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 576 to 600 of 1245 results

576. Something To Die For

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." James and John would serve their master ably, but first they would need some rough edges removed from their discipleship. About this time the other disciples were eager to help remove some of those edges. They were angry with James and John for making such a presumptuous request to sit at the Lord's left hand and his right. After all, they might be the ones chosen to sit by Christ's side. It was then that ...

577. A Penny For God

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... about an army officer who stopped to have his shoes shined by a poor Indian boy on the street. The lad launched into his task with such enthusiasm and vigor that the man was utterly amazed. Instead of an ordinary, slipshod performance with an all-too-eager outstretched hand for a tip, the boy worked diligently until the leather sparkled with a brilliant luster. The officer asked, "Why are you taking so much time to polish my boots?" "Well, sir," was the reply, "last week Jesus came into my heart and now I ...

578. Invited To The Table

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... for a Baptist College to be built on Carter's land. They raised pledges of $2,000 from their neighbors, and hired workers to begin construction. But the final cost of the college building was $3,100--they were $1100 short--and none of the investors was eager to cough up more money. The contractor, determined to get his money, looked over the names of the men who had invested in the school. None of them could single-handedly donate the rest of the money owed. But one of the investors, J. W. Anderson, had ...

579. Danny Devito In A Tree

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... man read the requested chapter. It was not easy. Chapter 1 of First Chronicles consists primarily of genealogies. Names. Hebrew names. It was hard work pronouncing the some two hundred fifty unfamiliar names in the fifty-four verses. The old minister listened with eager attention to every name. When it was finished, he uttered a fervent Amen. He said, "Thank you, my son; that was so comforting." The young man was frankly puzzled. "Please tell me," he said, "what is so comforting about the chapter?" "Ah ...

580. About Christ

Colossians 1:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... Utopia was the home we fought to leave." Imagine the joy and pride those parents felt when they read this message. "The rebels failed, for our Utopia was the home we fought to leave." We can imagine the struggles that took place between the rebellious children, eager to get out of the house and start making their own rules, and the anxious parents who kept a close eye on them. And now that the children are adults, they start to appreciate the rules and boundaries their parents placed on them. And so they ...

581. Made For The Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... much faith in technology and its promises. An employee at a photo shop wrote in to the Things People Said web site with a story of a particularly challenging customer. The woman brought in a weathered picture of her great-grandfather milking a cow. She was so eager to know what her great-grandfather looked like. But the cow was in the way. The woman had great faith that the photo shop could solve her problem. "Can you move the cow?" she asked. The clerk tried to explain that this was impossible. "Just move ...

582. Who Did He Praise?

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... spool of thread. Thus, the whole transaction was forgotten by the time the executives of this large chain started to notice crowds of people shopping at Neckerman's. Soon the reason became apparent. It was the spools of thread the large chain had purchased so eagerly from this young upstart. As German housewives finished their spools of thread, a piece of paper that had been wrapped about the spool under the thread fluttered out. It read like this: IF YOU HAD BOUGHT THIS THREAD AT NECKERMAN'S, IT WOULD HAVE ...

583. Hungry For God

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... ? thought Dr. English. The hand of God is at the museum? Then Dr. English recalled that several months before, he had ordered a replica of Rodin's sculpture, The Hand of God, from the museum gift shop. It had finally arrived. (1) The prophet Isaiah was eager to see the hand of God at work among his people. He implores the Almighty, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you . . ." Welcome, on this first Sunday of Advent--this season of the church year set ...

584. It Does Matter What You Believe

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... have spend the next week in the temple with a new temple prostitute. Urbaal's wife was stunned when she saw the desire written across her husband's face, which was more intense than she had ever seen before. And she was even more horrified to see him lunge eagerly forward when his name was called. When the ceremony was over, she walked out of the temple with her head swimming, concluding that "if he [had] had different gods, he would have been a different man." (2) But that is true of all of us. And it is ...

585. When The Going Gets Tough

Romans 8:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... it." We've all had days like that. Even St. Paul had days like that, and yet he could write words like this: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is being revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God . . ." That doesn't sound much like a man who is ready to give up, does it? That sounds to me like a man who has learned to deal with hard times. There was a best-selling book that came out some ...

586. God's Witness Security Program

1 John 3:1-3

Sermon

King Duncan

... less serious reasons than a threat to their lives. At the turn of the twentieth century, a young woman named Cassie Chadwick was able to borrow almost $2 million dollars from banks and rich individuals from Cleveland high society. Why were people so eager to lend Ms. Chadwick money? Because she claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of business tycoon Andrew Carnegie. Chadwick hinted that the Carnegie family paid her a handsome sum in order to keep her true identity a secret. But when Cassie couldn’t ...

587. Day People

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

... 1) I can relate to that. I have heard of pastors who have fallen asleep during their own sermon. It hasn’t happened to me . . . yet. At least Schieffer had an excuse. He had worked all night. Pastor Ron Mehl tells about an associate pastor who was eager to make a good first impression at his new church. The night before his first Sunday, he was too anxious to sleep. The next morning, as he sat in the warm, dimly lit sanctuary, he became increasingly drowsy. At one point, he felt himself leaning further to ...

588. Is There Hope for the Hapless Wedding Guest?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Darrick Acre

... over, pondered it on my early morning walks, and during odd hours of the day. All of a sudden, I saw it! I broke through the surface. What did I see? I saw me! I am the one who has heard the king’s gracious call, who has responded with eagerness and joy, who has come into the king’s hall only to discover with a shock of shame, that I’m not dressed right. Don’t have the right stuff. Not measuring up! An unsightly spectacle. An embarrassment to my friends, to myself, and to God! And when called to ...

589. FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH

Revelation 1:1-3

Eulogy

Edward Inabinet

... Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull as she ever was. Her diminished size lies in me, not her. And at the very moment when someone at my side exclaims, "Look, she''s gone!" there are other eyes eagerly watching her approach, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Look, she''s coming home!" And that is death. _______________ has gone home. He/She has gone to receive his/her just reward--a crown of life which has been promised to those who are faithful ...

590. Grace Is Not a Blue-eyed Blond

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... and nobody would wish to do it except as a last resort, to avoid the flames of hell. It seems to me that is precisely the opposite of what Jesus taught. Jesus said that meeting God would not be something to be dreaded, but something to be eagerly looked forward to, for God is a loving, divine Parent who is waiting to receive us with outstretched arms, and to invite us into a party! We have heard a lot in recent years about “body language,” and “non-verbal communication.” It is a fact that sometimes ...

591. Lazarus Laughed

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... am going there to awaken him.” (John 11:11) Jesus apparently uses a word which can mean either sleep or death. The Greek word is kekoimetai, from which we get our English word “cemetery.” The disciples suppose Him to mean natural sleep, and not being very eager to go into Judea where their lives were in danger, they conclude that the best course of action is to do nothing. “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” (11:12) So, in order to clear things up, Jesus uses another word about ...

592. It’s Hard to Eat While Lying

John 13:18-30

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... have been filled with patriotic fervor, yearning for freedom from foreign rule. That may have been why he cast his lot with Jesus in the first place. Perhaps here was the Messiah the people had awaited for so long! Perhaps Judas could have sung with eager anticipation that great Advent hymn we use in our churches, “Come, Thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free!” We have spiritualized that hymn so much we often forget that most folks in Jesus’ day believed those words literally. And Jesus ...

593. The Autobiography of God

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... something exists, something is real. The real question is: what is the nature of that something, and is that something a Someone? Harry Emerson Fosdick once told of a small boy who, on his first day of school, learned that the sky was not a big, blue bowl. Eager to share his new-found knowledge with a neighbor boy, he accosted the lad after school and said, “There ain’t no sky.” The neighbor boy puzzled, looked up at the heavens and said, “O.K., but what is it, then, that ain’t?” There is an old ...

594. Afraid of Sanity

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... titled “My God! My Pigs!” He described the avarice of the crowd who valued their pigs more than their neighbor. Their kind is surely not all dead, yet! And one must ask the question “Who are the possessed in this story?” The people’s eagerness to reject Jesus, to get rid of Him, shows that they, too, are “possessed”...subject to evil powers hostile to the kingdom of God. There comes a point when our possessions possess us. There are some businesses Jesus is just plain bad for: any business ...

595. Jesus Out of Character

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... church official boards. “Don’t worry,” he would say, “they’ve heard about it. They’ll hear about it again.” Barclay says that symbolically this woman stands for the whole Gentile world. Her faith was tested and her faith was real, and she eagerly seized upon the bread of heaven which so many of those who were first invited - Jesus’ own people - had rejected, and thrown away. A third explanation of this passage is that Jesus actually shared the prejudices of His time against Gentiles. I find ...

596. Radical Surgery

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... fortune, the ‘sacrifice’ is joy, the ‘duty;’ is sheer exhilaration; for the kingdom has driven irksomeness from the world.” (George Arthur Buttrick, PARABLES OF JESUS, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1928, p. 32) The disciples “left all and followed” eagerly. Paul yielded up without regret his pride of Pharasaic birth and learning. He said: “...what things were gain to me these I counted loss for Christ...”(Philippians 3:7) St. Augustine parted with his favorite sins, saying: “...what I ...

597. God’s Strange Arithmetic

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Jesus’ sayings about divorce, has Him calling the little children to Him, and putting His arms around them. I see Jesus as reaching out to put His arms around the whole human race and condition. I do not see Jesus as joining the mob who were so eager to throw stones. Do you? It seems that Jesus regarded divorce as a necessity at times, brought about by humanity’s fallen condition. It is not an unpardonable sin, for there is but one “unpardonable sin” and that is the refusal to seek pardon. II. YOU ...

598. On Claiming One’s Inheritance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... love saying, “I don’t really care what my loved one wants. I don’t care if I ever do anything to please the one I love. But don’t get me wrong-I really am in love?” (Sounds like the way many of us act, doesn’t it? We eagerly profess our love for Christ, but rarely spend much time thinking about ways to please Him.) Christianity is not, first of all, a demand. It is a gift. It does not say first. “Do this, go here, go there.” It says: “Here is God’s gift to you in Jesus ...

599. Opposite the Treasury

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... with a prayer which was published originally by Michael Patison in LUTHERAN STANDARD magazine. In it the writer prays: “Lord, we are a strange people. We bellow aloud the latest pop songs, but we don’t open our mouths to sing hymns of praise. We eagerly sign a note for thirty-six big car payments, but we fail to commit ourselves to a pledge to the church. We become ecstatic about the Dallas Cowboys (or the Detroit Tigers or the Michigan Wolverines), but we muster scant enthusiasm for the work of ...

600. On Being in the Wrong Place

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... reply. “So early in the morning?” “Yes. The trial was held all night long, and we want to get the messy business over with before the Sabbath begins.” Simon’s curiosity grew. What terrible crimes had these three men committed that the crowds were so eager to see them executed? His curiosity got the best of him.. “Execution, you say? I’ve never seen an execution. Do you mind if I tag along?” “Certainly not...” came the answer, “they are open to the public.” And so he joined the crowd ...

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