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 1151 to 1175 of 4959 results

1151. Reversal and Victory

Judges 4:1-7

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... might use our lives when we open ourselves to God. When we pray the Lord's Prayer we pray, "Thy will be done." The problem is that frequently we insist on doing things our own way, and when we do, we close ourselves off to God. Deborah's desire was to please God and allow God to use her in a mighty way. People respected this independent-minded, spirit-filled woman who spoke the word of the Lord. The ranking military commander of the time was a man named Barak. Evidently, Barak did not have a problem with ...

1152. Are We There Yet?

James 5:7-10

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... calling us to Christlikeness. And we do have to work at it, sometimes putting on patience like that garment. The root meaning of patience is "suffering." It is bound up in Christ's words, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it" (Luke 9:23-24 NKJV). It cannot be much clearer that this demands constant and deliberate choice. Patience includes ...

1153. A Little Theology at Christmas

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... they might want to reread Harvey Cox's article, "The Market as God," in The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 283, Number 3, March, 1999, pp. 18-23.) This is what Paul means by "worldly." And in Titus, as in Revelation, it is this knowledge of God's desire and the assurance that God's will prevails in the end that provides our motivation: "... training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and ...

1154. The Vastness of Relationships

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... for the gift of life. God has given us the great gift of the law, of revelation, so that we, as people of faith, are not left to our own devices to stumble around in a dark world seeking out the light, but we are able to learn what God desires for us and obey. In fact, one of the Hebrew terms often used to denote praise and worship shares its root with the description of a shepherd using the crook to reign in and guide the flock. We are grateful for guidance and protection. But perhaps most striking in the ...

1155. Dust and Ashes Wednesday

2 Corinthians 5:11 – 6:13

Sermon

David O. Bales

... we become serious about our faith. Time must come, so why not now, as Paul writes in verse 2, "now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation"? Our seriousness about faith comes about because of Jesus' life and death for us. We might desire ease, but Jesus bestows upon us courage to live for him. We might want congratulations or at least recognition and thanks for our serving. Jesus grants us his example, his love, and his Spirit. Our world's view of importance is summed up in the question ...

1156. Yes, You

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

David O. Bales

... has determined that the ideal pastor is 28 years old and has been preaching for 35 years. She has one brown eye and one blue. He parts his hair in the middle: blond and wavy on the left side, brown and straight on the right. She has a burning desire to be with teenagers and spends all her time with older folk. He makes sixteen calls a day upon church members and is always in the office to counsel or just to visit. She challenges and inspires but never disturbs the status quo. He condemns sin but never ...

1157. Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round

Romans 8:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... not merely the lust or gluttony or greed or other such fleshly inclinations that we more often than not associate with illicit sex. No, Paul is talking about something far more comprehensive here. Paul is talking about the totality of our existence. Paul is talking about that willful desire inside of us that does not fear and trust God and is determined to run life on its own terms in its own way at the expense of everyone else. We usually call it our sinful nature. I like to call it the "old you," the old ...

1158. God’s Doing

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Larry Lange

... so weary he didn't care whether he lived or died himself. It may have been like that for the apostle Paul when they finally dragged him off to the slammer in Rome from which he wrote the words we hear in today's lesson. "Dying is gain." "My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" (Philippians 1:21-23). The apostle Paul had every right to make such a statement. Hadn't he endured countless floggings including the five times he had received forty lashes minus one, the three times he had ...

1159. Lent 2

Genesis 12:1-4a, Psalm 121:1-8, John 3:1-17, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... our eyes to the hills, O God, and your help comes again and again. For all that we receive, we give now with joy and thanksgiving, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Sending/Dismissal Leader: Like a woman in labor, your desire is for us to be born. Like a woman in labor, your desire is to hear our cry. Like a woman in labor, you would give your life so that we might have life. All: Send us out, God of heaven, that your love would flow through us, and your goodness be birthed again, and again ...

1160. Lent 3

Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95:1-11, John 4:5-42, Romans 5:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... that you have called each of us to live, and with these gifts we return our lives to you, that we would forever be vessels of your praise through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Post-Communion Blessing Leader: May these gifts of bread and wine satisfy the desire of every living heart. All: Amen. Post-Communion Prayer Leader: We thank you, Lord, that drinking in your love we may be set free to serve all those whom you have died for. May your reconciling love call us to new places and new conversations, where ...

1161. Full Body Scans or Re-spect Spectacles

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Christians to do in this week’s epistle text. Jesus’ followers are to live and leg it in the light of a new day, a new reality where the redemptive work of Christ illumines a dark world. Christ-light reveals everything. No compulsion is dark enough, no desire is buried deep enough, no motive is masked thick enough, to escape Christ-light. Likewise, no act of love is too small, no words of forgiveness too soft, no feelings of compassion too subtle, not to caught in the gleam of Christ-light. The light of ...

1162. Adopted! Thank God!

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... heart.” “I love you too, dear,” she replied, “but tell me more about Jerome.” (3) Each time Bruce Larson was chosen, he found it to be a mixed blessing. Being chosen by God can be a mixed blessing, too, for those who go into it without understanding what God desires of us. The prophets tried to remind Israel that God chose it to be blessed, but also that God chose it to be a blessing to others. That is why God chose us as well. God has blessed us; we are to be a blessing to others. Pastor Hugh Cox ...

1163. You Bring Me Great Pleasure

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... we are required to make actual sacrifices. To quit jobs which exist to exploit others. To end relationships that hurt ourselves, our families and our friends. To forgive others who speak the truth — even when we fear them and the truth they speak. To welcome those we least desire. To give to those we deem unworthy. They might not be nails. But each and every one of those actions is a heavy cross to bear. But we bear the cross because we need the cross to get across 2011. Yet when we bear the cross out of ...

1164. God’s Kind of Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

... that happiness means never experiencing anything that causes us grief. "Happy are those who are humble." We have been taught that happiness is defined in terms of aggression and the competitive spirit. "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires." We have been taught that happiness lies in the desire to conform to the values of our own society. "Happy are those who are merciful to others." We have been taught that the quality of mercy is a sign of weakness. "Happy are the pure in heart ...

1165. Throw Out the Bird and the Nest

Matthew 4:1-11

Illustration

Brett Younger

A Nigerian prayer talks about how we lose our direction to desires that seem small: "God in heaven, you have helped my life to grow like a tree. Now something has happened. Satan, like a bird, has carried in one twig of his own choosing after another. Before I knew it he had built a dwelling place and was living in it. Tonight, my Father, I am throwing out both the bird and the nest." Twig by twig we end up focused on our own desires for success.

1166. Sunday’s Comin’

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... it was too late. There was only one thing left... hope. That was the ancients' way of saying how important hope is. Even when all else is lost, there is still hope. What is hope? The dictionary defines it several ways: to wish or want; a desire for something; or "to desire with expectation of fulfillment." For most of us, hope is often in the category of wishful thinking— in our speech we link together hopes and dreams. It is like my saying I hope I will someday play a round of golf under par — dream on ...

1167. If I But Touch…

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to pay attention. But she had paid attention when word came about this healer. What would she do when she got to the rabbi? Would she slowly make her way near to him then, with a flourish, whip off her veil and, while horrified townsfolk looked on, announce her desire for healing? Naw. Too ostentatious. She settled on a plan. "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed" (v. 28). Just reach out and touch. No big deal. And if there are lots of people around, as there surely will be, it will be even easier ...

1168. Just Say the Word

John 1:1-9, 10-18

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... that was spoken and worlds were created, the word that moved over the face of the waters and the world began to take shape at his command. "In the beginning was the Word" (v. 1). John's gospel begins with the Word of God, a powerful, creating Word. God's desire to claim us existed in the beginning, before any of us knew our own existence — indeed, before we existed at all. That's the way it was in the beginning, and in the end, that is the good news of the season we are just now finishing. It is good ...

1169. A Whole City at The Door

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... good works, to help make the world a little bit better place. I know for certain that the numerous transients who come through the doors of churches in our neighborhood every day are hoping they can count on that common assumption that the purpose driving a church is the desire to do good things for people who need to have good things done. What kind of church worthy of the name wouldn't do that? It's a pretty nice arrangement, if that is the purpose of the church. We need to do good things, hosts of people ...

1170. Jesus at Home

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... the church, once wrote, "In everyday life ... we must hold ourselves in balance before all created gifts ... We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling ... forth in us a deeper response to our life in God. Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God's deepening life in me." Important ...

1171. Clearing Out the Pipes

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

John Smylie

... Holy Spirit. Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season provides us with an opportunity to let go and to allow ourselves, our children, our parents, our friends, one another — everyone to belong to God. Perhaps this year we can go beyond trivialities as we recognize that God's desire for each of us is to come into a deeper relationship with him thereby becoming more capable of engaging ourselves with one another and with the world in which we live. And at the end of the day and at the end of the season let us ...

1172. The Elephant in The Living Room

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Smylie

... a season when we are challenged to face all truth, particularly the truth that we don't want to hear. I think the harshest words that our Lord ever spoke are the words that he spoke to Peter when he said, "Get behind me, Satan!" (v. 33). Our Lord desires to tell his disciples the hard truth, the fact that he will be put to death after being rejected and experiencing deep and painful suffering. We live in a culture that seems to be spiraling downward. We live in a culture where the holiness and value of life ...

1173. The Serpent

John 3:14-21

Sermon

John Smylie

... opposites — the serpent in the garden at the beginning of creation, and the serpent on the cross in an act of new creation. One seeks to manipulate and corrupt our human nature; the other, to free us and save our human nature. One appeals to our selfish desires; the other, to the very highest in us. One seduces, the other loves. One brings about our banishment from the presence of God; the other draws us into the presence of God. There is a host of rich meanings in this image of the two serpents — Satan ...

1174. We Wish to See Jesus

John 12:20-33

Sermon

John Smylie

... than all our willfulness, with cords of love stronger than our sinful habits, stronger than our deaf ears, our blind eyes, lame limbs, and stony hearts. He draws us in with gentle surgery, he gives us grace, "grace to love what God commands and grace to desire what God promises, that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found" (Book of Common Prayer). On this fifth Sunday of Lent, before we enter the week of our Lord's passion ...

1175. For the Life of Betsy D. I. Smylie

John 12:20-36

Sermon

John Smylie

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