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 776 to 800 of 1838 results

776. A Mother Who Could Let Go

1 Samuel 9:1--10:8

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... at church. There are so many lessons to teach our children. We must teach them that differences among persons can be interesting rather than divisive; that when courage overcomes fear, we feel so much better afterward, but when fear overwhelms courage, the after-taste is bitter. We must teach them certain God-given rights and wrongs that are not negotiable. We must teach them to laugh with people but not at them, and to respect the feelings of every person. We must teach them to appreciate God's good earth ...

777. The Road To Emmaus

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

... convictions of his heart. Here’s the quote: “One day, under deep conviction: I cast myself down I know not how, under a certain fig-tree, giving full vent to my tears; and the floods of mine eyes gushed out…So was I weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo! I heard from a neighboring house a voice, as of boy or girl, I know not, chanting and oft repeating, "Take up and read; Take up and read." Instantly, my countenance altered, I began to think most intently whether children were ...

778. Much Obliged

Hebrews 12:14-29, Psalm 116:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... cup pass from me." Here the cup meant the pain and humiliation of crucifixion. Earlier that same evening he had handed another cup to his disciples and said, "Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood of the New Covenant." So, you see, Jesus drank a bitter cup of suffering so that we can drink the cup of salvation. He drank a cup of agony so that we can drink the cup of eternal life. The single most appropriate way we can show our thanksgiving to God is to drink the cup of salvation sponsored by ...

779. Controlling Our Cravings

Luke 12:13-21, Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... man asked. Instead, he gave him a warning, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed or covetousness; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Dr. James W. Moore, Methodist pastor in Houston, wrote a book entitled, "You Can Get Bitter or Better." In it he talks about the three miles of love. In the first mile, we love the lovable, those who love us back. In the second mile, we love the unlovable, those who don't love us back. In the third mile (the most difficult) we ...

780. Failures Need Not Be Fatal!

Mark 14:66-72

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... days was to be branded with red-hot irons, to have the letters "S.T." for "Sheep Thief" burned on the forehead for all to see. One of the brothers was unable to bear the stigma. He fled to another country and died there, full of bitterness. The other brother handled his guilt differently. He confessed to God and became a Christian. Right there at home he became a new person, started a business, and became noted for his integrity and churchmanship. Many years went by. One day a stranger came to town. He ...

781. How to do Extraordinary Things

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , "Do I look like the type of person who would have old whiskey bottles?" The little boy studied her for a moment and then asked, "Well, do you have any old vinegar bottles?" Isn't it tragic that some people go through life so negative and sour and bitter? And if you don't watch out, they will infect you with their thinking. How can we live positively in this world where much is discouraging? I think I see some clues in one of the miracle stories of the Bible. As brother James Loftin reminded you last ...

782. Glorious Surprises

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . But the Holy Spirit wants to be our daily companion, not just our 9-1-1 service. If you want to live a Spirit-filled life, I offer two prescriptions: First, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any unconfessed sin in your life. Is there bitterness, unbelief, or unforgiveness? Are you spiritually cold, having left your first love of the Lord? Have your schedule and personal affairs come between you and your Savior? Have you lost your willingness to sacrifice your time, comforts, and even your reputation for God's ...

783. Christmas Is Coming

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

James Bjorge

... was all tied up in God. That was his life. He would have loved the hymn of Henry Lyte: Abide with me, fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide. I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if thou abide with me. God did and he does abide with us all. "And his name shall be called Emmanuel [which means, God with us]" (Matthew 1:23).

784. The Way I See It

Drama

Sarah Walton Miller

... in my business! [she freezes] FATHER [strongly] I never doubted for a moment that he’d come back! At least, I don’t think I did. He HAD to come back. I was right to let him go, wasn’t I? All that dissatisfaction in him. All that bitterness building up. Why, he was beginning to hate us all. So I let him go - with my blessing. But - what happened to him out there? Who were his friends? What temptations did he meet? How many temptations conquered HIM? What put that look on his face? Will he forget ...

785. THE RECEPTIONIST

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

... . GRACE You could always take the bus. SETH It takes too long. GRACE I suppose your brother’s got a job waiting for you. SETH According to the facts of the matter, the dice rolled a glorious seven, and I hopped along to my present square, only to discover the bitter truth; "Go directly to jail; do not pass Go, do not collect $200." GRACE I remember that game. Once I got two hotels on Park Place. SETH And I haven’t even got the price of a room. GRACE You mean, you’ve got a job waiting for you, but ...

786. But Men Loved Darkness

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... but judge the world, because He is light. But even as He judges it, He must redeem it, because of all of the darkness that His light reveals. The light leaves no secrets. It exposes all of the deceptions, all of the sinful contradictions, all of the bitter meanness within us. The light is there, and it always, somehow, gets through. Be sure of that! Hide in the darkness all you want to. Cling to your precious little darknesses! Hang on to them! But the penetrating judgment of the light of Christ will reach ...

787. Well, What's for Sure?

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... ." Someone may be the cream of society, but we know that the cream of today is the cheese of tomorrow. Today’s wonder drug is tomorrow’s fatal or crippling reaction. Today’s hero is tomorrow’s heel. And so in our bitterness and disillusionment, we have assumed a kind of "I’m from Missouri" attitude toward pretty much of everything. Another telling influence of our era is our scientism - the naively worshipful attitude that we have toward the latest pontifications of contemporary science. Many of ...

788. Our Father Who Art on Earth

Proverbs 1:8-19

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... or buried in a newspaper, or slumped in front of a television set. Not long since, a father whose son was in extreme difficulty came to me for consultation. In the course of our conversation I asked him, "But have you talked to your son?" "Talk to him," he replied bitterly. "How can I talk to him, I don’t even know him." Yes we must talk to our children, but always with a constant consciousness that what we are speaks so much more loudly than what we say. What are some of the measures of a man by which he ...

789. Behold Your God

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

... to hear the results of the lab test. The person on the other end of the phone has a voice full of unshed tears. A man surrounds himself with the things that make life comfortable, but he is not comforted. He cannot sit still. Another man has grown bitter in his old age. He refuses to be comforted. Another person comes to worship but long ago gave up the ghost of hope that anything good would ever come of it. "Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. We need it. Comfort begins with what God has done ...

790. LENTEN LITANY TO BE USED PRIOR TO ASH WEDNESDAY SERMON.

Drama

Michael J. Anton

... "R" [response] V: Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. There is the smell of death in the air. R: It is death we smell. Jesus, our Lord, is walking toward his death. V: It is a slow walk, a heavy walk that our Lord steps off toward Jerusalem. R: A bitter walk, a lonely walk, a painful walk, a passionate walk. V: To die. To die a cruel death, an agonizing death, an unjust death. R: But a compassionate death, a necessary death. ALL: Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. O, Lord, on your way to death, have mercy on us ...

791. Crossing the Great Divide

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

... who wrestled with his destiny to the point of sweating blood, but who went faithfully up that hill on Friday. The son who stumbled under the load of the cross but bore up under the nails and spear. The son who cried out in deep agony of bitter thirst but asked his Father to forgive those misguided minds who had hung him there. The man who fulfilled his mission to its bittersweet conclusion. Out of this wish-washy, belly-aching 20th century, Jesus is calling you and me to follow him through the valley. To ...

792. TASKMASTER

Exodus 1:11

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... ever regaining their liberty. With such men in their ancestral background, we can understand why the fact that David and Solomon had such men in their administrations was disruptive. This was one of the complaints made to Rehoboam - his father Solomon’s forced-labor system was bitterly resented. In the writings of the prophets, any foreign ruler or oppressor may be given this title, as is also the driver of an animal. The simile is apt - as the driver forces his beast to go the way he wishes by the use of ...

793. I Love You But I Don't Like You

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... for breakfast, disagreements over finances, visits from his relatives, and that awful lamp she bought for the living room. The third phase of marriage, says Dr. Tournier, can be destructive or constructive. It can bring a deepening of resentment and bitterness. The couple may divorce, or one partner may capitulate to the other, or they may simply withdraw---living separately under the same roof. But the third phase can be constructive. Couples may courageously face reality. Each may accept the partner ...

794. The Seeds of Social Conflict

Genesis 4:1-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... and offer your gift.” There will be instances this week when you feel the seeds of Cain within you. Your spouse will insinuate, perhaps, that you waste money, and you will be tempted to rage in response. If you are a teenager, you may find yourself in bitter disagreement with a parent, and you may be tempted to rage in response. Your boss may blame you unfairly for another employee’s error, and you will be tempted to rage in response. You will not get a promotion or a contract or a sale you hoped for ...

795. A Large Fish Story

Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... will never fail or forsake him or her, depression can be replaced by joy! When you are as low as a whale's belly, God is always right beside you. When multiple sclerosis robbed Shirley Pat ton of the use of her legs, she faced a choice--bitterness or hope. She chose hope, as she explains in her book "My Road to Peace." Shirley, Pat ton, an Arkansas native, graduated from the University of Memphis. She married a hometown boy and they moved to California. They had a son. She also launched a thriving medical ...

796. Mary's Revolutionary Song

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." A Christian society is one in which no person dares to have too much while others have too little. One day a poor girl came to the door of our Methodist founder, John Wesley. It was a bitterly cold day but she was wearing just a thin linen gown. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering. Wesley gave her what little money he had. Later he looked around his room and saw his extra clothes and fashionable wig. He cried out, "0 Lord, have these ...

797. How Could A Love So Right Go Wrong?

Genesis 24:1-67, Genesis 27:41--28:9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... -year-old bachelor who implored God to help him find just the right wife. God provided a beautiful young woman of faith named Rebekah. On their first encounter, it was love at first sight. But by the end of the story, Rebekah has become an unprincipled, bitter woman living with a blind and broken husband whom she does not respect. For her last twenty years, she is denied the company of her favorite child. One of her sons occasionally wants to kill the other. How could a love so right go so wrong? Following ...

798. How to Handle Criticism

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , to play a happy game, but they refuse. So I invite them to play a sad game, like we’re having a funeral, but they don’t want to do that either. People are just contrary, critical, hard to please.” Despite all that, Jesus did not despair or become bitter. His life was a beautiful, resounding response to his critics. Today I invite us to imitate our Lord in how we deal with critics. After all, Jesus came not only to save our eternal souls but also to show us how to live effectively here on earth. With ...

799. Forgiveness

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... in ignorance. We, too, practice the same kind of ignorance. What is it but ignorance when we grow cold in our loyalty to Jesus? We have all kinds of excuses why we can not be a burning fire for Jesus. Is it not ignorance that causes us to burn with bitter feelings toward another person in the church because of her words? Is it not ignorance when we grow indifferent to the things God calls us to do and to be? Is it not ignorance when we accept all the gifts God gives us and we never give back to God ...

800. Anguish

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... ’ prayer concerning this cup by thrusting nails into his hands (wrist) and his feet. This cup was a cup of suffering and death. This was the Father’s will. And, thus, Jesus surrendered to it. Jesus took the cup and drank it. As he drank the very last, bitter dregs of it, it was there that he found these words of separation, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" In these words, Jesus tells us that he is feeling the punishment of sin, the utter and complete separation from the Father. But he was not ...

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