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 126 to 150 of 252 results

126. Abundant Life

John 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.” We show love for Christ by how we treat each other. Not only by how we treat those closest to us, but by how we treat all people, those we like and those we dislike; those of whom we approve and those of whom we do not; the neighbor and the complete stranger. One day a man stopped in a convenience store to get a newspaper. He noticed that the owner of the store had tears in his eyes and kept looking out the window ...

127. Would You Make a Good Witness? (Ascension Day)

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... in this turbulent world. It is a wonder he doesn’t fire us. Are you a good witness for Jesus? A good witness in today’s world needs, first of all, to be credible. I believe we could all agree on that. There are few people we dislike more than hypocrites, people who publicly stand for one thing but secretly practice something else. A little more than a decade ago an article appeared in the New York Times that disheartened many bird lovers. It was about a man named Tony Silva, a well-known bird ...

128. The Iron, Silver, Golden, Platinum and Titanium Rules

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our children, and because we love our children we cultivate and celebrate their creativity and craziness. We do not expect four year olds to like what forty year olds like. Good parents let their children do childish things, and we sacrifice our likes and dislikes for our children. We eat Happy Meals. We watch Veggie Tales. We decorate the driveway with chalk art. Why? Because those are good “kid things” to do. There are many different kinds of love. You no doubt remember the Greek way of distinguished ...

129. A Not So Simple Story of Demons and Pigs

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

... go from being hate-filled people to hateful people. And I, for one, am quite willing to call them demonic. Over the years, I have accumulated a small list ... very small, really ... of people I would consider demonic. Not disagreeable. Not dislikable. Not even disgusting. But demonic. These people appear to be possessed by something that ... whatever its origin ... has gradually taken on a life and power of its own. Scott Peck suggests that whenever you meet such people, conventional therapies will simply ...

130. The Attitude of Gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sermon

James Merritt

... two-thirds of the world goes to bed hungry every night? One-third of the world is underfed and one-third of the world is starving. As a matter of fact, thirty people starve to death in this world every single minute. Then we complain about dirty dishes. Nobody dislikes dirty dishes more than I do, but maybe we ought to be thankful for them. Thank God for dirty dishes they have a tale to tell; While others may go hungry we've eaten very well. With home, health, and happiness I should not want to fuss; By the ...

131. A Defiant Response to a Dangerous Theology: Does God Desire to Wipe Us Out?

Gn 6:1-8. 9:6-17

Sermon

... , so that the same freedom God affords human beings is presupposed by freedom that is offered all the way down to atomic and sub-atomic levels of life. Which means that the bumper sticker is right. From time to time, Stuff Happens. Which God dislikes, but allows. Because the only alternative is absolute domination and total control. Which, as any married person will tell you, is wonderfully efficient, but snuffs out all possibility of love. So what do you do with disasters? Four things. You mourn them. You ...

132. Thanksgiving and Thanksliving

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... worst offenders of putting faith and practice together are clergy. Laying aside the political realities of the parish life, our people want to experience pastors who are thankful and live in that mood. Such sends an aroma throughout the parish. Even those who dislike us will honor and respect our styles of living. Our failures along this line are frequently closely related to upward mobility as professionals. We try too hard to succeed in wrong ways and end up failing in matters that really are crucial. I ...

133. Plea for Discipline

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... our time. Wandering about, after telling others about the good news, can cause pastors painful grief. To tell your people about the Savior and then allow yourself to become an unsettled wayfarer is to invite an infectious attitude of loose living. Regardless of likes or dislikes, our parishioners do count on us to show them the way. Our most persistent critics sometimes will look to us in a pleading fashion to help them. Yes, the ordained pastor is in a special place before God and his/her people to be an ...

134. The Weight of Titles

Matthew 23:1-12

Illustration

Kenneth W. Collins

A well-known and respected priest has a doctorate degree, yet he dislikes being called ‘Reverend’ or ‘Father‘ or ‘Doctor.‘ He prefers being called just ‘Bill.‘ This man is a noted Hebrew scholar, he is a guest lecturer in German universities, he works on assignment for the Archbishop of Canterbury in matters of ecumenism, he translates the scripture readings in church from the ...

135. Underneath the Target

Matthew 25:31-46

Illustration

Bill McDonald

... object lessons. Sally knew they were in for a fun day where she arrived in his classroom and tacked on the bulletin board was a big target. Bunches of darts lay on a nearby table. The teacher told the students to draw a picture of someone they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture. Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting great detail into the drawing right down to the dimples on her false friend's face. The pictures were ...

136. A Postmodern Coat of Crayola Colors

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Seeds." Six different colored pods are found in the package, along with the following instructions: "To grow a peaceful soul and a peaceful world, sow these seeds ... White - Forgiveness for someone who has wronged you. Red - Prayers for someone you dislike. Green - Hospitality to a stranger. Yellow - Acceptance of someone who sees things differently. Blue - Kindness in the face of rude Pink - Generosity toward someone less fortunate. The new Crayola crayons can suggest to us the presence of still other ...

137. Anywhere Goes

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... virtually indistinguishable from ourselves. But this is not a healthy environment for a body of Christ. In order to remain fit, we've got to stretch and grow, reaching out to and welcoming all God's children home to Christ even those we dislike and find distasteful. While walking along a street with one of his disciples, a sage met his rival. The sage politely greeted his rival, but the man arrogantly disregarded the greeting. The sage's young disciple was furious, condemning the ostentatious behavior of ...

138. Acts 19:1-7

Acts 19:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the men immediately begin to speak in tongues and to prophesy clear signs that the Holy Spirit has come upon them. John Calvin hated this story. Although forced to agree that Luke and Paul both apparently identify this band of men as "Christians" (v.1), Calvin disliked how the story was being used. The Reformer's problem was that the Anabaptists were having a field day with this text using it to support their call for the re-baptism by immersion of adults who had been baptized as infants. In his Commentary ...

139. Jesus Is Contagious!

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... things. No matter how private and personal, singular and solitary we might like to think of ourselves, we all feel compelled to “share” some things. If you liked the recent “24" installment, can you refrain from sharing your enthusiasm? If you liked, or disliked the newest Starbucks drink, can you refrain from sharing your opinion? Some sharing is unintentional, and not just colds and the flu. You share information about yourself whether you like it or not, or whether you want to or not. *The grocery ...

140. I'm a Leper, You're a Leper

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... are the germs of our own form of “leprosy”, our weaknesses, our pet hatreds, our obsessions, our fears, our desires, our diagnoses. We are always afraid of ourselves. We are afraid of our true selves, and we project onto others what we most fear or dislike in ourselves. We can’t forgive others what we can’t forgive in ourselves. For example, anti-Semitism is often an unease with one’s own Jewish identity. Think Ludwig Wittgenstein. Think Adolph Hitler. How did Paul put it: ALL of us have “fallen ...

141. Can't Get No Satisfaction

Exodus 20:17

Sermon

James Merritt

... read a story one time about a man who was a good man, but he owned a very valuable piece of property. All of his neighbors were very envious of his property and they wanted it. Because they coveted it so much and couldn't have it, they grew to dislike this man intensely even though he had done nothing to them. He decided to teach them a lesson. He put up a sign on this beautiful piece of property that he owned that gave an amazing message. It said this, "I will give my property to anyone in my neighborhood ...

142. Mourning Our Fallen Tormentors

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... the Last Day punctually appeared."7 Third, mourning our fallen tormentors is an acknowledgment that even the criticism from our enemies can be useful. It's hard to accept criticism from people we don't like and who don't like us. But our mutual dislike does not automatically mean that the negative and unasked for critiques lobbed at us are necessarily wrong. Perhaps you've heard someone speak of having "loyal opposition" and saying, "Well, at least he keeps me honest" or "He helps me stay humble." That is ...

143. How Not to Become Distracted

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

... description of our time would be the "Age of Distraction." Everybody and everything are out to get our attention. And one way to do that is to distract us from whatever we may have been doing or are trying to do. A case in point, I particularly dislike the scroll at the bottom of television newscasts. I can barely concentrate on what the broadcaster is reporting, because the latest news is being run across the screen at the same time. I have an elderly friend in New Jersey who says she's tempted to send ...

144. A Tax Collector Becomes Rich

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... from Nazareth. His eagerness to see Jesus is rewarded in a very special way. Jesus makes himself a dinner guest at Zacchaeus' home. As you may well imagine, this did not sit well with the local folks who viewed tax collectors with more than a little dislike. These guys were really hated for what they did for a living. Moreover, it is precisely that fact that makes this encounter so very special. The second verse of our reading says that Zacchaeus was, "A chief tax collector and was rich." The use of the ...

145. The Power of Purpose

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ever make it in such a so-called Holy calling; but he did. He made his mark on Mobile. And many say that he served as the social conscience of that city. Espousing Christian, but unpopular causes, influencing the city fathers who found it impossible to dislike him. In 1963, he was struck down with a malignancy. He survived surgery and within a month was back at his tasks. In the same spirit, with the same infectious manner, he lifted the souls of those whose lives he touched. Then the pain returned; the ...

146. Radical Love is Risky (Series: Radical Love in a Risky World)

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... because: B. Such Love is Impossible Lucy says in a Peanuts cartoon, “I love humankind; it’s people I can’t stand.” If by Christian love we mean the fellowship of kindred minds, a mutual friendship of all people, a common bond of likes and dislikes, then you are right. Loving all people like that is absolutely impossible. How many close friends can one person cultivate? That’s why I am always a little suspicious of people who consider everyone they meet a close personal friend. That is why I have ...

147. The Unsuspected Trojan Horse

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... bodies rejected the hearts he cut out of the dead and switched into the dying. He says, “With this disease, you supposedly hate yourself – you reject your own tissues.” The writer of the article went on to describe Barnard as the most admired and the most disliked doctor in the world, and he described the bitterness which crept into the doctor’s voice as he talked about how it felt to have the whole world looking over his shoulder. Now I’m aware that this can be an over simplification, yet I hope ...

148. Join

Acts 11:19-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. Myth #2: NO ONE WANTS TO MAKE A COMMITMENT ANYYMORE. We are a society of option tenders. Thirty years ago, a movement started in America developing church for those who “disliked church." Doing careful research they discovered certain people didn't like attending church where people asked your name, wanted your money, and exposed you to boring music. So, a whole group of entrepreneurs started churches for the unchurched. People were encouraged ...

149. Marketing or Disciplemaking?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... son Wes was five years old, he came home from Sunday school and announced that he never planned to go to church again. Being the son of a pastor, I could see a problem brewing, so we sat down to have a talk about it. “Tell me, why do you dislike Sunday school so much? Is it the teacher, is it the lesson, is someone picking on you? Is it too early in the morning?" “No," he replied, “it's none of these. It's just that I've been the only student for the last five weeks and I don ...

150. Seinfeld's Last Episode

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

Brett Blair

... down from Mount Sinai. There's nothing NEW about it. The story of the Good Samaritan tells us how we are to treat others: Not just our friends, not just the people in our town or stranded on the road or in need, but the very people we despise or dislike or make fun of. In a word: Our enemies. The story of the Good Samaritan is a lesson on how the Law of Moses is to be understood and lived out.

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