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 76 to 100 of 1838 results

76. Job Considers a Legal Dispute with God

Job 9:1–10:22

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... and capricious in his treatment of humans. 9:25 My days are swifter than a runner. In one respect Job’s pain seems to slow his life to a crawl (7:4). But his life also seems to be slipping away quickly without any progress. Job has the bitter sense that his life will soon be over without any resolution to his adversity or answers to his questions. 9:26 They skim past like boats of papyrus. Boats constructed from papyrus were very light and fast (cf. Isa. 18:1–2), but they were also fragile and ...

77. Job’s Reply to Zophar

Job 12:1--14:22

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... 29 for further possibilities). The point, however, is still clear: God dogs Job’s footsteps, allowing him no escape. So man wastes away. Interpreters have variously understood the final verse of chapter 13 as either an aphoristic conclusion or summary of Job’s bitter reflections, or as the beginning of the new set of complaints in chapter 14. Like the question in verse 25, this verse characterizes the one to whom God devotes so much negative attention as one who is weak, tenuous, worn out, and worthless ...

78. Job's Second Reply to Zophar

Job 21:1-34

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... of soul is nepesh marah, where nepesh describes the essential human self animated by the divine breath, or spirit. The nepesh is also the place of deepest personal reflection, so that a “bitter nepesh” is the result of deep personal dissatisfaction and desperation. Job describes both men with food and consumption images. Of the first individual (v. 23), the Heb. says, lit., “his buckets are filled with milk” and the “marrow of his bones are watered” (meaning his bones remain resilient rather ...

79. Job's Third Reply to Eliphaz

Job 23:1--24:25

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... increasing terror, on the difficulty of locating God and securing his presence for the legal proceedings. 23:2 Job says, my complaint is bitter. Once again the Hebrew text is less than transparent. The word translated “bitter” (Heb. meri) normally means “rebellious; obstinate” (NASB; NJB). The NIV assumes instead a form of the adjective/noun mar, “bitter; bitterness.” For his hand is heavy, most translations (like NIV) emend the original Hebrew yadi, “my hand” to yado, “his [God’s] hand ...

80. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... on 24:10–12 in §83). Rather, the Hebrew word nepesh refers to the physical being that God animates by his spirit. The nepesh is the place where humans do their deepest reflection and where their greatest sense of self resides. For the nepesh to be made bitter would bring the value of one’s very life or self into question. 27:4–6 I will not . . . The translation of vows such as these is somewhat difficult. In the Hebrew, verses 4 and 5 both begin with the particle ʾim, “if,” which introduces in ...

81. I Want to Truly Experience God

John 6:51-58

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... old lemon juice and add a little water and sugar then you've got sweet, good-tasting lemonade. All it takes is a little bit of water and sugar to make something bitter like lemon juice taste so good and sweet. Sometimes life can be like a lemon. Life can be hard sometimes, bitter and yucky like a lemon. But it doesn't have to be that way. In the Bible, Jesus says that He wants us to have better lives. If we have Jesus in our lives and live the way He lived, then our lives can be so much happier and ...

82. The Power to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... who evaluated the various benefits that come when you move past resentment to forgiveness. Here are three of those benefits: First of all, when you let go of past hurts and learn to forgive, there is a physical benefit to you. Attitudes of bitterness, hostility, and resentment are like poisons and toxins to your body. Chronic anger and hostility can be more toxic to your health, say these doctors, than being a smoker or eating a high fat diet. Secondly, there is a psychological benefit to forgiveness ...

83. Surprised by Joy

Luke 2:8-14

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... that day in the store. It was joy. And it caught me by surprise. It was a gift from God, right there in the store. Brothers and sisters, let us, just for this one, special day, put away our anger and our fear. Let us set aside our bitterness, our resentment, and our indignation. Let us take a vacation from our doubt, our annoyance, our exasperation, and let us open ourselves to the possibility of joy. Let us look upon this holy child and remember the message he will bring to us — that we are loved and ...

84. Sweet Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... uses metaphors such as destroyed roots, flowers that blow away and disintegrate in terms of those taking bribes, denying justice to the innocent, brawlers, revelers (who would waste the wine in drunkenness instead of seeing it as sacramental). Grapes are either bitter or sweet. The passage draws upon the rich scriptural heritage of “bearing fruit” which goes all the way back to the creation story in Genesis, and the ancestral command to “till and keep” the covenant relationship with God, so that we ...

85. Jews and Christians: All in the Family

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

... . It was harmless, cheap fun for us. Often, when we read the New Testament, we are peeking in, listening at the door, with glass put to the wall, on a family feud that has lasted centuries, a feud in which there has been little fun and much bitterness, even bloodshed -- a family feud between Christian and Jew. Today's scripture from Romans, like much of that epistle, is part of that debate. In some of his letters, Paul pleads to his fellow Jews to accept Gentile Christians into the family of God. Here, Paul ...

86. Lent 4

Psalm 32:1-11, Joshua 5:1-12, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Luke 15:1-7

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... tells us about God's pursuit of us. 2. The Lost Son. (vv. 11-32) The emphasis is on the different ways of being lost, alienated from God. A. The Younger Son. Lost to independence and pleasure. B. The Elder Son. Lost in resentment and bitterness, alienated from his brother and the father. C. Our Sonship. True freedom and life is found in service and fellowship with God and people. 3. Finding Your Way Home. (vv. 17-32) A. Recognize Your True Condition B. Repent Your Alienation C. Accept Restoration Joyfully ...

87. Why Bother?

Mark 10:46-52

Illustration

... 's confidence, and their meeting by the steps of the church became a daily ritual. One day, Dan told Pete about a friend of his who was starting a course to train people to use computers. He asked if Pete would be interested. At first, Pete's old bitterness and resentment put up a wall of resistance, but Dan's loving insistence finally won out. The next day, Dan came to Pete's single room, helped him get shaved and dressed, and they set off for the computer school. Pete Richards turned out to be a computer ...

88. Miracle Six: Stilling A Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... length of time is indescribably terrifying. One's mind is seized by the scary thought that the winds outside, at 190 miles per hour, might blow off the roof and the ensuing rain drench the home. The walls are sometimes blown in upon those seeking refuge from the bitter storm. Christ is not there to still a storm, as he was on Lake Galilee. But he is always present with his believers, and he hears their prayers. To be able to call upon him in such circumstances is the only comfort and refuge some people have ...

89. Proper 19

Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 13:17--14:31, Psalm 114:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... and he had returned to the project, the driver of the truck exclaimed, "If he had only bawled us out, I could feel better about what we did!" The young men never tried the shortcut again. 7. A Family Feud in a Congregation · Two families had a bitter dispute. For years afterward they would never speak to one another even though two of the participants were brother and sister. It became an unwritten rule in the church that you could never put the parents of these two families on the same committee or board ...

90. When God Is The Problem

Psalm 13:1-6

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... but that life has turned sour and God has forgotten about us. B What are we to do when it hits us like a two-by-four on the side of the head that God has turned his back on us? You know what some people do. They become very bitter. If they let all their anger out at once they'd explode, so they let it out in constant, belligerent shots fired at everybody for just about everything. They're the "skunks" of this world who make a big stink about everything. Other people withdraw into themselves. They may become ...

91. Saved By The Blood Of The Lamb

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... act of passing over and sparing their firstborn also served as a reminder that God had protected them in the midst of the plague of death. The story does not stop there because they were instructed to roast the lamb, and prepare unleavened bread and bitter herbs. These too became important symbols of God's urging them to prepare themselves for a journey. Their preparation became an act of faith in God's faithfulness. This act of remembrance of the Passover served as a constant reminder of God's power of ...

92. Proper 15

Luke 12:54-59, Hebrews 12:1-13, Luke 12:49-53, Isaiah 5:1-7, Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... yields wild grapes. Chapter 5 closes a series of oracles beginning with chapter 1. Today's lesson is a parable of a vineyard. Yahweh planted it and did everything to make it grow and be fruitful. But, the grapes turned out to be wild, that is, sour and bitter. What more could he have done for his vineyard? Nothing. Therefore, the vineyard will be destroyed. Lesson 2: Hebrews 11:29--12:2 Surrounded by past faithful ones, we are to run the race of faith with Jesus as our model. On the basis of a long list ...

93. Proper 21

Mark 9:38-41, Esther 7:1-10, Esther 9:18-32, James 5:13-20, Mark 9:42-50

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... the prayers of the righteous are effectual not only for the body but the soul (v. 15). He links forgiveness and healing. Then James urges the church to pray for one another and confess our sins to one another, so that we might be healed. Guilt, fear, and bitterness can destroy our bodies and/or souls, if we do not tend to them. Counseling may assist those who are so diseased but only God and prayer can heal both body and spirit. Outline: 1. Our confession of sins at church is often perfunctory. 2. We think ...

94. Beware! Caution! Danger!

Acts 14:8-20

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... and come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Notice how quickly the atmosphere changed when Paul and Barnabas, these "visiting gods," refused to be exalted and deified. The rest of the chapter, not a part of today's text, reads that Paul was stoned by the bitter, angry mob at Lystra. He was left on a garbage heap outside the city, for they believed he was dead. You see, folks become very threatened when a "new god" wants to take over their lives and replace the old habits and the old ways. Happy endings ...

95. Living Sacrifices

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

William J. Carl

... the Song of the Lord beginning with trumpets. These are the ones who are cranky and hard to live with, the ones who say “poor me,” “look what life has done to me!” So sacrifice can lead to deeper faith and peace and hope or it can lead to bitterness. It all depends on how you take it. If the truth be known, we have to admit that we do make some sacrifices if only for ourselves or our own. We sacrifice for our children so they can go to school. We sacrifice here to buy something there. We sacrifice ...

96. What's The Bottom Line?

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

George Johnson

... staff - give more to benevolence. People are learning to tithe. Our offerings look good. But that's not the bottom line. The question is, has this growth enlarged our ministry of justice and righteousness? Grapes may all look alike, but some are wild, bitter, unacceptable to God. Let me share with you two stories that I believe help us to understand mishpat and zedekah, justice and righteousness. The first is about Oscar Romero. He was made Bishop in El Salvador because everyone thought he was conservative ...

97. Victory Over Evil

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Harold G. Skinner

... death. Relief that a long ordeal is over for ____________, her family and friends. Anger that this death was such a waste of life. Fear that forces are loose among us that can cause such havoc and pain. Remorse for not being more supportive of the family. Sorrow, even bitterness, over the loss of a life in her prime and for one who could do such a thing. And yes, some feelings of forgiveness. And for all of us hope. "What then shall we say to this?" The burning question of why? I don't know why completely ...

98. How To Deal With Frustration

1 Kings 8:22-61

Sermon

Robert Allen

... . And out of that church, three more Methodist Churches were formed, one school was built, one hospital was built, and five young men felt the call of God upon their lives to become ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Frustration and anger and bitterness are common feelings in our hearts when our hopes and dreams are crushed. However, if we allow these feelings to fester and grow in our lives, they will become destructive. The way of Christ is the way of forgiveness because forgiveness has a redeeming ...

99. When God Has Enough

Zephaniah 1:4-13, Zephaniah 1:14--2:3

Sermon

Sims Robert

... longer turned to the Lord in prayer nor did they seek his help. They blindly walked their own selfish and greedy path and in their arrogance thought God would sit quietly by and do nothing. They were wrong! “Listen, the cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter… that day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish… (Zephaniah 1:14-15).” Our Lord Jesus in similar fashion spoke to the world of his day, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34).” Christians are frequently ...

100. God's Way Of Doing Things

Ruth 3:1-18, 4:13-22

Sermon

John P. Rossing

... leads us to expect that God is going to act, and even though Naomi might have forgotten her prayer as soon as it was out of her mouth, the expectation creates tension through the rest of the story. Is God going to answer her prayer? Will she be lonely and bitter the rest of her life? Will Ruth marry again? At the end of the story, the tension is resolved: God has listened to Naomi's prayer and restored what had been taken from the two women. You and I pray to the same God Naomi prayed to, and her story ...

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