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 51 to 75 of 117 results

51. God Shaves With A Borrowed Razor

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... unlikely persons and events to accomplish his will in your life. An illness you thought you could not survive became the setting for God doing his most significant work in your life. A job you had to do or a situation in which you were involved was so distasteful and unbearable that you could see nothing good in it. But it was there. You met a person whose life impacted you mightily. We could go on and on -- you'll discover it as you reflect upon your life -- it pleases God to use the unlikely to accomplish ...

52. The Baby Leaped

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... jailed. While they were there, the jailers did everything possible to make them miserable and to break their spirits. They tried to deprive them of sleep with noise and light during the nights. They intentionally over salted their food to make it distasteful. They gradually took away their mattresses, one by one, hoping to create conflict over the remaining ones. "Eventually the strategies seemed to be taking hold. Morale in the jail cells was beginning to sag. One of the jailed leaders, looking around one ...

53. Heaping Coals and Virtues

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

... , Paul uses very strong words. The word translated as hate appears only here in the New Testament. It is a very strong word, which means more than merely hate, more on the order of hate strongly or abhor. Not a matter of saying the words, simply expressing a distaste for, but taking an active stance against what is evil and also uniting with what is good. The term used here to mean hold fast also has a translation which is not used in many texts, but one which is very evocative of what Paul is saying. The ...

54. The Seven Deadly Fears

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stifle interest in and respect of other religious or philosophical systems. Fear infiltrates all aspects of our lives. One French philosopher (Patrick Viveret) calls fear the "emotional plague of our planet." Fear infects all peoples and all nations, with a distrust and distaste for all that is other. In the ancient world of Christendom, the Latin church came up with a handy list of human failures and shortcomings called the seven deadly sins. (Karaoke moment: Let's see how many we can name this morning ...

55. Show and Listen

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... they think of visiting their aunt with Alzheimer's: something they know they're supposed to do, but are always finding ways of putting off. The thing about it is that I think the vast majority of American Christians find the notion of evangelism extremely distasteful and do not practice it in any fashion." The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch reveals what true evangelism is about and how it's carried out. It's one of the best resources for unpacking what Florence Nightingale meant when she said that ...

56. The World's Best Hearing Aid

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to intimate that things might not be all that peachy for those who followed him as well. All this talk about taking up crosses and suffering alongside the Messiah sounded more than unpleasant, more than unexpected. It sounded downright dangerous and distasteful. Finding Jesus' words jarring and discordant, Peter had taken it upon himself to rebuke his master, rejecting his words, shutting his ears to the truth of Jesus' message. Fear kept Peter from hearing the unmistakable ring of truth in Jesus' voice ...

57. Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... gives his back: where he can be freely struck without hope of protecting himself. The Servant offers his cheeks: allowing his beard, a badge of maturity and virility, to be plucked out. The Servant does not even turn his face to avoid the ultimate sign of distaste and disrespect a spit in the face. How the Servant manages to endure all this abuse dished out in verse 6 is explained in the remaining verses of this third "Servant Song." While it is only with the Lord's help that the Servant maintains his ...

58. Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that would make them genuine people of the covenant. All the burnt offerings (v.11), burning incense (v.13), solemn assemblies (v.13), even their seemingly pious addresses to God in prayer (v.15) are all rejected by Yahweh. The depth of the divine distaste is evident by the strength of the negatives Isaiah voices: "I have had enough ..." (v.11); "I do not delight ..." (v.11); " ... is an abomination to me ..." (v.13); "I cannot endure ..." (v.13); " ... my soul hates ... " (v.14); " ... a burden to me ...

59. John 6:35, 41-51

John 6:35, 41-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of a distinct Second Discourse on the bread of life (vv.51-59). While it is true verse 51 essentially repeats the message delivered in verses 35-50, it does so in much more earthy, even graphic terms. Startling almost to the point of being distasteful is Jesus' claim that the bread of life should be understood as his own flesh. This identification of flesh (sarx) with bread is the main feature of the Second Discourse a feature which introduces a definite Eucharistic note into the whole Bread-of-Life ...

60. Close Up Parents: Be Cheerleaders, Not Jeer leaders

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... cheerleader and not their number one jeer-leader, give them love. II. Give Your Children Limits There is a flip side to this coin of parenting. On one side is love, but on the other side is discipline. I realize that one of the most difficult and distasteful things a parent has to give to his child is discipline. The Bible makes it very plain that one of the jobs that God gives a parent is this - to set limits for their children and then correct those children when they deliberately transcend those limits ...

61. Saying Nothing at All

Mark 10:17-31

Illustration

William G. Carter

... talks in generalities about the electric bill, the rising cost of church school curricula, and mission projects worthy of our support. Those are worthy topics of conversation. That's usually where the conversation remains with the list of the good services the church provides. Any actual mention of money seems distasteful.

62. You Can’t Stop God

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

Thomas Long

63. A Priesthood of Believers

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that comes on unexpectedly, the desire to hoard, to hold on to rather than to share. We could go on and on. The morbid fear of death or the future. Sometimes we are so fearful of these feelings. They are so against our being, so ugly and distasteful to us, so deep and mysterious that we are unwilling to trust another with them. We are afraid if our feelings are unacceptable to us they will certainly be unacceptable to others. In that fear, to share our feelings we not only feel that persons will not ...

64. Sitting at the Big People Table

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 's table, we would waste away to nothing; slowly starving to death while thinking we were filling ourselves. That's why Giving Thanks is so important. It keeps us focused on God. It keeps us focused on what Christ has done for us. An unthankful heart is just as distasteful to God as that Turkey my Aunt cooked. But with A GRATITUDE ATTITUDE we can GIVE THANKS IN ALL THINGS and GIVE THANKS TODAY or any day. 1. An original Thanksgiving tale to be read aloud to kids from www.dads.com, © 1992 Howard D. Fencl 2 ...

65. Acquired Taste

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the very faith community he had been chosen to serve. Paul gives Timothy a lot of encouragement in today’s epistle lesson. But Paul also challenges Timothy to grow his faith in new directions. The flavors of rejection and discouragement were distasteful to Timothy. As Paul’s “favorite son,” Timothy enjoyed respect and security. Instead of chastising Timothy for “letting the bad guys beat him,” Paul challenges his young friend to rediscover and reignite the power of the Holy Spirit in his day ...

66. Jesus Brings New Life

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... . The second coming or parousia is not an event that most people think about in their daily lives. Tucked neatly in the back of our brains, the knowledge that Jesus will come once again to our world is an idea that is distant at best or distasteful at worst. Who wants to contemplate the end of the world and the coming of Christ to reclaim all for God? Yet, as Isaiah reminds us in our first lesson today, the second coming will provide a new beginning for the world, both collectively and individually ...

67. Commissioned for Christ

2 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... Elijah, was any example at all, it would mean his future life would be very difficult. It would require him to go places he might not want to go, to encounter people and situations that he might wish to avoid, to perform tasks that might be distasteful and very difficult. He confidently continued to seek the Lord. Elisha wished to be God's prophet, his messenger in a troubled world. Like the commission of Elisha, today's celebration of the Transfiguration of our Lord is a special time for us to consider our ...

68. Change Your Tune

Illustration

Grady Nutt

Openness is essentially the willingness to grow, a distaste for ruts, eagerly standing on top-toe for a better view of what tomorrow brings. A man once bought a new radio, brought it home, placed it on the refrigerator, plugged it in, turned it to WSM in Nashville (home of the Grand Ole Opry), and then pulled all the ...

69. No ... On

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... what God is up to in Christ. God in Christ empties himself, takes the form of a servant, and immerses himself totally and deeply in this broken world. Christ carries all that is wrong and ugly with this world. He bears ALS, strokes, thefts, the most distasteful of sins, jealousy, hatred, and even those impersonal economic forces that crush so many, that bites them off, grinds them up, spits them out, and then calls them "a tax write-off." Even Jesus dies on a cross. He goes all the way to the cemetery ...

70. The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... : "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" (Luke 10:36). And the answer was, "The one who had mercy on him" (Luke 10:37). Amazing, isn't it? The concept of a good Samaritan is so distasteful that the lawyer cannot bring himself to even speak the name. Perhaps the reason Jesus chose a Samaritan as the hero of the piece is that he did not want his hearers to identify with this generous caregiver. As attractive and winsome is the behavior of this man, as ...

71. Open the Window, Aunt Minnie, Here It Comes!

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jeremiah was persecuted for his prophecies. People don’t like to hear that their nation is under judgment by God. They didn’t like to hear it then. We don’t like to hear it now. But Jeremiah spoke the truth, no matter how distasteful and everything he prophesied came true. The nation fell; the population was dispersed; the people were in despair. However, just when everything looked totally bleak and hopeless, God gave Jeremiah a new message. Jeremiah finally gets to tell his people good news. All is ...

72. A Bloody Cheer!

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

73. Look Who's Talking

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... in our critique of the critics. Such evaluation of others should always come with a mirror close at hand. Let us not be too eager to point out their specks until we have considered our own logs. Is there some group of people for whom we feel such distaste or disdain that we do not care for their souls? Is there a kind of person whose conversion we would not welcome because, frankly, it is a kind of person we do not welcome? Is there a group whose exclusion is more acceptable to us than their inclusion ...

74. The Light Has Come

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... by violence, crime, and broken lives. Bernard describes himself as a man wandering through life with no grounding in a faith community. His family stopped attending church when he was in elementary school. As a young adult he was well paid in a distasteful profession that has “only a negative impact on the world.” Barnard enjoyed financial success, but deep down was ashamed of his work. When he and his girlfriend, Catherine, had a son, the birth inspired him to seek a “meaningful positive life.” The ...

75. Lost Baggage: Empty Your Suitcase

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... an offense is so great that it needs to be dealt with, but it must be dealt with properly. Let me tell you in the average situation what people do when they are hurt by someone. First of all, they refuse to deal with it. Whether it is out of distaste for confrontation or a lack of courage or even worse the person’s relationship just isn’t valued that much and we refuse to deal with it. Even though you don’t deal with the problem, the problem deals with you. The more you let it go the more it ...

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