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 876 to 900 of 1838 results

876. Do You Love Me?

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Brett Blair

... feed My sheep,” Christ says to him. Now, they go through this ritual three times. “Simon, do you love Me?” “Yes Lord, you know I love You.” “Then feed My sheep.” Three times! Why? To let Simon Peter’s three-fold affirmation of love wipe out the bitter memory of his three-fold denial. Jesus was saying to Simon Peter, “I believe in you. You are still the Rock. You can do it… but you have to put your failure behind you. You are forgiven. The slate is wiped clean. You can start over again ...

877. It Doesn't Have To Be This Way

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

James W. Moore

... my wife has left me. I can’t get along with my children. I’m cut off from my parents and my in-laws. I’m having conflicts with my co-workers. I’ve been drinking heavily. Everybody has left me... and I don’t blame them. I’ve been bitter and hostile. I’ve done so many mean and cruel things... and now I have so many problems (and then he literally said this).... “My troubles are Legion!” He paused and took a deep breath. Then, he leaned forward and said: “To tell you the truth, I think all ...

878. All I Want for Christmas is Peace

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... self-pity — shackled by our silly pride — unbending, unmerciful, unable, and unwilling to forgive and reconcile. Isn t that tragic? A cruel word is finally only an echo. Revenge actually is never sweet; it ultimately becomes a sour stomach and a bitter memory. Violence only breeds more violence. Hate poisons the soul. Resentment, jealousy, bigotry, prejudice — these are spiritual viruses that will absolutely make us sick! Jesus knew this... and He came into this world to show us how to be peace-makers ...

879. The Grief Grinch

John 11:17-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Back to the story. Jesus and His disciples arrived outside Bethany. Word was sent in to the sisters' home that the Master had come. Immediately, Martha came out to speak to Him: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (11:21). There was a bitter edge to those words, but she realized how they sounded almost as soon as they had passed her lips. A few words from Jesus seemed to comfort her and, at His request, she went back to the house to get Mary. I wonder if Martha cried. The Scripture ...

880. The Last Laugh

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , and that was the reason for their initial reactions. But the truth is they were laughing to hold back the tears, laughing at the thought of a woman with one foot in the grave and the other in the maternity ward, laughing to get beyond the bitter disappointment of having no children. It was the same medicine we have all occasionally had to take when our hearts are not very cheerful, when our bones have felt dry, when it has been all we could manage to simply SURVIVE the "slings and arrows of outrageous ...

881. God Hears

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... agreement, there will be militants on both sides who will object, and probably violently. The world remembers what happened to Anwar Sadat and Yitzak Rabin after coming to terms with the opposition. This is a dangerous business. And the long and bitter struggle between Jew and Arab seems bound to continue. Sad...and especially so considering that the Jew and Arab are "blood brothers," both children of Abraham - Arabs tracing their ancestry back through Abraham's first son, Ishmael, Jews going back through ...

882. Pay Back Time

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... back time. If there were ever anyone who had an excuse to look for a pay back time, it is the man we read of in our Old Testament lesson, Joseph. As you recall from your earliest Sunday School days, young Joey was his father's favorite son, a bitter enough pill for his brothers to swallow, but the boy did everything he could to rub their faces in it, and the result was that his fed-up siblings took matters into their own hands and sold him into slavery. (And you thought YOU had a dysfunctional family!) The ...

883. But God...

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... outcome. In the Hebrew Bible, the story of Joseph is as good as any. By the time we encounter "but God," Joseph is nearing the end of a most fascinating life. As you recall from your Sunday School lessons, young Joey was his father's favorite son, a bitter enough pill for his brothers to swallow, but the boy did everything he could to rub their faces in it, and the result was that his fed-up siblings took matters into their own hands and sold him into slavery (and you thought YOU had a dysfunctional family ...

884. The Ten Commandments #8: No Stealing

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of the reason they do is that the church abdicated its historic responsibility years ago. Members did not give enough for the church to properly care for those in need, so government had to step in to keep people from starving to death. We complain bitterly about it, about high taxes that support social programs that do not work the way they should, that let people like Judy and her boys go without food. We complain about welfare fraud and cheats. But because our forebears misused the bounty that the Lord ...

885. Year-Round Christmas

1 Kings 17:1-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family." Hmm. A miracle. I wonder if the widow in our New Testament lesson recalled this famous story as she put her last two pennies in the offering at the Temple. She was down to the bitter end as well. Perhaps some prophet approaching the Holy of Holies would see her predicament and come to her rescue. Suddenly, I notice the calendar and find that these wonderful stories are joined at the lectionary hip precisely at the time of year when many churches ...

886. When God Is Gone

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Cheer up, Job, things could be worse...and, sure enough, things got worse - Job is struck down by a hideous skin disease. In utter misery, Mrs. Job advises, "Curse God and die."(4) Not Job. He kept the faith. Miserable... but faithful. "I will complain in the bitterness of my soul...I loathe my life."(5) Meanwhile, our hero's friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, hear about the horror story Job is living through, and, just as you and I would probably do, they come to the house to offer assistance. "Is there ...

887. Sermons in Stones

Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... trees or fragrant flora or starry nights. At this time of year, words of Joyce Rupp come to mind. Listen: One winter morning, I awake to see the magnificent lines of frost stretching across my windowpanes. They seemed to rise with the sunshine and the bitter cold outside. They looked like little miracles that had been formed in the dark of night. I watched them in sheer amazement, and marveled that such beautiful forms could be born during such a winter-cold night. Yet, as I pondered them, I thought of ...

888. A New Look at an Old Treasure

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... begins to straighten out, and a whole new picture of this psalm emerges. Imagine, if you will, that the narrator is not picturing himself as a sheep, but as a lost and lonely traveler. The blazing heat of the desert noonday is long gone, and the bitter cold of desert night is coming fast. The road has disappeared into the twilight. Provisions of food and water ran out hours ago, and the traveler is parched and hungry. In the distance, a jackal howls. Fears of wild animals and bands of robbers invade his ...

889. God Bless America

Psalm 33:1-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... protected them on their journey. As time went on and the colonies grew, it became evident that a nation was to evolve. A Continental Congress was called to forge a Federal Republic out of thirteen unique sets of interests. The debates were long and sometimes bitter, even to the point where some would have been content to abandon the dream. But others would not. Benjamin Franklin called on the delegates to fall on their knees in prayer, and a new nation was born...a nation that affirmed in the Declaration of ...

890. Angels

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... when suddenly he was awakened by someone knocking on his door. Opening it, he found a little girl, poorly dressed and deeply upset. She told him that her mother was very sick and asked him if he would please come with her. It was a bitterly cold, snowy night, and though he was bone tired, Dr. Mitchell dressed and followed the girl. As the book recounts the story, the doctor found the mother desperately ill with pneumonia. After arranging for medical care, he complimented the sick woman on the intelligence ...

891. I'm Thankful for...

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... built on a hill close by, built two rows of houses with a wide street between and finally landed their stores and provisions. Then the whole company came ashore toward the last of March, and in April the Mayflower sailed away. The winter was hard and bitter. At one time all but six or seven of the Pilgrims were sick. Eighteen women denied themselves food so that their children could eat. Thirteen of them died. Half of the 102 Pilgrims died of malnourishment, disease, and exposure. Only about 30 of those who ...

892. The Lord's Prayer: Please Forgive Us as We Forgive

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... out there, not a dog-forgive-dog world. At least we have the church. It might be hard to forgive outside the fellowship, but at least in the sanctuary... Right! In this morning's paper is the story of the culmination of a long and bitter struggle in the Church of England regarding the ordination of women to the priesthood.(6) Outside the cathedral a dissenting priest stood beside a billboard declaring, "THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MURDERED TODAY." Some 700 Anglican priests say they are going to leave the church ...

893. The Apostle's Creed: Jesus Christ...Our Lord

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of the faith have chosen the affirmation "born of the Virgin Mary" as a litmus test for orthodoxy. Noting that some teachers and preachers have expressed doubts about the historicity of the virgin birth, "true believers" have gone ballistic and started incredible and bitter ecclesiastical wars in an attempt to defend the veracity of scripture and the deity of Christ. Well, as we noted last week in our study of Genesis, chapter one, "truth" may be one thing to one person and something entirely different to ...

894. The Freedom in Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . Sentenced to life plus 54 years, the Gibsonville man was angry at police and prosecutors, his own lawyers and even the victims. But after three years in prison, Cotton began to change. "I learned I couldn't continue to live with the hatred and the bitterness," he says. Cotton spent nearly 11 years in prison before a new lawyer, using DNA evidence, won his release this past June. But from the moment he forgave, Cotton's spirit was free. There IS freedom in forgiveness. There was the story of Chet Hodgin ...

895. Welcoming Jesus

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago suggests, they get married and want a huge reception replete with ice sculptures for $22,000+. Trouble. Behavior? Much as we find in each of our lessons this morning. Child...ISH! The Epistle of James: "bitter envy and selfish ambition...disorder and every evil practice." The gospel of Mark: Jesus asks the Twelve, "What were you arguing about on the road?" Silence. EMBARRASSED silence. Because "they had argued about who was the greatest." A bit like the old Smothers ...

896. Jesus and Divorce

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... everyone involved. But it need not be the end of the world. With the writer of Lamentations whose life had been turned upside down and who was tempted to despair of anything good coming ever again, we can affirm, I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great ...

897. One Shock after Another

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Jesus most are when I am in the midst of my own shocks. They obviously will NOT be more than he can handle. As I said earlier, the shocks of life do not necessarily push us in one direction or another. The choice is ours. They can make us either bitter or better. So saying, there is more to this text than the comfort of knowing that our Lord is not put off by any shocks. There is John's call to repentance...a challenge to change those things in our lives that need changing...and the promise of God's ...

898. Hard to Believe

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... older I get, the more important that becomes. Tom Long writes, "It has been my observation that somewhere deep in the forest of life many Christians come to a fork in the path. Some head in one direction, traveling their last few days in bitterness, shouting at the world for its iniquity, wagging their heads over the sad plight of our time, cursing 'what this world has come to nowadays.' Others, however, are given the gift of traveling the other way, the path of a cheerful confidence in providence...This ...

899. Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... his experiences as a newly ordained Lutheran pastor in southern Illinois, including Buster Toland's funeral. Buster was a mechanic at the local garage. His wife, Beulah, drank too much and was high on drugs most of the time. They argued loudly and profanely and bitterly and in the middle of a huge shouting match when he came home from lunch -- and there was no lunch -- Buster dropped dead. "Dead before he hit the floor," Beulah said, at least a hundred times to anyone who would listen. Buster was a rascal ...

900. Put Out Your Nets

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... it because I have a Father in heaven who is a great giver." An old lady in a land hostile to the Christian faith was thrown into prison because of her religion. She was frightened and alone, but into the scene stepped Jesus. Instead of being bitter or frightened, she learned to thank God for her confinement. "Now I can be alone with the Lord Jesus," she explains. According to a legend, some lads were visiting that famous artist, Leonardo da Vinci. One of them knocked over a stack of canvases. This upset ...

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