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

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4976. The Inconcealable Christ!

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... want to do something great for God! That sounds good but here is something better: The highest desire that can possess any human heart is a longing to know Jesus and make him known, and when we know Jesus we know God. We get to know God when we seek him with ... Lord, on me. I find, I walk, I love, but oh, the whole of love is but my answer, Lord, to thee! For thou wert long beforehand with my soul; always thou lovedst me.2 No doubt many of us have had that amazing experience of wondering where Jesus was in ...

4977. This Gospel Is for Our Children

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... in brain damage and stunted growth in children. Dr. Carlson estimated that these children acted at about half their age. It is not enough to simply feed, clothe, and care for the physical needs of children. Touching is critical to their survival and long-term health.1 These parents bringing children to Jesus surely aren't aware of these later findings of medical science but by presenting their children before Jesus, they are doing even more than getting Christ's spiritual blessing upon their children. They ...

4978. Ollie, Ollie, All In Free!

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Steven Molin

... to hiding our sin that we don't even see it ourselves anymore, and then when we compare ourselves to others, we look great! For us, it seems, it's Halloween all year long, and we keep those religious masks firmly fixed on our faces so that nobody knows what our warts and flaws really are. I remember those fall nights so long ago, when the leaves turned color and the temperatures turned cool, and we played those backyard games. Often, my hiding spot was so good, I was never found. Even when I wanted to ...

4979. Oh, The Things We Worry About!

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

... for us this day; that God will fill our hearts with thanks and praise. "God of grace, on this day of Thanksgiving, we come before you with prayers of gratitude, and prayers of need. We look to you, Lord Jesus, to give us what is necessary, confessing that we long for more. But mostly, we thank you for your promise of love and life eternal. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen." Now having said all of that, I predict that there will be a lot of worrying today. Children will worry that their favorite pie will be in ...

4980. Busy with a Purpose

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... All those accomplishments that we think are so important will one day be forgotten. Trophies that define us and plaques that identify us will crumble like dust. Paul makes it clear that he doesn't want that to happen to his life. He wants his life to count. He longs for meaning and purpose, not running aimlessly or beating the air. Jesus asked, "What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36). Let's change that a bit and ask, "What does it profit a person to gain the ...

4981. Who Will Vouch for Me?

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... believers with letters of recommendation written upon our hearts, we now become Christ's epistles to the world. He has vouched for you. Can you vouch for him? Pastor and author, Lee Strobel, told the story of a young woman in his church who, after a long time away, finally returned. She had been badly hurt as a child by the so-called Christians in her church that for her to darken the doors again took great courage. She was filled with skepticism and doubt. The walls were high. The scrutiny was tight ...

4982. The Season of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... prodigal son and the father waiting with open arms for the son to return. What if the son had died before he had the chance to reconcile with his father? If you knew that this was your last day, who would it be important for you reconcile with? Perhaps a long-lost friend, or a family member, or God. Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. In chapters 5 and 6 of 2 Corinthians we have a two-part plan for our Lenten discipline. One part of the plan is inward and involves opening our hearts to ...

4983. Dividing Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

... in our everyday experience, as we encounter those whom the world tells us are our enemies. What we have seen on the other side of the dividing walls are not the monsters that we had been taught to fear but the sisters and brothers for whom our hearts are longing. It is painful and stunningly good news.2 The first paragraph of our mission statement serves as a guide for us all as we seek to find our way as God's people in a world filled with terror and fear: Oakhurst Presbyterian Church is a community of ...

4984. The Great Thanksgiving

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

... raised in this land and therefore I am not a native here. Thanksgiving Day as a special day set apart was not something that I grew up with for the first thirty years of my life. Even though I have now lived in the United States for almost as long, I still find it strange at times to celebrate this holiday of thanksgiving. It is not that I am opposed to giving thanks, you understand. Saying thank you was something that the nuns who helped raise me insisted upon. We do say thanks. We do give thanks for all ...

4985. Where's Dad?

Matthew 2:13-18

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... able to finish the game, gotta be going. By the way my name’s Stretch, George Stretch. Pleased to meet you. I hope things will go better for you and for your dad. In fact, I have a feeling after that last strike, Christmas ain’t over yet. So long. (waves and exits) Brad: Thanks for listening, Mr. Stretch —er — George. I feel a lot better, thanks to you. Bye now. (pauses) Stranger: (comes running back in) Hey, Brad, there’s a guy out in the parking lot getting his bowling ball out of the trunk of a ...

4986. The Adoption

John 1:1-18

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... are we going to do? Here come the folks. They said they had something important to tell us. (groans) (Dad and Mom appear.) Dad and Mom: Good morning, kids. We have something exciting to share with you. Mom: Dad and I have been discussing it for a long time. Dylan: (slyly) We’re going to Disney World? Dorie: (mockingly) We’re getting a satellite dish? A cell phone for each of us? Dylan: Could it be ... Mom: (interrupts) You’ll never guess. We are going to fill the extra family room. Dorie: With what? A ...

4987. When Israel Sang the Blues

Mark 13:1-31

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... the words? Jarah: (strums softly in the background and reads or chants Psalm 22:1-2) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?” Scene 2: Defeated And In Exile —Longing For Hope (Stagehand carries sign, “Approximately 714 years later — 586 BCE in Babylon.”) Geezer: Here we are in Babylon, Abab, like prisoners with no walls — feels like jail. Abab: Yes, this so-called exile is no fun. Geezer: First the Assyrians took over Israel ...

4988. Don't Mess with the IRS

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... can be horrendous. As someone else has said, “Don’t cheat the government unless you look really good in stripes.” I know it’s a long time until April 15 and perhaps you would prefer not to think about it. After all, April 15 is not only income tax day, it is ... already. I believe most of us understand that, but it is good to be reminded. A church like ours couldn’t survive very long if people just gave to God when they felt inspired to do so. There are some people who give according to whether they ...

4989. Rephrasing the Question

Matthew 22:15-22

Illustration

Tom Long

Homiletics professor and Matthew commentator Tom Long rephrases the Caesar and Tax question to Jesus like this. "In effect," he writes, the opponents of Jesus ask, "Are you a foolish, uncompromising revolutionary whose allegiance to the kingdom of heaven is actually a political revolution in disguise, or are you a smooth-talking street preacher who stirs up people with glib talk of God's majesty but who underneath advocates a get-along-go-along policy with the Roman, Gentile pigs?"

4990. The Faithfulness of God

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... you, anything at all. "No more tears, Arthur," she said finally. "You don't like tears and I've never tried to annoy you. But how long will I have to wait? You are being cruel, though you are not a cruel man. Men do what they please and get away with it. ... me. It hurt your pride. I was one of your possessions that someone else had used. I guess I don't blame you, but Arthur, how long will you make me wait for a word — one word?" Mrs. Dowson dabbed her eyes once more and then put on her gray coat. Henry was ...

4991. You Are in Good Hands with God

Isaiah 40:21-31

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to each other on chairs. A single noose was placed around each man's neck at the same time. The two adults cried, "Long live liberty!" The young boy, however, was silent. "Where is God? Where is he?" yelled someone behind me in the crowd. When ... both the good and the bad. We must have confidence that we can live comfortably in the hands of our Lord. The middle section of the long book of the prophet Isaiah, chapters 40-55, were written at a time of great distress for the Hebrew people, a time, like Wiesel's ...

4992. Who Is Isaiah’s Servant?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... the office of the father volunteered to visit his home on trick or treat night and bring sweets for the kids. The father's colleague appeared at the door dressed up as "the little green man," with an ugly green face and long, knotted, twisted hands protruding from a long coat that effectively disguised the identity of Daddy's friend. At the appearance of the mysterious stranger in the entryway of the house, the kids ran for cover. The little green man grunted and moaned and held extended the bags of candy ...

4993. Finding Our Roots in God and Country

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 6-10

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... day and converted. He wrote to a friend, "I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ ... My long night talk with Tolkien had a great deal to do with it." Tolkien later admitted that without Lewis' encouragement he would not ... : their civil war, our civil war. David certainly did before coming to this point in his life. David had come a long way from his early sheepherding days, through his appointment by Samuel, his bout with Goliath, problems, delays, and civil war that ...

4994. Small Sin, Large Grace

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

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... 's, a beauty as inconsequential as Bathsheba's? Is such a myth more amazing than an orchid or a bumblebee? Is it more amazing than a Long Island woman with three facelifts and a whole lot of bling bling? Is it more amazing than a man who loved the heck out of crystal ... not. Could she be a true lover to David afterward? Could she be a true wife? The sin, once committed, reached its long tentacles into the future. So did the hope. There is hope for the renewal of broken relationships, just as there is hope ...

4995. When Necks Break

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... many of us teach it in Sunday school! One picture that I remember from my own heavily Sunday-schooled youth is of Absalom, beautiful, long, black hair, riding along on a white horse, with a branch straight at his throat. Chapter 18 of the second book of Samuel tells ... tables, family reunions, the United Nations, and in most countries. No activist or virtuous person will be far from conflict for long. In our urge to make a difference in the world, we will run smack dab into human pessimism, cynicism, and grief ...

4996. Finding the Good Woman Part in Us All

Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... her girls safe, we slipped out the windows. That's how Mary Magdalene survived, too. She survived by trickery. She survived by being hidden in plain sight. What a relief it is to hear about a full and generative woman as far back as the book of Proverbs, long before Mary Magdalene was hidden. An old joke about Mother's Day tells the same story: "Mother's Day Special: Free Glass of Wine — Whatever wine is open, so as not to be a bother." One of the sickest jokes about clergy goes like this: Clergy are out ...

4997. The Place beyond Revenge

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... For a brief period of time there was a nearly splendid national unity. That unity has gone the way of all flesh — into fear, revenge seeking, war. Ministries may not have yet changed toward something different and better — but they could. Our revenge stands in the long line of revenges, not even begun by Esther and Haman, but going from way before that. We can and should do better. Prayer for 9/11 Eighth Anniversary Eight years and yet 9/11 feels like yesterday! Give us the power to forget and remember ...

4998. The Pursuit of Happiness

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... “happiness" as the goal of the Christian life. But for Wesley “happiness" means more than “feeling good." “Happiness" means “pleasing God." In today's epistle text Paul makes an important distinction. It's a distinction many people never make their whole life long. It's a distinction between living one's life trying to “please people" and living one's life to “please God." Paul has no interest in living to please people. Paul seeks the stamp of “approval" from none but God. Neither offering ...

4999. Facing the Consequences

Illustration

Tim Kimmel

... in our conversation I was anxious to turn toward hope and healing. I asked Tom what they had decided to do. Would they keep the baby, or put it up for adoption? That's when he delivered the blow. With the fire burning low, Tom paused for a long time before answering. And even when he spoke he wouldn't look me in the eye. "We considered the alternatives, Tim. Weighed all the options." He took a deep breath. "We finally made an appointment with the abortion clinic. I took her down there myself." I dropped the ...

5000. Forgetful Funeral

Illustration

Bruce McIver

... on the island of Patmos when he wrote Revelation. "I can see old John now," the pastor intoned dramatically, "I can see old John now, on the isle of Patmos, looking out from that dungeon cell . . . into yon distant horizon . . . and saying . . . " And then a long pause. Some hemming and hawing. Shifting from one foot to the other. Then the pastor took another stab at the passage. But he couldn't get past John in that prison cell. So he began talking about Heaven, and sheep, and still waters. Then he leaned ...

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