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 1426 to 1450 of 3108 results

1426. Death, Risk, and Confidence

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Tom Garrison

I shall never forget a most vivid pastoral encounter that I had. There was a fine older member of the church who was terminally ill with cancer, and since he would never be able to come and meet me, I went by his home to meet him. Although we had never met before, I suppose my role prompted him to get right to the central issue of his concern at that moment, which was with the whole experience of death. He wanted to know what I believed lay beyond the experience of dying. He was concerned about guilt and ...

1427. Rat Poison

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

When our son started kindergarten, I held my breath. I knew he would be a handful. Things were going along pretty well until the day he pulled the fire alarm, which he did during lunch hour. The whole school was in chaos. I got a vivid description from the principal. I felt awful. I'll always be grateful to the teacher who said that my son was not a bad kid and I shouldn't let the principal convince me any differently. But not so from my son's teacher. She had nothing good to say about him. But then, she ...

1428. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

The Friends Conclude and Elihu Begins Excurses: Had the third cycle of dialogue between Job and his three friends been complete, we would expect to find Zophar’s concluding speech in response to Job at this point. However, at least in the canonical form of the book, Bildad’s truncated final speech (25:1–6), Job’s expanded concluding speech (chs. 26–31), the complete absence of any final speech by Zophar, and the opening comments in the following Elihu section, press the reader to understand this collapse ...

1429. Uncertain Certainties

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John Jamison

It was Sunday evening. Easter morning had come and gone, and the disciples had spent the entire day talking about the fact that Jesus had actually been raised from the dead. They were all fired up and making plans for how they were going to go out and spread the word of God and continue the ministry that Jesus had taught them to perform. Right? Not quite. As the sun went down Sunday evening, some of the disciples had gathered together. They were still hiding in a small room somewhere with the doors and ...

1430. The Ascension Day Experience

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The official ecclesiastical designation for this day is “The Feast of the Ascension.” In keeping with its name, it commemorates the day the risen Christ ascended into heaven. Saint Augustine contended this holy day was first observed in the apostolic era. That would make it one of the earliest Christian holidays. By tradition, the date was established as the 39 days after Easter. That means it should always fall on a Thursday. In many European nations, Ascension Thursday is widely celebrated as both a ...

1431. What Gets Into Us?

John 18:1--19:42

Sermon

King Duncan

What got into Judas? That’s an appropriate question for this Good Friday service. What got into him? Can’t you imagine the other disciples asking one another and themselves that question? All this time he was one of us. We trusted him. We even made him treasurer. How could he betray the Master for 30 pieces of silver? Was it jealousy? Did someone make him feel rejected? He was an important member of the fellowship. We tried to treat him like a brother even though he was the only non-Galilean among us. What ...

1432. A Hall of Fame Dad

John 16:12-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Lewis in his book Real Family Values tells a fascinating story about a remarkable, heartwarming discovery workers at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Ohio, made in the winter of 1993. While renovating a section of the museum, they found a photograph that had been hidden in a crevice underneath a display case. The man in the picture had a bat resting on his shoulder; he was wearing a uniform with the words “Sinclair Oil” printed across his chest; his demeanor was gentle and friendly. Stapled ...

1433. The Time Is Near

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

Molly F. James

And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.’ ” This is the heart of our gospel reading today. For those of us who live a comfortable middle class existence, it can be easy to dismiss our whole reading with its predictions of persecutions, earthquakes, and famines. How could those apply to our lives? For those of us who live comfortable lives in Christian majority countries, we do not know what it is to be ...

1434. Here I Am

Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Our deepest relationships are not defined by strength but by vulnerability.” --Rabbi Ari Kaiman Prop (Animation): youtube video [Show youtube video “Pass the Salt”] In the past, we laughed or sighed at the sight of a couple eating dinner with one of them reading the newspaper. It could have been a scene in the movies or an actual sighting in a restaurant—there’s always one person with a face in a newspaper, or one of them zoned out somewhere, leaving the other to dine alone in silence. Now, it’s become ...

1435. No Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: a ruler or yardstick We love our measuring sticks. When our children are young, we measure their growth and notch little marks in the wall, as they grow taller and taller. We measure our flour and our water to make just the right bread. We measure how much money we put into the bank, so that we can save for college for our kids and our grandkids. We measure our anniversaries, our birthdays, our tenures at various positions. In fact, we measure how many years we’ve been members of this church, don’t ...

1436. Even in Our Hiding

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In Haarlem, Holland, 1837, a man named Willem ten Boom opened a watch shop. His family lived in the rooms above the shop. Later, the home and business was passed on to his son, Caspar ten Boom, and then later to Caspar’s daughter, Cornelia, who went by the name of Corrie ten Boom. The ten Boom family were devoted Christians, and their home was always open to anyone in need. The family served their community in Haarlem for many years; however, they would become well-known for their kindness and humanity ...

1437. A Restless Spirit

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It’s Mother’s Day, otherwise known in the liturgical church as the “Festival of the Christian Home.” Today parents remember our baptismal covenant and recommit to bringing up our baptized progeny in the Christian tradition in our homes, churches, and extended family. This is also when we honor mothers in particular and their influence on our lives. In honor of that celebration today, let me remind you of just how awesome it is to be a parent. Here’s a scenario I think we’ll all be familiar with. A little ...

1438. The Good Husband

Isaiah 54:1-17, Isaiah 55:1-13, Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Some of you here today are sitting in worship with a burden on your heart. Some of you are angry with God for that loss of job, or that sickness that has come upon you or your family. Some here today may have doubts that God truly cares about your life, truly cares about what happens to you or someone dear to you. Some of you may not be sure that God has heard you, or worse, that God exists to hear you. If you’ve been a lifelong church-goer, you’re probably afraid to ask those questions, just in case you ...

1439. The Writing on the Wall

2 Samuel 11:1-27, 2 Samuel 12:1-31, John 7:25-44, John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Were you ever startled by your own reflection? Maybe you are passing by a mirror, but don’t realize it’s a mirror until an image catches the corner of your eye. You jump. Then you realize the image was you –reflected in the mirror that you just walked by. Or maybe one morning you get up, after a night of restless sleep, and look into the mirror. There you see a stranger with dark circles under the eyes, puffy face, tangled hair, and a hollow expression. You gasp. Who is that person? Surely not me! Am I the ...

1440. It's Hard to Be an Atheist with Neighbors Like That

Matthew 9:35-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Patrick Greene was known by his neighbors in Henderson County, Texas as a professed atheist. He was notorious for threatening to sue Henderson County each year over the courthouse manger scene at Christmas time. The reason? Greene says his experience with Christians through the years was of narrow-minded individuals who treated him unkindly. “My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us,” Greene said. “Just the opposite.” That changed when the 63-year-old Greene learned he had a detached ...

1441. Apostles of Hope

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

If you want to stay out of the rain, you need to invest in an umbrella. So the saying might go. Or in our world right now, if you want to stay clear of the “cloud,” you need to wear your mask. For what you can’t see, CAN hurt you! We can’t see it. We can’t feel it. We can’t hear it. We can’t touch it. And yet, we cower in our homes for fear of the viral invader we call COVID-19. This invisible “force” is changing the world, changing the way we do life, changing people. But not necessarily all for the worse ...

1442. Desperate Times Call For...

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

This week marks the point in the year when most of us have wrapped up our summer vacation plans, and we’re getting back to our normal routines of work. Let’s all share a collective sigh as we say goodbye to summer vacation. I don’t know how much planning you put into your vacation. Some people like to go to the same places every year. Some people like to pack up and head out for a weekend, just to clear their heads. And some people spend hours, even weeks, obsessing over the perfect trip. But we all share ...

1443. How Do We Forgive?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

An elderly man wandering on a lonely beach found a magic lamp. Naturally he rubbed the lamp and a genie appeared. The genie told the old man he would grant him any wish. The man thought for a while and said, “My brother and I had a fight 20 years ago and we haven’t spoken since. My wish is that he would finally forgive me.” The genie clapped his hands, a bright light shot across the sky, and then he said, “Your wish has been granted.” Then the genie said, “You know, most men would have asked for wealth and ...

1444. Our Light

Genesis 1:1-5 · Mark 1:9-11

Sermon

Will Willimon

Carl Michaelson knew a philosophy professor at Colgate who, whenever a student used the word "God" in his classroom, would stop and beckon the student to come forward and stand with him at an open window. "Show him to me," the professor asked. What a disadvantage believers have when it comes to empirical evidence for God! At first glance, this seems to be a uniquely modern problem. In the old days, Biblical people are always chatting with God, strolling arm in arm with God in the garden. God is everywhere ...

1445. The Heartbeat of a Christian

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

King Duncan

We all know that there are certain physical characteristics that are totally unique to each individual. Your fingerprints, for example, are entirely unique—no one else has fingerprints exactly like yours. The pattern of your iris, the colored part of your eye, is totally unique. So is your DNA. But did you know that your heartbeat is completely unique too? Every person on earth has a different heartbeat pattern, or “cardiac signature.” Your cardiac signature cannot be altered or disguised. So, if someone ...

1446. Can You Deny Yourself?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

How many dreams would you say you have each week? Do you remember them? Have you ever awakened from a dream and thought, “What was that all about?” Discover Magazine interviewed a man named Chuck Lamb who found his life’s work in a very strange—even disturbing—dream. One night Lamb, a computer programmer for Nationwide Insurance, dreamed that he was lying on the floor dead, with a detective standing over his body. How would you feel if you had a dream like that? It sounds like a bad television show. ...

1447. The Invitation

Matthew 20:1-15

Sermon

Will Willimon

Jesus said that God's Kingdom is like a man who had a vineyard which needed harvesting. The man goes out into the marketplace and hires some workers agreeing to pay them one denarius a day. They go to work. Mid-morning he looks over his vineyard and sees that more workers will be needed if the job is to be done, so he goes back into the marketplace where he encounters some men still standing around whom no one has hired. Even though a third of the day is over, he asks them to go to work for telling them ...

1448. Jesus' Vacation

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Will Willimon

I know that many of you are here on vacation. I admire you for your faithfulness. Even though you are on vacation, you have come to church. Vacations are wonderful opportunities to, as we say, "get away from it all." A period of time, set aside from life's daily difficulties, when we unburden. Where there are usually alarm clocks, there is sleeping in until ten. Where there were bran flakes at breakfast, now jelly filled doughnuts. The daily office grind is replaced with the arduous task of unfolding the ...

1449. “Until An Opportune Time…”

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I need to ask a question this morning. It’s a question to which I think I know the answer, but still, I need to ask. Do any of you ever feel tempted? How about a show of hands? Yes, yes, yes. I see that we have a lot of folks being tempted these days. I don’t think I will trespass into the question of what exactly tempted you. You can keep that one to yourselves. But truthfully, if we go deeply into this, it’s a tough thing to consider, isn’t it? As one who struggles with extra pounds, I am constantly ...

1450. Poor Old Thomas

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

Well, it’s over. The eggs have been hidden and gleefully found. The leftovers are mostly eaten. Family visits are complete and we’re all looking forward to warm weather — and to settling back into our routines. This whole Easter celebration thing is a little bit tiring, don’t you think? I note that a few folks have chosen to stay home this Sunday. Don’t worry. I am not trying to mention names or point fingers! In fact, many pastors take this Sunday off after this time of intensity and worship. Who doesn’t ...

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