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 2173 results

1951. Four Cornerstones

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Both Elizabeth and I hail from paper-mill towns. A few years ago the blue collar-redneck-good-old-boy logging town Elizabeth grew up in (Springfield, Oregon) found itself very interested all of a sudden in building sushi bars and trendy, high-tech fitness centers. Why? Sony Corporation seriously considered the town as a new factory headquarters site. Like every other economically struggling small town, the prospect of a large employer coming to town with deep pockets and wide wants encouraged the community ...

1952. The Real Dish Network

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When do you have enough TV channels to choose from? According to the satellite TV industry, there is no such thing as enough. Every year more and more households are sticking out their own little satellite downloading system and beaming in anywhere from 100-600 channels of entertainment and information. Our overwhelming desire for this kind of electronic-overload is played for laughs in the commercials aired by DISH Network and Direct TV. In one series of ads the satellite installer has the stuffing hugged ...

1953. DodgeGod

Amos 8:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In 1965 Leonora and Arthur Hornblow wrote a children's book that has become a classic: Birds Do the Strangest Things. It's where I learned that a hawk is no match for a hummingbird. It's also where I learned about the bowerbird. Can you believe that a bird can build a house? Well, there's one that does. When explorers in New Guinea first saw these houses, they thought children had built them. But bowerbirds had built them. What wonderful bowers they are! Many have roofs. Some even have rooms. There are ...

1954. Weak Sauce

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

To survive in a small-town economy (like the one where we live), businesses must cater to as wide an audience as possible. Accordingly, THE grocery store carries both the most extensive selection of nutrition-free snack foods ever seen sodas, beer, chips, dips, candies AND a huge offering of organically grown fresh fruits, vegetables, baked goods, dairy foods, and meats. So what in the world is The Hot Sauce Shop doing in the San Juan Islands? One of the longest lived, most successful little shops out here ...

1955. Changed Lives: Adam and Eve

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

Temptation. We all have our own ways of dealing with it. Some of us flee from it. Others, less wise, embrace it. Karen Hickey embraced it. Karen, of St. Louis, MO had often wondered how it felt to be handcuffed. She found out the hard way. The 22-year-old secretary discovered a pair of old handcuffs that her boss had brought to the office. She couldn’t resist trying them on. “Next time, I’ll ask first if there are any keys,” Miss Hickey said. She remained handcuffed for two hours until firemen working with ...

1956. Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

Dr. Rachel Remen is a remarkable person with a remarkable story. Her grandfather was a wise and devoted elderly Rabbi… and he taught her (from her earliest days) to search for the meaning of life by… - Studying the Scriptures, - Asking questions, - And, listening to powerful stories. On the other hand, everybody else in her family was either a doctor or nurse (9 doctors and 3 nurses in the family)… and when she was 4 years old they were all asking her which medical school would she want to attend. They all ...

1957. Recognizing Christ

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman named Lidia DeGormez and her husband were in the hospital waiting room shortly before the birth of their second child. They met a young couple also waiting for the wife to deliver. Lidia’s husband commented that the two mothers-to-be looked so much alike they could be twins. Before long, both soon-to-be-Moms went into the delivery room. Lidia’s baby, a girl, was born first. Lidia was covered up almost completely as they took her down the hall to await a room. Still a bit groggy, she barely noticed ...

1958. What More Can He Give?

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

James McCormick

For 2000 years, the vitality of the Christian Church has been determined by what we have done with Jesus. When Jesus has been the center of our attention and we have sought to follow him as faithful disciples, then the Church has been strong. But when we have misplaced him amidst the clutter of our bureaucracy, or relegated him to a marginal place in our theology, then we have been weak and impotent. It’s always been true: As goes our relationship with Jesus, so goes the Church! The earliest Christian ...

1959. Against All Hope

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

A little boy was taken to the dentist. He had a cavity that needed to be filled. “Now, young man,” asked the dentist, “what kind of filling would you like for that tooth?” The youngster thought for a moment and replied, “Chocolate.” That young man is a positive thinker. It seems to me that we don’t hear as much about positive thinking as we used to. Some of you will remember when, under the influence of the late, great Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, positive thinking was the rage. “If you can think it, you can ...

1960. The Sin of Robin Hood

Exodus 20:15

Sermon

James Merritt

There are many things you could say about the fictional character Robin Hood. He was handsome, dashing, romantic, courageous, compassionate, kind, and loyal. But, at bottom, he was a thief. Even though he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, the end does not justify the means. Regardless of his motive, Robin Hood was both a robber and a hood who broke the eighth commandment "You shall not steal." America has become a nation full of Robin Hoods. USA Today magazine ran an article entitled, "How Honest ...

1961. Heaven: The Home of a Godly Family

John 14:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

A Sunday School teacher asked the children in her class: "How many of you would like to go to heaven?" All of the children raised a hand except one little guy named Derrick. When the teacher asked him why he didn't want to go to heaven, he said, "I'm sorry Mrs. Smith, but my Mommy told me to come home right after church."1 Well, like that little boy, heaven is still a desire and a dream for most Americans. 77% of Americans believe in heaven, and 76% of Americans believe their chances of getting there are " ...

1962. What to Do When Life Is the Pits

1 Peter 5:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

You would think that fear, anxiety, stress, and worry has always been a part and parcel of everyday life. But studies now show that these things have never been so epidemic as they are today. Two sociologists in the 1920's examined a small American town—with a fictitious name of Middle Town, though the town itself was real—and found that they could not establish a single case of overt anxiety syndrome among anyone who lived in the town. When Dale Carnegie set out to research his best selling book, How to ...

1963. Bridging the Generation Gap

Ephesians 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

I read something recently about childbirth that I had never thought about before. But when you think about it, it is extremely profound. The pain of childbirth is twofold: there is the pain of bringing the child into the world, and there is the pain of bringing that child up in the world, and the latter is greater. The physical pain of bearing a child is tremendous, but usually lasts only a few hours. But the pain of rearing that same child lasts a lifetime and never lessens.1 Every time I preach on the ...

1964. If You're Not Loving You're Not Living (Fruit of the Spirit: Love)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

I am beginning a series of messages that I have entitled: "Home Sweet Home." These messages are going to deal with the fruit that every family tree ought to bear. I want you to imagine what your marriage would be like, what your kids would be like, what your spouse would be like, what you would be like, if the tree of your home and your heart bore the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control. Now quite frankly, if a lot of us started bearing ...

1965. Don't Forget to Remember

Jude 1:5-7

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a young preacher who was going to preach his very first sermon, and he wanted to have a smashing introduction. So he went to an older pastor he knew, and said, "Do you know of any surefire introduction that is guaranteed to get everybody's attention?" The old preacher said, "As a matter of fact I have an illustration that works every single time." He said, "When you walk to the pulpit, make this statement: ‘Some of the greatest days of my life I spent in the arms of another man's wife.'" He said ...

1966. Put Up and Shut Up

Proverbs 18:21

Sermon

James Merritt

"I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say." Calvin Coolidge It's a funny thing with kids: after they are born we can hardly wait until they start talking, then after they learn to talk we can hardly wait for them to shut up! Someone has observed that children go through four stages in their communication with their fathers. First, they call you "Da-da." Then they call you "Daddy." Then they call you "Dad." Then they call you "collect!" Solomon was extremely concerned that his children be wise in the ...

1967. Manual Labor Is Not the President of Mexico

Proverbs 6:6-8

Sermon

James Merritt

"It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?" Ronald Reagan1 Two teenagers were talking, and one said to another, "I'm really worried. Dad slaves away at his job so I will never want for anything, pays all of my bills and sends me to college. Mom spends every day washing and ironing and cleaning up after me, and even takes care of me when I am sick." "So, what are you worried about?" He said, "I'm afraid they might try to escape!" That story reflects my belief that ...

1968. Seeing the End from the Beginning

Numbers 13:1-2, 17-33

Sermon

James Merritt

Disney World. It is the most popular tourist attraction on the planet. The four theme parks, The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney MGM, and Animal Kingdom individually rank among the top ten theme parks in all of the world. In 1998, forty-two million people went through the turnstiles at Disney World alone. It sits on forty-three square miles of some of the most prime property in the entire state of Florida. It is twice the size of Manhattan Island. Originally, it took seven years to plan, and four and one-half ...

1969. The Greatest Place in the World

Romans 12:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

Where do you think is the best place to live in America, and where do you think is the worst place to live in America? You don't have to wonder because we now have the answer from Money magazine. Money magazine recently conducted a poll, using 41 factors ranging from a low crime rate, to future job growth, to clean air and water, and rated the best places in America to live, and the worst places in America to live. According to their scientific survey, the best place in America to live is Gainesville, ...

1970. Nothing but the Blood

1 John 1:7

Sermon

James Merritt

The greatest evangelist of the Twentieth Century, without question, was Billy Graham. The greatest evangelist before him of the Nineteenth Century undoubtedly was Dwight L. Moody. Both shared a common trait. They were criticized because of a particular subject they preached about. When Billy Graham was getting started, a professor from Cornell University wrote him a letter and said, "Mr. Graham, you have great talent, and you have what it takes to be a successful minister. But if you want to continue to be ...

1971. 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 ...

1972. What Is A Christian?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

A local businessman was teaching a Sunday School class of fourth grade boys, and he was really trying to impress the class because his son was a member. So during the lesson he asked the class this question: "Why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" Well, there was dead silence. Not one boy or girl spoke up. He asked the question again: "Boys and girls, why do you suppose that people call me a Christian?" There was still no response. Finally, the man paused, scratched his chin, and said: "Now ...

1973. Hazardous to Your Wealth: Myths about Money

Malachi 3:7-12

Sermon

James Merritt

Americans are used to warnings. You can hardly turn anywhere that you don't read a warning label on something. There are warning labels that will alert you to inhaling fumes at the gas station, opening hot radiators, drinking diet soft drinks, smoking cigarettes, wearing seatbelts, and even letting small children play with plastic bags that cover the clothes from the dry cleaners. These warnings are all designed to make us aware of potential dangers that could bring us great harm. But when is the last time ...

1974. A Bridge over Troubled Waters

Psalm 23:2

Sermon

James Merritt

Is there anyone here today dealing with stress? Just looking out, I see a lot of people who are all stressed up and no place to go. Stress is a problem. Believe it or not, this is a problem for the pastor. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, psychologist Richard Blackmon said, “Pastors are the single most occupationally frustrated group in America.” About 75% of pastors go through a period of stress so great that they consider quitting the ministry; 35-40% actually do. Incidents of mental breakdown are ...

1975. No Place Like Home

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

The year was 1852, and if you had been standing on the street corner of Washington, D.C., as this funeral procession made its way down the street, you would have been extremely impressed. First of all, you would have seen standing on that same street with you, with his head bowed, his hat removed, and tears in his eyes, the President of the United States. Next to him you would have seen his cabinet, most of congress, and dignitaries from Berlin, London, Tokyo, and Africa. The crowds lined the streets by ...

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