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 426 results

176. No Shame

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-28 (29-31)

Sermon

William G. Carter

... light where they can be seen, and then God cancels every one of them, and says, "No more damage!" As it is written, "We look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross and disregarded its shame" (Hebrews 12:2). The old law was clear: It is a shame to be sentenced to death and hung on a tree. But that is the shame Jesus endured ... and he did it to take away our shame. Despite whatever messages that parents or preachers told you ...

177. When to Be Extravagant

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... force his hand. But he was wrong. It didn't work. Though God, ironically, did intervene. Not to overthrow the Romans, but to forgive all those who "know not what they do," including Judas, and give us all new life. All this is to say, disregard John's whispered asides about Judas' integrity. Judas' question is most appropriate. "Why was this perfume not sold and the money given to the poor?" The estimated cost of the perfume, three hundred denarii, would have been equivalent to an average year's salary to ...

178. The 4 LAWS of a Whole Personality

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and the care Jesus takes for the fragile human bodies he encounters. He heals the blind, the lame, the deaf, the leprous, even raises the dead out of his great love for all. Lion of Judah: The assertiveness of the Messiah is revealed by Jesus' disregard for social expectations. He sought out and preached the good news to the poor, to those disavowed and discounted by all others. Lamb of God: The meekness and vulnerability of the Messiah is revealed by the offense and rejection Jesus receives at the hands of ...

179. Don't Forget the Mustard

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the condiment is probably the only healthy component of those meals. More sophisticated palates go for the browner, seedier mustards ("I say...have you any Grey Poupon?"). But except among a few knowledgeable chefs, mustard's subtleties and strengths are virtually disregarded. Mustard is such a common, everyday, ordinary ingredient that it doesn't even register. But Jesus saw differently. Jesus knew better. For Jesus mustard presented a perfect picture of the kingdom of God and the faith of those who would ...

180. A Case for Living Together

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... even to stone him out of existence. It was only those who listened to Jesus, who lived together with his strange ways of interacting with people, with his startling lack of interest in keeping the sacred separate from the rest of life, with his disregard for clearly established distinctions between appropriate and inappropriate people . . . only those who were willing to live together truly got it. In the words of Joseph Chilton Pearce, "Do we want an eye for an eye or a new way of seeing?" (The Biology of ...

181. Can You Jump for Joy?

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , the hook missing from a decorated seashell. But tape and glue was quickly dispatched. No manner of chips, crunches, or cracks could squelch her joy. After everything had finally been carefully placed on the tree, our daughter began jumping on the couch in flagrant disregard of the standard house rule: no jumping. At the peak of each jump, with her eight-year-old height no longer a limitation, our daughter could see the ornaments hanging at the very top of the tree, and then enjoy the expanding width and ...

182. Squeaky Wheels

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... those saints called abolitionists banished it from this country. Jim Crow was a stain dyed deep into this land, but the persistence of those saints called civil rights activists bleached it out of the fabric of our lives. Sexism was an excuse for disregarding and dis-establishing half the population of this country, but the persistence of those saints called suffragettes and women's libbers gave vote and voice to all American women. Jesus' story about the friend asking for bread (Luke 11:5-10) concludes in ...

183. The Smell of Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... time. If we can't even keep ourselves safe from an unexpected cloud burst, how can we possibly hope to keep ourselves safe from the forces of hate and envy, greed and self-centeredness that drive human beings to embrace violence and cruelty and to disregard the sacredness of all life? In today's gospel text the disciples' fear of a known danger, the winds and waves, causes them to chastise a sleeping Jesus for his unconcern and inactivity. But Jesus' demonstration of unknown divine power causes them to fear ...

184. The World's Greatest Cover Up

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Jesus, who died and was raised for our justification (verse 25). How could such a miraculous event, such a transforming moment, fail to effect exterior changes in believers, as well as creating a new interior life of faith? Paul does not disregard the rightness of torah law. But he's adamant in distinguishing its essential "rightness" from any ability the law itself may have to imbue righteousness in the individual. Righteousness can only be received from God; righteousness can only be a gift that ...

185. Looking for Shoots or Roots?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... over what this inquiry means is fun to read. Is John having doubts about Jesus’ identity because he is in Herod’s prison and his own ministry stymied? Is John concerned about Jesus’ association with less-than-stellar citizens and his apparent disregard for such observant niceties as fasting (see 9:9-13)? Or are the doubts voiced by John’s disciples expressing a concern over the lack of a stern, judgmental chorus alongside Jesus’ eating, drinking ministry? Or, perhaps, John sent out his disciples ...

186. EXEGESIS: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 6:6-11

1 Peter 4:12-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 's recipe for success. Well-timed sacrifices to the proper deity ensured benevolence and blessing for the believer. Secret Gnostic sects relied on special "gnosis" ("knowledge") to give them a boost up in life. Conversely, displeasing the gods, disregarding their whims, disobeying their directives, invited disaster and destruction into one's life. Even within Judaism the hardships endured by the Israelites were overwhelmingly understood as the direct result of their disobedience to God. In the last quarter ...

187. Isaiah 58:1-10

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... were barely surviving, flailing and failing without compassionate intercession or intervention. In fact, these acts of compassionate justice are true “worship.” Sitting in the temple solemnly fasting is not worship when it is accomplished at the expense of, or with disregard for, the needs of others. The worship the Lord requires is the active incarnation of God’s justice in the world. DO first, then pray, is the prophet’s mandate. DOING is the worship God demands. In performing the concrete acts ...

188. The Only One Who Is Number One

Exodus 20:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... more prevalent that you think. Even though 96% of all Americans say they believe in God, the overwhelming majority of people (93%) said that they and nobody else determine what is, and what is not moral in their lives.[4] But they are also disregarded. A 1988 Gallup Poll revealed that while 85% of Americans believe that the Ten Commandments are binding, only 15% could name five of them.[5] Contrast that with a statement by William Blackstone, the father of modern jurisprudence, who said, "All civilized law ...

189. Honor To Whom Honor Is Due

Exodus 20:12

Sermon

James Merritt

... that God begins with the family is not incidental, nor is it accidental, it is fundamental. Carle C. Zimmerman, of Harvard University, said, "The Western family is rapidly approaching its third violent crisis. This crisis will be the third manifestation of mass disregard of the family in western society....the first occurred in Greece, the second in Rome, and facing these crises, neither Greek nor Roman civilization was able to survive."[1] In the area of human relationships, God places his first eggs in ...

190. High and Lifted Up

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... God whose love knows no bounds because His holiness knows no limits, who has disappeared from the modern evangelical world. He has been replaced in many quarters by a god who is slick and slack, whose moral purposes turn out to be [fatherly] advice that we can disregard or negotiate as we see fit, whose Word is a play thing for those who wish merely to listen to themselves, whose church is a mall in which the religious, their pockets filled with the coin of need, do their business.[1] May I say that more ...

191. Getting Rid of Grudges

Luke 23:34

Sermon

James Merritt

... free of charge. However, let me add that forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. In a human court of law a judge has to choose between two alternatives. When a person has been proven guilty, the judge must either enforce the penalty of the law, or disregard the requirements of the law; one is justice, the other is mercy. But the only possible way by which the judge can both enforce the requirements of the law, and yet show mercy to the offender, is by a third party offering to suffer himself the penalty ...

192. Thou Shalt Not Judge - True or False?

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... to fulfill his duty to uphold and execute the laws of the United States…[another] factor that I think constitutes an impeachable offense would be willful reckless behavior in office; just totally incompetent conduct of the office and the disregard of the necessities that the office demands." That law professor was Bill Clinton.4 Another example is how one recent presidential candidate considered the trustworthiness of the sitting President a matter of public concern. He said: Every time the President ...

193. How to Turn the Ballot into a Blessing Box

Proverbs 29:2

Sermon

James Merritt

... will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the law; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded.1 Noah Webster went on to say: When a citizen gives his suffrage [his vote] to a man of known immorality, he abuses his trust [civic responsibility]; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his ...

194. Jesus: The Hope of a Godly Family

Psalm 127:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

... marks of a culture in inevitable decline. Couple that with what Zimmerman was quoted as saying twenty years later, just thirty years ago. "The Western family is rapidly approaching its third violent crisis. This crisis will be the third manifestation of mass disregard of the family in western society....the first occurred in Greece, the second in Rome, and facing these crises, neither Greek nor Roman civilization was able to survive."2 What Zimmerman was saying was that the family is the barometer of the ...

195. The Sin of Silence

1 John 1:9-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... takes down those trees, and He fertilizes that soil. You see, confession doesn't seek amnesty from God, it seeks pardon. You say what is the difference? Pardon presumes guilt. Amnesty, which comes from the same Greek word as amnesia, "forgets" the sin and disregards the guilt. Confession admits the wrong and seeks forgiveness. Amnesty denies the wrong and claims the innocent. That's why the confession must be sincere, it must be true, it must pure, and it must be honest. There are some sins we confess and ...

196. The Empire Strikes Back

Jude 1:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... if you are not pro-choice you are a narrow minded chauvinist. If you are not pro-homosexuality you are homophobic. If you are not pro-feminism you are politically incorrect. If you are not pro-multiculturalism you are an intolerant bigot. It was an age of disregard. Genesis 6:3 reveals that the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever.” Even in those terrible days mankind was being given fair warning by the Holy Spirit of God through the preaching of men like Noah and Enoch. The Spirit of ...

197. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... for tickets to the Super Bowl or some rock concert. Jesus was a fascinating, unpredictable character. He displayed a wide range of emotions: compassion for a dying leper, exuberance over his disciples' success, a warm hospitality that callously disregarded racial and cultural boundaries. But he could burn with anger toward cold-hearted legalists. Jesus had inexhaustible patience with individuals but no patience at all with institutions or injustice. No wonder he still mystifies and intrigues people across ...

198. Is Jesus The Only Way?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . The king was aware that poor people would not have proper clothing for such an occasion. Not wanting anyone to feel inferior, the king provided standard clothing for all the guests to wear. But this fellow in verse 11 was a rebel at heart. He disregarded the generosity of the king and decided to come on his own terms. St. Augustine believed that trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is what constitutes the proper wedding garment. If you are not humble enough to admit your need for the salvation ...

199. The Church of Your Dreams

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... will be seen no more by any human eye, but it will remain ‘till earth and the works thereof are burned up!'" All that…on a thirty-nine year lease! Now that's boldness! The great British preacher Colin Morris comments: In an act of cavalier disregard for the local authorities, he claimed that his edifice would remain until the end of the earth… Although the legality of his action is dubious, the theology is sound. The multi-million-dollar decision of the recent past to build the CLC was a similar act ...

200. The Paradoxical Power of Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... . He goes to New York to study under a world-famous teacher. Do you see his adjustment? Strong in the remote city, he became weak in New York. Proud in the west, he was humiliated in the east. Provincially acclaimed, he was disregarded nationally. However, despite the disappointment of his former fans and the indignation of his supporters over his humiliation, the musician was a wise man. He knew that in his humiliation before the great teacher, he was being exalted into great musicianship. By confessing ...

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