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 679 results

126. All The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

... piano lessons in his youth, he was determined to keep the ability to play just one song. And that was it -- "All The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise." It's a good Easter Sunday title. Deep in our hearts, it is one tune we all know -- waiting, longing, yearning for the sunrise, the dawning in our lives. Easter holds God's response. The dawn has come. The Son has risen. We're not stuck in yesterday. All the promise of tomorrow has broken into our lives. We have God's love, power and grace to fully live in ...

127. Exercise Your Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... -offs as Superwoman, Superboy, Supergirl, even Superdog, and now the romantic Lois And Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman. How we may wish that we had a superperson here in this congregation to lead the way and to solve our knotty problems. Let us not yearn, however, for such a person. What we do have is something better. God has given a variety of gifts to the church. Paul lists only two in his prayer of thanksgiving: "speech and knowledge of every kind." "Speech" might refer to speaking in tongues, a ...

128. You Can Be Like Children

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... quite nice about children. Every family should have one or two They're such a fine race When they're kept in their place: Say, the playground, the park or the zoo. In his place, a child's quite delightful, Full of fun, a most interesting buddy. But his yearning for action Can cause a distraction When he has invaded the study. The office is no place for children. They foul up our work with their fun. So we make it a rule That they must go to school So their elders can get something done. Some children came ...

129. Follow The Man With The Plan

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... bring about this unity is the Man, Jesus Christ. His love binds us together in one family. As W. H. Auden in his A Christmas Oratorio has the wise men say as they approach the manger in Bethlehem, "Oh, here and now our endless journey stops." Our yearning stops with the Man. Paul elucidates by saying that before the foundation of the world God has chosen us. Further, God has forgiven our sins. Still further, God has marked us with the promised seal of the Holy Spirit. God has done all these things through ...

130. Flashing Lights

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... were frantic as the boy mumbled incoherently, describing bright flashing lights, beautiful colors, and a "presence" he felt must be God. As I stood there that night, I knew everyone in that room could feel the longing in that young man's empty life. That yearning for a deeper experience of God's presence is something the old and the young in America are seeking. Despite the abundance of "things" in our lives, there is a realization that life has to consist of more than hamburgers and french fries, of more ...

131. The Fifth Meal

Sermon

Robert F. Scott

... our hidden thoughts, was able to apply it directly to the person who needed it. Jesus exposed the need; and did it lead to healing?Jesus opened the way. When he said, "Woe to you Pharisees," he used a word for "woe" that can mean sorrow or yearning. In effect, Jesus said, "I grieve for you ..." Jesus called on his host to realize what is important.We can hope for this Pharisee, for wise persons welcome correction when it is in order. The Gospels tell us that many of the Pharisees became believers in Christ ...

132. When The Saints Come Marching In

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... , to participate in a new way of life. The rest of humankind may live by the axiom, "Seeing is believing." But not the church, says John. For the church's creed is "Believe first, then you shall surely see." And if we find stirring within ourselves yearnings too profound ever to be addressed by this world, desires too rich ever to be exhausted by this world, hungers too deep ever to be satisfied by this world, perhaps the best explanation is the simplest one: we were not created for this world, but for ...

133. The King Of Hearts

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... of the irrigation canals that King Nebuchadrezzar had constructed to draw water from the Euphrates. Not much is known about how exactly Ezekiel spent the first five years of this captivity, although clearly he would have joined with his fellow compatriots in yearning for a speedy end to their enslavement and a safe return home. Had he still been living in Jerusalem, however, Ezekiel would have assumed the full responsibilities of priesthood at the age of 30. Instead, by the way of an extraordinary vision ...

134. Come, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come!

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... bread and wine of the eucharist, in which God comes to us, and by which he makes of us a community, a forgiven family of his children. In all these things and countless others, he comes to us. Not yet fully, but enough to make our hearts long for and yearn for and ache for that day when he does; and in the meanwhile, to be about the peacemaking, reconciling, life-affirming work God has entrusted to us. And so we pray, "Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming, give us ...

135. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16

Sermon

Thomas Long

... tale, all alone, there is still God -- the God who knows our conduct grades and is well aware that we have primped around the classroom showing off for others, the God who nevertheless sees in secret, the God who looks behind the mask to find the child yearning to come home, and the God who beckons us to come just as we are. 1. Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary (New York: Dover Publications, 1993), pp. 16-17. 2. This tale, from Jerome Mintz, Legends Of The Hasadim (University of Chicago Press, 1968) is ...

136. When God Is The Problem

Psalm 13:1-6

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Leader: Come and see what the Lord has done. See what amazing things he has done on earth. (Psalm 46:1-8) Call to Confession Our God is a God of justice, waiting to be gracious to you, yearning to have pity on you. Blessed are all who wait on the Lord. In penitence and faith, let us confess our sin to Almighty God. Prayer of Confession (Unison) Lord, we feel that we are lost from you in the midst of the changes and challenges facing our church and ...

137. Prayers for the Sundays After Easter

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... at least we think we do, but very carefully we're watching everyone. We don't want to blurt out something and be thought a fool. As a consequence, after we decide that the simple, straightforward response would be appropriate, the moment has passed us by. How we yearn to be spontaneous in certain crucial moments, but a lifetime of playing our cards close to the vest has taken its toll. So we turn to your Son, choosing to model ourselves after him. In him we see the courage to meet our need or another's need ...

138. Getting Ready for The Coming Messiah

Mark 1:1-8

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... do experience forgiveness. We are grateful for this coming Savior, who already is present with us. Because he already has presented himself to us, every moment of ours presents a new possibility in him, life, new life, abundant life, eternal life. We need no longer yearn for God as though God were absent. Our healing no longer means a search, but a surrender to God who is always and everywhere present. So, I invite us to pray that prayer which is most appropriately the prayer of the community of faith: The ...

139. The Season Of The Nativity

Luke 2:21-40

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... liberating word that became incarnate in him who is the living word. So be it! People: In Christ, we do experience and receive forgiveness. To us is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord, and to us is born, in this moment, life in him. We no longer yearn for God. Our healing no longer means a search but a surrender to him, who is always and everywhere present in Spirit. I invite us to sing Malotte's version of the Lord's Prayer. (Following the singing, ask how many remember this act of worship used during ...

140. Advent 3

John 1:1-18, John 1:19-28, Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 65:17-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

... . In truth, he said, there were many advantages to the single life. He quit feeling sorry for himself and began enjoying what he had. Larson's point is that we need to list our blessings, to realize that everyone goes through life with limitations and yearnings unfulfilled. The healthy-minded person accepts that fact and is grateful for what he or she does have. One of my favorite Peanuts cartoons showed Charlie Brown all bundled up for a walk on a cold winter day. Charlie had on several sweaters, a muffler ...

141. Gifts of Lent III: A Family Gives Their Home

Luke 22:7-38

Drama

Donald Neidigk

... . Jesus would give a parable. Someone would challenge him. Jesus, with great wisdom, would answer. No one could refute what he said. By the end of the day it was clear that one couldn't be neutral about Jesus. He was either the Savior, the Messiah we yearned for, or he was a charlatan and a lunatic. Our leaders rejected him and began plotting to kill him. I struggled to make up my mind. As Jesus left the temple to return to Bethany, my mother approached him. "Teacher," she said, "you have no home here ...

142. All Creation Yawns

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... of alarm, but a season of gradual awakening, of preparing to embrace a new day. Oh, how we long for the Son! In this season as we doze and dream, dream and doze, the night is far gone, the day is at hand. In this season all creation yawns and yearns for the coming of the Light. 1. Frederick Buechner, A Room Called Remember (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1984), p. 2. 2. Nytt fra Norge, The Dramatst Henrik Ibsen (Norway: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1995), www.norway.org/ibsen.html. 3. Ibid.

143. The Bread That Endures

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... for that which does not really satisfy. The strange thing is that, deep down inside, we really know that focussing on material things does not really satisfy the sharpest hungers of our souls. Not many of us are under the illusion that our deepest yearnings can be satisfied by the things we buy. We know instinctively and intuitively that when Jesus says "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word which comes from the mouth of God," he is absolutely correct. We know, too, that Frederick Buechner ...

144. You Can Be Well Fed

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... "in remembrance" of Jesus. Perhaps that is what it means to "hunger and thirst for righteousness." Maybe it simply means that we will remember Jesus ... the life he lived, the values he embraced, the impact he made, the way He treated other people ... and we will yearn ("hunger and thirst") to be that sort of person ourselves. "To be well fed," my friend told me, "Means feasting on those things that enhance your life." We learn what those things are when we remember Jesus. How can I be well fed? The answer ...

145. Easter Day

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18, Acts 10:23b-48, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 3:1-4 1. Death and Resurrection. Easter can mean nothing without the cross. How can there be a Resurrection without a death from which to rise again to life? The Easter celebration means little to those who do not experience Good Friday. People often talk about and yearn for a new life, but they are unwilling to pay the price, death. "For you have died" (v. 3) is the basis for a Resurrection. It, of course, is not a physical death but a death of the old Adam -- the proud, selfish, wicked self. Out of the ...

146. Easter 2

Acts 5:17-42, Revelation 1:4-8, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... maintain interest. Gospel: John 20:19-31 1. What happens if you miss church (20:19-25). Need: The sermon recognizes the problem of the decrease in church attendance on this Easter 2. Now it seems that we are back to "religion as usual." The preacher yearns, "Oh, if we could only have Easter every Sunday!" The truth is that every Sunday is an Easter, a celebration of the resurrection. The danger of this subject is the temptation of the preacher to scold the faithful for the lack of interest of the absentees ...

147. Lent 2

Philippians 3:12-4:1, Genesis 15:1-18, Luke 13:31-35, Jeremiah 26:1-24

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... we too much like the world to have enemies from the world? 2. How to face threats. 13:31-33 a. Confront your enemy: take a stand, don't flee v. 32. b. Courage: tell your enemy off v. 32. c. Continue your work for good v. 32. 3. The yearning, wooing, longing, pleading, heart of God. 13:34-35 a. How often he tries to get man back: "How often" v. 34. From Noah to Jesus! b. "Gathered" v. 34. Love gathers, unites, solidifies, reconciles, God's intention for Christ: to reconcile, to bring back man to God. c ...

148. Need Help Removing That Roadblock?

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Steve Burt

... to follow that dream, to nurture that angel God has placed within us -- that's often scary. So Moses speaks to God, and God promises to be with them. God wants them to succeed, just as God wants that chicken plucker to become the artist he yearns to become. Once the Hebrews commit to becoming their true selves, slaves no longer -- once they commit to following the path God has set before them -- the roadblocks disappear. To borrow a line from the PBS black history series: they've got to keep their Eyes ...

149. Praying To The Congregation

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Thomas Long

... " (John 17:3, 10). In this regard, this prayer, like the Lord's Prayer, is a model prayer -- a prayer about prayer. All prayers, whether they are prayers pleading for a season of world peace or prayers begging for a moment of inner peace, are really prayers yearning for God to embrace us. We pray for food and health and justice and forgiveness and protection -- and truly these are our needs -- but beneath it all we are really praying for God to be with us, for God to hold us close, for God never to forget ...

150. Loving Jesus, Hating The Church

John 9:35-41

Sermon

Thomas Long

... ; we can only be found. And that, in the end, is what this story of the blind man is all about. John tells us that Jesus "found him" (John 9:35), and despite our brave talk about searching for the honest truth, the honest truth is that what we most yearn for in our souls is to be found by him, found by the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. So, we sit in the pews and open our hymnals to sing God's praise; we stand to recite the creed and we join the inquirer's ...

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