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 1245 results

651. What Making a Difference Looks Like

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... arsonists instead of fire fighters. In the middle range, between avoidance on the one hand and aggression on the other is the fragile middle. Not faking peace or breaking peace but making peace. When a person knows God through Jesus Christ, when they are eager to receive and give mercy, and when they see perhaps more clearly than others because of a heart in process of purification, they become a gift to the world around them. With an objectivity that is wise, they listen to both sides, break logjams ...

652. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... the gluttonous resist fasting. It feels like death, which it in fact is. When you first do these things, you will feel like you are dying! And that is a good thing! Because he knew the human heart so well, Jesus issued a warning to those who were eager to take up spiritual disciplines in order to satisfy the hunger to know God. It is hard to shift the audience from those who see your outward life to the One who sees your inward life as well. Verse 1: “Beware,” he said, “of practicing your piety before ...

653. A Kingdom Investment Policy

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... about storing food that would not spoil. He knew they would all be impressed. As they walked, three of the friends entered the conversation. After a few days Crawford found it irritating that this lone man was not excited about getting to the city, "Aren't you eager to get there? Don't you want to see all these things?" That black brother responded with wisdom, “Mr. Crawford,” he said, “to be better off is not to be better."18 The novelist John Updike put his finger on the pain of our prosperity with ...

654. The New Covenant

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... in heaven. Amen. Prayer Of Confession O God, while we pray for peace on earth, we find it difficult to forgive our enemies and even to live in harmony with those close to us. Fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may truly become new persons willing and eager to live according to your laws. Amen. Offertory Prayer Almighty God, we not only pray for the day when all persons recognize you as Lord of their lives, but we bring these offerings that they as well as those who present them may be used by you to that ...

655. Identifying a Christian

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... a story that brings that truth home. [It is from the Baptist tradition, but the story rings true for all who would serve Christ.] A young man was converted to Christ during his senior year in high school. Here is his story in his own words: “I was a fresh, eager Christian, so when Tony Campolo came to our town to speak, I went to hear him. He was great! After he spoke, he asked us to sign up for his program of inner-city ministry in Philadelphia that summer. So I did. “Well, in mid-June, I met about a ...

656. Lighten Up

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... channel of the harbor's mouth. Impressed by that, Bliss wrote: Brightly beams our Father's mercy From his lighthouse evermore; But to us he gives the keeping Of the lights along the shore. Dark the night of sin has settled, Loud the angry billows roar; Eager eyes are watching, longing, For the lights along the shore. Trim your feeble lamp, my brother! Some poor seaman, tempest-tossed, Trying now to make the harbor, In the darkness may be lost. Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave ...

657. Strategic Planning

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... lives. There was a tragic story that came out of Portland Oregon back in 2004. Dianne, a 56‑year‑old bus driver with many years of experience, pulled into the Sunset Transit Center shortly before noon. She was running six minutes late, and was eager to use the bathroom. After waiting impatiently for her passengers to disembark, Dianne hurried off the bus, leaving the engine in gear and running, with no parking brake engaged. She walked around to the front of the bus and reached in the driver’s window ...

658. The Problem with Promises

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7

Sermon

James L. Killen

... in faith, Abram believed the promise and did what God called him to do. He ventured out in trust in that great invisible other who is God. At first, the promise must have been really exciting. Abram and Sarai must have greeted every day with eagerness. They must have expected something new and exciting to happen just around each bend in every road. They traveled, and they traveled, and they traveled up and down the length of the land of Canaan, living toward the fulfillment of God's promise. But eventually ...

659. Expectancy

Romans 13:11-14

Sermon

James L. Killen

... salvation but about the participation of the Christian community in the life of the larger community in which they lived. Also in Romans 8, Paul makes it clear that the movement toward the fulfillment of God's purpose has social dimensions. "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay ...

660. Thank God for the Church

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

James L. Killen

... of Gaius. Lots of people will be gathering both from the church that usually meets at the house of Gaius and also from the churches that meet in the houses of several other Christians. News has been passed around that a letter has come from Paul and everyone is eager to hear what Paul will have to say about the things that are going on in the church. It is late afternoon and you are walking from your house on the edge of the city nearest to the harbor to the house of a prominent citizen near the center ...

661. Removing Obstacles

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

... get along?" Paul would answer, "If they have the love of God in their hearts, they can." What will people find when they come to visit our church? Will they find us sharing love with one another and working together in the service of one purpose? Will they find us eager to welcome them into the fellowship and to make a place for them? Let us pray that they will.

662. Different

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

James L. Killen

... day argues against it, too. Science tells us that only things that can be proven "empirically" can count. Law tells us that our community affairs must be conducted in ways that are entirely secular. And, popular culture - the stuff that comes over the television - is eager to push God out of the way because most people associate God with some moral expectations that they find troublesome. Taking God seriously puts us at odds with our culture right off the bat. Then when we talk about a God who loves us and ...

663. Remembering Jesus

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

James L. Killen

... success that it forgets its primary function. Almost every one of us knows someone who talks loudly about his or her religion and is anxious to push it on you, but who really does not practice what he or she preaches. Disillusioned people are always eager to point their fingers at the hypocrisy of the religious. That is hard for us to deal with. We need something we can believe in, something with integrity that we can trust. When we need something we can believe in, we need to reclaim our memory ...

664. King of the Mountain

1 Peter 3:13-22

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... him. "Excuse me, sir," the stranger said. "I have come from quite a distance to see the great organ in this cathedral. Would you mind opening the console so that I might get a closer look at it?" The custodian at first refused, but the stranger seemed so eager and insistent that he finally gave in. "May I sit on the bench?" This time the sexton met the stranger's request with an absolute refusal. "What if the organist came in and found you sitting there? I would probably lose my job!" But again the stranger ...

665. Worthy of God

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Sermon

Rick Brand

... gift. There were already those who were suggesting that if the Laws of Moses were no longer valid, then it meant that Christians could do anything they wanted: there were no rules. Paul understands that where rules are removed you can end up with a mess. So Paul is eager to remind them that the gift of God's grace is to be received and enjoyed in ways that are fitting for the gift. Cynthia Gadsen had spent most of her life in the corporate world. Then one day she reached the place where she said, "I would ...

666. The Day of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

Rick Brand

... to stay that way. This promise of the Second Coming of the Lord is not an invitation to laziness. It is not an excuse for idleness. The promise of Christ's return is not excuse for indifference. It is the promise of his coming that makes us much more eager to share the good news and to encourage and support each other in faith. We are the children of the light and people of the wakening hours, and we are to protect and support each other in our work and faith. Robert Farrar Capon likes to suggest as the ...

667. A Radical Faith

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... faith. There would be pictures of Jesus in those churches, but not the pictures we are accustomed to seeing of Jesus in our Sunday Schools. We picture Jesus as a man, like us, who was a teacher primarily. These pictures show people gathered around him, eager to receive his wisdom and to hear the lovely words he would say to them. Or there would be pictures illustrating his parables, like the Good Samaritan, somebody helping someone out of love. Those are the pictures we are familiar with. But the medieval ...

668. A Tale of Two Dancers

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... was like making David one of the inner circle in the palace, one of the family. David became best friends with Jonathan, Saul's son. Samuel, the author of this book, says, "David loved Jonathan." Then David fell in love with Michal, Saul's daughter. Saul eagerly gave Michal to David as his bride. Then things changed. Saul accused David of trying to overthrow him. David denied it. But Saul became more and more obsessed with the conviction that David was a usurper, a traitor. So David finally had to flee ...

669. The Source of Self Esteem

Romans 8:14-25

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... look on the mistakes. I look on the heart. I look on what is potentially there. I don't see the way the person is now. I see the way the person is potentially, what he or she can become. It happens that way. I think we all begin life eager to experience the life that has been given to us as a gift. We do it without fear. We move into the world as children, with no fear at all. But after hurts, and rejections, and after the world has put us in our place, then we begin to live ...

670. This Is Not the Race I Entered

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord?" That is a confession of faith. At baptism, and the renewal of baptismal vows, that is really what we do. We confess our faith. That is what Peter is doing. He answered quickly and boldly, like an eager student who knows the answer, waving his arm in the air, body rising out of the seat, "Call on me. I know the answer. You are the Christ." "That's right Peter. You get an `A.'" I really think Peter thought that was the end of it, as we think ...

671. A Discussion Among Angels

Matthew 24:36-44

Drama

Matthew Powell

... in the paths of prudence. Then folly would fade away as the morning vapor and rays of wisdom would shine on all people, and the peace of God would come with the counsel of the angels. Storyteller: A murmur of pleasure followed the words of Uriel and eager looks flashed around the circle of angels as they heard the praise of wisdom. But there was one among them on whose face a shadow of doubt rested. Though he smiled, it was as if he remembered something the others had forgotten. Raphael: Who was it to ...

672. Easter 7

John 17:1-11, Acts 1:6-14, 1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:6-11, Psalm 68

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... look up to God. Jesus ascended to the Father. 3. The church at prayer (v. 14). The first Christians gathered in the upper room to pray for the Spirit. Why pray for the Spirit? Jesus initiated the promise to send the Spirit. It can be assumed Christ was eager to give the Spirit. Prayer is necessary on the human side to receive the Spirit. It is not God's reluctance to give the Spirit but man's readiness and desire to have the Spirit. Thus, prayer opens the prayer's heart and mind to the Spirit. Accordingly ...

673. Lessons for Year A Proper 27

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... , O my people, to my teaching" (v. 1); Psalm 63:2-8 - "Because your steadfast love is better than life" (v. 3); Psalm 70 - "O Lord, make haste to help me" (v. 1). Prayer of the Day: "Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people to seek more eagerly the help you offer, that, at the last, they may enjoy the fruit of salvation." Hymn of the Day: "Forth In Thy Name, O Lord, I Go"

674. Demonstrating the Divine

John 1:10-18

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... hands took place, the only female hands were mine as our Korean brothers and sisters continue to struggle with a gospel of inclusivity. In congregation after congregation, earnest, hopeful, joyful faces watched as promises were made and covenants were sealed with new and eager pastors - and yet, in almost every instance, the average age of the congregation was way over the median age of the communities in which we live and serve. I have learned that there are a lot of Presbyterians in our metropolitan area ...

675. Pentecost! Slow ... and Sure!

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... . And the text here proves the remedy for this backwardness. In Christ we must make a journey inward and journey outward. We must maintain contact with God and one another so as to be fed and cared for. But we must also look outward to the world, be eager to provide ministry for others. This is what Jesus commissioned his disciples to do in the text. Now go on with the text. It says that Jesus, after commissioning the church to go out to the world with the gospel, "He breathed on them and said 'Receive the ...

Showing results