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 1226 to 1250 of 1838 results

1226. Proper 13

Matthew 14:13-21, Psalm 17:1-15, Genesis 32:22-32, Romans 9:1-29

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... , Jesus Christ. Bless all who have done us good, whether known to us or unknown, those who have helped us directly or who have remembered our needs before your throne of grace. If we are estranged from anyone, reconcile us by the forgiving Spirit, that all bitterness and hostility may be removed and the unity of the Spirit be manifest in the bond of peace. Deliver the innocent from temptations too hard for them to bear, and support those on the verge of losing faith and giving up the good fight. Have mercy ...

1227. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the words and witness, but to recall that God’s work is not yet fully accomplished. God’s works are “sealed” for the coming “day of redemption” (v.30). Specific examples of foul language are detailed in v.31 — “bitterness, rage, wrath, shouting, slander” as well as the foul motivation of “all malice.” Instead of those community-crushing sounds, the virtues of compassion, of kindness, and of forgiveness are counseled. The motivation for practicing these virtues is the highest possible ...

1228. Tinctures of Truth in the Tincture of Time

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... revealed by the curative tinctures that are prescribed. Yes, you will “Be angry.” There is anger, both the short-fused, everything just went wrong, snappish anger. And then there is the more deep-seated, slow-burning, “bitterness”-“wrath”-“shouting”-“slander” anger, not to mention the deep, stunting erosion of “malice.” The tincture prescribed: a slowly steeped elixir of “kindness,” “compassion” and most especially “forgiveness.” The community of faith is to dose daily on ...

1229. The Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23-34

Sermon

James Merritt

... it. Purify It - Make sure that your heart is clean before the Lord. Please understand the point that Paul is making here. There are some people who come to the Lord's Supper and rather than giving up a sin in their life, whether it is a grudge against someone, bitterness, or whatever, they just won't take the Lord's Supper. That is a cop-out. The purpose of the Lord's Supper is not for you to come and hold on to your sin and not take the supper. The purpose of the Lord's Supper is to force ...

1230. One Nation Under God

2 Chronicles 7:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... had to get used to the Executive Mansion on their own. President Carter had broken with recent tradition and had not given the Reagans a tour of the White House. If you remember, during those days it was a difficult campaign with Carter and Reagan both bitterly fighting out what was to be a runaway election landslide for Reagan. The Carters greeted the Reagans a few days before the Inauguration, and then turned them over to White House staff for them to have a tour of the White House. In the limousine on ...

1231. What If It Happens To Me? The Fear of Suffering

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... is no such thing as a pain free life. The issue is not - is something going to happen to me, because you live long enough and it is. What determines victory or defeat is how you are affected by the suffering. If it leads to resistance, resentment, and bitterness then you will lose out to depression and despair. If it leads to prayerfulness, patience, faith and trust, then it can lead you to maturity and victory. That is exactly what we find in Paul's response, "And then He told me my grace is enough; it is ...

1232. Baptism - FAQ's

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

James Merritt

... you may not know is that two streets intersected in the shadow of the South Tower. The names of those two streets listed on the signpost are simply Church and Liberty. I want Cross Pointe to be a church that brings liberty to people who are captive to sin, anger, bitterness, and fear; and find the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as Lord. I want that to happen on every given Sunday.

1233. Will the Real Christian Please Stand Up?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

... privilege of suffering for Him." Philippines 1:29 (NLT) You will suffer if you stand for Christ. But if you are a real Christian you will suffer even more if you don’t. When Peter denied the Lord Jesus, the Bible says he went out and wept bitterly. He was absolutely miserable. Yet, in Acts 5 we are told that when he stood and suffered for Christ, he was thrown in jail and beaten. But when he was released - listen to this testimony. "They departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were ...

1234. Am I a Real Christian?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

... privilege of suffering for Him." (Philippines 1:29, NLT) You will suffer if you stand for Christ. But if you are a real Christian you will suffer even more if you don’t. When Peter denied the Lord Jesus, the Bible says he went out and wept bitterly. He was absolutely miserable. Yet, in Acts 5 we are told that when he stood and suffered for Christ, he was thrown in jail and beaten. But when he was released - listen to this testimony. "They departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were ...

1235. Close Up: Husbands - Be a Dream Lover

Colossians 3:19

Sermon

James Merritt

... add or else you won't understand why sometimes it is so hard to give it. We must... III. Love Our Wives Sensitively Paul goes on to add one little phrase to this verse. He says, "And do not be embittered against them." (Colossians 3:19b, NASB) That word "bitter" means "angry", "impatient", "frustrated", or "ready to throw in the towel." I don't know if you have a marriage like mine, but the person that I love more than anyone else in the world is the person whom I am, at times, the most impatient. I am not ...

1236. Close Up Parents: Be Cheerleaders, Not Jeer leaders

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... Christ died on the cross He took all the punishment for our sins. God still disciplines us when we disobey. You say, "What is the difference?" Punishment is intended to inflict penalty. Discipline is intended to promote growth. Punishment makes someone bitter. Discipline makes someone better. One of the unexpected legacies of the affluent nineties that we just came through are parents who could not learn to say, "No." From fancy cell phones, to Ipods, to expensive cars, kids simply seem to get anything ...

1237. Marriage 101

Ephesians 5:22-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... possibly can. That is exactly what we are to do for our wives; make them beautiful. We are to always make them look good. Never criticize them in public. Never put them down before anyone else. Husbands, if you are not making your wife better, you are making your wife bitter. Just as Jesus loves us in spite of our faults, and does not dwell on our faults, we ought to love our wives the same way. Husbands, you are to make her better, you are to make her beautiful, you are to grow in the Lord and help her ...

1238. Liar, Liar

Exodus 20:16

Sermon

James Merritt

... of truth. II. I Should Tell The Truth Because Lying Deceives Others Proverbs 10:10 says, "Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble." (Proverbs 10:10, GN) When you lie, you inevitably cause trouble for other people. You cause resentment, mistrust, bitterness, and anger. Back in Bible days when this commandment was written, before you had anything such as forensic evidence, almost everything in a court depended on the witness. Usually it would come down to one person's word against another and since ...

1239. The Dark Side Confronted

Hebrews 12:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... to receive God's correction? If you think about it, there is only one of two ways you can respond. First of all, you can reject it. Listen again to verse 5, "My Son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord." (Hebrews 12:5, NASB) You can get bitter when God disciplines you. You can get mad at Him. You can ignore it. It is like a little girl who disobeyed her mother and she put her in the closet to discipline her and it got very quiet, so the mother went in to check on her and she ...

1240. A New Hope

Jeremiah 18:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... good or whether they are bad and use them to shape you into what He wants you to be. So often, we get so frustrated when life takes a twisted turn or the wheel of life seems to turn unfairly. We get discouraged and disillusioned and sometimes even bitter toward God and here is the problem - we start focusing on the wheel and we forget the potter. The potter knows exactly what He is doing. We will not always understand why certain things happen to us. We will not always understand why the wheel of life takes ...

1241. In God We Trust – Or Do We?

John 4:46-54

Sermon

James Merritt

... not been for the trouble that had come into his life. It was a dying son that had brought him to a divine savior. It was trouble and tragedy that brought this man to meet Jesus. Many times when trouble comes our way, we have a natural tendency to get bitter toward God and we will ask the question, "Why did you allow this trouble to come into my life?" I want you to remember this. Anytime that trouble comes into your life there is always at least one purpose behind it: that it might bring you closer to God ...

1242. Which Door Should I Take?

John 10:7-9

Sermon

James Merritt

... to the earth. At the same time, materialistic values - based on the belief that scientific progress would automatically lead to man's happiness and fulfillment - approves sadly disillusioning. As a result, many people are groping about, bewildered and bitter, unable to find any enduring faith or to develop a satisfying philosophy of life. [In other words - significance.] Despite their fine automobiles, well stocked refrigerators, and other material possessions and comforts, the meaning of life seems to be ...

1243. Get Real

John 15:1-11, 16

Sermon

James Merritt

... flat on a sick bed or we are fired from a job or we have to locate to a new place or a new school or your spouse leaves you for someone else or a rebellious child leaves home. All so often, when this happens we get angry, we get bitter and we get resentment, failing to realize that what God is doing is cutting away our arrogance and our pride and our dependency on all the wrong things, to force us to get real with Him and to get back to our true connection, which is Jesus Christ. Then sometimes ...

1244. The Climb

Joshua 14:6-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... who followed the majority, rather than the minority, and who let their fear of giants overcome their faith in God, wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Caleb had to suffer for the disobedience and the disbelief of the other people. He could have grown very bitter and you couldn't have really blamed him if he had. He did not let his attitude be dictated by his circumstances. He let his attitude be dictated by the promises of God. You may have every right to complain, because of where you work or ...

1245. Standard Building Codes

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... Jesus had some tough words to say on this subject, far tougher than you will hear from most preachers today and most churches. I want to say at the outset this message is going to create tension for some of you, anger in a few of you, bitterness and rejection in others. The subject of marriage and sexual purity is so important we simply cannot pass over it, even though it will create tension. If this message helps to prevent one affair, one divorce, one broken heart or one shattered family, it will be well ...

1246. Don’t Be a Hypocrite

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... their Jewish tradition and join the Lutheran church. When the stunned family asked why, the father simply said, "It will be good for my business." That youngster who so admired his dad, was immediately, totally confused. His confusion soon gave way to anger and to bitterness that plagued him throughout his life. Later, he left Germany and went to England to study. He began to think about what he thought life was really all about. He wrote a book and in that book he introduced a brand new world view that ...

1247. Am I a Real Christian?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

... the privilege of suffering for Him." Philippines 1:29 (NLT) You will suffer if you stand for Christ. But if you are a real Christian you will suffer even more if you don't. When Peter denied the Lord Jesus, the Bible says he went out and wept bitterly. He was absolutely miserable. Yet, in Acts 5 we are told that when he stood and suffered for Christ, he was thrown in jail and beaten. But when he was released - listen to this testimony. "They departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were ...

1248. The World’s Favorite Scripture

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... the woman and got up and left. This lady could not believe this man's nerve. She thought to herself, "That is the most arrogant man I have ever met in my life." Soon the announcement came to board the plane. This lady got on the plane, still hot and bitterly angry at the audacity of this man, until she sat down, buckled her seatbelt, reached into her purse for a tissue, and there was her bag of cookies. [4] Now there is a moral to all of this. If you want to escape the condemning judgment of God, you had ...

1249. Everyone's Talking about Him

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... , "For two years I have avoided almost all social gatherings because it is impossible for me to say to people ‘I am deaf.’ If I belonged to any other profession it would be easier, but in my profession it is a frightful state." Beethoven died a broken, bitter man. You and I who have our hearing, have our vision, who are able to get around with a minimum of impediments, ought to thank God every day, and we ought to salute those who overcome obstacles that we cannot even imagine. Did you know, by the way ...

1250. I’m Movin’ On

Philippians 3:12-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... in the past. You know what our biggest problem is sometimes? We remember what God forgets, and then we forget what God wants us to remember. I read a story years ago about General Robert E. Lee who visited a lady in Virginia after the Civil War. She was extremely bitter toward the North. She took him out to her front yard and showed him the scarred remains of one of her prize trees. It was a tree that had gone all the way back to the Revolutionary War. During a raid, all of the limbs had been shot off by ...

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