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 1164 results

76. Getting Your Politics Right

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

I grew up with the myth, universally absorbed but rarely argued for except by extremists with bad manners, that whites were superior. Exceptions were acknowledged, but only as exceptions that did not change the rule. Racism was one of the unspoken beliefs of my childhood culture before the Civil Rights movement rose up to challenge the great lie with the potent rhetoric of our founding documents, as in The Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal ...

77. Led by the Spirit, Tempted by the Devil

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A woman had a weakness for beautiful clothes. She was unable to resist the temptation…to the point of outrageous, extravagant spending. She and her husband had worked on it, and he thought she was doing better. Every time she was drawn to a clothing boutique or a display in a department store window, she would talk to herself, “Don’t do it…don’t do it…remember how much you owe…you don’t need it…you’ve worn the last dress only once…you owe a fortune still…remember how John feels about it…don’t do it…get the ...

78. The Lord's Pryaer: Our Daily Bread

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Dr. Fred B. Craddock tells of going to hear a well-known speaker talk about world hunger. He was not disappointed in her presentation. Her speech was well-organized and persuasive. However, five years later, he had for all practical purposes forgotten what this speaker had said. However, Dr. Craddock said that the most memorable and life-changing remark came from a little white-haired lady who had much less education and oratory skills than the main speaker--but she did something this conscious nature ...

79. A Hunger That Cannot Be Satisfied

Amos 8:1-14

Sermon

James McLemore

What kind of hunger is so powerful, so insatiable that it cannot be satisfied? How does one describe such a hunger? How does one respond to it? The living examples of this type of hunger are all around us. A young boy is lying on a cot in a dark room. He tosses and turns, fretting and frantic in a sleepless night. The room is warm, his stomach is full, but he is so hungry. He is sleeping on a bed, but it is not his bed. He is living with a family, but it is not his family. His mother was killed in a ...

80. Gratitude and Coping

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Tom Garrison

Nothing in recent years has been more upsetting than the sharp increase in the use of drugs among young. People have become so traumatized by the subject that any reasonable discussion of it has become well-nigh impossible. This is why I was particularly impressed with a speech made not long ago by a public health official at a large university, for he wisely avoided histrionics and went straight to the heart of the problem. He openly acknowledged that "the jury was still out" as to all of the physical ...

81. Internal Medicine

Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Mussa Zoabi of Israel claims to be the oldest person alive. He says he's 160 years old. Unfortunately, Guinness Book of World Records isn't going to print his name simply because his age can't be verified. Mr. Zoabi is older than most recordskeeping systems will go. But here's the interesting thing! However old he really is, Mussa Zoabi knows exactly how he managed to live so long. He'll tell the secret to anybody who wants to know. He says: Every day I drink a cup of melted butter or olive oil! Doesn't ...

82. The Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Most of us would say that the Beatitudes are well known and greatly loved by Christian people. They are beautiful. They dance and sing on the lips of those who say them. They have an unparalleled syntax that only the Jewish mind can capture and express. They are immortal. Hymns, anthems, songs, prayers, and liturgy have reflected upon their meaning and beauty. Although we read them in our personal devotion because of their beauty, most of us do not get very excited about poverty of spirit, mourning, ...

83. Breakfast On The Beach

John 21:1-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director how do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized. 'Well,' said the Director, 'we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.' 'Oh, I understand,' said the visitor. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.' 'No' said the Director, 'A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the ...

84. Holy Diet

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Donald Macleod

So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for ...

85. The Sermon on the Level

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

The word that Christ our Lord would like to have us hear this All Saints’ Sunday is a firm word, gently spoken, lovingly applied. Faintly we recall that he said something similar to this before, in a sermon everyone applauds, but few apply, The Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the poor in spirit," we remember, and we like that. It doesn’t touch our assets. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness," and we could use a little righteousness like ours around the nation and the church today ...

86. The Dark Didn't Catch Me!

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Remember how it was in grade school when your class went out on the playground during recess? Doug and Sam, the two big guys, started choosing up sides to play kickball. And the rest of us just sort of stood around and hoped one of them would pick us for their team. And how affirming, how exciting it was to hear your name called and know that you were wanted. And it's the same in this big lonesome world that doesn't seem to need us very much. It's easy to feel left out, unchosen. But the Good News of the ...

87. The Love of the Harvest

John 4:34-38

Sermon

James Merritt

We all know the name Billy Graham. He has spoken publicly about Jesus Christ, and preached the gospel to more people than any person in human history. He is easily one of the most recognizable and famous people on the face of planet earth. If anybody knows anything about the harvest, it is Billy Graham. Billy Graham said this: The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men, and of nations, is always being decided. Every generation is strategic. We are not responsible for the past generation ...

88. Are You A Satisfied Customer?

John 6:35-42

Sermon

James Merritt

Did you know that neon signs can be hazardous to your health? There is one neon sign that is hazardous to mine. It is the one that flashes "hot" in bright red on the window of Krispy Kreme. If you have ever eaten, some really great, hot, Krispy Kreme doughnuts oozing with that glaze that is so wonderful for your cardiovascular system, you know there are always two problems in that box of doughnuts: (1) one is never enough (2) no matter how many you eat eventually you'll always want more. For so very many ...

89. At The Name Of Jesus

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

It was the season of the Passover, one of the three feasts of obligation for the faithful Jews of the first century. Jerusalem overflowed with religious pilgrims - people who by their very definition took the things of faith seriously. Some authorities estimate that there could have been as many as 2,700,000. In one such Passover season, it was reported that 256,500 lambs were sacrificed, about one for each 10 pilgrims.1 The mood was one of religious fervor and of celebration. On this particular day, the ...

90. The World's Most Extraordinary Club

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 When you were a kid, did you ever create your own exclusive club? Only you and your best friends could be in the club, and everyone else was an outsider. You got to create the rules, the club name, the secret handshake. And you got to decide who you let into the club and who you kept out. It gave you a feeling of real power. Rev. Will Nickles tells a story of when he was around seven years old, and his older brother started a secret club with a friend next door. Will ...

91. Where Is He?

Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

One thing is for sure about Christmas. When it’s over, it’s over. Down come the decorations. Away go the songs. Good cheer is bottled up for another year and goodwill is put back in the attic. It’s like all this festivity is good for a little while but we wouldn’t want to risk making it a way of life. But the Church says slow down, you move too fast. Today is the 10th day of Christmas. Epiphany Sunday is a day to celebrate the visit of the Wise Men proclaiming Jesus the Light of the world. This ...

92. Ask Jacob!

Matthew 6:25-34, Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Steady as she goes” the ship’s helmsman cries, hoping to keep the ship on its current course. The nautical term urges the helmsman to first observe where the ship lies and its current direction, and then to maintain that course steadily going forward. What lies out there? No one knows. Sometimes in a storm, a sailor cannot see in front of him or her, let alone further ahead. That’s why the compass is so important. Like an internal clock, the compass is the ship’s true North that can perceive the direction ...

93. Show Me What’s Real

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Have you ever found yourself in a position or place where you would rather not be? Sometimes it is our own doing, our own poor choices that bring us to a place we would not choose. At other times it is a series of circumstances that carries us to that place. A church near campus has a chapel for university students to meditate and pray. Students have the opportunity to reflect and share their thoughts in a notebook. The entries sometimes reveal an inner struggle. One young woman candidly shared, "My ...

94. Would You Take The Crown Without The Cross?

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, and one of the applicants - who was not known to be the brightest academically, was called in for an interview. "Okay," began the sheriff, "What is 1 and 1?" "Eleven," came the reply. The sheriff thought to himself, "That's not what I meant, but he's right." Then the sheriff asked, "What two days of the week start with the letter 'T'?" "Today & tomorrow." Replied the applicant. The sheriff was again surprised over the answer, one that he had never thought of ...

95. Would You Take The Crown Without The Cross?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

96. Would You Take the Crown Without the Cross?

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

97. Return and Be Forgiven

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

On this third Sunday in Lent, all three of our lessons have to do with repentance, but we will look at that specifically in our Isaiah text. Verses 8 and 9 of our Old Testament lesson tell us about the absolute otherness of God. "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, says the Lord." That is a revelation that we need to remember whenever we try to identify the Lord with theological theories from our own imagination, or whenever we try to say that one of our social programs is ...

98. Saints Alive!

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

This is the day when our vision of the church sweeps the horizons of history and of heaven, all at the same time. We embrace with gratitude uncountable yesterdays. They have been the arenas of faithfulness for God and for his people. In these days God has worked our salvation faithfully and with mercy. In these days generation upon generation of the saints have lived and faithfully served, preserving until our day the saving grace of God's Word and sacraments. At the same time, we see the horizon of heaven ...

99. Second Chances

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Lent 3) There is a hilarious story about a farmer who had three sons: Ron, Don and Little John. All had their names on the church roll but none ever attended church or had time for God. Then one day Don was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Don, but the outlook for his recovery was very dim indeed. So the pastor was called to evaluate the situation. The pastor arrived, and began to pray: “O wise and righteous Father, we ...

100. The Two Prodigals

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

The relationship between and among siblings is a study both intriguing and challenging. Many of us know the truth here firsthand from the experience of growing up in families. Even if one happens to be an only child, we are brought in touch with brothers and sisters in other families. A great deal is made of the birth order in a family. For example, the oldest son has traditionally been known as the child who is to make his mark in the world and, in some cases, look after parents and those siblings who are ...

Showing results