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 4926 to 4950 of 4962 results

4926. An Encounter across the Lake

Luke 8:26-39, Luke 8:22-25

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Jesus displays his unique power over both the natural elements and supernatural oppression. Understanding the Text Thus far, Jesus’s mission has been confined to the Jewish areas of Galilee, though we have heard of crowds from a wider area coming to hear him (6:17–18). The decision now to cross the lake takes him into Gentile territory on the eastern shore. It is only a brief visit, but it symbolizes the wider extension of the Jewish Messiah’s ministry to non-Jewish people, already signaled in 2: ...

4927. Lessons in Discipleship

Luke 17:11-19, Luke 17:1-10

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: True discipleship cannot be undertaken casually; the service of God demands all that we can bring to it. Understanding the Text In 17:11 Luke reminds us that Jesus and his disciples are still on the journey to Jerusalem. Much of the journey narrative (9:51–19:44) consists of teaching given to the disciples. In the last few chapters this has largely taken the form of parables, and we will return to parables at the beginning of chapter 18. But in this section we find four separate units of teaching ...

4928. What's in Your Wheelhouse...That You Can Offer Jesus?

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Father Jerry Fuller once told a story about a young couple in North Carolina who were set to open their own restaurant. All that was needed was the final health inspection and the issuing of their business permit. They were scheduled to receive the permit the next day. This occurred in September, 1989. The couple named their little restaurant “Our Place” and they were excited--as you might imagine--that they were finally ready to open. But that morning the winds and rains of Hurricane Hugo hit the Atlantic ...

4929. What Will We Do When He Is Gone?

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

John Dickinson understood the importance of being attentive to details. As an elected leader of his local congregation John insisted every decision of the church board follow proper procedure. As the in-house attorney for a small insurance company in a mid-western city, he paid close attention to every word in every corporate contract and insurance policy. John believed that there was a right and a wrong way to do everything. Consequently, he insisted that everything be done “decently and in good order.” ...

4930. An Absolute Cure for Boredom

Philippians 3:7-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you ever feel bored . . . like your life is in a rut . . . that your life is a big, fat zero? Comedian Brad Stine puts it this way, “I feel like I’m in a rut. Every time I go to bed at night, I find myself just getting up again the next morning.” Well, some of us are grateful just to get up the next morning . . . but there are many people, if they were to define their lives at its essence, would define their life with one word: boring! People will sometimes go to desperate measures to escape boredom. ...

4931. The Main Business of the Church

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Alice Lee Humphreys in her book Angels in Pinafores tells about her experiences as a first grade teacher. She tells about one little girl who came to school one winter day wearing a beautiful white angora beret with white mittens and a matching muff. As she was coming through the door, a mischievous little boy grabbed the white muff and threw it in the mud. After disciplining the little boy, the teacher sought to comfort the little girl. Brushing the mud off of her soiled muff, the little girl looked up at ...

4932. Driven to Complete

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

King Duncan

Would you consider yourself a competitive person? Or maybe I should ask, in what area are you most competitive? Maybe you’re competitive in getting the best grades in your class or the best parking spot at work. Maybe you compete to make the best pancakes in your family or tell the funniest knock-knock joke or to get up the earliest on Christmas morning. Humans are naturally competitive. We like to have an edge over those around us. Rabbi Harold Kushner tells the story of a driven young man in the pre-med ...

4933. Wash Up First For The Meal Before You Eat!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

"People just do not take the Lord's supper as seriously as they should. Perhaps it is the frequency with which we celebrate it. Too often we are merely going through the motions and not really getting out of it what we should. The problem is that we are not adequately prepared!" Oftentimes I run across Christians who think this way and even explain their feelings. I am not advocating these sentiments if they are taken as an argument against frequent celebration of the sacrament. We can never receive too ...

4934. Recollections of Reuben, Uncle of a Young Bethlehem Shepherd

Matthew 2:13-18

Drama

Robert A. Morgan

A Dramatic Monologue It's a great time for you to be asking questions now, after all the blood your soldiers spilled and all the pain and misery they brought to nearly every home in Bethlehem! Yes, I understand what you've said - you wouldn't have allowed such widespread killings if you had been King Herod, and not just a captain of his soldiers. You would have asked some questions first, and tried to narrow down the possibilities of which baby it might be that you had to kill. But, of course, if you had ...

4935. Dig In

Jeremiah 29:1-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

There is a story about a businessman who checked into a hotel late at night. He decided that he would stop in the lounge for a nightcap. Pretty soon he called the hotel desk, and asked, "What time will the lounge be opened in the morning?" The night clerk answered, "9:00 a.m." About an hour later he called again. The phone rang. The night clerk answered it. The businessman again asked, "What time will the lounge be opened in the morning?" He said, "9:00 a.m." He called a third time, and every hour ...

4936. What Will They Think Up Next?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Noah Webster, for whom the dictionary was named, was a lexicographer. He is responsible for the standardizing of American English at the beginning of the 19th century. As you might imagine, he was a stickler for the proper definition of words. One day his wife opened the kitchen door and discovered Noah kissing the maid. Mrs. Webster exclaimed, "Why Noah, I'm surprised!" He said, "No, my dear. We're surprised. You are amazed." A surprise refers to the unexpected. Amazement refers to being made speechless, ...

4937. The Great Physician

Matthew 4:23-25

Sermon

King Duncan

It was rumored that the owner of a certain hardware store had discovered a cure for arthritis. As you might imagine, this stirred a great deal of interest in the small town where the hardware store was located. One day, the locals saw a little old lady, bent over on her cane, enter the store for a visit. A little later this same lady came out walking almost perfectly straight with her head held high. The crowd cheered. “It’s a miracle!” they declared. Then they wondered. What did the owner of the hardware ...

4938. Pop Verses!: Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4:13

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Good morning! It is great to see everyone. I am excited because I begin a new message series today! It’s called “Pop Verses!” meaning “popular’ verses of scripture. It was tough for me to whittle down this list to seven. There are several popular Bible verses. However, I think I picked the ones that most people are very familiar with. And some of these may be your most favorite of all. In this series we are going to take a closer look at these pop verses and the context in which they appear. We are going ...

4939. Pentecost Communion Meditation: Monologue Of A Saint

Acts 2:42-47, Acts 2:14-41

Drama

Dr. Raymond Bailey

Theme: The Holy Spirit has, through the years, drawn us to Christ, that He might make us saints and family. Setting: Like Abraham, I set out on a journey. After twenty years teaching in a United Methodist Church college setting, I grew restless, but still did not know what to do with the rest of my life. For one year, I took a part-time appointment, a two-church circuit, 65 miles from my home in Lakeland, Florida. I had no idea whether I was up to the task of returning to the pastorate. How does one ...

4940. It's Performance That Counts

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Nothing aggravates me more than buying something that does not work when I get it home. Whether it is purchased at a local store or through the latest mail-order catalog, if the item does not live up to its advertised promises, I feel cheated. Most people do not mind spending money on those objects of their desiring, some of them necessary, others frivolous, provided they live up to the expectations which were made on the packaging. At one time or another, I suppose, we are all tricked by the slick ...

4941. OUR LORD SMITTEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

Nearly all the morning hours had been exhausted in the trial which left the centurion with the task of crucifying three condemned men. The sun was pressing toward its meridian, and the desert wind from the east which had prevailed during the night was quiet. A tense, hot stillness hung over Jerusalem, harsh as the dust that fogged the air, raised by the feet of thousands of pilgrims entering and leaving the temple compound. It clung to the skin and caked the nostrils, and the centurion longed for the day ...

4942. Return to Glory

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Richard Patt

And all who heard were completely amazed. "How well he does everything!" they exclaimed. "He even causes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!" (v. 37) An interesting aerial photograph was printed on the front page of our city’s evening newspaper recently. You must have noticed it. In a single, striking frame, the entire shoreline of Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to Sheboygan was pictured. The photograph encompassed an area of fifty miles from north to south. With some kind of X-ray-like film, the picture ...

4943. Hope In The Midst of Uncertainty

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I just read about two Senior Citizens who were out for their usual morning walk. They both had been complaining about the aches and pains of getting older. As they passed the local funeral home one of them turned to the other and said, "Look there's no hope of recovery, we're just getting older. Let's just go in and give ourselves up." (1) I also read about a For Sale ad in the Roanoke, Illinois, Review which read: "Hope chest: Brand new, half price, long story." (2) I'd like to know the story behind that ...

4944. The Flood

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Increase of Wickedness on Earth: This passage explains why God had to judge the inhabited earth with a deluge (6:9–8:22). It has two distinct sections: a description of the rapid increase in population, when the sons of God married daughters of men (vv. 1–4), and God’s response to human violence (vv. 5–8). The first section reports the population explosion, presumably spurred by the extraordinary marriages between the sons of God and the daughters of men. During that era superheroes are said to have ...

4945. Recognize that Bad Days Can Bring about Good

Ecclesiastes 7:1--8:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

6:10–10:20 Review · Positive Attitudes in the Light of Injustice and Uncertainty: After examining the major areas of life in his quest for lasting—or even limited—gain, Qoheleth proceeds in the second major section of the book (6:10–10:20) to inculcate positive attitudes regarding “how should we then live,” a foundational query of Francis Schaeffer. This presents a special challenge in a world marked by “transience” (Fredericks’s translation of hebel) and uncertainty and marred by injustice. In particular ...

4946. Are You Suffering from FOMO?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

I hate to admit it, but I admire advertisers and their ability to sell us products we didn’t even know we needed. Some of these advertisers are geniuses at convincing us that if we just had their product, it would fill some hole in our lives and would bring us complete satisfaction. One of the more famous ads along these lines came out in the early 1970s. It was an ad for Schlitz Beer. The ad implied that Schlitz Beer was the ultimate beer experience. The tagline went like this, “You only go around once in ...

4947. Here

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

The Seekers Sunday School Class was discussing what to do about Christmas. They were to have their annual Christmas party, but as a Sunday School class, they ought to do more. Gladys suggested that the class restore the custom of adopting a needy family, buying them clothes, food, whatever they needed, taking the stuff by on Christmas Eve. Good idea, Gladys. Adopt a needy family for Christmas. The Durham Morning Herald has a list of them. "Not so fast, Gladys," said Martha. "Christmas food baskets for the ...

4948. True Worship

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Will Willimon

"For this reason..." begins today's text from Ephesians. For what reason? What is the reason why Paul bows his "knees before the father?" What is the reason for him to fall stupefied, dumbfounded to his knees (in the words of the hymn) "lost in wonder, love, and praise?" What reason has moved Paul to worship? What reason thrusts you to your knees in praise and adoration? Here in the chapel, with the great organ sounding forth, great choir and congregation, that will move many to worship. What reason ...

4949. Creation Reborn

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When I was a pastor in rural southern Alberta, we held our Easter Sunrise worship services in a cemetery. It was difficult to gather in the dark, since neither mountains nor forests hid the spring-time sun, and the high desert plains lay open to almost ceaselessly unclouded skies. Still, we mumbled in hushed whispers as we acknowledged one another, and saved our booming tones for the final rousing chorus of “Up from the grave he arose…!” We did not shake the earth as much as we hoped. But we were confident ...

4950. Proper 23

Lk 17:11-19 · 2 Tim 2:8-15 · 2 Ki 5:14-17 · Mic 1:2, 2:1-10 · Ru 1:1-19a

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Micah 1:2, 2:1-10 The people's wickedness is described in spite of Yahweh's work. Through Micah Yahweh summons his people to judgment. Micah was a prophet to Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (740-690 BC). In 721 Sargon II, king of Assyria, captured Samaria and Israel as a nation was in ruins. Micah is sure the same fate awaited Judah because of similar sins. Micah lived in a small town among poor country people. As a spokesman for Yahweh, he was the champion of the poor who ...

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