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 626 to 650 of 5000 results

626. Being Prepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... up our lives, but the coming of the Lord, whether at Christmas or at Christ’s return on the last day ought to be something Christ’s followers look forward to. We ought to be like little children whose father loves them very much, but has gone on a long business trip. Now they can’t wait for their Daddy to come home. We wait not with fear, but with faith. The point is to be prepared. Be prepared so that if you dropped dead this moment, you would have nothing to apologize for. Be prepared so if you ...

627. Why Are You So Afraid?

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... stuck it in his pocket. Tears of disappointment burned his eyes. He turned his head away, told Mr. Miller goodbye and slumped out of the Miller Candy Company. That night he felt totally dejected. Who wants a stutterer around? he asked himself in defeat. Nobody. And as long as he stuttered he would be a nobody. He had lived with this pain all his life. After the interview with Mr. Miller, he was prepared never to utter another sound. He took the piece of paper Miller had given him out of his pocket, ready to ...

628. Holy Smokes! God Is Here

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... the pieces of the five barley loaves which are not needed. And you and at least 5,000 other people sit there in stunned silence. Then somebody whispers, “Holy smokes. Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Someone else murmurs, “This is our long awaited king.” And you begin to sense that the crowd is turning into a mob. Not a mob bent on destruction, but a mob intent on making Jesus their king. And you’re one of them. But then you look around and the Teacher is gone. Just when ...

629. The Utmost Patience for the Foremost Sinner

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... murders, war crimes, cruelty, child abuse, and depravity of others. We know more than we want to know about parents who torture their children, sometimes in horrific ways, like cooking them in a microwave. We see such things and become too complacent about our own sins. As long as we are not as bad as some people, we must be doing okay. Our emotional needs keep us from thinking about our sins. Most of the time we need all of our emotional energy just to get by. Life seems to throw everything at us that ...

630. A Tale Of Two Peters

Acts 5:27-32

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... entirely from his Lord. A few months later, Peter himself was in that dreaded chamber. The same men who had arranged for the arrest and execution of Jesus now point their fingers at him. And the same man, who had denied his Lord three times not long before, was commanded by the authorities to deny him once again. That night in the courtyard, Peter was on the fringe of danger, but this time he was in the crosshairs. What would he do? How could he escape? Peter addressed the members of the Sanhedrin: "We ...

631. A Baby Changes Everything

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... them on the road to find and pay homage (honor) to this new “king of the Jews.” Undefined here by Matthew is how long these magi have been on their journey, and how many others like them they may have picked up on their way. Herod’s later ... is Bethlehem in “the land of Judah” (replacing the less familiar “Ephratha”). Jesus’ birth-place, the birth-place of the long-awaited Messiah, is clearly in the Judean Bethlehem. Despite their knowledge of the magi and their mission, despite the biblical ...

632. Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

633. Prayer-Conditioning Your Life

Luke 2:29-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... after that extended time in prayer did Jesus chose his disciples. Before you make important decisions in your life, do you pray? I know you do all sorts of social and fiscal and psychological reconnaissance. We check out paper trails and personality quirks, credit checks, and long-term assets. But do we pray? Do we ask for God’s guidance? Do we open ourselves up to a divine insight that might clash with a credit report, a job review, or a resume? After a day and night of prayer, Jesus chose fishermen, day ...

634. Just Checking

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , the circle of life and death is much more tightly drawn. In Sierra Leone when a woman is expecting a baby her friends and relations make special pilgrimage to visit her. Not to wish her well. They come to say goodbye. A long, drawn out goodbye. A nine month long goodbye. The maternal mortality rate is so high in that region that loving relatives dare not put off their visitations. In the words of an old African proverb, a pregnant woman has one foot in the grave. Giving birth, creating life, has always ...

635. Filling the Hole in Our Hearts

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... to be sure you put the silver in the hottest part of the fire. That is so all the impurities in the silver will be burned away. He also said that you had to watch it at all times to make sure it was not in there too long. If it were there too long, it would be ruined. The woman was fascinated by his explanation. She asked, “How do you know when it is done?” His answer was, “That’s easy: when you see your reflection in it.” God desires to see His reflection in our lives. Scripture tells us that ...

636. Love to Life

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... daughter of Abraham.” Jesus’ argument is further strengthened because the plight of this “daughter” was not caused by any accidental tumble into a pit, but was the direct result of demoniac actions. She had been “bound by Satan for eighteen long years.” The synagogue crowd opts for miracle over micro-management. Jesus’ argument convinces those in attendance both of his authority and of the legitimacy and legality of his actions. They rejoice over the healing, the “wonderful things” he had ...

637. Going Home

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Argile Smith

... the whole trip. The word home has a pleasant ring to it, and it’s a particularly beautiful word to hear after being away from it for a while. While such an assertion makes sense after a weeklong vacation at a theme park, it makes even more sense after the long journey called life. For Christians, coming to the end of life’s journey doesn’t have to prompt a sense of dread and fear. Because of what we know about God’s love for us and his gift of eternal life in heaven, the end of our journey here can ...

638. A Straying Heart

Psalm 95:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... city for his son. The sad irony is that he will never be able to live in that city. He will never find a place of rest. Why do we feel that we can ignore God’s plan for life and still find that peace within for which we so long? Nancy Shulins of the Journal News of Nyack, NY tells of Bob Harris, a weatherman for New York television station WPIX-TV and the nationally syndicated independent Network news. In 1979, Bob Harris had to weather a public storm of his own making. Though he had studied math, physics ...

639. Drowsy Disciples

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... that will accompany his return (such as Mark 13:14-20, 24-25). Likewise, the end-of-times teachings leave us with different impressions about the timetable of these events. What Jesus teaches for the first half or more of Mark 13 adds up to suggest a long process. Don’t jump to quick conclusions, we hear him saying, for many things will need to take place and be fulfilled before the Son of Man appears. But then, in verse 30, he makes the remarkable claim that “this generation will not pass away until ...

640. Changing Times

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... was followed by more chaos when reports circulated that Jesus, who had been crucified, was now alive again. It wasn’t long before Mark’s mother decided to invite those who believed that Jesus was alive to use her home for a meeting ... facing a future of terror. At the same time, the “good news” is that Jesus broke into our times to bring the blessings of the kingdom long before any hint of judgment would darken the skies. This is why we can know that death is coming and yet face it unafraid. We know ...

641. Waiting Is So Hard to Do

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... would be a cardinal sin. One lady wrote about her frustrations waiting in line. She wrote: “Here are the reasons I’d like to thank Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and my local grocer for having 25 checkout lanes and only three open at any given time . . . “Waiting in long lines keeps my domestic brain from going completely idle there’s so much to learn! “I can catch up on my magazine reading without buying any. “I have time to leave my cart in line and run back to get the 13 things on my list I forgot. “I ...

642. The Council at Jerusalem

Acts 15:1-21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... :6–18)—three, not to eat the meat of strangled animals (which therefore still retains its blood, cf. Lev. 17:10, 13); and four, not to eat any blood itself (v. 20; cf. Lev. 3:17; 7:26; 17:10; 19:26; Deut. 12:16, 23; 15:23). It has long since been observed that these decrees could well be a summary of the law of Leviticus 17–27 that bound, not only Israel, but foreigners living among them. But was their introduction now a denial of the freedom that had just been won for the Gentiles? Some have thought ...

643. In Thessalonica (Acts 17:1–9)

Acts 17:1-9

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... people “were allotted to Paul and Silas [by God]” (see disc. on 2:47). But some take the passive as equivalent to the middle voice, “they threw in their lot” with the missionaries. From the outset this church was predominantly Gentile, and before long the great majority of its members appears to have come straight from a pagan background with no previous contact with the synagogue (cf. v. 5). 17:5 Though Paul was permitted to speak in the synagogue for only three Sabbaths, his letters indicate that ...

644. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... s earlier years in the country before he was appointed to his present office (see disc. on v. 1), for it was to Felix as judge, not as governor, that Paul appealed. 24:11–13 Paul began by answering the charge of treason. He had not been in Jerusalem long enough to stir up insurrection, even if he had wanted to. The twelve days (v. 11) appears to be intended as an actual figure. The shortness of the time would enable Felix to investigate the truth of this claim if he wished to do so. Various schemes have ...

645. The Plague of Locusts

Exodus 10:21-29

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... 14:4, 17). The balance of the references to his hard heart remind us that Pharaoh himself was responsible for his hard heart (7:13–14, 22–23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34–35). He enslaved and oppressed the people of his own volition long before the Lord began this hardening. God claimed to harden the pharaoh’s heart (thereby prolonging the slavery of the Israelites and the plagues) in order to “perform these miraculous signs of mine among them.” These signs further revealed to the Israelites who God is ...

646. Naomi and Ruth

Ruth 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... land (Gen. 12:10; 26:1; 46:1; Exod. 16:3), but also it forces them to mortgage it away (Neh. 5:3). Precisely how long one can retain ownership while absent is an oftdebated question among the rabbis (e.g., b. B. Qam. 60b). Famine can be personified as a ... alien,” a wanderer dependent upon the hospitality of homeborn Moabites for protection and privilege. As such, he follows in a long line of resident Israelite aliens, including Abraham (Gen. 12:10), Lot (19:9), and Joseph’s brothers (47:4). The place ...

647. Restoration of Israel

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... of Israel says, vv. 1–2a). Jeremiah is further instructed not only to speak this message, but to write in a book all the words that God has spoken to him. Such a command underscores the importance of the message as well as a need to preserve it long term. Perhaps as well it gives the message a certain measure of assurance. It is a word that the faithful could come back to and remind themselves of God’s continued involvement with them. The actual oracle is introduced with a formula that looks to a time ...

648. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 2:4-7, Zephaniah 2:8-11, Zephaniah 2:12, Zephaniah 2:13-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... northeast. Yahweh gave no reason for displacing the Philistines unless it was the implicit one that they were inhabiting territory long ago destined for Judah. But the land of the Israelites’ relatives, the Moabites and Ammonites, had not been so destined (see ... the nations speaks first and very briefly about and to the Cushites, or Sudanese, the people of the Upper Nile region who long ruled Egypt (see the comment on Nah. 3:9). In the context, then, the term likely refers to Egypt, rather as Chaldeans ...

649. God’s Covenant with Abram

Genesis 15:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... out of Egypt” (Exod. 20:2). This parallel is intentional as it interprets Abram’s journey from Ur to Canaan as a foreshadowing of Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan. Both had to leave a locale in which they had lived a long time. Both had to take a long journey before reaching the land of promise. Just as the children of Israel were delivered from bondage, Abram, by a journey from Ur, was delivered from a culture burdened by the worship of many gods. In his self-introduction Yahweh also stated that ...

650. Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Kings 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... , seeking the common good rather than simply his own, the blessings of God are now to follow. Much of the succeeding narrative about Solomon will, in fact, be concerned to describe the riches and honor (3:13) that he accumulated in the course of his long life (3:14). Before that, however, we read of an occasion when Solomon’s new God-given wisdom in relation to his subjects was amply illustrated and Israel first came to perceive Solomon as the wise king par excellence. Additional Notes 3:2 The high places ...

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