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 1376 to 1400 of 2173 results

1376. Old And New

Matthew 25:6-7

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

Object: New school supplies (pens, pencils, erasers); similar supplies that are old and have seen better days. Don't you love the first day of school! To me that was always an exciting day - not only because of entering a new grade and seeing all my friends again after summer vacation, but also because that was the time of year when we received a new set of school supplies. Just look at all this stuff! It's brand new and shiny and makes you feel proud to have it! We would always compare our new supplies to ...

1377. You're Not Too Young

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

Object: There are no materials required; however this children's sermon has been designed for presentation by two people (designated 1 and 2), if desired. Text: Jeremiah 1:4-7 The word of the Lord came to me saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak, I am only a child." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I ...

1378. Spaghetti

Matthew 7:24-27

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

Object: Two pieces of spaghetti: one cooked and pliable, the other uncooked and firm. Do you like spaghetti? It seems like there are so many different ways to serve spaghetti and some people like it all of those ways. How many of you like your spaghetti with sauce? How many like it with sauce and meatballs? How many like it plain, or with a little butter? And how many like it with cheese on top? Then, of course, there is the whole question of how you eat your spaghetti. How many of you like it cut up in ...

1379. Have You Accepted Jesus' Invitation?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

George Johnson

This morning I want to talk to you about becoming a Christian - the invitation of Jesus to come and follow him. It is not my intention to judge who is or is not a Christian, or criticize anyone's experience of salvation, or to suggest that you are not already a member of God's family. My intention is rather to allow this text to speak clearly to us about Jesus' invitation. My purpose is to give voice to Jesus' call to discipleship. I approach this text from Matthew with a few assumptions, a few underlying ...

1380. Death of a Twenty-nine-year-old Athlete

Ephesians 6:1-4

Eulogy

Palmer L. Gedde

Strong in the Lord Preached on the occasion of the death of a twenty-nine-year-old man whose death came as the result of a brief and unexpected illness. Until that time he had been a model of good health, an active athlete, and dedicated to taking good care of himself. Dearly beloved in the Lord, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are gathered here today because a husband, son, brother, friend, and father has died. It was completely unexpected. The ...

1381. Giving Away the Store

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:1-17

Sermon

Carl Jech

He will show you a large upper room furnished. (Luke 22:12) If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (John 13:14) A friend of mine once had a job briefly at a car rental agency. The job didn't last for long because the owner of the agency complained that my friend was too nice, too diplomatic with the customers. He felt that if my friend were left alone he would probably end up giving the cars away - "giving away the store!" The idea behind this ...

1382. Proper 17

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon Aid

Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration Try this: "Some of you who came today may wish that you hadn't; Some who didn't come today may be glad they didn't. Today, we deal with one of Jesus' difficult sayings. We can know that God promises Holy Spirit, no matter what's happening in our lives." You may want to include this litany: Pastor: From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised and praised. Ministers: Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and ...

1383. Advance into Europe

Acts 15:36-41

Sermon Aid

CSS

Paul’s second missionary journey got off to a bad start. After several months at Antioch, Paul suggested to Barnabas that they retrace their steps over the route they had followed on the first journey. This would enable them to present to each congregation the message from the council at Jerusalem and also to revive and strengthen the faith of their earliest converts. Barnabas wanted to take with them John Mark, the young mam who had begun the first journey with them but had withdrawn from it in Pamphylia ...

1384. Revival at Corinth

Acts 18:1-17

Sermon Aid

CSS

If there was freedom of thought at Athens, there was freedom of a different sort in Corinth. Paul’s later letters testify to the moral and legal problems which existed even in the Christian community. Among the pagans, life must have been truly licentious. Corinth was large, powerful, and wealthy. It had a history of military achievement and because of its strategic location and good harbor it was a center of naval and maritime strength. It had joined with Athens in wars against Sparta and later had been a ...

1385. Paul in Chains

Acts 21:27-36

Sermon Aid

CSS

Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem was inauspicious. Although "the brethren received us gladly," the elders were fidgety and fearful. Not one word of gratitude is recorded for the gifts which Paul and his companions brought with them to alleviate the poverty of the church at Jerusalem. One wonders why? Perhaps those who came with Paul to bring the gifts were too evidently "Gentile Christians." These Gentiles must have felt rebuffed, finding prejudice against them where they might have anticipated brotherly ...

1386. I Knew You’d Come

John 6:16-24

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

When the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, one reporter wrote, "The tragedy of man is that he cannot build a boat to match his boasts." In many ways we have been able to conquer the sea. When it loomed up as a barrier to our progress across the earth we built boats to sail on it, created atomic submarines to travel through it, and designed jets to fly over it. What’s more, we can even swim in it. But we cannot become master of it. The story which forms the miracle we consider now is about a ...

1387. Comfort

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

"Comfort! Comfort my people, says your God." How wonderful those words sound to us. How many times we feel the need for comfort. How often we need an assuring and tender word to ease the hurt we feel. Every year about this time we hear those wonderful prophetic words sung in Handel’s Messiah, or read in our churches from the portion of scripture that biblical scholars call "Second Isaiah," to distinguish it from the writings of the eighth-century prophet. They were written for a people for whom things had ...

1388. Paul's Prayer For Us

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometimes bizarre stories make the newspapers. Like the one in New York involving Daisy Fernandez. It seems Daisy won $2.8 million in 1981. Subsequently she was sued by her son's teenage friend. Why did he sue her? It was because she had asked him to pray for her. The friend, Christopher Pando, prayed to his favorite saint. When his prayer was answered, Christopher claimed half of Fernandez's jackpot. The case went before a panel of five State Supreme Court judges, who ruled against the boy, declaring ...

1389. The Lure Of The Easy Way

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

I like the story of the young man, eager to make it to the top, who went to a well-known millionaire businessman and asked him the first reason for his success. The businessman answered without hesitation, "Hard work." After a lengthy pause the young man asked, "What is the SECOND reason?" We want to deal this morning with the lure of the easy way. Jesus and His disciples were at Caesarea Philippi. Their ministry to this point had been a stunning success. Crowds pressed in on them everywhere they went. ...

1390. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I am intrigued by bumper stickers. Someone was smart. Since modern Americans spend so much of their time in cars, why not turn the bumper into a kind of chrome or, alas with modern cars, plastic bulletin boards. Thousands would get the messages as they come near the car in front of them. It was a brilliant idea. Religious folks have not missed this communication opportunity. So you have the traditional bumper sticker message: “Honk if you love Jesus”. And the more avant-garde, “In case of the rapture, this ...

1391. A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-8

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side All: let all God's people now say - Women: if it had not been the Lord who was on our side Men: then the flood would have swept us away. All: Blessed be the Lord. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (based on Psalm 124) Collect Lord who made the platypus and the aardvark, you seem to delight in variety and surprise. We pray that we might feel your delight in the variety of worshipers who come to your holy ...

1392. Liberty

John 8:31-36

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me! All: Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me. One: Let those who say, "Aha, Aha!" turn back because of their shame. All: Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!" One and All: But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, ...

1393. Heaping Coals and Virtues

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

A French writer and historian once wrote, "We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity - romantic love and gunpowder." While many people might be tempted to agree that gunpowder has been an invention which has caused many problems for humanity, it is the other item which is surprising to find on a list of the worst inventions of humanity, particularly on the very short list. Even though this isn't the time of year when people think especially about thoughts of love, this is only a few ...

1394. How to Love God

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

In the rock opera Jesus Christ: Superstar, Mary Magdalene sings, "I don't know how to love him." You see, Christ had saved Mary from prostitution and demonic possession, and now she wanted to live to please Jesus, to offer him her lifelong devotion. But how could she express her love? In her earlier years she had easily known how to please men. But Jesus was different. What did he want from her? How could she serve him? Isn't Mary like most of us? Here we are saved and wanting to be devoted to God, but not ...

1395. Eleven Plus One

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Say "March Madness" and everyone knows what you're talking about. The NCAA Basketball Championship fills the minds of fans and the sports channels on TV. Say "Super Bowl" or "World Series" and a whole host of images come to mind. Whether college or pro ball, every tournament singles out one or two teams that are dubbed a Cinderella team. Some have unexpected, unlooked-for strings of victories; some go beyond their individual abilities to teamwork; and suddenly, a team destined for the dumpster is sitting ...

1396. The Counter Intelligence of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This week’s epistle text is a long one: 19 verses. It faithfully follows the precise, prescribed unfolding of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, which in turn faithfully follows the niceities of proper letter composition in the first century Greco-Roman world. The genius of Paul is to work within formulaic frameworks while finding a way to add his own unique touches in order to preach the gospel. In his salutation (vv.1-3) Paul asserts his own apostolic identity, his “call,” and identifies the source ...

1397. Modeling a Necessary Future

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

It was the custom in my friend's church for many years to have a week of family camp in the summer. Families by the dozens packed their cars, vans, and SUVs and made their way to the camp for a week of fun, exercise, and inspiration. There were matins, a hearty camp breakfast, stimulating lectures and discussions, and lots of sports, crafts, and recreational activities. In the evening, appetites were ravenous and vespers were inspirational as they ascended the hill singing, "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder ...

1398. Lord of All!

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Ron Lavin

A post-resurrection story is told about Lazarus, the man Jesus brought back from the dead. You won't find this post-resurrection story in the Bible, but it has the ring of truth. After Jesus was raised from the dead, all the disciples were empowered to witness for him all over the world. Easter set them free. They told everyone they met that Jesus was Lord of all. The Roman officials saw these followers of Christ as troublemakers because they refused to acknowledge Caesar as Lord. Many Christians were ...

1399. Lent 2

Mark 8:31--9:1, Romans 4:1-25, Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 17:1-27 This is the account of Yahweh's covenant with Abraham. As with Noah, Yahweh offers a covenant with Abraham. Through the covenant Yahweh offers him a people, a land, a son and a God. The outward sign of the covenant is circumcision. The effect of the covenant is a change in Abraham's life symbolized by the change of his name from Abram to Abraham. In response Abraham has the responsibility to walk before Yahweh and to live blamelessly. Yet, when Yahweh informed him ...

1400. Proper 18

Proverbs 22:1-16, Mark 7:24-37, James 2:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 It is obvious that this pericope was chosen because of its close relation in content with Lesson 2 which cries out against the unjust treatment of the poor. The most precious value of life is a good name which should be desired more than wealth. Yet, the rich are not to be condemned, for they, too, have been created by God. The person who shares what he has with those who have little is promised God's blessing. Epistle: James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17 The ...

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