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 1101 to 1125 of 3108 results

1101. I Love a Parade!

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I wonder how many of you love parades? I think most of us get excited about a parade with all the people marching down the streets with the bands and the floats and different community groups marching. It’s a time of big celebration. When I used to serve a church in New York City it seemed like there were always these huge parades. There was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the Halloween Parade down Sixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan. There were parades for Cinco de Mayo, Saint Patrick’s Day, Gay Pride, for ...

1102. Everything You Do Bears Witness

John 10:22-30

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I remember once a few weeks ago, I was having a bad day. Have you ever had a bad day? Bad days can cover a pretty wide arc of human reality, but my day began with not being able to find my bedroom slippers. Then, as soon as I got in the shower, someone downstairs ran the dishwasher and I was suddenly receiving cold water therapy at no extra charge! Then I tripped getting out of the shower and broke the table in the bathroom. Once I was out of the shower and shivering, I reached for clothing, only to ...

1103. Is This All There Is?

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Will Willimon

“Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people.” Last week I came to the office early, disposed of some correspondence, returned a few telephone calls, and had time on my hands by ten thirty. The students were in exams so it was unusually quiet around here. I decided to escape, to take the rest of the afternoon off. The warm April sun shone through the sun roof of my little Japanese bubble as I soared down 751, wind tousling my hair, sailing toward freedom, ...

1104. Uplifted By The Blues

Lamentations 1:1-22

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

Raymond looked down at the pages of the open Bible in front of him. What he saw was a rather eerie sight and it sent a slight shudder through his body. All the words on the pages were covered with blue marker. Six months earlier Ryamond himself had carefully highlighted every single word on these pages with a light blue marking pen. At the time that he had marked the pages he had no expectation of ever turning to those pages of his Bible again. Now, to his own amazement, he found that he had once again ...

1105. Make Scriptural Hope Your Own

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Richard Hasler

Snoopy of Charlie Brown comic strip fame is typing a novel. He begins his story, "It was a dark and stormy night ..." Snoopy always starts his stories in this manner. Lucy looks at what Snoopy has written. She goes into a tirade, putting down Snoopy for such a silly beginning. Doesn't Snoopy know that any good story starts with the words, "Once upon a time ..." The last frame of the comic strip has Snoopy starting his story again. Now he is ready. He types, "Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night ...

1106. The Right Answer

Lamentations 3:24

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

Object: Several sheets of paper with the following math problems printed on them: 5+5=, 12-2=, 3+7=, 15-5=, 2+8=. Lesson: Jesus is the answer to life's problems. You are going to have to think this morning in order to help me with our lesson. Let's see how we do with these problems. Can you give me the answers? (Hold up the problems, one at a time, and offer any help that may be needed.) Did you notice anything about these problems? (Children respond.) Even though we had a lot of problems to solve, they ...

1107. On Getting Out Of The Way

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

Americans are fascinated with being the best. Young people in warpaint and costume are regularly seen running up and down the sidelines at sporting events, index fingers thrust in the air, shouting, "We're number one! We're number one!" Who, after all, wants to be less than the best? But wait a minute! I know people who love to sing, but won't utter a note because they don't sound like Pavoratti. I admire the chap who said, "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly." There is a place in this world for ...

1108. Proper 5

Lk 7:11-17 · Gal 1:11-24 · 1 Ki 17:17-24

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

THE LESSONS 1 Kings 17:17-24 Through prayer Elijah restores a child to life. For the next five Sundays, Lesson 1 focuses upon the great prophet, Elijah, whose name means, "Yahweh is my God." He is the champion of Yahweh, and as the representative of the prophets, appeared at the Transfiguration. To understand today's pericope, one needs to know the context. Because Ahab, King of Israel, turned to pagan gods, a severe drought came upon the land. After the brooks dried up, Yahweh sends Elijah to a pagan ...

1109. Choosing Your Spirituality

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

“Go and make disciples of all the nations.” The authority of those words sent the Twelve Apostles on a gigantic mission to evangelize the whole world, to share with all people everywhere the spirituality they learned at the feet of Jesus.1 The choice of spirituality was rather direct for the first followers of Jesus. One could choose Christ, Hindu, Buddha, Zarathustra, one of the Baals or something else. But with the passing of time the styles of spirituality have proliferated. Many Christians today still ...

1110. What’s a Sunday For?

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

The text is one you memorized in kindergarten. It’s one of the Ten Commandments. However, what we just heard from the lips of Jesus is his own unique interpretation: “Keep holy the Sabbath day ... The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” That text refers to the day you and I observe as Sunday. And so, I am asking, “What’s A Sunday For?” It is of great interest to me how many Christians think the Sabbath Commandment is about work, while others think it is about rest. What is of even greater ...

1111. Tying Up A Strong Man

Mark 3:20-30, 1 Samuel 8:1-22, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, Mark 3:31-35, Psalm 138:1-8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Mark's gospel account very quickly gets into the conflict that will eventually culminate in the death of Jesus. Despite, or because of, Jesus' works which aroused wonder and amazement in the multitudes, opposition also arose. Any activity so extraordinary upset the status quo. His popularity threatened the authority and leadership of the official religion. They had to try to put it down before it got out of hand. Even the friends and family of Jesus were concerned about him. How often do people try to ...

1112. Mary: After The Angel

Drama

Arlys M. Winkler

A Christmas Play Notes This play explores the thoughts and feelings of Mary, her peers, her parents, and Joseph as they learn that Mary is expecting a child. Each act takes place in someone's house, making the changing of props simple (for example: different tablecloths would signal a change of location). Programs could provide scene changes as well. Simple wooden tables and stools and costuming of the period are all that is needed. All scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version of the ...

1113. Proper 20

Proverbs 31:10-31, Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-18; 4:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: A warning against selfish ambition, which fractures community. Rather, Jesus teaches us to receive the kingdom like a child and find our joy in Christ-like service. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Proverbs 31:10-31 (C) This description of a more than capable wife contrasts with the position of women in most of the societies of the Middle East. In many cultures women were almost considered property. In this description, she is able to purchase property on her own and she has her own business. Four traits seem ...

1114. What Shall We Say To This?

Romans 6:1-14

Eulogy

Bob Kaul

Young Man's In both of these passages from his letter to the Romans, Paul begins with a question that is probably rattling around in most of our minds this week. What then are we to say? What then are we to say about these things? What in the world has gone wrong in the world that the life of such a young man as ____________ should come to such a tragic end? What shall we say? ____________ was a person with many fine qualities; Paul would even call them "gifts of the Spirit." ____________ had the gifts of ...

1115. Taking Life Seriously

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

This parable reminds me of the time I attended an evangelism workshop offered by my denomination and which was intended to demonstrate the latest techniques for saving souls. A team of experts had come to town intent on training us to make cold calls in the community - door to door - seeking converts for Christ. I was assigned to one of the experts as an observer. I was to watch and, thereby, learn the technique. We were armed with two memorized questions which sooner or later were to be introduced into ...

1116. GARBAGE BAGS AND SIN

1 Peter 2:24a

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Objects: Garbage bag and some garbage. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to show you something that you will not like. That's right, I am going to let you see something that even makes some people sick. I hope that none of you get sick, but if you feel a little bit different you can go back to your seat whenever you want to. How many of you know what I mean when I say the word garbage? Garbage - what is garbage? [Let them answer.] I don't know why garbage is so bad, but there are not very ...

1117. Proper 15

Mt 15:21-28 · Ex 16:2-15 · Rom 11:13-16, 29-32 · Ps 78

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

The Miracle Of A Woman's Faith In the miracle of Jesus' healing a Canaanite mother's demon-possessed daughter, we confront a different kind of Jesus. Is he the same Jesus whom we often describe as "meek and mild?" Can this be the same man who blesses little children, gives sight to a blind beggar, forgives an adulterous woman, heals a lady by her touch of his garment, and tells the story of a Good Samaritan? Here we experience a Jesus who does not seem to fit into this portrait. He ignores a woman's cry ...

1118. Let It Shine!

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

The Gospel of John makes one of the most powerful observations in all scripture: "In the beginning was The Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life and that life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not." (KJV) The Moffatt translation of the Bible says, "And the light shines in the darkness and the ...

1119. Just A Mistake

Drama

Timothy W. Ayers

Topic: Self-esteem, encouragement, fortitude, vision Characters: Dad, Mom, teenage daughter Scene: Dinner table Mom: OK, everybody, it's time for dinner! (Father and daughter enter) Dad: Great, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. Mom: Good, because that's what we're having. Daughter: Mom, that's gross. Dad: C'mon now, honey, I thought that was pretty funny. I mean, for your mother. Mom: Well, it's going to get cold so have a seat. (They sit down at the table) Dad: Little angel, would you pray for the meal? ...

1120. Dim Visions And Blind Guides

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The societal limits which impinge on our world also affect our personal existence in profound ways. Nowhere is this more critical than in our own dreams and visions. Dreams and visions are important in life. Every action we take in life was designed by someone. Every piece of clothing, every building, every hymn book, every chair, every light fixture, and every automobile existed first in someone's vision. Someone had to have the idea or the dream to turn out the product. The same holds true for the way we ...

1121. Can A Nation Repent?

2 Chronicles 34:14-33

Sermon

Erskine White

Then the king gathered ... all the people great and small; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book ... (2 Chronicles 34:29-30) Oftentimes, as we move into the middle of Lent, people begin to grow weary. They begin to ask, "Why all this talk of sin and death? Why must we dwell so long on confession and repentance, "a broken and a contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17)? Who wants to be so gloomy? Let's hear something happy for a change. Of course, there's no shortage of "happytalk" preachers, and many ...

1122. Rag Doll #37

Drama

Edward Long

Production Notes Simple props are used. A flashlight may suffice for illuminating the scenes as the Rag Dolls appear. The Rag Dolls' costumes may be made by tacking small squares of cloth over blue jeans, etc. Blush or rouge may be used on cheeks to give the appearance of a simple, rag doll. Cast of Characters NARRATOR MR. McKENZIE: A shopkeeper in his late 60s. Beginning to be a little stoop-shouldered. Wears glasses. MRS. McKENZIE: Helps in the shop and makes the dolls. GERALD: Young man about sixteen. ...

1123. Recollections of Abdul, Camel Boy for An Eastern Potentate

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Drama

Robert A. Morgan

Dramatic Monologue I'm glad I'm home. That's the first thing for me to say. I'm really glad I'm home. What with one thing and another, there were many moments - even hours and days - when I was not sure I would ever see home again! And considering what home is for me now, and what home life is like now, it's a wonder I'm so glad to be back. But I am glad. For more reasons than I can count, I'm glad to be home again. The other thing for me to say right at the outset is that I'm glad I went. I am so very ...

1124. Step Eight - Love

Mt 7:7-14 · 2 Cor 5:16-21 · Ps 19:7-13

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step eight: Made a list of all persons we harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. I can see the scene now. They are meeting over a three-martini lunch to plan out the advertising strategy. They struggle with what hook they will use to lure people to their product. One of them says, "Think of this? What revives the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, is to be more desired than gold and is sweeter than honey?" What could be the product? How about a vacation ...

1125. Repent Your Way To A Merry Christmas

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

A number of years ago a couple traveled to the offices of an Adoption Society in England to receive a baby. They had been on the waiting list a long time. They had been interviewed and carefully scrutinized. Now at last their dreams were to be fulfilled. But their day of happiness was another's pain. Arriving at the offices of the Society they were led up a flight of stairs to a waiting room. After a few minutes they heard someone else climbing the stairs. It was the young student mother whose baby was to ...

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