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 2173 results

1026. Death of Eli

1 Samuel 4:12-22

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

Eli's Death: 4:12–22 News of the defeat was brought to Shiloh. The reader is drawn into the situation and can see and feel the tension in Eli as he waits for news and the breathlessness of the messenger who announces himself to the sightless old priest. Eli’s fear for the ark of God maybe indicated that he did not share the Israelites’ misunderstanding and that he knew their attempt to manipulate God was a mistake. Nevertheless, the news of the loss of the ark was too much of a shock for Eli, who fell off ...

1027. The Way Up Is Down!

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

There once was a palace servant who longed more than anything else in life to be a knight. He yearned to represent his king and vowed within himself that if he ever had a chance to be a knight he would serve his king as the noblest knight who ever lived. His dream came true. His great day came. At his knighthood ceremony, the former servant, now a knight, made a special oath within himself. He vowed that from that day forward he would bow his knees and lift his arms in homage to no one but his king. As a ...

1028. Lord of the Sabbath

Luke 5:33-39, Luke 6:1-11, Luke 7:18-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“If you call the Sabbath a delight then you will find your joy in the Lord.” --Isaiah 58:13-14 “Happy is he who is aware of the mysteries of his Lord.” --Abraham Joshua Heschel Visuals: Have Hubbel Space Images scrolling on screen during your sermon / Psalm 92 may be spoken with a musical background or sung You may also opt during or after your sermon to have people sing the psalm (you can find tunes with words on youtube) https://youtu.be/1I_X2bxfAq8 (This version by James Block is particular beautiful.) ...

1029. Grounds for Blessing

Matthew 13:1-23, Luke 8:1-15, Mark 4:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.” (Proverbs 8:19-21) Prop: Mustard seeds / soil [Have someone hand out some small black mustard seeds to everyone at the start of the sermon.] In your hand, you have some mustard seeds. These are seeds from the black mustard plant that grows still today in Israel. [Note to pastors: you can ...

1030. Wicked

Luke 20:9-19, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: plant with fruit (olive tree or fig tree or grape vine) ”Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:22) "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Most of us today are not much familiar with the idea of “tenant farming.” But it was a popular practice in many countries up until the 20th century. The term referred to a landowner who hires tenants to live on and ...

1031. The Healer

Matthew 4:23-25, Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) “I am the Lord, who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26) Prop: stethoscope [Hold up the stethoscope.] How is your heart? [Have a volunteer come up. Listen to the heartbeat. Put the stethoscope to the mic.] What do you hear? [Allow people to listen to the beating heart.] Listen to that. That’s the sound of a living heart. It’s the sound of a heart alive in Jesus. When your heart is synchronized with Jesus, it will be alive in ways that ...

1032. Lazarus Rising

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44, John 11:45-57, John 12:1-11, John 12:12-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Come out of the ark!” (Genesis 8:16) I saw a movie awhile back, “The Nice Guys.” Anyone see it? It stuck with me, because it was so disturbing. The plot went like this. A young girl is trying to assist in making a secret film that will uncover a criminal plot to allow an auto industry to sell an illegal converter that will damage and desecrate the environment. The girl is located by detectives, who were hired by her mother to find her missing daughter. While the detectives assume it’s a mere missing ...

1033. Song of Promise

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I have a confession to make: I love Christmas carols. I mean, really LOVE Christmas carols. Can I get a witness? On the radio….on CDs….in the stores….in the car….they just uplift our spirits in this season, don’t they? There’s something about Christmas Carols that just seem to warm the heart and stir the soul. I know you’re not supposed to listen to them until after Advent, but I admit it before God and all of you: I cheat. I listen to Christmas carols before the 12 days of Christmas. Now I know how ...

1034. Holy Goat!

Leviticus 16:1-34, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Hide and seek is everyone’s favorite game as a child. And as an adult. What irony that children play and pretend to hide, then are delighted to be discovered and come out of hiding. But adults hide for real! And for very different reasons! We may not physically hide. But can we emotionally and spiritually hide! And we have no intention of being discovered! For any number of reasons, we adults find it extremely hard to allow anyone to discover the deep reaches and recesses of our souls. We adults find it ...

1035. Plucked from the Blaze

Zechariah 3:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We are shaped by our experiences. You are who you are because of what has happened to you and your response to those happenings. At least in part. Every one of us has memories of times in our lives that we can identify as crucial milestones –moments that became momentous, moments that changed us in some way, made of who we are, shaped our thoughts, branded our memories, imprinted our feelings. What is your most vivid memory? Often, the experiences we remember the most are those that were most traumatic. ...

1036. The Joy of Being Found

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

We all know that enthusiasm is contagious, isn’t it? When you’re around someone who is enthusiastic, you feel more energized and excited. Of course, if enthusiasm is contagious, then lack of enthusiasm must be contagious too, right? Pastor Ed Rowell once wrote about watching a famous country singer perform a live concert at a county fair. He said that she and her band gave a technically perfect performance. They were polished and professional, and they didn’t miss a beat. But as Rowell watched her, he says ...

1037. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Price Of Discipleship In the mid-1960s President Lyndon Johnson introduced a so-called war on poverty. At about the same time he got involved in escalating the American participation in the Vietnam war. It soon began to cost about two billion dollars per month. He was unwilling to raise taxes. The attempt to wage the wars on two fronts, domestic and international, soon affected the economy adversely. Through the Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations the effects of deficits sent inflation rates up ...

1038. In the Cross of Christ We Glory

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Michael Milton

Patrick Morley has said that the turning point in our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is. Peter would come face-to-face with the God who is. This would be a turning point in the life of the disciples. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But ...

1039. Dust in the Wind

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

Sometimes a song gets so deep inside your head that it can never be uprooted. Maybe it is the melody or the mood evoked by its musical qualities. Maybe it is the themes and ideas that find expression in its lyrics. If it happens to be both the music and the lyrics perfectly matched to each other, then the effect is particularly strong. Such songs have the ability to become a recurring soundtrack to our lives. One such song for me is Kerry Livgren’s “Dust In The Wind.” Since I first heard this song more ...

1040. The True Story Wins

Matthew 28:11-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: a stone or rock, some scissors, and paper; a basket of stones or rocks that can be handed out Participation: During the sermon, all can participate using the hand motions of “rock, paper, scissors” Are you a liar? That might be a question asked of you if you live in the mountains of West Virginia, where the art of storytelling is called “lying.” It is every artist’s desire to become a “great liar.” To be a great “liar” meant that you could not only write a crafty short story, but you could “tell” the ...

1041. The Power of the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It is not by strength that one prevails. (Hannah’s Prayer) Props: hiking boots or tricycle (you’ll need a child volunteer from the congregation for this) and matches (or one large match) to light a candle; oil Some of you have probably seen the movie Wild, based on the recent best-selling book. The story is about a young woman, Cheryl Strayed, who takes a long trek through the mountain trails of Washington State in order to deal with her “inner demons.” She is mourning the loss of her mother. She is trying ...

1042. Lost

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

[Possible props may include a coin, a sheep, or you may want to end with a witness to one who has gone through a “wrong turn” and has “re-turned” to God.] When I was young, there wasn’t a day that went by that the loudspeaker in the department store or the mall wouldn’t inevitably blare out the name of some lost child, tearfully waiting at customer service for his or her mother to find and rescue him or her. The blaring loudspeaker was every parent’s relief. If it was their child, their frantic searching ...

1043. No Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: a ruler or yardstick We love our measuring sticks. When our children are young, we measure their growth and notch little marks in the wall, as they grow taller and taller. We measure our flour and our water to make just the right bread. We measure how much money we put into the bank, so that we can save for college for our kids and our grandkids. We measure our anniversaries, our birthdays, our tenures at various positions. In fact, we measure how many years we’ve been members of this church, don’t ...

1044. Higher Ground

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7) A 2016 film called “Everest” re-captured the fascination and fear of our highest mountains. Based on the true story of a double expedition up the Himalayan slopes in 1996, the film chronicles the deaths of all but two when a fierce blizzard swirls in, thwarting their safe descent. Despite the wisdom and experience of ...

1045. The Good Husband

Isaiah 54:1-17, Isaiah 55:1-13, Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Some of you here today are sitting in worship with a burden on your heart. Some of you are angry with God for that loss of job, or that sickness that has come upon you or your family. Some here today may have doubts that God truly cares about your life, truly cares about what happens to you or someone dear to you. Some of you may not be sure that God has heard you, or worse, that God exists to hear you. If you’ve been a lifelong church-goer, you’re probably afraid to ask those questions, just in case you ...

1046. House of Stone

Psalm 118:1-29, Isaiah 18:1-7, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, 1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Visuals of Mosaic, Stone Altars, Basalt Stones, Fitted Stones, Pearls, Coal Formed Rough Diamonds Unlike a quilt, formed from unique but uniform patches that have been previously storied and designed, a mosaic uses natural stones, each differently shaped and of different sizes and edges each with a fossilized backstory, and fits them together into one communal living story. Their design evokes a communal memory. For early Jewish people, the art of mosaic was a way to remember biblical stories and to ...

1047. When Someone Disagrees with You

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometimes I run across a story that is so bad that I can’t resist telling it. A man walks into his doctor’s office and says, “Doctor, I’ve eaten something that disagrees with me.” Suddenly there is a voice from the man’s stomach. The voice says, “Oh no, you haven’t.” Oh, well. I warned you it was bad. I don’t know whether you have encountered any food that has disagreed with you but there are surely times in life when you have run into people who are, shall we say, disagreeable? It happens wherever there ...

1048. Advent 1

Mt 24:36-44 · Is 2:1-5 · Rom 13:11-14 · Ps 122

Bulletin Aid

Staff

Theme: Watch in readiness for Christ Call to Worship Pastor: God's future plans for us are unknown: but we do know the future is in his hands. People: We know the future is in God's hands; and that is where we want to be also. Pastor: We do not need to fear. If we are alert to God's will for us; and commit our lives to him, our future will have his blessing. People: We face the future with faith, not with fear; because we trust God to fulfill history in his own way and time. Collect Eternal God, whose ...

1049. Second Sunday in Advent

Isaiah 11:1-16

Bulletin Aid

Theme: The qualities and consequences of the One who comes Exegetical Note This description of the ideal Davidic king (i.e., the hoped-for Messiah) contains three pairs of desired qualities: wisdom and understanding (intellectual), counsel and might (political), and knowledge and fear of God (spiritual). All of these derive, not from the ruler's innate abilities, but from the Spirit of God that will be upon him; and the righteousness that will "gird" him will bias him toward the poor and the meek, and will ...

1050. Third Sunday in Lent

Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95:1-11, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Hardening hearts and testing God Exegetical Note It is interesting that the only reference to this incident in the Old Testament (Psalm 95:8ff.) focuses on its negative aspect, namely, the fact that the people hardened their hearts and tested God. Paul, however, in 1 Corinthians 10:4 gives this event (and its parallel in Numbers 20:7ff.) a positive "spin" by equating the rock with none other than the Christ! Call to Worship Leader: Come, let us sing to God! People: LET US MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE TO THE ...

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