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 1838 results

1026. I'll Be Somewhere Listening

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... . She informed him that her mind was made up because someone else could do the job better. She also advised the pastor that she would now sing in the choir on a regular basis and play the organ as a substitute if needed. There was no bitterness, rancor, or self-serving. She had only a spirit of relinquishment. Yes, Eli had weaknesses. In spite of these weaknesses, he teaches the Church that much can be accomplished when in faith we relinquish ourselves fully and completely to God. Sometimes God asks us to ...

1027. The Gospel According to Johan

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... go anywhere to preach the gospel except Japan. Cho could not forget what the Japanese had done to Korea and her people, as well as members of his own family. Eventually an invitation came for Cho to preach in Japan. He accepted the invitation but with bitterness. His first speaking assignment was to address a pastors' conference with a thousand Japanese pastors. When he stood to speak, these words came out of his mouth: "I hate you, I hate you. I hate you." Cho broke down and wept. His hatred had gotten the ...

1028. Going Down to Look Up

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... be devoid of all human touch. Naaman would be treated as an object of disgust. In the household of Naaman, there was a girl who had been taken captive from the land of Israel. This girl was a servant to the wife of General Naaman. Instead of being bitter and thinking to herself, "Let him die; he's getting exactly what he deserves," this captive girl informed her mistress that there was a prophet in Samaria who could cure Naaman of his leprosy. This good news from the girl set wheels in motion. The King of ...

1029. Look Inside and Discover Life

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... with some aspect of their lives, generally over the lack of some item. Typically the people complained against Moses and his brother Aaron. As the human leaders of the nation, it was natural that they were the lightning rod that would attract most of the bitterness of the people. The complaints are often a litany of yearning for their former life in Egypt, protests over the lack of food and water along the journey, and their disgust with manna. Rarely did the people complain against God. In today's lesson ...

1030. Replacing a Fallen Comrade

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... and saw them practice dishonesty during the week after speaking piously in church on Sunday. He listened to ministers use the Bible to justify slavery. He was so disturbed by the bad teaching and poor example of church leaders as a whole that he became bitter toward the things of God. That happens sometimes. People judge us more by what we do during the week than by what we say on Sunday. And sometimes church leaders disappoint us. The early church wanted to make certain that their message always rang true ...

1031. To Live Is To Dance

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in the midst of every baffling contradiction a person could know, held high every embarrassment this life affords within his own heart. The height of Heaven and the depth of hell, the joy of the Kingdom and the pain of death, the freedom of faith and the bitterness of hate, the spirit and the flesh, angels and devils. Hope and despair - were all in the experience of Jesus, and yet look what he made of them: a new dimension of consciousness for person, new order of society, a new philosophy of history, a new ...

1032. A Healing Presence

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Christ moves into every area of our life, which we will open to him, to provide transformation and healing, not only physically but perhaps in even more important ways, Christ heals to the degree of our willingness and openness and yieldingness. We’re healed of bitterness and hatred and painful memories, and wounded spirits. We’re healed of the sores of the soul kept open and infected by estrangement from loved ones. We’re healed of the ravaging grief of a broken heart because of the death of a loved ...

1033. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... s the reason some folks say that sinners are far more attractive than saints. These people have meditated on Jesus’ character and then they’ve risen up to seek to follow him in their own power, and they can’t do it. So disappointment is heaped on bitter disappointment. The great example becomes a dead weight that beats us down and buries us into the dust. Now this is not to say, hear me, this is not say that following Jesus is not important. It is simply to say that the uniqueness of Christianity is ...

1034. What If God Is Dependent Upon Our Praying?

2 Chronicles 7:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... which is open to all young people here in this country. He has been active against war and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. He refuses to participate in all the exercises as to how to act in case a nuclear war breaks out. Yet, I detected no bitterness in him. He knows what his future holds, but he was joyfully alive in faith, and confessed that whatever happened to him, the Lord would sustain him in prayer. I was humbled by the witness, and the question became more searching. What if? What if there are ...

1035. Reconciliation: Our Gift And Our Ministry

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to Siberia, sentenced for 25 years plus an additional 5 - had he spent his entire sentence, he would have been released this year, the year the Estonian Methodist church celebrates its 75 anniversary, but he was freed miraculously after fives years. There is no bitterness in him. He says that those five years in Siberian prison, and his suffering there, was his university for Christ, and he calls those five years and that experience, his aisle of patmus. On that Monday morning three weeks ago, I looked into ...

1036. Such A Babe In Such A Place

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... a cross. The stable which was his birth place became the sepulture in which his crucified body was laid. The soft cry of the infant dies and in its place come the severe commands and the tough summons of the savior. The adoration of men turned into the bitter hatred of rumors. The Christ child in the New Testament does not remain the child of sentiment; he grows into the savior on a cross. We complicate that too, we get it all messed up in theological speculations. We want to know how it’s done, and how ...

1037. Recovering The Essence

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... at that particular time. I had spent a luncheon with an tourist guide in Leningrad, who risked a great deal I think to tell us about the dream that had failed. And amidst nervous and furtive glances around and over her shoulders to share her bitter pain over the fact that her father had given himself to cause that had died, and she said without reservation, that the system wasn’t working and something had to change. I had spent two days with Christian leaders from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, East ...

1038. The Power Of Purpose

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... one of them, who would not toil at their present job another single day if only they could be relieved of the burdens and responsibilities of supporting their family; or if they could find another more meaningful way to do it. For some, going to work is a bitter task; leaving work is like dropping a heavy load off their shoulders. I have great sympathy for such people. I’m sorry that I can’t identify with them more than I can, because I don’t know anyone who finds more meaning in what they’re doing ...

1039. Saints In The Light

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... shoulder and a voice sounded in my ear. ‘Am I a man that I should lie,’ It said. I was startled. I was chastened and rebuked. Then a great peace soothed my broken spirit. No, I should not speak of sweetness as I recall those years of bitter sorrow and struggle. In those days I entered into the power of religion.” “Would you say”, he asked, “that you now enjoy the sweetness or the power?” “Now I have both!”, she exclaimed. “The sweetness that I knew in my English girlhood has come back to ...

1040. Put To Death The Old; Put On The New

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... attitudes, old ways of relating. This doesn't come easy. We have to be intentional about the dynamic of putting off the old. Dr. Robert Brubaker, a Methodist minister colleague, has told of a woman who illustrates what I am talking about. She was bitterly estranged from her sister over a disputed family will. Her resentment and regret had darkened the passing years and caused something good to die inside her. Then one Sunday certain words of scripture became a summons with her name and address on it. That ...

1041. The Primacy Of Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... An uncaring husband had walked all over her – had trampled her feelings -- her very heart, in the mud. She had given herself to him and he had used her. It was a despicable kind of harshness on his part. It would have been a normal thing for her to be bitter, angry, calloused and hard. The pain was there and she wept a lot -- but there was a tenderness about her, a kind of transparent perception of reality that defied reason, and she put it in a few words: "This is not the end for me -- though I'm beaten ...

1042. Look Carefully How You Walk

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , a ministry connected with Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship. The prisoner's name is Von Davis -- a death row inmate. In fact, let me take some content from two letters. "For the record, I arrived here on death row in absolute confusion, insanely bitter over the obvious injustice, full of hate, lonely and abandoned by friends and most family. If there was a "bottom of the barrel", I was under that. Needless to say, I vehemently questioned the existence of God and all human fairness and morals. Execution ...

1043. If Only -- In Spite Of

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... fact. She has written at least two books, both recording her feelings, thoughts, and observations as she has walked through the valley of the shadow of death. She likened the choices of life to standing before a button-panel. "You push the down button," she said, "for bitterness, resentment, and self-pity. Or you can push the up-button and draw closer to God, closer to others, and be a better person. It's always an act of the will, a will beyond emotions or what you feel like doing. You can be deceived by ...

1044. Count It All Joy

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... before." Yancey reflected on this -- and the deep irony of the scene. For months he had been absorbed in the failures of faith, having sought out stories of people disappointed in God. He had chosen Douglas as his modern Job, and had expected from him a bitter blast of protest. The last thing he had anticipated was a graduate course in faith. "If we develop a relationship with God apart from our life circumstances, then we may be able to hang on when the physical reality breaks down. We can learn to trust ...

1045. Pack Up Your Troubles

James 4:13-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... happened. Around 10:30 p.m. the father said that he was very tired. And he didn't want the children to leave the room. I sensed what was about to happen. Each child held his hand. And then he died. But his expression was serene. The bitterness was gone. Grievances had been resolved. All unfinished business put to rest." (Barry P. Boulware, "While It Was Still Dark", March 30, 1986). It may not be that dramatic, but most of us have some unfinished business. We need to attend to that business now. We need ...

1046. The Road Less Traveled

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that your emotions welled up and a lump in your throat kept you from speaking. The tears in your eyes were tears of joy and they glistened as you smiled with unbridled delight. For others, the lump in the throat was not a sweet delight, but bitter sorrow. Your child disappointed you gravely, betrayed your trust. But more painful and destructive, betrayed his or her best self, and there was nothing you could do about it but cry and swallow hard and try to breathe more easily around that lump in your throat ...

1047. Our Father's Love Begotten

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Chamber's classic book My Utmost for His Highest for my devotional time each morning. It's a book that is sort of timeless, always relevant. In the reading for November 11, he had this to say, "When your cup is sweet, drink it with grace. When it is bitter, drink it in communion with God." We can do that because God has done what only God could do come to us personally in Jesus Christ as love. Again, Jesus is God's living presence without which our life will be less than life, and without which our life ...

1048. When Being Good Is Bad For You Or Breaking The Chains Of Co-dependency

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... story in its most vivid revelation: This is a story about Sadhu Sundar Singh, who was a Sikh convert to Christianity, and who became a missionary to India. One late afternoon, Sadhu was traveling on foot through the Himalaya Mountains with a Buddhist monk. It was bitter-cold and night was coming on. The Monk warned Sadhu that they were in danger of freezing to death if they did not reach the monastery before darkness fell. Just as they were traversing a narrow path above a deep precipice, they heard a cry ...

1049. What If

1 Chronicles 7:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is open to all young people here in this country. He has been active against war and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, refusing to participate at all in all the exercises as to how to act in case a nuclear war breaks out. Yet, I detected no bitterness in him. He knows what his future holds, but he was joyfully alive in faith, and confessed that whatever happened to him, the Lord would sustain him in prayer. I was humbled by that witness and the question became more searching. What if -- What if there ...

1050. If Only... Next Time

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... has demonstrated this fact eloquently. She wrote at least two books, both recording her feelings, thoughts, and observations as she walked through the valley of the shadow of death. She likened the choices of life to standing before a button panel. "You push the down button for bitterness, resentment, and self-pity. Or you can push the up button and draw closer to God, closer to others and to be a better person. It's always an act of the will, a will beyond emotions or what you feel like doing. You can be ...

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