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 1951 to 1975 of 3108 results

1951. FLESH AND BLOOD BEINGS

Drama

Angela Akers

SUBJECT: Bullies, rejection, difficult people CHARACTERS: Mom, Son (about 6th or 7th grade) SETTING: Son''s room PROPS: Desk and chair computer Mom: "Hey honey. How was school?" Son: "Fine." Mom: "That was the sorriest-sounding fine'' I''ve ever heard. Did something bad happen?" Son: "Nothing out of the ordinary." Mom: "Ouch. So do you want to talk about it?" Son: "Can''t you see I''m on the computer right now?" Mom: "Yes, and that''s why I came up here. You''ve become one with ...

1952. To Hell and Back

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Visitors to Michigan never fail to be amused when they discover that our state contains both a Hell and a Paradise, Michigan. Paradise is in the Upper Peninsula, and Hell is not too far from Ann Arbor. I have no idea what that means. The first week I arrived 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 ...

1953. What on Earth Is the Trinity?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

English mystery writer Dorothy Sayers was also a lay theologian in the Church of England. In one of her books she discussed the difficulty a missionary to the Orient had in trying to explain the Trinity. As you know, one of the symbols for the Holy Spirit is a descending dove. We just sang the hymn: “Come Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove.” The Oriental gentleman, lost in the maze of theology, said: “Honorable Father I understand. Honorable Son I understand. Honorable bird I do not understand at all!” He is not ...

1954. What about Spiritual Healing?

John 4:43-54

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

The story is told of a Methodist and a Baptist who were once discussing the subject of infant baptism. The Baptist asked his Methodist friend, “Do you believe in Infant Baptism?” “Believe in it?” the Methodist replied, “Why, man, I’ve seen it!” The same might be said by almost any minister if the question were asked, “Do you believe in spiritual healing?” “Believe in it, why, we’ve seen it!” We may not talk much about such experiences. We may not write books about it or go on television and talk about it. ...

1955. The Devil Is a Liar

John 8:42-47

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I once heard of a preacher in Chicago who advertised three sermons on the devil. The titles of the sermons were grammatically strange, but guaranteed to get attention: “Who, the devil, he is,” “What, the devil, he does,” and “How, the devil, he does it.” I am not trying to emulate that preacher, but only trying to make some sense out of Jesus’ dialogue with His audience in the 8th chapter of John. You recall that immediately after Jesus told His listeners that “The truth will make you free,” they protested ...

1956. How Do You Explain the Resurrection?

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I find it fascinating that nowhere in the New Testament do the disciples try to explain the resurrection. They did not need to. The resurrection explained them! The entire New Testament itself plus all of the subsequent history of the Church over the past two thousand years is but a commentary on Jesus’ words, “I am the resurrection and the life!” (John 11:25) Let’s take a look at how these words first came to be spoken. In John 11 we have the touching story of the miraculous raising of Jesus’ friend ...

1957. No Longer Orphans

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Have you ever wondered where sermons come from? I have. Especially when I first entered the ministry. I had an idea what I was going to preach about next Sunday, and a pretty good idea of what I would like to say a week from next Sunday; but I wondered: what on earth I would find to preach about five, ten, fifteen or twenty years down the road? Fortunately, thanks to the limitless resources available in the Holy Scripture, I never ran out of sermon topics in forty years of parish ministry, but the whole ...

1958. The Saint Who Played Second Fiddle

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

If your life depended on it, could you name the Twelve Apostles? Probably not. I have a hard time remembering all of their names myself. Perhaps when I finish this series of sermons on the Apostles, I will have them more firmly fixed in my mind. But I have to confess that right now I couldn’t do it. Let’s see: There was Peter, of course. And James, and John (the inner circle). There was Matthew, and Judas, of course. And wasn’t there somebody named Philip? And Thomas...we all remember him. He was the ...

1959. Childish or Child-like?

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

“And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me...’” (Mark 9:36) I feel sorry for the poor kid who happened to be there the day Jesus decided to use him as an “object lesson.” No child likes being used in this way. Some of us can remember being stood up before a group of adults and having our parents ask us to recite something we’d just learned in school. Or being made to sit down at the piano and ...

1960. What Do You Want Me to Do for You?

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I find it strange that, in a time when we are becoming more and more sensitive toward persons with handicapping conditions, our nation’s State Department would adopt a policy which effectively eliminates blind persons from foreign service positions. As the editorial in the Ann Arbor News put it, “It’s probably a good thing Helen Keller isn’t alive today to apply for a job with the U.S. foreign services, They’d turn her down, flat.” (Thursday, December 1, 1988) I can understand that blindness would ...

1961. The Powerful Fragrance of Sharing and Caring

Philippians 4:10-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Baseball legend George Herman "Babe" Ruth was playing one of his last full major league games. The Boston Braves were playing the Reds in Cincinnati. The old veteran wasn't the player he once had been. The ball looked awkward in his aging hands. He wasn't throwing well. In one inning, his misplays made most of the runs scored by Cincinnati possible. As Babe Ruth walked off the field after making a third out, head bent in embarrassment, a crescendo of "boos" followed him to the dugout. A little boy in the ...

1962. Feasting and Fasting for Lent (Part II)

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Last Sunday I opened our Lenten season by sharing with you that we do not normally associate FEASTING with the idea of Lent. Most of us most likely have heard of the word FASTING. The whole idea behind the concept of fasting as to discipline our lives in such a way that the personhood of Jesus Christ would become a deeper reality in our spiritual journey. Since there is now a void left by our fasting, we can then fill it to the brim (feasting) with the attitude and lifestyle that develops commitment to the ...

1963. Good Friday: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, we gather in this sanctuary for the solemn day on the liturgical calendar which we call Good Friday. For some it is also known as BLACK FRIDAY. I want to share some thoughts and reflections from what historically has been designated as the FIRST WORD from the SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST from the Cross on Calvary. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that the first words from the Cross deal with the issue of FORGIVENESS, and really, what is being implied is forgiveness of our sins. This ...

1964. Presented to the Lord

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

It is fortunate that New Year’s Day rarely falls on a Sunday. Many who stayed up last night to greet the New Year are in no condition to worship today. [Though I understand that a few could be heard this morning moaning, “Oh God . . . Oh God . . . Oh God . . . “] And then, of course there is football, the real religion of many in our land. New Year’s Day is always a day of worship for the true football devotee. But here you and I are in the house of God. This, of course, is where we ought to begin a New ...

1965. The Dangers of Being Religious

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Jeff Foxworthy has made a career of telling "redneck" jokes. For instance, "You might be a redneck if someone asks you for some identification and you show them your belt buckle." The South doesn't have a lock on rednecks. The North has them also. For instance, "You might be a northern redneck if you've ever burned a tire on the hood of your car in winter to help get it started." Here in the church I'd like to poke fun at some of the straight-laced, self-righteousness that passes for Christianity. So, ...

1966. Excited!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It happened back in 1983. Only eight minutes and thirty-four seconds remained in a game between the University of Nevada-Reno Wolf Pack and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Suddenly Wolf Pack running back, Otto Kelly, broke loose on an eighty-nine yard scamper and a touchdown, giving his team a 22-21 lead. During Kelly's run his coach, Chris Ault of the Wolf Pack, got so caught up in the excitement that he began racing down the sideline alongside Kelly. When Ault reached the FresnoState twenty-yard line, he ...

1967. Called To Finish What Is Finished

Colossians 1:24--2:5, Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Someone has said, and I agree, that the idea of Redemption in a world of sin and tragedy constitutes the noblest concept ever to enter the mind of God or the awareness of a human being. Paul would also agree. The theme of Redemption is woven into the fabric of everything he wrote. He repeats that theme over and over again in Colossians, affirming that God's implementation of his idea of redemption is the love gift of his son Jesus Christ on the Cross. The most amazing truth for you and me today is that we ...

1968. Let Your Soul Catch Up

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A religious poll asked people this question: “Do you believe in the Second Coming of Christ?” If the respondent said yes, a subsequent question was put to them: “What would you do if you knew Jesus was coming back today?” One young man replied, “Look busy, Man! Look busy!” Isn’t that the mindset of our age? It seems as though most of us build our lives on the premise that personal worth and significance, as well as meaning in life, is dependent upon being busy. Too often we are identified by what we ...

1969. How To Fail Successfully

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It's amazing what we do with funny stories. We apply them to whomever we wish. For instance, you might hear one funny story with the legendary coach Bear Bryant as the primary actor. When you hear it again, the primary actor may be Johnny Majors. I heard a marvelous story sometime ago about Thomas Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company -- in fact, he told the story on himself. Lately I've been hearing it about President Clinton. So the story goes with the new ...

1970. What God Has Joined Together

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

A young woman named Sally was driving home from a business trip in Northern Arizona. She saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little ...

1971. Get off the Throne and Learn Wisdom

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

A check-out clerk once wrote columnist Ann Landers a letter of complaint: she had seen shoppers with food stamps buy luxury items like birthday cakes and bags of shrimp. The angry woman went on to say that people on welfare who treat themselves to non-necessities were “lazy and wasteful." A few weeks later Lander's column was devoted entirely to people who responded to the grocery clerk with letters of their own. One woman wrote: “I didn't buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps. So ...

1972. Thank God for Dads

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this Father’s Day, 2007. It’s not easy being a father. I heard about a man who said that he was warned that, as his three daughters became old enough to date, he’d disapprove of every young man who took them out. When the time came, though, he was pleased that this prediction was wrong. Each boy was pleasant and well mannered. Talking to one of his daughters one day, he said that he liked all the young men she and her sisters brought home. “You know, Dad,” she replied, “we don’t show you ...

1973. Blinders

Acts 17:22-31

Sermon

Bill Mosley

Loggerhead turtles lay eggs among the sand dunes on beaches. The little turtles dig their way up through the sand and struggle along the beach seeking the ocean waters that wash upon the sand wave after wave. It's a hunger that is born deep within them to seek this sea water, for it is life -- even living water. If they don't find it, they die. But if they find the water, they can live over 100 years and weigh over 600 pounds! If a little turtle gets sidetracked, say it falls into a moat around a sand ...

1974. A Peek at the Resurrection

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

As the movie Contact opens, the audience sees a precocious girl named Eleanor learning how to use a ham radio. Nicknamed "Sparks" by her father, she has reached a man in Florida, and is excited that her radio lets her speak with someone so far away. In a later scene she asks her father wistfully if she can call her deceased mother on the radio. He responds sadly that no antenna is big enough. As the movie progresses, the audience learns that Sparks' beloved father died of a heart attack when she was nine ...

1975. Speaking of the Spirit

Romans 8:12-17

Sermon

William G. Carter

There's something you might not know about the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul never tells any stories about Jesus. But he does talk about the meaning of those stories. For instance, Paul never tells the story of Christmas, but he does say, "When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law" (Galatians 4:4). He doesn't speak of shepherds, angels, or Magi, but he talks about the meaning of Jesus' birth. Paul never tells ...

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