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 1251 to 1275 of 5000 results

1251. The Pilgrim’s Thirst for God in a Dry and Weary Land

Psalm 63:1-11

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... falsely accused. Mention is made of liars and those “who seek my life” (vv. 9, 11). Seeking refuge in the sanctuary may also be implied (vv. 2, 7–8). But there is no allusion to a legal case. And neither of these theories account for the longing for God himself in verses 1–5 and the general lack of petition. These opening verses make best sense as an expression of anticipation of a pilgrimage festival. In 42:1–2 this same “thirsting for God” is envisaged to culminate in “appearing before God ...

1252. Daniel’s Prayer

Daniel 9:1-19

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... the rejoinder is that the shortness of the chapter might be what prompted an editor to supply a prayer. Also, the next section of the book, Daniel 10:1–12:4, is really one unit, even though it is now divided into three chapters and is unusually long. So, there does not have to be uniformity of length between the various chapters in the book. Finally, there is a theological contrast between the prayer and the rest of Daniel. The rest of the book fixes blame for the suffering of the Jews on evil oppressors ...

1253. Daniel’s Vision of a Man

Daniel 10:1--11:1

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... books or tablets that tell the future destinies (see esp. 1 En. 106:19–107:1; see also 81:1–2; 93:2–3; 103:2–3). Predestination is a motif evident in the writings from the Jewish community gathered at Qumran (4Q180), which was active not long after the time when Daniel may have been written. Some Jews consider that their fate for the coming year is determined and inscribed in a book between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The fixing of fates may have come into Judaism by Babylonian influence (see ANET ...

1254. The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy

John 16:17-33, John 16:5-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... , and the disciples are confused. Jesus in his explanation moves from riddle (vv. 16, 19) to parable (vv. 20–21) to plain speech (vv. 22–28). In resolving the problem raised by Jesus’ statement in 13:33, chapter 14 had spoken of a single brief interval. “Before long” the world would not see Jesus, but the disciples would see him (14:19). In chapter 16 his absence is acknowledged even as far as the disciples are concerned (in a little while you will see me no more, v. 16a; cf. v. 10, you can see ...

1255. Baasha King of Israel

1 Kings 15:33--16:7

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... control (1 Kgs. 13)—what God wills comes to pass, whether in the short term (13:3, 5; 14:12–13, 17–18) or in the long term (13:2; 2 Kgs. 23:15–20). It is no coincidence that the close of 1 Kings 16 (16:34; cf. Josh. 6:26) reminds ... 17). Both these texts raise in a very sharp way the mystery at the heart of God’s dealings with mortal beings. Christian theologians have long grappled with this mystery using the categories of predestination and free will (cf. Matt. 26:24; Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22). 16:19 ...

1256. Elah King of Israel

1 Kings 16:8-14

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

1257. Zimri King of Israel

1 Kings 16:15-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

1258. Omri King of Israel

1 Kings 16:21-28

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

1259. Ahab Becomes King of Israel

1 Kings 16:29-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

1260. Elijah on Mount Carmel

1 Kings 18:16-46

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... to wait for the rain that God has promised (v. 42, cf. 18:1) and that, in his prophetic imagination, he can now hear. It is a long wait, but at last a cloud as small as a man’s hand is seen rising from the sea. Though small, it is enough to assure ... in the proceedings? Ahab has been brought to submission, Baal shown to be no god; but what of Jezebel and Asherah? 18:21 How long will you waver between two opinions?: The problem with NIV’s translation is that it obscures the connection (in the form of the ...

1261. Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes

Ezra 4:6-24

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... had marked the first phase of fulfilling the mission given through Cyrus to rebuild the temple. The second phase, building the temple itself, was to last longer than twenty years. We have to wait until 6:15 to read of its completion. This second phase, with its long delay and fresh start, is narrated in 4:1–6:22. Echoes of 4:1–5 in 6:21–22 reveal that these passages supply a literary framework. The concern of chapter 4 is the delay. Haggai gave internal reasons for it, accusing the community of wrong ...

1262. Completion and Dedication of the Temple

Ezra 6:13-18

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... University Press, 1988), pp. 25–38, esp. p. 36 n. 2, has made the valuable suggestion that the correspondence with the Torah qualifies the service of God. 6:19 The Passover was celebrated in the evening of Nisan 14 (Exod. 12:2; Lev. 23:5), followed by the week-long festival of Unleavened Bread (Exod. 12:17–20; Lev. 23:6–8). 6:20 The Levites: This phrase in the second sentence is not present in the Heb. (compare the NRSV), although it is clear from the end of the verse that a reference to them must be ...

1263. The Passover

Ezra 6:19-22

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

1264. Everlasting Salvation for Zion

Isaiah 51:1-16

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... down Babylon for Judah’s sake will also thereby bring to the rest of Babylon’s empire the beneficent results of Yahweh’s ruling in world affairs. For them, too, the darkness of oppression will give way to the light of freedom. For them, too, hopes that have long seemed vain will be fulfilled. In other words, the vision of 42:1–4 (and behind that, the vision of 2:2–4) will be fulfilled. Many of the words are the same as the ones that appeared there. The law is torah, teaching or revelation (see 1 ...

1265. Jeremiah Buys a Field

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... and “the children’s teeth are set on edge” (see 31:29). As applied to the present generation, it is not as if they were not guilty themselves, but it is also true that they were suffering for the long-standing sins of their ancestors. The destruction of Jerusalem was long delayed only by the gracious forbearance of God. After all, Jeremiah goes on to say, everyone gets what they deserve (you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve). Starting in verse 20 Jeremiah recounts the ...

1266. The Most Generous Gift

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... winning in a person’s character than a spirit of generosity. There was a story in an issue of Reader’s Digest not too long ago. It is a brief, true story from a lady named Ann Douglas Vaughan who lives in Newport News, Virginia. Ms. Vaughn writes that ... ten years of age she knew how these things worked. She couldn’t wait to return the wallet and get her reward! All day long she called the phone number which she found in the brown leather wallet, but no one answered. Finally, her dad relented and drove ...

1267. The Three Kings

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... time since he had seen the sunshine that his eyes could not endure its brightness. His only desire was to die in the murky dungeon where he had been a captive.” (4) Some people have lived in the dark so long that they are literally afraid of the light. Light reveals what they would prefer to keep hidden. Rev. Paul Pattison tells about a practice that some carpet cleaning businesses sometimes use to get pet owners to employ their services. To show potential customers their need for the service, they darken ...

1268. What a Friend

John 15:9-17

Sermon

John Jamison

... list of commandments for a first-century Jewish man to obey. They covered every possible part of life. Each commandment had points and sub-points and included a similar very long list of penalties for those who chose to disobey any particular commandment. The priests also had a long list of steps you had to go through to be forgiven for breaking a commandment, many of which involved a fairly large amount of money to be paid to the temple. Most people spent a significant part of their day trying very hard ...

1269. All for Some Dumb Sheep

John 10:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... I peered down the abyss of the North Face of the Eiger. The terror of the sight robbed me of breath, and a cry escaped involuntarily from me. The brooding blackness of the Face, falling away in almost endless expanse beneath me, made me look with awful longing to the thin cable disappearing above me in the mist. I was a tiny human being dangling in space between heaven and hell. The sole relief from terror was the human voice on my Walkie-talkie and my mission to save the climber below.” (3) Hellepart was ...

1270. His Name Is John

Luke 1:57-66, 80

Sermon

King Duncan

... about the birth of his first child. The first night home the baby would not stop crying. His wife frantically flipped through the pages of Dr. Spock to find out why babies cry and what to do about it. Since Spock’s book is rather long, the baby cried a long time. Grandma was in the house, but since she had not read the books on childrearing, she was not consulted. The baby continued to cry. Finally, Grandma could be silent no longer. “Put down the book,” she told her children, “and pick up the baby ...

1271. Eyes Set on Jerusalem

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’s coming to you” (Luke 19:41-44). Forty years later that prophecy was fulfilled. The Roman army stormed Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. Jesus loved the people of Jerusalem. But he could not help them if they rejected the message he came to bring them. On that day long ago, all he could do was weep for the city. Bishop Hazen Werner once told about a doctor who years ago placed a call to a specialist in a town 50 or 60 miles away. The doctor told the specialist to tell him about a young boy who was ...

1272. Blessed Among Women

Luke 1:39-56

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... to be a King, destined to sit on the throne of David forever. When she was certain of the pregnancy, Mary does a very feminine thing. She seeks out another woman to talk to. She hears that her cousin, Elizabeth, is also pregnant. Mary makes the very long trip south to the hill country of Judea to visit her friend and her kinswoman. She stays three months. A veil is placed over the details of their conversation. We do not know what they discussed. Had it been a man who had something important to talk about ...

1273. An Absolute Cure for Boredom

Philippians 3:7-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... bored in church. (I can’t imagine that . . . can you . . . bored in church?) This student is remembered by his first name, Galileo. One day during Mass at the Cathedral of Pisa, Galileo became bored and dreamily fixed his eyes overhead on a chandelier swinging from a long rope. It seemed to him that the time it took the chandelier to swing from one side to the other was the same whether the chandelier was a large or small one. “He used his own pulse beat--as a medical student he knew that under normal ...

1274. When Mickey Mouse Recognizes You...

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... don’t want to simply keep up with the Joneses—we want to be slightly ahead of the Joneses, the Smiths and everyone else on the block. It is very human to want to be one-up on our friends. There was a Harvard study that I read not too long ago where they asked students, “If prices were the same, which option would you choose: Option A: you make $50,000 per year and everybody else makes $25,000 per year, or Option B: You make $100,000 per year, but everybody else makes $200,000 per year?” Which option ...

1275. The Gift of the Kingdom

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

George Reed

... seem to take things away from us? What kind of a kingdom does God run, anyway? Jesus doesn’t leave us in the dark for long. He tells us that where we place our treasure, we will find our hearts. Whether we think of it as treasure, wealth, or just “our ... coincide then we need to see what we can change and how we can change it. Change is not easy and it sometimes takes a long time to get things the way they need to be. If we start rearranging our monetary priorities, the debt we have already piled up isn ...

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