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 1401 to 1425 of 4959 results

1401. In Search of Heroes

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... thing Christ expects out of us is to recognize that the world doesn’t revolve around us and our needs and desires. This is true regardless of our age or circumstance. There are many young people involved today in so-called extreme sports, ... of these stories you and I need to make an assessment. Can it be that you and I can become so obsessed with our own dreams and desires that we totally ignore the needs of those around us? The first thing Christ expects out of any of us is to recognize that the world ...

1402. Before You Start Ripping Your Clothing

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... abounding in love . . .” Here is what we need to see: Times of suffering are not times of punishment for our sin. However, when we are in a sinful state, we cut ourselves off from God’s healing and helping power. That is the tragedy of sin. God’s desire is always to heal us and to strengthen us in our time of need. When we are in a state of rebellion against God, we deny ourselves the comfort and strength that God alone can provide. When the prophet Joel tells the people to rend their hearts and not ...

1403. Out of Control (Good Friday sermon)

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

John Jamison

... to create. Option 1 would be to use this as the format for the entire Good Friday service, with each section of the story separated with music, liturgy, or any other activity desired. Option 2, which is my preference, is that the entire service is simply the message. The service begins in a lighted sanctuary with candles as desired. After each section of the story, a brief period of quiet and personal prayer is taken, while one section of lights and candles is quietly extinguished. As the final section of ...

1404. Am I Eating Manna or Bread from Heaven?

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

... brought him to this place in his life and he said that ever since he came here and received communion Sunday after Sunday that a desire to dedicate his life to God had grown and that the best way he knew how was to make his baptismal promises and be ... apt to ask questions about what's going on and will be able to express, in time, what his/her desire is regarding Holy Communion. Whatever your intellectual, emotional, theological, or spiritual experiences with Holy Communion, may this sacrament continue ...

1405. The Light Still Shines

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... even the lowliest of persons has a place in His kingdom. I would like to tell a story about another nativity pageant that didn't go quite as planned. It was also sabotaged in a way, not out of envy, but because of one young man’s desire simply to make his friends laugh. The youth group at a certain church was performing a manger scene. Joseph and Mary and all the other characters were in place and ready. They did their parts with seriousness and commitment, looking as pious as they possibly could. And ...

1406. Punctuation

Humor Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

It's important how you punctuate your writing. A woman who was concerned about her husband who had joined the navy, handed a prayer request to her pastor which read: "George Bowen, having gone to sea, his wife desires the prayers of the congregation for his safety." The pastor read the note to the congregation this way: "George Bowen, having gone to see his wife, desires the prayers of the congregation for his safety."

1407. God in Christ--The King Seeks a Wife

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... a wife. Without a queen, the vast palace was empty. One day, while riding through the streets of a small village, he saw a beautiful peasant girl. So lovely was she that the heart of the king was won. He wanted her more than anything he had ever desired. On succeeding days, he would ride by her house on the mere hope of seeing her for a moment in passing. He wondered how he might win her love. He thought, I will draw up a royal decree and require her to be brought before me to become the queen ...

1408. Maternal Legacy

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... . Heinz, wealthy distributor of the famous "57 Varieties" line, was read, it was found to contain the following confession: "Looking forward to the time when my earthly career will end, I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will, as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I also desire to bear witness to the fact that throughout my life, in which there were unusual joys and sorrows, I have been wonderfully sustained by my faith in God through Jesus ...

1409. Are You Suffering from FOMO?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... dotcom and tech stocks in 2008, which drastically affected the stock market. They also experienced 9/11 and the terrorist planes crashing into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. These experiences created a lot of anxiety in these young people, and a desire to live life to the fullest, because you never knew when it would all fall apart. Patrick started noticing that he and his friends were cramming their social schedules with as many parties, events, adventures as possible. But they didn’t seem to ...

1410. Time to Pick a Side

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

King Duncan

... , as you said, everything is relative and we shouldn’t force our ideas on others. But surely you aren’t going to force on me your belief that it is wrong to steal your stereo, are you?” You see what he was doing. Moreland confronted the student’s desire to believe in ethical relativism in certain areas of his life and ethical absolutism in other areas. He went on to say, “Believe it or not, the student honestly saw the inconsistency of his behavior and, a few weeks later, I was able to lead him to ...

1411. Beyond a Friendly, Cuddly Christmas

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’s life then He would have to take me every step of the way . . . I have learned that God gives me a lantern to carry that provides just enough light for the step I am on; however, my flesh desires a floodlight that will allow me to see far ahead to where God is taking us with this suffering. The desire of my son’s heart is for God to be glorified in everything, and our whole family has drawn strength from seeing him suffer well. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reminding us to look for God ...

1412. First the Bad News...

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... schedule. (6) Just like runners following the wrong path to the finish line, Jesus knew that some of his followers could stray away from their faith under the pressure of persecution and suffering. Because fear and worry lead to an increased desire to control our lives. And an increased desire to control our lives in turn causes us to focus inwardly and become even more fearful and anxious. The solution to fear is to trust God’s plan no matter what the future holds. Jesus said it beautifully in verse 14 ...

1413. Reflecting God’s Abundant Love

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Molly F. James

... the difficulty is when we let the Pharisee’s beliefs become our foundational beliefs. The difficulty is when we allow our desire for attention and to be “the best” to get the better of us. We may begin to believe that life really is ... our mere acts of piety. God cares about what is in our hearts. God cares that we are grounded in love and not motivated by a selfish desire to do more or have more, but by a love of neighbor that seeks to promote the flourishing of all God’s children. We as Christians ...

1414. Making a Difference

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Molly F. James

... doesn’t mean money doesn’t matter. It matters a great deal. It enables us to have food and shelter, to get an education, to travel, and to have fun experiences with our family. All of these things matter, for they enrich our lives and provide enjoyment. God desires us to have life and have it abundantly. God definitely is in favor of our having fun! And as Jesus rewarded Zacchaeus for his transformation, for his decision to share what he had and to make a difference in the world, so he calls each of us ...

1415. The Sign of Jonah

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... own lives, and practice resurrection daily, so that we can proclaim Jesus’ power in the lives of others. Peter is not the only unwilling prophet. We are all in some ways unwilling bestowers of God’s grace. God’s forgiveness and mercy will always exceed our abilities and our desires. This is the miracle of the Sign of Jonah. The Sign of Jonah is not just a warning to repent. It is an affirmation to all who are called by Christ to minister to those we wish we didn’t have to, and to go in directions we ...

1416. The Sign of the Dove

Matthew 3:1-17 · John 1:1-34 · Mark 1:1-8 · Luke 3:1-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ? The truth is it is both. Like we are. “The dove is who we’d like to be; the pigeon is who we really are,” as Barbara Allen puts it in her marvelous contribution to the Reaktion animals series “Pigeon” (2009). As children of the Light, God’s desire is for us all to be wrapped up in the “garment of righteousness” and sheltered within the presence of God’s wings. In relationship with God, we all become the best people we can be. As we yearn for God, God appears to us. We become God’s ...

1417. Syrophoenician Lives Matter!

Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Jewish law. Jesus claims three things: 1) He asserts that Jewish law is not necessarily the same as God’s law 2) He claims that the Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem follow laws of their own making….not the laws of the heart that God desires and 2) He claims too that they follow only the ones that are convenient. Others, they discard altogether when it doesn’t suit them (honoring father and mother for example). Jesus goes on to instruct first the crowd, and then his own disciples that God is ...

1418. Redeemed

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Exodus 13: The Consecration of the First Born Leviticus 12: A Woman’s Purification Sacrifice Numbers 3: God’s Firstborn Requirement Numbers 18: The Levite’s Responsibility for God’s Sacrifices Psalm 55: The Anguished Heart Psalm 74: The Desire of the Lord to Save Psalm 68: The Desire for God to Prevail 2 Peter 1: On Prophecy Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple and the Prophecies of Simeon and Anna When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took ...

1419. The Good Catch

Matthew 17:24-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... are laws, and rules, and taxes, and penalties. We don’t owe our lives and souls to those organizations. We owe them to God, who has given freedom to us as a gift. But out of gratitude for that gift, out of interest in the wider community, out of the desire to do “real” ministry in a “real” world through the only community of faith we know to be part of –we opt to do what needs to be done for the whole community, and we act as everyone else in the community would. We are all a community of FREE ...

1420. Sparkle

Luke 4:31-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.…Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 14-15; 21) “The eternal ...

1421. Slow Burn

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and successful. The eye also represents primeval light, the spiritual light of God, divine radiance. To blacken it, is to black out God. In a sense, this is what Jesus is saying. Your eye can reflect the light of God, or it can black God out with its desire for the “golden calf.” The inner eye (Ruach HaKodesh) is connected to the heart. And we can choose whether to use our eye for good or evil. Will we be humble? Or idolatrous? The eye once gazing in the wrong direction can easily become a slave to sin ...

1422. Oh That Cookie Jar Goodness!

Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . Love implants X-ray eyes in the lover. People who love us best know our worst. They know our penchants to sneak sweets, our sly desires, our inability to diet, and those things in life that tempt us most. And they can cut us off at the curve when we are about ... worked so hard to attain, in order to live a different kind of life? Can he stand up to his peers, his contemporaries, his desires? The man knows he can’t. Jesus knows he can’t too. The man goes away confused and dejected with much to think about ...

1423. The Bramble King

John 15:1-17, John 15:18--16:4, John 16:5-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” Image Exegesis: Judas “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10) “In that day, in every place ...

1424. Dressed for Success?

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... your spirit be full of worship, praise, deference to God. But there’s more to it than this. And for this we need to take a look at Genesis: When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves ...

1425. Identity Crisis

Genesis 32:1-21, Genesis 32:22-32, Genesis 33:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the “ultimate blasphemer.” A slave trader, John claimed to have been converted to Christianity after his ship was saved from a storm, and yet he continued in his unsavory profession until confronted with his hypocrisy in his relationship with his fiancé Mary Catlett. His desire truly to be honest in his relationship both with Mary and with God finally convinced him to change not only his own ways of treating his fellow brothers, but urged him to convince others to do so as well. You see, our God is a ...

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