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 901 to 925 of 2173 results

901. How To Be Truly Happy

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Is there anybody in this world who is truly happy? There was a Peanuts cartoon years ago in which Lucy asked Charlie Brown if he has ever known anybody who was really happy. Before she could finish her sentence, however, Snoopy the precocious beagle came dancing on tip-toe into the frame, his nose high in the air. He danced and bounced his way across two frames of the cartoon strip. Finally, in the last frame, Lucy finished her sentence, “Have you ever known anybody who was really happy and was still in ...

902. Nothing Is Impossible

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

A marvelous story is told by the synoptic gospel writers about a boy who was possessed by an evil spirit. His father was concerned sufficiently enough to seek help for the boy in a time when all help had failed. The boy was brought to the disciples of Jesus with the request for healing, but they were powerless and confused. The father did not give up hope in the quest of healing for his son. So, with an insistent spirit he saw Jesus and reported on the condition of his son with the declaration of the ...

903. Divorce-Proofing Your Marriage

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him." So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him. Then the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one ...

904. Caiaphas and Pilate

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting The balcony of the Herodian Palace at Jerusalem overlooking the city. A coffee table or cocktail table covered with a linen cloth holds a silver dish of fresh fruit - grapes, olives, your choice. There is a small bowl of fresh flowers in the center of the table. Stage right of the table there is a chair befitting the position of Pontius Pilate; it may be an overstuffed chair, a chancel chair as found in some liturgical churches, or another highbacked chair covered with gold or violet cloth. Stage ...

905. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

In the middle 1960s, a seminary student interned in a Lutheran congregation in Berlin, Germany. This intern was much interested in the history of World War II, since he was born about the time his father was fighting in Germany. However, he soon discovered that most of the members of that congregation did not want to talk about the war. It was too painful. But one day, an uncle of one of the intern’s friends came to see him and shared this personal story.1 He was an engineer on the train from Amsterdam to ...

906. Redefining Life

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

If I were to say, "He-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" what image would come to your mind? If you're old enough, you will probably think of "The Tonight Show," with Johnny Carson. What if I came out here and said, "Let's get ready to rummmmmble!" What comes to mind? Some of our younger people might recognize this as the opening of a professional wrestling show. I don't know if you have ever thought about the importance of a good introduction. It is very important to an entertainer or a speaker or a performer of any ...

907. Struggles, Death, and Christ

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

Many people cling very tightly to life. They refuse to let go of it, and hold onto a shred of life beyond all reasonable expectations. And then there are others. There was an old man, lying in the bed in the back bedroom, surrounded by his wife, daughter, and his four granddaughters. His breath was coming slowly, almost in sighs, and the time between the sighs was stretching to longer and longer periods. Finally, when the silence had stretched to an unbearable length, the youngest granddaughter threw ...

908. The Bloodline of Christ

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a few short years, Dan Brown’s 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code, became one of the most widely read books of all time. The 2006 Ron Howard Hollywood movie starring Tom Hanks only made the novel all the more popular. Why such a blockbuster for a novel about Jesus? Because it was well-written? Because it was well-researched? No, the real reason The Da Vinci Code caught fire was because it served up a juicy heretical tidbit as its main course: the suggestion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and that ...

909. You Can Take It to the Bank

2 Peter 3:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

I read a story about an angel of the Lord who telephoned the editors of five major newspapers with this message: "God says the world will end tomorrow." The New York Times carried a front page headline which read: "The World Will End Tomorrow Reliable Source Says" A box read: "Analysis on page 11." The Wall Street Journal's front page headline read: "World Ends Tomorrow; Market Plunges" The headline in USA Today read: "We're Gone!" The Headline in the LA Times read: "World Ends Tomorrow; Bill Clinton says ...

910. Plea for Discipline

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

In a way, Christians are all in the Olympics! We are running the race that determines our eternal abode. We run to win and the prize is the most valuable we will ever seek. No money or property will purchase it. Only self-control under the banner of Christ grants a chance for winning. The apostle is very clear and speaks to all who would enter the race that leads to everlasting life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an old/new teaching to whom all Christians for twenty centuries can relate. It ...

911. Mary Magdalene’s Day

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Mary Magdalene may very well be the most enigmatic and controversial figure in the resurrection story. In a way the holy scriptures give us just enough information to excite our curiosity in regard to her personal relationship with the man she adored, Jesus of Nazareth. We still wonder what kind of person she was. Fiction writers have had a field day, especially in recent years. Was she really married to Jesus and did they have children? Did they establish a bloodline that is with us today? Such inquiries ...

912. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

The second half of Exodus 2 (vv. 11–25) begins with Moses walking among the Hebrew laborers. Three times in these verses he intercedes on behalf of weak persons who had been wronged, thereby showing himself to be God’s friend. Nevertheless, in addition to demonstrating the gifts God had given him, these three short scenes also reveal what was lacking in Moses’ character and education. Each encounter shows who he was and also changed him in significant ways. In striking down the Egyptian Moses encountered ...

913. Separation of Faith and Life

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: The desire to gain cultural acceptance, significance, and influence can lead a church to lose its Christ focus and make it blind to even the most blatant violations of the Christian message by its prominent members. Genuine disciple making, then, becomes impossible and even unnecessary. Understanding the Text A major shift occurs here. The theological discussion of the first four chapters dealing with the church’s cliquish behavior, pride, and attachment to secular culture now moves to a head-on ...

914. Lent 2

Luke 13:31-35, Psalm 27:1-14

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Come seek God's face...Wait for the Lord... Take courage... Be strong. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Creating Spirit, hear our confession. We are often forgetful of who we are and in whose likeness we are created. We regret the imbalance in our lives that too often allows our appetites to run away with us, so that we seem to live for eating and drinking and love-making. Our minds are too busy with plans to get ahead and satisfy bodily desires to the exclusion of the refreshment of the spirit, the ...

915. The Easter Season

Mt 28:1-8 · Mk 16:1-8 · Lk 24:1-10 · Jn 20:1-9

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

The Development Of The Season The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, of course, the focal point of the Christian faith. In the primitive church there was no special day singled out to celebrate the Lord's resurrection. Every Sunday was a mini-celebration of the Lord's victory. Since the resurrection occurred around the same time as the Jewish Passover, early Christians referred to the church's chief festival as the Pasca, the Greek word for the Passover. Jesus became the Passover Lamb who frees us from the ...

916. Duties Toward Others

Romans 13:8-14

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

Suggestions: Use in ordinary sequence with the scripture reading. Readers: a variety of folk (Speakers read in a frank manner from a sitting position in their usual places in the pews.) Key: 1-8 = speakers 1: Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 2: The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as ...

917. Denunciation of the Intruding Teachers

Judges 1:1-36

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Major Themes of Judges: Although it is best to establish these through an inductive approach, here the major themes are briefly noted so as to be aware of them as we work through the text. The theme of covenant underlies the entire story, in keeping with its Deuteronomic character. More specifically, Judges is about God’s covenant people, Israel, about their faithfulness and unfaithfulness to covenant commitments made first at Mount Sinai and later renewed, especially at Shechem under Joshua’s leadership ( ...

918. Love for Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Ethics and the Law: Matthew’s Gospel has a didactic purpose. Special emphasis is given to the message of Jesus. One of the distinct features of Matthew’s Gospel is that the teaching of Jesus is collected into five sections. The Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7) is the first of these blocks. The others are Instructions to the Twelve (chap. 10), Parables of the Kingdom (chap. 13), Life in the Christian Community (chap. 18), and Eschatological Judgment (chaps. 23–25). Each block ...

919. For the Love of God Is . . .

1 John 5:3-4

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

An eight-year-old little boy by the name of Arnold wrote a letter to his pastor: "Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but he never met my little sister."(1) Sometimes kids say the funniest things. And sometimes in the midst of that humor, there's a message from God. I think the message is about love. Love happens to be the most talked about and discussed topic of all time. Not counting songs like, "Beans In Your Ears" or George Thorogood's "Get A Haircut and Get A Real Job" or Johnny Cash's "A Boy ...

920. Epiphany 3

Lk 4:14-21 · 1 Cor 12:12-31 · Nehemiah 8 · Ps 19

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP You are the body of Christ, member for member. Strive after the better gifts...I will show you a still more excellent way. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Living Designer, you have created the church to be one body with many members working together under the control of the head, Jesus Christ. Forgive us if we have acted toward anyone as if they did not matter, or as if the church could get along without them. Excuse discrimination that gives more praise to some than they deserve at the expense of ...

921. Advent 3

Psalm 146:1-10, Isaiah 35:1-10, James 5:7-12, Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Our Old Testament lessons for the third week of Advent explore hope. Isaiah 35 proclaims the inevitability of God's salvation, even when we find ourselves at a great distance from Zion in situations that appear to be hopeless. Psalm 146:5-10 is a hymn of praise that calls us to trust in God because of God's enduring reliability. Isaiah 35:1-10 - "Hope for the Hopeless" Setting. Theophanies are biblical texts that describe the appearance of God. The oldest theophany traditions in Israel ...

922. Radical Love at Home (Series: Radical Love in a Risky World)

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When our Lord wanted to drive home a truth, he told a story and the greatest story ever told is the story in the Bible of the Prodigal Son. Every preacher has tried to preach it; songs have been written about it; movies have been made of it. There are Prodigal Ministries and Prodigal Magazines, but let not our familiarity with the story blind us to its meaning for our lives. For whoever you are, wherever you came from, however you perceive your future, you are in this story, in every word on every line. “A ...

923. The Good Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 1 Kings 19:9-18, 1 Kings 19:19-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What kind of yoke are you wearing today? Not this kind you say! Are you sure? Indeed, we may not get up in the morning and fit ourselves into a wooden harness like the one you see here –although sometimes our clothing may feel like that if we’ve gained a few pounds, no? But we all do bear a yoke. We yoke ourselves to ideas, concepts, issues, material things, relationships, belief systems. Our yokes in a sense bear the markings of those identities that we are willing to take on as our own identity, the ...

924. Easter 5

John 13:31-38, Psalm 148:1-14

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP (Responsively)Praise the name of the Eternal One,for God's name alone is exalted;Praise God you who are God's people,Young men and women alike,old and young together! PRAYER OF CONFESSION God of hope, you promise to make all things new, to make a new heaven and a new earth. You have been patient in your desire to restore your world to its original perfection. You have shown great forbearance to belligerent and stubborn humanity. Forgive our unwillingness to be changed, to be open to others ...

925. Easter 7

John 17:20-26, Psalm 97:1-12

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP (responsively)Sing praises to God, Sing praises! For God is monarch of all the earth; Sing praises with a psalm. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Holy God, neither through the doors of this house nor through the gates of your eternal city may we enter worthily without your forgiveness and the washing symbolized in baptism. We need the ministry of the Spirit to create in us the desire for the finest things that life offers. Forgive our passions for lesser things unworthy of the princes and princesses of ...

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