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 651 to 675 of 3108 results

651. Christmas 1

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon Aid

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 Theme: The birth of the world's savior - its mystery and message Bulletin Heading Suggestion: Revise the heading to reflect the church season, as for example, What is Worship but A Celebration of Who we are Whose We Are The Joy and Challenge of Being Christian in God's Way This Christmastide Season, Pastoral Invitation One pastor began this way: For several weeks, we have been hearing and saying "Merry Christmas." We probably stopped doing that the day after Christmas. For ...

652. What Do You See?

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man. And His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender ...

653. And Now For Something Completely Different

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

At the end of a week-long retreat in a mountain camp setting a somewhat different kind of worship service was taking place. It was at the end of a day that had been set aside for introspection and talking about feelings of self-worth. There had been some discussion about how to deal with feelings of guilt and the need to feel forgiven, and how it is often easier to forgive someone else than to forgive oneself. Since this was a retreat of church people there was frequent reference to the forgiving nature of ...

654. Straight Backs And Rekindled Dreams

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

What's it like to live without hope? What's it like to finally decide that your dreams are beyond your abilities and to resign yourself to living without any prospect that things will get better? The closest thing I could find to a picture of a person totally without hope comes from a book by Dr. David Jeremiah titled The Power of Encouragement. Dr. Jeremiah tells about an old Alfred Hitchcock show which featured the story of an evil woman jailed for committing a murder. The woman soon realizes that her ...

655. The Danger Of Straying From Home (Father's Day)

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Dr. Nels Ferre was one of the imminent theologians a generation ago -- a professor at Vanderbilt. As an old man, he stood before his students and talked about his coming to America. He was one of eight children living in Sweden. With the war coming ever closer, his mother chose him to leave the country. She took the family down to the great cathedral in the middle of the city and, having the children stand in a circle, encouraged them to pray together for each other, but especially for Nels. He still ...

656. What to Wear to the War

Ephesians 6:13-17

Sermon

James Merritt

Just a few years ago I had the privilege of taking my youngest son, Joshua, to Boston, Massachusetts to spend a couple of days there to see the Boston Red Sox play and to tour the city. It was a beautiful time with my son as we saw the USS Constitution, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," we walked the campus of Harvard University. But then we went on an historical walk through the city and came to the old North Church. It was there my imagination took me back to the year 1775, when a man by the name of Paul Revere ...

657. So, You Want to Get Well?

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Ron Lavin

There are four stories going on in this text: 1) the story of a humble leader, 2) the story of a sick woman, 3) the story of a dead little girl, and 4) your story and mine. We want to be sure to get at the truth of the Bible stories, but we also need to look at the personal connection, the application of the text to our lives. That's your story and mine. In other words, preaching Bible stories must not only be true to the text; preaching also must make a difference. This text about Jesus' healing power is ...

658. The Golden Hour

Exodus 19:1-25, Genesis 15:1-18, Ezekiel 24:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” --Exodus 34:29 “Only God lives forever! And he lives in light that no one can come near. No human has ever seen God or ever can see him. God will be honored, and his power will last forever. Amen.” --1 Timothy 6:16 In the medical field, the first hour after someone suffers a traumatic injury is ...

659. Standing in the Forecastle

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Ron Love

Bob Keeshan entertained children for years as the jovial Captain Kangaroo. The television show Captain Kangaroo ran on CBS for nearly thirty years, from October 1955 until December 1984, making it one of the longest-running nationally broadcasted children’s television programs. In Keeshan’s autobiography Growing Up Happy, he shared the moment when he realized life would be marvelous. Shortly after the Second World War, Keeshan, an eighteen-year-old Marine, was on board the troopship USS Rockbridge Ranger ...

660. Not As the World Gives

John 14:23-29 · John 5:1-9

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I remember when our twins were infants we lived in a third floor walkup in Greenwich Village in New York City. One day I decided to give my wife a break and take the kids out for a stroll in our neighborhood. With twins there is a certain amount of baggage required when you head out the door. Stroller built for two? Check. Diaper bag with snacks and so on? Check. Bottles of formula and other necessities? Check. Carrying two, active ten-month-old babies and navigating down the stairs with all that stuff was ...

661. After Everyone Had Gone Home

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

John Jamison

It was over. The shepherds had gone back to their flocks. The three wise men had gone to wherever they were going, the other visitors that had come to see what was going on had drifted away to other things, and the animals had begun to settle back down in the straw. Mary was resting and the baby was sleeping soundly. Joseph looked around the room and let out a long, deep breath. “It was over.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, looking forward to a much-needed long night’s sleep. Then the ...

662. When Following Is Not Enough

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

Sermon

John B. Jamison

The crowds had been coming constantly. A lot had happened since the day Jesus spoke to the group on the hillside by the sea. His reputation had grown, and he knew that meant that his time was growing shorter. So Jesus got Peter, James, and John, three of his first disciples, and as they had done several times before, he led them out to a place away from everyone where they could be alone and pray. In the past, they had gone up north to Caesarea, and they had taken shorter trips into the wilderness to the ...

663. Seeing The Unseeing

John 9:35-41, John 9:13-34, John 9:1-12

Sermon

David Belgum

Sing along with me: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I'm found; Was blind, but now I see. This plaintive spiritual song is a favorite among the elderly and nursing home residents at chapel time, those for whom physical eyesight is waning and for whom spiritual sight is increasingly significant. I think many believe it is a Negro spiritual, maybe because of its haunting melody. Actually it was written by John Newton, who was part of the revival of the ...

664. Proper 27

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Haggai 2:1-9, Luke 20:27-40

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Haggai 1:15b--2:9 Haggai encourages the exiles to re-build the temple. After defeating the Babylonians who deported the Jews, Cyrus the Great (558-528 B.C.) permitted the return of the exiles to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. In 521 Cyrus was succeeded by Darius who permitted another wave of exiles to return. Among them was a prophet, Haggai, whose ministry covered only one year, 520. When he saw how the exiles were building their houses to the neglect of re-building the temple ...

665. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: A month before, I had told this story at the church I was serving. A colleague at the Hispanic church in town invited me over to preach. I had embarrassed myself the year before by reading both the English and the Spanish versions of a sermon for them, so I decided to go with a translator this time. I sent her a triple-spaced copy of the text so she could get ready for the task. She came prepared. While I read the story, she translated spontaneously. Even I was more captivated with her rendition, ...

666. The Persecuted

Sermon

John A. Terry

Matthew 5:1-12John 15:12-27 Jack Cahill, an advertising executive from Kansas City, Missouri, has suggested new marketing techniques which can help to tap the appeal to popular blessings. Beginning with the Roman Catholic Church (24 percent of the U.S. market), he suggests a strategy of market segmentation, a clear positioning of the church identifying specific subgroups within the brand name. For the contemporary branch of the Roman Catholic Church, "the one that features hip priests, guitar playing, hand ...

667. When Imagination Replaces Memory

Isaiah 42:18-25

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the fascinating aspects of being human is our ability to create time. We have memories and can literally sit in the present but remember and live in the past. On the other hand, we also have imaginations and can literally live in the future. We can sit here and imagine what we're going to do as soon as worship is over. Most of our problems in life don't come from our imaginations. They come from our memories. The past presents us with a paradox. On the one hand, a lot of good things have happened to ...

668. He Abides In Us

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

John Updike once more revealed his remarkably brilliant powers of description in the novel Brazil. Updike shares his uncanny ability to portray the setting and landscape that surround his characters in order to highlight their nature and their roles. However, Updike's greatest gift is the manner in which he is able to crawl inside the characters to reveal their restless and frantic struggles to discover themselves. The principal characters in Brazil are Tristao and Isabel. Their love for each other ...

669. The Persecuted

John 15:18-27

Sermon

John A. Terry

Jack Cahill, an advertising executive from Kansas City, Missouri, has suggested new marketing techniques which can help to tap the appeal to popular blessings. Beginning with the Roman Catholic Church (24 percent of the U.S. market), he suggests a strategy of market segmentation, a clear positioning of the church identifying specific subgroups within the brand name. For the contemporary branch of the Roman Catholic Church, "the one that features hip priests, guitar playing, hand shaking, hugging, and other ...

670. Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Drama

Jerry Eckert

[Comment: A month before, I had told this story at the church I was serving. A colleague at the Hispanic church in town invited me over to preach. I had embarrassed myself the year before by reading both the English and the Spanish versions of a sermon for them, so I decided to go with a translator this time. I sent her a triple-spaced copy of the text so she could get ready for the task. She came prepared. While I read the story, she translated spontaneously. Even I was more captivated with her rendition ...

671. Changing The Rules

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

When I was a camp director the rules of long established and understood games were constantly being changed in order to incorporate a larger sphere of players. For the same reason Jesus said, "You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching." Jesus had a knack for constantly changing the rules of the game of life in order to incorporate a larger sphere of people in his kingdom net. One such game where the rules were often changed was volleyball. Volleyball is a well- ...

672. Easter 4

John 10:1-21, Acts 4:1-22, 1 John 3:11-24

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gathers us, saves us and keeps his flock together. COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 4:5-12 Peter and John are arrested by the temple guards for preaching the resurrection and healing the crippled man in the temple. The suspects are brought before the family of the High Priest for questioning. The interrogators wanted to know by what power Peter effected the healing. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter boldly proclaims that this man was healed through the name of Jesus. Jesus is ...

673. A Perfect Prayer

Sermon

Erskine White

Romans 8:26-27 Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind, that I may discern between good and evil. (1 Kings 3:9) Most of us would admit without too much prodding that we are not perfect, that we are a frustrating blend of good and evil. Oh, I've known a few Christians who think they are without sin because they are saved, but these are people who don't understand themselves or the Scriptures. For the rest of us, I think we'd all confess that we are flawed and fallible, imperfect at best. But what ...

674. Is Anybody There? Does Anybody Care?

Isaiah 49:8-26

Sermon

Robert Beringer

In 1976 when our nation was celebrating its bicentennial, there was a delightful musical produced about those uneasy weeks in Philadelphia more than 200 years ago when our Declaration of Independence was being written and signed. Throughout the whole production of "1776," a courier from General Washington keeps breaking in on the proceedings of the Continental Congress with increasingly disheartening news from the New Jersey encampments. The seemingly endless debate drags on ... 85 changes are made in the ...

675. For a Thirty-three-year-old Cancer Victim

Matthew 13:24-30

Eulogy

Harold Warlick

The Backside of the Mountain John 14:1-7 The following meditation was preached at the funeral of Charles Whitlow, age 33. Mr. Whitlow died after a prolonged battle with cancer. He underwent several painful and experimental last-resort bone marrow transplant attempts in Duke University hospital. His father, grandmother, and grandfather, all charter members of Emerywood Baptist Church, died and were eulogized by Dr. Warlick within the three years preceding Mr. Whitlow's death. He is survived by his wife, age ...

Showing results