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 1351 to 1375 of 4962 results

1351. We Have No Record of It

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A wealthy English merchant who lived on the European continent was satisfied with nothing but the best. This attitude extended even as far as the cars he owned. His pride and joy was a Rolls-Royce coupe that he had owned for years and that had given great service all that time. One day, while driving down a bumpy road, his car hit a deep pothole, resulting in a broken rear axle. The owner had the car shipped back to the Rolls plant in England and was surprised by the quick repair that was performed. He ...

1352. Going Back on One’s Word

Jeremiah 34:1-7, Jeremiah 34:8-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

34:1–39:18 Review · Case Studies in the Failure of Leadership: Incidents from the reigns of two kings, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, are told in chapters 34–39. The actors include Jeremiah, princes, and the Rekabite family. The stories, not chronological, are prelude to the fall of Jerusalem (chap. 39). “Fire” and “burning” are key words. The stories are a forceful commentary on ungodly leadership and on spiritual rebellion. Here is the account of the total rejection of the word of God, whether received via a ...

1353. No One Is Righteous

Romans 3:9-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Paul summarizes his conclusion from chapter 2: Jews are not at all better off than the Gentiles, since both Jews (2:1–29) and Gentiles (1:18–32) are guilty of sin. They are “all under the power of sin”; that is, both Gentiles and Jews are controlled by the power of sin evident in their present behavior as well as in their destiny in God’s judgment, in which nobody has any excuse. In 3:10–18 Paul provides biblical evidence for his assertion that Jews have no advantage over Gentiles because they are sinners ...

1354. What Might Have Been

Illustration

Don Emmitte

A great autobiography is that of Loren Eisley, All the Strange Hours. Eisley was an American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer. In his book he tells of an incident early in his academic training, in fact in his first English class of college. It was a traumatic experience, one which changed the direction of his life. In his first theme assignment, the professor called him to stay after class and said, “You didn’t compose this; it is written too well.” He had labored long and ...

1355. Love One Another - the Hospice Movement

John 13:31-38

Illustration

John R. Steward

There is a special hospital in London for those whom other hospitals consider a lost cause. It is a hospital for those who are diagnosed as "terminal." Most people would consider such a hospital to be a very sad place, but it is not. Actually, it is a hospital filled with hope and a lot of life. The emphasis in this London hospital is on life and not on death. The truth is that several of the patients have seen remissions in the disease process instead of death. A great deal of the credit is given to the ...

1356. Yet I Will Rejoice

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Eulogy

Barbara G. Schmitz

A couple of years ago on a cold, bleak day, I got a phone call from a woman who asked if I was the pastor. "Yes," I said, "what can I do for you?" "Well," she said, "there has been a death." She went on to tell me that her dog, Pepper, had accidentally gotten out of the fenced-in back yard and had been killed by a car. Her children were very upset. She was upset for them, because they were foster care children, and losing a dog brought up all those feelings of abandonment that these children had already ...

1357. Keep Your Eyes Open

Luke 2:26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A curtain or a window blind. Good morning, boys and girls. Today is New Year's Eve and that is a special time of celebration. What are you going to do tonight to celebrate the New Year? (Let them answer.) What are you going to do different next year that you did not do this year? (Let them answer.) Are you going to make any promises to yourself that we call New Year's Resolutions? (Let them answer.) I am going to promise that I will not gain any weight this year and that I hope to lose twenty ...

1358. Prissy Plant

John 9:39

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Objects: Some artificial plants. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought along with me this morning a little bit of a problem. Her name is Prissy Plant and she has me in a fit. She won't get along with any of the other plants that I have in my house. Let me tell you a little bit about her. This morning she was making all kinds of noise telling the other plants in my house how perfect she was. Prissy can never keep her mouth shut, and she has a large one. She told my one little plant over in the corner what ...

1359. One More Downhill Run

Illustration

Gordon MacDonald

My father taught me to ski when I was a young boy. I recall one of his first pieces of advice on the slope: "Remember, son, that more accidents happen in the final hour of the day than at any other time." I now know that he was correct. Trying to get one more downhill run in before the ski tow closes, some skiers will rush down the slope forgetting that their bodies are tired and that their reflexes are no longer sharp. Shadows are long; icy and bare spots are hidden. The combination of a depleted body and ...

1360. One Last Present to Open

Ephesians 1:3-14

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places! Collect Lord, the kings are coming, but we're taking down the trappings. The world wants to know more about the great gift of Christ and we're acting as if the coming of the Eternal King is over and done. Open our hearts and minds this morning to yet one more surprise, yet one more revelation, yet one more gift of the Spirit, in our worship this day! ...

1361. Fire on One End, Fool on the Other

Matthew 21:23-32

Illustration

Julian Gordy

A physician went to talk about the dangers of smoking to a bunch of High School students. He scared them with grim pictures of smokers' lungs and tales of death from lung cancer. The doctor finished his speech by saying, "Remember, fire on one end, fool on the other." The students were all impressed, especially those boys who would sneak out behind the shop building at lunch to light one up. But then a couple of the guys saw the doctor himself lighting up when he got back in his car after the lecture. And ...

1362. No One Should Carry a Burden Alone

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

King Duncan

Andrew Davison tells of visiting Dr. Albert Schweitzer, that great humanitarian, theologian, musician, physician and missionary at his jungle hospital at Lambarene, on the banks of Ogowe River. Schweitzer was eighty-five years old at the time. One event stands out in Davidson's mind. It was about eleven in the morning. The equatorial sun was beating down mercilessly, and a group of visitors was walking up a hill with Dr. Schweitzer. Suddenly Schweitzer left the group and strode across the slope of the hill ...

1363. Having to Wait

John 9:1-41

Illustration

Three women die and all three reach Heaven at the same time. There they meet St. Peter. He tells them he has some other important business to transact and asks them to wait outside. Finally he returns and calls the first woman into his office. He apologizes for making her wait so long. "Oh, I don't mind at all," the woman says. "I'm so thrilled just to be here in Heaven." St. Peter is delighted by her attitude. "Well, then, if you can just answer one question for me, we can finish processing your papers. ...

1364. Two Jacks in One pulpit

Illustration

Source Unknown

An amusing news story from Wales told of a feud in a church looking for a new pastor. It read: "Yesterday the two opposition groups both sent ministers to the pulpit. Both spoke simultaneously, each trying to shout above the other. Both called for hymns, and the congregation sang two, each side trying to drown out the other. Then the groups began shouting at each other. Bibles were raised in anger. The Sunday morning service turned into a bedlam. Through it all, the two preachers continued trying to out- ...

1365. One Moose Too Many

Illustration

A couple of hunters chartered a plane to fly into the Canadian wilderness. Two weeks later when the pilot came to pick them up, he saw the two animals they had bagged and said, "I told you fellows I could only take you and one moose. You'll have to leave the other behind." "But we did it last year in a plane this size," protested one of the hunters, "and the other pilot let us take two moose." "Well, okay," said the pilot. "If you did it before I guess we can do it again." So the two moose and the hunters ...

1366. We Have All Been Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Illustration

King Duncan

A marine tells about a field exercise he was participating in at Camp Lejeune, N.C. His squad was on a night patrol making their way through some thick brush. Halfway through, they realized they’d lost their map. The patrol navigator informed the rest of the squad that their odds were 1 in 359 that they’d succeed in getting back to their base of operations. “How did you come up with that figure?” someone asked, “one chance in 359?” “Well,” he replied, “one of the degrees on the compass has to be right.” ...

1367. One Bad Link

James 2:10

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Assume that a ship is anchored at port with an anchor that has 613 links in its chain, representing the 613 commands in the Mosaic Law. If only one link breaks, the ship will be set adrift, so the 612 links that did hold count for nothing if just one is broken. Or consider your situation if you had fallen over the edge of a very high cliff and were clinging to a chain for dear life. How many links of that chain must break before you would plummet to your death? The Mosaic Law is the same, according to ...

1368. One Body, Many Parts

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Paul now illustrates the unity (12:12–13), diversity (12:14–20), and integrity (12:21–26) produced at the Spirit’s inspiration among those at Corinth who belong to the body of Christ. Though suggested by Jesus’s words on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4) and by its use in the Greek philosophical traditions of Stoicism (with which Paul shows passing familiarity elsewhere), this figure is used casually in the Pauline Letters (1 Cor. 6:15; 10:17; 11:29), with the exception of these verses. Just as “the body is ...

1369. Choosing One's Way

Illustration

Viktor Frankl

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

1370. What Can One Person Do?

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

I was sitting in a restaurant recently, not eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation of a group of ladies at the next table. One said, rather emotionally, “It’s a disgraceful state of affairs, but what can one person do?” I resisted involving myself with those ladies, but I wanted to share the word of an unknown poet: There is at least one useful and highly important task in this world... which will not be done unless you do it. There will be some face upon which there will be no ...

1371. One Step at a Time

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

It was one of those pitch black nights back on the farm, and my father had asked me to go out to the well and get a bucket of water. We didn't have indoor plumbing in those days and for some reason, the well was a good hundred yards from the house. Now I'd never minded going after the water during the daylight, but my imagination was just as vivid as any young boy. And I wasn't too excited about going out into the blackness just for a bucket of water. When my apprehension became quite clear to my father, ...

1372. Ruth, One whose Faith Does Not Turn Away

Ruth 1:1-22

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: Come, let all who would be faithful to the Lord gather now for worship! People: We will not turn away from the Lord who has shown us mercy and love. Leader: For there is no other to whom we might turn. Only God is true. People: And we celebrate the wonders and mercy of the Lord God Almighty. Leader: Then let us lift our voices in song and praise for God's forgiving love. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect O God, truly there is no other like You, yet You extend to us Your ...

1373. The Big Chaise Lounge

Matthew 11:25-30

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A chaise lounge chair. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you did some hard work this week? (Let them answer.) What is the hardest thing that you had to do? (Let them answer.) That is some pretty hard work. Were you just worn out with what you had to do? I mean, did you feel as if you had to just lie down and call it quits for a while? (Let them answer.) Sometimes when I have really worked hard and I think that my back will break or my legs will bend like a noodle, I drag myself over to my ...

1374. Having Fun is God's Idea

Philippians 4:4

Children's Sermon

Objects: A baseball, a tennis racket, and other sports items How many of you like to play baseball? (After each of the following questions, wait until the children raise their hands.) How many of you enjoy going camping with your family? How many of you like to play Scrabble or Monopoly on a rainy afternoon? Everybody loves to play, whether it is hopscotch for children, softball for parents, or croquet for grandparents. I think the real reason why all of us enjoy playing together is that we can play with ...

1375. Who Could Have Commanded?

Matthew 14:22-36

Illustration

Will Willimon

"Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea, in our joys and in our sorrows, 'Christian come and follow me.'" Isn't that how another old gospel hymn puts it? But in today's Gospel, Jesus doesn't simply call us over the tumult. Jesus doesn't call us out of the tumult. No, in today's Gospel, Jesus calls Peter into the tumult. Jesus calls Peter out of the boat and on to the waves. And Peter, on the basis of all his past experience with Jesus, calls out, "Lord, if it is you, command me to ...

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Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation

Showing 1351 to 1375 of 4962 results

1351. We Have No Record of It

Illustration

Michael P. Green

1352. Going Back on One’s Word

Jeremiah 34:1-7, Jeremiah 34:8-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1353. No One Is Righteous

Romans 3:9-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1354. What Might Have Been

Illustration

Don Emmitte

1355. Love One Another - the Hospice Movement

John 13:31-38

Illustration

John R. Steward

1356. Yet I Will Rejoice

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Eulogy

Barbara G. Schmitz

1357. Keep Your Eyes Open

Luke 2:26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

1358. Prissy Plant

John 9:39

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

1359. One More Downhill Run

Illustration

Gordon MacDonald

1360. One Last Present to Open

Ephesians 1:3-14

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

1361. Fire on One End, Fool on the Other

Matthew 21:23-32

Illustration

Julian Gordy

1362. No One Should Carry a Burden Alone

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

King Duncan

1363. Having to Wait

John 9:1-41

Illustration

1364. Two Jacks in One pulpit

Illustration

Source Unknown

1365. One Moose Too Many

Illustration

1366. We Have All Been Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Illustration

King Duncan

1367. One Bad Link

James 2:10

Illustration

Michael P. Green

1368. One Body, Many Parts

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1369. Choosing One's Way

Illustration

Viktor Frankl

1370. What Can One Person Do?

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

1371. One Step at a Time

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

1372. Ruth, One whose Faith Does Not Turn Away

Ruth 1:1-22

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

1373. The Big Chaise Lounge

Matthew 11:25-30

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

1374. Having Fun is God's Idea

Philippians 4:4

Children's Sermon

1375. Who Could Have Commanded?

Matthew 14:22-36

Illustration

Will Willimon

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