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 476 to 500 of 1245 results

476. The Flight From Light

Isaiah 60:1-22, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Erskine White

... hope, certain beyond a doubt that a light will shine in our lives and in this troubled world which no amount of darkness can overcome. Teach us to seek Your light and not to flee it. Help us overcome our fear that Your light will change us and make us eager for that transformation. Loosen the grip which darkness has upon us, that our deepest yearnings may yet be realized as we walk in communion with our Lord in the light of His love. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

477. Wheel Within The Wheel

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... brings this leadership business into healthy focus: "I exhort the elders (leaders) among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it - not for sordid gain, but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, be examples to the flock." (v. 1-3) Our best example of leadership is Jesus Christ. In these important words, he warned his disciples about the perils of leadership: But Jesus called them to him and ...

478. Terminally Distracted Or Decisively Prepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Joseph M. Freeman

... 's Second Coming, we cannot enter his kingdom with him if we don't truly believe. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). I'm more eager to obey God, the more I believe in and love Him. I know this to be true for myself. Is it applicable to you? It warns us that there are certain things which cannot be borrowed. The foolish virgins found it impossible to borrow oil, when they discovered they ...

479. Resurrection: From Slave to Child

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... flayed the air with palm branches. Riding that white donkey was Jesus. He was welcomed along the way from Bethany. Every stone’s throw distance he stopped to talk with the people. His route had been heralded earlier. Now the crowds that had so eagerly sought his teaching and healing in the Galilee shouted out their joy with his arriving at the gate of Jerusalem. The donkey, with its special cargo, slowed during the final ascent to the city. The road pitched higher. The crowds were greater. The branches ...

480. A Man Who Wanted to Burn a City

Luke 9:46-50

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... . Jesus answered, "Now, wait a minute; you don’t know what you’re saying." And he asked if they were willing to pay the price: "Are ye able," he continued, "are ye able to drink the cup that I’m going to drink?" John, filled with eagerness, responded, "Yes - anything" (Mark 10:35-40). And over the years ahead, John the beloved disciple did drink of that cup. He lived a life of hardship, captivity, exile, difficulty, persecution; he did share the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. Now again we must remember ...

481. When Something is About to Happen

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Thomas Long

... whose role seems insignificant until the denouement discloses that his lines held the key to the truth all along, the early Christians risked the shame of the world, confidently awaiting the final act. We have all known, in small ways, the energy an eagerly anticipated future can give to our actions in the present. The expectant parents who find joy in what would otherwise be toil: assembling the crib, painting the nursery, practicing the pushing and the breathing. The residents of a town who mow the lawns ...

482. They Also Serve Who Wait

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Thomas Long

... light of God that they waited. They did what they could, and they waited. And, Luke tells us, God did come to them. Who knows what they were expecting, but surely it was not this: a fragile baby bundled into the Temple by two young parents who were eager to obey the ritual law of purification, but who were too poor to afford the sacrifice of a lamb and brought with them instead the acceptable substitute, a pair of birds. A man, a woman, two birds, and a baby. Can this be the heralded and hoped-for coming ...

483. Knowing the Secret

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Thomas Long

... has a secret, and the spinner of tales has to decide whether to let them know about the secret early in the story or to surprise them with it at the end. Mystery writers often hold back the secret until the last chapter, keeping us eagerly turning the pages to discover who really poisoned the heiress or pushed Colonel Whitington down the elevator shaft. The same is true of soap operas. "Will Marletta find true happiness with Jason the chauffeur?" the old radio announcers would intone. "Tune in tomorrow for ...

484. Party in Room 210 ... Everyone Invited

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Thomas Long

... just might be a party going on somewhere to which we were all invited - a party where it didn’t make much difference who we were when we walked in the door, or what motivated us to come; a party we could come to out of boredom, loneliness, curiosity, responsibility, eagerness to be in fellowship, or simply out of a desire to come and see what was happening; a party where it didn’t matter nearly as much what got us in the door, as what would happen to us after we arrived. Perhaps if there is to be such a ...

485. Hot Tubs and Fishing Trips

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Thomas Long

... ’t know ... What I say I don’t feel What I feel I don’t show What I show isn’t real What is real, Lord - I don’t know ...5 When life is as confusing and disorienting as a ball bouncing in a wildly spinning Roulette wheel, we are eager for it to come to rest on a number, any number, as long as it promises a framework of identity and meaning, be it losing ourselves in work or finding ourselves in God. The problem with this kind of change is that when we go looking to "find ourselves," we ...

486. A Tempting and Lonely Place

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Thomas Long

... is nothing more tempting than a lonely place. "And in the morning," Mark tells us, "a great while before day, Jesus rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35). There is nothing more tempting than a lonely place, and most of us search eagerly for such a location. For some of us, the lonely place is actually a place, a spot high in the mountains where the air is hushed and the world below seems serene, a rock on the edge of the ocean where we can lose our thoughts among the restless ...

487. How Can We Meet Grief?

2 Samuel 18:19--19:8

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... setting out from one place to another nearby." Five hundred years later, in A.D. 627, the court of King Edwin of Northumbria awaited the first Christian missionary to arrive in that area. His name was Paulinus. The old hall was blazing with torches. A crowd of eager listeners waited to hear what the visitor would say. A bearded old earl stood up in his place and asked, "Can this new religion tell us what happens after death? The life of man is like a swallow flying through this lighted hall. It enters in at ...

488. Where Can We Find Wisdom?

Proverbs 2:1-22

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... in looking before him and seeing the possibilities in flowers and plants? He testified to his own outlook in this way: "It is my theory that there are no outcasts in nature; everything has a use, and everything in nature is beautiful if we are eager to ennoble it. Every weed is a possible beautiful flower." How similar was the wisdom of the Divine Gardener, our Lord Jesus Christ! When Mary Magdalene first saw the risen Christ in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea, she thought he was the gardener. Maybe ...

489. God’s Dwelling Place

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... eliminated from life? The deepest love stories, for one thing. You cannot name one that is not filled with this strange but common mystery: waiting is worked into the design of any true lover’s life. How could we ever find life if we were too impatient - too eager for a shallow species of gusto - ever to wait for it?* * (Eugene Kennedy, A Time for Being Human, New York, Simon and Shuster, 1977, p. 193) To be fully conscious that God was loving the world in his Son Jesus Christ is to come to terms with the ...

490. What Do We Do Now That We’re Happy?

Isaiah 62:1-12

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... day, every relationship, and every responsibility must be infused with a portion, no matter how small, of the wedding magic. Then, indeed, lives are transformed forever. To fulfill the expectation of a wedding day, there seem to be four ingredients: long preparation, eager and believing anticipation, the moment of ecstasy, and the long and faithful work to bring daily life up to the joy of the wedding day. People who are unwilling to follow through never experience the transformation, and they do not live ...

491. The Remnant Year

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." This is the culmination of God’s treatment of his people throughout our history. At one time he had chosen Israel to be his people. They were bright, energetic, fresh, eager to keep the covenant relationship he bestowed upon them. The costs of daily life, the trials and temptations, cares and catastrophes were handled with faithfulness and courage. In due time the covenant relationship became too much for them. They fell again and again ...

492. Noise Is Anything That Corrupts the Integrity of a Message

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... message we bring to them often stops us from grasping what the words actually say. Once I gave a person a manuscript to read and evaluate. He kept it for a long time. Finally, we met for lunch so I could hear his comments. Naturally, as a writer I was eager for a critique. We talked about the weather for quite a while. Finally, I said, "Well, tell me what you thought of my manuscript." He said, "I read a few paragraphs and since I couldn’t figure out where you were going with it, I didn’t read on." He ...

493. Advent 3

Isaiah 61:1-11, John 1:1-18, John 1:19-28, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... puts forth her blossom, or bushes in a garden burst into flower, People: SO SHALL THE LORD GOD MAKE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE BLOSSOM IN ALL NATIONS. Collect O God of justice, whose wonderful promises of liberation from every form of human oppression inspire eager anticipation and hope, instill in us a faith that rejoices even when fulfillments seem remote; that we may be grateful and delighted to be your people in this pre-Advent time of great expectation. In the name of the coming Christ. Amen Prayer ...

494. Lent 2

Genesis 17:1-27, Romans 4:1-25, Mark 8:31--9:1

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... as we would imagine it, but as it was; that, seeing there a way of service and suffering, we may understand better how costly as well as rewarding true discipleship is. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Most merciful God, we confess how eager we are to turn the Gospel into a way of comfort and conquest, of security and success in the most worldly terms; and how easily we ignore the loss of life that Jesus experienced himself and taught as the way of discipleship. Forgive us our selfishness ...

495. Jesus Our Lord Is Coming

Matthew 3:3

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... our parade so that the whole world will know that He is here. Let’s let everyone know that our Advent in our congregation has been a time of getting ready. Shake your tambourines girls, chant your words of rejoicing, boys, and let the whole world know that we are eager to have Jesus come and be with us.

496. Looking Ahead with Hope

John 1:43-51

Sermon

... the young, the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant. Men of all classes, all walks of life gladly went after this man from Nazareth. When his golden voice was lifted in teachings that are unmatched by any voice in history, they listened with eager anticipation. When his hands reached out to touch those that were sick, there was healing power. All whom he contacted were concerned about Jesus. Then came the inevitable question, "Who is this man? Who are his people? Where did he come from? What is his ...

497. Joseph

Drama

Charles L. Koester

... manner of the faith of Israel, and our God; all my property will be hers forever." [Reaching the pulpit at this point, Joseph continues.] And it was done! It was done! We were betrothed, engaged to be married. Then, the children present came forward with eager, outstretched hands for the nuts and the cakes ... the festivities began. But even this festive symbol was a grave thing, this bestowing of the sweets, for it symbolized the fact that Mary had kept herself only to me. Three months before we were to be ...

498. THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH

Drama

Norman D. Dow

... upon my cheek; the smell of orange blossoms lightly touches the breeze. The stars are so near that I can reach up to touch them. The darkness of night is as the deep bluish purple of the calm sea. All nature seems to be hushed, waiting on tiptoe with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. The streets are strangely silent and empty. No lights can be seen in the doorways. How then can a king, the Messiah, be born and all the earth not be rejoicing? How strange this is! How can this be - that ...

499. Clean Light

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

... , happened to be stirred up over an approaching local option election to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some enthusiastic young church people asked to speak to a crowded audience before one of the lectures began. A most attractive and eager teenager concluded her vigorous speech by exclaiming, "No Christian can have anything whatsoever to do with whiskey!" As he began his lecture, the guest speaker said softly and gently, "Daughter, we all appreciate your loveliness and your zeal, and wish ...

500. Unwavering Light

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

... , if nothing more, and even more if you loved your spouse. The whole matter of marriage, of parenthood, of family and home relationships was bound to be affected by the uncertainties of eschatology. While the second coming of Christ Jesus was awaited with eager gladness, it must also have produced much perplexity and, to be honest, a lot of fear. Ordinary people could not possibly handle a tremendous thing like that with perfectly easy, untroubled minds. You couldn’t. I couldn’t. So, like a good pastor ...

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