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 2415 results

1251. Turn in an Account of Your Stewardship

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the poor, the hungry, the shelterless, the prisoners, the sick, the widow, the orphan - - in as much as you did it unto the least of these you did it unto me.” One thing you lack. Do you lack a gentle spirit, a heart of mercy? Do you lack a passion to be like Jesus? Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Is your heart broken over the things that break Jesus’ heart? Do you ever look out over our city, as Jesus looked over Jerusalem, and weep for it? If Jesus said to you, one thing you lack, what ...

1252. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... many evenings have I fumbled to explain to these anxious boys the mysteries of no mother at home? How many anguished hours have I tried to cool and caress to peace the fevered brow of children who needed the mother's touch? How many midnights have I contorted in passion, my loins aching for the satisfaction of a woman. What are you saying, God? Go again, love this woman who has played the harlot"? You can't mean it! You do? And why? Even as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods ...

1253. Dealing With Guilt And Shame

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... was no other reason, but foul was the evil, and I loved it." Now why would one harmless prank such as this loom so large in Augustine's mind? By his own admission, he had taken a mistress, fathered a child out of wedlock, and indulged in every fleshly passion. Surely, any of these was more serious than stealing pears. Augustine saw in the "pear incident" his true nature and the nature of all human kind: "foul was the evil, and I loved it." In each of us there is sin. Now whether we talk about this in terms ...

1254. Reflections On A Calling (ten-year Anniversary Sermon)

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... become cynical. They do their job. They are successful. They operate within the system in such a way as to guarantee good moves when it time for them to move on to another appointment. but there's no "cutting edge" in their life -- no contagious excitement. No passion about what they're doing which will not let them sit down or stay quiet as it relates to their calling. And I think the problem is precisely there -- the calling has died. Thank God for that grace of His within my life--the call remains real ...

1255. The Cross Question: Am I Not To Drink The Cup?

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

John Milton was one of the great English poets. In 1629, he wrote his ever lovely, "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." A year later, he attempted to write a companion poem to it on "The Passion." After some eight toilsome verses had been written, he gave it up. Sometime later, he wrote these words about the unfinished poem: "The subject the author finding to be above the years he had when he wrote it, and nothing satisfied with what was begun, left it unfinished." Today, many ...

1256. From Russia With Love

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... far worse, we don't have enough ideas. We don't know what to think. The ground has been pulled out from under us". And then came the next speaker, his polar opposite. A dissident who specialized in writing political satire. Slovenly dressed, ungroomed, and passionate. Bald headed but as Yancey described him, spectacular two inch eyebrows. He looked as though he had just stepped out of a Dovesky novel. And this character spoke loudly. He had a stutter. Odd to hear a stutter in a foreign language. Just as he ...

1257. All This And Heaven Too

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... meaning of this? How have we missed it? Ours is not a God that is far removed from us. Not a God that we meet at special times, in special places such as this, but a God who dwells among us, within us, in our struggle to become, in our passionate drive to be transformed and to transform, in our persistent gnawing urge to keep on moving in our life and in our death. This is the mark of our being, this divine discontent is always a fragment – unsatisfied this side of paradise. And that brings me to the next ...

1258. Putting the Puzzle Together

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

... flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled. " The following Easter, Augustine was baptized. His mother, Monica, lived to see her son's conversion. She died a few years later, her prayers answered. Augustine embraced Christ with such a passion that eventually he was ordained, and later became a bishop. His writings have had an enormous impact on Western thought. (2) Augustine discovered what Simon Peter discovered: the key to the puzzle of life is Christ. Millions of people of every walk ...

1259. If Only... Next Time

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... school English teacher. She was what we called back then, "a maiden lady", what some would have termed "an unclaimed blessing." When I pass by that house I offer prayers of thanksgiving for Miss Olga. Perhaps more than anyone else, she inspired in me a passion for learning. She gave me a love for literature--prose and poetry. She ignited in me a desire to communicate--to use words to effectively express what I wanted to say. But more than anything else she affirmed me. She played a major role in pulling ...

1260. And the Word Is...Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... , however, he began to take advantage of the library for more than a place to hang out. Knowing things had become the goal of his life, and knowing that he knows gave him a direction to pursue. Since he was a child he had wanted to write. It was a passion with him. He found books about freelance journalism. "I didn’t even know where to put the address on a cover letter. I had to start with that," he said. Brennan learned all he could from how-to books in the library and then started to write. One day he ...

1261. Christmas and the New Family

John 1:1-18

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... children of God, and for the family of God to be restored. G. K. Chesterton probably said it as well as anyone since the writer of John's Gospel. Chesterton is known to many as author of the Father Brown mystery novels, and to others as a passionate defender of the Christian faith. In his poem, "The House of Christmas," Chesterton first describes the state of our human souls. For men are homesick in their homes, And strangers under the sun, And they lay their heads in a foreign land Whenever the day is done ...

1262. The Waster

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

... , as you know, can turn venomous rather quickly. So where are we at parable's end? Are we inside the party celebrating? Or are we standing outside with our arms folded, refusing to come in? Jesus will not tell us how this story will end. The father passionately invites the older son inside, "pleads with him" to join in the welcome. Curiously, however, we are never told what the older brother decides to do. The story ends but it doesn't end. You can almost hear the voice of Walter Cronkite saying, "YOU ARE ...

1263. Servant Song

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... order to follow his own will. His agonized prayer in Gethsemane is, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). So the awful picture of suffering portrayed in our text (v. 6) is played out in the passion of our Lord. His is the back that is scourged with the whips of Pilate's soldiers. His is the face that is spit upon. His is the beard that is pulled in scorn, until finally the shouts of "Crucify him!" hang him on the cross. We are told ...

1264. Suffering Servant Song

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

This is the fourth and final Servant Song in Second Isaiah, and because of its content, it has been called the Suffering Servant Song. As with the Servant Song that we dealt with on Passion Sunday, it was originally a prophecy considering an idealized Israel. Second Isaiah set before the exiles in Babylonia the task of giving their life for the sake of the world. Israel was despised and rejected in exile, cursed by all who saw her plight. But there would come a time ...

1265. Imitators of God

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... years of ministry has there been such a concern for holiness. The call is coming from almost every theological tradition: from Calvinist to Catholic. J. I. Packer, that unyielding but irenic reformed theologian, has written a marvelous book, Passion for Holiness. Free Methodist bishop Richard Snyder, shared an interesting experience from another direction. He received an email back in July from an Anglican priest, Robert W. McDonald. The email said: “Have been reading Free Methodist Church section books ...

1266. God Outwits Us

Psalm 31:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , “This is what I have to do.” But you know—God outwitted me. The richness of my life in this community of learning, worship, and prayer is indescribable. Almost every week I have the privilege of hearing the witness of one of you who are passionately in love with Jesus and desirous of pleasing him. I know I am participating in a kingdom enterprise that is sending persons to the ends of the world to proclaim the gospel and spread scriptural holiness. I could not have imagined such joy and meaning as ...

1267. Generic Christianity Is Not Enough

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... God to glorify, Jesus to imitate, a soul to save, a body to mortify, sins to repent of, virtues to acquire, hell to avoid, heaven to gain, eternity to prepare for, time to profit by, neighbors to edify, the world to despise, devils to combat, passions to subdue, judgment to undergo. (1) Again, Bishop Holloway observed, “It all seems a long time ago, but that is only because we have short memories.” Some of us can remember when such warnings sounded from pulpits and even our Christian conversation would ...

1268. Equipping the Whole People of God: Penultimate Questions

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in Havana in an Evangelism Leadership Summit for the Americas. We chose Cuba because we wanted to support and encourage the Methodist Church there. But they did the encouraging. I don’t know another church anywhere that is more dynamic and passionate about the Gospel than the church in Cuba. It is growing, with over 10,000 members now. Despite oppression and tremendous governmental restrictions, the church is alive and dynamic, vibrant, and growing. There were 37 missionaries in Cuba when Castro came ...

1269. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Hebrews 11:1-40, Philippians 2:12-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the pulpit, so that the one who stands in the pulpit to preach will always be reminded of his proper subject.” That is the bottom line, not just in our preaching but in our total lives. We must remember our proper subject. If we burn with the passion of our higher calling of God in Christ Jesus, burn with the conviction that Christ Jesus has made us His own, we will not go through life looking back to some Mt. of Transfiguration; our path will be marked by His constant presence – and maybe, just maybe ...

1270. Don't Fade Out On the Amen and the Hallelujah

Revelation 19:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... I saw an empty throne, and I went in and sat upon it.” That is the way it is with us. Life is determined by who sits on the throne. If the throne is occupied by anyone or anything but Christ, we remain slaves – slaves to habits and passions and fears: slaves to what pulls us down and distorts our very essence as human beings. If anything or anyone other than Christ occupies the throne of our life, we remain bound by guilt and shame and condemnation – we need to remember that God has rescued us from ...

1271. Power For Christian Living: Am I On My Own?

Romans 3:3-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... die; but if you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13). Stating it another way he says, “You have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God…put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly; fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed.” (Colo. 3:3,5). He could have gone on, listing those sins with which we may be currently struggling. Holiness is a joint venture. The Holy Spirit enables, but I must act. The Holy Spirit’s refining power coupled with my ...

1272. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the pulpit, so that the one who stands in the pulpit to preach will always be reminded of his proper subject.” That is the bottom line, not just in our preaching but in our total life. We must remember our proper subject. If we burn with the passion of our higher calling of God in Christ Jesus, burn with the conviction that Christ Jesus has made us His own, we will not go through life looking back to some Mt. of Transfiguration; our path will be marked by His constant presence – and maybe, just maybe ...

1273. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... With the Saints, which was published last year – and the other, which is coming out soon entitled Lessons From the Saints. As I have kept company with the saints, I’ve observed some characteristics they had in common: . . . they passionately sought the Lord . . . they discovered a gracious God . . . they took Scripture seriously . . . Jesus was alive in their experience . . . they practiced discipline, at the heart of which was prayer . . . they didn’t seek ecstasy but surrender of their will to ...

1274. The Work of An Evangelist

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ’s like a judge in the courtroom, or like a general giving orders to his troops as they are about to engage in battle. It’s what it is: a dying man – or one who knows that death is immanent – laying on the heart of his friend the passion and priority of his life. The authority of Paul to make this sacred charge is grounded in Jesus Christ. “I charge you,” he writes, “before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing in His Kingdom.” Do you believe ...

1275. Dealing With Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... prison. Ben Hur loses contact with them and later is told that they are dead. Juda Ben Hur, returns to Israel intent on one thing--revenge. Because of Massala, he has lost everything. And now he lives for one thing, to avenge himself upon Massala. This passion consumes Ben Hur to such an extent that his sweetheart, Esther, looking into his tortured eyes exclaims, “Juda Ben Hur, you have become a Massala.” That’s what hatred does to us. It is impossible to have the Spirit of Christ within us and at the ...

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