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 1576 to 1600 of 2173 results

1576. Enduring the Trials of Faith

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

“In the seventh year of his reign, two days before his 65th birthday, in the presence of a full consistory of cardinals, Jean Marie Barette, Pope Gregory XVII signed an instrument of abdication, took off the fisherman’s ring, handed his seal to the Cardinal Camerlengo and made a curt speech of farewell.” So begins the power novel The Clowns of God, the second volume of a trilogy of tales about popes and faith written by Morris West, the Australian-born author. In the story the pope has seen a vision of the ...

1577. Are Ye Able?

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Although Christianity was an illegal religion during much of the first three centuries of the faith, there were both times when authorities turned a blind eye to their existence, and other times when persecution was intensified. During the reign of the Emperor Trajan (98-117AD) persecution intensified. In 108 AD, one of those arrested and condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts for the entertainment of the cheering crowds was Ignatius, the overseer of the church at Antioch. Antioch had been a center of ...

1578. The Sawdust Trail

Colossians 3:1-4

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

Presbyterian minister Reverend Benjamin Weir, in his book Hostage Bound, Hostage Free, reveals what it was like to be held hostage. He was captured on the streets of Beirut by a group of Shiite Muslim extremists, in May, 1984. Weir was imprisoned for sixteen months. During those torturous months he was often chained and held in solitary confinement. Weir’s devout faith and trust in God sustained him during those perilous times. One routine in particular sustained Weir’s reliance on Jesus. Weir realized ...

1579. The Greater Gift

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” Proverbs 3:13-18 Sin, repentance, ...

1580. All In God's Time

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In our contemporary society in which information lies immediately at our fingertips or even at our voice command and we can instantly communicate our wishes in a variety of ways, we humans have become more and more…impatient. This quickly leads to frustration that our needs and desires are not being met. Impatience then causes stress, often making us feel more…impatient. How do we break this unhealthy cycle? And it is unhealthy. Stress caused by impatience can cause a variety of emotional, mental, and ...

1581. The Tale of the Widow and the Wolves

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Of all our childhood fairy tales, some of our favorites, and most feared, have to do with wolves. Can you name a few? The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, The Wolf and the Fox, Peter and the Wolf. These are a few of the many tales we tell with wolves in the villain’s character. Why? Because wolves are known not just as carnivores but as “opportunistic predators.” Most often preying upon their victims in ...

1582. Swimming Against the Tide

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Salmon and Steelhead Trout are what scientists call anadromous fish. This means that they hatch in fresh water, then swim to the ocean to live out their lives, then return once again to fresh water to spawn. When the tide turns, they literally swim upstream against the current in order to reach their spawning grounds. This strong instinctual behavior to swim against the flow is driven by their need to reproduce.[1] That drive to reproduce is also the key to how we carry on our faith. We have an astute old ...

1583. Faith and Fury

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

A brand-new book came out in the past couple of months that immediately hit the #1 New York Times Bestseller List and has remained on the list for 14 weeks straight. It’s called “The Let Them Theory.” Written by Mel Robbins, who researched and developed its premise in response to her own personal journey from feeling “stuck” and hopeless in her life’s situation to becoming one of the most successful behavioral experts in the country, the book helps people and organizations alike battle depression and ...

1584. Hearing A Familiar Voice

John 10:22-30

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

As parents of three wonderful daughters, my wife and I can sympathize with the couple who sent their child off to college, only to find out a few months later that she was dating another student, and that the two of them were already talking about marriage. The troubled parents urged their daughter to bring her boyfriend home so that they could meet him. When the college twosome arrived and hurried and worried greetings were made at the door, Mom shunted daughter off to the kitchen while Dad guided the boy ...

1585. The Art and Agony of Patience

James 5:7-10

Sermon

Heather Sugden

My first child’s due date was the week before Thanksgiving. In the early months of pregnancy, I imagined this date the doctor assigned to her to be a great blessing: a Thanksgiving baby! I actually envisioned having family around our home the entire holiday week — all there to welcome my baby. I could picture perfectly in my mind’s eye this vision of everyone together, everyone happy, with food and the joy of saying our blessings out loud, creating the best possible environment for a new baby. Of course, a ...

1586. The Sending Plan (Alternate title: Our Human Predicament)

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Ron Lavin

In his sermon at the hometown synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus preached to the hometown folks -- family and friends who rejected him. One of the reasons for rejection was apparently overfamiliarity. Jesus went about healing, casting out demons, and preaching the need for repentance. Some people rejoiced. The hometown folks were offended. Jesus was rejected in his own hometown. Therefore Jesus made plans to send others out in his name. We pick up the story in verse 6: "And he was amazed at their lack of faith. ...

1587. Godly Sexual Passion For An X-Rated World

Song of Songs 2:1-17

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

The Hebrew word for love, awhab or awrag, means "to pant, to long for, to breathe heavily after." Psalm 41:1 says, "As a deer pants for the waters so my soul longs after you." In John 3:16, the idea is that God so loved the world, so breathed heavily after you and me, that he gave his only Son.... God is passionate for you. His breathing is labored. He loves you. There is a book in the Old Testament that is full of heavy breathing. It is titled, "Song of Solomon," or "The Song of Songs." And it deals ...

1588. Miracle Six: Stilling A Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

BACKGROUND MATERIAL Jesus sometimes got into a boat and headed for the farther shore in order to be free of the demands of the crowd who now followed him in great numbers. On this day he was weary from his work and from arguing with the scribes who constantly took issue with his pronouncements. He was on the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Gennesaret. The lake was about eight miles wide and twelve miles long, so it would take at least an hour to make the crossing. Because of his weariness Jesus lay down ...

1589. Epiphany 5

Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Salt is very important to life. If a person lacks salt, the hunger for it is one of the strongest desires we have. Any farmer knows how cattle will find a salt block and lick it to maintain the proper balance in its body. Salt is so valuable that in some societies it has been used as a medium of exchange, a substitute for money. In the scripture, light is often used as a symbol for the existence of God. It is frequently used in a variety of ways throughout the Bible. In some cultures the sun was worshiped ...

1590. Wicked Tenants

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The parable is found in Mark 12:1-12 and Luke 20:9-19 as well as in Matthew. Question is raised as to whether the parable is given in its original form as told by Jesus or whether it is embellished with additional details from the experience of the church after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The issue is in part concerned with one's belief about predictive prophecy. Did Jesus have prescience about what would happen to the church after his death, or did the writers of the parable adapt it to conform ...

1591. The Ugly Duckling

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Sharing Christ With Others This play may be presented as a unit, or divided up into Scene 1 and Scene 2 on consecutive Sundays. Small to moderate space is needed, and the setting may be as elaborate or as simple as one wishes to make it. No special lighting or sound effects are needed. Scene I Setting: Fitness center. Present; after Christmas (any holiday may be used). There is a bench front left, exercise bike sits to right of bench Characters:LINDA: Young Christian woman, pleasant, serious about ...

1592. The Momentous Witness of the Wise Men

Matthew 1:18-25

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Read as a kerygmatic statement rather than an historical account, this story of (unnumbered) Eastern wise men (astrologers, not kings) and their coming to witness the child (not baby) Jesus in a house (not a stable) as a result of having followed "his star's rising" (not a star in the East) is Matthew's declaration of the cosmic and universal significance of the appearance of Jesus. Ancient peoples considered extraordinary celestial phenomena portents of momentous events. Liturgical Color White ...

1593. The Inner Demands of God's Law

Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 5:27-30, Matthew 5:21-26

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes Here begins the section of Matthew's version of the Sermon on the Mount that contains the so-called "antitheses" of Jesus concerning the Law. Having asserted that he has come to fulfill rather than abolish the Law and the prophets, Jesus proceeds to quote the Law ("You have heard it said ...") and then to intensify it ("But I say ...") by extending its purview to cover inner motivation. The first antithesis, contained in this passage, is typical in that it moves beyond the act of murder to the ...

1594. Living By Faith And Trust

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

Jairus' little daughter was the sweetest child in the whole village. Everyone said so. She was slight in build and shy in behavior. And she was kind, more kind than any of the other children. Everyone said that, too. So when she fell ill and could not even venture beyond the framing of the front door of her house everyone in the town was greatly concerned. Her parents were well-respected, for her father was one of the 10 men in town who ruled the synagogue. He had lived within the bounds of the town all ...

1595. Growing Up

Ephesians 3:17-19

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

Object: A set of children's clothing that is obviously too small for even the youngest of those participating in the children's sermon. Have any of you received some new clothes this year? I remember when I was growing up there were a number of times each year when we might get new clothes. Sometimes that would be on our birthdays, at Easter time, maybe at Christmas, and almost always at the beginning of the new school year. But that leaves me with a question: Why do we need anything new? Can't we just ...

1596. Sandwiches

Matthew 25:18

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

Object: Two slices of bread and a variety of sandwich bags and wrap. This morning we are going to discuss sandwiches. I would guess a lot of you eat sandwiches for lunch most days of the week. What are your favorite kinds of sandwiches? (Allow time for answers.) How many of you like the crust on or off your sandwiches? What about the heel on the loaf of bread? Do you like that or not? And how many like white bread or dark bread? There are a lot of decisions to be made about sandwiches, aren't there? Once ...

1597. Rival Radios

Galatians 5:16-26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Objects: Two transistor radios tuned to different stations. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to practice confusion. Doesn't that sound like fun? How many of you know what I mean by confusion? [Let them answer.] When we are causing confusion it sometimes seems like fun, but when someone else is causing us confusion it is not so much fun. Let me show you what I mean. Suppose I am really tired. I come home from work and I want to lie down and take a nap. How many of you like to take naps when ...

1598. The Strength To Wait

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Erskine White

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. (Isaiah 40:33a) At the height of the Christmas shopping season, a young boy was standing at the bottom of a department store escalator, staring intently at the handrail as it moved along and refusing to take his eyes away. A saleswoman asked, "Are you lost?" "Nope," the boy said, "I'm waiting for my chewing gum to come back." That boy displayed an admirable patience, but most children find it hard to wait for the things they want. And at Christmas ...

1599. Joseph's Story

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Erskine White

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife." (Matthew 1:20) I am the forgotten person in the Christmas story. Oh sure, you all have little statues of me in your creche scenes at home and you set them out every year at Christmas time, but let's face it: people who look at your creche are looking at the Christ Child and His mother - they're not paying much attention to me. Even the shepherds and Wise Men (and a little drummer boy who wasn ...

1600. Wedding: Grounds for Marriage

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

(Name) and (name), this ceremony marks the culmination of your courtship. If you are like most lovers, the road of romance was filled with doubts and hopes, with problems and disappointments, with moments of heart swelling joy and the wonder of blossoming love. Now you have come boldly to declare that love before God and your invited guests. We are thrilled to share these moments with you. It would be nice to be unreservedly optimistic about your future. But I can't, because marriage isn't a one-way ride ...

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