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 1826 to 1850 of 4961 results

1826. Waiting for Jesus

Romans 13:11b

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A driver's license. Good morning, boys and girls. A very happy day to you. This is the first Sunday in Advent, which means that we are now preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ into the world again. That's right, we are here this morning to pray and hope that Jesus will come again, and that when he does we will know that the perfect world that God has planned has happened. The Bible says that the coming of Jesus into our world is closer to happening now than when we first heard about Jesus. Let ...

1827. The Time of Our Visitation

Sermon

Leonard Mann

You know how it was that Jesus of Nazareth began his career as a teacher and public figure in Galilee. You know how John came out of the wilderness and preached to the people who gathered around him on the banks of the Jordan. You know how for many long centuries the Jewish people had looked for the coming of their Messiah. When John appeared, their scholars speculated that perhaps this impassioned wilderness man might, actually be the Expected One. They sent their representatives to inquire of him ...

1828. Resurrection: From Sin to a Second Chance

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

The afternoon sun was waning as the shepherd boy, David, led his sheep down the well-worn path that led from the green pastures to the pool of still water where his flock would quench their thirst before heading back to the fold. He glanced back at the flock following him; then stopped and looked more closely. Where was Ayin, his big ram? One of the lambs was gone, too. The shepherd boy shaded his eyes against the late afternoon sun. In the distance he saw the big ram lumbering down the hill along a ...

1829. Shame On Who?

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

I recently came across an article in a Baltimore newspaper that was entitled, "Whatever Happened To Shame?"[[1]] The journalist who wrote this article made, I believe, a very astute and accurate observation. These are just some of his remarks. "Some of us remember when "shame on you" or "you ought to be ashamed of yourself" meant something. There was a moral obligation to feel shame and to direct it toward ourselves. I don't think this happens much anymore...Instead of feeling shame, we feel embarrassed, ...

1830. The Resurrection of Christ

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

The letter moves toward its conclusion with a long, crucial defense of the truth of the resurrection of the dead and its intrinsic importance for all of Christian faith and living. The length and complexity of this reflection, coupled with its subject matter, make this portion of the letter important for understanding early Christian belief and practice, the foundational nature of resurrection faith for all of Christian theology, and the reconstruction of Paul’s overall understanding of God’s work in and ...

1831. The First Two Days: John the Baptist’s Message

John 1:19-28, John 1:29-34

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The narrative portion of John’s Gospel begins by referring yet a third time to the message of John the Baptist (cf. vv. 6–8, 15–16). The difference between this section and the references in the prologue is that attention now focuses on a particular testimony of John the Baptist given on a particular occasion when the Jewish authorities, later designated more precisely as Pharisees (v. 24), sent a delegation of priests and Levites from Jerusalem to question him. This occasion stretches out to at least a ...

1832. The Eureka Experience

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

A psychology professor at Yale University has listed the 12 most persuasive'' words in salesmanship. Third on his list is the word "new" as in "Buy it, it''s new." We like the word new, don't we? We like it in the cars we drive and the houses we live in and the clothes we wear. "Give me something new," may be the slogan of every American. And that is what our message is about today. What a magnificent opportunity Christ has given us—the opportunity to make new starts and fresh beginnings. The word "new" ...

1833. The Loser

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

James Merritt

This TV show debuted nine years ago and it has fascinated millions in America for years. It is called “The Biggest Loser.” If you have never seen the show it is simply about people who are trying to win a grand prize of a quarter of a million dollars by losing the highest percentage of body weight relative to their initial weight in a certain period of time. Those of you who have watched the show may know this name, Michael Ventrella. If you don’t, he is the biggest loser on the Biggest Loser. This 30-year ...

1834. Do We Know What We've Got?

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Our lesson from Matthew’s Gospel for today reminds me of a story of a pastor in a drought-stricken part of Alabama last summer who implored his people to pray for rain. In fact, he asked each member of the church to join in a prayer vigil that would continue day and night until God granted their request. Never had there been a greater sense of urgency in that church than was revealed over the next few days. At any hour, one might pass that small rural church and find the lights on and someone at the altar ...

1835. Do You Believe In Miracles?

Matthew 15:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

It is not only one of the most famous broadcasting calls in sports history, it is probably the only one that asked a theological question and for sure the only one that gave the correct theological answer, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” To be honest, that unbelievable upset of the United States beating Russia for the Gold Medal in Hockey in 1980 was as close to a miracle in the sports world as you might ever get. But it really wasn’t a miracle. Anybody that knows anything about sports knows that ...

1836. No Greater Love

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

"When Jesus Christ calls a man, he bids him, 'Come and die!' " Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian wrote that sentence in his cell on April 9, 1945. He was within hours of the hangman's rope being placed around his neck in the Flossenburg concentration camp in Nazi Germany. Son of a leading authority on psychology, neurology, and a university professor, as a young man Dietrich had turned away from the life of prestige and privilege that would naturally befall him in order to pursue his ...

1837. The Church on Main Street

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James McCormick

During my years of ministry, church buildings have been located in a variety of places. There was Monterey Road, Clinton Boulevard, Culver Avenue, Gibbs Street, Duarte Road, Hardy Street. And in 1982, for the first time I became pastor of a church on Main Street. I’ve always thought that is where the church should be – not off on some side street somewhere - but on Main Street. Of course, you know, when I talk about Main Street, I am not talking primarily about geography. I am talking about ideas and ...

1838. The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The parable has given us a new meaning for talents. At the time of the parable it was a unit of measure for silver or gold. Now we have talent shows, talent searches, talent contests. The beauty pageants that came under attack from feminists for being sexist with their emphasis on bathing suit competitions have tried to shift to the talent of the women. Scholarships are offered as prizes so that talented competitors may continue to develop their talents. Some people still put the emphasis on the monetary ...

1839. The Authority of Scripture: God's Breathed Word

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our father of the Methodist movement, John Wesley, had an attention-getting way of expressing truth. Though he was very wordy in his sermons, he could gather up a world of truth in a few words. His pithy sayings are often quoted and are a source of truth and inspiration. Listen to him: “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” The best way to resist the devil is to destroy whatever of the world remains in us. Every new victory a soul gains comes as a result of prayer. The essential part of ...

1840. On the Ropes: Round 3 - Defending God

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Sermon

James Merritt

It is a man that I have never heard of before until I came across his name preparing this final message in Habakkuk. You would know him very well if you were a devote Anglican or if you knew very much about South Africa. He was the founder of the South African Mission Society. An Englishman, he felt the call of God to go to an unreached tribe in one of the most remote parts of the world to preach the Gospel in the middle of the 19th Century. Alan Gardiner set sail in 1851 with five other missionaries. ...

1841. Learning Our Role

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

John B. Jamison

He was standing out in the river. We can envision John standing out there. His clothes were soaked. His long, wet hair hung down across his face and down his back. If we didn’t know better, we might think he was someone who had wandered out of the wilderness and was having some kind of breakdown. He was standing there, surrounded by people who had come to see him. They had come from all around the country and there were even people from Sidon and Tyre: foreigners, and not even Jewish foreigners. They had ...

1842. A SERMON-DRAMA FOR EPIPHANY

Drama

Tom Eberle

Epiphany In the observance of Epiphany we confront the choice of following the historical pattern set by the church at Rome in making it a missionary festival of the gospel’s being carried to the Gentiles; or observing the Eastern Orthodox practice of celebrating Epiphany as the manifestation of God in Christ to the world. The differing emphases were a result of a complex historical development. The festival of Epiphany predated the observance of Christmas. It was originally not a festival of the birth of ...

1843. A Stone’s Throw Away

1 Samuel 17

Sermon

James Merritt

Anyone who knows anything about the Bible knows that beyond question, the central character and the hero of the entire Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. With the exception of Jesus Christ, one individual has more scripture devoted to Him than any other individual. Would you know who that is? Hint: It is neither Paul nor Moses. This character is mentioned in I and II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, and seventy-five psalms. He is the first person named in the New Testament after Jesus Christ and he is the last ...

1844. A Taxing Encounter

Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8) Prop: Envelope…junk mail marked IMPORTANT You know those envelopes you get in the mail sometimes marked IMPORTANT! Here is one of them. You scramble to open it, thinking it’s a check or some important document that you need . . . only to find that it’s an ad to buy life insurance or something you don’t need! Yikes! Fooled again. Living in our culture is a lot like that. Signs are everywhere telling you that THIS message is IMPORTANT! ...

1845. Mirror, Mirror ON The Wall . . .!

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Do you remember the fairy tale "Snow White"? Recall how the wicked witch peered into her magic looking glass and said, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"\n The mirror's answer was quite disappointing. "It's certainly not you, Ugly!"\n Does your mirror ever do that to you? Sad to say, but thousands of people's mirrors disappoint them each day.\n Have you ever known someone to look at a photograph of himself in his high school yearbook and say, "Golly, I take an awful picture. ...

1846. The Kingdom Is Not K-Mart

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

James Merritt

Think about these words: dedication, devotion, discipleship, commitment, consecration, surrender, sacrifice. There are no blue-light specials on these virtues in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not k-mart. I want you to get these two statements into your heart. Salvation is free, but discipleship is not cheap. You may be familiar with the term day-trader. A day-trader is a high-risk investor who jumps in and out of the stock market often many times a day to capitalize on small price changes. ...

1847. Turning Doubt Inside Out

Luke 23:39-43

Sermon

James Merritt

His name is Ben Davis: 18 years old, 6 ft. 3 in. tall, 195 lbs. Davis is a very special young man. He was named the USA Today Baseball Player of the Year. By all accounts, he has a tremendous future ahead of him. This 18 year old phenom signed with the San Diego Padres right out of high school for a $1.3 million bonus. He has been called the best high school catcher in twenty years; the best since long time Atlanta Brave, Dale Murphy, in 1974. He has been labeled a "Can't Miss Prospect." He is absolutely ...

1848. Immersed

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Washed in the blood of Jesus. That’s what our early hymns proclaim. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb, the blood of sacrifice, the blood of salvation, the cleansing blood of the messiah Jesus. For most of us today that sounds like a rather strange concept. But then, when you think about it, so is partaking of the “body and blood” of Jesus as we celebrate what we know as Holy Communion. In fact, this was a strange concept in the early church as well! Early Christians were in fact often called out for ...

1849. Obedience Really Matters

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

It is because we are a people of such high intelligence, and perhaps the threat of product liability litigation, that the following warning labels were recently found on consumer products? On a Duraflame fireplace log: "Caution - Risk of Fire." On a children’s Batman costume: "Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly. On a bottle of hair coloring: "Do not use as an ice cream topping." On a cardboard sun shield for a car: "Do not drive with sun shield in place." And, for the first time parent, this label ...

1850. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Paul introduces himself as a fellow Christ follower and reminds his Corinthian friends that calling Christ Lord should generate life patterns that reflect such a relationship to Christ. Understanding the Text If anything strikes someone who begins reading 1 Corinthians, it is how Paul packs content into every word from the outset. When we realize how well he knows the Corinthian congregation even on a personal level and recognize that this is at least his second letter to the church (5:9), it is ...

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