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 1126 to 1150 of 1164 results

1126. Famine of the Heart

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We humans are a competitive species. Make no mistake, when it comes down to it, we aren’t a whole lot different than many others in the “animal kingdom.” Lions, hyenas, wolves, crocodiles, orca whales, gorillas, and even ants (small but fierce warriors) all exhibit extremely competitive behavior toward each other, vying for food, mates, territory, and dominance. But human beings are for most part the only ones who make great attempts to rise above/override our baser instincts in the name of the greater ...

1127. Ancient Christian References To Feetwashing

1 Corinthians 11:17-34, John 13:1-17

Sermon Aid

Brett Blair

Why did the early church call the Lord's Supper the Love Feast? Outside of the obvious reasons, one influence might be John 13-17. In the first 12 chapters of John the word love (agape) is used 6 times. In the next six (13-17), where Jesus celebrates the Passover Feast with his disciples, the word appears 31 times. The following excerpts are the early Church Father's thoughts on one of the events that occurred at this Passover meal: Feetwashing. One of Jesus' most compelling expressions of love toward his ...

1128. What Is Heaven Like?

Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

I believe we human beings have a perception problem. We often think we have the proper perspective on an issue when in fact we are way off. There's a charming story that Thomas Wheeler, one time CEO of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (a.k.a. MassMutual), tells on himself: He and his wife were driving along an interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low on gas. Wheeler got off the highway at the next exit and soon found a rundown gas station with just one gas pump. He asked the ...

1129. Stand Against or Walk Alongside?

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus never "stood against" anyone. He always "walked alongside" everyone. He journeyed with people where they were and as they went. Over and over again, Jesus crossed the street and "came to where he was" as he crosses the streets and comes to where we are today. During the course of his earthly ministry, Jesus was always on the move. Most rabbis and their disciples established "schools," centralized locations where others could come to them for information, debate, discourse. The great rabbis taught ...

1130. The Father’s Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Sermon

Mike Ripski

The salvation God offers us in Jesus Christ entails being saved from our sense of worthlessness, of not being good enough, of being good for nothing, of not deserving to be loved for who we are. On Mother’s Day I observed that each of us has been created with a God-hole. In that God-hole lies all our self-doubt and shame. It remains there until God fills that hole. We try to fill the hole with God-substitutes. We try to overcome the self-doubt by proving ourselves. The world gives us a cafeteria line to ...

1131. Did You Know...That You Can Know God?

1 John 2:3-5

Sermon

James Merritt

Why were you put on this earth? What should be your greatest goal in life? What is the single greatest achievement you could obtain on this earth? What is the secret to eternal life? The answer to all of these questions is the same. It is found in two words - Knowing God. That is what God wants from you and for you more than anything else in your life. God said in Hosea 6:6, "I'd rather for you to be faithful and to know Me than to offer sacrifices." (Hosea 6:6, CEV) More than your time, more than your ...

1132. More Than We Are - Graduation

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Do any of you remember the name Cabeza DeVaca? He was a sixteenth century Spanish Explorer. He and one other person were the only survivors of a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. They were washed up on the Florida Coast. In his account of his exploration of Florida and his Westford journey between the years of 1528— 1536. DeVaca tells how the Indians came to him and his companion asking them to cure the sick. The two white men were themselves half starved, lost and filled with blank despair, but the Indians ...

1133. Hear Him

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The last couple of weeks have brought us a full plate of pictures from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya. Can any of us ever forget the images from Cairo’s Tahrir Square? Or the monstrous Muammar al‑Gaddafi, also known as Colonel Gaddafi, speaking to his people from the back seat of an automobile holding a white umbrella? But the one that may stick the longest is the human ring of ordinary men and women standing guard around the Cairo Museum, making a barrier of bodies all the way around the perimeter of the building ...

1134. A Princely Passion

2 Samuel 13:1-22

Sermon

She has just passed her twenty-fifth birthday. A pert miss, young, attractive, and popular. Possessing more threads in her closet than could be found on your Singer Sewing Machine’s spool. She is a doll. She is rich and famous. Her name is Barbie. Her boyfriend is tall, dark, and handsome. His tennis outfit would make Jimmy Connors’ eyes turn green with envy. His tailor-made gloves would make the likes of Michael Jackson drool with jealousy. His well-tailored suits are a model for budding executives on ...

1135. All Saints

Psalm 34:1-10, 22, Matthew 5:1-12, 1 John 3:1-3, Revelation 7:9-17

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Gathering The Revelation text may be used as a Gathering/Call to Worship. Have the Pastor/Leader speak verses 9, 10a, 11, 13a, and 14a and b. The congregation would speak 10b. The choir may sing 12b. (The opening phrase of “Blessing And Honor” would work well.) A second reader, who is among the elders of your congregation, would speak 14c-17. The hymn “Blessing And Honor” may be played softly during the reading with the congregation joining in singing the hymn at the conclusion of the reading. This could ...

1136. The Helper of Those Who Cannot Help Themselves

Psalm 146:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The liturgical nature of this hymn is apparent from the combination of commands addressed to a group (vv. 1a, 3, 10b), namely Zion personified (v. 10), and the testimony of a liturgist (“I” in v. 2). Thus the psalm opens with a call to praise (v. 1a), followed by the liturgist’s proclamation of praise (vv. 1b–2) and his instruction to the congregation (vv. 3–9), particularly in the form of a blessing (v. 5) and praises to Yahweh (vv. 6–9). It then closes with a summary addressed to Zion and a concluding ...

1137.

Psalm 146:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Helper of Those Who Cannot Help Themselves The liturgical nature of this hymn is apparent from the combination of commands addressed to a group (vv. 1a, 3, 10b), namely Zion personified (v. 10), and the testimony of a liturgist (“I” in v. 2). Thus the psalm opens with a call to praise (v. 1a), followed by the liturgist’s proclamation of praise (vv. 1b–2) and his instruction to the congregation (vv. 3–9), particularly in the form of a blessing (v. 5) and praises to Yahweh (vv. 6–9). It then closes with ...

1138. When It Is Dark Enough

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

On clear summer nights my wife and I often stretch out on the deck of our Maine cabin scanning the skies for satellites. While it might be dark at ground level, neither satellites nor stars appear until the sky is black. The ancient Persians put it this way: "When it is dark enough you can see the stars." At the graveside of his brother, the agnostic Robert Ingersoll, said, "In the darkest night hope sees a star and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing." Today is the first Sunday in Advent. The ...

1139. Where Does One Go When Darkness Floods One’s Life?

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

James Cobb

There are many places in the providence of God where he waits to meet with us. But there is one strange place where he can always be found. The Psalmist has described the place as the place called wits-end. In the 107th Psalm, verse 28 the Psalmist declares, "They are at their wits-end then they cry to God in their trouble." The place called wits-end is the place of our frustrations and despair. It is the place where we come to the end of our strength and wisdom and are thereby brought to that humility and ...

1140. Hosea's Marriage Troubles

Hosea 2:14-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

There are certain periods in history that seem to give birth to genius. The latter part of the 18th century in this country was a time of political greatness rarely achieved by any nation. Why was it, we ask, when the population was limited to the colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, just a few million people, a fraction of the population of the country today, that there were so many great leaders and philosopher/statesmen? It was amazing. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and Adams. Those few men ...

1141. A Purse and Two Swords

Luke 22:35-38

Sermon

Let me begin with a couple who both appreciated the finer things in life and were comfortably able to afford them. When it came to travel, they went by the best means to the best places. That is, until their plane went down….suddenly….dramatically…..into the choppy waters of the sea. But the emergency exits opened (as engineered) and the inflatable slides were positioned (as instructed), meaning that virtually all were evacuated (as scripted). There they were, crammed into lifeboats, with barely room to ...

1142. Saints By Faith: Good to the Last Drop

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

The adventures in C. S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe begin in a rambling old British manor house in an empty room with nothing but a wardrobe. Looking inside, Lucy saw several coats hanging up—mostly long fur coats. There was nothing Lucy liked so much as the smell and feel of fur. She immediately stepped into the wardrobe and got in among the coats and rubbed her face against them. Soon she found a second row of coats and took two or three steps in. "This must be an enormous wardrobe!" ...

1143. Love

John 15:9-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Nearly 30 years ago, Keith Miller wrote a book entitled “Please Love Me!" It told the story of a woman Keith met at a party and her life-long struggle with betrayal and heartbreak. What the reader doesn't know is that another person's story is lurking between the lines. This person, too, is looking for love in all the wrong places and crying out for help. This person is Keith Miller himself, a best-selling author of Christian books and church renewal expert who traveled around the country telling others ...

1144. Who Needs a Bigger Barn?

Luke 12:13-21

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A large package of chewing gum What would you think of a man who had so much food that he would have to knock down his barn and build a bigger one to keep it all in, when there are people who are hungry and have nothing to eat? (Let them answer.) You wouldn’t think much of him, would you? I see things like this all of the time. How many of you like Gum? What do you like best about chewing gum? (Let them them answer.) You like the taste. You like to chew it. I have a large pack of gum here, and I ...

1145. The Communion of Empty Hands

John 6:25-59, Luke 22:7-38, Mark 14:12-26

Illustration

Alex Gondola

There's a beautiful incident recorded by Thomas Pettepiece, a Methodist pastor who was imprisoned during WWII. He was a political prisoner, a prisoner of conscience. Pettepiece writes of his first Easter Sunday spent in prison. He was among 10,000 prisoners. Most of the men had lost everything: their homes, their jobs, their furniture, their contact with their families. It was Easter Sunday, and they wanted to celebrate Communion. But, they had no cup for Communion. They had no wine for Communion. They ...

1146. Epiphany 4, Ordinary Time 4

Psalm 15:1-5, Micah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Prayer Of Dedication/Gathering Leader: Our Lord Jesus calls each of us to a life of justice, kindness, and humility. We pray that in this hour before us our defenses would fall and your love would be set free within us. Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit, your mercy knows no end. All: Amen. Intercessory Prayers Use the hymn “Blest Are They” as the basis for intercessory prayer on this morning. Have as many petitions as there are verses. Speak the petitions over an instrumental interlude between verses, ...

1147. Seeing Is Believing

Isaiah 9:2 · John 1:14-18

Sermon

Will Willimon

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Isaiah 9:2 Don't tell me, show me," we say. Actions speak louder than words. I know people who, less than a month from now, who will spend good money on a dozen red roses, when a quick three-word note could be cheaper. God knows this. In the Bible, God not only says, "I love you," through the words of the law, the prophets, the sermons of Jesus, the letters of Paul. God's love is also demonstrated through signs. "And this will be a sign for you: ...

1148. It's Not Over When The Fat Lady Sings

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Consider this list: a local restaurant under construction, a high school dropout, the cross-stitch I've been working on for six years, a young person killed in an accident. All of these have one thing in common: they describe something that has gone unfinished. A building, an education, a craft, a life. There are thousands of things and thousands of people around us that go unfinished. Some people start something and stop because they can't take criticism. Others stop because they're content with what they ...

1149. Just a Housewife Who Wanted To Know God

Mark 9:2-9

Illustration

Candice Hannigan

Germaine Copeland has a story to tell, but it's not the "great American novel" she once dreamed she would write. The author, who has sold more than 3 million copies of her "Prayers That Avail Much" book series, began her faith journey years ago when she was a homemaker on the verge of taking her life. "I had a problem with depression and had come to the place where I didn't want to live," recalled Copeland. As she was sitting at her kitchen table, a light flooded the room and she knew that it was God. "My ...

1150. Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Today's gospel text is a remarkably detailed tour of temptations given Jesus by an articulate, Torah-toting, Scripture-quoting devil. Mark's short form of this confrontation is elongated and elaborated by both Luke and Matthew, suggesting that the shared source of these two gospel writers held this longer version, which each then adopted and adapted to fit his own gospel form. Luke opens by affirming the coherency between Jesus' experience at his baptism and his journey into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit ...

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