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 526 to 550 of 3108 results

526. A New Look

Ephesians 4:23

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Pictures of before and after a house is remodeled or sided. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about making old things new. We like things to look almost brand new. Look at this picture of the seen an old house made to look like a new house? (Let them answer.) I brought along some pictures of a house that used to look like this. (Show them the pictures.) It's not very pretty, is it? It looks like it needs to be painted, the windows fixed, the yard cleaned up, and a lot of ...

527. A Lesson In Sharing

2 Corinthians 8:13-15

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: An ice cube tray that you can fill slowly with water from a pitcher. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever made ice cubes? [Let them answer.] Very good. Almost all of us have had to fill the ice cube tray with water, so that there would be enough ice the next time we needed some. I think it is fun to do this and see how the water fills each cube spot with the same amount of water that will soon turn into ice. Let me show you what I mean. [Begin to fill the tray, pouring all of the ...

528. The Unfairness of God

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

William J. Carl

Have you ever noticed how sometimes life just isn’t fair? It’s one of the hard realities we learn early on. No one has to wait for adolescence or old age to find it out. You can learn it in nursery school. Sometimes life just isn’t fair. Little brothers and sisters seem to get such special privileges. The things my little brother and sister got away with! There were times when I really felt like the prodigal son story was some kind of Jungian archetype for familial systems down through the centuries. Well ...

529. The Soft-touch God

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

Keith Hammer

Every parent who has children approaching or into the early teenage years knows that the day of reckoning is coming. The day of which I speak, of course, is the day when the once compliant, cooperative little girl or boy becomes the defiant young adult. Many a parent among us waits with bated breath for the day to arrive. Not a few of us wonder how we are going to handle those times when our desire to care for and love our children openly clashes with our children’s quest for a separate identity from us ...

530. The Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

The rich young ruler falls into that unique category of Bible characters that have been maligned by generations of commentators. We might compare him to the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son. It seems like both of these young men have always gotten bad press and therefore a bad reputation. We have been impressed with the f ct that the rich young ruler was seemingly so near to the Kingdom, but alas his love of money kept him out. We see him as a moral coward, a man who lacked commitment. And ...

531. Encounters With Christ II: Jesus and Mary and Martha

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago, The Archbishop of Canterbury was rushing to catch a train in London. In his haste, he accidentally jumped on the wrong passenger car and found himself on a car full of inmates from a mental hospital. They were all dressed in mental hospital clothing. Just as the train pulled out of the station, an orderly came in and began to count the inmates, “1-2-3-4…”… when suddenly he saw this distinguished looking gentleman there wearing a business suit and a clerical collar and he said: “Who are you ...

532. What Jesus Saw In Martha

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

533. The Yoke of Christ

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

"Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. The yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light." (St. Matthew 11:29, 30 TEV) Life is full of questions. One we frequently ask, consciously sometimes and unconsciously other times, is this: how can I find some rest? Some people ask that question quite literally. They have trouble sleeping. They have insomnia. If Sominex can't do it, then how can I find some rest? they ...

534. God Is a Mystery

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd; because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down, and received ...

535. The Effect of Leprosy

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

Brett Blair

Leprosy effect upon the body is devastating. Where it attacks it causes a loss of the sense of touch. That doesn't sound too bad but consider the implications. When you reach for the stove to pick up a frying pan that is hot you immediately drop it and put ice on the burn. You watch as your skin turns red and blister. Now, if you had leprosy you would grab the pan and feel nothing. You've lost your sense of touch. You carry the pan unaware of the damage it is doing to your hand. As you set the pan down and ...

536. Is God Still God?

Isaiah 44:6-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it, let him declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any." In the good times of life, it is easy to believe ...

537. The Surprise of Absolute Victory

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

In this day of overwhelming defeatism, we look longingly for the absolute victory. Paul declares it in today's Scripture: "Nay, (even) in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Do you believe that? If you do, you are more steady in the midst of the collapse all around you. A great pessimism has to be conquered by a great faith. Edith Lovejoy Pierce uncovers a challenging insight: Even though we escape now We shall not escape Turning a key in a lock, Dropping a well-placed ...

538. "Can Do" Christianity

Philippians 4:10-20

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

Those who lived through the long years of World War II remember a remarkable group of men called the Seabees. "Seabees" was their nickname, based upon their official designation as the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions. These were the men who went ashore right behind the Marines during the Pacific island battles, constructing the new facilities necessary for the support and establishment of our nation's combat forces. They referred to themselves as "can do" people, and were often quoted as saying, "The ...

539. SALLY JANE

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

Dusk; JAREL is sitting on the front steps of an old farmhouse, a building once almost elegant, now genteelly collapsing, its midwestern rococo gingerbread hanging in many places by a single, disinterested, rusty nail. The porch behind JAREL is small; its only piece of furniture is an ancient, unravelling wicker table, also seedy, with several wine bottles on it. JAREL is wearing funeral black - but she has not at all muted her makeup, and she wears plenteous beads and bracelets. JAREL (Calling into the ...

540. The Crowd That Hated Him

Matthew 27:11-26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Bowl of water We have already found out the different kinds of crowds there are during the last three times that we have gotten together. Do you remember how it was to love Jesus and then to be afraid of him? How did you feel when you were part of the crowd that betrayed Jesus? That was an awful feeling wasn’t it? It is not going to get much better today because the crowds are not very friendly toward Jesus at this time. The leaders of the people were afraid of Jesus and they wanted to get rid of ...

541. The Kind of People Whom God Chooses

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

William G. Carter

There are many stories in the New Testament about people who are called to serve God and follow Jesus. Of all those stories, this story makes the most sense. Remember the story about Paul? He was persecuting the church, dragging Christians out of their houses and condemning them to death. One day, he saw the Light, and it knocked him off his horse. It’s hard to relate to such a dramatic conversion, but there it is. Remember the story about Matthew? One day he was sitting at his tax collection table, ...

542. His Death

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Brett Blair

We are continuing our Lenten series on the Passion of the Christ, the last week of the life of Jesus. We are nearing Easter. On the first Sunday of Lent we looked at the events of Sunday when he enters Jerusalem on the donkey fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah. It was a day of celebration. On Monday Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, curses the fig tree, and clears the Temple of the moneychangers. It is a day of emotions. Tuesday was the day of teaching, a day of critics questions. Wednesday was the ...

543. Good Friday: The Three Crosses

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

The Cross. It struck fear in the hearts of the world. It was Rome’s means of controlling the people. According to Roman custom, the penalty of crucifixion was always preceded by scourging; after this preliminary punishment, the condemned person had to carry the cross, or at least the transverse beam of it, to the place of execution, exposed to the jibes and insults of the people. On arrival at the place of execution the cross was uplifted. Soon the sufferer, entirely naked, was bound to it with cords. He ...

544. The Ten Commandments #4: The Sabbath

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Let me tell you a story.(1) It seems a young Martian was studying comparative anthropology and, in preparation for a doctoral dissertation which was long overdue, made a quick flight down to earth in his flying saucer to check on the habits of the residents of the planet. He could not get too close or make any prolonged inspection because his work had to be submitted in just a few days, so time was of the essence. He had made a fortunate choice of days and locations - a fine summer Sunday over the United ...

545. What Do You Believe About Eternal Life

John 14:5-14

Eulogy

James W. Moore

There is a wonderful new hymn in our hymnal. It is becoming something of a tradition to sing this hymn number 707, The Hymn of Promise, at Easter… and at memorial and funeral services. The hymn was written in 1986 by Natalie Sleeth, a respected and prolific writer of Christian music. She wrote this hymn for her husband, the late Dr. Ronnie Sleeth, who was an outstanding professor of preaching at Vanderbilt Divinity School and later at Iliff School of Theology. In 1986 Ronnie Sleeth was told by his doctors ...

546. What's in a Name?

Luke 3:21-38, Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"What's in a name?" asks Shakespeare. Lots, as it turns out. Ask Essie Mae Washington-Williams. Or should we say Essie Mae Thurmond? We heard about her a couple of weeks ago as the story broke that the late Senator Strom Thurmond, who rose to national prominence on a platform of absolute racial segregation, had, as a young man, fathered an illegitimate child with a black maid employed by his parents. "I am Essie Mae Washington-Williams and, at last, I feel completely free." So said this retired ...

547. Beneath The Cross

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

After years of wandering, Clint Dennis realized something important was missing from his life. He decided to attend church. As he entered a church for the first time he noticed people putting on long robes. They were also tying ropes around their waists and wrapping headdresses around their heads. "Come be a part of the mob," a stranger told him. It was Palm Sunday and the church was reenacting the Crucifixion in costume. He would be part of the crowd that shouted, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Hesitantly he ...

548. Building An Understanding Of God

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A Jewish boy in grade school was listening to his Hebrew teacher quoting the most important of all the Hebrew Scriptures, Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." "When will He be two?" the little fellow asked after mulling this over for a moment in his mind. If the Lord is one, then surely, some day, He will be two. It reminds me of something Mickey Rivers, an outfielder for the Texas Rangers baseball team once said about his warm relationship with Yankee owner George ...

549. Jesus and the IRS

Mark 12:13-17

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

The voice on the other end of the line identified its owner as a representative of the Internal Revenue Service. The caller asked, “Did John Jones give $10,000 to your church last year?” The pastor thought for a moment, and then carefully replied, “He will!” If there is anything that strikes terror into the hardiest of hearts it is the dread acronym: IRS. “The Infernal Revenue Service.” Er, I mean, the Internal Revenue Service. Someone has said, “You may not agree with every department in the government, ...

550. GIVE ME YOUR SINS: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today we gather in this sanctuary to continue on our Lenten journey that we began on Ash Wednesday. I want to share some thoughts and reflections from what historically has been designated as the First Word--from the Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ from the cross. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that the first word from the cross deals with the real life issue of forgiveness, and really what is being implied here is forgiveness of our sins. This was the whole reason behind Christ''s coming to ...

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