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 726 to 750 of 2415 results

726. Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... they too are sitting on a stage somewhere.1 So it is, I think, with many of the stories of Scripture. We watch with fascination as the narratives unfold -- intrigued by the suspense of each twist in the plot, moved by the passion of every poignant moment -- frequently admiring particular characters for their evident faith, other times almost wincing at their equally evident frailty. Still, in some mysterious way, their struggles and successes seem always able to resonate with our own. Indeed, the parallels ...

727. Sometimes, You Gotta Get Your Feet Wet First

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... chapter of Joshua: "... and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water ..." (Joshua 3:15b). Now, I'll admit, this might initially appear a rather mundane detail -- especially in a story which is otherwise stirring with such passionate drama. In fact, I probably ought to confess that for all the times I've read this passage, I had never actually noticed it before. Nevertheless, I think there's a clue here as to what faith means. And the more intently I listened, the more ...

728. Come, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come!

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... the cross. In other slides, we had seen many political and revolutionary slogans similarly spray-painted on walls. But this one was different. I neither read nor speak Spanish. I didn't need it in order to recognize the oldest and most passionate prayer of Christianity: "Pronto viene, Jesus Christo." Come quickly, Jesus Christ. Into this world of mindless murder, bloodshed and bombing -- come quickly. Into this insane world where men and women disappear under cover of night and are never heard frrom again ...

729. Thistles Among The Wheat

Genesis 28:10-22, Psalm 139:1-24, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Romans 8:12-25

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... the survival of the race can lead to the most intimate and loving relationship between two people and lead to a caring, nurturing family. Yet the abuse of sex can lead to the most bitter relationships if fulfillment of the drive is perverted or abused. Crimes of passion are some of the most tragic. 2. Weeds in the World. A frequent puzzle for people is why good does not always seem to happen to people of faith while others seem to escape unscathed. People ask, why do I or a loved one suffer an incurable ...

730. Christ the King

Psalm 100:1-5, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... give God thanks and to acknowledge his steadfast love and faithfulness. Context of the Church Year The church year begins with the expectation of the coming of the Christ child. The year proceeds through the Lenten period in the preparation for the passion of Jesus. It reaches a climax in the crucifixion which has the supposedly ironic tag of Jesus as the King of the Jews. The year moves on through the resurrection and ascension events. Then comes Pentecost with the continuation of Jesus' ministry through ...

731. The Intersection Of The Cross

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... and is called to speak a clear word, a resounding word in support of lifelong trust, commitment and faithfulness on the part of those who choose to marry. He is called to announce God's will that marriages be permanent, riding out the storms of pride and passion. Brides and grooms promise to remain faithfully committed to each other so long as they both shall live, not so long as they both shall love. They do well to remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer's words to his friends on their Wedding day: "It is not your ...

732. For All The People

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Mark Radecke

Year after year, we are drawn to this night: This night with its carols, its candlelight, its communion, and the combined fragrance of pine, poinsettia and perfume. (Is that Passion or Poison you're wearing? Or maybe it's Polo!) The gentle poetry of Luke's story draws us, too. Why is it that we are so drawn to this night, I wonder? There are, I suppose, as many answers as there are people in this room. Some are here ...

733. The Seven Last Words Of Pilate

Sermon

Thomas Long

... to find it, and that's that. But to the eye it releases its outrageous truth. To watch in astonishment as a seemingly sane shepherd walks away from 99 perfectly good sheep, leaving them to the perils of the wilderness, while he searches with wild and passionate abandon for one scraggly runaway is to be confronted with some extravagant and unruly grace at the heart of the gospel. The story in the Gospel of John of the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate is another example of a biblical story that discloses ...

734. Yes, But How?

Sermon

Lee Griess

... to others. There are plenty of people worse than us. But the truth of our moral and spiritual condition becomes evident only when we compare ourselves to Jesus. In the light of his life, our lives look awful! Sure, terrible wrongdoing, grisly crimes, sins of passion and violence may not be part of our personal history -- but what about our neglect of the poor, our passive acceptance of injustice toward others, our silence in the face of hurtful gossip, our failure to reverence God as we ought? When we look ...

735. The One Thing That Would Make The Biggest Difference

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... . It is inevitable that men and women will see things differently and parents and children will see things differently and a younger child will see things differently than an older child does. No amount of love can erase these differences, not even the passionate love of married people for each other. As James Thurber once wrote: "Marriage is the relationship between one person who cannot sleep with the window open and another who cannot sleep with the window shut." The being of "one mind" and coming to ...

736. Standing On The Shore

John 20:1-18 · Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... walk on water nor stop the storm. We stand and stare at the sea on the shore of what we know. Only Jesus did. He stopped the storm and the sea lay down. Is it possible that with enough awe and wonder at mystery and with enough passion over possibility we might perhaps do so? "All that we do is touched with ocean" and possibility. That is the mystery and the miracle of Easter. The seeker approached the disciple and asked respectfully, "What is the meaning of human life?" The disciple consulted the works of ...

737. "Unless A Grain Of Wheat ..."

John 12:20-33

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... perish." When Moon heard what Hare had said, Moon was angry and took a stick and hit Hare on the nose. That is why hares have split noses and men and women think that when they die, they perish. This is Lent when we are aware of death. The most passionate sermon on death I ever read was written by a preacher two weeks after his 24-year-old son "beat his father to the grave." His message was one of rage. Not that death took his son, although that was certainly part of it, but because someone in his presence ...

738. Hailing The King Of Chaos

Job 12:13-22· Matthew 27:32-44

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... of elders. He pours contempt upon princes and weakens the strong. He takes away the understanding of leaders and leaves them wandering, lost and groping, without a guiding light. Job declares God as the king of chaos. Nothing looked more like chaos than the week of Jesus' passion. Where was God then? Where was he when his Son was being ridiculed? Where was he when Jesus was nailed to a cross? The crowd around the cross did even better than Job in hailing the king of chaos. "You claimed to be able to destroy ...

739. Troubled By A Talking Whirlwind

Job 38:1-7 · Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... a bit sacrilegious and took some liberties with biblical characters that I questioned. But I think all who have listened to or seen the production of Superstar will have to concede that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice have a very effective way of making the passion narrative live. I've read the scripture in which Luke reports that Herod, in making fun of Jesus, wanted him to perform some miracle. But Herod's song in Superstar dances through my mind every time I think of that scene: So you are the Christ ...

740. Ancient Christian References To Feetwashing

1 Corinthians 11:17-34, John 13:1-17

Sermon Aid

Brett Blair

... , but even the most serious of our sins. -- Ceasarius of Arles (c. 470-542), Sermon 202, Saint Ceasarius of Arles: Sermons (Washington, D.C. Catholic University of America Press, 1973) III, pp. 65-66 Cyprian Let them imitate the Lord, who at the very time of His passion was not more proud, but more humble. For then he washed His disciples' feet, saying, "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet. For I have been given you an example, that he should do as I ...

741. The Backside Of God

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... at the heart of the familiar Gospel lesson for today. The trap laid for Jesus was a simple one, designed to be a no-win situation. If Jesus said it was okay to pay taxes, he would lose face with the masses, who deeply and passionately resented the Roman presence and domination; if he said it was wrong to pay taxes, he would take the side of those revolutionary types who, for political and religious reasons, advocated rejection of Roman authority and even rebellion against the empire. But Jesus turned the ...

742. Prayers for the Sundays After Easter

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... hearts." If we are not Christians there, can we be Christians anywhere? Let the words of your scripture settle deep within us. Let the hymns of our faith stir our emotions. Let the devotion of our friends be a beacon light in our lives. May our passions rise when we hear of our brothers and sisters around the world being starved and brutalized. May our tears flow upon hearing of innocent children being beaten and abandoned. May our love ascend unto you like the early morning sun moving ever higher into the ...

743. Prayers for Pentecost

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... and joy, and he doesn't concern himself if we are embarrassed. All that he does leads to wholeness and health, even if the routes he provides take us away from the more popular highways. Once we become accustomed to his surprises, our confidence in his passion for love grows stronger day by day. We offer these thoughts in the name of our Master. Amen. God, our Redeemer, how refreshing it is to come again to this place of worship. This building was constructed and cared for by the generations that preceded ...

744. Wedding: Second Marriage With Children

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight for the end of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life! And, if God chooses, I shall but love thee after death. Instrumental ...

745. The Suffering Servant

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... book of Isaiah we are reminded that sometimes we must suffer judgment and discipline before we are restored to God. Good Friday is the day that Christians commemorate the crucifixion of our Lord. It is a day filled with sadness and sorrow because it reflects the passion and death of the Lord. The symbols of this day seem paradoxical in nature. For those present on this day of sadness and sorrow, the events leading up to the crucifixion of Christ are harsh and brutal. It appears that all the hopes found in ...

746. It's Part Of The Plan

Drama

Karren Boehr

... you, because I reverence your holy name, I will go back to my family. (Pauses) Because you are my God, I will return good for evil. (Walks to brothers who are still on their knees. Offers his hand to them and helps them to a standing position, then embraces them passionately)

747. The Light has Come

Isaiah 60:1-22

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... wonderful mission You gave each one of us as we became a part of Your church. Too often our days have returned to the mundane and we have lost sight of our mission to take Your Light into the darkness wherever we find it. Forgive us, Lord, and restore our passion to serve and live for You. In Christ we pray. Amen. Hymns "This Little Light Of Mine" "I Want To Walk As A Child Of The Light" "We've A Story To Tell To The Nations"

748. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Mark 10:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... more productive. Meditation John Bunyan has written that "Christianity is the best armor a person can have, but it is the worst cloak." "Game-playing represents the cloak; finding connections represents Christ's way." MUSIC POSSIBILITIES Music for Preparation "St. Matthew's Passion" Hymn of Praise "God of Our Life." (See Proper 6.) Response to the Confession and Pardon "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (See Lent 6.) Response to the Message with Children "Come As A Child" (See Proper 21). Response to the ...

749. Reflections On the Sacred Head

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... ? Some have said that the last word he spoke, "It is finished," was not the last gasp of a dying man, but the triumphant shout of one who had overcome. Surely the eyes twinkled with a secret we could not know for three days. The grief and bitter Passion Were all for sinners' gain; Mine, mine was the transgression, But thine the deadly pain. They don't say much about crucifixion in the scriptures. Those people knew what it meant to die on a cross; we can only imagine. No one who studies crucifixion can ever ...

750. Silly Love Songs

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

"I can see no trace of the passions which make for deeper joy," wrote the French writer Stendhal about Americans in his 1822 essay titled "Love." "It is as if the sources of sensibility have dried up among these people," he observed. "They are just, they are rational, and they are not happy at all," he wrote. One ...

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