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 622 results

26. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... So I want to share with you how to guard your mind, your soul, and your body; and at the same time protect your purity, your marriage, your home, your children, and your conscience, from this horrible sin. a. Saving Conversion If you want to avoid the whirlpool of sexual lust and sin that can suck you down its drain, I say, first of all, you must know Christ as your Lord and Savior. I don't care what your intentions are, how strong your willpower may be, how high your IQ is, you don't have a chance against ...

27. An Insatiable Appetite

Illustration

Richard Exley

... with a sexual experience, like a glass of water quenches thirst or a good meal satisfies appetite. But the more we attempt to appease our lust, the more demanding it becomes. There is simply not enough erotica in the world to satisfy lust's insatiable appetite. When we deny our lustful obsessions, we are not repressing a legitimate drive. We are putting to death an aberration. Lust is to the gift of sex what cancer is to a normal cell. Therefore, we deny it, not in order to become sexless saints, but ...

28. Two Adulterous Sisters

Ezekiel 23:1-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... vv. 14–15). Hezekiah’s overtures to Babylonian envoys (2 Kgs. 20:12–19//Isa. 39:1–8), which Scripture cites as a foreshadowing of the Babylonian conquest, may be what Ezekiel has in mind in verses 16–17. However, Oholibah quickly tires of the Babylonians. Her lust sated, she turns from them in disgust (v. 17; compare Amnon’s attitude toward Tamar in 2 Sam. 13:15–17). The Lord, meanwhile, has also been moved to disgust for his erstwhile bride: “I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had ...

29. A Second Look

Matthew 5:27-48

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:27-48 Some of you remember the uproar when President Jimmy Carter admitted to Playboy that he had committed "adultery of the heart." Big deal. Show me a man who has never once "looked at a woman lustfully" and thereby committed, in Jesus' words, "adultery with her in his heart" I will show you a candidate for a new heart. And though Matthew doesn't, I bet that the same could be said for the looks and the hearts of women. I remember, as a ...

30. You Can Take It to the Bank

2 Peter 3:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... , held up to scorn. He said: "Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the ... because they don't want anyone to interfere with their own personal brand of morality. That is, they want to "walk according to their own lusts." I am reminded of a story of a man who was fishing, and every time he caught a large fish he threw it away, ...

31. Nobody's Perfect--Except Jesus

Hebrews 4:15-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world." That is the way Eve was tempted. She was tempted with the lust of the eyes when she saw that the tree was "pleasant to the eyes"; with the lust of the flesh when she saw that it was "good for food"; and with the pride of life when she saw that it was a "tree desirable to make one wise." As you will see, the Lord Jesus was tempted in exactly the same way; and the way He was ...

32. God's Prescription for a Healthy Christian

Jude 1:17-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... into ludeness." He said in v.7, "They have given themselves over to sexual immorality." He says in v.13, "They are raging waves of the sea foaming up their own shame." He says in v.16, "They walk according to their own lusts." He says in v.18 again, "They walk according to their own ungodly lusts." Do you know the real reason apostates deny the Word of God? They don't want God telling them how to live. Mark Twain was an atheist, but he said something one time that has the great ring of truth. He said, "It ...

33. Bring It On

Hebrews 4:15-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... . There is nothing wrong with eating, but there is plenty wrong with gluttony. There is nothing wrong with beauty, but there is something wrong with vanity. Jesus realizing this said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." (v.4) b. Then the lust of the eyes refers to personal ambition. "Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for ...

34. Act Quickly - Catch It Early

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... .” (3) This is the way temptation works. We are drawn in little by little until a fence is built around us. It may begin with a glance . . . a casual remark . . . a phone call . . . and eventually heartbreak. Do not let sin take root in your heart whether it be anger or lust or whatever it may be. Get rid of it. Act quickly. Let it go. But how do you do that? The best way to let go of negative, hurtful emotions or desires is to turn to God. Don’t try to handle it alone. Leslie Dunkin once told about a ...

35. Small Sin, Large Grace

2 Samuel 11:26-27, 12:1-13a

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... tomb opens, we hide and reveal simultaneously important things to ourselves. David will have to forget and remember what he did to Uriah. He will never be the same. I believe that sin like David's is very real. He was a man of great sorrow, great lust — and great triumph. All of this, way before Jesus, mimics the life of Jesus. No, Jesus did not commit adultery or murder. But yes, Jesus was a man acquainted with sorrow. I used to add to the Eucharistic prayer a sentence, "Thou whom even nuclear holocaust ...

36. Your Home Page

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and spirits the agonies of those who are tortured. As members of one body those who are free and those who are imprisoned are “bound together” (“syndein”), even as kinfolk share a common bond. The next two admonitions urge believers to avoid the temptations of lust. First cited is the sin of physical lust, which “defiles” the sanctity of marriage. The author warns that acts of sexual immorality, and outright adultery, will be judged by God. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 these two forms of physical ...

37. Hebrews 13: 1-8; 15-16

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

38. The Living Stone and a Chosen People

1 Peter 2:4-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... ’s will and God’s grace, such abstinence is a practical possibility for the Christian—however much the world may claim that such inward desires are (in its view) natural and their satisfaction legitimate. Sinful desires is tōn sarkikōn epithymiōn, lit. “fleshly lusts.” The adjective sarkikōn is from sarx, flesh, and here takes on the usual Pauline meaning of “the seat of human passion and frailty which leaves God out of account.” On sarx, see Turner, pp. 176–78, 297, 418. On epithymia ...

39. Signs and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17, Ezekiel 6:1-14, Ezekiel 7:1-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... own righteousness. Instead, the Lord has preserved them as witnesses to their own complicity in Jerusalem’s destruction: “those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols” (v. 9). The language of infidelity here is not unique to Ezekiel. In the ancient world, it was common to personify a city or nation as a woman, and to regard it as the royal consort of its patron god (see the ...

40. “Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave”: Power Poisons the Conscience

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... the narrator earlier depicted Saul in Samson-like terms (see comments on 1 Sam. 10:7; 11:6; 14:24), and now David looks very Saul-like (see comments on vv. 1 and 14 below). These echoes of Samson and Saul create tension in the plot. Will David’s lust be fatal, as it was for Samson? Will the Lord reject David, as he rejected Saul? As the story unfolds, we discover that the answer is “no” in both cases. God preserves David and retains him as king in accordance with his promise (2 Sam. 7:14). Yet David ...

41. The Pointer

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... the cross..." He choked on each word. The bishop who told the story, pointed to a high crucifix, and said, "I am that boy." 1. Herodias was the object of Herod the tetrach's guilty passion and lust while both were married to other people. Herod broke up both marriages to have the object of his lust. John the Baptist condemned the guilty pair. Herodias took revenge by plotting the death of John the Baptist. 2. The Baptism of Jesus is capitalized in this section to distinguish it from other kinds of baptism ...

Perhaps as good a classification as any of the main types is that of the three lusts distinguished by traditional Christianity - the lust of knowledge, the lust of sensation, and the lust of power.

Irving Babbitt

43. The Sending Plan (Alternate title: Our Human Predicament)

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... -so") has done to me." Revenge gets a foothold, encourages us to hold onto it, grows in stature and control, begins to take possession of our life, and eventually says, "You are mine; you belong to me." Unless this demon is cast out, division sets in. Lust is a demon too. Starting naturally as a sexual desire, it can take over the mind of a person, gaining control, making everything stand behind it in importance and ruining many a life. Martin Luther said: "You can't keep the birds of temptation from flying ...

44. Competition In The Kingdom?

Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... Lord on that first Easter (Mark 16:1ff). The woman had, or was to receive so much glory. Yet it was not enough; she wanted more. She asked Jesus to give her two sons the highest place possible in the kingdom. Is not that kind of discontent, that sort of lust for recognition and reputation, the way it is with us? We faithful followers of Jesus are never fully content, are we? Of course, when we are not content with all that has been given us, we are not being faithful. Yet at any rate, it is true, we are not ...

45. The Time Is Coming

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Paul W. F. Harms

... of the old dream, its need for the exclusive. Not so here. This is for all. It eliminates the prestigious difference, the lust for the exclusive. How much do we experience that which is applicable for all? Those who breathe, those who face death, are ... . To that the other replied, "Yes, but that was yesterday. What has he done for me today?" It is well to remember that the lust for the security of the brick yards of Egypt can all too readily quickly outweigh the promise of the wilderness. Grace does not lose ...

46. The Time Is Coming

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

... . A man was once complaining about his lot in life. A friend recalled a long series of blessings that God had given him. To that the other replied, "Yes, but that was yesterday. What has he done for me today?" It is well to remember that the lust for the security of the brick yards of Egypt can all too readily quickly outweigh the promise of the wilderness. Grace does not lose its touch, but we can all too readily lose our touch with grace and find ourselves back in the days before Jeremiah’s brilliant ...

47. Was I Baptized Right?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Kendall K. McCabe

... have both in order to be saved. And, again, there are very clear directions about how each is to be accomplished. Let's get baptized right! That's what it means to be saved! Or does it? There is another portion of today's Gospel that might ease our lust for supernatural security if we would but trust it. We memorize it enough; enough of us declare it to be our favorite Bible verse. Perhaps the time has come to believe it. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him ...

48. No Weedless Garden

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... aware of the constant temptation to cover up. "How many of you want to go to heaven?" the church school teacher asks. The entire class raises their hands, even though heaven is the farthest thing from any of the children's minds. "How many of you lust after the flesh?" a fiery pastor may ask his congregation. Only a few hands tremble upwards, even though everyone present knows the addiction of his or her own intense desires. These may not be the best examples, but they may be good enough. We know the right ...

49. Draw Nigh To God

James 4:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... world around us. It is the world that creates havoc in every part of our life. It is the influence of the world--the lust for power, the passion for control, the desire to do as we please, the insistence that things be done our way that creates strife ... else to pray that your transportation need will be met in the form of a BMW. That's playing leap-frog with a unicorn. The "lusts" that war within us reduce our prayers to selfishness and cause us to try to use God, rather than giving ourselves to be used by ...

50. When Jesus Comes

Luke 8:22-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Jesus it can be a mighty force. A fellow said to a friend, "I see that you've succeeded in conquering your temper". No, said the man, I didn't conquer it. Jesus conquered it for me. We could talk about it in any number of ways -- anger, lust, acquisitiveness, jealousy, competitiveness. But you get the point. So, it is a losing battle unless Jesus gives us the calm of victory over anger. When Jesus comes, He calms the storm of passion. II. My second word is this: When Jesus comes He calms the storm of sorrow ...

Showing results