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 4962 results

1226. What If God Was One of Us?

Philippians 2:1-11

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical aim: Jesus became like us. Props: A baby doll and a rattle or some other baby toy. Lesson: How many of you have a baby brother or sister?(response) How many of you at one time had a baby brother or a sister? (response) How many of you have ever seen a baby? (response)I think that takes care of all of us! When you talk to a baby, do they understand what you are saying? (response) What if I said, “Hey baby, ten plus ten equals twenty”? What would he say? (response) How do you talk to a baby? ( ...

1227. The One in Whom We Glory

John 12:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

We come today to the final words of the Lord's Prayer. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. If you are a good Catholic, you know that phrase is not in the original Lord's Prayer. Of course, the Catholics are right. It was really a second century addition. If you are a good Methodist, you cannot receive your daily bread, be forgiven of your sins, and delivered from the evil one without exclaiming, For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Of course, ...

1228. What Gift Do You Have For Us?

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

God's gifts are not unchanging "possessions" that are ours forever. They are constantly being renewed and transformed. All parents whose work takes them out on the road inevitably fall victim to the dreaded, genetically linked "traveling parent disease." This rarely discussed disease kicks in just as you finally enter the airport to begin your flight back home. Suddenly, visions of your small offspring, sadly moping around the house, rise to your consciousness, and you are obsessed with the unshakable need ...

1229. A Man of One Book

Illustration

Michael B. Brown

John Wesley wrote in 1730: "I began to be 'homo unius libri' (a man of one book). I began to study (comparatively) no book but the Bible." In his preface to Sermons On Several Occasions (1746), he proclaimed again his intention to be "a man of just one book." This, of course, does not mean Wesley decided to become illiterate or uninformed where other writings were concerned. His personal records indicate that he had read from at least 1,400 different authors (with nearly 3,000 separate titles among them). ...

1230. Jesus Makes the Bible Come Alive

Luke 24:32

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Objects: An unsharpened pencil, an unused candle and a radio that is not playing. Good morning, boys and girls. How would you like to take a walk down a road with Jesus? (Let them answer.) Wouldn't that be great? Just imagine how wonderful it would be to talk with Jesus and spend one day outdoors in the sunshine with him. I can't think of how to have a better time. People did that with Jesus. As a matter of fact, there is a story in the Bible about a couple of men who were walking down a road between towns ...

1231. You Have to Work At It

John 21:15-25

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: The effort involved in loving God and one another. Props: None. This sermon may need some adaptation if you have a large sanctuary; however, the sermon is designed to create commotion within the congregation and the closer to which this is allowed the better the effect. Especially if the reading of John 21:1-19 or 15-19 immediately follows. Lesson: [When the children are settled:] I have a question for you this morning, "Do you love your mom and dad?" (response) Get as many children to ...

1232. Wash One Another's Feet

John 13:1-17

Illustration

Lee Griess

Sociologist Robert Wuthnow of Princeton University has explored how it is that people make everyday ethical decisions. Many people, he found, perform deeds of compassion, service, and mercy because at some point in their past someone acted with compassion toward them. He wrote, "The caring we receive may touch us so deeply that we feel especially gratified when we are able to pass it on to someone else." He tells the story of Jack Casey, who was employed as an emergency worker on an ambulance rescue squad ...

1233. You Always Have a Choice

Illustration

Dale E. Galloway

Eight-year-old Tommie was bragging to his dad about what a great hitter he was becoming. His dad took him out in the backyard to give him an opportunity to demonstrate his newfound hitting ability. When they got in the backyard, Tommie’s dad said, "Go ahead and show me what you can do." With a confident grin, Tommie threw the ball in the air, swung at it, and missed. "Strike one," said his dad. Knowing he could hit the ball, Tommie threw it in the air again, and missed. "Strike two," laughed his father. ...

1234. The Only Place We Have No Fear

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Illustration

King Duncan

Pretend something like this happened for a moment: The angel Gabriel got back to heaven and rushed up to God and said, "I've got good news, and I've got bad news." And God said, "Well, give me the good news first." "The good news is," said the angel, "mission accomplished. I've visited those people you told me to visit. I told them what you told me to tell them. And it's all accomplished." God said, "So what's the bad news?" "The bad news," the angel said, "is that those people down there on earth are ...

1235. Places That Have a Memory

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Do you believe places have a memory? I know that seems like a strange question this morning. Don’t worry, I drank my coffee. I’m firing on all cylinders. But are there places in your life that evoke such strong memories that when you go back to them, you can almost see and feel and smell past experiences there? Or have you ever stood in a place and felt the stories emanating from its walls? I feel that way inside this church building sometimes. I think back to all the people who prayed here, who wept here ...

1236. Which One Do You Punish?

Humor Illustration

If you have more than one child in your family, you have probably faced a very familiar dilemma. A mother was telling about her three boys. "My boys are very loyal to each other," she said. "When one of them misbehaves, the others will not tell on him." Her friend asked, "How do you know which one to punish then?" "It's not too hard," she replied. "When one of them does something wrong, we send all three to bed without supper or TV. The next morning we spank the one with the black eye."

1237. Our Relationship with God

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

John P. Jewell

One of the reasons people tend to see faith as a religion about God instead of a relationship with God is the sense that they are not worthy of the attention of an Almighty God. "My problems are too small for God to care about." or "With all the pain and suffering in this world, why would God care about me?" are a couple of ways people give expression to this sense of insignificance. The sense is the one expressed by our theme title today, "How can one so great care for one so small." Have you ever felt ...

1238. Having Fun with Jesus

John 2:1-11

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Pie and ice cream, ala mode, or Jello with whipped cream (something that is good by itself but is even better when the second item is added) Oh, boy, am I glad to see you this morning! I have something to show you and then something to tell you. First of all, I want to bring out this beautiful cherry pie. Let me cut it - oh, boy, doesn't that look good! How many of you like cherry pie? Isn't that just about the best piece of cherry pie you ever saw? If this was a place to eat rather than a church, ...

1239. What have you heard and Seen this Christmas?

Luke 2:1-20

Illustration

Brett Blair

Oh, you say, had I been there at Bethlehem that night I would have seen. I would have understood. I would have known it was the Christ child. Would you? There is one way of knowing: Ask yourself what you have seen and heard this Christmas Season. When you watched the 6:00 news did you see chaos and strife, or did you see sheep without a shepherd. When you went out to do your shopping did you see only hordes of people in the stores, or did you notice the worried expressions on some of their faces worried ...

1240. The Holy Spirit Doesn't Have A Copy Machine

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

The wind of the Spirit blew through St. Mary's Parish but it did not seem to touch the life of Maria Sanchez. Maria had been a faithful member of St. Mary's Parish all of her life. She was baptized there, confirmed there, married there. And yet, when the Spirit blew new life into the lives of so many in the parish, Maria felt excluded. Some called this blowing of God the "charismatic movement." Whatever it was called it certainly touched the lives of some of the members of St. Mary's in very special ways. ...

1241. Those Tempting Crayons

Matthew 4:1-11

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some crayons and/or scissors. Lesson: Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about a word that I am sure all of you have heard many times but you may not be sure what it means. The word is "tempted" or "temptation." How many of you have heard that word used before? (Let them answer.) How many of you know what it means? (Let them answer.) Those are very close answers. Let me see if I can help explain it a little ...

1242. "Hosanna!"

Matthew 21:9

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Objects: Spoons and water glasses. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought along with me some things that I thought you might help me make noise with today. Don't you just love to make noise in church and not have anyone tell you to keep quiet? Usually your mom or dad is telling you to be quiet in church, but not today. I need your help because we are going to pretend that we are watching a parade. It is a special parade, and it only ever happened once, so we are going to have to pretend pretty good. How ...

1243. How Does Jesus Show He Is the Greatest?

John 2:1-11

Illustration

Sigurd Grindheim

Imagine that the Bible was lost and somebody today was given the task of recording, to the best of their ability, the deeds and words of the Son of God. They were to give an account of the good influence that Jesus had had in people's lives. What do you think would have been recorded as the first instance through which Jesus showed his greatness? Imagine that there would be a poll among the Christians of the 21st century where they were to answer the question: how does Jesus show you that he is the ...

1244. Let's Have a Party

John 3:1-21

Children's Sermon

Sharing this week's Gospel theme at Sunday School Object: egg Teachers: You'll need some helpers today. Neither of the lessons actually talked about the Trinity. That's because although there are many references to God's trinitarian nature, the word trinity is never mentioned by name. It's probably one of the hardest concepts for adults to comprehend. So it is not expected that children will catch on. As in all theological discussions exposure is what is important, not total grasp! Many pastors and ...

1245. One with Jesus

I Corinthians 12:3

Children's Sermon

Object: Acorns, buckeyes, pine cones, etc. Good morning, children, and how are you today? I have some things with me today that all of you have seen before and most of you like. Take a look at these and tell me what they are when I hold them up. (Then take each fruit or seed and hold it up for the children to identify). That’s very good, and that means that each one of these is different from the other, and they all come from different - what? Where do these things grow? Trees, that’s right. Apple trees, ...

1246. Two Are Better Than One

Illustration

Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Marriage is not romanticized in the creation account. Its ideal purpose is not one of sweet feeling, tender words, poetical affections or physical satisfactions not "love" as the world defines love in all its nasal songs and its popular shallow stories. Marriage is meant to be flatly practical. One human alone is help-LESS, unable. But "Two are better than one," says Ecclesiastes, "Because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift the other." Marriage makes the job of survival ...

1247. One By One

Illustration

In 480 B.C. the outmanned army of Sparta's King Leonidas held off the Persian troops of Xerxes by fighting them one at a time as they came through a narrow mountain pass. Commenting on this strategy, C.H. Sprugeon said, "Suppose Leonidas and his handful of men had gone out into the wide-open plain and attacked the Persians why, they would have died at once, even though they might have fought like lions." Spurgeon continued by saying that Christians stand in the narrow pass of today. If they choose to ...

1248. Recognize that, in the Light of Death, One Must Redeem the Time

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Chapters 9–10 of Ecclesiastes address the subjects of how one should live in light of the certainty of death and in light of the theoretical and practical limits of wisdom. The exact demarcation of these respective sections is less clear. Ecclesiastes 8:16–17 could serve as the introduction to 9:1–10, and 9:11–12 could be taken as addressing either the first or the second topic. Verse 11 refers to the wise, while verse 12 may refer to death, and the use of first-person verbs in chapter 9 (vv. 1, 11, 13, 16 ...

1249. No One Is Righteous before God

Psalm 143:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

This individual prayer psalm is highly formulaic, that is, it consists of stock phrases repeated elsewhere in the Psalms (v. 3 // 7:5; Lam. 3:6; v. 4 // 77:3; 142:3; vv. 5–6 // 77:2, 5, 12; v. 6 // 63:1; v. 7 // 69:17; 88:4, 14; 102:2; v. 8 // 90:14; in general cf. Pss. 25; 86; further parallels listed in Culley, Oral Formulaic Language, p. 107). Yet it reflects an intimacy with God that is strikingly singular among the psalms. 143:1–2 The opening and closing verses draw attention to your righteousness (vv ...

1250. Low In The Grave He Lay

Isaiah 25:1-12

Eulogy

Barbara G. Schmitz

The past two days are two of the most solemn days in the Christian year. For yesterday, on Good Friday, Christians commemorated Jesus' death. Later that evening, Jesus' body was taken down from the cross, anointed with oil, and wrapped in linen. Then it was placed in the tomb, and a large rock rolled across to seal it. Today, Holy Saturday, is the day that Jesus "lay low in the grave." Jesus' disciples were heartbroken. Their friend was gone: dead. No more miracles. No more healings. No more stories. No ...

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