itself was much more lopsided. The most interesting vote of the day was a vote on how to vote! Do you see why Presbyterians sometimes seem baffling and odd to other Christians? This is why we need to love the process and to love the journey. It helps if we really believe that “getting there is half the fun,” because the road is often so long and has so many bends and hills that it seems that we’ll never arrive anywhere. The reading from Ruth this morning is ...

4919. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... was for telescopes — it caught my eye because of the words, “Prove to your kids they’re not the center of the universe.” There was a man and a boy, presumably father and son, looking into the night sky with a telescope on a tripod.[1] I love astronomy. I love looking up into the night sky. Anytime there’s an eclipse, aurora display, comet, super moon, or anything else unusual in the sky, I want to see it and want my family to see it with me. The psalms tell us the heavens declare the glory of God ...

4920. Christ, Our King

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

4921. In the Mirror

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... want to know! We all want to know! But Jesus did not tell us. He dropped the father’s words on us like a blanket of love and then went quietly. He looked us in the eye until we grew uncomfortable. We do not know what to say, and Jesus will not say ... tale. We catch sight of ourselves first, in the selfish, stupid, sickened, and surprised eyes of the younger brother, the one who does not merit love and yet receives it from the father in abundance. We are the ones who come home to a father and a family we do ...

4922. The Art of Reflection

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... all have been created.[2] When we see God and ourselves clearly, we know ourselves to be beautiful creations of a God who dearly loves us. We see the glory of God reflected within ourselves. Or in other words, we see ourselves in the way that God sees us ... truly see ourselves as God’s beloved children, we can’t help but reflect God’s glory, God’s grace, and God’s love in our hearts and in everything we do. When God’s blessings manifest in our lives, our relationships, our work, and our purpose ...

4923. God Soaked

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a fallacy. And second, any sin can be redeemed by God with an act of repentance. We might add a third: we as humans love number two for ourselves, and hate number two for others. Let’s look at the first part of our passage. At the time Jesus ... off the charts –whether sins of others or sins of our own. Jesus in no uncertain terms tell us an emphatic NO! Jesus, full of love, grace, compassion, and care for all people –even those steeped in the sins of judging and bias—can be and will be redeemed by God ...

4924. Stay Close

John 10:22-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is provider! He is nurturer! He is protector! He is leader! He is Jesus! He and the Father are ONE! All we need to do is listen for Jesus’ voice and follow him. Just stay close in his presence, and our lives will be safe and sound in God’s loving hands. Why? Because Jesus is our divine Nurturer, our most beloved “person.” He knows us. He knows who we are. He sees into the reaches of our hearts, and he knows the workings of our minds. He knows where we falter, and he knows the depths of our faith. He ...

4925. The Accent Of Heaven

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... the light stood watch against the darkness, and cared for those who have been crippled by the attacks of sin’s beasts. That is why Jesus’ little team of disciples is the vanguard of heaven’s restorative civilization. And the leading quality which identifies them is love. Here is where civilization begins in the dark jungles of earth. The Accent Of Heaven A scene from Tony Campolo’s life makes us think about this in fresh ways. When Tony spoke at a conference in Hawaii, it took a while for his body ...

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