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 1051 to 1075 of 1164 results

1051. Maturity In Christ

Colossians 1:27-28

Sermon

King Duncan

What would you say are the top three tourist spots in the world? Time's up. The three most-traveled-to places in the world are: Rome (the seat of Catholicism and Vatican City), Mecca (the holiest site in the Islamic world), and Orlando, Florida (the home of Disney World). (1) More people visit those three places than any other on earth. I'm not exactly sure what that says about us, but it's an interesting fact. I guess it means that the three most influential figures in the world are the Pope, Mohammad, ...

1052. I Am the Keeper of the Zoo

Isaiah 11:1-9

Sermon

I don't know whether you've noticed or not, but not everything that looks tame is tame. Like some of the animals that run around my neck of the woods. One Sunday afternoon, a little red fox scampered across our deck. Then, just a few nights ago, we froze him in our headlights on the side of the road. Maybe it wasn't the same fox. And maybe it wasn't a fox at all. Not that I would know. But Eric Sharp would. Eric knows all about the wilderness and writes about everything he knows. I've been reading him for ...

1053. More Than We Are

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In Cabeza De Vaca’s account of his journey from Florida to the Pacific, between the years of. 1528 and 1536, he tells how the Indians came to him and his companion asking them to cure their sick. The two white men were themselves half-starved, lost and filled with blank despair. Yet, the Indians felt that they, being white men, had super-human power. De Vaca felt that they had no such power. “But we had to heal them or die,” he wrote. Now listen to De Vaca: “So we prayed for strength. We prayed on bended ...

1054. How Jesus’ Friendship Makes Your Burdens Light

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Jesus was teaching about the kind of authority he has. We need authority in our context, because to Jesus' mind we are a very confused, wayward generation. There was nothing to compare the people of his time to, nothing to compare us to.1 They and we are wayward, hardened, confused people. Inappropriate behavior seemed to be the order of the day in Jesus' view. The people of Israel were like children who were playing, but could get none of the other children to celebrate, even when they played music. But ...

1055. Hamburgers Don't Grow on Trees

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

A father tells of taking his four-year-old son, Josh, out to McDonald’s for dinner one evening for a “guys’ night out.” As they were eating their hamburgers, Josh asked, “Daddy, what are these little things on the hamburger buns?” Dad explained that they were tiny seeds and that they were OK to eat. Josh was quiet for a couple of minutes and his Dad could tell Josh was in deep thought. Finally, Josh looked up and said, “Dad, if we go home and plant these seeds in our backyard, we will have enough ...

1056. Sabbath Controversies with the Pharisees

Matthew 12:1-14

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew portrays Jesus (versus the Jewish leaders) as the true interpreter of the Torah, who understands its center to be mercy and who keeps the Sabbath while also being Lord over it. Understanding the Text This passage, which focuses on Jesus as rightly interpreting the Torah, follows directly Matthew’s comparison of Jesus to Wisdom, whose instruction (yoke) is “easy” (11:28–30; cf. 11:19). Here Matthew begins to narrate the heightened conflict between the Galilean Jewish leaders, specifically ...

1057. The Christmas Cactus

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Christmas has a way of bringing back memories. One that came to my mind as I was preparing this message was when my family would be driving home at night in the car and my father would lead us in singing a song. To all of us family members who remember those fun, cozy journeys toward home, there are many layers of meaning to the words. The song goes like this: There's a long, long trail awinding, Into the land of my dreams, Where the nightingales are singing And the white moon beams. There's a long, long ...

1058. The Assumption Of Discipline

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

John N. Brittain

You don't need to be told that we live in a superficial society. We (at least men) surf the channels on the television, catching a glimpse of multiple shows without really watching any one in depth. Increasing numbers of us are doing the same with the internet, confusing access to multiple sources of information for comprehension of it. We are obsessed with physical appearance, creating a massive cosmetic surgery industry while many Americans lack basic health care. It used to be a joke when Billy Crystal' ...

1059. Maundy Thursday

Lk 22:14-30 · Jn 13:1-17, 31b-35 · 1 Cor 11:17-32 · Ex 12:1-14 · Ps 116

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14 The passover marked the beginning of a new era for the Israelites. "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (v. 2). The people are ordered to set aside a flawless lamb to be slaughtered, roasted and eaten on the 14th day of the month. Everyone was to be part of the feast. The meal was to be eaten in haste because God was on the move. The people are to be ready to leave as soon as the Lord breaks the bars of slavery. The blood is to be placed on their ...

1060. Esther: Wise Woman Of Strength

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

On a cold and dark March night during my first year at Princeton as assistant dean of the chapel, I left our little home on the edge of the campus to go back to my office. I had a lot of things to accomplish and imagined that the quiet and solitude of the office would be the best place to work. As I approached our office building, Murray-Dodge Hall, I was surprised to see that it was all lit up and I began to hear the sounds of a ruckus. I came through the door and into a lobby to the middle of an ...

1061. Marked In God’s Book

Sermon

George Bass

“Their names are written in the book of life.” (Jerusalem Bible) Philippians 4:1-9 “The cross is still there” upon your forehead, and because it is, it is burned into your heart, mind, and soul by the Holy Spirit assuring you that your “names are written in the Book of Life.” God knows us and our names, and believers may rest assured that there is a place for them in God’s eternal kingdom. God will never forget his people or their names, according to St. Paul. One of the last things my wife and I did at ...

1062. God’s Chosen Country

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Susan Hedahl

You may have heard the words, "You have been promoted," or "You have been elected president." You may recall opening a letter for which you had waited and reading the words, "We would like to offer you the position...." Anyone chosen for a special honor learns quickly that it has both its delightful and burdensome aspects. Just ask someone who has taken on a new and more responsible position, and you will hear more than rejoicing about higher salaries or benefits. Sleepless nights and new decisions await ...

1063. Resurrection: From Slave to Child

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

So often a road is built upon the back of an earlier pathway - one upon the other, built up and strengthened by what went before. The busy Detroit Avenue before our church (Lakewood, Ohio) was once a Pony Express route, carrying mail toward Detroit City in Michigan. That route was earlier an Indian trail through forest lands. So it was with the road that came from Bethany, climbed across to the Mount of Olives, snaked down into the Kidron Valley, moved through the region of the Garden of Gethsemane and ...

1064. Who Needs a Shepherd These Days?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

Who needs a shepherd these days? That’s a good question. In our gospel text, Jesus asserts, "I am the good shepherd." However, in our modern and urbanized times and culture, how many of us have ever had opportunity to see an honest-to-goodness shepherd tending his sheep? Only once in my life have I seen such a sight, and that as a flock of sheep were crossing a highway in Montana. My first reaction was amazement, and then impatience, at what seemed to be a never-ending movement. Thousands upon thousands of ...

1065. Simon

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It’s a common expression. When good fortune comes our way over which we have no control, about which we really did nothing, we say, “I was in the right place at the right time.” We hear it all the time about people who have made a lot of money, without a lot of effort: “He was in the right place at the right time.” We say a similar thing when the unwanted happens to us. “I was in the wrong place at the right time.” Some of us feel that’s the story of our life — being in the wrong place at the right time. ...

1066. Engaging the Master Designer

Psalm 139: 1-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In the academic mecca of Athens, the Apostle Paul sat down one day to discuss with pagan philosophers the nature of the Unknown God to whom the town had built a monument. This is what he said: “The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him. He makes the creatures, the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and he made the earth hospitable with plenty of ...

1067. Fresh Bread And New Wine

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Stories of holy communion events abound. Someone has said that the difference between a Lutheran and a United Methodist is that a Lutheran uses real wine and a United Methodist uses real bread. It is true that Lutherans use real wine and United Methodists seem to feel that Jesus turned the water at Cana into Welch's grape juice; that Lutherans use the small, round pressed wafer and the United Methodists often use a loaf of bread. But, whatever sort of bread and wine is used, it is still a momentous ...

1068. Unfinished Journeys

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

Erskine White

I have let you see [the Promised Land] with your eyes, but you shall not go over there. (Deuteronomy 34) The art of living is not so much our ability to pick one path and pursue it doggedly to the end. It has more to do with how well we are able to change paths and shift directions when the situation demands it. Most of all, the art of living is the ability to respond with grace and faith when the journeys we make in life are interrupted and left unfinished. If I may use the analogy of sports: life is not ...

1069. Out of the Darkness

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

"... I am the light of the world." - John 9:5 St. Augustine wrote of our lesson: "This blind man stands for the human race ... if the blindness is infidelity, then the illumination is faith." Surely we need the illumination of Christian faith today. Ours is one of those epochs of which it may be said, as Shakespeare said of Romeo, "affliction is enamoured of thy parts ... and thou art wedded to calamity." Worse still, we seem bereft of a vision to sustain us. "Without a vision, the people perish," declares ...

1070. Oh, God!

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you will remember a couple of humorous films a few years ago in which the late comedian George Burns played God. Oh, God, parts I & II, were not great movies, but they did allow us to reflect on what God is really like. A pastor was trying to explain to a child about God. The pastor said. “God is everywhere!” "Everywhere?” asked the little boy. “Everywhere!” said the pastor. The boy went home and told his mother, “God is everywhere! The pastor said so.” “Yes, I know,” said the mother. “You mean he ...

1071. Operation Omega

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes we can get things so perfectly wrong that we don’t have even a hint that we’ve stepped in it again. Here’s one example: Drive through any town or suburb in America and you will see signs announcing the names of local churches. There will be a “First Presbyterian, a “First United Methodist,” a “First Baptist,” a “First United Church of Christ.” Only after the “First” designation has been snapped up to later churches start to shop around for a different name. “Second” isn’t very popular. Better to ...

1072. Reformation Day

Psalm 46:1-11, Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 8:31-41, Romans 3:19-28

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: It’s Sunday again! As before, we gather here because we believe that truth sets us free. We are followers of Jesus and children of God. People: In Christ, we are set free from the power of sin. Leader: The Holy One promises to write divine law in our hearts and to be our God. People: We will be forgiven and freed from guilt. Leader: This is cause for rejoicing! Let us sing beautiful words, praising God! Thanksgiving Prayer Living God — what a day! Autumn is everywhere! And we are ...

1073. A Time to Get Angry

John 2:13-22

Sermon

King Duncan

In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play the Boston Beaneaters. Yes, that is what they were called back then--the Boston Beaneaters. The game heated up when Boston third baseman Tommy “Foghorn” Tucker slid into third base and the legendary third baseman John McGraw of the Orioles kicked Tucker in the face. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse. ...

1074. Learning to Live Without Jesus

John 16:5-16, John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

William G. Carter

Everywhere you looked, you saw people in tie-dyed t-shirts. Mothers gave drinks of apple juice to their children, while men in gray pigtails sipped Budweiser and tossed the empties beneath somebody's car. Teenagers spread blankets on the asphalt and took naps in the summer sunshine. Middle-aged hippies danced freely throughout the Philadelphia parking lot. Hundreds of mourners spontaneously gathered outside the Spectrum to bid goodbye to rock guitarist Jerry Garcia. Whenever Jerry Garcia and the Grateful ...

1075. Written in Red

1 John 5:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The church offers the world God's loveblood; God's love for the world is "written in red." Editor's note: The topic of this installment fits well with the assigned Lectionary reading for this day. However, you may find the installment for June 1, "Everyone's a Fundamentalist About Something," preferable if you are observing Mother's Day. Remember what it used to be like watching Walter Cronkite, John Chancellor and others before dinnertime? This nightly ritual kept many busy parents "current" with current ...

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