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 176 to 200 of 215 results

176. Demons, Pigs, and the Economy

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... and more alone, more and more empty, more and more rejected, more and more forgotten, passed by, and neglected. More than that, our inward self seems diminished. Consequently, as Dr. May observes, "when the inward life dries up, when feeling decreases and apathy increases, when one cannot affect or even genuinely touch another person, violence flares up as a daimonic necessity for contact, a mad drive forcing touch in the most direct way possible" (Love and Will, pp. 30-31). Like the demoniac thrust out ...

177. The Man of Lawlessness

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... like Jesus himself (Matt. 24:10–13), Paul envisages a final upsurge of evil before the end of the age, heralding the onset of the end. Some have understood the apostasia as a falling away within the church, but the word expresses not so much apathy as deliberate opposition, and it is better to see this as a reference to events outside the church which, however, will profoundly affect the church. The rebellion will be the church’s “great tribulation” (Rev. 7:14). Associated with it will be the man of ...

178. Joshua's Farewell to the Leaders

Joshua 23:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... continue a close relationship with God that began under the pressure of taking the land. It addresses human nature, which tends to lose its need to depend on God when a crisis subsides. The people should put extra effort into loving God to counter apathy that sets in when an emergency ends. 23:12–16 The reported speech of Joshua also warns the tribes about intermingling with and marrying the people in the land. They will become snares . . . traps . . . whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until ...

179. Love and Obey the Lord

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... 11:26–32 These verses have a present and a future aspect. They point to the immediacy of present choice: I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse. All the teaching and preaching of the previous chapters focuses on these alternatives. No apathy is allowed in making an immediate decision between the two options set out in verses 27 and 28. These verses also point toward the future and the need for a permanent reminder of the ongoing consequences of that present-day choice. So Moses arranges for ...

180. Worshipping Other Gods

Deuteronomy 13:1-18

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... into the worldview of the church as much as of secular society. C. S. Lewis once said that if we no longer feel comfortable with the cursing psalms, for example, it is not because of our greater, “Christian” sensitivity, but because of our appalling moral apathy. We no longer feel the passion of the psalmist that God should deal with evil and evildoers and vindicate God’s own moral order in the world. We respond to idolatrous, blasphemous evil not with a curse, but a shrug, and then have the gall ...

181. Transition to Jesus’ Public Ministry

Matthew 4:12-17

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... the dark. Tom and Becky join a group of adventurers in scouting caves. Soon, they become separated from the group. Unease turns to apprehension. Apprehension morphs into fear. Fear becomes panic. Panic sinks into despair. We read, Becky was very weak. She had sunk into a dreary apathy and would not be roused. She said she would wait, now, where she was, and die—it would not be long. She told Tom to go . . . and explore if he chose; but she implored him to come back every little while and speak to her; and ...

182. Vows, Redemption, and Tithes

Leviticus 27:1-34

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... sometimes we think that we are capable of giving God more than we actually can supply. But as Leviticus 27 shows, God in his grace makes generous allowances for this kind of human excess caused by imprudent zeal. Such excesses are preferable to apathy that promises God nothing. Illustrating the Text We are to give freely to God, not only what is expected but beyond. Literature: “Babette’s Feast,” by Isak Dinesen. This story by Danish writer Isak Dinesen (1885–1962) was first published in Ladies Home ...

183. The Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5:1-31

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... sensitive to the way God works through life’s everyday events that give us pause, pushing us toward an understanding of who God is as revealed in Scripture. Warn them against the false assumption that God’s patience means he does not care about apathy or prideful rebellion. 3. False confidence and human arrogance. Point to examples in your culture or context in which people use power, wealth, and prestige as either a substitute for or a means by which to manipulate, twist, or exploit godly wisdom. Such ...

184. Keeping the Faith Vital

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... (“Hear, O Israel”) of chapter 6. The promise of military success is given once again (11:22–25), repeating Deuteronomy 7:12–24. This leaves Israel with a present and future choice: “a blessing and a curse.” There are no bases for any apathy or mediating alternatives (11:26–28). Moses arranges that when they enter Canaan, a symbolic ceremony is to take place on either side of Shechem, on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. A fuller description of this ceremony appears in Deuteronomy 27:1–26, while ...

185. Resolution: The Covenant to Change

Ezra 10:1-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... diligent in maintaining the identity of the covenant community in a pagan world. What can we learn from this episode? In a different context the application of biblical principles may not be exactly the same. But like postexilic Israel, we must be aware of the danger of moral and spiritual apathy. Similarly, we face moral and spiritual crises in our time that require strong leadership and definitive community action on the part of God’s people.

186. Job's Third Reply to Eliphaz

Job 23:1--24:25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... was that prosperity among the wicked is proof of a God-abandoned, topsy-turvy moral world order. Here his proof is the way the wicked are able to prey successfully on the poor and powerless. The examples Job amasses are not about religious apathy or syncretistic worship. God’s abdication is proved through a myriad of heinous acts of social injustice and social oppression. Verses 18–25 are sometimes reassigned to one of Job’s friends. Those who understand the verbal mood as declarative (a declaration ...

187. I Have Come Into My Garden

Song of Songs 5:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... marriage of the king and the maiden because he is late in returning home (cf. Carr, 131). The maiden pouts in her self-pity, lamenting the postponement of the tryst she has anticipated. When the lover finally arrives, she greets him with apathy and indifference, then later regrets her action and seeks to make amends. This view not only distorts the literary intentions of the search-find motif in love poetry but also tarnishes the idyllic love relationship portrayed everywhere else in the poem. The anthology ...

188. Ariel

Isaiah 29:1-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... as if Yahweh does not know or see (29:15–24). The people are the clay and the Lord is the potter, but the clay is skeptical and critical of the potter’s abilities (29:16). Thus far Isaiah has portrayed a number of the people’s reactions: apathy (29:9–10), disbelief in the relevance of the prophetic word for their time (29:11–12), formalism and hypocrisy (29:13–14), and dependence on human scheming and planning apart from God (29:15–16). Yet, however dark the day may be, God still has a message ...

189. Judah’s Idolatry

Zephaniah 1:4-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... lack of responsiveness by his own people. Idolatry is a flagrant breach of the covenant. For Zephaniah, idolatry is any expression that involves other deities, priests of non-Aaronic descent, illegitimate public and private forms of worship, double-mindedness, or apathy toward Yahweh. In Zephaniah’s day idolatry was practiced even in the temple (“this place,” 1:4). God’s judgment is on the foreign cults that had flourished during the days of Manasseh. Baalism remained even after Hezekiah’s reforms ...

190. First Message: A Call to Action—Build the Temple

Haggai 1:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God is the Lord of Israel’s hosts. He is their commander in chief, and they are responsible to him. The expression “these people” (1:2) instead of “my people” is used to draw attention to God’s displeasure with Israel’s spiritual apathy. Their attitude is summed up in the statement, “The time has not . . . come.” Haggai describes a people who have lost their vision and have come to comfortable terms with leaving God’s work undone. Contributing to this attitude are the following: (1) the ...

191. To the Church in Ephesus

Revelation 2:1-7

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... that is, John is calling our attention to those churches with a “middling” spirituality. His purpose is certainly pastoral: most congregations do not find themselves on the margins of spiritual excellence (with the congregations at Smyrna and Philadelphia) or apathy (with the congregations at Ephesus and Laodicea), but rather in the mainstream of spiritual mediocrity (with the congregations at Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis). This is, then, the nature of the spiritual crisis for most of John’s readers ...

192. Delivering the Helpless from Social Oppression: Part II

Psalm 10:1-18

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... the praises), the psalm sets them side by side and forcibly shows how present realities fly in the face of God’s praises. Not only do the wicked freely abuse the helpless, they are also persuaded of their autonomy (10:6) and of God’s apathy (10:11), and—apparently—there is nothing in their experience to suggest the contrary. 10:12–15 Consistent with the genre of prayer psalms, this one now turns to petition. These petitions and their supporting motivations also echo the praises of Psalm 9: Psalm 9 ...

193. To the Church in Laodicea

Revelation 3:14-22

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... your eyes to see (cf. John 9:35–41). These symbolize repentance and also divine gifts that provide the repentant one with the spiritual goods necessary to turn around and follow Christ. Christ warns of severe consequences that result from spiritual apathy; yet his emphasis is always on the spiritual resources that belong to the believing community and that make for a restored relationship with God. Indeed, Christ’s harshest rebuke is prompted by his desire for fellowship with his people. His assurance ...

194. Various Laws

Deuteronomy 21:22--22:12

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... simply incalculable. Christians (like the Clapham Sect in Britain) were in the forefront of the struggle for basic safety, hygiene, and worker protection laws. Yet still, the guilt of bloodshed lingers through far too many deaths and injuries caused by negligence and apathy. 22:9–11 The reason for these rules (cf. Lev. 19:19) may lie in their symbolic value as “badges” of Israel’s distinctiveness from the nations. This is certainly the rationale behind the clean/unclean distinction, and we know from ...

195. Who Cares?

Illustration

Ken McKinley

I remember a Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown was talking to Lucy. He remarked about the tragedy of so much apathy in the world today. And Lucy responded, “Yeah, it’s terrible. But who cares?”

196. A Bridge Between Two Worlds

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... set us free from the values, priorities and powers of this world. The poor widow in our parable had no power against the unjust judge. Yet she wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t afraid to demand the justice due her. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to his apathy and corruption. Her faith in a just God gave her the courage and determination to persevere. We too can persist in prayer because we have a God who keeps His promises. And God promises that we will see justice and mercy when Jesus returns to establish the ...

197. Second Sunday of Advent

John 4:1-26, Isaiah 51:1-16

Bulletin Aid

Heth H. Corl

... the deficiencies of my own personal life. I certainly need Christ in my life, yet I become all the more skilled in preventing Him from living in me. Forgive me for running from one hell to another. Forgive me for creating unrest instead of peace, apathy instead of concern, and self independence instead of obedience. May your presence in my life give me a new reason for being, and a desire to become released from bondage and alive with faith. In Jesus' name. Amen. HYMNS "Come, Thou Almighty King" "The People ...

198. Jacob's Well

John 4:1-26, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... water in jars and tanks then be dependent upon God to give us our “daily draught,” wouldn’t we? Our fear is making our faith rank. Our fear is like that slime in that rancid tank, the muck that lays over that stagnant pond. Not just our apathy, not just our ignorance of where to find the living water, but our fear and our stubbornness and our need to control is choking out the sources of living water and allowing our soul to corrode in the rank, stagnant waters of life without God. The greatest folly ...

199. Written on the Palms of His Hands

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the gift of God’s Son Jesus, sacrificed for us, and resurrected to assuage us! If ever you doubted God’s love, all you need to do is think about the sacrifice of self that God makes on our behalf. God literally allows us to “kill” Him with our apathy, and our anger, and our defiance, and our deviousness. And yet, God’s voice keeps resounding in our heads…. “Even so, I will never forget you, never stop loving you. Look, I have engraved you in the palm of my hands. Just turn back to me, and I ...

200. Against the Grain

Mark 3:13-19, Isaiah 28:1-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the knowledge of Christ. In 1962, Bob Dylan wrote a famous song that stunned the world at the time with its wisdom and heart. It’s called “Blowin’ in the Wind. Dylan looked all around him and saw problems with society, lack of freedom, war, heartlessness, apathy. Frustrated with not knowing how to solve those problems, he sang, “the answer is blowin in the wind,” meaning the answer is as intangible as the wind. It can’t be pinned down. It’s out there somewhere, but it’s not evident right now ...

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