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 1551 to 1575 of 2173 results

1551. God’s Doing

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Larry Lange

Don had not worked like a dog for nothing. He had struggled up the corporate ladder to one rung below the vice-presidents —who were all brothers. So Don knew he wasn't going any higher on the ladder. That was okay with him. They had treated him like family. He had earned a six-figure salary and eight weeks of vacation and had 10,000 frequent flyer miles to play with. Then leukemia drove his wife, Donna, into the hospital where they shoved needles into her and pumped her full of chemicals and new bone ...

1552. Sandbox First, Soapbox Second

Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

This sermon has a very simple, but very difficult, message: Faith is a social practice, but one that requires solitude. Genesis 2:18 reads: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Daniel 10:8 reads: “I was left alone, and saw the great vision.” Sometimes society, sometimes solitude. Sometimes it is not good to be alone. Sometimes we need to be left alone to see what God has for us to see. The most talked about movie at the time of this sermon’s composition is “The Artist,” a 2011 French comedy-drama film ...

1553. The Reluctant Celebrity

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

We live in a world that canonizes celebrity. It no longer matters how much a person has accomplished or how much they have contributed to society. All you have to do to become famous in today’s world is to keep yourself in front of the media. We have people, it’s often noted, who are famous simply for being famous. People like Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, for example. They became so famous that they starred in their own reality show “The Simple Life.” Before that, says one critic, Paris Hilton did ...

1554. Jesus - The Leader of Our Team

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

One day a young girl came home from school in tears because she had only been given a small part in the school play, while her classmate and best friend had received the lead role. After drying the girl’s eyes, her mother took off her watch, put it in her hand, and said, “What do you see?” The girl replied, “A gold band, the watch face, and two hands.” Then the mother flipped the watch over, opened the back, and again asked her daughter, “Now, what do you see?” The little girl looked closely at all the ...

1555. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

In ancient times, a king decided to find and honor the greatest person among his subjects. A man of wealth and property was singled out. Another was praised for his healing powers and a third for his wisdom and knowledge of the law. Still another was lauded for his business acumen. Many other successful people were brought to the palace, and it became evident that the task of choosing the greatest would be difficult. Finally the last candidate stood before the king. This woman had white hair and her eyes ...

1556. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

1557. In the Potter's Hands

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

I am not a potter, and I do not play one on television! However, as a student of the scriptures and the life and times of the people in the biblical narrative, I can say with some certainty that crafting pottery is one of the world's oldest professions. Alongside bone and bricks, fragments of earthenware or pottery have long been gathered and studied by archeologists to understand something of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East and nearly every other ancient culture throughout the world. Few of ...

1558. What Are You Waiting On?

John 11:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

It is something that all of us will spend at least an hour doing every day and I mean every day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. In fact, we will spend 5 years of our lifetime doing nothing but this. It is universally above everything else the one thing everybody hates to do. In fact, there is nothing that we do that is more frustrating, aggravating, irritating and feels like more of a waste of time than doing this. Can you guess what it is? It’s waiting. An hour every day we wait on something. We are put ...

1559. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Paul’s removal to Caesarea began a two-year imprisonment in that city. During these years he stated his case (and therefore the case for the gospel) before two governors and a king, thus further fulfilling the ministry to which he had been called (9:15). These were days of high drama as well as of tedious confinement, but through it all Paul maintained his unswerving purpose to serve Christ and the gospel. 24:1 The first of the two governors to hear Paul’s case was Antonius Felix, the brother of Pallas, ...

1560. Paul's Concern for the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

4:8 After proclaiming what the Galatians are, Paul reminds them of what they were. In contrast to their present state, in which they know God, the Galatians’ former life was one of slavery to those who by nature are not gods. This may recall Paul’s evangelistic preaching, in which he brought them to a recognition of the one God. Implicit in this description is the contrast between slavery and freedom, which will become an increasingly prominent theme of the letter. 4:9 Paul again describes and contrasts ...

1561. Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 18:1-24

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

18:1 The MT is ambiguous and the meaning uncertain. The NIV understands it as a description of the conduct of an unfriendly (lit. “separated”) and foolish person. 18:2 Antithetic. Without understanding, the fool lacks the sense to be silent or to learn, and instead reveals an (empty) mind. 18:3 Synonymous. The saying describes the sad effects of wicked and shameful conduct. 18:4 Antithetic? Juxtapositional. The NIV implies an antithesis between a and b. The disjunctive but, which is not in the MT, is ...

1562. A Message About Babylon

Jeremiah 50:1--51:64

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

50:1 The superscription that begins the final oracle against the nations identifies the object of this long section as Babylon. It introduces not only the last grouping of oracles but also what are by far the longest in the oracles against the nations. The prophet pulls out all the stops to articulate the destruction that was coming Babylon’s way. Jeremiah understood that the Babylonians were being used by God as an instrument of his judgment against Judah and the other nations, but this fact did not ...

1563. The Model of Jesus for Discipleship Service, Not Self-Seeking

Mark 9:33-37, Mark 9:38-41, Mark 9:42-50

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Discipleship demands becoming like Jesus in self-sacrificial service to others. His people must embrace diversity in the group and defeat sin and temptation in their lives. Understanding the Text The disciple-centered movement of Jesus from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem continues in this section. The series of interactions carry on the gradual uncovering of the disciples’ inability to understand and their self-seeking responses to the various stimuli that they receive. Structure This passage is ...

1564. Wisdom and Foolishness

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Christians cannot use the commonly accepted wisdom that guides the surrounding culture as the standard for their thinking and living. Understanding the Text In the ancient world, “wisdom” was not an abstract concept unrelated to daily living. To the contrary, it was a way of living based on a given understanding of life’s purpose and of what actions reasonably would accomplish such purpose. Various philosophers (lit., “lovers of wisdom”) competed to gain a following for their particular brand of ...

1565. Many Parts, One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: In a fashion parallel to the physical body, which God created with a plurality of parts with different functions, God grants a multiplicity of spiritual gifts in order for the Christ community to function as the incarnate body of Christ. Understanding the Text After giving a theological basis for unity in diversity, Paul now turns to a most memorable explication that stands out in a special way in the Corinthian situation. The multiplicity of spiritual gifts is designed to enable Christ’s members ...

1566. You Reap What You Sow

2 Sam 13:1-39

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord ensures that justice is satisfied, sometimes by allowing one’s children to repeat the parent’s sins. Understanding the Text The Lord confronted David with his sin and announced that he would severely punish him. Through Nathan’s entrapment technique, he even maneuvered David into imposing his own penalty. David must pay fourfold for his theft of Uriah’s wife (2 Sam. 12:6). The first installment of this payment came almost immediately, as the first baby born to Bathsheba and David died. ...

1567. Yahweh Speaks as the Master Teacher

Job 38:1--41:34

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Yahweh poses questions about the physical world to demonstrate that Job’s knowledge is too limited to explain how God works in his world. Understanding the Text Throughout the speeches in chapters 3–37, the various human speakers claim to know what Yahweh thinks about Job’s situation, but in chapter 38 Yahweh finally breaks his silence and speaks for himself. Yahweh addresses Job in 38:1–40:2, focusing on his design for the world (38:2), and then Job replies briefly in 40:3–5. Yahweh resumes ...

1568. “You Are Not a God Who Is Pleased with Wickedness”

Psalm 5:1-12

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God and evil are mutually incompatible, and on the human level, that is effectively demonstrated in the harmful results of evil perpetrated on others. Understanding the Text Psalm 5 is an individual lament (see “The Anatomy of Lament” in the introduction), issuing a complaint that the psalmist’s enemies cannot be trusted (not unusual for one’s enemies!) and affirming trust in the Lord. So far we have seen a lineup of psalms (2–5) that deal with David’s enemies. His reign was one of war and ...

1569. “Endow the King with Your Justice, O God”

Psalm 72:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Prayer for the blessing of the nations is also a prayer for the poor and needy of the world. Understanding the Text Psalm 72 is generally classified as a royal psalm. This means its focus is on the king and his kingdom. Some commentators view it as a coronation psalm, which is a little difficult to see because it does not have the same references to the establishment of the kingship as does Psalm 2:7. However, it could have been used in some capacity when Israelite kings were crowned. It is one ...

1570. Trials and Temptation

James 1:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1:1 · Address and Greeting: Although James could claim to be a brother of the Lord and a leader in the early Jerusalem church, he is content to call himself a “servant.” Indeed, like Moses (Deut. 34:5) and David (Ezek. 37:24) before him, James recognizes that there is no higher honor than being called to serve the living God. James’s readers are also honored to belong to the people of God of the last day—“the twelve tribes.” As I suggested in the introduction, these readers are probably Jewish Christians ...

1571. The Power of Patience

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Let’s be honest. Many folks have a strong faith in God and are seeking his will in everything they do, but they are still waiting on God to answer their prayers. They could be praying for a new job, a relationship, an illness, a problem at work, or a personal struggle. They have prayed repeatedly and have sought God’s will and still there is no answer, no sign, no movement. Maybe you know someone like that? Perhaps that someone is you. If you are honest, you are growing really impatient with God. You don’t ...

1572. Sexual Immorality

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

These nine verses form a complex segment of the letter. One finds here quotations from the Corinthians and a citation of the LXX. The verses are largely cast in the diatribe style of popular Hellenistic philosophy. One also encounters traditional elements of early Christian doctrine. All of this material is woven together in service to Paul’s deliberate line of argumentation. Paul builds and argues a case in verses 12–17 in response to the thinking and declarations of the Corinthians. As the NIV and other ...

1573. Maternal Legacy

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

When the will of Henry J. 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 ...

1574. The Next Big Thing

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

When spring comes, we change things up. We clean our homes from top to bottom. We wash our curtains. We clean our car. We put away our winter clothing and get out our spring and summer wear. And importantly, we take our vehicles for an oil change, because over the winter, the cold weather puts extra demands on our oil and our oil filter. But whatever your manner of “spring changeover,” we all feel that need to cast off the pall of winter blues and do something constructive to get ready for the excitement ...

1575. Are you a G.O.A.T.?

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In the language of social media today, artists and sports greats of all kinds often refer to themselves as GOATS. The term means “Greatest of All Time.” Once a term reserved for public acclaim of a popular sports figure, today, the term has been used to declare the best of the best, or at least, those who believe, they are the best--folks such as Muhammed Ali, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant--those icons of their craft, who are often universally lauded and praised by others as well as significantly ...

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