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 5000 results

1351. Flashing Lights

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... still talked about a self-denying teacher who used to pass that way. Perhaps Paul met a woman by a well in Samaria who told of a never-to-be-forgotten day when her whole life was changed by a man who asked her for a drink of water! Long before Paul actually heard God's voice, the Holy Spirit had been preparing his heart. For me, that raises the question of why we modern Christians are so casual about spiritual preparation. Look at how quickly we affirm the need for preparation in every other area of life ...

1352. When Sarah Laughed

Genesis 12:1-8

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... , or a walking staff Lesson: What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? Good morning, boys and girls. Today I would like you to meet an old friend of mine who lived a long time ago. His name was Abraham. Have you ever hear of him? (Let them answer.) Good. Abraham lived a long, long time before Jesus was born. He was a person very special to God. One day God asked him to leave his home and to travel to a new land which God was going to give to him. What would you ...

1353. Second Thoughts

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... get that involved in another person's problem. Those second thoughts finally won out, as they so often do, and after hesitating in the middle of the road, he too passed by on the other side. Now, lest anyone think that these people in Jesus' story are buried in the long ago and far away, let me tell you how I recently met both the Levite and the Samaritan in my own spiritual journey. It was late afternoon and, as a busy pastor, I was hurrying to get home in my car for a quick supper. Suddenly as I rounded a ...

1354. Living Our Lives On The Edge

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... or pumpkin pie (usually a piece of both), if they miss a tiny part of what should be my piece, I frown inside and long with an eager longing for that little tiny morsel I missed. Or I may gather up my loins and say gently and/or firmly, depending on who ... morsels feel more rightfully mine than all the rest! Apparently the Clean Plate Club has been around influencing people for a long time, because the same problem demanded some attention centuries before Jesus was born. Indeed, way back in the days of Moses ...

1355. A Misguided Game of Hide-and-Seek

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... dark nooks and crannies with wounded hands. It's the love of One waiting wistfully at the gate where the road winds in from a far country, tenderly whispering a name through choked tears, and hoping that someday -- perhaps even this day -- the silhouette of a long lost child will again appear upon the horizon. I suppose, when everything was finally said and done, the Israelites might very well have been involved in a game of hide-and-seek -- only if they'd waited, they would have no doubt discovered that it ...

1356. Expecting the Unexpected

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... diapers, warm bottles, and assemble a crib, the two of them also learn one additional lesson: that with God around, sometimes even your craziest dreams don't actually prove crazy enough. Or consider Jacob. Among other things, he is an outright crook. Thomas Long once joked that long before P. T. Barnum ever said, "There's a sucker born every minute," Jacob had already come across a first-class sucker -- born just a minute earlier -- by the name of Esau.2 And when Jacob gets tired of hustling him, he moves ...

1357. Come, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come!

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... will be given: the Son of Man will come suddenly and at an hour known only to his Father. But how long can even the most ardent believer sustain such "red alert" readiness? A week? An Advent season? Surely not a lifetime! The prior ... forgiven family of his children. In all these things and countless others, he comes to us. Not yet fully, but enough to make our hearts long for and yearn for and ache for that day when he does; and in the meanwhile, to be about the peacemaking, reconciling, life-affirming ...

1358. Called To Serve

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

... in that poll of self-identification frequently gave answers that described their vocations: teacher, farmer, doctor, minister. We tend to identify ourselves by what we do, and like the scribes and Pharisees, we try to use the most exalted titles possible. People have a longing to be regarded with respect, and that's good. God has given us unique gifts and talents to use in the service of others. But too often, our desire for respect leads to a competitive drive to be seen as superior to others. Then ...

1359. The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... . Some members may resent those who are elected or appointed to positions of prominence. How does the church recognize and approve the services of the one talent person who makes good use of what he or she has? Illustrative Materials 1. Use It or Lose It. A long distance jogger has to start slowly and build up to the capacity to run several miles. The experts advise that one needs to run three to five days a week, with days in between to recover. If one ceases running, however, in three days one is already ...

1360. Knowing The Voice

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Thomas Long

... . The voice of Jesus is not spoken over a public address system, making a vague general announcement for all the world to hear. The voice of Jesus speaks to each one, lovingly calls out each name, summoning each and every person to follow. Not long ago a friend told me about a church drama troupe that presented, as a special event on the weekend before Christmas, a "dessert and drama" production of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. The church fellowship hall was transformed into a theater, folding ...

1361. Words, Words, Words

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Thomas Long

... confessed that he had no idea and asked the minister to call his daughter and to "talk some sense into her." When the minister did call the young woman, he expressed shock that she would decide to forfeit all of her hard work and that she should think long and hard before throwing it away. "How in the world did you come to this decision?" he asked her. "It was your sermon yesterday that started me thinking," she replied. She went on to describe the theme of the sermon, that God calls everyone to a ministry ...

1362. Since He's In Charge, We're In Luck

Psalm 33:4-5, 8-9, 13-22

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... 20 miles where you would not have been handed over." What was going on in this event? Was it an accident that a young newspaperman knocked on the only door in the territory where he would be safe? Maybe fate turns over a lucky card once in a statistical long-shot and Churchill just got lucky. Or was there more going on here than simply blind fate playing out her hand? What do you think? A. I'm sure that you also have experienced some events in your life which needed a bigger explanation than simply "it just ...

1363. A Faith I Could No Longer Count On

Psalm 73:1-7, 13-18

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... of a good God who is good to good people. We all like that sort of thing, and quickly say "Amen" to that. It doesn't take long at all for the psalmist to "grow up" and realize that the simple theology of a good God smiling on good people doesn't hold much water ... things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. But it wasn't happening. We don't know if this happened over a long period of time, or if he woke up one morning and it hit him. He looked around him and it sunk in that his neighbors ...

1364. Behold The Man Who Takes Away Sin

John 1:29-34

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... a thing of beauty to see as it went over the enemy, over the bushes and through the window of our bedroom. A truce was called and we ran inside. There was only one thing to do -- pull down the shade and hope no one ever found out. But not long after that, it began to turn cold and we had to confess what we had done. Much to my surprise our parents forgave us immediately, with only some words like, "Take better aim next time." I never forgot that. I was always amazed at their capacity to forgive. That is ...

1365. Jesus, The Servant

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... spirit. I feel in safe territory and sit again to listen to his final soliloquy: Stranded in an empty airport in the middle of the night in a strange city in a foreign country, dead tired, having missed his plane for which he must now wait until morning, longing to be home, he saw approach him an amazing conglomeration of sticks and broken, misshapen pulleys which made up the body of a man. His mind rang out with despair, as he thought Paul's words: "Wretched man that I am, who will save me?" And then his ...

1366. Yearning For A Loyal Friend

Job 6:14-30 · Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... ." His second speech was just as painful as the first. "Job, who are you trying to fool? You know you can't prosper as long as you are wicked. God is going to send darkness into a wicked life. He's zapped your children because of their waywardness, and ... shut. Job and Jesus, sitting on their ash heaps, were yearning for loyal friends. We are the same when life crushes in on us. We long for someone to support us. A little book titled Mr. Adams: A Parable is about a teenager reflecting on some of the things out ...

1367. Guilt And Grace

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... of stunned silence. Then, one of the boys responded, "Okay, mister, you win the dog!" "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8, RSV). We can try to deny our guilt. But life won't let us long deny our guilt. So then, maybe if we can't deny our guilt, maybe we can try works righteousness -- try to work it off. Say, you feel guilty about not visiting your Aunt Tillie. To make it up, you resolve to visit Aunt Tillie every single week, although, frankly, visiting ...

1368. Table Manners

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... down on any other guest, for all of us are God's equally beloved guests. King George IV desired Communion and sent a servant to bring the Bishop of Winchester. When the servant arrived with the Bishop, the King was angry. He felt his servant had taken too long. The King upbraided the man and fired him on the spot. Having done that, he turned to the Bishop for Communion. But the Bishop refused to proceed. He saw that the King was still angry. Realizing the Bishop was right, the King called for his servant ...

1369. Wedding: Older Couple, Previously Married

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... marry you because I enjoy you for who you are. Pastor: Now, (Bride), please repeat the same vow after me: Pastor (Bride Repeats): I, (Bride), take you, (Groom), for my lawfully wedded husband. I promise to love you and care for you the rest of my life. As long as God supplies strength to me, I shall endeavor to make you happy and to share the blessings from God. I marry you because I enjoy you for who you are. Pastoral Prayer Our Father, (Groom) has discovered that the highest call of man is to dedicate his ...

1370. Wedding: With Communion

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... will be a part of my decisions and considerations in life. I will share my joy and ask for your support in sorrow for as long as we both shall live. (Bride), I love you! Pastor: (Bride), repeat after me: Pastor (Bride Repeats): I accept your pledge of love. I ... will be part of my decisions and considerations in my life. I will share my joy and ask for your support in sorrow for as long as we both shall live. (Groom), I love you! Groom: I accept your pledge of love. The Exchange Of Vows And Rings Pastor: God ...

1371. Wedding: Unity Candle

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... one or both of you will be extremely busy. You may feel like you just pass each other on the go. Short stints of that can actually be invigorating. But if that becomes the pattern of your married life, watch out. A candle burning at both ends doesn't last long. When all your energy is going toward your own individual stuff, who is going to trim the wick and keep the flame going in your marriage? That's not the job of the wife alone, or the husband alone. Marriage is a two-person job. And it takes time. Give ...

1372. Wedding: Beginning A New Climb (for a marriage after divorce)

Ephesians 3:14-21

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God's people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love. Yes, may you come to know his love -- although it can never be fully known -- and so be completely filled with the very nature of God. (Bride) and (Groom), we didn't make it to a mountaintop for your wedding, but ...

1373. The First Hole

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... most seasoned members cite age for begging off boards, committees, and so on. Besides, the tired, tested, and true always have a lot more to offer than ecclesiastical rookies. That's why our pastor emeritus continues to be so vital to us. It takes a long time for theory to catch up with practice. Anyway, Miss Blanchard had just crossed the century mark when I showed up in her class with nine other boys. She only taught boys. Whenever we asked why, she'd say something about focus. Like most eighth graders ...

1374. God Knows!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... . God knows our sinful attitudes and actions. God knows all about us. Our secret as well as seen lives are laid open before God. God is, after all, God. And He knows! That probably comes as a shock to people who think they can get away with bad stuff as long as it's out-of-sight. When you've hit a ball deeply into the woods and nobody is within sight, it's easy to find the ball and have a good lie and clear shot to the green. Or as Mickey Mantle said, "You know the old rule. He ...

1375. Holing Out

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. I've reached the age when the days left aren't as many as the days spent. Maybe you know how I feel. ... into the sand itself ... I walked slowly up the Scores, with a mind that was remarkably at ease for the first time in a very long time. Then I decided to walk back and just look at the Old Course in the darkness. Halfway down the hill, a boy passed ...

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