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 1651 to 1675 of 5000 results

1651. Extreme Measures

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... the pillar of support in her community, was murdered because she refused to part with the precious gold watch handed down from two generations to her. Like Naboth, her refusal cost her her life. Another boy stated that she had pleaded with them to take whatever they wanted but not the gold watch. So they shot her three times in the head and took a watch which did not work. Our lives are filled with stories of the slaughter of the innocent. We see daily the grim reminders of how greed, power, and corruption ...

1652. Lent 3

Luke 13:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Psalm 63:1-11, Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... related to God's punishment for sin. The world in which we live has an order to it that God allows to act on its own nature. Human actions are sometimes contributing causes of suffering and death. The tower of Siloam did not collapse because God wanted to punish the men who died. It probably was a lack of human knowledge or judgment that caused the collapse. It is also possible that shoddy work or corrupt officials may have caused it, so that some human sin may have contributed to the fall. Certainly ...

1653. Proper 25

Psalm 65:1-13, Luke 18:9-14, Joel 2:28-32, 2 Timothy 4:9-18, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... . Capital was exempted once it was tithed. Some indicate that only certain crops were subject to the tithe. The Pharisees wanted to assure their righteousness by going beyond the minimal requirements and tithed everything they had or received. 7. "Standing Far ... is aware of what he should have done and left undone or of what he did that fell short of what he expected and wanted to happen. Only grace allows persons to feel justified. It is the awareness that God accepts and loves them as they are, with all ...

1654. How To Treat Your Enemies

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... people at war in our relationships. From our marriages to our child-parent relationships, to our next-door neighbors, to our work relationships and on beyond, we are a people doing combat. And so much of our energy is consumed in licking our wounds and plotting our revenge. We want to hurt back, settle the score, get even. Allow me to meddle in your lives for a few minutes by asking, "Who are you at war with? Who are your enemies? How have you been treating your foes?" But you say, "I'm a Christian. I don't ...

1655. Judgment Day

Mark 13:1-31

Drama

Steven E. Albertin

... helped to reveal how shocking God's ways are when compared to our human sensibilities. If we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit that we would have had just as difficult a time as the girl in the drama when it comes to accepting the way that God wants to deal with us. We and so much of the church with us have a very difficult time believing that God could be so gracious and merciful. And so, we look for substitutes, for ways to pay for our sins, to earn a hearing, to get a fair trial, because ...

1656. No Freudian Slip!

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... showed me his forearms, both grossly misshapen and discolored, skin bulging with huge lumps, the results of his frequent encounters with dialysis. I suspected that this was not your typical street swindler on the make for another victim. I felt that his story was true. At least I wanted to believe that it was true. He said he was desperate and had no place to go. He had called a local church and found out that there was a large community service going on that night in town, but he didn't know where it was ...

1657. Getting In Tune Again

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

William L. Self

... not the ark of salvation, nor does it belong in the Christian fleet. Why does our violin get out of tune? Maybe we have received a confused message. How do we tune our fiddles? The gospel is the A note. Get your fiddles and let's tune them now. I want to tell you a series of stories that have helped keep me in tune. There was a deacon in a church I served who did not believe in doing mission work. He lived in the "objective mood" and the "kickative case." He disagreed with everything that happened. He was a ...

1658. Praying With Bloody Knuckles

Isaiah 62:1-12, Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

... years. Finally, one day this man appeared in the pastor's study and said, "They say you have been praying for me every day and I want to know why you would bother to pray for a man like me." The pastor was able to witness to the man and lead him to ... life, but rather it is life-centering. Bloody knuckles praying is serious business.1 In the parables on importunity Jesus focuses on persistence. He wants us, he says, to pray and not lose heart. Our day needs to hear this. We pray in a rather casual way once or ...

1659. A Bad Temperament Can Kill You

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... a great story of healing, isn't it? We can resonate with that story. Many times in life, we prefer to be a non-insulted leper, in our own way, than a humiliated well person. Sometimes our own attention deficiencies get in the way of our love for life. We want to stay and fight, put up the defense, instead of moving on to the rest of life and walking around the bumps and bruises that have come our way in a world that has plenty of room in which to do just that. Look at the biblical narrative that way ...

1660. Till Death Do Us -- Unite

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... " but before the pastor could finish, Sarah interrupted. "Don't be. Jesus has been good. I have lived a long life. I'm ready to go." "I know," Pastor Neal whispered with a reassuring nod. "But I do want to talk with you about my funeral. I have been thinking about it and there are things that I know I want." The two talked quietly for a long time. When it seemed that they had covered just about everything, Sarah paused, looked up at her pastor with a twinkle in her eye, and then added, "One more thing. When ...

1661. The Fruitful Vine

John 15:1-17, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... than they needed. She did try to preserve all of the grapes by making grape juice and jelly. The second year she felt it was too much to harvest and process so she gave many of the grapes away to neighbors and friends. The third year they did not want that many grapes. So in the spring she proceeded to cut back the vines radically, presuming that they would not produce as much. Instead the vines had new growth and the harvest was even more abundant than before. 5. Why Prune? · Not only vines but also other ...

1662. So Much To Say, So Little Time

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... Jesus was trying to talk to a group of people who could be sitting in this room at this very moment right alongside of us. Jesus wanted to speak to his disciples in a clear and direct manner. But how could he expect them to hear all that they needed to hear ... filled their minds and faces. Did you ever notice how it gets harder to hear when someone is telling you something you do not want to hear? Like when the doctor comes in with test results that you have been dreading. Or when your boss calls you in to ...

1663. How Costly Grace? Or Does Spelling Count?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... morning, are considered by many to be one of the four or five mountaintop gems in all of scripture. Before we get to that, though, I want to just mention what to me is the low point in all of scripture in the search for an answer to the question, "What does the ... tallying up percentages of Sundays when you went to church or how often and what kind of sacrifices you offered to God. What does God want? He has told you, O Mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love ...

1664. Accepting The Call

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence." We've all met people who want to give us advice, who just drive us right up the wall with the way they do it, haven't we? The fellow who stands there ... 'll come to and read it in the morning. My number is on the inside cover. I'll come and see you whenever you call. I want you to know life doesn't have to be like this." The next day, the hotel manager called to tell them that the fellow had died ...

1665. Giving Better Than We Expect

1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... be reactive -- that is, we can react to how others treat us, what they say to us, and respond in kind. Or, we can be proactive, and set the tone for how the interaction will go. If we want to set a tone for our business, office or factory, we behave proactively -- as we want to be treated, despite how others react. We compliment people whenever possible, maintain a positive atmosphere, and refuse to return anger for anger. We avoid sarcasm, listen carefully to one another's feelings, and try to help each ...

1666. Don't Be Stupid

Jeremiah 4:5-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... time to do the dishes," or "It's time to cut that out -- that's stupid." When you have to say something someone doesn't want to hear, Seitz says, how you say it is just as important and maybe more important than what you say. Actually, God must've already ... good judgment in the life he has made; to living it long and living it well; learning how to do good and not evil. God wants you and me to be like the Apostle Paul who wrote to the church in Corinth, which was beset by stupid, childish squabbles: "When I ...

1667. Letting God

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Matthew 2:1-12

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... deserves to have at least a midwife to take care of her when her time comes. It wasn't right. It wasn't the way I wanted it to be. MARY: (Softly) No. I can see that. JOSEPH: And we didn't have anything that would have brought you even a little comfort ... moment of worship. JOSEPH: Amen! 1ST SHEP: And so we have come to bring you gifts. JOSEPH: Gifts? 2ND SHEP: They're not much, but we want to share with you the little we have. JOSEPH: We don't need any gifts. MARY: Hush, Joseph! Of course we do. 3RD SHEP: We ...

1668. Begging For Mercy

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Drama

Pamela Urfer

... on the stools near him. RICH MAN: Why don't you go out and get jobs like regular people? 1ST BEG: I can't find any work. You have no idea how many people are after the same few jobs. 2ND BEG: I have three small children. I don't want to leave them alone. The 3RD BEGGAR, obviously brain-damaged, sits rocking back and forth. RICH MAN: Why aren't the government social services doing anything for you? Don't you get food stamps, welfare, Medicare? Why are you bothering me? 1ST BEG: I used to get food stamps but ...

1669. The Right Thing To Do

Psalm 119:1-3

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

... not get caught? No. Those of us who are growing up and trying to make decisions that will make God happy will choose to do the right thing, even if we can get away with doing the wrong thing. Growing up the way God wants us to means living the way God wants instead of living the way we want. It means making decisions and choices that help us obey God's rules for our lives. It's good to obey the rules so we will not get in trouble, but it is even better to obey the rules simply because we know ...

1670. The Inside And The Outside

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

... smell good. But many times we forget about the inside; we forget about our hearts. If we are going to be the kind of people that God wants us to be, we have to spend at least as much time taking care of the inside as we do taking care of the outside. I'm ... Jesus. We can pray and talk with God about what's going on in our lives. We can treat other people the way we believe Jesus would want us to treat them. It takes a lot of time to do all these things, but just as it is important to care for the outside of ...

1671. Veiled Glimpses of God's Glory

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... is far too immense to be confined to a stage, much less to a script. And part of the embarrassment, it seems to me, of wanting to point to such glory in the subtle realization that, in so doing, we may actually be trying to put our finger on the ... glory," Moses prays. "You shall see my back," replies Yahweh, "but my face shall not be seen." It probably wasn't the answer Moses wanted to hear. And for that matter, we might be a little disappointed with it as well -- especially in those times when we need ...

1672. A Long Obedience In The Same Direction

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Mark Radecke

We live in a microwave world. A hurry-up, get-to-the-point, move-it, move-it, move-it, world! We want what we want and we want it now! We want freezer-to-table meals in 15 minutes at the outside; we want 0 to 60 acceleration in 8.5 seconds; we want the phone answered in 3 rings or we're hanging up; we want that personal pan pizza in 5 minutes or we're outta here. No one reads classical literature any more. Why bother when you've got Barnes and Noble, Monarch Notes and Klassic Komix? Or, if you really must ...

1673. Country Songs and Easter Hymns

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Thomas Long

... contemplating and, by nature, cuts them off from any real relation to God.1 To this, the Jesus of the Gospel of Luke would have responded, "I love you Thomas Merton, but you listen to that city story and you will discover much about prayer. If you really want to learn to pray you need to listen not only to the meditations in the monastery and the language of quiet contemplation but also to the noisy cries for justice in the city streets. God grants justice to those who noisily cry out day and night." It is ...

1674. The One Thing That Would Make The Biggest Difference

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... it is that person is doing that is hurting your relationship is something which he or she doesn't really understand is wrong. Human nature being what it is, we often resist the truth about ourselves when it requires us to face something we don't want to see, or requires real change on our part. Sometimes we dismiss the observations and even outright complaints of another person. If you are like me, you rationalize that they are just overly sensitive or are upset about something else and are taking it out on ...

1675. The Downside Of The Practice -- Performance Equation

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... a miracle!" Second, "Thank You, Jesus, for making me a man because I could never do that!" It's like Joan Rivers said, "If a man wants to know what it's like to give birth, all he has to do is take his upper lip and pull it over his head." I' ... and go walking through the woods on the first day of hunting season. I don't know why anyone in her or his right mind would want to become a pastor unless, of course, you know, they're called to do it. The same goes for everybody and everything else. You do what ...

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