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 5000 results

651. Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... and for the world (45:18–25). 44:24–28 At one level, verses 24–28 are merely an introduction to 45:1–8, without a point of their own. Structurally, that is, they comprise an introduction to Yahweh’s words in verse 24a followed by a long self-description on Yahweh’s part that occupies verses 24b–28. Such a self-description is designed to buttress some point that Yahweh wishes to make. This self-description thus corresponds to the ones in 43:14a, 15 and 43:16–18 in the parallel section, which ...

652. Praise and Prayer

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... s generation has experienced is Yahweh’s declining to be sovereign in their life and declining to treat them as a personal possession (contrast Deut. 28:10). The charge is similar to that in 40:27. And this has been so from of old. We do not know how long a time separates Jerusalem’s fall in 587 B.C. from this prayer. It might be a matter of decades. It might be more than a century. But it clearly feels longer than the period during which the temple stood in its glory, because it occupies the whole of ...

653. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... (Pss. 28:1; 30:3; 40:2; 88:4, 6; 143:7; see the Additional Note on 31:15–17). Similarly, “the people of long ago” is apparently a reference to the Rephaim, a term the Hebrew Bible uses both for the ancient inhabitants of Canaan (Gen. 14:5; ... Tyre as uninhabited, depopulated, and barren (as Greenberg in particular observes, see Ezekiel 21–37, p. 537). 26:20 The people of long ago. In old Canaanite texts, the Rephaim are fallen heroes and kings from ancient days, who were consigned to the place of the ...

654. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... as an objective genitive). Paul defines this gospel as the “proclamation” (kē) of Jesus Christ (compare 16:25a with 1:1–4). C. H. Dodd long ago identified the components of the kērygma from the book of Acts. He noted that there were at least five end-time aspects of ... his expulsion from his post at Oxford in 1381. He died after a stroke in 1384 and was buried, but not for long. At the Council of Constance in 1415, Wycliffe was condemned by Pope Martin V, and it was ordered that Wycliffe’s remains be ...

655. A Failure of Leadership

Num 20:14-29

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... new high priest (Num. 20:22–28). Thus, a new chapter of leadership for a new generation begins to unfold. Israel at long last has resumed its march toward Canaan. Historical and Cultural Background The Edomites who here refuse to let Israel pass through their ... ’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed ...

656. Keeping Promises

Numbers 30:1-16

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... . A husband can also annul a vow or pledge of a wife made after they marry (for vows made before marriage, compare vv. 6–8). This helps him to protect the family’s economic interests from unreasonable vows. If he negates her vow or pledge a long time after he knows of it, then the guilt of oath violation falls on him, not her (v. 15). 30:16 These are the regulations . . . concerning relationships. Curiously, the summary leaves out the case of the widow and the divorcée, suggesting that the topic is ...

657. Job Feels under Attack by God

Job 16:1-17:16

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... need. 16:22 Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return. Job has the profound sense that time is running out for God to come to his help, so once again (cf. 3:25–26; 7:21; 10:21–22) he expresses his longing for a quick resolution to his situation before he dies. Job does not have God’s later revelation about the afterlife or the future resurrection, so his limited understanding makes his predicament harder to bear. He has to live and think within the constraints of what God has ...

658. Elihu Makes His Appearance

Job 32:1--37:24

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... just, humans must not question his ways. By objecting to how God has treated him, Job is proving that he is not pious. Elihu views Job’s situation strictly as a legal case to be adjudicated rather than as a painful personal tragedy. Thus, Elihu is long on rhetoric but short on compassion. In effect, Elihu functions as another prosecutor against Job as he defends God’s just governance of the world. Elihu begins (34:1–9) and ends (34:31–37) this speech with appeals to the wise men, whom he believes ...

659. A Celebration of Hope

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... but he found that he didn’t really want to turn the matter over to God. He then tried an experiment. He tried to completely relax--to push every thought from his mind. As he sought to relax, he felt deep within himself a “a vague longing”--a longing for the coming of one he called simply “the Friend,” the Friend who understands, even in the time of anger when we are not ourselves. Leslie Weatherhead writes that an overwhelming sense of peace suddenly flooded his being. He didn’t see a vision. He ...

660. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... s return from his trip to Thessalonica (see 1 Thess. 3:1–2). He had departed from Athens, and upon his return from the Thessalonian church, he caught up with Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:5). We can only guess how he traveled (by road or sea?) and how long the trip and stay with the church lasted (up to a month or so?). The wait must have been agonizing for Paul. “But Timothy has just now come to us from you” and, contrary to fears, “has brought good news about your faith and love” (3:6). Timothy’s ...

661. A New Possibility

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

James L. Killen

... which he had hoped to eventually buy his own freedom and used the money to buy medicine on the black market to save Gordon's life. Eventually Denny and Dusty talked to Gordon about the Christian faith. At first he wanted none of it. He had long since rejected Christianity for rationalism. But in time, faith was renewed in him. He recovered his strength. Since he was well-educated and had studied philosophy and religion, he was asked to teach a class in religion for prisoners who were interested. He became a ...

662. Can You Hear It?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... of the barn. They thought it was just filled with hay. But when they opened the door, they discovered a bale in the corner with an open Bible on it. In front of the bale were two worn out places on the ground, indentations which had taken a long time to depress. The two sons, caught by surprise, just stood there in reverent silence. Then one said, “So that’s where he was and what he was doing.” The other answered, “I am just wondering how many of those prayers were said for us.” Then the first ...

663. I Wonder Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Romans 8:28-29

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... a monster. Every cracking twig sounds like a bear or a bobcat. Every rush of wind sounds like whispers of the demonic. But when morning comes, the young brave sees another Cherokee hiding behind a tree. It is his father, who has been lovingly watching all night long, making certain that his child did not have to face the darkness alone. Oh, we don’t face the darkness alone. This is what Paul was expressing when he said, “I am convinced that nothing will separate us from the love of God.” Whatever you ...

664. Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

2 Samuel 14:1-33

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... Joab used to get his own way. Later, directly defying David’s orders, Joab killed Absalom. However, it seems that at this stage Joab saw Absalom as the best prospect to be David’s successor and recognized that would not happen if Absalom remained too long outside of Israel. 14:2–24 Joab followed Nathan’s example in bringing a case study to David. The wise woman from Tekoa may have been noted for her guile and persuasive skills, or she may have been selected because David did not know her. Certainly ...

665. Job Speaks

Job 3:1-26

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... 9:1; 11:1; 12:1; 15:1; 16:1; 18:1; 19:1; 20:1; 21:1; 22:1; 23:1; 25:1; 26:1. The long, final speech of Job in 26–31 is further marked by two extending continuation markers (wayyosep ʾiyyob seʾet meshalo wayyoʾmar, lit. “Job continued to lift ... likely refers to the miscarriage of a child who is not yet viable (see also Eccl. 6:3). Job would have experienced the rest and peace he longs for if he had been hidden like those in the abode of the dead. In this picture of the dead, it is largely the poor and ...

666. Bildad's Second Speech to Job

Job 18:1-21

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... with Job’s plight at a much lower level. The order of the world will not be rearranged to accommodate him. Nor must the rocks be moved from their place. Additional Notes 18:2 When: the phrase (like the much more frequent ʿad matay, “How long?”) expresses anguished and desperate longing in the face of protracted suffering or rejection (Exod. 16:28; Num. 14:11; Josh. 18:3; Pss. 13:2, 3; 62:4; Jer. 47:6; Hab. 1:2), and is often directed to God in an attempt to encourage action on behalf of the human ...

667. No One Is Righteous before God

Psalm 143:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... have done, is left open-ended. It could denote Yahweh’s saving acts, perhaps just celebrated in a corporate festival, or his works in creation. In 44:1 and 77:5, 11, the phrase, “the days of long ago,” has particular reference to the period of Moses and Joshua (cf. 74:2). “Of long ago” (Hb. qedem) can describe “the skies” (68:33) and Yahweh’s original establishing of the sun, moon, and earth (74:12–17). Thus, Psalm 143 directs worshipers to engage their memory as a means for cultivating ...

668. Absalom's Conspiracy

2 Samuel 15:1-12

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

669. The End Times

Daniel 12:1-13

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... In both instances, the heavenly visitor affirms that the revelation given is true (8:26; 11:2). In both narratives a celestial being asks, “How long?” (8:13; 12:6). Both include a timetable of about three and a half years (8:14; 12:7, 11, 12). In both cases ... just means “river.” 12:6 The Hebrew text does not contain a word for fulfilled, so a more accurate translation would be “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” (NRSV; lit. “Until when is the end of the wonders?”). The NIV is ...

670. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... in particular being confined to an intense darkness (2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 6; 1 Enoch 10:4–5; cf. Rev. 20:3) somewhere in the depths of the earth (Jub. 5:6). 3:20 The spirits singled out for Christ’s preaching, specified as those who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah, are the angels whose fall is narrated in Genesis 6:1–4. The patient endurance of God (Gen. 6:3) is frequently mentioned in biblical and other Jewish writings, but it is a divine restraint that offers a limited opportunity for repentance ...

671. The Plague of Darkness

Exodus 10:1-20

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 ...

672. John Mellencamp and the Danger of Procrastination

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... ? A heavy rain had been falling as a man drove down a lonely road. As he rounded a curve, he saw an old farmer surveying the ruins of his barn. The driver stopped his car and asked what had happened. “Roof fell in,” said the farmer. “Leaked so long it finally just rotted through.” “Why in the world didn’t you fix it before it got that bad?” asked the stranger. “Well, sir,” replied the farmer, “it just seemed I never did get around to it. When the weather was good, there weren’t no need ...

673. If Your Cry for Help Is Loud Enough...

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... Well, if I had some of the blessings some other people enjoy, gratitude would come much easier.” A more mature understanding of life tells us that our sense of gratitude doesn’t depend so much on our circumstances as it does on the condition of our heart. Dr. Tom Long tells us about a time when he was having one of those frustrating days when he had more things to do than he could possibly accomplish. So he was in a foul mood as he rushed through the store. It didn’t improve his mood to get behind a ...

674. Jesus Destroys the Power of Sin

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... The usual laughter followed, and people stirred to go. Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the room and looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes that I was. "I will answer your question." Taking his ... the Hebrew Scriptures. God rescued his people from bondage in Egypt, but we recall that the path to the promised land was long and arduous. The physical distance from Egypt to the promised land was not great and even people in Moses' day could, with adequate ...

675. Lord of the Harvest

Matthew 9:35-38, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... when and where it is safe to climb, and where and when not to. Often, they lead them up the slopes, guiding them to safety, and rescuing those who fall. They teach them how to climb, and the best places to stop and rest. Many die doing this life-long duty for others. But it is the pride of their people to care for those who venture into their beloved mountains. When God called His people together from the mountain of Sinai those many years ago, God too gave his flock instructions on how to live a life in ...

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