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 976 to 1000 of 5000 results

976. A Man Of Character And Generosity

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... brothers. But as years passed he saw God's hand at work in his life and his anger began to subside. All his buried thoughts and emotions surfaced the day his brothers stood before him. They came in desperate need of his help. Some suggest that in Joseph's long conversations with his brothers, he was trying to decide what to do with them. Should he get even or should he forgive them? He was in a position of power. He could give them a taste of their own medicine and have them thrown into prison. At the end ...

977. Wrestling With God

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... , and he identifies the cause as acute anxiety about the future. When Sir Walter Raleigh was burdened with a huge debt, his doctor said to him, "Sir Walter, if you don't stop worrying you will die." Sir Walter looked up sadly and said, "I can't help worrying as long as that debt is over my head. It may kill me, but you might as well tell my cook to order the water in the kettle not to boil as to command my brain not to worry." Perhaps it was acute anxiety with which Jacob was wrestling. His brother Esau ...

978. At The Edge Of Broken-ness

Job 1:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... the ashes. (2:7, 8) Female 2: "The third reaction is intense anger, and finally, after time, is resolution, when people find a way to make sense of the tragedy." (11) Male 1: "So many dead. So much suffering. So unnecessary. I will never get past this as long as I live. And one of the most powerful things I will never forget is walking past firefighters who were walking up the stairs as I was walking down."(12) Male 2: "May the Lord have mercy on the souls of those who lost their lives in this catastrophe ...

979. I Will Not Leave You Comfortless

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... likes to think that Christians are persons who will not face facts, who live in a world of unreal dreams. The world is wrong. People who think Christians live in an unreal world simply do not themselves have all the facts. The question is, as Pilate asked long ago, what is truth? Is truth to be defined by what we can see, hear, taste, feel? Or is there more to life than that? The famous agnostic Thomas Huxley was once lovingly confronted by a sincere Christian. This believer stressed to Huxley that he was ...

980. The Three R's Of A Spiritual Life

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... is a scene where the heroine, played by Meryl Streep, takes a risky trip into the wilderness and has a close encounter with a lion. Later, the movie's hero, played by Robert Redford, offers her this advice: "It's all right to take a chance," he says, "as long as you're the only one who will pay." (3) Well, maybe so, but it's rare that the people we love are not affected when we indulge in questionable behavior. Please don't misunderstand. There are some risks that are positive risks. We can't always play it ...

981. Through the Eyes of an Eagle (Introduction)

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee in a boat, John says that they rowed about three to four miles. (It usually comes as a shock to folks to discover that the “Sea” of Galilee is a modest-sized lake, about 13 miles wide and 8-1/2 miles long!) The writer of John knows the exact amount of myrrh and aloes used to anoint Jesus’ body for burial. He knows that there were six stone pots for water at Cana. Only John tells us about the four soldiers gambling for Jesus’ robe. Again and again, the author ...

982. God’s Body Language

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... : “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) With that simple sentence, John alienated most of his readers. We have heard it so long and so often that we take it for granted. We forget that when it was written it was about the most shocking thing that anyone could say. Remember that John was writing primarily for an audience familiar with Greek philosophy. His readers had heard about the famous ...

983. It’s Hard to Eat While Lying

John 13:18-30

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... getting his work done for him in this world! And with that, I wholeheartedly agree. “Satan entered into him.” says John. But I doubt that this was the first time. I have a feeling that Judas had felt the tug of temptation pulling him away from the Lord long before. But I believe that Judas had to make his own decision to respond to that tug from the world of darkness. I think that Judas ultimately had to make his own decisions, and take responsibility for them, just as do you and I. Pressures within and ...

984. The Autobiography of God

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Jesus Christ God did just exactly that! That is what separates Christianity from all of the rest of the world’s religions: the unique and shocking affirmation that in the man Jesus of Nazareth God has visited and redeemed His people. We have heard this in church so long that we have come to take it for granted, have become rather blase about it. What it should do is shock us awake, for it is a really amazing assertion. Sometimes I feel as though we who are in the Church are like the telegraph operators I ...

985. The Shy Member of the Trinity

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... to Christ—who points to the One whom He called “Abba” = Father. Prof. Bruner then used some illustrations of this that I have never been able to get out of my mind. He likened the shyness of the Holy Spirit to the shyness of Ed McMahon on the long-running “Tonight” show on television when he introduced Johnny Carson with the familiar words—“He-e-e-ere’s Johnny!” Instead of saying “He-e-e-ere’s Johnny!” the Holy Spirit says to us, “He-e-e-ere’s Jesus!” Then he said that the Holy ...

986. If Christ Had Not Come

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... baptized, our marriage vows spoken, loved ones laid to rest, our hopes were buoyed up here, in the church, by the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But all this is in the past. Now, all that we have left are the memories of days long gone by. A young couple bring their child to be baptized. They want to give their child the best possible start in life. They want to surround their child with something more than their limited human love: the love of the Christian community, and especially, the love ...

987. Food for the Fed-up

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... true love was not necessarily looking into each other’s eyes, but rather looking at the world through the eyes of the other. A whole lot of what passes for popular piety appears to be something like a “crush” on Jesus. It consists merely in looking longingly at Him. But Jesus constantly pointed beyond Himself to the One who sent Him, and told us that if we really loved Him, then we would obey His commandments. Jesus’ words in the sixth chapter of John indicate that He expects His divine nature to ...

988. Philip the First

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... we shall be satisfied.” (John 14:8) Jesus’ reply shows a wee bit of impatience, when he sighs and says, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) We are tempted to be ... be careful. Remember that for every finger we point at him, three fingers are pointed back at us. Has Christ been with us for so long and we still do not know Him? We have had Christ with us (in the Church) for almost two thousand years, and it is only ...

989. Not the Seasons for Figs

Mark 11:12-19

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... morning He and His students set out once more to cross over the Mount of Olives and reenter Jerusalem. They climbed a long, narrow, dusty, rocky road, until they reached the ridge of the Mount where they were within sight of their goal. There they ... might very well be addressed to the New Israel, the young Church. The Church was just getting under way, but had not been around long enough to bear much fruit. Thus it was not yet “the season for figs.” This might help us to understand Jesus’ reply to ...

990. The Lord's Prayer: Deliver us from Evil

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... to say now with Emil Coue that `every day in every way we are getting better and better?'' I should not wish to do so. I have more sympathy with Ogden Nash, who tells us that progress was once a very good idea, but it has been going on too long! Or think of the `isms'' of our times, so many of them related to a Humanism that leaves out the eternal and transcendental. They no longer have any validity for they took too lightly the depth of our perversity and our capacity for evil. We have lost any hope we ...

991. Hissing in the Garden

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... mind. Dr. Landwehr further states we need to learn about evil as early as we begin to learn to walk and chew. (2) John Wesley, the leader of the United Methodist Church, shared in a sermon that he used to teach and guide his early Methodist preachers: "For as long as any of us are upon earth, we are in the region of temptation. He who came into the world to save his people from their sins did not come to save them from temptation." (3) Whenever I hear the word temptation, my mind immediately goes to that ...

992. The Other Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the man asked, "What is the best thing I can do?" The attorney replied, "The best thing you can do is to move back in with your wife, apologize for all the harm you have done, and then work harder than ever before to make your marriage work." After a long, deadly silence, the man inquired, "What is the next best thing I can do?" Far too often we are just like him. Herod always is. We say we want God''s best dream for our life. But when the reality of God''s will becomes evident we begin to search ...

993. Thanks for the Memories

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... took him to a woman of the tribal village early in the morning and picked him up about supper time. He said all day long the old squaw told stories. "They sang old songs, described rituals and told the oral history of our people. She told how they began ... says, "That''s okay. No problem there." The days went by, and you know what happened. One day she was away from the house for a long period of time and he was there by himself. That box kept saying, "Come and look, come and look." He went over to the box ...

994. Thanksgiving: Where Are You Looking for It?

Psalm 103:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... -hand. Yes, even in sacred scripture, the biblical writer found it necessary to issue a corrective for the ingratitude found amongst his own people, as he writes, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits." That''s right, only those who pause long enough to remember can be truly grateful. I find the Psalmist''s words directly speaking to me. It is not a word of condemnation, but a good word. Good words for those of us who can lose track of our blessings in the helter-skelter environment ...

995. Is Your Love Shy?

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... summoned up the courage to ask Sally out for a date. She agreed. And over supper John confided in Sally, telling her of his year long love. And you know what? Sally said she'd loved John the whole year too! Think of all the joy they missed! Think of ... of his patients ever look him in the eye and say, "Give it to me straight, doctor. Do I have cancer? Is it terminal? How long do I have?" Instead, patients edge around the facts, deal in generalities, and engage in subtle delusions. And isn't this how it was in ...

996. Bedlam or Bethleham?

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... , the villagers look about them, and lo and behold, they make a startling discovery! It is Ernest himself who looks like the Great Stone Face! He had lived so long in the presence of his ideal that he had at last become like his ideal. In similar fashion, whoever thinks long enough in terms of Christ, acts long enough in terms of Christ, lives long enough in terms of Christ will in the end become like Christ. Our text again, "Live lives that are self-controlled, upright and godly -- or Christ-like." Noble ...

997. Growing Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... want me to do first?" The booming voice came back, "Let go." The man was silent for a moment. Finally he hollered out, "Is anyone else up there?" This business of "having faith" in God is a huge issue. It is a huge issue today. It was a huge issue long before Jesus came. It has been a huge issue in the intervening centuries. Think about your own life. How often have you prayed and prayed, hoping against hope that God's will and yours would be in sync? And how often has it turned out that they were not? I ...

998. The Right Word For Memorial

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... it this way. One, you may know where you are going, but no matter where you go, there will be the Way. Two, you may not know all things, but no matter what you know, there is always the Truth. And three, you may not live upon this earth a long time, but you can have the promise of Life tomorrow. (This outline suggested by Barry P. Boulward, Francis Street UMC) Isn't that what our friends who have "finished the course" would say to us? Let's talk about those truths: I. First, you may not know where you are ...

999. A Healing Presence

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... they could not treat and heal, most of them responded, I’d like to have the time to spend an hour or two simply talking and listening to each of the patients. That makes the point, doesn’t it? And we could have learned it from Jesus a long time ago. There is a story in the gospels which we read for our first lesson today that makes the intimate connection between forgiveness and healing. You remember the story. It’s one of the most colorful stories in the whole Bible. Some fellow were convinced about ...

1000. Playing A Role Or Being A Truth

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is that we’re turned into Normal Nothings. Squeezed into the mold of the world around us. Roma Christna tells the, a kind of fable of a motherless tiger cub who was adopted by goats and raised by them to eat grass and bleat as they did. It wasn’t long before the tiger cub came to think of himself as a goat. But one day a magnificent king tiger came along and asked the cub what he meant by all this masquerade and all the cub could do in response was to bleat nervously and nibble on the grass. So ...

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