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 2126 to 2150 of 5000 results

2126. Bugles in the Afternoon

Philippians 2:1-11, Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... sounded. He is Lord of the past, Lord of the present and will be Lord a thousand years from now. The unchanging note of hope and faith in our constantly changing and uncertain world…Jesus Christ is Lord. My father-in-law, the bugler, died in 1996. Not long before his death, he said he wanted me to preach his funeral. When I asked him what he wanted me to preach, his eyes twinkled and he smiled and said, "Oh, you know the one…‘Bugles in the Afternoon.'" Not many days later, on a glorious May morning ...

2127. Barnabas Found the Way

Acts 4:35-5:16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... event focused on a then-popular song. It could be the theme song for Barnabas, Son of Encouragement, Saint of Generosity: The road is long, with many a winding turn Which leads us to who knows where, who knows where; But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him. ... laden at all, I'm laden with sadness That everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness Of love for one another. It's a long, long road, from which there is no return. While we're on our way to there, why not share? And the load doesn't weigh me ...

2128. What Ever Happened to Norman Rockwell?

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... cream, which draws us all together in praise. It's not quite the heavenly city, but neither is it chaos. We are the solitary set in family, and I love them all—their faces, their voices, their bodies, their minds; and I thank them for their company during these long short years together. [2] May it be so at our tables and around this table. May it be so in our marriages, our families and in our church family. May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. May the word of Christ dwell in you richly. And may ...

2129. Worship Like A Wesley

Philippians 4:4-9

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... and get a visitor's card to turn in the next Sunday. I remember an old man in my first church who was proud of his long string of pins for thirty years of perfect attendance. That love of the fellowship, that commitment to the gathering, the promise to be there is part ... birthday party. She went into the hospital that month, and by April, she died. I guess she just felt a hundred years was long enough and she was ready to go. Onetime I was invited to return to my home church to preach, and my Uncle Frank ...

2130. Building Relationships

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... made in heaven. Barbara Brown Taylor tells a story about a woman who was already dying of cancer when her husband suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack. At his funeral people leaned over her wheelchair to console her by reminding her that it would not be long until she and her husband were together again in heaven. Later when this woman and Rev. Taylor were alone, the woman with tears running down her face looked at Taylor and said, “I’m never going to get away from him, am I?” (6) That story will ...

2131. Precious and Privileged Children

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... respect. It is seeking to become like one who came to us as God in the flesh. This is a lot more than trying to become like a Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds, Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton, or even Billy Graham! Models of people in our midst and people long gone may be helpful, but they do not have the substance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Even denominations have to be careful that Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley are not placed ahead of Christ. They are not the source but merely offer ...

2132. Getting It Straight

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... until they are married. Would the great bulk of those in our churches consider this a doable way of maturing? Those that I know would be serious and concerned but they would not go that far. Our Catholic friends can be of help here. They have a long-standing teaching of chastity and virginity. It has been there since the very early centuries and in a way is underlined by speaking of Jesus' mother as the blessed Virgin Mary. In addition, marriage is considered a sacrament. Yes, all of us can learn a great ...

2133. A Time for Us

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... career will come to its zenith, a time when the children will fulfill our expectations and hopes for them, a time when financial security will arrive, and we will not have to worry so much about the end of the month, or the end of the year. How we long for that time. And yet, how quickly time passes us by, even the young sense it. Middle school students wonder where the time goes. Older people who used to have time on their hands, now wonder if they have any time at all. One businessman remarked that weeks ...

2134. Our Ultimate Destination

Revelation 21:1-6a

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... teaching. It's okay to be religious we are told, but don't share your faith. It's nice to go to church, but don't let it interfere with the work schedule or the youth soccer league games. Speaking out on biblical values can be tolerated so long as we remain "politically correct" and don't "offend." Historically, God's people have always journeyed with the tension of living in the world but not of it. At times we are able to live peaceably in our neighborhoods, to contribute to the welfare of the community ...

2135. Spite Houses

Matthew 18:21-35

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... New York City. This particular lot presented a very unusual problem. The lot was five feet wide and about a hundred feet long. He couldn't do anything with such an odd sized lot, so he decided to sell it one of the neighbors on ... millionaire moved into it, and lived there the rest of his life. The only one who was really punished was him. He moved into a long narrow little house that held only hate and discomfort. The house became known throughout the neighborhood as "Spite House." It still stands to day as ...

2136. We Didn't Even Have a Horse

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

King Duncan

... in the central part of Louisiana, and when he first campaigned for governor, he was given some advice about the voters in the New Orleans area. "South Louisiana is different from the northern part of the state," he was told. "We have a lot of Catholic voters down here." Long nodded knowingly and went out to make his speech. It began, "When I was a boy, I'd get up at six every Sunday morning, hitch our old horse up to the buggy, and take my Catholic grandparents to mass. I'd bring them home and then take my ...

2137. Jesus and the Ferris Wheels

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... self-examination. Why do we feel the need to ridicule or persecute people who think differently than we do? Isn’t it because, deep in our hearts, we are unsure of our own beliefs just as those who persecute gays are usually unsure of their manhood? It was not long after the martyrdom of Stephen that Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and then he knew for certain that, up to this point in his life in spite of his extreme religiosity, he hadn’t known God at all. And Saul the persecutor became known as ...

2138. Fuel for Our Faith

Matthew 20:25-28

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... on an ordinary corner through which this great miracle was begun. Some servant of Christ did a concrete act of service. II. How can we fuel our faith? By serving. The realm of service is relationships, and the CAUSE IS COMMITMENT. A beautiful bride stood at the head of a long church aisle. The wedding march was about to begin, and she froze. "I can't go in," she cried, "look at all those people." The pastor was sent for and said to the bride, "You can do it. Don't look at the people. Keep your eye first on ...

2139. When What’s Holding You Up Lets You Down

2 Samuel 18:33-19:8

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... to be harmed, the son was killed in the fray. Riding a mule, Absalom rode under an oak tree. Either he was caught by his long hair or his head was jammed in the fork of the tree. The mule ran out from under him, and Scripture reports he was "left ... for each of us. Let me offer two. (1) Set new goals. Helen Keller writes: "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." The door of my whole life seemed to close with ...

2140. Rescued and Transferred

Colossians 1:11-14

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

... , different preacher, brick on the outside now, cushions on the pews. And while the service went on around me, my mind went back to a Friday night more than 30 years earlier when I had sat on that same pew in the same country church. For hours that long-ago Friday night I sat on the pew while my husband practiced his sermon for the coming Sunday. Conference was over. Though he had not yet been to college and seminary, Charles had been appointed to his first church. On Sunday he was to preach for the second ...

2141. Accepting the Lord Once Again

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... a nation and its people. The story continues with prophecy to the southern kingdom of Judah. The people, both religious leaders and general population, had observed the fate of Israel, yet it seemed not to have registered. Isaiah in the first half of his long book of prophecy warned the people that God was displeased with their actions, especially their treatment of others. The famous "Song of the Vineyard" (Isaiah 5:1-7), speaks of how God, like a loving vinedresser, did all that was possible for Jerusalem ...

2142. A Clock or a Compass?

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

David T. Ball

... response that time. I have my watch, too — but don’t get your hopes up that I’m planning to keep a closer eye on how long my sermons are taking! I really just wanted to make a point about how much we rely on our watches in comparison to our compasses. And ... sense of time is really much more precise. To illustrate, you can probably all tell me with a fairly high degree of accuracy how long this service has lasted thus far, but when I turn a little this way or turn a little that way can you tell me ...

2143. Time to Come Home

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... There are even church reunions, where folks who have been involved in a church community come together to celebrate the long history they have had in faith. Whatever the reason for the reunion, there is something incredibly powerful about coming ... the reunion that is significant here isn't a family or high school reunion. It's not coming together of old army buddies or even long lost church friends. It's not even about the people of Israel coming home. The reunion, you see, isn't about any of that. The real ...

2144. Ashes for Remembering

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... angelic songs" from heaven. The second story has to do with a man, let's call him Stan. Stan was a successful executive who worked long hours. For years he had resisted giving control of his life to Jesus as Lord. For years he and his wife had been at opposite ... in the mirror and said, "I'm not the man I ought to be. Dear God, I've started this spiritual journey, but I'm still a long way from what I ought to be. Today let me be more Christ-like in my actions." By the time he said good-bye to his family, ...

2145. Final Instructions

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... in the future, but here and now, we get a foretaste of that kingdom in the word and sacraments and in a wide variety or other ways. R. S. Thomas, the Welsh poet-pastor describes the coming of Christ's kingdom today like this: The Kingdom It's a long way off but inside there are different things going on ... Festivals at which the poor man is king and the consumptive is healed; Mirrors in which the blind man looks and love looks back at him; Industry for mending bent bones and minds fractured by life. It's a ...

2146. Inevitable Delays

Matthew 25:1-13

Illustration

William R. Ellis

... We all know about this sort of thing because it happens all the time. Whether it is getting tied up in traffic, building or remodeling a house, or waiting in line at the bank, grocery store or movie theater, delays happen; if they last long enough they are frustrating and even irritating. But as long as we know that the wait will end these inevitable delays are bearable. We can endure them because we know that sooner or later we will get where we need to be and do what we want to do. Sometimes the delay is ...

2147. The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like a Professor

Matthew 25:14-30

Illustration

... project. Likewise, the one who received two projects immediately went to work, and eventually got results as well. But the student who received one project was easily discouraged, got distracted by her coursework, and eventually gave up. After a very long time, the professor returned to settle accounts with his students. The first student said, "Professor, you gave me these projects to work on, and see, here are the results." And the professor answered, "Well done, good and faithful graduate student. You ...

2148. Wrong!

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... "already is" of Christ's resurrection and ascension. Every age is "equidistant from eternity" in terms of its moral status. A recent New Yorker cartoon depicted one Puritan saying to another as they stepped off the Mayflower: "My immediate desire is religious freedom, but my long-range goal is to get into real estate." If any people should be able to thrive in the good news/bad news days of this in-between world, it should be Christians. Our attitudes and actions must reflect this dual nature of the Church ...

2149. Church Slugs

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , pastor of St. Francis of the Foothills in Tucson, Arizona, recently tried a different approach to dealing with a slug problem. Watching a single representative of this maligned species slosh about in front of him, he reached over and picked up this "long, slimy glob of creation." In wonder he watched as it delicately slithered across his palm into his other hand, and finally proceeded to "raise its antennae in gratitude, then kiss my hand half a dozen times." Wilkinson's eyes and heart were opened ...

2150. A.Y.O.R. (At Your Own Risk)

Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... any worse shape than when you started. Even the losers received some sort of consolation prize. Basically, contestants simply got the chance to win big prizes - neither truth nor consequences entered into the game at all. The days of consequence-free behavior are long gone. We are now facing an age where the choices we make are likely to have major implications for our lives. This weighty concern for consequences coincides with a similarly hefty increase in the number of choices we are being called to make ...

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