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 4962 results

476. The Revolutionary Values of the Kingdom of God

Luke 18:31-34, Luke 18:18-30, Luke 18:15-17

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... have used in our culture as an example of this kind of vulnerability and dependency. This point helps us to interpret the account of the rich ruler that follows, which many find discomforting. Should they obey the command of 18:22 to sell all they have? One common response is that this instruction was specific to this man rather than being a general pattern for discipleship. But this is often used as an excuse today. People breathe a sigh of relief that they won’t have to sell their possessions! But what ...

477. Feeding the 5000

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... feeding and immediately ask for a sign! This is comical when you hear the story told aloud orally. Two great feedings and the Pharisees ask for a sign. Two great feedings and the disciples are worried that they don't have enough to eat. They only have one loaf! (8:14, 16). Jesus' exasperation with the disciples is incredible. He pounds numbers at them. "How many leftovers were there?" They answer dutifully with the numbers but they still don't get it. "Do you have eyes and cannot see?" Jesus pleads. "Do you ...

478. Episode III: Birth of the Church

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

... 's all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you that it is my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should I have a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?" Tony Campolo said, "When I heard that, I made a decision. I sat and waited until the woman left and then I called over to the counter to the heavyset guy and asked him, "Do they come in here every night?" "Yeah," he answered. "The one right next to ...

479. Belling the Cat

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

... hide.” The crowd applauded loudly as the young mouse took his seat. Once the applause died down, an elderly mouse rose to his feet and said, “Our young friend’s plan is simple yet ingenious. Once the bell is on the cat, we’ll all live safely. But I have one brief question to put to you all: Which one of you will volunteer to bell the cat?” (1) That’s always the question, isn’t it? Who’s willing to do the hard, dirty, perhaps even dangerous work that needs to be done? Who’s willing to bell ...

480. Ready for the Kingdom of God?

Luke 13:31-35, Luke 13:22-30, Luke 13:18-21

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... is Jerusalem, beyond Antipas’s jurisdiction, where Jesus has no illusions about his fate. 13:34 you who kill the prophets. Compare 11:47–51, and of course 13:33 here. how often I have longed to gather your children together. Here we have one of the incidental indications that the Synoptic pattern of a single journey to Jerusalem does not tell us the whole story of Jesus’s ministry. The Gospel of John records Jesus’s repeated visits to the capital and documents the resistance that the Jerusalem ...

481. Communion Is Relief

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

... asked the salesgirl to show her some of the nicest cookie jars. At a counter where a large number of them were displayed, the youngster carefully lifted and replaced each lid. She looked rather disappointed as she came to the last one and said, "Maam, don't you have one with a lid that can be lifted and replaced without making any noise?" She was looking for a way to disobey without her mother knowing it! In the same way that youngster was looking for a way of not getting caught, or covering up her sin, so ...

482. Eight Days until Eternity

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... . But she became ill, and a long anticipated day at Sea World was replaced by an all‑night series of CT scans, X‑rays, and blood work at the hospital. As morning approached, the doctors told this exhausted little girl that she would need to have one more test, a spinal tap. The procedure would be painful, they said. The doctor then asked Tim Miller if he planned to stay in the room. He nodded, knowing he couldn’t leave Jennifer alone during the ordeal. The doctors gently asked Jennifer to remove ...

483. Wisdom In A Proverb

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

... , awe, understanding of Yahweh's power and presence and will. Yahweh's commandments and intention and justice is the beginning of human wisdom and knowledge and the capacity to lead a life that is righteous and good. Proverbs itself falls into three sections. Happily, we have one text from each, though for reasons I can not determine, we begin with a text from the middle of Proverbs. Today's text is from the sayings of Solomon and the sayings of the sages. Solomon was the patron saint of the sages and the ...

484. Come On In The Water's Fine

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . And he acts upon it. And then there's that last line of invitation, "Come on in, boys, the water's fine!" I love that. Every time we celebrate and someone is baptized, that's the invitation from God, "Come On In, the Water's Fine!" Every time we have one of those moments where our lives are renewed through a fresh outpouring of God's Holy Spirit, that's the invitation from God, "Come On In, the Water's Fine!"For those who have already been baptized it's an invitation to remember and be renewed. For those ...

485. “God Is Our Refuge and Strength, an Ever-Present Help in Trouble”

Psalm 46:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... some crisis or struggle they have experienced and write on the other side how God responded (bringing comfort or relief through an actual change in circumstances). With music playing, ask the volunteers to come before the congregation together. Then have one person at a time step forward, silently hold up one side of the cardboard (indicating the struggle), and then the other side (indicating God’s response). Examples of what could be written on the cardboard: Was considering divorce / Have reconciled ...

486. What Are You Bananas About?

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... held funerals for them. They had given up hope of ever finding them alive. They called the rescue a miracle. But how did six teenagers survive for more than a year on a deserted island? Those of you who remember the classic novel “Lord of the Flies” probably have one vision of how it all turned out. It doesn’t apply in this situation, however. Instead, these boys set up a system of work and rules to govern their days. They began and ended each day with a song and a prayer. They paired up into work ...

487. This Is the Day!

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... start our day can make a difference! Stand tall, give yourself a big smile, and declare for all the world to hear, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Football coach Bill Walsh was recognized as having one of the best minds in professional football. He was the originator of the famous West Coast offense. He says something quite interesting his book, Building a Champion. He says that when a wildebeest or zebra is trapped by a lion, the trapped animal will submit to ...

488. A Christian's Resumé

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... God replied, "It's just like a single second of your time, my child." So the man asked, "And what about a million dollars?" The Lord replied, "To me, it's just like a single penny." So the man gathered up his courage and asked, "Well, Lord, could I have one of your pennies?" God smiled upon the man and said, "Certainly, my child, in just a second." We can continue to view our lives only from the perspective of the world, and our resumes will be written with a single slant: to live up to the expectations of ...

489. Weeping at Christmastime

Matthew 2:13-23, Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... images we can't take literally anymore. But we can try to look behind them and ask "What do they really mean?" As if to help us do that, the writer says: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16) That says it all, doesn't it? God ...

490. Measured Salvation

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... not fair. God is gracious. And the two are completely different concepts. You see, we are brought up in our world to believe that our value lies that “achievement” paradigm, and that we measure our worth with that trusty invisible yard stick we keep by our sides. We all have one. Well, I want you now to reach into your pocket, and pull out that yard stick. Go ahead. Reach down deep into your soul and pull it out, and now toss it into the aisle! You can’t live by the rule of that yard stick and at the ...

491. How Life’s Pressures Affect Good Judgment

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Brett Blair

... . There are so many points of view in my congregation, I can't please them all. Everyone wants to capture me for his camp and get me to shape the church around his convictions. The pressure makes me want to leave the ministry." All of these persons have one thing in common. They are being pressured by other people. We all, at one time or another, experience people-pressure. The question is how will it effect our judgment? That is the question Herod faced. After making an oath to a pretty young girl that she ...

492. Don't Give Up - He Hears!

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... of God, is asked by a tiny girl why bad things happen. Burns thoughtfully considers her question and then replies. "That ™s the way the system works...Have you ever seen an up, without a down? A front, without a back? A top, without a bottom? You can ™t have one without the other. I discovered that if I take away sad, then I take away happy, too. They go together." Then, with a smile, he adds, "If somebody has a better idea, I hope they put it in the suggestion box." (2) We don ™t know why life is ...

493. The Forward Look

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

King Duncan

... thus, they are handicapped in dealing with the present and future. William Goodin in his book God Laughs, Too tells a hilarious story that he heard from a seminary president. At this president's seminary, when candidates are ordained into the ministry, they have one thing to do in the service. At the conclusion of the worship, the candidate stands, walks up the steps into the chancel, turns and gives the benediction. That is their first official act as an ordained pastor. One candidate stood, approached the ...

494. Thankful for the Little Things

Luke 17:11-19

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... and dad for your tennis shoes. All right. I bet you don't have one of pull out the book these. Now this is something here; you can read a story about other people and what they did. (response) Oh, no. You have one of these too? All right then, I've got this one last present. ... is neat. You can put your food on it and you don't have to eat off the ground. (response) You have one of these too? (response) Application: [With the objects out before the children:] Do you know that there are children all over the ...

495. How Much Is Enough?

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... with that "what-do-you-expect-it’s-Dad" look and go on about their business. I’ve heard people use the phrase "comfort food." I suppose that’s what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread is for me. If I were told I could only have one thing to eat for the rest of my life and I got to pick what it was, that’s what it would be. I’d probably have to become a partner in a clothing store, but that’s what I would choose. Meals fill our stomach and reveal our identity ...

496. How Much Sin Is Too Much?

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... point is not that we are going to live perfect lives. We are never going to be free of sin, but even to ask, "How much is too much?" is to say we are straddling the fence and holding on for our lives. Even to ask the question says we have one foot in both worlds, wanting to be able to commit to the one but afraid of giving up the other completely. Even to ask the question indicates we are interested in the rewards of the hard and narrow way, but are equally interested in the lifestyle of the wide and ...

497. The Bite of The Lying Tongue

Exodus 20:1-21, James 3:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... this way..."My dear friends, let me speak frankly and candidly to you." Anyone who advertises his own candor and honesty is probably operating with a short supply of both. The goal of Christians must always be to speak the truth in love. All lies have one thing in common...the intention to mislead, either by falsifying or by concealing. St. Augustine defined all lies as sins because they misuse God's gift of speech. There are many different kinds of lies. There is the LIE OF FEAR, designed to protect the ...

498. Going Ahead Anyway

Matthew 2:1-12, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... large part of the anxiety was created by the fact that Herod was such an evil person. Herod destroyed practically everybody who was any threat to his power, including adherents of religious groups. He executed 45 Sadducees and confiscated their property. Herod conspired to have one person drowned, and later executed his wife, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law.1 In short, Herod was a power-hungry ruler whose actions reeked of evil. We can't explain his actions, or the actions of anybody else who acts in evil ...

499. Home Economy

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... , and she was gathering sticks with which to build a fire so that her boy and she could eat once more before they died. "Go, do as I have asked," Elijah said. "First, bake a loaf of bread for me, and then when I am taken care of, you will have one for yourself." And how about that? A prophet of the Lord insisting that he have first bat, as selfish as all that. Social insensitivity? Did he not realize that there was famine in the land, that he was doing this poor widow in? The Promise Go for it, Elijah must ...

500. Confession

Job 42:1-6

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you." Job confesses, "But now my eye sees you." Job states that he now perceives God in a way that transforms his understanding of himself and his situation. "Seeing" involves more than just having one's eyes open. Not only does it involve seeing God differently, but when we see God differently we also see others and our world differently. One becomes conscious of the needs of others. A new vision of God brings into focus the injustice in the lives ...

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