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 951 to 975 of 4959 results

951. The Eternal Question

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . His father, a responsible parent no doubt, allowed him to do so. Though the scripture doesn’t say, I have an idea, I have an idea that the lamp burned late in that home for many nights, as the father and son talked of the son’s feelings and desires, as the father sought to assist the son in putting his thoughts into perspective and getting his longings all sorted out. But the son had made his decision – he took his part of the family wealth and hit the road. It was a freeway that he traveled, a road ...

952. A Scream And A Laugh

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that he was on his way to a great celebration at the famous Greek Orthodox church in Zurich -- what he told me was one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Well, we made it to Zurich. I checked into my hotel, and had this real desire to attend the celebration that my new Greek Orthodox priest friend was coming to Zurich for, so, I took a taxi to the church. It was crowded and the service was just beginning. Everybody stands in the worship service of the Orthodox service, so we were crowded into ...

953. Loving Close-up

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... light on the meaning of this dimension of love. Instead of saying, "Love is kind", Philipps says, "Love looks for a way of being constructive." Ah, how we need that dynamic in living and loving close up. At the heart of the meaning of kindness is "the desire to bless someone with good." How far we have been from a strong understanding of the word. Kindness is a weak word, for many of us -- or to be more precise, we have a weak understanding of kindness. It means for us to be gentle, accepting, understanding ...

954. And God Breathed Into Man

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... meaning in that? "The Bible does not pretend that we are paragons of virtue, painted saints, and ideal figures of humanity. The Bible is well aware that the struggle of nature also determines our human life, that we too are controlled by instincts and urges, needs and desires, just as are the birds and the beasts of the field. Often our dreams, which we cannot control by our will, are an appalling reminder that we have our roots in the animal kingdom. "Isn't it really a comfort that the Bible sees us quite ...

955. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... I can I give him: give my heart. That's our question today. What, now, does Jesus want of us? I can't line that out in completion -- but I can get us started in reflecting generally in order that you can do that personal work of responding to Jesus' desires and longings in relation to each of us. So, what does Jesus want? I. One, He wants you to be a person of compassion. Here is a picture of it. Walter Wangerin, Jr., tells us of a Christmas Eve day when he had to conduct a funeral service. Believe me ...

956. The Grace Question: Are You A Teacher...and Yet Do Not Understand?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that we come into the Christian faith, and that we know we are Christian is the issue. Three times Jesus hammered home the point: "You must be born again." Nicodemus' problem was not whether he desired to change or not -- that's the reason he came to Jesus -- wanting to know how he could receive eternal life. It was not desirability, but possibility, that was the question when he asked, "But how can it be -- how can one be born again?" The truth is Nicodemus would have been pleased if Jesus had given him a ...

957. The Wholeness Question: Do You Want To Be Made Well?

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... yes and no. Our freedom to choose. So Jesus made a frontal attack: "Do you want to be made well?" This is a question that pierces to the very core of who we are -- it calls for a decision, an action, not the presence of a passive wish or vague desire, but an exercise of will. Do you remember that story of the leper coming to Jesus for healing? He said to Jesus, "If you will, you can make me clean." Jesus answered, "of course I will. Be clean." The same verb used there where Jesus said "I will" is used ...

958. What Do You Want To Be Like When You Are 65?

Proverbs 3:1-35

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is still another. Also, the high frequency of divorce. In my counseling I see it all the time. The sexual factor -- the desire for instant gratification -- causes infidelity and the shattering of relationships. We could talk about this in less dramatic ways. What we ... person of our time, who would it be?" This was Shaw's response: "If I could relive my life in the role of any person I desired, I would want to be the man George Bernard Shaw could have been, but wasn't." Do you get it? We can be the sort of ...

959. All This And Heaven Too

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . And in every step, he will assure us that on the other side of death, he will raise us up and we will be new creatures. Listen. Do you hear it? Listen. Listen to that gnawing discontent – that stirring deep within. Listen to that longing. Listen to that desire to be more than you are. Listen to that mysterious urge to be where you aren’t. Listen to that loving, pulling drive to be reunited with your loved ones who have already gone to heaven. Listen. It’s God calling, do you hear? Let it resonate in ...

960. Making Your Days Count

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Maybe our central purpose is keeping up with our neighbors, or raising a great family, or making our dad proud, or retiring early, or doing good works in our community. Whatever that central purpose is--whether we consciously choose it or just drift along with our desires--it is the benchmark we look to when we measure the success or failure of each one of our 27,375 days. Jesus only lived about 12,045 days on this earth, and yet historians and theologians agree that he was the most influential person who ...

961. Can a Rich Person Go to Heaven?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... out of debt. Letting our finances get out of control can quickly become a spiritual problem. It can place an unnecessary burden on our marriage, on our family life, even on our heart and emotions. Take control of your finances. Two. Take control of your desires. This one is a little more challenging. Ask yourself, what would really improve your quality of life? Often the things that will improve our lives are available without a great outlay of money. A couple of years back, a book came out titled Trading ...

962. From Empty Nets to Full Lives

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... , a person can have full nets but still have an empty life. After you've sold the fish in the market and have put a share of the money in the bank, you may still feel an emptiness deeper than empty nets and a yearning more poignant than the desire for economic security. You and I know some people like that; and there are many others in this category. It is sometimes said that the miracles of Jesus are parables in action; they teach a lesson. Jesus surely used this miracle in that fashion. "Do not be afraid ...

963. Commandments of Conduct

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... of God's directions for their lives had been forgotten, and they were left with nothing but their own desires and wisdom to reconstruct their shattered community. A community that has forgotten its founding story and common ethic cannot ... -- that following the Word of God was the way of joy and life. So her Psalmist could write that the Torah was more to be desired than gold and sweeter than the drippings of the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). And every faithful Christian who walks in the way of Christ's commandments knows ...

964. Return and Be Forgiven

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... spent our money for that which does not feed our hunger for goodness and our labor for that which does not satisfy our longings. Buying and selling, laboring and longing, the world's rewards have not fed our souls, and there remains within us a restless desire -- for what? Surely for God who created us to live in fellowship with him always. God offers us that loving fellowship, that deep sense that we are finally home, returned to the family of God, where there are joy and laughter, and honor and goodness ...

965. The Conversion of Saul

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... become solely dependent on the guiding of God. We too are an energetic, goal-oriented people, aren't we? We set our plans and arrange our schedules and work hard to fulfill our own desires and to reach our own goals. And then the risen Lord Christ intervenes in our lives and somehow our plans and goals become secondary. And what we really desire is to further God's purpose of love and to serve his will in the world. As John the Baptist said, we decrease and Christ increases (John 3:30), and the Lord takes ...

966. Keeping Our Souls

John 13:18-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... were asked: 1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? 2. What temptations have you met with? 3. How were you delivered? 4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not:? 5. Have you nothing you desire to keep secret? (Albert C. Outler, editor, John Wesley, New York: Oxford University Press, 1964, pp. 180-181) Now that’s a rather tough agenda, isn’t it? Most of us would resist it. But the point is that it worked. (Maxie D. Dunnam, Going on to ...

967. The Work of An Evangelist

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... honey, we have got to be more urgent in sharing Jesus. We have got to reach them and tell about Jesus before they die, and it’s too late.” Amazed at this wife’s courage in the midst of evil, Carlos was strengthened to continue in the battle. . . “We desire to be found faithful with whatever He entrusts to us,” he says. Don’t you feel it? Carlos is clear about his calling. He is crazily in love with Jesus, and so he keeps his calling clear. But not only must we keep our calling clear, we must be ...

968. Dealing With Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.” Interesting insight into David’s character. David was not always merciful to his enemies, but at least on this occasion, David’s faith in God was more important than either his desire for vengeance or his concern for his own safety, so he spared Saul’s life. Imagine that: HE LET HIS FAITH DETERMINE HOW HE TREATED HIS ENEMY. How shall we treat our enemy? Do you have any enemies? Most people do. We may not think of them as ...

969. The Curriculum of God’s Kingdom

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... we ourselves in it, are worse than we thought, and that God is more fierce and loving than we ever imagined. I believe that before he offers a change in behavior, Jesus offers sight and insight. He opens our eyes to who he is and stirs within us a desire to follow and find out what he is about. He wants us to see the world and ourselves through his eyes, and when that happens we literally enter a whole new world, through we inhabit the very same space. We cross over a threshold. There is no substitute for ...

970. Peacemaking and Self Control

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... is to listen to your words and monitor your thoughts; they will not lie. Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. So if you hear yourself using words like Idiot and Numbskull and Stupid, or even worse, if you are given to profanity, beware. The desire to humiliate another person is a form of violence and of itself morally evil. If I dismiss you with a cutting remark or a slur, or if I gossip and plant innuendos with others, then I have assassinated your character and implied I am superior to you ...

971. A Kingdom Investment Policy

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... at all to do so. But you might wish to think about what your life amounts to before you die, about what kind of person you are becoming, and whether you really would be comfortable for eternity in the presence of one whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of earthly existence. And he is, after all, One who says to you now, ‘Follow me!’"5 Follow him. But where? Into a new world in the midst of the old where treasure in heaven is as compelling as treasure on earth ...

972. Branching Out

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Michael Milton

... to His Father, not only proves our love, but nurtures our love. Conclusion: Jesus The fourth and final word that describes how we experience this joy that Jesus wants is this word: Jesus The One who spoke to the disciples in their time of trial was the One who desired to remain with the disciples in a new way. In one sense, Jesus is saying, “Nothing is going to be different. I’ve been with you teaching – you’ve been asking of me and I’ve been giving to you. And I want that relationship to continue ...

973. The “Sad-You-See” Syndrome

Mark 12:18-27

Sermon

Michael Milton

... of some things about religion and even about Christian history and the Bible, but he also had a lot of sarcasm. His questions seemed to constantly be putting the minister on the defensive. During the fellowship time after the class, this man left his wife, who seemed to desire community, and went outside by himself to smoke his pipe. I always felt his pipe was a symbol of his intellectualism and skepticism. I had some of this in my own life, so I approached him to talk to him. He said to me, “You don’t ...

974. A Broken Vessel for Jesus

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Michael Milton

... be a great success, but it wasn’t. It was a failure in the eyes of the world, but more personally, it was a failure in the eyes of Alan and his wife. He later wrote these words: I discovered that God uses brokenness to get our attention. His desired result is the surrender of our will. For both Saul of Tarsus and Chuck Colson, brokenness resulted in a turning of their hearts to God for salvation. At other times, God uses brokenness to get those who already know Him to let go of whatever prevents them from ...

975. Prayer

Psalm 42:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... quiet of home in the heat of life and strife, in the face of death, the privilege of speech with God is inestimable. I value it more because it calls for nothing that the wayfaring man, though a fool, cannot give – that is, the simplest expression to his simplest desire. When I can neither see, nor hear, nor speak, still I can pray so that God can hear. When I finally pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I expect to pass through it in conversation with Him.” There is a lot in this; reread it ...

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