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 1076 to 1100 of 2173 results

1076. A Restless Spirit

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It’s Mother’s Day, otherwise known in the liturgical church as the “Festival of the Christian Home.” Today parents remember our baptismal covenant and recommit to bringing up our baptized progeny in the Christian tradition in our homes, churches, and extended family. This is also when we honor mothers in particular and their influence on our lives. In honor of that celebration today, let me remind you of just how awesome it is to be a parent. Here’s a scenario I think we’ll all be familiar with. A little ...

1077. Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: a broken piece of pottery I want to read to you this morning a translation of Ezekiel’s prophetic story, translated from the Hebrew by Rabbi Arthur Waskow. This is the most vivid reading of this scripture that I have ever heard. You’ll see why when you hear it. [Read the scripture translation.] The imagery, the sensory experience of Ezekiel’s prophetic vision, the mystery and wonder of God’s creative breath, these are made so vivid in this reading. No? You get such a sense of the metaphor that God is ...

1078. Heart of a Pelican

Matthew 17:24-27, Exodus 30:11-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It’s football season! Whether or not you are a fan of the game of football, you can’t help getting swept up in some of the hype of this great American sport! We love the excitement on people’s faces, as they get ready to watch the game. We love the crowds, the food, the energy of the game. Many of you are rooting for one or the other of the teams on the ticket. Some of you will gather with friends in front of the television. Some of you may even go to the Super Bowl. Has anyone here this morning ever been ...

1079. House of Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7) “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 7:11) "It is written," he said to them [Temple priests, leaders, and businessmen], "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'" (Matthew 21:13) When Toby, a little 3-year old boy, was chastised by his Mama for taking 7 cookies from the cookie jar without ...

1080. The Secret to Happiness

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Since this is Mother’s Day we want to honor all our Moms. We are more grateful to you than you can imagine. Our message for today is on the “Secret to Happiness.” I believe that I could say without fear of contradiction that one of the secrets to happiness is to have a good Mom. That’s not always possible, but for those of us who have been so fortunate, we can say that it is one of the great blessings of life. And so today we salute those women who have loved us and poured their lives into ours. In 1816, a ...

1081. Giving Our Best

Mark 7:24-37

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago when corporate America was emphasizing excellence in the workplace a story was circulating about a widower who had for years been eating at the same restaurant. On this particular night, he sat down at his usual table and his waiter, as usual, put before him, as usual, a bowl of chicken soup. As he started leaving, Mr. Smith called out, “Waiter!” “What?” said the waiter. “Please taste this soup,” said Mr. Smith. The waiter frowned. “It’s the chicken soup you always have,” said the waiter. “ ...

1082. Magic

James 4:8

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To help children understand that God is always with us even though we cannot see him. Material: Make your own magic picture, using the special procedure. Special Procedure: Instructions for making a magic picture:1. Take an 8" X 8" piece of paper. On one side draw a fish. On the other side draw an underwater scene with seaweed and shells, etc. 2. Take a piece of cardboard and draw, paste, or trace your pictures on to it; one on each side. (Color if you desire.) 3. Punch two small holes (centered ...

1083. Priest Without Peer

Genesis 14:1-24

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

We are about to behold a priest without peer. Just to say the word priest or preacher brings to mind all kinds of stories where the clergy became the laughing stock of the joke. Such as: A bus driver and a priest died at the same time. Although the bus driver was sent directly to heaven, the priest's case was apparently harder to decide. "I don't mind that you sent a bus driver to heaven," the priest complained, "but, after all, I was a priest, so why should I be kept waiting?" He was answered by a voice ...

1084. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are some experiences or encounters that are so solidly lodged in our memory they continue to invade our consciousness – to haunt us – to help us or to hinder our Christian walk, to call and challenge us to be more than we are. John Birkbeck is a person around whom for me a whole cluster of memories is gathered – memories that invade my immediate awareness now and then. John was a Scot Presbyterian preacher. During a part of my tenure as the World Editor of The Upper Room, he was the editor of the ...

1085. The Kingdom Is at Hand

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

If any of you are Will Ferrell fans, you may be familiar with the 2006 film, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Ferrell plays the role of Ricky Bobby, a dimwitted daredevil who is also the most successful driver on the NASCAR circuit. In typical Will Farrell fashion, Ricky Bobby is morally and ethically bankrupt. The only things that matter to Ricky Bobby are winning races and self-indulgence. But Ricky Bobby is religious, after a fashion. He even prays when it suits his desires. In one scene he ...

1086. Reliable Witness

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

A little girl asked her mother, “Mom, how did the human race appear?” The mother answered, “Well, first God made Adam and Eve and then they had children, and so on . . .” Two days later the girl asked her father the same question. The father answered, “Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.” The confused girl returned to her mother and said, “Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said we developed from monkeys?” The mother answered ...

1087. Are You Giving Up Chocolate for Valentine's Day?

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this Valentine’s Day. It is ironic that this is also the First Sunday in Lent. Lent is generally that season of the year when people have chosen a favorite treat or some vice to give up for these six weeks. One man said his children traditionally gave up something like candy for Lent. Last year, however, he urged them to go beyond that to giving up some habit or sin that they knew was bad for them. About halfway through Lent he asked the children how they were doing with their Lenten promise. ...

1088. When Jesus Prays

John 17:20-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Now that baseball is in full swing, I thought you might enjoy a story I was reading recently concerning former Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller and Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span. It seems these two players from different eras have something rather odd in common: Both men during baseball games hit their mothers in the stands with a foul ball. Feller hit his mom in 1939 (he broke her collarbone); Span hit his during a spring training game in 2010. Fortunately, both moms made full recoveries. (1 ...

1089. More Beyond

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Centuries ago, Portugal adopted a national motto. The motto read: “No More Beyond.” It was an appropriate statement since Portugal, at the time, was the end of the world. But later some adventurous persons sailed beyond Portugal and discovered a whole new world. So the question arose: “What do we do with our national motto?” After much debate, one person simply scratched out a word, and the new motto became: “More Beyond.” Whenever life tumbles in upon us, it is easy to have a “No more beyond” attitude. ...

1090. You Are God's Handiwork

Ephesians 2:10

Sermon

King Duncan

Is there anyone here who doesn’t appreciate a nice compliment from time to time? A compliment truly is oxygen for the soul. Let me tell you about a service on the web that is designed to lift you up when you are down. It is called “Emergency compliment.com.” You can go there and see brief messages to feed your ego and boost your mood. Who wouldn’t like to be told things like “Your prom date still thinks about you all the time”? Or “You are someone’s ‘the one that got away.’” (1) You’ll find it there: “ ...

1091. The Year of the Woman

Genesis 2:18-24

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Billy D. Strayhorn tells about a certain church which held a Sunday service patterned after those in colonial America. The pastor dressed in long coat and knickers, and the congregation was divided by gender: men on the left side of the aisle and women on the right. At collection time, the pastor announced that this, too, would be done in the old way. He asked the “head of the household” to come forward and place the money on the altar. The men instantly rose. To the amusement of the entire ...

1092. The Art of Impersonation

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

King Duncan

Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 Who would you say is your favorite celebrity? Can you imagine walking in his or her shoes for one day? It would probably be challenging. The only people who can come close to understanding what it’s like to walk in their shoes might be celebrity impersonators. Did you know there is a worldwide industry of people who pretend to be famous celebrities? These impersonators usually look like the people they are imitating. They dress like them. They take on the celebrity’s ...

1093. You are Anointed

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“To God we are the aroma of the Messiah.” (Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthian Church 2:14-16) Props: Provide/burn fragrant incense or scented candles or some other type of enduring scent (be cognizant of possible allergies, and find something that your congregation can find pleasurable). For the end of your sermon, be prepared to hand out fragrant bookmarks. You can make your own by buying fragrance testing papers ($9.99 on amazon for 100), or you can purchase scented bookmarks. What are your ...

1094. Dorcas, Dinah, or Delilah (Who are You?)

Genesis 34:1-31, Judges 16:1-22, Acts 9:32-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Names are fun. We all like to play with names. We get excited about naming our babies. We give each other nicknames. We call each other names –sometimes for fun, sometimes not in the best spirit! We give our children ancestral names, biblical names, and sometimes, off-the-wall names! We name our animals according to what they look like, or what they mean to us. Names are identity markers. They reveal something about how we see the world around us and the people in it. They reveal something about our ...

1095. Sealed and Sanctified

Matthew 2:1-12, Genesis 14:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30) “When you believed in Christ, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13) You’ve heard it said: “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” You’ve also probably heard it said “the ears are the portals to the soul.” Or maybe “if the eyes are the windows to the soul, your feet are the doorway to your body.” Or is that toes? Today we’re going to go with the eyes. If your ...

1096. Let's Get Together

Acts 2:1-21 · Genesis 11:1-11

Sermon

Will Willimon

A few days after we bombed Libya, a letter to the Durham Morning Herald urged citizens to unite behind our President. ''This is no time for criticism,'' she said. ''This is a time to unite against those who are evil.'' The letter was unnecessary, for we were already solidly united behind our leader. War does that to people. Even as we Americans were uniting behind our President, dissident Libyans were reported to be suppressing their differences and uniting against the American enemy. War may seem a heck ...

1097. Divine Liturgy, Divine Play, Divine Comedy

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Carl Jech

My dear children, I am only to be with you a little longer. You will seek me; (but) "Where I am going you cannot come." A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you. (John 13:33-34) Has it occurred to you that in those parts of the United States where it comes on at 11:30 p.m., "Saturday Night Live" is also Sunday Morning Live? It might be good if we could bring a little more of the humor of that show with us to church on Sunday mornings. The skits on Saturday Night ...

1098. An Easter-Life

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

What does Easter mean to you? In the secular world, it means fluffy bunnies, brightly colored eggs, hidden baskets, and lots of lush chocolate candy. If you are a child, there is nothing wrong with this. Easter is a happy day, and God loves to hear the laughter of little children; but, if you are an adult and this is all that Easter means to you, then there is something tragically missing in your faith-life. Interestingly enough, the word "Easter" appears nowhere in the Bible. The word "Easter" was ...

1099. Jacob’s Jabbok

Genesis 32:22-32

Drama

Richard F. Bansemer

The sermon text is Genesis 32:24-25: "And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him." Have you crossed the stream named Jabbok? Another way to ask the same question is: "Have you been left alone to struggle with God?" Or, it could be asked: "Have you moved beyond the spiritual experience of your youth to encounter ...

1100. The Lord's Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Father Henri Nouwen shares, "In ten years, we will celebrate the second millennium of the Christian Era." However, he raises a good question, "Will there be anything left to celebrate?" He continues by saying, "Many voices in our land wonder if humanity can survive its own destructive powers." I agree! As we look out over the landscape of the world, we see great warring conflicts among all the people of the world. We have all kinds of wars. We have wars being fought in the Middle East, South Africa, ...

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