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 601 to 625 of 3108 results

601. What's Coming Out?

Mark 7:20

Children's Sermon

Object: Your mouth. Lesson: It is what comes out of a person that makes him (Or her) unclean. Boys and girls, have you ever stopped to think what a wonderful thing your mouth is? That's right, if it wasn't for your mouth, you wouldn't be able to get any food inside. And that would mean big trouble, wouldn't it! But your mouth is good for more than just putting food inside. It is the place where the words come out when we are ready to talk, isn't it. Do you know anybody who does not have the power to talk ...

602. When Christians Disappoint

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Erskine White

How is it you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to us but to God. (Acts 1:4) We would like to think that we Christians are always theChristians we are supposed to be, but of course, it isn't true.We would like to think that the church is always the faithfulChristian community it is meant to be, but of course, that isn'ttrue either. Sometimes it's awfully easy to be disappointed inChristians and in the church as well. It's awfully easy to findChristians and churches which give ...

603. Choices

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Choosing Christ at The Crossroads, #1 (First Sunday in Lent) In August of 2002, the Associated Press carried a story from Los Angeles about a would-be carjacker who made some seriously bad choices. Tyron Jermaine Hogan had already stolen the car of an elderly couple earlier that August morning, and had gotten away scot-free. So Hogan was probably feeling a little cocky when he reached inside an occupied van and tried to steal the driver's keys. Bad decision. The van belonged to the Florida International ...

604. Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a popular story going around about a husband and wife who are discussing their living wills. The husband is adamant about his desires. “Just so you know,” he says, “I would never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If I ever get to that state, I just want you to pull the plug.” His wife thought about this for a moment, got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all his beer. Some of us know somebody who’s in that kind of vegetative state. We want to ...

605. The Right Connection

John 15:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

Larry Walters was a truck driver. But his lifelong dream was to fly. When he graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force hoping to become a pilot, but his poor eyesight disqualified him. When he finally left the service, he had to simply be contented with watching others fly fighter jets over his backyard. One day, sitting in his lawn chair, he dreamed about the magic of flying. Then one day Larry Walters got an idea. He went down to the local Army-Navy Surplus Store, and bought a tank of helium ...

606. God Where Are You? - The Problem of Evil

Genesis 3:1-6, Judges 6:13

Sermon

James Merritt

Whether it is the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, a tsunami that wipes out 150,000 people in a day, or the massive starvation of millions of children around the world, you cannot deny the reality of evil. On the other hand, we saw last week how science itself has proved with certainty that the world is not eternal. The universe had a beginning. The only feasible option to explain the origin of the universe is a transcendent creator. DNA itself is a compelling ...

607. Repentance Is Relationship!

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

Repentance is relationship. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story titled, The Birthmark. It is a story about a man who married a very beautiful woman who had a birthmark on her left cheek. She had always thought of it as a beauty spot, but her husband saw the birthmark to be a sign of imperfection, a flaw. It began wearing on him so much that all he could see was that birthmark. He could not see her beauty, her graciousness, or her great personality. He could only focus on what he perceived to be a flaw ...

608. Work

1 Corinthians 3:9-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who left their mother to build homes of their own. The first little pig built his house of straw. The second little pig built his house of sticks. The third little pig built his house of brick. Soon the Big Bad Wolf came to visit the three little pigs. When the little pig in the straw house would not let him in, the Big Bad Wolf huffed and he puffed until he blew his house in. When the little pig in the house of sticks would not let the wolf in, the Big Bad ...

609. The Horror before the Blessing

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

A few years ago, a woman wrote in exasperation to the editor of her newspaper. She demanded to know why the media always publish negative and sad stories during the holiday season. As she pointed out, "Christmas is supposed to be a happy, joyous time."1 Her letter sounds almost as if she thinks that, even if bad news happens during the holiday season, the newspapers and television should simply ignore those things. Maybe we all wish Christmas time had a kind of protective bubble around it. Christmas could ...

610. Like

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Happy Lent! Oops! No such thing. Of course not. Lent is a solemn season, full of serious stuff. We run special educational courses during Lent. Baptismal candidates are on their “cram course” during Lent. Practicing Christians are supposed to be more intentionally focused on one’s prayer life during Lent. We “give up” things for Lent — chocolates, meat, sweets, smoking, bad TV shows. Forty days is long enough to learn something new, miss something old, and change some habits. Unfortunately, it is not so ...

611. Killing What Is Already Dead

Colossians 3:1-11

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

Every pastor has had this experience. It doesn't have to be the husband in a marriage, but let's just say that it's the husband. The man comes to the pastor's study clutching the report from the physician's office: high blood pressure, overweight, danger of heart disease. The physician has ordered the man to lose weight and to stop smoking. Sitting in the pastor's office, the man swears he is going to take better care of himself. He's said it before, but this time he really means it. He wants to be around ...

612. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Wisdom for the Tongue Like the Pauline churches, James’ church was a church of the Spirit. Though there were formal offices, such as elder (5:14), there was no ordination process or schooling needed to teach and preach. As a result it was relatively easy for people with some ability, but worldly motivation, to put themselves forward as teachers. (Our modern seminary-ordination process makes this take longer, but it is not successful in preventing it; rather, it makes such a person a more permanent fixture ...

613. A Prophecy Against Babylon

Isaiah 13:1--14:23

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Poems about Northern Powers: Introduction to Chapters 13–23: Chapter 12 would have made a fine ending to a book, and perhaps it once did. Isaiah has warned Judah of calamity to come, then looked at the other side of trouble to the punishment of the troublers themselves and to the fulfillment of Yahweh’s purpose for Israel “in that day.” Isaiah 13 then marks a new start. The word oracle announces something new; this distinctive title will introduce most of the sections within this next major division of the ...

614. Two Kinds of Wisdom

James 3:13-18, James 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

615. Do you need a Pharisectomy?

Matthew 9:27-34, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 12:15-21, Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:38-45, Matthew 12:46-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, and they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them they have no delight in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10) Props: Coffee and rolls Every home gets to set their own rules. Some are strange. Some are stringent. Some are strident. Some are just plain goofy. Ever been in a home with a white carpet? I bet you were required to take off your shoes before entering. Ever been in a home with all the ...

616. Parabola

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

[This is an interactive sermon. In order to preach this well, you need to allow your congregants to take part, answer questions, imagine themselves as part of the story.] Prop: ostrich egg I have here an egg. [You can pass around the egg.] This egg belongs to an ostrich. Let me tell you a story about the ostrich, who one day took her eyes off of the place in the sand where she buried her eggs. Lo and behold, when she finally remembered where she had hid them, a predator had come in the night and stolen her ...

617. Free to Forgive

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Just before Easter, Jewish people celebrated a holiday in their tradition called Purim. During Purim, the story of Esther is read aloud, sometimes enacted. The story of Esther tells of a an upright, young Jewish woman who becomes Queen of Persia and reveals to the King the evil intentions of his right hand man, Haman, who is out to exterminate the Jewish people. Esther’s uncle Mordechai has angered Haman, who builds a gallows intending to have Mordechai hanged upon it. But when his treacherous plan to ...

618. God Soaked

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I have here a ruler. It’s the way we measure nearly everything in life. If you are old enough, you remember having one of these in your desk at school, so that you could use it during math class. These wooden rulers now are nearly obsolete. At least in the form we see here. But they haven’t been vanquished from our minds and the way we think about measurement, behavior, and life. Our word ruler comes from the Latin word "regula,” derived from the verb "rego," meaning "to keep straight, direct, govern, or ...

619. Letting God

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Matthew 2:1-12

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Mary, Joseph, three Shepherds and three Kings. The shepherds may be of either gender. Length: 15 minutes MARY and JOSEPH are seated together on stage. There are three other stools near them, two on MARY's right and one on JOSEPH's left. There is a cradle on the floor next to them. MARY: Joseph, I want to tell you how grateful I am that you were with me during the birth of the child. I really don't know what I would have done without you. JOSEPH: I was glad to do what I could, but I'm afraid it was ...

620. Managing Disappointment

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

Paul wrote to the Romans, "Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:4-5) Of this we can be sure, even though we feel that God has also forgotten us, he hasn't. Some things are not fully understood until we have felt entirely bereft of all comfort. Disappointment may give us the feeling that no one loves us anymore, and that there is no one who ...

621. Jesus the Healer

Luke 6:19

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A heating pad. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever used a heating pad? (Let them answer.) When do you like to use it the most? (Let them answer.) Those are all good times, but I suppose that the best time for all of us to use the heating pad is when we do not feel too well. If we have an earache or a backache, or any kind of an ache, it is always good to use the heating pad. There is that nice warm feeling that seems to make us feel better. I want you to feel my heating pad and ...

622. For Freedom!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Picture this: The radio alarm awakens you at 6:00 a.m. A friendly voice says, "Good morning! Another lovely day is being brought to you by your Great Uncle Max. Enjoy it!" Climbing out of bed, you get into the shower. As you finish waking up, you remember that your Great Uncle Max provides the water that flows through the pipes and the electricity that lights the bathroom and the bedroom and drives all the appliances you’ll use when you get to the kitchen. Great Uncle Max’s name appears on all the labels ...

623. Three Things You Can Count On

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Charley Reeb

One summer I took a month off for a much needed time of renewal. During my time off I decided to do a little research. I wanted to get the perspective of folks who don’t go to church. Preachers are very insulated in a church bubble. Everything we do revolves around church culture for the most part and that is not all bad. But here is the thing — if the church’s main task is to reach those outside of it then it would be wise for me to get the pulse of those outside the church bubble. How can we be effective ...

624. The Mechanics Of Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15, Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Note: This isn't a sermon but it's a good primer if you are preaching on the subject. Our goal is to pray like Jesus. We want to improve the effectiveness of our prayers. That is our objective, but what are the means of reaching the goal? We have come to the time when we need to consider the nuts and bolts of Christlike prayer. What do we say? When do we say it? Where do we say it? How long should we pray? How often? These are some of the mechanics of prayer. They are important as means to the end. The ...

625. Hungry for Anything?

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

One time I was having lunch with a man in a Chicago Loop restaurant. The waitress came to our table, offered him the menu and asked: "Well, what would you like for lunch;" "I don’t quite know," replied my companion, "but whatever it is, I’m sure that you won’t have it." We never quite get over that kind of childishness, do we? How many people know what they want in life? Try asking them some time, and you will hear a hodgepodge of half-formed, ill-defined ambiguities. The simple truth is that most people ...

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