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 1026 to 1050 of 3108 results

1026. Imitating Goodness

1 Corinthians 4:16

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: To teach that imitating what good people do is helpful. Props: None needed. Lesson: Good morning. Today I have a game for us to play. It's called the "Imitation Game." Would you like to play? (response) Okay, good! This is how you play. I will do something and then you imitate me. Ready? Here goes. At this point do any simple movements such as touching your face or raising your hand, and let the children follow you. You are really good imitators. Let me ask you a question, though. What if I ...

1027. Doing Love

Revelation 21:1-27

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

Accidental Death The meditation text is Revelation 21:3-4: "And I heard a great voice from the throne saying, 'Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.' Do you remember the time, that innocent time of your life, when your mom and dad could do ...

1028. The Children

Drama

William Grimbol

SETTING: Seven children gathered in a courtyard garden for conversation TIME: Christ's ministry JOHN: Who is he? KEITH: Who is who? JOHN: Him ... the one you are talking about? PETER: Just be quiet. JULIE: As you know, my father is a Pharisee. JENA: As is my father. KEITH: How could we not know? CHRIS: You tell us every time. JOHN: What is a MESS-I-A? PETER: Quiet. Go play. We know they are Pharisees. JULIE: My father believes he is just nothing more than another crazy cause leader. JENA: Indeed. You know ...

1029. Encounters With Christ IV: Jesus and the Woman at the Well

Sermon

James W. Moore

James W. Moore of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston tells a story about one of his minister friends. His name is Tom and he does a fascinating thing each month. Even though he has an extremely busy schedule (because he serves as pastor of one of the finest churches in our nation)… still he makes the time each month to go down to the homeless shelter in his city to work in their soup kitchen. After the homeless people have been fed, he then invites them to join him in a service of Holy Communion ...

1030. Fixing The Fox!

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

The Bible says that there is no peace for the wicked. It is also true that there is no peace for the righteous, for the two are ever in conflict with each other. For this reason we refer to the church on earth as the church militant. It is ever at war with evil in the world. Jesus once said, "I have not come to bring peace but a sword ..." Paul thinks of a Christian as a soldier who is to put on "the whole armor of God" that he may stand up against the principalities and powers of the world. Among our ...

1031. God's Bandage

Matthew 5:21-26

Children's Sermon

Object: A bandage. Good morning, everyone. I hope this is a good day for you. Things are almost always good for you, aren't they? I suppose that the only really bad times you have are when you get hurt while playing. Is that right? Has anyone been hurt this summer? [Let them respond ... look for leg or arm cuts.] Boy, that must have really hurt! Did you cry? I suppose if it was that serious you had to quit playing. [Now work for the answer that they had to stop what they were doing and go home to be fixed ...

1032. Proper 15

Lk 12:49-56 · Jer 20:7-13; 23:23-29; 38:4-10

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

THE LESSONS Jeremiah 20:7-13 For preaching Yahweh's message of doom, Jeremiah is persecuted but is confident of victory. Jeremiah expresses his inner turmoil as a prophet. True to God's Word, he preaches doom and destruction for the nation at the hands of the Babylonians as God's judgment upon their sins of idolatry and wickedness. For telling the truth of what is coming, he is ridiculed and thrown into stocks; friends wait to catch him in a word of treason. Because he loves his people, he is hurt by their ...

1033. Ordinary 32

Lk 20:27-38 · Zech 7:1-10 · 2 Thess 2:13--3:5 · 1 Chron 29:10-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Zechariah 7:1-10 Not fasting but justice and compassion Yahweh desires. Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. He supported Haggai in his call for re-building the temple. Zechariah preached in Judah to the returned exiles between 520 and 518 B.C. He probably saw the temple completed in 516. While Haggai was primarily concerned with the re-building of the temple, Zechariah called for repentance and social righteousness. In today's passage the question is raised whether weeping and fasting should ...

1034. So Soon We Forget!

Exodus 16:1-36

Sermon

So soon we forget! The next time you complain of having to do the laundry - at home or at the local laundromat - where you have plenty of hot and cold water, a spin-dry machine, and a dryer to do the whole job remarkably easily, before you complain about how tough it is (like breaking a fingernail opening the package of new, blue, all-temperature Cheer or having to fold the clothes as they come out of the dryer), stop and remember it was not always so simple. Here is a "receipt" of an old grandmother in ...

1035. Welcome to the Training Table!

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Much of the business of the human race has been conducted over the dinner table. There are several reasons for that. One of them is convenience: In the harried pace of life - and it was so in ancient times as often as it is today - mealtime, which everybody had to take time for anyway, became as convenient a time as any to communicate, to take care of things, to check signals, and generally to keep in touch. In fact, many families only see each other when they’re eating and, at that, often only at certain ...

1036. EPISODE 6: THE SIXTH WEEK IN LENT

Drama

Robert Clausen

EPISODE 6: THE SIXTH WEEK IN LENT MARY MARTHA MARY MAGDALENE CAPTAIN JUDAS SOLDIER JESUS PETER JOHN THOMAS [MARY and MARTHA are together. MARY MAGDALENE enters.] MARTHA: Mary Magdalene...! MARY MAGDALENE: Oh, Martha. I’m so glad to find you home ... and Mary. MARY: Come in, Mary Magdalene. Are you all right? MARY MAGDALENE: No ... MARY: Why, what’s the matter? MARY MAGDALENE: I can’t explain it. MARTHA: Try to tell us. MARY MAGDALENE: I should be happy after today ... the crowds, the cheering, the ...

1037. Your Image of Tomorrow

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Mann

"Among those who are born of women ..." If you are thinking of the human race, this is a rather inclusive statement; I can’t think of very many people it leaves out! And this is a statement of Jesus as he offers a summa cum laude of highest praise to one of his associates in the dissemination of truth and light. He says, "Among those who are born of women, there has not arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptizer" (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). What was it that was so great about John - this son of ...

1038. How Do You Like Yourself?

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Tell me, what do you think of yourself? How do you feel about living with you? You know, the precedents aren’t too encouraging. A man that we call Saint Peter cried out: "O, Lord, keep away from me, for I am a sinful man." A man whom we call Saint Paul had the words wrenched out of him: "O, wretched man that I am." And the great king, David, cried out in the Psalm: "I am a worm" - I am a worm! - "and no man." Or make it more contemporary. A teenage girl in my study stated her problem honestly: "People don’ ...

1039. Freedom Can Be Frightening

Leviticus 25:8-55

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

In November of 1751, the Provincial Assembly of the Colony of Pennsylvania ordered a bell for its new State House. The order directed that the new bell should have a biblical quotation inscribed around it, as the specifications read, "in large and well-formed letters," and the quotation that was prescribed was verse 10 of chapter 25 of Leviticus. These words: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, and unto all the inhabitants thereof." Surely it was appropriate that this bell, with its challenging ...

1040. Cultural Revolution or Spiritual Problem?

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

Can you imagine what it would be like if John the Baptizer were the pastor of this congregation today? I wonder who would run away first, John or all the rest of us? The way the scriptures decribe him, it sounds as if he would have been very hard to get along with. The man could never have come to your home for dinner, for instance, because he ate only locusts and wild honey. Most of you ladies don’t know how to fix locusts, I don’t think. He never drank any alcohol so he would have been no good at a ...

1041. The Ten Commandments #7: No Adultery

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I remember the first time I ever preached on this text. I was more than a little reluctant...not because I was concerned about the sensitivity of the subject, but rather its relevance. You see, I was serving a congregation at that time that was OLD. I mean REALLY OLD - twenty percent of them were over 80! Did they NEED to hear, "You shall not commit adultery?" But I was in the midst of a series on the Ten Commandments, so I could not comfortably skip this one. I mentioned my concern, and the word that came ...

1042. Are You Dressed For The Banquet?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Television journalist Hugh Downs and his wife once attended a function in Washington. When the time came to return to New York, they discovered that their flight had been cancelled due to bad weather. Downs immediately called the front desk and was informed that they could catch a five o'clock train, which was leaving in 45 minutes. Mrs. Downs was showering, and to save time, Hugh hurriedly packed all their belongings, called the bell captain and asked that the bags be rushed right over to the station and ...

1043. Temptation

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

King Duncan

A member of Weight Watchers was determined to make it through a full week without cheating. She dropped into a cafeteria one day for a cup of coffee. A man with two doughnuts and a cup of coffee sat down on the other side of the table. The pastries smelled truly delicious ” but the woman remained firm in her decision not to indulge. Lo and behold after a while the man got up, leaving behind one whole doughnut. An internal struggle ensued and temptation triumphed. The woman reached across the table, picked ...

1044. The Terrible Burden Of Judging Others

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

King Duncan

Years ago there was a Jules Feiffer strip that went something like this: A man is speaking into the telephone and you hear only his side of the conversation. "Yes, mother, I've had a hard day. Gladys has been most difficult ” I know I ought to be more firm, but it is hard. Well, you know how she is. Yes, I remember you warned me. I remember you told me she was a vile creature who would make my life miserable, and you begged me not to marry her. You were perfectly right. You want to talk to her? All right ...

1045. Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Movie producer William Castle was known in the 1950s for his low-quality horror films. In 1961, Castle did something totally unique in movie history: he let the audience choose the ending to his movie. Castle's movie, Mr. Sardonicus, was about a crazed, reclusive killer. Near the end of the film, ushers stopped the film and allowed audiences to vote on whether the killer should live or die. Then, the ushers ran the ending that the audience chose. The audience always chose death for the bad guy. It's a good ...

1046. Willing And Able

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

Did you know that a few years ago a former Mouseketeer, Billie Jean Matay, 52, sued Disneyland? It's a fascinating story. It seems that Mrs. Matay sued her former employers in the Disney organization after being robbed in the parking lot of Disney's Anaheim amusement park. She says that she and her three grandchildren were held for hours by security officers. And she was asking damages because her three grandchildren saw some famous Disney characters getting out of their costumes. The children were ...

1047. If Your Life Were A Movie

Mark 9:42-50

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: None OR a picture of Pinocchio or Pinocchio book How many of you know the story of Pinocchio? What was his problem? (Children respond) He told lies, didn't he? Have you ever told a lie or done something else that was wrong? (response) All of us have done this at one time or another. Not only is it bad, but also a strange thing happens when we tell lies or do something wrong and don't admit it. Our noses don't grow like Pinocchio's did, but we often have to tell another lie to cover up for the first ...

1048. WHY THEY MATTER TODAY

Drama

Angela Akers

SUBJECT: Presidents'' Day CHARACTERS: Teacher, The students: Kim, Sammy, Jay, Julie SETTING: A classroom PROPS: A pile of test papers (Teacher is handing out test papers to the students) Teacher: "I''m handing back last week''s test on the Presidents. I gotta tell you, if bad grades were explosive, then you folks would have blown this school to kingdom come." (The students groan and grumble) Teacher: "Anyone want to tell me why these turned out so bad?" Jay: "This stuff is boring." Julie: "It''s ...

1049. The Thirteenth Apostle

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

At the end of the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, there is a curious story of how the eleven remaining apostles filled the vacancy in the band of the Twelve left by Judas’ suicide. The record says that the choice came down to two: a man named “Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:23, 26) But Matthias was never heard from again! Evidently some sort of ...

1050. Dealing with Our Doubts

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

David Heller is a young Boston psychologist who, as part of a continuing research interest, collects letters children have written to God. “Dear God: Children’s Letters to God” (New York: Doubleday, 1987) is Heller’s second publication on this subject. In it he reports the following letter: “Dear God, I have doubts about you sometimes. Sometimes I really believe. Like when I was four and I hurt my arm and you healed it up fast. But my question is, if you could do this why don’t you stop all the bad in the ...

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