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 399 results

151. Would You Take The Crown Without The Cross?

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

... we come because we belong with him not because he has something for us. We come because our soul needs to be in his presence not because our belly needs to be filled. Satan asks, wouldn’t you rather have your desires met first, your cravings satisfied in full? Wouldn’t you rather take the crown without the cross? II The second temptation we shall call: Fall on the Rocks: The Temptation to gain popularity by performance. And if the first temptation deals with the physical needs of Jesus, then the second ...

152. Trouble in the Manse

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... participants up into groups of four and instructed them to confide in one another. In one group, a rabbi broke the ice by saying, "I'll begin by sharing one of my most disturbing problems. Occasionally I slip out of town and give in to my craving for pork - I stuff myself with bacon, sausage, ham, pork chops, and sometimes even baby back ribs." At this point a Roman Catholic priest confided he, too, had a similar problem during Lent and occasionally slipped away to enjoy a medium-rare T-bone steak. There ...

153. Would You Take The Crown Without The Cross?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Brett Blair

154. Sons And Daughters Of God

Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... drawn to his new mother. In fact, he seemed more drawn to trouble than to anything else. He accused her frequently of not loving him and taunted her with "I won't obey you or anyone." Carolyn never stopped barbecuing those juicy hamburgers he craved, never quit hugging him after his acid words, never ceased rescuing him from fights. Carolyn had almost despaired of Tony ever bonding to her. But then Carolyn got a big surprise; Tony made an unexpected speech at his junior high graduation. In almost a ...

155. Finding Glory

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... Others glory in their possessions. This is a little tricker. Materialism ” the worship of things ” is a constant threat in a society such as ours. As Frank Tyger has so cleverly put it: "America is the land of the spree and the home of the crave." (2) Fights over money rank as the number-one source of marital discord according to most surveys. Other surveys indicate that most Americans would rather be rich than smart or better looking. (3) Some people glory in their possessions. And some people glory in ...

156. Who Is Your Lazarus?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... in 1995 was based on the best selling book, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. It is about a woman who commits adultery, not because her husband is a bad husband, but because he is blind to her needs. He is a good man but unable to provide the excitement she craves. We do not have to agree with the premise of the movie to recognize that two people can live together for a lifetime and continually turn their heads away from their partner's needs. Who is the Lazarus at your gate? It may be your spouse or it may be ...

157. No Improvement Possible

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... you need is yours for the asking."(2) We don't know what had happened between that angry man and his previous neighbor. All the man seemed to be asking for was to be treated with a little dignity and respect. That is what most people crave. Someone who does not accord dignity and respect to others does not know the Gospel. It is sad when religion becomes a divisive influence rather than an unifying one. I read recently about the funeral procession of Franklin D. Roosevelt. A young announcer by the name ...

158. How Can I Know It's Real?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... more could Christ look for in a human heart someone who is determined to make a new start to experience new life. But there is a second thing to be said. ZACCHEUS WAS WILLING TO MAKE WHATEVER CHANGES WERE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE THIS NEW LIFE HE SO CRAVED. Some people want to experience new life but they want to do it on their terms. They want to do it without making any real changes in their lives. "Next year I’m going to be a changed person!" Charlie Brown tells Lucy. "That’s a laugh, Charlie ...

159. A Great And Wonderful New Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... wee whisper, "Mrs. Green, may I have a drink?" Was it really water her son was calling for or was it her attention? Every parent knows the answer. Criminologists say that many crimes, especially sensational ones, are performed by people who never had satisfied their craving for being noticed. The criminal goes out and does something spectacular which will make front-page headlines and says to himself, "Now, I guess the world will sit up and take notice of me." (4) Every now and then someone takes a poll of ...

160. I Am Doing A New Thing

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... that the thief had installed a burglar-alarm system in it. That thief, out of his own experience, knew the human heart. There is something within us that is out of whack. There is something within us that scorns the delights that are permitted and craves the forbidden fruit. There is something within us that is self-destructive and causes us to throw away our most precious possessions of all ” including the gift of life itself. One of nature's deepest mysteries is why whales from time to time will beach ...

161. Jesus Prays For Us

John 17:20-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... FIRST OF ALL, JESUS PRAYS FOR OUR UNITY. He prays "that they all may be one." (RSV) Christ desires his church to be a close-knit family! He desires us to be unified. I suspect many of us underestimate how much we need one another, how much we crave contact, how much we hunger for true Christian fellowship. Recent research has indicated that those persons who attend church are less likely to be ill over time than those who do not attend church. I don't know what that says to you. Possibly, it says something ...

162. A Mountain Too High To Climb

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... and eventually he could not even bring himself to touch his beloved, as he spent every waking moment torturing himself, trying to devise some kind of test to answer his agonized question: "Would she love me if it were not for the chemical?" For our scientist did crave love, and love cannot be commanded." (1) Love can only be won. This is the First Sunday in Advent. This is the season when we prepare our hearts to celebrate that occasion when God came down to win our love. Isaiah the prophet had written of a ...

163. Internal Medicine

Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... passions is so great?! We desire, so we take! We want, and we have the wherewithal to make it happen, so we do! We're hungry, so we eat! But fasting stops us. Fasting puts the brakes on. Fasting pulls us up short. Because there is no greater craving of our souls than the hunger for food. Our days are organized around it: our coffee breaks, our lunch breaks, our supper hour and our snacks. Our lives are organized around eating. And when we fast, when we stop eating for a while, we make a religious statement ...

164. On Telling Time With Computers And (holy Red) Cows

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." "Lord, is this the time? Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" Israel had waited. And waited. And waited. Craving the reestablishment of David's glorious kingdom. Hungering for the splendor of days long past, days when Jerusalem's royal court was the envy of the world. Could this be the time? Could this be that glorious moment in history? Dizzy with the now fortydayold miracle ...

165. Do You Have The Glory?

John 17:20-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... reach that kind of notoriety. Many people sell their souls to gain fame and glory. It's somewhat understandable. As some wit has said, "Glory may be fleeting, but obscurity is forever." How would you like to have fame and glory? You don't need to apologize for craving such things. It may drive you to accomplish things you never would have accomplished otherwise. I can't help you with the fame part, but I can tell you this: YOU AND I ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE GLORY. Listen to the words of Jesus. He is praying his ...

166. On Eating Peas With A Knife

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... For some people, it is their greatest need. HERE IS THE SECOND THING WE NEED TO SEE: ACCEPTANCE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CHANGE PEOPLE. There are people who are decent, responsible citizens today because someone, somewhere along the way gave them the acceptance they craved. A child psychologist told about a boy who was brought to him who was labeled "incorrigible." The child was supposed to be "uncontrollable." He was moody, and at first wouldn't even talk to the psychologist. There simply seemed to be no "handle ...

167. Help For Hurting Dads

Galatians 3:15-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... circumstances, he might have done much worse. By the time he died, I can honestly say we were friends." (2) Some Dads have problems that prevent them from being the kind of Dads they should be. Some Dads never had a model for the loving, sympathetic father that their children crave. Some Dads are full of anger, full of selfloathing, full of fear. And to a certain extent they can't help it. But there is a second thing we need to see: IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO BUILD NEW BRIDGES. If you see yourself in Dave's Dad ...

168. Becoming One of the Beautiful People

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... to remember the color of his missing wife's eyes! (2) It is universal. It cuts across generations, across social classes, across gender. We all want to be recognized. To quote Harvard psychologist William James: "The deepest principle of human nature is a craving to be appreciated." We all want to be part of the beautiful people looked up to, respected, even envied. That is part of human nature. Sometimes people go to extreme lengths to acquire recognition. In fact, one reason many people get in trouble ...

169. Dreaming Of Florida--awaking In Alaska

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... . It's terribly important, he said, for each of us to know who we are. Wuthnow said a second thing. HE SAID THAT WE'RE NEVER REALLY SURE WHO WE ARE. He said that we grasp at various things, thinking that they'll give us the identity we crave. We show our degrees. We tell of our possessions, our houses, our cars, our trips. We wear our clothes to say something about ourselves. Or, like those Princeton students, we lay claim to a particular community, or a particular history. If we can just be identified with ...

170. I Smell Bread

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Mebane Pridgen McMahon

... groping for answers demands, "Can you see anything? Can you feel anything? I have to know." But the dying soldier doesn't answer any of those questions. Instead, all he manages is, "I smell bread." Isn't that odd? What Major Winchester wants . . . what he craves . . . are answers to all the pain, all the waning destruction, all the tragedy and suffering around him. "Can you see anything? Can you feel anything? I have to know." And what he gets, instead of answers, is a fragrance, a symbol, an image, an ...

171. Why Did I Do That?

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... to the ground outside, whence he sauntered gravely to the house." Then Jack London adds these words: "He had learned the law." (3) What law was that? Let's call it the law of obedience. White Fang moved from following the dictates of his own natural cravings to being obedient to the higher discipline of his master. Did you know that there are human beings who have done that? There are people in this very city who were addicted to drink and drugs. Their only hope was to acknowledge that there is a higher ...

172. How A Christian Grieves

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... of I Thessalonians, chapter 4, teaches the believers in Thessalonica how to LIVE as Christians. The second half of this chapter teaches them how to DIE in the same manner. And here is where St. Paul’s attitude is so much healthier than our own. We all crave instructions on how to live better, but rarely do we give much thought to the question of how to die better. In fact, we would rather avoid the subject altogether. In the book, Children’s Letters to God, a little boy wrote, “Dear God, What is it ...

173. It Doesn't Matter What I Do

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... others. Let him read all printed material he can get his hands on. Sterilize the silverware, but let him feast his mind on garbage. Quarrel frequently in his presence, and then he won't be too surprised when his home is broken up later. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. Every sensual desire must be gratified; denial may lead to harmful frustrations. Give your child all the spending money he wants. Don't make him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you did? Take his side ...

174. The Bread Of God

Exodus 16:1-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... the manna was for those ancient desert wanderers and more, and that he is for all people's souls. He came to us like manna from heaven, but in a much more profound sense! He is food, like the manna. But unlike food, he can forever end the craving of the famished soul; unlike food, he not only nourishes a bodily life, but communicates a spiritual life that never dies; and, unlike food, he was meant to be given to the whole world. His teaching passed beyond the symbolism of the manna, when he declared himself ...

175. Mud Below, Stars Above

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... for an enormous amount of wrongdoing. We are creatures of clay. Therefore we must discipline ourselves, we must deny ourselves, we must face and fashion that side of our nature which would convince us that we are no more than animals, whose purpose is to satisfy our bodily cravings. Isn't that the message of those who live by the creed, "If it feels good, do it?" Aren't they saying, "We are just clay. We are only naked apes. Our lives have no ultimate meaning, and our bodies are ours to do with as we please ...

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