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 2173 results

1351. With Malice toward None, With Charity for All

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James Merritt

In his second Inaugural address, March 4, 1865, just a little over a month before he would be assassinated, Abraham Lincoln uttered these immortal words: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and ...

1352. Making Disciples

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

The fruit or lack of it in our ministries is ever before us. The truth is seen among both clergy and laity. Over a period of time it is there for others to observe and most likely evaluate. Actually, generations and centuries speak to what we have done or not done for Christ and his body, the church — visible and invisible. Paul is inspirationally confident in the product he has labored to bring about. His work evidences a writing on their hearts, not written in ink but with the Spirit of the Living God. ...

1353. Protecting Your Valuables

James 3:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What is "valuable" in life? Is it the wisdom from below (we teach our children the "value of a dollar") or the wisdom from above (values as virtues)? Can we reclaim the word "value" when we attach dollar tags to everything? What people deem as "valuable" today are bargain-basement "values," real "buys," cheap "specials." Christians need to reclaim the spiritual meaning of this word, which once had a moral, not monetary or commercial connotation to it. The valuables we are to protect are listed in James 3: ...

1354. Who's Number One?

Exodus 20:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

9/11 - All of us know that date. Because of that date, another cabinet level department was created to serve the President of the United States - Department of Homeland Security. Note the keyword in that department which is home. The greatest way to protect the homeland is to protect the homes in that land. That is why I am beginning a series of messages I am entitling "Homeland Security." We are going to be dealing with the Ten Commandments, because the greatest way to protect our homes is to teach our ...

1355. From Greed to Generosity

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Author and spiritual director Richard Foster says, “The great moral question of our time is how to move from greed to generosity." That's what we would like to talk about today. A. GREED: the Bible calls it avarice, or covetousness. Greed is the gratification of my desires often at the expense of the common good. We all have a need for greed. We are born to be greedy. It would be easy today to talk about the greediness of Enron executives who are on trial for pocketing millions of dollars. It would be ...

1356. Step Into The Vision

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I remember reading once about a group of troops who were waiting for both reinforcements and supplies. Things weren't desperate but they were getting close. They'd radioed headquarters several times and were finally given these instructions. "Troops and supplies are currently being deployed. Suggest you procure a pair of binoculars, go out on the roof and keep your ears to the ground." I've loved binoculars ever since I was a kid. Early in our marriage, I had to have a pair. They weren't very powerful but ...

1357. Teammates in Building The Kingdom

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Sermon

Richard Gribble

"Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as pestilence, famine, destruction, and death. These are only aliases. There real names are Studehler, Miller, Crowley, and Layden." Grantland Rice, a well-known sports columnist in the first half of the twentieth century, wrote those memorable words in October 1927 after attending a classic gridiron struggle between Army and Notre Dame, played at the Polo Grounds in New York. With these words a legend ...

1358. When We Are Tempted

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor John Jewell tells about a 20/20 episode sometime back in which some children of about four years of age were forced to deal with the ancient scourge of temptation. They were left alone in a room. Sitting in front of them was two or three M&Ms. They were told they could have a whole package of M&Ms if they would wait five minutes for a bell to ring before devouring the two or three M&Ms in front of them. The struggle of temptation was recorded through a two way mirror. The result was hilarious, says ...

1359. Family Re:Union - Great Expectations

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

James Merritt

There are a lot of things in life you can buy that will help you get ahead in life. They are for sale and if you’ve got the money to buy them they will return a dividend and many times a big one. For example, you can buy education and no one denies the value of having a degree. Even in this day and age it helps to have education to get ahead. You can buy knowledge. In many fields including ministry, sometimes hiring an outside consultant can bring a fresh set of eyes to an old set of problems and get a new ...

1360. The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-21

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

Most people have some awareness of the Ten Commandments as a set of rules or laws but are less familiar with the significance of their relational context. Interpreters have also frequently examined the commands (law) in isolation from the narrative of Exodus 1–19. In the biblical context the commands are not abstractions of ethical principles. They are woven into a specific account in which the Lord had delivered, forgiven, redeemed, and formed the people. In the preceding chapter, the Lord had invited ...

1361. Ingratitude and Judgment

Num 11:1-35

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Ingratitude toward God can lead to forfeiture of blessings. Understanding the Text After nearly a year at Mount Sinai, Israel resumes its march toward the promised land (Num. 10:11; cf. Exod. 19:1–2). It is an auspicious start. Everyone lines up as God has commanded through Moses (Num. 10:13–28) and as directed by the blasts of silver trumpets (Num. 10:1–10). God himself guides the Israelites in the fire cloud and with the ark (Num. 10:34–36). But after three days’ journey from Sinai (Num. 10:33 ...

1362. Job’s Hope against Hope

Job 19:1-29

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: In a situation that seems hopeless, Job maintains a ray of hope in God. Understanding the Text In chapter 19, Job responds to Bildad’s second speech. Job uses a mixture of lament and legal language to express how abandoned he feels by his friends (19:1–6), by God (19:7–12), and by the full range of people in his community (19:13–19). In the final verses of the chapter, Job pleads with his friends for compassion (19:20–22), he articulates his hope for a redeemer to take up his cause (19:23–27), ...

1363. “No One Can Redeem the Life of Another or Give to God a Ransom for Them”

Psalm 49:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: In the face of death, wealth cannot buy God off, but he can and does redeem (spare) our lives from the power of death at his own will. Understanding the Text Psalm 49 has typically been classified as a wisdom psalm and dated anywhere from the tenth to the second century BC (see the sidebar “Wisdom Psalms” in the unit on Ps. 37). Kraus prefers the category of didactic poem because this psalm, like Psalms 73 and 139, aims to reflect on a problem.1In the same frame of thought, Craigie imagines that ...

1364. Paul’s Apostolic Salutation and Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The opening verses of Paul’s letters often introduce the major themes of the epistle that follows, and Philippians is no exception. Although Paul follows the letter-writing conventions of his time, he is not limited by them and uses them to further his purposes in writing. So in the opening sentences of the Letter to the Philippians, Paul presents the great theme of the Philippians’ partnership with him in the gospel that will characterize the entire epistle. He also introduces the idea of humble service ...

1365. The Question of Sin and the Commandment to Love

1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The question of those claiming to be “without sin” is an intriguing one in 1 John. On one hand, it might appear that we have an alien gnostic group claiming perfectionism as a factor of direct access to God without need of the atonement. After all, the first commentary on John was written by Heracleon, a second-century gnostic, and the flesh-denying antichrists of 1 John 4:1–3 might point in that direction. This view has several problems to it, however. (1) The elder also speaks of the impossibility of ...

1366. Does Prayer Make Any Diﬀerence?

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I want to address a subject that many of us struggle with — prayer. Deep inside many of us want to know if prayer makes a difference. And if it does make a difference, what difference does it make? Does prayer really work? If it does work, how does it work? Those of us who are Christians know that prayer is something we ought to do. If we need something — if we are confused about something — if we need guidance or direction — we have been taught to pray about it. In fact, most of us have heard well-meaning ...

1367. A Love Triangle

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

David G. Rogne

Some people have a talent for getting to the core of things. Julius Caesar wrote a good-sized book titled On the Gallic War. It is still used as a textbook by students of Latin. However, Caesar was also able to cut through all the details and get to the nub of a matter. He wrote a sentence that has become a classic in condensation: "Veni, Vidi, Vici" — "I came, I saw, I conquered." That sums it all up. In Jesus' day there was a group of people who pored over the ancient writings of Moses to look for every ...

1368. Sacrifice Leads to Life

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

In the fifteenth century, a rural village in Germany was home to a family with eighteen children. The family was poor, but despite the difficulty of making ends meet, two of the boys still held a dream, namely to pursue their talent as artists. With the financial situation bleak, the two boys came up with their own solution to the problem. They agreed to toss a coin with the loser going to the local mines to work so he could support the other while he attended art school. When the first was finished with ...

1369. Living In The “In Between” Time

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Ronald Love

Devon Still had encountered many difficulties in life, some of which were of his own doing. Playing football became his salvation. The six feet-five inch, 310 pound defensive end was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012. His lifelong ambition had arrived, but injuries kept him off the field of play for many games. This resulted in playing for the Houston Texans in 2016, and the next year on the practice squad for the New York Jets. After that season, Still was dismissed from professional football. ...

1370. Proper 24

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8, Luke 18:1-8, Psalm 119:1-176

Bulletin Aid

William E. Keeney

A Widow And A Bad Judge Recent news articles have reported accounts of judges who have misbehaved. One told of a judge who showed erratic actions on the bench. He scolded persons before him with abusive language and handed down peculiar sentences for those whom he found guilty. Another is suspended from his office and people have called for his impeachment. People charge that he engaged in sexual harassment of a court employee. A third changed the sentence, making it harsher, after he conferred with the ...

1371. Wedding Growing A Marriage (outdoor setting)

Ephesians 3:14-21

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

Hear these words about God's idea of love as it has been shown to us in Jesus Christ, and is described in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 3:14-19 (TEV): For this reason I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name. I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to 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 ...

1372. Advent 2

Matthew 3:1-12, Isaiah 11:1-16, Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10 This text is related to Isaiah 9:1-6. "The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:3a). In their original context, both passages are believed to be coronation Psalms for God's Anointed One, the king. It is possible that Isaiah composed today's lesson for the coronation of King Hezekiah. Though a king was held to be a direct link between the people and their God, the prophet realized that the righteous rule envisioned in this passage was ...

1373. Count On It!

Hebrews 11:1

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: Several "fronds" from a walnut tree. Lesson: Faith, trust, change. Holding up the walnut leaves I've brought, I ask the assembled children, "Does anyone know what kind of tree these are from?" "Eucalyptus," Jerry suggests with a broad grin. He's one of the older children. I recognize his desire to emphasize that fact with his use of a strange, big word. "Now that's a clever guess," I respond. "In fact, I think the eucalyptus tree does have leaves similar to this; but these are not eucalyptus leaves ...

1374. Proper 12

John 6:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note The feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded by all four Gospels. John's version differs in some details, and is more eucharistic in emphasis and eschatological in signification than those of the Synopticists. Perhaps a miracle of sharing by example, the event nevertheless shows that compassion for human needs is central to the Kingdom of God that Jesus in inaugurating and prefiguring. Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns From God Can Nothing Move Me Before You, Lord, We Bow All ...

1375. It Costs to Follow Jesus

Luke 14:25-35

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A bank hook. Lesson: For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Good morning, boys and girls. Do any of you ever go to the bank with your mother or father? (Let them answer.) What do they do at a bank? (Let them answer.) That's right, they put money in the bank and they take money out of the bank. The bank is a place where they save their money, or a place where they can borrow money. I brought along a bank book ...

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