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 1851 to 1875 of 4961 results

1851. Journey To The Heart Of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Lois Anne DeLong

Characters (in order of appearance) Narrator Miriam Hamid David Aaron Joy Harmony Gloria Mary Joseph Mark Jordana Ruth Faith Props Name tags Lectern Chairs Logs, piled up to simulate a fire Large, fancy bottle Tied-up bundle filled with clothes and a blanket Small notebook Pen/pencil Three pairs of dark sunglasses Dish cloth Apron Blanket Soup pot and two bowls Loaf of bread Telescope Notes “Journey To The Heart Of Christmas” speculates on stories of the youngest witnesses to Christ’s birth. It offers a ...

1852. Up Close & Personal: Open the Doors

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

What I am about to say to you I want to upfront make sure that I am not misunderstood. I am not a name dropper and I don’t like name droppers. During the course of my life I’ve gotten to meet many people, some of whom I consider famous, from the standpoint that they are well-known. But like most of you, I have a few people that I have always wanted to meet, or hope to one day meet. Not because I am star-struck or want to take a selfie with a celebrity to post on the Internet. No, I want to meet certain ...

1853. The Healer

Matthew 4:23-25, Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) “I am the Lord, who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26) Prop: stethoscope [Hold up the stethoscope.] How is your heart? [Have a volunteer come up. Listen to the heartbeat. Put the stethoscope to the mic.] What do you hear? [Allow people to listen to the beating heart.] Listen to that. That’s the sound of a living heart. It’s the sound of a heart alive in Jesus. When your heart is synchronized with Jesus, it will be alive in ways that ...

1854. The Lord's People Together

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

"... if two of you agree ... about anything ..." - Matthew 18:19 The inimitable Will Rogers was once asked, "What's wrong with the world?" And he replied, "People!" Of course, the famous humorist was being humorous. Others have been seriously cynical concerning the human race. One said, "The world would be a pretty good place to live if it weren't for the people in it." But when all the cynics have had their say, I will still believe, that in general, we human creatures really have some pretty good things ...

1855. Three Days To See

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Helen Keller

The following is an article written by Keller published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1933. I All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty-four hours. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited ...

1856. Riddles and Metaphors

Ezekiel 15:1-8, Ezekiel 16:1-63, Ezekiel 17:1-24

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

As a priest, Ezekiel was literate and well educated. His learned background is apparent in his imaginative use of a variety of literary forms and styles. The effect of this creativity on his original audience was evidently mixed; some contemporaries dismissed him as a teller of riddles (20:49; the NIV renders the Heb. meshalim “parables”) or “one who sings love songs” (33:32). Certainly, though, this variety makes Ezekiel one of the most interesting, as well as the most baffling, of the prophetic books. In ...

1857. The Majesty Of God's Love

John 17:1-11

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Jesus was drawing near to the end of his farewell discourse to his disciples, a sermon he gave to them (according to John) on the evening of the last supper. In our gospel lesson for today, Jesus broke into a prayer to the Father. It is a famous prayer called the high priestly prayer. There are many spiritual riches to mine in this prayer and our text. For our purposes today on this last Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after the festival of Jesus' ascension into heaven with the church's celebration of the ...

1858. Getting Rid of Grudges

Luke 23:34

Sermon

James Merritt

On the day that Karl Marx died in 1883, his housekeeper came to him and said: "Tell me your last words and I'll write them down." Marx replied: "Go on and get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!" Well, that is another thing that I disagree with Marx on. Last words are very important and can be very revealing. Here are just a few famous last words: Max Baer, the one time heavyweight champion of the world, said, as he was having a heart attack: "Oh God, here I go!" P. T. Barnham said: "How ...

1859. The Prosecutor Perry Mason Can't Beat

John 16:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Perry Mason. A name that can strike the fear of God into the heart of any prosecutor. For any defendant accused of murder, he was the supreme "ace in the hole." From September of 1957 to October of 1966, Perry Mason tried 270 murder cases on television. How many cases did he lose? Believe it or not, he appears to have lost two. In "the case of the Terrified Typist" a jury returns a guilty verdict against Perry's client, and the prosecutor, Hamilton Burger, gets goose bumps thinking he had finally beaten ...

1860. Proper 13

Ephesians 4:1-16, 2 Samuel 12:1-31, John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Receiving the true bread of life, Jesus Christ. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a This text continues the story of David's sin with Bathsheba and spells out the consequences. After Bathsheba's period of mourning, David brings her into his household and marries her. He might have thought that he had gotten away with his crime when Nathan the prophet tells him the story of the rich man who took the poor man's little ewe lamb to slaughter for a feast. David unknowingly pronounces ...

1861. Look and Live

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Sermon

James Merritt

Just outside Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a theme park called “Dollywood” that is owned by country music legend, Dolly Parton. Besides being a singer and a theme park owner, Parton is also an author. Her autobiography is entitled Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. On the back of that book is this quote: “I am not a very religious person – although I grew up with a very religious background. ‘Let every man seek his own salvation’ is one of my favorite scriptures. . . .” Well, by all indications ...

1862. Identification and a Wish for Grace and Peace

Galatians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

1:1 As in all of his letters Paul begins by identifying himself as the sender. In ancient times a letter typically began with the writer’s self-identification, and the opening commonly continued by naming the addressees and wishing them good health. In Paul’s letters, this typical wish is replaced by a wish for grace and peace. In the opening of Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, as in most of his other letters, Paul identifies himself as an apostle (cf. Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; and, if ...

1863. Salvation as Personal Experience

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

Thus far we have studied Paul’s doctrine of salvation in objective terms. Salvation is the work of divine grace, centering in the atoning death of Christ on the cross and bringing about a change in the relation of mankind to God, a change described as redemption, justification, and reconciliation. We turn now to the subjective and personal aspect of salvation, to Paul’s answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" Faith When this question was asked by the Philippian jailer, Paul replied, "Believe ...

1864. I Believe in Easter

Acts 9:1-29

Sermon

James Merritt

On April 9, 1996, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia delivered an address to the Mississippi College School of Law. What he said generated a firestorm of criticism in the liberal press. He gave a brilliant and blistering portrayal of a society that now mocks religious belief, and especially the beliefs of Christians. Here is what he said that was so "controversial." The worldly wise do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. It is really quite absurd [to them]. So everything from the Easter morning ...

1865. Table Manners

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

Perhaps it is the oddity that I am writing this on the Monday before Thanksgiving or it is my proclivity to identify food with each passing holiday that, as I approach these texts, I find myself thinking of another text from Psalm 23: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Fourth of July and I am dreaming dreams of sugar plum fairies, turkey legs, chocolate bunnies, and barbecues. This is definitely a job hazard for clergy. Most congregations revel ...

1866. Twelfth Night

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

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: For Christmas Eve, 1993, we went to a simple format. The liturgist and I alternated as we did prayers, carols, and scripture texts about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, and concluded with a candlelight ceremony. Planning for 1994 again made us search our imaginations. Maybe these moods go in cycles. We felt we wanted something more for this new year. I suggested the "You Are There" format (from CBS's radio and television programs of that name) and that got several excited. It involved people from the ...

1867. Sinner to Saint

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. [Matthew 9:9] "You’ve come a long way, Baby" is an expression used by a popular cigarette commercial. You are shown a 19th century girl who is hiding her smoking with embarrassment. In contrast there is a 20th century girl openly, proudly smoking a cigarette. Indeed, women smokers have come a long way from public displeasure to acceptance. To become a saint, a ...

1868. The Highest Bidder

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Harold Warlick

According to those whose job it is to know such things, it only takes three weeks to become blind to the presence of stationary objects in our everyday worlds. Hang a new picture on the wall, and one is likely to notice it for about 21 days. After that it has become part of the scenery. It simply doesn't leap into the foreground any more. That's why it can be so hard to accomplish the simplest chores of housework before the arrival of guests. We've stopped noticing the screwdriver that's been sitting on ...

1869. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:1-27, 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-16 If our purpose here were teaching rather than preaching, we could spin a wonderful tale of the rise of King David, and of his transformation of the Israelites. We could relate how David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, which was to become known as the city of David, and how David wished to build a splendid tabernacle to house the ark. But more conservative voices prevailed for the time being, and David seems to have conceded for the time. The prophet ...

1870. Eternal Echo Of Easter - Part 1

Matthew 28:1-10

Drama

Esther R. Russ

PROGRAM 1. Candlelight Ceremony Choir 2. In the Beginning Narration 3. "I, Mary, Mother of Jesus" Reading 4. Jesus’ Ministry Narration and Drama 5. Choral Arrangement Depicting the Upper Room Choir 6. The Betrayal Narration 7. Choral Arrangement Depicting the Betrayal Choir 8. The Garden of Gethsemane Narration 9. Choral Arrangement Depicting the Garden Choir 10. The Trials Narration and Drama 11. The Soldiers, Part One Dialogue Drama 12. The Processional and Crucifixion Choir, Drama 13. The Soldiers, Part ...

1871. The Impartiality of God

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Hubert Beck

There are more saviors in the world than the mind can comprehend. Bookstores have shelf after shelf of books that promise to save us from anything we can name - anxieties, fears, personal difficulties, or whatever else may be causing us distress. A whole range of people - some of them reliable counselors but all too many of them little more than hucksters - offer themselves to the troubled (for a fee, of course), usually with implicit or explicit promises of remedies for whatever problems one may have ...

1872. Freedom Can Be Frightening

Leviticus 25:8-55

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

In November of 1751, the Provincial Assembly of the Colony of Pennsylvania ordered a bell for its new State House. The order directed that the new bell should have a biblical quotation inscribed around it, as the specifications read, "in large and well-formed letters," and the quotation that was prescribed was verse 10 of chapter 25 of Leviticus. These words: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, and unto all the inhabitants thereof." Surely it was appropriate that this bell, with its challenging ...

1873. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

Probably the mother of all misprints in any book, came in the misprint of a Bible. In 1631 someone discovered a word that was missing in a newly published version of the Bible, called The King James Version. The missing word was "not" in the seventh commandment which then made the Authorized Version to read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." From then on, this 1631 addition of the Bible became known as the "Wicked Bible."[1] Well, this seems to be the Bible the world is wanting to read today. Without question ...

1874. How to Rub People the Right Way

Acts 4:36-37

Sermon

James Merritt

Many years ago during the Colonial era of this country, wealthy ladies were proud of their wide-board oak floors. At least once a week servants would wet-rub and then dry-rub these floors to make them shiny. It was a very simple task involving running a wet mop along the grain of the wood and then a dry mop. But sometimes a careless worker would mop across the grain and it would produce streaks on the floor. When that happened the lady of the house would scold the servant for "rubbing the floor the wrong ...

1875. Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed Shepherd: We have noted that the two sections on the restoration of a blind and deaf servant (43:22–44:23 and 42:18–43:21) paralleled one another, but that the former lacked an equivalent to the last paragraph (43:14–21). This parallel ending now follows, in 44:24–45:8, with its lyrical postscript (45:8) marking it as an ending. Yet 43:22–44:23 did have a different sort of lyrical postscript (44:23). For 44:24–45:8 also marks a beginning. It makes an announcement whose significance ...

Showing results