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 5000 results

1026. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... depth; that is the lie of self-help. My unaided will is not strong enough to wrench my life into a new path for very long. The ruts of sin are deep and my habits too comfortable. Depth change comes through cooperation with the God of grace who has many avenues ... portfolio. God has more than met all my needs. All the stuff is his, and there is nothing wrong with you enjoying some of it, as long as you don’t set your heart on it and think your goal in life is to pile it up and protect it and brag on ...

1027. The God Who Must Be Pursued

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... front of me. It was a divine appointment; I knew it as soon as I saw him. God was testing me at the end of a long day. Would I take time? Would I care? Yes, because this passage was on my mind. I had been meditating that day on what it meant ... for that is the heart of the law and the prophets.” It’s what God’s after, and it’s who we become when we spend long enough asking for the right stuff and seeking the right person and knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door. We are changed into the kind of ...

1028. An Extraterrestrial Celebration

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... , “For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.” Writer Max Lucado has a way of capturing truth in little verbal snapshots taken from scripture. I love what he wrote about this event. “It has been a long day. Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests. “The disciples enter, one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel, and on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but not ...

1029. Night Moves

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." That is what he wants, that peace. Instead, out of the darkness, a stranger jumps him, throws him to the ground. These two bodies struggle in the darkness against each other. All night long they wrestle. The strength of the stranger is terrible. Jacob, the mightiest, the cleverest of men, is having difficulty holding his own. Who is this stranger who has come to him out of the night? Just before dawn, Jacob starts to win. At least it seems ...

1030. Prayer

Psalm 42:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... all pray, and we pray because it is a part of our native endowment. Prayer is related to our search for meaning, our longing for relationship, and our need to grow. Prayer, however practiced, is an expression of our hunger for God. This hunger is a part ... the sanctuary, beholding they power and glory. Because thy steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise thee. So, I will bless thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on they name. My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat, and my ...

1031. A Kingdom that Can Not Be Shaken

Hebrews 12:14-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... know that earthquakes happen. There is a famous story about Albert Einstein. In March of 1933 he was visiting the Long Beach campus of the University of California. He and a professor from the Department of Geology were walking across the campus ... Lloyd’s or any underwriter anywhere. Only a man and woman making commitments to God and to each other can guarantee a lifelong marriage. (4) Quite obviously, many marriages do not survive. There are earthquakes of many kinds. The loss of a child. That’s ...

1032. Strategic Planning

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.” Jesus is asking us to reflect on our lives and not simply react to our lives. ... ’s window to pull the lever that closed the door. The bus is equipped with automatic brakes that keep it from moving as long as the doors are open. Once the doors shut, the brakes release after a one‑and‑a‑half‑second delay. As Dianne passed ...

1033. Still Sinners, Still Forgiven

Romans 5:1-8

Sermon

William G. Carter

... God in Christ forgives us. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It's one thing to go to church, sing the hymns, say the prayers, stand and affirm this truth. It's another thing to know in your veins that this is good news for me. Tom Long tells about his first failure in ministry. All his seminary books were unpacked. All the pencils were sharpened at the desk. A church member knocked on his door and asked if he had a few minutes to talk. She started right in: "I know that I shouldn't feel this ...

1034. At War with Myself

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

William G. Carter

... nurses said, "I'll show you where he is." She took me downstairs, out the back door. There he was, out in the courtyard, taking a long drag from the Marlboro that he put in the hole in his throat. Why does he do that? Doesn't he know better? There's a ... standard. Some authority says this is the way things are, and we say, "No, it's not." Somebody says, "Short hair," and we grow it long. Dad says, "Turn down the music," and we turn it up. Most of us have been there. I had a philosophy professor in college. It ...

1035. Effective Suffering

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

... . And it is effective suffering which allows us to understand what Paul means when he asks, "What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" "Who is against us?" Would you like a list? Most of us can provide a long list in response to that question. We can start with the way things seem to work against us. The refrigerator that stops working just after you put all that expensive food in it. The computer that swallows your file just as you finish making it perfect. The car ...

1036. He's Here Somewhere

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... not know him. It says that he went to his disciples, and the disciples were confused. Jesus says to Philip, "Have I been with you so long that you don't even know who I am." Later, he says, that you will see me, then you won't see me, then in a ... this church when we open our buildings as a shelter in the winter months, to have people from the church serve as hosts and hostesses. Long volunteered to be a host one night. The night came and since no one else volunteered, he invited a friend to come and join him ...

1037. Honoring the Fathers

Hebrews 11:17-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

1038. Plain Talk

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... from it, can do so. As Jim Wallis said from this pulpit last week, the most onerous thing about being poor is the ostracism; being branded as a failure, as worthless, and treated that way. This church has been engaged in a ministry to the poor over a long period of time. We have done it for years through the feeding program. You can participate in that. All of you can. There is always a need for people to do the number of tasks that are involved in carrying out that ministry. Gathering the food, packaging ...

1039. Willibald Krautman's Trip To Heaven

Matthew 11:2-11

Drama

Matthew Powell

... and more light that he knew right away was the unending love that delights the heart and soul. Then he heard what seemed like a million voices singing, "Gloria in excelsis Deo. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will." Then an enormous longing came over him, a pain so great that he felt like he would die all over again. He wanted to scream, but he could not. All he could do was to whimper from the bottom of his heart, Willibald: Forgive me my sins. Dear God, forgive me my sins. I ...

1040. Why The Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves

John 1:1-14

Drama

Matthew Powell

... strong. Will you let me live in your boughs until my friends come back in the spring time? Oak: In the spring time! That is a long way off. How do I know what you might do in all that time? Birds are always looking for something to eat, and you might eat ... tree. Bird: I do not know. And I am very cold. Spruce: Come right here, then. You can live among my warmest branches all winter long if you like. Bird: Will you really let me? Spruce: Why, of course. If your friends have flown away, it is time for the trees ...

1041. In the Darkness of Fear, There Is the Light of Joy

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... shepherds were surprised as “the glory of the Lord shone around them.” Most all of us here today —I dare say all of us — need this light of joy to shine on us — and we need to be surprised by it. When our children were small, they would have a long list of things they wanted for Christmas. Down at the bottom of the list, they would write, “Lots of surprises.” That needs to be at the top of the list for all of us. That is one of our problems. How can we plan to be surprised? A preacher went ...

1042. Quarterback 101

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of witnesses. He carefully attends to all the details so that the sale is wholly legally, fully binding. Finally Jeremiah orders a third party, Baruch, to place the deeds in an earthenware jar so that they may remain safe and undamaged for a very long time. Just how long is suggested by the mid-twentieth century find of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scrolls carefully saved for thousands of years in earthenware jars in order to preserve them and keep them safe. But we may add that Baruch did his job of preserving ...

1043. God for Dummies

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... for eternal life isn't just a journey laid out according to some litany of laws. it's a dance and march whose step-by-step progression is kept steady by a heartbeat that throbs in sync with God's heart. With All Your...SOUL: You can't just wishfully long for God with your immortal soul. But this world makes it far too easy to discount the yearnings of the Spirit. After all, we've got a busy schedule, a stressful job, a houseful of kids. The psalmist knew how deep the soul’s craving for the divine could be ...

1044. The Ultimate Happy Meal

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the widow's cruise of oil which was never diminished; Ruth gleaning the corn; Daniel and his three companions living on oats, pea beans and barley corn; and the meal that was served Daniel in the lions' den by the prophet Habakkuk? St. Bonaventure said that after the long fast of our Lord in the desert, when the angels came to minister to him, they went first to the blessed mother to see what she had on her stove, and got the soup she'd prepared and transported it to our Lord, who relished it the more ...

1045. WaterFire Disciples

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... it to burn you up. It keeps you going, but you subdue it because you don't want to be destroyed by it. (Myles Horton, The Long Haul: An Autobiography (New York: Doubleday, 1990, 80.) This is what we often forget about the story of the burning bush in Exodus 3:2. ... theologian Ron Rolheiser, a member of a religious congregation called the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, refers to a "holy longing" within each person that shapes our dreams and desires. "If you want to get warm you must stand near the ...

1046. Who Put It There? (Mother's Day)

1 Peter 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , and to be ready to shout for joy when Christ's glory is ultimately revealed. Genuine, Christian suffering is only for a little while (5:9), especially in comparison to the eternal glory of Christ which God's grace has offered each of us to share in. The long-range vision is eternal glory. The suffering is only a part of the journey to that goal. No wonder 1 Peter urges his listeners cast all your cares on God, for God cares for you. "Rest assured we remain under the mighty hand of God." (5:6-7) Suffering ...

1047. The Uncloudy Cloud?

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , and yet knew that the very notion of a king was a doomed idea; David, Israel's great king, was an adulterer, a murderer, and father of a famously faithless son. Second, these faith heroes often didn't live to see their dream come true. In this long line of saints, they were obedient, they were honored, yet many of them didn't live to receive God's promises. In fact, those who are lauded as the greatest examples of successful lives of faith are often those who were tortured, sawn in two, and imprisoned ...

1048. Son-burned, Wind-blown, Earth-Stained

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... (even though these were always cheap, family-friendly motels). If a bus trip was involved we had to look even nicer, since we'd be traveling with all sorts of other people. Besides, since it cost money to ride the bus we were supposed to see the long, hot trip as some sort of special occasion. The first time I rode in an airplane, it was definitely a formal affair. For my parents, the pricier the trip, the more formal the attire. Last month, the ranks of the newly-trained and assigned sky marshals filed ...

1049. ASAP

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or get to the grocery store? There's an excellent chapter on fitting prayer into our personal lives in Zeb Bradford Long and Douglas McMurry, Prayer that Shapes the Future: How to Pray with Power and Authority (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999; 167- ... . Then why don't we pray? The most powerful force accessible to man is the potential of prayer. Then why don't we pray? The greatest longing in the heart of God is to talk to his children. Then why don't we pray? Nothing is impossible to those who pray. So why ...

1050. The Ultimate Identity Thief

Galatians 3:15-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... bought. Obviously the grandma and the lawnmower jockey had their identity, their credit, lifted from them by folks who would do anything to get all the stuff they want. I'll bet each one of you know your social security number by heart. You've had it for as long as you can remember. In fact, it was given you at birth. Your Social Security number is not just a number. It's part of your identity. If that number suddenly gets taken over and used by a criminal for their own purposes if that number no longer ...

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