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 26 to 50 of 399 results

26. A New Creation in Hope

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

... was preparing to write this sermon, I was listening to a song from a Christian music duo For King and Country. They are two men from Australia. I was listening to their song titled “Crave” and the lyrics of that song reminded me how much we, and the world, need hope. Look up those lyrics. They are powerful words. Hope is what we crave ― as individuals, families, and nations. Hope is what we need. Hope is God’s mark on us. Hope is what we each and all can use to transform, to reorder the world into a ...

27. Last But Yet First

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... , your wanting, your coveting, your wrong asking, your friendship with the world, your pride." It is fitting that Jesus gives his second summary of his sacrifice just before pointing up this sin of wanting to be the greatest. He came to change us, to alter our constant craving for greatness. And his method was to welcome us, no matter what we were like, to make himself the servant of all, to be last and least, so that we could be forgiven and made first. Oh, of course ... you say that Jesus made the easy ...

28. Bad Timing

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Thomas Long

... in her, to discern the sort of bad timing that threatens to undo us all. Let us try, then, to see ourselves in her, to grasp how her drive typifies and represents what is in us, too. First, this mother's question expresses a fundamental human craving for recognition. We all want that, too. Behind even the most humble and self-sacrificial face there is a human being who covets stature and credit. Andy Warhol predicted a future in which every person would achieve the universal human quest to be famous, but ...

29. Water Won't Quench The Fire

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

William G. Carter

... every religious practice that does not point to him. Beyond the rituals, the holy days, and the temple liturgies, Jesus points to himself as the One who satisfies our deepest craving. The Gospel of John claims the one human desire is to know God, to taste God, for that is the essence of life. If the primary human craving is a thirst for God, it will not be quenched through cassette tapes on human potential or self-fulfillment seminars. The heart of Christian spirituality is taking in Jesus Christ through ...

30. Ascension Day

Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Mark 16:1-20, Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... would carry with them through life; that blessing would empower them. Like those first disciples, we need Christ's blessing; we must know that, in spite of our spiritual cowardice and weakness, he still loves us. In a like manner, children desperately crave the blessing of their mother and father. Children need this final blessing before their parents make their final exit. Outline: 1. The last image of Christ carried by his disciples was of his arms extended in blessing of them. -- This blessing showed ...

31. Proper 20

Proverbs 31:10-31, Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-18; 4:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... is peaceable, gentle and willing to yield in a spirit of love. James believes that all conflicts and disputes issue from internal craving and desire. The lust of things leads to violence. Rather than take what we want, Christians should ask God for the ... things we need. The reason we don't receive what we pray to God for is because we only desire to satisfy our own selfish cravings. James issues a call to take sides. If we are friends with the world, we are enemies of God (v. 4). In summation, his advice: ...

32. Chapter X

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... . Too often they are infected with chamad. We get to loving something someone else has, something other than we have, and we want more, and more and more. And it is amazing how much we will sacrifice to try to fill our lives full of these things we crave. Men will give up almost anything to acquire what they think they want. We will work at jobs we hate because they pay higher wages. We will moonlight at two, maybe three jobs to make payments on houses we can’t afford and are miserable living in while ...

33. The Jamie Farr Connection

Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

... thought of gain. Listen to him as Klinger on M*A*S*H speaks of his longing to go back home to Toledo and of his cravings for Tony Packo’s hot dogs. Those ad libs are from the heart; he’s not trying to make a buck on them. And if some ... a deeper motivation for these vows of devotion. They’re an imitation of God’s own example of devotion to us. Like small children craving to imitate the father we adore, our oaths of allegiance are but the mirror responsives of his oaths of allegiance to us. And the ...

34. Why Prophets Get Under Our Skin

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... and warfare all over the world. Whether it is the poor of Northern Ireland, or the poor of Chiapas, Mexico, or the poor of India, or the poor Palestinians shoved into overcrowded refugee camps, or the poor of East Harlem, the prophets forever speak for those who crave a place in the sun to call their own -- a place where they can work with dignity and enjoy the fruits of their labors without harassment and exploitation. And those of us who are rich and well-off and privileged don't like the sound of the ...

35. The Ten Commandments #2: No Idols!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... commentator writes, these folks want "a settled, sovereign God who...is only a set of fixed propositions that give certitude and stability."(7) Wrong and dangerous. We call that sin "Bibliolatry." "You shall not make for yourself an idol." You see how easy it is? Yes, we crave more certainty...but we are not to look for it in images or pictures that take on an importance that is not really their due, not in words that tell an incomplete story. God warns what will happen if we do. The sin will be passed on ...

36. Jesus, Where Are You?

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... though they may not be able to give name to it, and even though, because of the baggage the name Jesus carries in the world, some may violently disavow such a need. The beggar in the slum of Calcutta and the banker on Wall Street both have this same basic craving, "Sir, we would see Jesus." We need Jesus for life. We need Jesus to give meaning to our existence. We need Jesus to forgive us our sins. And so, we ask with those Greeks, "Sir, WE would see Jesus. Where DO we see Jesus?" I can think of some places ...

37. Marriages That Last

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... ) We probably should break down into small groups and confirm whether this is true or not. My guess is that it is. We still live in a world that does not accord women the respect that it does men. Many women crave the feeling that their opinions really matter. They crave the feeling that their spouse is willing to make the same kind of sacrifices for them that they make for their spouse. Debi Dietz Crawford, a Colorado elementary school teacher, received an unexpected wedding gift from her third-grade class ...

38. A Converting Presence

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... we give out too soon. I could go on and on and so could you, up and down the ladder according to who is making the list. The need to belong, the fear of failure, the craving for attention, the passion for security, the obsession with power, the longing for intimacy, the seductive power of glamour, the craving for comfort, the pull of the familiar. Are you overwhelmed with the list? Have you ever taken the time to really look at those drives and instincts and passions that are stirring within? What do we ...

39. What Making a Difference Looks Like

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... about it; he was the one who was strong enough in God to be gentle and meek with people; he was the one who more than anyone craved with his deepest appetites to see God’s will come to pass. He said as much in John 4, “My food is to do the will ... are those who mourn; then the experience of standing powerless and unable to make anything happen, blessed are the meek; and finally a craving for God that is as sharp as the ache of an empty belly and as demanding as dehydration. “Blessed are those who hunger ...

40. The Heart of an Intimate Matter

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... use it; why not the church? We should fear the God who sees the thoughts of our hearts and who knows just when the line between appreciation and lust is crossed. And if you are among those men and women who have nurtured an appetite for lust because you crave the thrill of the forbidden and the rush of adrenalin, then I invite you to the only war that matters which is the war for your soul being waged within yourself. You are a battlefield; you are contested ground. God will not allow you in the long term ...

41. Put Up and Shut Up

Proverbs 18:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... not do anywhere else in Proverbs. He repeats, word for word, a proverb in two different places. Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 are identical: "The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body." The ear craves gossip like a hungry stomach craves good food. That's why Solomon goes on to give this warning: "He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips." (Prov. 20:19) Your kids will have one of two tendencies ...

42. Our Own Wilderness Experience

Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

Leah Grace Goodwin

... Son of God be tempted by something that is potentially sinful? Spirit-filled, sanctified, spiritually vibrant Christians are still subject to temptation. Jesus was hungry. There was nothing wrong with craving bread after a forty-day fast. All of us have certain desires, wants, needs, both physical and emotional. We crave food when we are hungry. We need companionship, acceptance, approval of others, love and appreciation. These are legitimate needs. And even our wants are not necessarily sinful. How then do ...

43. Why Jesus Didn't Perform Funerals

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... awake before he heard the alarm. He took his time getting to the office, strolled in and said to his boss, “I didn’t have a bit of trouble getting up this morning.” “That’s fine,” replied the boss, “but where were you yesterday.” It is rest many of us crave and in some cases that is what we need. But many others of us are more tired than we need to be. The source of our fatigue is mental and emotional. We come home from work and we are exhausted. We hardly have energy to get out of the chair ...

44. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... 's being. Therein lies the primary difference between love and lust, a problem according to Jesus as serious as adultery. Let's take a closer look. How do we move from lust to love? A. LUST: According to the dictionary lust is an intense, self-indulgent, unrestrained sexual craving. Yes, we can lust for money, lust for power, even lust for life, but today I want to think specifically about sexual lusting. The Church Fathers called it a deadly sin. Jesus said it's worth an eye and a hand to get rid of it. In ...

45. The Prayer Life of Highly Effective Christians

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... But God chose to ignore that prayer. Then he prayed, “If I can’t die, please take away this awful pain.” The doctors gave him drugs to ease the pain, but he was becoming dangerously dependent on them. So he prayed, “Lord, please take away this craving for drugs.” Gradually, the craving left him. Then he prayed, “Please let me be able to swallow again. Let them take this tube out of my throat and these needles out of my arms. If I can just drink a little water, I’ll try not to ask for any more ...

46. Oops! I Didn't See You

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... be the bride; when he goes to a funeral, he wants to be the corpse.” (4) Have you ever been around a child who is starved for attention? They’re on every playground. Some of them can be a nuisance. If they do not get the attention they crave, some of them can end up being a life-long problem for society. Who in their own family doesn’t even see them? Of course, children are not the only ones who are starved for attention spouses, aging family members, shut-ins, people with disabilities. Our reticular ...

47. WWF: Smack Down In The Wilderness

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to do anything if I don't want to." Envy; the desire for the traits, status, or abilities of another. We call it jealousy, it doesn't rejoice in the blessings of others. It curses their good fortune because it didn't happen to the envious person. Gluttony: the craving and desire to consume more than is needed or required. It's pulling the stool up to the buffet and eating because it's there and you want to get as much as you can. Pride: the excessive belief in one's own abilities that interferes with the ...

48. Soul Bread!

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry" (Luke 4:1-2). It was no momentary craving for a snack that Jesus needed. He was hungry for real food. In that time of extreme hunger, Satan tried to break the weakened Savior and undermine the kingdom of God. The passage goes on, "The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone ...

49. Lick to Death

Illustration

Chris T. Zwingelberg

... discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just ...

50. No Cleansing, No Refreshment

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... slough off” some part of our ordinary lives in order to let something new be exposed. The only reason to “give up” something for Lent is if every time you crave a chocolate or long for a steak or loath going to the gym, that “roughed-up” moment reminds you of why you have sloughed off sweets or meat or sloth. Every craving should remind you of Christ. If you are “cleansing” your temple, your mind/body/spirit through some daily act, then there should be a daily renewal, a daily encounter with ...

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