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 1901 to 1925 of 5000 results

1901. Like Cupped Hands

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... COMPONENT TO A GOOD MARRIAGE IS PERMANENCE. As the Bible says, "The husband cleaves to his wife." When you cleave, you're together forever. John Butler Yeats said: "I think a man and a woman should choose each other for life, for the simple reason that a long life with all its accidents is barely enough for a man and a woman to understand each other; and in this case to understand is to love. The man who understands one woman is qualified to understand pretty well everything." It does take a lifetime for ...

1902. Where Can I Be Safe?

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... bed. She was about to turn off the light when her son asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?" The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can't dear," she said. "I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence was broken at last by a shaken little voice saying, "The big sissy." I'm not saying that we are becoming a nation of sissies, but people do seem to be more afraid than ever before. People are home-schooling their children in record numbers--partially out of ...

1903. On Forgetting To Do A Business Plan

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. “In the same way,” Jesus declares, “any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (NIV) Whoa! That will sure thin the crowd in a hurry. Before you jump into this Christianity thing ...

1904. Come Home To God

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Angela Akers

... anymore." If we truly understand the nature of God, that He is "gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love," the pain of repentance is meant to cleanse us, not shame us. Actor William Hurt loves his home in New York, and rarely stays away long, even when he's working in Hollywood. He memorizes the flight schedules between California and New York so that he can be ready to hop a plane as soon as his film work is done. In fact, whenever he is away from New York, Hurt keeps a return ...

1905. The Guiding Light for a New Year

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... understand that your words are His words? Your face, His face to someone like me? Please, be who you say you are. Please, God, don't let this be another trick. Please let this be real. Please. Do you know do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?" Not long after sending Lee Strobel this poem, Maggie gave her life to Christ. (3) Here is why we are to arise and shine. The world is waiting for our witness. The world needs to see in us the truth of what we believe. Words are cheap. Too many people are ...

1906. Why Did I Do That?

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... did I blow up at my son like that? Why did I put off finishing that project until the very last minute? Why did I wait so long to sell that stock? Why can't I be positive and cheerful all the time? Why do I let things get me down? Why did I do ... But we can choose to invite Jesus into our hearts, and when we do, a miracle takes place--a process of change begins that continues as long as we allow Him to control our lives." (4) "Why did I do that?" we sometimes ask. Maybe we, like Paul, are living under the Law of ...

1907. Would You Please Listen To Me?

John 1:19-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... day for lunch and to tell jokes. Naturally, they hardly listened to each other. They were too busy thinking of a story to top the one being told. One day, one of the writers came to the table late and rather gloomy. "Sorry guys," he said, "I can't stay long today, my mother died and I'm flying home for the funeral." One of his colleagues jumped right in. Smiling at everyone, he said, "You think that's funny? Listen to this one!" (2) Isn't it frustrating to feel like no one is listening to you? Don't you ...

1908. Clean Hearts And Dirty Hands

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... this: Put five monkeys inside a cage. Hang a banana on a string in the cage and put a set of stairs under it. Before long, one of the monkeys will go to the stairs and start to climb up toward the banana. As soon as his feet touch the stairs, ... compassion and concern for those who are in need; and 4. spiritual myopia, the lack of vision that keeps a church from seeing the long-term possibilities for ministry. (4) Heaven help us if we suffer from any of these dread diseases. But certainly we could add a fifth ...

1909. People Jesus Loved

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... out. You have turned to medicine and drinking, and you are killing yourself." (4) Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for someone is to tell them--in love--the brutal truth. Betty Ford's family loved her enough to help her see herself as she really was. As long as there is someone who cares for us, there is hope. That is the first thing we need to see. And here is the second thing: No one is hopeless who is open to Jesus. Someone brought this non-hearing man to Jesus. Now, can you picture this? Jesus ...

1910. Children Of Dust Or Children Of God?

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... when I die, but what does God want me to do in the meantime?" Billy Graham replied, "What does God want you to do? Listen: As long as you are on this earth, He wants you to walk with Him every day. You see, the Bible says there are only two ways of living ... all about. "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God." 1. Thomas Long in Ten Great Preachers, edited by Bill Turpie (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), pp. 90-91. 2. Life Support System Publishing, ...

1911. No Plastic Easter

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... without all the hard work that a garden requires, so she plants plastic flowers in her yard. The flowers look beautiful, and from a distance, no one can tell that they aren't real. But there are no honeybees in Thelma's garden. The bees learned a long time ago that although her flowers look pretty, they have no flavor or nourishment to them. (1) Reading about Thelma's fake garden reminds me of a story that Dr. Fred Craddock once told about an annual Easter tradition at a church in Georgia. Every year, on ...

1912. Like A Tornado

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... This sacred space was said to be the place where the high priest went to meet God. This simple man so desired to see God. But long ago, God had decreed that only the high priest might enter the Holy of Holies. So the high priest turned the man away. The man continued ... in the air for 45 minutes until he was rescued. Reporters later asked him how he was able to hold on to the rope for so long. "I didn't hold on to the rope," he replied. "I just tied it around my waist, and the rope held on to me." Commenting on ...

1913. Swords Into Plowshares

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... --at an Israeli post office in Jerusalem, where they are read and sent on to the holy Western Wall." Letters come from all over the world--seeking good health, debt remedies, etc. A huge number of letters arrive around Christmas and Jewish holidays. As long as anyone can remember at the post office, the letters to God have turned up at the Postal Authority's center for undeliverable mail in an industrial zone in Jerusalem. In the tiny warehouse, eight workers sort problem envelopes in various cubbyholes but ...

1914. The Grief Of God

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... on the lives of the fine young men and women our families and communities produce. In a novel by Rabbi Herbert Tarr, A Woman of Spirit, the title character Hannah Trilling leaves her "ethical will" for her children. She writes: "I'll always be with you, so long as that is your wish. So please serve God with joy and treat people, all people with chesed. (Hebrew for "steadfast love"). And a smile. Me, I've always thought of God as just that, a heart-gladdening, soul warming smile. No face, no body, no gender ...

1915. Lord, What A Bountiful God!

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... and the vitality we need to strive successfully. You may know the famous story of Jean Henri Fabre, the French naturalist, and his processional caterpillars. He encountered some of these interesting creatures one day while walking in the woods. They were marching in a long unbroken line front to back, front to back. What fun it would be, Fabre thought, to make a complete ring with these worms and let them march in a circle. So, Fabre captured enough caterpillars to encircle the rim of a flowerpot. He linked ...

1916. To Whom Shall We Go?

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

... had still not been stamped out, even with that communist regime's leader. Millions of believers still echo Peter's searching question today: If not Christ, "to whom shall we go?" There is no satisfactory, or satisfying, alternative. Only he can satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts. Only he is the way, the truth, and the life. An African tribesman was once leading a group of European explorers through a particularly dense patch of jungle. One of the explorers remarked, "For the life of me I can detect ...

1917. Taking Time To Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... again. So the scene switches, and there she is, twelve years old, and she's gone back in time to that wonderful day she remembers. She comes down the stairs in a pretty dress. But her mother is so busy making the cake for her birthday that she cannot stop long enough to look at her. She says, "Mama, look at me. I'm the birthday girl." And Mama says, "Fine, birthday girl. Sit down and have your breakfast." And Emily stands there and says, "Mama, look at me." But Mama doesn't. Papa comes in, but he's so busy ...

1918. The Coming Of The Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (4:19) Adequate is hardly the word for that. God is able to do far more than we could ever ask. Let me illustrate it in another way. There are 14.7 pounds of pressure per square inch long exerted on each one us right now from the earth's atmosphere. The amount of pressure is determined, of course, by how many square inches we are. At any rate, tons of pressure are pushing against us at this very moment. What keeps us from being crushed to death ...

1919. Three Promises

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... very hard. I said to myself, "˜I don't believe I will go to church this morning. The church is hard to find; it's a long way off; surely I will be forgiven for not going to church on my first Sunday in a strange land. Yes, I think I'll have ... can go to mine next Sunday? So we went to his church, and you know I have never been back to my own since." To make a long story short, this young man changed from the study of law to the study of theology, was ordained to the ministry and became an important and ...

1920. Witness to the Light

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... sand nearby. Let’s get real. Jesus IS the reason for the season. Take the babe from the manger--and all that babe represents--then we might as well shut the doors and go home. That’s true not only of the church, it’s also true of humanity’s long-term future. In the prologue to his Gospel, John writes, “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came ...

1921. Is There Hope for the Hapless Wedding Guest?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Darrick Acre

... can’t see much evidence that you are even a Christian! So, what do you have to say for yourself?” What did I have to say? What could I say? A fully-loaded cement truck driven over my stomach could not have hurt worse! Early the next morning, long before the sun came up, I wrote a note thanking my hosts for their hospitality, slipped it into an envelope, along with the money I owed for board and room, slid it under the kitchen door, packed everything I owned into two cardboard boxes, strapped them on the ...

1922. The Eureka Experience

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... I'm a great believer in the value of novelty. I say anything new is good by definition. It can shock, insult or offend me so long as it doesn't bore me. If you can't give me something new, then repackage the old so it looks new. Novelty is all that ... love began to show through and the gospel truths began to get hold of her mind and her heart. As they talked together, it wasn't long before she opened her heart to Christ and asked him to come in. She found forgiveness for her sins, and she found a new freedom, ...

1923. Because He Lives

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... sorrow of our loss there is a knowledge that life is far better for them in the house of our Heavenly Father, and because His comfort and love become more meaningful to us. _______________ was mother, sister, friend and fellow servant of Jesus Christ. She lived a long and useful life. Now she has laid her burdens down. We gather in love to mourn our loss, but also to celebrate her gain. We come in the face of death''s mystery, but also in the assurance of the resurrection and life eternal. "Because I live ...

1924. To Hell and Back

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in Ann Arbor, I recall reading a startling headline in the Ann Arbor News. I kid you not, this is what it said: “Dam water recedes; Hell out of danger.” In this sermon I would suggest that, Biblically speaking, Hell is never out of danger as long as Jesus Christ is abroad and at work in the universe. But I am getting ahead of myself. It used to be that when Methodists heard the Apostles’ Creed recited in other churches, they got an inferiority complex. They became aware that our version had something ...

1925. How Free Are We?

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Fromm wrote a book some years back titled “Escape From Freedom.” Perhaps Jesus’ listeners had lived under oppression for so long that they had gotten used to it; but their words were not literally true. Even though they were, as they ... lives and squander our resources. I often feel like the elderly gentleman who said that if he had known he was going to live so long, he would have taken better care of himself! Psychology tells us of the powerful unconscious forces which are at work in each of our lives ...

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