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 151 to 175 of 357 results

151. The Ten Commandments - Part 2

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

... have them do unto you. Jesus took these words out of the negative and put them in the positive: Do unto others what you would have them do unto you, the golden rule. In other words, love requires us to take action. It is not enough simply to refrain from coveting what our neighbor has. If we want to be please God we must act well; if we want others to be kind and respectful to us, then we must act so to them. In other words, much of the Ten Commandments call upon us to refrain from doing bad. But ...

152. A Man With a Scalpel and a Pen

Acts 16:6-10

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... Only Luke tells this incident. And only Luke leaves this great text at the close of the story: "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Only Luke tells us that Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth ..." And then Jesus told the story of a certain rich farmer whose land produced abundantly ... and he had no room to store his goods ... he decided to build bigger barns ... and ...

153. Goodness Is Not Good Enough

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... . Ebenezer Scrooge, that despicable, but somehow lovable, character in Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, found himself in that predicament.* Dickens describes his villain as "a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone ... a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." Even on Christmas Eve, when the holiday was being celebrated in the ...

154. Discipleship - Path to Fulfillment

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... collapsed like the proverbial balloon. Humiliated and embarrassed, my face burning, I shed my robe and exited as inconspicuously as I could. I exaggerate but little when I say that I crept on hands and knees to join my wife in the pew. I no longer covet the limelight. That painful experience taught me a valuable lesson. I learned to take to heart Jesus’ admonition not to seek the praise of men, and to find satisfaction in his reassuring words, "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:4b ...

155. Let’s Climb a Mountain

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... mount - and in the meadow and by the sea. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, the mourners are "those who are peculiarly sensitive to sin in themselves and society, and who feel deeply all the distress caused by the greed and covetousness, the selfish ambitions and cruelty of men." C. The meek were represented in the crowd, too. The gentle people who excel in patience, forbearance, and quietness. They are strong, but their very strengths are often mistaken for weakness. In a world where, too often ...

156. What Do We Do Now That We’re Happy?

Isaiah 62:1-12

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

There are a few times in our lives when long periods of planning and expectation are fulfilled. We cram months upon months with preparation. At last the coveted day arrives and our cup runs over. Weddings are such days. Long periods of activity go into getting ready. Each activity and emotion is carefully choreographed. When the day finally comes, the anticipation is so intense and the emotions so high that we expect life to go into overdrive. We ...

157. "But, Lord, I Didn’t Want To Be Saved in That Way"

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... for "two mules’ burdens of earth" so that he may sacrifice to the true God when he returns home. Two stories from my own life came to me when I began to unpack this text. When I was in seminary there was a young professor whom I admired greatly and coveted his company and his friendship. One day he asked if I would go with him to pick up a refrigerator. I was delighted; here was an opportunity to do something for him and gain a foothold in a friendship. When he returned me to the dormitory he offered me ...

158. The Miracle of Salvation

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... rebellion against God. This was the thing Jesus told us about guilt - all of our rebellion is against God. We may think it is our fellow men whom we seek to destroy because they get in our way but in actuality we are striking out at God. In the coveting, the pride, the lust, and all of the rest of it, is a deep-seated rebellion against the creator, a movement to usurp the sovereignty of God and replace it with the sovereignty of man. They killed him because they couldn’t face him - because He saw through ...

159. Partners in the Impossible

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Richard Patt

... not join the crowd if you can’t beat them?" But amid this widespread moral resignation of our times, let me tell you about a beautiful teenager I know. She is a popular young lady - a cheerleader at her school, a whiz at the books, and a coveted Saturday night date. With the way I know she helps her family at home, and with a typically rushed high school schedule, this seventeen-year-old nevertheless is doing something I consider unusual. Every day, I mean every day, she drops by at a nursing care home ...

160. Then He Went Home

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... with the power of God, the Holy Spirit. The Unforgivable Sin "All sins can be forgiven," Jesus said, "except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit." Even murder? Yes, even murder. Even adultery? Yes, even adultery. Even idolatry? Yes, even idolatry. Even lying? Yes, even lying. Even coveting, stealing and using the name of God in vain? Yes, all of them can be forgiven if people repent. What then is the "sin against the Holy Spirit?" What is the one thing which will keep us out of the Kingdom? What does "Blasphemy ...

161. Cultural Revolution or Spiritual Problem?

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

... first to ask whether they are right or wrong. Paul wrote a catalog of sin to describe Roman society nearly 2,000 years ago. What was happening back then has not changed much. Listen: Homosexuality, wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, gossip, slander, hatred of God, insolence, haughtiness, boastfulness, invention of evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness, ruthlessness (Romans 1:26-31). These are not cultural dilemmas. They are sin. John ...

162. And He Shall Reign

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

... wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he shall be called: "The Lord is our righteousness!" This is the certainty of faith that Jeremiah coveted for Judah and so desperately sought to share with them. This is the certainty he shares with us when life seems at its darkest hour and the promises of God seem little more than pious rhetoric and we hang in the thin air of our own disasters ...

163. Counting the Cost

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... my disciple." To be a Christian is not merely to worship Christ on his cross but to walk in the footsteps of the Crucified. It is to say with Mr. Steadfast of Pilgrim’s Progress "Wherever I have seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there have I coveted to put mine also." It is just as true today as it was 600 years ago when Thomas a Kempis wrote in his Imitation of Christ, "Christ in our day has many admirers but few followers." And it is just as true what Luther wrote in his 95 Theses, "A ...

164. How Life’s Pressures Affect Good Judgment

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Brett Blair

... record for us what happened to their marriage after this incident, but I can assure you that their marriage was not a bed of roses. Whatever their situation it is obvious that the Kings conscious bothered him thereafter. What a waste: A marriage is destroyed by a covetous powerful brother. A mother uses her daughter in a murderous scheme. A prophet is killed. A king commits murder to save his honor over a stupid oath. What a waste all because a powerful man was not able to see his original error and makes a ...

165. Letting Go

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... white. Free to love strangers, foreigners, outcasts, status-seekers, Even my neighbor ... even my family. Free to love those who hate me even those who love me. Those who misunderstand ... and those who understand. Those without knowledge, and those whose knowledge I covet. To love all ... to give to all ... to be all. Lord, I want to be free free to give ... thoughts, actions, talents, myself. My whole self ... without question ... without hesitation ... without fear. Lord, I want to be free ... free to be ...

166. A Lack of Feeding in the American Dream

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... gets, the more he realizes that there will always be people higher up than he. There are always going to be people who will be just that much smarter, just that much more creative, and they will probably be the ones who end up with the select fame that he covets. He, too, contemplates suicide in his more despondent moods. Then one day the realization creeps up on him that if he were to commit suicide and then be able to come back from it that there would be a lot of life to live even if he were not as ...

167. Why Prophets Get Under Our Skin

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... this. No televangelist con artist, this prophet. No panderer after the sympathies of the rich and famous. No sycophant of the elite and powerful, this man. This man was a man of God -- fierce, unyielding, piercing, penetrating, forthright, and forceful. He sought no coveted memberships in elite organizations. He asked no favor of those in power and never fawned over those with position. Instead, the rich and famous left the comforts of their homes and clubs to come to the Jordan wilderness to hear him. He ...

168. Salvation Includes Social Justice

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... by working for this justice? Amos 5:24 says that someday justice will “roll down like waters.” Salvation always includes social justice, because the freedom of Christians includes everyone’s freedom! ____________ 1. Reinhold Niebuhr, “Beware of Covetousness,” in Justice and Mercy, ed. Ursula M. Niebuhr (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1974), p. 68. 2. Reinhold Niebuhr, “Why the Christian Church is not Pacifist,” in Larry Rasmussen, ed., Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life ...

169. Bad News from a Good Man!

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... for our benefit. What place do those principles play in how you do business and live life? Let us learn anew to appreciate those old standards that have stood the test of time and come to us in the Bible. Will you notice what happens with unresolved covetousness? If Ahab was a spoiled brat, Jezebel was worse. She was a forger. “She wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city” (1 Kings 21:8). She ...

170. The Spirit Has Landed

Luke 3:1-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... there!” I feel that way about earth sometimes. As I look out the window of my office, or my home, or my car, I say to God, “You’re trying to find life here?” All I see is a barren people: War and hatred, greed and covetousness, pride and death all around me. Baptism reminds me that righteousness is present in this world in the form of a gift. Righteousness is baptism’s fruit. Repentance. Righteousness. The third is revelation. We all need spiritual direction. We all have a need for revelation, for ...

171. A Powerful Prayer

Matt 22:15-22; John 17:20-26

Illustration

Brett Blair

... . We have killed our unborn and called it a choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the airwaves with profanity and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our ...

172. Jesus and Mary and Martha

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Dr. Boyd E. Wagner

... according to John where he talked about her devotion to Him at the raising of the her brother Lazarus. Mary, in the same way, was not complimented by her idleness. It is not that Jesus spoke to Mary because she was doing nothing. He only calls us not to covet the life of Mary for the spiritual desire leads sometimes for us to be apart. There comes a time when we don’t need to be so involved with the details. We need to think about what is really important. Mary was called away from the details and Jesus ...

173. Pay Back Time

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... out there, and people can be incredible. Down in the part of the country in which I lived for years, millions of people are tuning in for the NASCAR race from Daytona today - the Super Bowl of racing, they call it, and one of the sport's most coveted crowns. Richard Petty, probably the best known stock car racer of all time, holds the record for the most victories in the Daytona 500 - seven times he has won that race, and one came with the most bizarre finish imaginable. Going into the last lap, Richard was ...

174. God Cares About Justice!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... someone or gossiping across the back fence. This one is about the court system. If you go into court, God says tell the truth. A just society is dependant upon a trustworthy legal system to resolve disputes. And finally, Number 10: "You shall not covet." Huh? How can we not? Isn't this asking the impossible? Not really. At least not if we read the whole commandment. It mentions some specifics...house, wife, slaves, ox, donkey, property in general (and, yes, back in those days, wives were considered property ...

175. The Ten Commandments: One God, Only One

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to live as God's own people."(4) No other gods; no images; do not use the Lord's name foolishly; keep the sabbath; honor your father and mother; do not kill; do not steal; do not commit adultery; do not bear false witness; and do not covet. Ten commandments to define both vertical and horizontal relationships: that between God and God's people, and that between one person and another. Jesus summarized them all when he gave what has come to be known as "the Great Commandment" - You shall love the Lord, your ...

Showing results