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 679 results

176. Wedding: Christian Love

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... has so many definitions. We hear people say they love their husband or wife, but they also love their pets, or they just love mink coats, or they love to swim, but they really love ice cream. Some speak of loving God, or making love, or even yearning for love. Is the emotion behind the word love the same in each instance? Or is there something about the love involved in marriage which is unique? The ancient Greeks had six different words which in English can be translated love. There was one love, however ...

177. Wedding: A Need for Newness

Sermon Aid

John M. Braaten

... to Jesus Christ, for if you worship our Lord together and pray to him for each other, the cohesive power of the Holy Spirit can enter your lives in beautiful and powerful ways. Then you must stand ready to forgive each other as Christ yearns to forgive you. Forgiveness brings continual resurrection to a marriage relationship. I tell you sincerely, ________ and ________, that some of the most precious moments of your marriage will be found in times of reconciliation because it is there that love has had to ...

178. Beyond Togetherness

John 17:20-26

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... unity does not compel us to rush to the negotiating table in an attempt to reduce our Christian differences to a bland recipe of faith which offends no one so that we end up with a church that is weak and powerless. The oneness for which Jesus so yearns is something beyond togetherness. In fact unity is not even something we can decide to do or work toward. Being made one with Christ is something that has already been accomplished; it is up to us to accept it and begin to live it! Therefore we are called ...

179. Hostage Crisis

1 Kings 19:1-8

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... kill somebody!" Finally, the match. Now the pipe and that little white ball of crack. Now he would take leave of his five senses. Now he would take refuge in that white ghost; the white witch that promised to be the answer to his deepest yearnings. Now he would do the solemn death dance and prepare himself to go as high and as far as the junk would take him. The hostage crisis is not where terrorists, brandishing semiautomatic weapons, heap scorn and scourge upon the innocent by taking them captive. The ...

180. Holy Believing

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... together and the answers can be instruction in our Christian faith. I It is important to note how the word believe is so crucial and critical in any New Testament discussion about life, especially eternal life. Modern folk, however, raise a red flag and say: "Yes, we yearn for a better life, but beliefs are so many and varied that we do not know where to start." Do not think for one moment that these Jews were in any better situation with their ancient Law and its 613 separate regulations. For us the first ...

181. Like A Breath Of Fresh Air

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... work of forgiveness, the “ministry of reconciliation” and the word of grace. They, and now we, are to bring that fresh life-giving Spirit to a world which continues to shut its doors in fear. We are empowered to breathe new life into a stale world that yearns to breathe free. Everywhere we look in our recent past there seems to be a breath of fresh air in our world. Walls and curtains are being removed, and new life is being breathed into situations that less than a decade ago seemed futile and doomed ...

182. The Soft-touch God

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

Keith Hammer

... driving. How about if we go take it together?” They both smiled and shared another hug. God very much wants to be a soft-touch God. Recall that softness of a bath towel when you step out of the shower on a brisk morning. Oh, how much our own hearts yearn for the soft touch of God when we have been the wayward ones. And that, we must confess, happens more times than we would like it to be. Several times a week at least, if it isn’t several times a day. We can say at least two things about ...

183. The Needle’s Eye

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... perfect. Without involving his hands he held on to his own way and will. Without involving his feet at all he ran from responsible reactions. He saw only what he wanted to see. All the time he lived in a hell of isolation and frustration. Jesus yearns for us to see that the problem lies deep in our souls, where our private wills take over and prevent us from seeing, doing, and being. Of course, he uses hyperbole. Jesus would hardly counsel amputation! Rooting out the real flaw requires deep soul-searching ...

184. A Road Map to the Kingdom

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

... this we must assume the same qualities as children possess. Within the open charm of children is a key that is an ‘‘open sesame” to doors that block our way -- the freedom to be vulnerable. Great strength or profound innocence is required to be vulnerable. As we yearn to be truly strong, we must always remain open. Risks must be taken to bring our talents and powers out of the storehouse of our private treasury. Child-like trust in God is demanded if we are to find the reality of what is within us and ...

185. Where Have All The Visible Miracles Gone?

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... in his church. In these cases as well, we need to interpret such events in light of Easter. In reminding us of the new life given by Christ, these natural miracles are only truly miraculous when they serve to prepare us for that new life in Christ, to make us yearn for it. Just like the miracle of the transfiguration, these modern miracles are mere pointers to the greatest miracle - the miracle that God loves us.

186. The Road To The Cross

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... keep your important position on the job or in the community? Not so quick with your denial. If you have ever held an office that you cared about in this congregation, in this community or on your job, you have done it! I have done it. Our yearning for power and influence, like that of the Jewish religious establishment of Jesus' day, nailed him to the cross. Perhaps you do not think that you are guilty of the dynamics of social sin that we have thus far explored. However, you will surely discover yourself ...

187. How To Hear A Sermon

Micah 1:1-7

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... hear a sermon, let us act upon the message received. David H. C. Read recently retired as pastor of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City after serving for 30 years. In talking to a group of ministers a few years ago he mentioned that he had never yearned to hear the sound of his own voice. But one day he decided to check one of his radio sermons. The night before he set the alarm clock for the right station to come on for the 6:30 a.m. broadcast. What happened the next morning? In Read ...

188. Always Home

John 14:1-4

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

... ." "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."We understand, don't we, that we're talking about something other than this church house. It is the "forever house" of the Lord, not built with human hands, and not people with physical bodies. It's the home yearned for all along. It's the one we've entered this house to learn about. It's the place toward which _____________ felt called, ever since his wife died.___________ told many of us the same thing. He told us that he knew at Easter time that he and ...

189. The Elders

Drama

William Grimbol

... Well, Ruth, you must admit ... RUTH: I know. I understand. I do know that experiencing him makes all the difference. RACHEL: How? RUTH: You want it! I mean, a million other preachers and teachers have taught what he is teaching and preaching, but he makes your heart yearn to make it happen. You want to live it. You want to make it true. RACHEL: Maybe he is just a better preacher than the others ... more powerful. RUTH: No, (Shrugging) that is not it. It goes deeper than that. I wasn't just impressed by him ...

190. The Dynamics of Doubt

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... I MYSELFKNOW OF MYSELF? 2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, MacMillan Company, New York, 1963, pp. 18-20. Restless and longing and sick, like a birdin a cage, struggling for breath, as thoughhands were compressing my throat,yearning for colours, for flowers, for thevoices of birds,thirsting for words of kindness, forneighborliness,tossing in expectation of great events,powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinitedistance,weary and empty at praying, at thinking, atmaking, faint, and ready ...

191. For What Are We Fishing?

Luke 5:1-11

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... for deeper values. The truth is, a person can have full nets but still have an empty life. After you’ve sold the fish in the market and have put a share of the money in the bank, you may still feel an emptiness deeper than empty nets and a yearning more poignant than the desire for economic security.

192. Jesus Reflects -- A Dramatic Monologue

Isaiah 9:1-7, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Drama

Edward G. Hunter

... their healing. More often than not their spirits were healed at the same time. Such was the purpose of healing - that the spirit would be healed in the process. I have been asked many times if I am God's Messiah. I am not the Messiah the multitudes yearn for: the kingly, conquering Messiah; he who would put down the enemies of our people; he who would establish righteousness in the world by divine fiat; he who would usher in a veritable paradise on earth where no evil would exist. God revealed to me that I ...

193. After A Lost Election, Field Of Dreams

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Sermon

James Angell

... of nearly everything. Would I want to repeat these past 40 years - so filled as they have been with overflowing inspiration, variety, and stretching? Yes. Yes - again and again. Wherever we went there were children in search of visions and people in search of affirmation. Grief, steadfastness of soul, a yearning for the balm of Gilead. Laughter and picnics. Supper of Bread and Wine. The Book. The community which, when we make it our own, transforms the world and what we come to expect of it.

194. The Aim Of Preaching: To Bestow The Kiss Of Life

John 20:19-23

Sermon

James Angell

... to see the sky take hold of prayer's tremendous finger." Another word for breath is "inspire" - to breathe into. And when others inspire us, they impart their own kiss of life, usually without realizing what they are doing. Our country has its own yearnings for new breath. Which may be making the focus too small. Maybe we should think not just about this land, but about a whole society struggling for rebirth, or a planet trying to get its respiratory system going again after finding out how environmentally ...

195. Natural Or Supernatural?

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... in the nation, Super Sunday is the culmination of all of their hopes and dreams of the months before. But then, it's only right that we should be excited. Through the long, pedantic days that we live, we wait for something that is super. We yearn for those brief, fleeting moments when we are raised above the realm of the ordinary into the soul-stirring status of the super; when we can leave, for instance, the humdrum of the neighborhood grocery and push our own cart through the aisles of the supermarket ...

196. Seeking What Matters

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

... it. He knows you'll enjoy it, when once it's yours. Have you today seen this treasure which all the while has been waiting in this field? Make it yours! You can, you know. Have you today come at last upon the precious pearl your restless heart has been yearning for? Make it yours! You can, you know. You have been a seeker all your life. Some things you have found; some have satisfied, and some have not. All this time, maybe you have known what it is you have been looking for. If so, maybe today you have ...

197. The Lord's People Together

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

... , a follower of the Way? The Christian man does not dare say, "I'm a Christian; are you one also, perhaps?" For to be a Christian is a crime punishable often by death, and the Christian may be in jeopardy to identify himself. But he hungers for fellowship, his spirit yearns for the touch of a kindred spirit. So, with his walking-stick he traces in the dust of the road the shape of a fish or the form of a cross, for these are the symbols of the new-born Faith, and the people of the Way know the meaning ...

198. The Now-ness of Eternity

Zechariah 7:1-14

Sermon

... , but of the living; for all live to him"? In other words, are all who have ever lived always alive to God in all the terms and conditions of their existence? Whatever the answer may be to such intriguing questions, one fact is crystal clear. A yearning for eternal life is structured in the makeup of the human heart and mind. More than this, eternity, like a magnet, exerts a constant tug on our daily living. It prompts us through conscience to distinguish between right and wrong, and to choose the right. It ...

199. Everybody Pray!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

... , that matters to God also. Cursed be the proud and prejudiced attitude of all religion! If you can't even find mercy and love in the Church, where else will you find it?" So the questions plague us also. Our prayers sometimes go unanswered. Our noble spiritual yearnings do not take shape. Even our prayers for the needs of other people seem to fall on deaf divine ears. We begin to wonder whether we know how to pray at all. Is there something I missed along the way of my religious instruction? Am I praying ...

200. If Only We could Be Loyal ...

Hosea 4:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... , salvation, grace, hope, healing. No matter what the language, the message was always the same: be true and faithful to God as you have promised him you would. Jackie and her husband, realizing where they were in their marriage and in their lives, yearned to have listened to that same kind of plea, and responded. It could have prevented their lament, "If only we had been loyal ..." Hosea also portrays graphically that the covenant-love relationship with God is made possible by God’s forgiveness. We ...

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