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 1801 to 1825 of 5000 results

1801. A Theology of Work - Labor Day

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , and so on - do not free us from the workplace, they simply allow our workplace to follow us everywhere. And we contentedly go along (and you know very well that I am as guilty as anyone). The result is a work week that, according to projections, will be as long at the beginning of the new millennium as it was in the 1920's.(12) Not good. Years ago, the irrepressible May West said, "Too much of a good thing is...wonderful." Yes, work is God's good gift, but too much of it is NOT wonderful. Furthermore, our ...

1802. The God of the Unlikely

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... 3rd, the day before he was gunned down on that motel balcony, he said, I don't know what will happen now. We have got difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me, because I've been to the mountaintop. Like anyone else, I want to live a long life. But I'm not concerned with that. I just want to do God's will and He has allowed me to go up the mountain. I see the promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people ...

1803. Be Careful What You Wish For, You Just Might Get It!

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , some of their monarchs were good, most were not. More battles were lost than won. There was a period during which the whole nation was carried off into exile. Finally, almost 2,000 years would go by without a homeland to call their own. Even to this day, long after the departure of their last kings, Israel's land is in dispute. They came to Samuel wanting new leadership, a new form of government, a king...to be like everybody else. Uh huh. What's that you say? Be careful what you wish for? Having said all ...

1804. Who's The Boss?

Psalm 50:1-23

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in exchange for their goods. The same is ultimately true of gold or silver or even those computer bleeps - they are valuable because we know that other people treat them as valuable. Money - A VERY clever invention. I will say this, though. For all its long history, I think money is misunderstood. For example, money is used to measure wealth. Bad idea. Why? Because the value of money itself is not stable or predictable - you have no idea how it will be effected by inflation or deflation. Do you remember ...

1805. The Best Birthday Ever

Psalm 90:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... a birthday would NEVER get here; and now I think, "Is it here again ALREADY?" You too? LOTS of things change with age. Not long ago, someone noted some of the more obvious adjustments.(1) It was entitled, "YOU'RE NOT A KID ANYMORE WHEN...:" • Your back goes ... you're calling. When do you want to do this thing?" "O, this week." "That's fine," I said. "At a certain point in life, long engagements don't make sense, do they?" Come to think of it, at 96, most folks would not even buy green bananas! I continued, " ...

1806. When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough

Ecc 2:1-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the Bible, uniquely concerned with this question of the meaning of life. Ecclesiastes is a small book (barely a dozen pages long in most editions) tucked away in the middle of the Old Testament. Most people are not very familiar with it, other ... own disappointments, their own blind alleys, their own roads already tried. And at the end of the road, together we see one who taught us long ago that to save our life we must be willing to lose it, one who beckons with loving arms outstretched saying, "Come unto me, ...

1807. Hope for Hurting Hearts

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... or a prophet. As he turns to Ally, his overcoat, open at the neck, reveals a clerical collar; it turns out he is a Methodist minister. He tells Ally that the gravestone belongs to his wife, just recently murdered by a nervous robber who shot her while she fumbled too long in her purse. He also notes that he has just lost his job - his congregation's Administrative Board fired him. Why? "They say because I can no longer do my job." "Why do they say you can longer do your job?" "Because I don't believe in God ...

1808. Make It Right!

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that says BELIEVE also says BEHAVE." I do not know if there were any significance to the fact that it was located so near to all us seminary students; perhaps someone figured we would need it more than anyone. At any rate, it was there, and for a long time: "The same Bible that says believe also says behave." Now, here we are in the midst of Lent, that unique time in the church year when we are called to actually examine how we behave. We look into a spiritual mirror. If everything is fine, wonderful. But ...

1809. The Lord's Prayer: "Our Daily Bread"

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... awaken in the morning to find that what they had gathered in excess of their daily needs had gone rotten. Plenty was provided for each day. All God asked was that the people have enough faith in the divine provision to trust that the manna would continue to come as long as necessary. The message is clear: God is our provider EVERYDAY; God did not simply wind this world up like a clock then wander off to let us fend for ourselves. The God who gives you and me the day to begin with will also give us what is ...

1810. The Healing Touch

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... God's most gracious act will be to let life mercifully end. Those decisions are not ours; rather they are rightfully in the hands of a caring and loving God. There is much to learn about our ministry of healing because the subject has been so neglected for so long. Of course, we can study the subject to death and use our incompleted work as an excuse for inaction (or we might be very Presbyterian and turn it over to a committee). No. If the church is to regain its healing touch, the church has to, as the ...

1811. Jesus and Divorce

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... protection of women, for that, after all, was the force of his words in the first place. We say "You've come a long way, Baby?" Well, almost TOO far when it comes to divorce. According to statistics, the vast majority of women who are involved ... his position about divorce today, I suspect he would make his point even more vehemently than he did on that Judean hillside so long ago. As you are no doubt aware, the church has historically taken the Lord's statement about divorce in the most legalistic possible ...

1812. Terms of Endearment

Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , to sustain each other in a difficult moment, to share stories. Joel and I were talking with one of those long-time acquaintances who was remembering a conversation he had had with his own brother some years ago. This brother - Tom - was ... the way people looked at me trying to guess who my daddy was. "The preacher fascinated me, but at the same time he scared me. He had a long beard, a rough-hewn face, a deep voice, but I sure liked to hear him preach. But I didn't think I was welcome at church so I ...

1813. Fish Bait

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in his best preaching tone, "You are a fine fisherman, but I am a fisher of men." Jones, determined to get home after a long day, replied, "So I have heard. But I was passing your church last Sunday, looked in the window, and noticed you had not caught too ... he can never get a word out of his mouth.” (6) Well, no it is not, Barbara, but your point is well taken. One day long ago, Jesus came down by the water, followed by a curious crowd. There was an encounter with some fishermen, a huge catch of fish, and ...

1814. Pentecostal Power

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... the middle of road. In fact, it was in the center of the two yellow lines. The road was straight enough that Barron noticed the cup long before he got to it. Every time a car passed by the cup, it would simply roll to the opposite side without moving from the center ... s just going upstairs to say goodbye to my mother.” A few minutes later, the husband climbed into the cab. “Sorry I took so long,” he said, “Stupid old thing was hiding under the bed and I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to ...

1815. Carrying Worshipers out on Stretchers

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... them. I doubt that any outsider will accuse us of being intoxicated as they accused the early church on that first Pentecost. But that doesn’t mean that God’s Spirit won’t be here. The Holy Spirit is just as real in this place as in that house long ago. And if we open our hearts to its power and presence, we, too, can leave here empowered, with a new determination to do the work of God. If we don’t resemble the church at Pentecost, there are probably some good reasons. It’s sad, perhaps, but there ...

1816. Let's Play, Stump The Theologian!

John 16:5-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fit! Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat hole. She knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway. "And even if my head would go through," thought poor Alice, "it would be very little use without ...

1817. Good News For Broken Hearts

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... said, "Will He ever come again, the One who forgave the woman? I have heard that He will come again. Will it be soon?" Falconer replied that it would be soon. After sobbing again uncontrollably, she said, "Sir, can't He wait a little while? My hair ain't long enough yet to wipe His feet." (5) This story of the woman with the broken heart strikes an universal chord. We all want to believe that someone understands how we got to this point in our life. We all want to believe that there is a merciful God whose ...

1818. What's This World Coming To Anyway?

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Randolph W. Barr

... to go out and do whatever they want to do." "It might not be what you meant to say, but that's what I heard," Hank continued. "And you say it in lots of ways," added Wayne. "There are many of us who were here long before you came and, God willing, will be here long after you move on to a bigger church. The prodigal gets all of the good press and folks like us never get anything." Pastor Smith realized that these guys were serious about their faith and about their pain as well as the dishwater repair. He ...

1819. Who Is Your Lazarus?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... he would ever know. He prayed: "If I should wake before I die. . . ." Then he stopped in embarrassment and apologized, "Oh, Daddy, I got all mixed up." Wisely, his father responded, "Not at all, son; that is the first time that prayer was properly prayed. My deepest longing for you is that you may wake up before you die." (1) Let's talk for a few minutes about waking up before we die for, indeed, some of us are asleep in some of the most critical areas of our life. Psychologists and physiologists call the ...

1820. Only Heroes Need Apply

Mark 8:34-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... story of Kerri Strug. "Many of you watched the Olympics and were stunned when a 4-foot-8-inch, 18-year-old woman charged down a runway, vaulted through the air and landed on a leg so badly sprained that it could hold her upright for only a second. Just long enough to ensure the first gold medal ever won by a U.S. women's gymnastics team. A few minutes later, while a crowd of 32,000 screamed and pounded each other on the back, six small, red-white-and-blue Olympians marched out for their medals, trailed only ...

1821. Mark Twain's Briefcase And A Great Mental Attitude

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... , and we get tossed around like Mark Twain's briefcase, we curse our fate and lose ourselves in cynicism and despair. St. Paul, on the other hand, knew that life was hard. He knew life was unfair. He knew that some people had to struggle their whole life long. How did he know this? Because he knew how the sinless Christ suffered. Christ, his Master, the Lord of his life, died like a common thief. When St. Paul compared his trials to those of Christ, he gained a new perspective. He was prepared for life's ...

1822. Finding Calm In The Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... sparked in Mary Ellen a very different question: could she NOT do something through him who gave her strength? Could God give her the strength to NOT dive again and still be content? Mary Ellen credits her parents with giving her the answer. They had taught her long ago that her faith in God was more important than anything else in life. She knew that she could trust God no matter whether she ever dived again. And as you Olympics lovers know, Mary Ellen Clark did overcome her vertigo. She went on to win a ...

1823. The Leadership Principles Of Jesus

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Sermon

King Duncan

... war to care for thousands of soldiers. Just her calming presence was enough to soothe the wounded men, and many of them moderated their uncivilized behavior when she was around. Florence was stricken with hospital fever, which left her weak for a very long time, but she continued her work. After the war, she worked as an educator, giving lectures on improving hygiene in rural areas. She dedicated herself to improving the sanitary conditions in the army, and to establishing army hospitals. She also wrote a ...

1824. Marriage: Agony Or Ecstasy

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... not have given Adam a greater gift than this one. All of creation pales in comparison. I love the way John Sullivan, pastor of the Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana put it. Speaking of his first date with his wife he said, "I used my best charm. Before long I got the courage to blurt out to her,`Let's go out tomorrow night.' She accepted right on the spot. It was my intent to kiss her on the first date but she said no. But friends, SHE COULD HARDLY WAIT FOR THE SECOND DATE TO ROLL AROUND ...

1825. Wrestling With God

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... disorder as psychoneurosis, and he identifies the cause as acute anxiety. When Sir Walter Raleigh was burdened with a huge debt, his doctor said to him, "Sir Walter, if you don't stop worrying you will die." Sir Walter looked up sadly and said, "I can't help worrying as long as that debt is over my head. It may kill me, but you might as well tell my cook to order the water in the kettle not to boil as to command my brain not to worry." Perhaps it was acute anxiety with which Jacob was wrestling. After all ...

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