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 1276 to 1300 of 4962 results

1276. A Caddie Worth Having

Illustration

Two golfers stepped up to the first tee on the St. Andrews course at Ardsley, New York, one of America's oldest courses. The elder one was a kindly man who played a thoughtful, deliberate game. The younger man was full of pride and impatience. On the first hole he sliced, lost his ball in the tall grass, shot another one, and had a score of eight instead of four or five. On the second tee he began to lecture the caddie: "Keep your eye peeled. I'm not here to do your job for you!" Thereafter, every bad shot ...

1277. I Have Come Into My Garden

Song of Songs 5:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

5:2–8 · That King Solomon is not the lover the maiden has invited to enter her “garden” is made clear by this second lengthy search narrative. Her wishful thinking in 4:16–5:1 becomes a reality, if only in a night vision. The one she has longed for, the one to whom she has pledged her love, stands at her very door! The shepherd identifies himself by making mention of his dew-drenched hair, hardly unusual for one who sleeps outside and tends flocks through the night, but most unusual for a king with the ...

1278. One Like a Son of Man

Revelation 1:9-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

It is on “the Lord’s Day” (i.e., Sunday) when John has an ecstatic experience that sweeps his spirit into the heavenly realm (1:10; cf. 2 Cor. 12:2). With imagery that anticipates the heavenly liturgy to come (Revelation 4–5), a great voice like a temple trumpet (see Lev. 23:24) resounds and commissions John to write what he sees on a scroll. A messenger will then take the scroll from Patmos to the mainland and travel a circular route from Ephesus to Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and ...

1279. One Solitary Life

Illustration

James Allan Francis

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had ...

1280. The Cross No One Wants To See

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Lee Griess

Garbage truck driver, Craig Randall, brings his work home with him sometimes. There was that old-fashioned sewing machine he found. There were some books he rescued from the trash. And then there was that soft-drink cup that just happened to be worth $200,000. Neither Randall nor his fiancée really believed it until he drove his garbage truck up to the restaurant and picked up the check. Twenty-three-year-old Randall said he lifted the cup from a pile of trash while he was on his route in south Boston. He ...

1281. God Is Like A One-A-Day

Philippians 4:13

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some vitamins. Good morning, boys and girls. Did you smell fresh air this morning when you got up? Did it feel good to take a deep breath and smell the fall season? Look at the trees, the fall flowers, and the wonderful colors in clothing that people are wearing. This is a special time of the year for all of us. I like fall because it always reminds me that God is really close to us and helping us. Everyone knows that we could not make such a beautiful world, and this all belongs to God. But we ...

1282. Sunday's Special Breakfast

Matthew 18:15-20

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some orange juice, toast, and cereal. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought along a few friends that I used this morning that I thought I would share with you and help us all to learn something about one of the teachings of Jesus. First of all, you must be ready to tell me what these things remind you of when you see them together. (Bring out the orange juice, toast, and cereal.) Here are three of my very favorite things to eat. I love orange juice to drink, toast and cereal to eat, and I like ...

1283. Nails, Nails -- More Nails!

Matthew 18:21-35

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A bag of many nails. Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever wondered how many nails it takes to build a house? (Let them answer.) How many nails do you think it took to build your house? (Let them answer.) Let's say you ordered ten thousand nails to build your house. Do you think that ten thousand would be enough? (Let them answer.) That is a lot of nails. But suppose you needed more to finish the house. Would you order more nails, or just quit building your house? (Let them answer.) You would ...

1284. Have Faith Anyway

Matthew 15:21-28

Illustration

David E. Leininger

The place was a suburb of Detroit. The speaker, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel. The subject: "After Auschwitz, Can We Still Believe!" Jews and Gentiles alike filled the great synagogue to listen to the recollections of one who survived the furnaces of Dachau. Thin and fragile,Wiesel stood at the podium for nearly an hour telling one story after another of the horror and despair of those bleak days in the '30s. His stories were of people confused with their imprisonment and sometimes destroyed with ...

1285. Have You Forgotten Something?

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

Mark Trotter

I can recall three rhetorical questions that accompanied me throughout my childhood. The first was, "Were you born in a barn?" That usually came when I left a door open, or didn't clean up my room. The second was, "When will you ever grow up?" which was a question my sisters asked me as a carefully planned, relentless program of persecution. The third one was, "Have you forgotten something?" That was the parental admonition, usually for not saying thank you after receiving some gift. This last question is ...

1286. One Shock after Another

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

You are familiar with Thoreau's aphorism that "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." You may even believe it. 'Tis true that for far too many, day fades into night then into day again with no real joy, no excitement, no exhilaration. Existence is BLAH...if even that good. Boring. Unfortunately, things are not that simple. In fact, just the opposite is true. Yes, there ARE boring, blah times in our lives - those may even make up the major portion of our lives - but what define us are those times ...

1287. Sometimes You Have to Do Something

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Robert Sims tells about a retired man in California who made quite a splash awhile back. It seems he decided to tie helium filled balloons to his lawn chair. He wanted to take a ride. After he tied a few balloons to his chair it started to lift off the ground. So he called his neighbors to hold the chair down. He tied on more balloons forty, fifty, sixty of them. While the neighbors were still holding the chair the man strapped himself in. Finally, he told them, “Let go.” He expected to float up in the ...

1288. One Spirit, One Direction

Philippians 1:27

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical Aim: We need to be of one Spirit in Christ. Props: A balloon that is blown up with air, not helium. Lesson: Choose two volunteers. Today I want to play a game with you. It involves this balloon. Do you want to play? (response) In order to play, you have to follow some rules. Rule 1 is that you must stay on your knees where you are. You cannot get up and move around. Okay? (response) And the second rule is that you must put your arms behind your back. Is it a deal? (response) Good, here's how you ...

1289. Working Together with One Heart and One Mind

Illustration

Staff

I've never lifted a barn, but Herman Ostry, a farmer in Bruno, Nebraska has. Shortly after buying a piece of land and a barn, a nearby creek rose, and the barn was under twenty nine inches of water. He half-jokingly said to his family, "I bet if we had enough people, we could pick up that barn and carry it to higher ground." To his surprise, one of his sons, Mike, started thinking about it, and by counting the number of boards, timbers, and nails, he estimated that the barn weighed about 19,000 pounds. ...

1290. “Have Mercy on Me, Lord, for I Am Faint”

Psalm 6:1-10

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Either an illness or the psalmist’s enemies, or both, have driven him to pray for God’s mercy, out of which a robust faith bursts forth. Understanding the Text Generally Psalm 6 is considered an individual lament, and it is the first of the penitential psalms of the ancient Christian church (6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). While the element of penitence seems elusive, this psalm certainly is a prayer for divine mercy one place removed from confession of sin. The suppliant laments either (1) the ...

1291. Have You No Faith?

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Harold H. Lentz

People go through life with contrasting attitudes. For some, life can be faced courageously. Others seem to cower constantly before ills that are either real or imagined. Some interesting statistics along this line were issued by the famous Mayo Clinic. They issued a report that anxiety is one of humanity's greatest foes. Their report stated that one person in every ten will have a nervous breakdown sometime in his life, induced by worry. Even more startling was their statement that one person in twenty ...

1292. All Have Sinned

Romans 3:21-31, Romans 1:1-17

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: Let all who praise the name of the Lord gather this day for worship! People: For once we were divided, Jew and Gentile, never to worship as one, Leader: But in Christ God has brought us together as one family in service. People: Neither heritage nor social status nor wealth can divide us in Christ, Leader: For we are all sinners redeemed only by the blood of Jesus. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, in Your infinite wisdom You delivered us from sin not by our own ...

1293. He's The Clumsy One

Mark 2:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

Perhaps you have heard about the father who introduced his children: "This is Pete. He's the clumsy one of the lot." "That's Kathy coming in with mud on her shoes. She's the sloppy one." "As always, Mike's last. He'll be late for his own funeral, I promise you." That dad did a thorough job of labeling his children with their faults and mistakes. People do it to us and to those we love all the time. They remind us of our failures, our errors, our sins, and they won't let us live them down. Try as you may to ...

1294. Winners Every One

2 Timothy 4:7-8

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: Bring a token medal or ribbon for each child. These can be purchased at a school supply store or novelty store. (Show one of the medals you have with you.) Sometime we might be in a contest, particularly a sports contest, or maybe a music contest, and we will win a medal or a ribbon like this one. What do we need to do to earn something like this? (train, work hard, keep at it) Did you know there is a prize waiting for us at the end of our lives? What do you think it is? (Read vs. 8) The Bible ...

1295. Love One Another

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: Make me to know your way, O Lord; People: teach me your paths. Leader: Lead me in your truth, and teach me, People: for you are the God of my salvation. Collect O God, everyone loves a baby, but, as we make the Advent journey, help us to look beyond the manger to the cross and the empty tomb. In this holy season may we learn the lessons of love and forgiveness for which our Savior lived and died and rose again. In his name we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, you have taught us ...

1296. That They May Be One So That The World Will Believe

John 17:20-26

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: There is one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in you all. People: For all who are led by the spirit of God are children of God. Leader: Come, walk in the way of the Lord with songs of gladness and joy. People: The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. Collect Almighty God, Father of us all, we gather as part of the Body of Christ, your Church, dedicated to being the loving hands of Jesus to reach out to feed the poor ...

1297. At Least the Bucket Is Moist

Mark 7:1-23

Illustration

Cliff Richard

Sixties British rock star Cliff Richard, once called the "bad boy of pop" and "too sexy for television," became a devout believer and disciple of Jesus. Back in the '70s, he visited missionary outposts in the Sudan and refugee camps in Bangladesh as part of a mission trip for Tear Fund. In his book about his conversion to Christianity called Which One's Cliff?, he tells how "the first morning, I must have washed my hands a dozen times. Whenever we stopped, I made a beeline for the communal tap or the well ...

1298. He Has One More Move

Luke 13:1-9

Illustration

William Beausay

A story is told of former world chess champion Bobby Fischer when he was a young boy. His mother took him to a museum, and he happened upon a painting that caught his eye. It depicted a bedraggled, exhausted older man slumped over a chessboard. Few of his pieces were left on the board, and he was conceding the game. On the other side of the board was his fresh and snappy opponent, Satan.The painting was entitled Checkmate. Already a chess prodigy, young Bobby Fischer stood looking at the painting for a ...

1299. You Do Have a Prayer - Sermon Opener

Luke 11:1-13

Illustration

James W. Moore

Some years ago, when Leonard Griffith was pastor of the famous City Temple in London, he wrote a fascinating book entitled Barriers to Christian Belief. In that book he dealt with some problems that have over the years been real obstacles and stumbling blocks for people in their faith pilgrimage… specific problems that hinder people, that burden people, that disturb people… and keep them away from the Christian faith. One of the barriers he listed was…"unanswered prayer." It does seem to be a fact of our ...

1300. One-Way Ticket to Australia

Humor Illustration

Two middle-aged men were talking and one said to the other, "Tony, you're having an anniversary soon, right?" Tony replied, "Yup, a big one . . . 20 years of marriage." "Wow," said the first man, "what are you going to get your wife for your anniversary? It's got to be something pretty special" Tony replied, "Going on a trip to Australia." "Wow, Australia, that's some gift!" said the first man. "That's going to be hard to beat. What are you going to do for your 25th anniversary?" "Have the money by then to ...

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