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 2151 to 2175 of 3108 results

2151. Failure to Enter the Land

Num 13:1–14:9

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Trust that God can overcome great difficulties. Understanding the Text The people had begun complaining at Taberah and Kibroth Hattaavah (Num. 11). At Hazeroth Moses’s own sister and brother had expressed resentment against Moses and undermined his spiritual authority (Num. 12). In each of these cases God had intervened with a mixture of punishment and grace. Now they come to Kadesh (or Kadesh Barnea) in the Desert of Paran (Num. 13:26) just south of the land of Canaan. Israel has not learned its ...

2152. Job Comes to a Good End

Job 42:7-17, Job 42:1-6

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Job realizes that Yahweh’s ways are more wonderful than he has known before, and he comes to enjoy Yahweh’s renewed blessings on his life. Understanding the Text After Yahweh speaks to Job in chapters 38 and 39, Job replies tentatively to him in 40:3–5. Yahweh’s second round of questions, in 40:6–41:34, with his detailed descriptions of Behemoth and Leviathan, then evokes a more definitive response from Job in 42:1–6. In his second reply, Job acknowledges that he has come to a more accurate ...

2153. Unnoticed at Your Own Party

Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2-11, James 5:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

W.E. Sangster once told about being invited to a party held to celebrate a wedding. He arrived late and knew nobody there except the friend who invited him. He subsequently played the role of a mere spectator to the evening’s festivities. Everyone, he noted, seemed to be in high spirits. They danced and shouted and sang and laughed and played games and indulged in all sorts of entertainment. They flung streamers across the hall, pranced around in paper caps, had much to eat and drink and generally seemed ...

2154. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3:6–10 · Timothy’s return:The event that prompted Paul to pen this letter was Timothy’s return from his trip to Thessalonica (see 1 Thess. 3:1–2). He had departed from Athens, and upon his return from the Thessalonian church, he caught up with Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:5). We can only guess how he traveled (by road or sea?) and how long the trip and stay with the church lasted (up to a month or so?). The wait must have been agonizing for Paul. “But Timothy has just now come to us from you” and, contrary to ...

2155. Dr. Jekyll Meet Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote an unforgettable story about a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde. Most of you know the story well. Dr. Henry Jekyll was respected in his community--a gentleman in every respect. But Dr. Jekyll had some secret vices which he kept carefully hidden from public view. Thus Dr. Jekyll had a dilemma faced by some people today--he wanted to maintain his reputation in the community, but be free to practice the vices that he knew would be repulsive to his neighbors. So Dr. Jekyll hatched a ...

2156. Are You Sorry Enough to Wash Your Face?

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

For Christians around the world, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It was the practice among early Roman Christians for penitents to begin their period of public penance on the first day of Lent. They were sprinkled with ashes, dressed in sackcloth, and obliged to remain away from fellowship with other people until they reconciled with fellow Christians on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday and three days before Easter, the day of resurrection. Ash Wednesday is ultimately about one of the ...

2157. What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Tom Garrison

Each year, there is a Senior Recognition Sunday for our high school and college graduates. We do this because graduation is a significant milestone for all of us — not just for the graduates themselves, but also for their families and friends and all those who have contributed in some way to the educational processes of our community. The event of graduation can be described in many ways. For one thing, it is a proud time, for it represents the completion of a long and arduous process. No matter how one ...

2158. A Love Triangle

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

David G. Rogne

Some people have a talent for getting to the core of things. Julius Caesar wrote a good-sized book titled On the Gallic War. It is still used as a textbook by students of Latin. However, Caesar was also able to cut through all the details and get to the nub of a matter. He wrote a sentence that has become a classic in condensation: "Veni, Vidi, Vici" — "I came, I saw, I conquered." That sums it all up. In Jesus' day there was a group of people who pored over the ancient writings of Moses to look for every ...

2159. Job's Third Reply to Eliphaz

Job 23:1--24:25

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Taking God to Court 23:1 One can hardly call Job’s words in chapters 23 and 24 a response to Eliphaz’s third speech. Job takes no notice of his friend or his argument, but he begins instead to consider the feasibility and benefit of bringing God to court so he might hope to find just resolution to his complaint. In chapter 23 Job reflects, at first confidently but ultimately with increasing terror, on the difficulty of locating God and securing his presence for the legal proceedings. 23:2 Job says, my ...

2160. Extreme Humility

John 13:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to begin with a serious question: How accurate would you be if someone asked you to evaluate yourself? For example, if you were asked to describe your athletic ability, or your appearance, or your intellect--how would you rate yourself? I ask that because a survey of nearly two hundred sociologists found that about a hundred of them, about one-half, expected to become one of the ten leading sociologists of their time. Obviously this is a mathematical impossibility for 100 of them to be among the top ...

2161. Rebirth

John 3:14-21

Sermon

John Jamison

The city of Jerusalem was packed with strangers during the Passover feast, so you could walk a long distance and never see anyone you recognized. He was counting on that, as he quickly moved along the streets with his head held low and his face covered. He moved from alleyway to alleyway, looking carefully in all directions before stepping into the openness of a street, making sure there was not someone who might recognize him. But while he tried to remain hidden, he had to be careful to not appear too ...

2162. A Divided Family

Mark 3:20-25

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a wonderful time-honored story that many of you will remember, but I don’t think you’ll mind hearing it again. Some of our young people may not be familiar with it. It’s truly a golden oldie. It’s about a country preacher who announced that on the following Sunday he would preach on the story of Noah and the Ark. He gave the scriptural reference for the congregation to read ahead of time. However, a couple of mischievous boys in the church noticed something interesting about the placement of the ...

2163. Some Things I've Learned Since I Knew It All

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Have you ever suffered from "sophomoritis"? It's not a physical disease, like arthritis. It's a spiritual disease many college sophomores get when they get filled up with knowledge, come home on a vacation, and act like they know more than the folks around whom they grew up, especially their parents and younger siblings. That happened to a young man named Adam. He was studying to be an engineer at the University of Illinois in Urbana. On Christmas break, he got quite caught up with himself and started ...

2164. Gouge-Your-Eye-Out Sunday

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

There are a couple of Sundays I'd just as soon not preach. One is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday immediately following Pentecost. I've heard more than one priest say that the reason most of us want an assistant or a deacon is so that we can assign them the task of trying to explain how it is we believe in one God, in three persons, and so on. Clergy dislike of preaching on Trinity Sunday is pretty widespread. So-called, Stewardship Sunday is another. It feels to me like I'm singing for my supper. After all, ...

2165. Advice from a Billionaire

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

How much would you pay for some spot-on financial advice from billionaire investor Warren Buffett? They call him the Oracle of Omaha. He is a legend when it comes to making wise decisions in the financial world. Some people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for his wisdom about the stock market. And yet when some reporters asked Buffett for the best advice he ever received, Buffett didn’t talk about money at all. Rather he focused on how best to live . . . and how to raise your children. Buffett said ...

2166. What Will It Take to Make You Happy?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

“Who do you think is happier?” asks Marc Reklau in his book Destination Happiness, “people who [have] won the lottery or people who [have become] paralyzed after an accident?” You may be surprised at the answer. “Yes, the lottery winners were very happy, but not for very long,” Reklau continues. “After six months they went back to their previous levels of happiness.” On the other hand, “the accident victims were sad, but surprisingly after six months, they [also] went back to their previous levels of ...

2167. Real Consolation

Illustration

Charles Krieg

A woman was heartbroken when her dog disappeared. She put an ad in the paper offering a reward for its return. The next morning the phone rang. It was the voice of a woman: "I'm calling about your dog." Then she began to cough. She explained she wasn't feeling too well. In fact, she hadn't felt well for three years since her husband had died. She went on to say that after her mother and father had passed away, that recently her sister had contracted cancer and was undergoing painful treatments. Her friends ...

2168. A Loving Parent

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to begin today by saying, “Happy Mother’s Day” to all the Moms here today as well as to those who serve as Mom substitutes. You deserve to be celebrated on this special day because of the incredible impact you have on so many lives. A good mother is such a powerful example of God’s love. Many mothers are willing to do almost anything to communicate their love to their children. Some even try desperately to keep up with the changing styles popular with young people nowadays. Good luck with that. ...

2169. Moving On

Luke 6:12-16, Luke 9:1-9, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: dusty bowl This bowl hasn’t been used in a long time. You can tell, because it’s covered in dust. It hasn’t been touched, cleaned, moved, because it’s been here in this church on this shelf a very long time. [You could also refer to something in a glass case or anything that has sat around for a while.] It’s not being used in ministry or worship. It isn’t something that is used in healing people or baptizing them. It’s here on the shelf, gathering dust. This is perhaps one of the best metaphors we ...

2170. Wicked

Luke 20:9-19, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: plant with fruit (olive tree or fig tree or grape vine) ”Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:22) "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Most of us today are not much familiar with the idea of “tenant farming.” But it was a popular practice in many countries up until the 20th century. The term referred to a landowner who hires tenants to live on and ...

2171. Ten Pounds of Mercy, One Pound of Faith

Luke 19:11-27, Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In the early days of WWII, Navy pilots were so afraid of crashing in shark infested waters that it became a prime cause of pilot error. The Navy’s response was to issue shark repellent, which the Navy knew had no impact on sharks, but enabled frightened pilots to fly with greater confidence. Sometimes you hand people some shark repellent rather than argue with them about their fears. Fear. It’s paralyzing. Ever hear a sound in the dark, and your whole body stops ….and freezes? Especially when you’re in ...

2172. Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain

Mark 15:42-47

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Anointing oil (preferably frankincense or myrrh) Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain -- It sounds like a mystery like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, doesn’t it? Or for those with a slightly more sinister flair, a story by E. L. Stine. Intrigue, Mystery, Mayhem, and a good dose of the gruesome. And slightly Spooky. The events surrounding Jesus’ death were certainly strange and unusual. The High Priest and his family of former and future high priests had been pushing to get something done about Jesus ...

2173. Wave Riders and Deep-Sea Divers

Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 4:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Today we celebrate one of the most monumental days in history –when Martin Luther, a German monk, posted 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, creating a permanent schism within the Catholic church, one that would result in a new strain of Christianity –Protestantism. The root of Protestantism is “protest.” We are a church that built its identity upon protesting an existing church structure that many felt was corrupt. As new independent churches developed, new theology developed too –a ...

2174. You Are Gifted

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: ribbons or if possible small gift boxes tied with ribbons (you can also tie ribbons to a manger….or to the altar or another item, such as a cross) All of us know the talk in our culture today about giftedness. If you go into any bookstore, you’ll find titles such as “The Drama of the Gifted Child,” “Gifted Grownups,” “Teaching Gifted Kids in Today’s Classroom,” “The Gifted Adult,” and there are many others! Not everyone agrees. Authors like Seth Godin will tell you that every person in his or her own ...

2175. We Will Be Changed

Ezekiel 37:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What is in a name? Nothing defines us in our lives more than what we are named. We are given a name, but through our lives, we also take on other names. We know Jesus by many names: wonderful, counselor, almighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace, as Handel’s oratorio tells us. But we too have names that define us. In the scriptures, often the name that one is born with is not the name God bestows upon them. Jacob becomes Israel. Sarai becomes Sarah. Abram becomes Abraham. Simon becomes Peter. Adamh ...

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