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 1201 to 1225 of 2415 results

1201. The Ultimate Thirst Quencher (Alternate Addition to the "I Am" series: Living water)

John 7:25-44

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... could easily use the same language and make the same claim today that he made to the people at the Feast of the Tabernacles. The point of the passage is powerful; it gets to the purpose of life. What is it that we thirst for? What are those passions which govern our thoughts and saturate our existence? What fruits do they produce in our lives? You and I know that even the best of life''s celebrations do not necessarily satisfy our deepest needs. Jesus knew as he walked around and met the people at this ...

1202. Who Is the Light of Your Life? (I am the light of the world)

John 8:12-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... Pharisees named Nicodemus--who makes another appearance in chapter 3 of John''s gospel--appears on the scene and suggests that Jesus deserves a chance to prove his claims. What happens next is startling: Jesus ministers to a woman who has thirsted for the wrong passions and pursuits of life. Instead of condemning her, he offers her a way out of condemnation. He invites her to thirst after the way that leads out of this tyranny. Jesus does not condone her sin, but responds in a way that brings about a new ...

1203. Called by Life ( I Am the Resurrection and the Life)

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the world. They receive the students with the highest SAT scores, the brightest minds. A few years ago the President of Harvard University was asked, "What is the greatest problem you see in your university?" He said, "Emptiness! There is no meaning or passion for life. Everybody is bored--no fulfillment." Fancy titles and good credentials do not guarantee even a bright mind a good testimony unless they are connected to the living God. When Jesus made this bold claim, "I am the Resurrection and the Life ...

1204. The Lord's Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... says to her, "I don''t have a church where I am the pastor." She smiled and said, "You might not have a church, but the church has you." Yes, the kingdom comes despite all the efforts we sometimes make to deny it. The greatest fundamental drive and passion for the human spirit is to know God. This was an insight shared by Dr. Fred B. Craddock at our Annual Conference gathering last year. Dr. Craddock finished his presentation by saying that the only drive greater than the human desire to find God is God''s ...

1205. Are You Praying or Pouting? (Part IV)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... is only discovered in the richness of faith that Jesus Christ imparts to those who are filled with him. Perhaps Saint Francis of Assisi said it best: "Let us leave sadness to the devil and his angels. As for us Christians, what can we be but rejoicing and glad." The passion and purpose of Paul''s life was found in verse 21 of this first chapter when he shares, "For me to live is Christ--and to die is gain." The Lord Jesus Christ had a purpose for Paul to be in this prison cell. Paul''s motives are purified ...

1206. Facing Difficult Decisions in Life! Part VI

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... -looking donkey on a mountain road." Paul testifies in one of his other great writings that "all things work to the good for those who are called according to his purposes." Paul, after his Damascus Road experience, was never myopic again. He knew the great passion and purpose of his life was Christ and he let that be the defining quality of his life whether he was facing death or writing letters to guide struggling churches. Paul knew that Christ could be exalted by his living or his dying as a martyr ...

1207. Trusting the Truth

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... as a foolish man had nothing to do with his ability to build, nor did it have to do with his capacity to work hard. It also was not a reference to his personality, for he was a most pleasant person! It was how he built his boat. "His driving passion was to build a sailboat that would be so wonderful that it would draw the praise and accolades of his fellow yacht club members. In his quest, he paid great attention to the details of the boat that were visible, above the water line. The things that drew the ...

1208. Taxes and Tightwads

James 5:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... class members began to experience what we call the redemption and lift factor in all areas of their lives. Did you know that over 200 years ago, John Wesley wrote a sermon using the same exact verses we are studying today? (You should see how long his sermons were!) With passion, he pleaded: O ye Methodists, hear the word of the Lord! I have a message from God to all men; but to you above all. For about forty years, I have been a servant to you and to your fathers. And I have not been as a reed shaken with ...

1209. Tired of Trying?

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... quit. He turned to odd jobs; errand boy, newspaper boy. He turned over the dollar-a-day to his family, but papa saw him as lazy. He finally came to believe his dad. Eventually, though, he found something that interested him and he stayed with it. His passion for it was so great that two of his brothers quit fishing and joined him. He would become the most successful of all the children. His name--Joe Demaggio. (5) Remember the patience Jesus had with the disciple who had the shortest fuse, Peter! How about ...

1210. Still Waters

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... never plan to experience emotional breakdown, but that's what happens when we don't rest. Dr. Ted Loder wrote a prayer that is helpful here. He writes: "Now, O Lord, calm me into a quietness that heals and listens, and molds my longings and passions, my wounds and wonderings into a more holy and human shape." (3) Dr. Charles Allen is pastor Emeritus of the largest United Methodist Church in America, located in Houston, Texas--some 15,000 members strong. Dr. Allen learned a powerful but painful lesson in ...

1211. The Bible: The Book No Other Can Match!

2 Timothy 3:16

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the reading of the Bible when I got my first Bible from an American Army chaplain as a young prisoner of war in 1945 while I was in a Belgian prison camp. The Psalms of Lamentation spoke to me when I felt completely lost and forsaken. And the Passion story of Jesus spoke to me because I felt that Christ understood me in my situation. Step after step I discovered the Gospel and the promise of God for the poor and the imprisoned. The Bible is the book which rescued me from resignation and despair." Did you ...

1212. Depression: When the Spirit Is Faint

Psalm 142:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... do. Our emotions are like the weather, they are always changing. When we think on a "gut level", it is our lowest level of thought. Emotions can be good and valid, but they are only one level or way of reacting to the circumstances of life. We must rule our passions and emotions or they can rule us. How foolish it can be to let an important decision of life depend upon the emotion of a moment. Joe Garagiola, co-host of NBC''s "Today Show", recently told of the visit he made to a local drug store. He said ...

1213. Handling the Harshness of Life

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... I still do not understand why God allowed the Holocaust to occur. I have not resolved the question. But I have never lost faith in God. I''ve had moments of anger and protest. But as a Jew who comes from such a profoundly religious family, and because of my passion for study, I never left God although He may have left me. "Nor can I understand the silence of the eclipse of God in years when we needed Him most. But that does not push me farther away from Him. I would say that sometimes I have been closer to ...

1214. Placard Faith, Complex World

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... . Sometimes we yearn for a placard faith, given our complex world. Two, we can give credit to John for being enthusiastic, even if enthusiasm can lead to excess. Each Gospel writer has his own slant on Jesus and what he was about, and John exhibits the passion of one who is utterly convinced of Jesus' special-ness in leading us to God. Certainly part of the appeal of churches where worship involves praise music and utilizes high-tech resources can be found in their level of ardor. When gospel and glitz are ...

1215. Deliverance: The Forgotten Third of Jesus' Ministry

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... , "Cast it out." Who put it in in the first place? The text simply does not tell us. It is a mystery. Some paths Satan walks to embody persons include overindulging natural desires. For example, a teen in becoming sexually mature begins to indulge his passion in movies, bawdy humor, and fantasy. Next comes pornography. And the next thing you know he's absolutely infested with the demonic. Trauma can give opening to Satan. A child of a fine Brazilian missionary couple watched her family get hurt in an ugly ...

1216. Maximum Marriage

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... then they got a divorce. And now the younger generation -- they get married and stay so until something better comes along! And we are fast becoming a nation that is committed to no one and no thing. We're becoming like yard dogs who are led about by our passions. But God's Word is very clear: one man for one woman for life! Here a word needs to be said about another force that threatens the "leaving" dimension of marriage, and that is the former family. When two marry it is quite natural for the parents to ...

1217. Hanging the Law on Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

... is the human expression of the eternal Son's love for the Father. Within God's own self is a communion of absolute love between the Father and Son, shared through the Spirit. That loving God creates and redeems humanity with an equally enduring and passionate love. And Jesus' whole life was a demonstration of divine love for the "other," for the "neighbor," for ... us. Think of that beloved verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish ...

1218. Bedlam or Bethleham?

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... in this understanding of Bethlehem. We move on to the second of our ABC's. We remove bedlam from Bethlehem when we perceive the behavior the Christmas message urges upon us. Verse 12 makes it clear, "Training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in this present age live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly." Dear Christian friend, welcome to the University of Advent Behavior! Each of us matriculated in this august institution on the day of our baptism into Christ. The courses ...

1219. The Story behind the Glory

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... which we suffer are in the main the fruit of man's sin. It is man's inhumanity to man that has made countless thousands to mourn. The wars, cruelties, and wrongs which form such a grievous part of the burden of humanity are the outcome of human lust and passion. This is a world, I am sad to admit, which is in rebellion against God. The depth and intensity of that spirit of evil is made manifest at the Cross. Here is the true measure of evil and the final judgment upon it. If the question were asked, "What ...

1220. What Are You Going to Do with My World?

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... others did not really live, they merely existed. Historian H. G. Wells echoed the same conviction: "Until a man has found God, and has been found by him, he begins at no beginning and works to no end." Paul would have agreed, and we assent as well. Paul's passion was -- and ours should be -- "that by all means I may save some." Perhaps one or more may be saved from unbelief and eternal loss, but all will be saved for a life that has meaning and purpose, a life that has found the secret for facing life in ...

1221. Congratulations, You've Made the Team

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... than fear, life is stronger than death, and Christ embodies them all." Woodrow Wilson, past president of Princeton University, the twenty-eighth president of the United States, led his nation through the horrors of World War I. His shining achievement, his consuming passion, was to establish a League of Nations whose purpose was to see that another world war would never occur in his or any future generation. It is difficult to imagine Wilson's heartache when his own nation, the United States, voted against ...

1222. What a Resume!

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... great need is touched in love by another who is living the new baptized life in Christ. That's the new song, and you and I have seen it many times. An old VacationBibleSchool chorus had us sing, "Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me; all his wonderful passion and purity. Oh, Thou Spirit divine, cleanse this nature of mine. Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me!" This is the new song -- the song of the new life in Christ -- seen and expressed in your life and mine. Let me close with a story and two brief ...

1223. The Face that Launched a Thousand Lives

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... years later, after the tragedy of Good Friday and the triumph of Easter, that Peter and the others began to see their task through the eyes of their discerning Lord. They were to be witnesses! Witnesses of what? Witnesses to the love of God revealed in Christ's passion. Witnesses to the fact that in God's sight everybody is somebody. Every life is important; not one is expendable. We were made for God and for each other, and we find our true selves and each other in the community of those who love him. How ...

1224. Grace in the Midst of Exasperation

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... an intentional imitator of Jesus Christ, a brand new set of desires is placed inside them -- and so is the Holy Spirit, God's own Self living inside our hearts. Christians receive an entirely new nature -- a whole new level of passion and insight concerning spiritual things. That new set of desires is what often makes young disciples virtually intoxicated with excitement about pleasing God. All too soon, though, reality sets in. Exasperation returns. Inside every Christian the old desires are still lurking ...

1225. The Highest Bidder

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... to keep dividing walls in good repair? One answer is that a majority of the human race flinches at the prospect of conflict or change. Over time we have established peace treaties on our own cherished sides of relational fences, and there is little passion for stirring things up. When faced with the challenge of addressing uncomfortable realities, people vote en masse to "keep the peace" instead. In his book The Different Drum, psychologist and author Scott Peck makes a case that within all of us there is a ...

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