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 2201 to 2225 of 3108 results

2201. Seeing is Believing…or Is It?

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Objectivity is the subject’s delusion that observation can be done without him. - Heinz von Foerster Seeing is believing. Or is it really? Can you be sure of what you’re seeing at any given time? Or what you have missed that was right in front of your eyes? Ever spend all morning looking for your glasses only to find them in the most visible place in the room practically right in front of you? Were you certain you saw something flicker beyond your line of vision, only to turn and see nothing there? Have ...

2202. Afraid at the Thank God Ledge

1 Kings 3:5-12

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever been in a situation so challenging that you didn’t know what to do? Few things will make us feel more alone than facing down a challenge that is greater than our resources. If I’m describing almost every sleepless night you’ve ever had, then today’s Bible passage is for you. I read an interview with a young man named Alex Honnold, who is famous in the sports world for his free solo climbing adventures. Free solo climbers don’t use any ropes or harnesses or other equipment in their climbing. ...

2203. Let's Get Together

Acts 2:1-21 · Genesis 11:1-11

Sermon

Will Willimon

A few days after we bombed Libya, a letter to the Durham Morning Herald urged citizens to unite behind our President. ''This is no time for criticism,'' she said. ''This is a time to unite against those who are evil.'' The letter was unnecessary, for we were already solidly united behind our leader. War does that to people. Even as we Americans were uniting behind our President, dissident Libyans were reported to be suppressing their differences and uniting against the American enemy. War may seem a heck ...

2204. A Second Look

Matthew 5:27-48

Sermon

Will Willimon

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you....You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:27-48 Some of you remember the uproar when President Jimmy Carter admitted to Playboy that he had committed "adultery of the heart." Big deal. Show me a man who has never once "looked at a woman lustfully" and thereby committed, in Jesus' words, "adultery with her in his heart" I will show you a candidate for a new heart. And though Matthew doesn't, I ...

2205. The Last Laugh

Luke 24:1-35

Sermon

Will Willimon

Early in his ministry, critics came to Jesus saying, "The disciples of John fast often, but yours eat and drink." Jesus replied, "can the wedding guest fast when the bridegroom arrives?" Do you find it interesting that one of the earliest charges against Jesus' people is that they had too much fun? "Why don't your disciples go around fasting, wearing sad faces and mournful looks -- like the disciples of John the Baptist? We can tell that John's disciples are religious -- they're miserable!" Would the same ...

2206. The Inverting Promise

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 · Genesis 25:21-34

Sermon

Will Willimon

We're at the beginning of a new school year. And here, at the beginning, I plan to preach a series of sermons from Genesis, the first Bible book, whose title means "the beginning." Such a series is risky at the beginning. For one thing, if you don't like the first sermon in the series, will you return for more? When I was a child, our preacher announced a series of sermons on The Lord's Prayer. First week his text was "Our." Next week it was "Father." Then "Who Art." On and on. By the fifteenth sermon in ...

2207. Obstructions of the Heart

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.” --Isaiah 57:14 (ESV) Obstructions of the Heart. Sounds like something from a medical manual, doesn’t it? Yet, removing obstructions of the heart was an important part of ...

2208. Jesus Gets a Business Card

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Mary Austin

There’s a lot of talk these days in the non-profit and business world these days about “elevator speeches.” If we run into someone in an elevator, and they ask about our cause, our start-up business, or our church, we should be able to give a quick summary, short enough to fit the elevator ride. When people ask about my church, I say something like: “Gaithersburg is a multi-cultural church with members from over thirty countries, so living together is fun and full of things to learn.” If we’re going to the ...

2209. Come and See

John 1:43-51

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I have always liked this story — and not for the WHOLE story, just that one memorable line: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46)” That is just the kind of snide comment that makes me smirk. And, to be quite honest, it is one of the things that I like about our scripture — it is honest. Over and over and over again, the pages of our holy writ are littered with snide comments, unfaithful friends, ugly confrontations and some of the most unsavory “saints” that anyone could ever imagine. But ...

2210. More Than Gimmicks

John 6:24-35

Sermon

David Coffin

A medium-sized congregation with deep northern European roots was located in a college town. The members wanted to attract more college students to their church for weekly worship attendance and other activities. They received a few boxes of donated modern English New Testament books. The intention was to pass them out to the college students on the campus nearby. Besides placing a slip of paper in each New Testament with the church name and address on it, they also placed a coupon for a dollar or even ...

2211. Fruit Production

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

John B. Jamison

I’d like to tell you about a trip I made the other day, down to the Jordan. You know it isn’t all that far, but it is a challenging walk, so I took plenty to drink and an extra jacket because I knew it would be cold by the time I get back. I threw a couple of snacks in my jacket pocket too, just in case I got hungry. Well, I heard there were a lot of people planning on going, so I left Bethany early to avoid the crowd on the road. You know, some of those places along the road near Jericho are pretty narrow ...

2212. Living Bread

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The advances of medicine and proactive health in today’s world are astounding. One of the major shifts in our understanding of disease and prevention has come with a new conception of the role of the gut! It turns out, our gut health determines just about everything about our overall health and affects whether or not we may be susceptible to certain diseases, especially those caused by autoimmune. Because of this knowledge, not only functional medicine but conventional medicine has gotten on board with ...

2213. The Possibility Mindset

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Are you a glass half full person or a glass half empty person? Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Do you look at your life and the world with resignation and see hopeless problems everywhere you look? Or do you look at your life and the world with rose colored glasses, refusing to acknowledge any problems at all, so that you can maintain your feelings of contentment and happiness? Whether we resign ourselves to the situations we find ourselves in or spend the bulk of our time “managing” life –both still ...

2214. The Raising

John 11:32-44

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Stones have fascinated us since the beginning of time. They make up the bulk of the earth’s crust. The earth’s mass comprised primarily of igneous rocks, such as granite and basalt, consists of minerals, such as silicon, oxygen, iron, aluminum, magnesium, and others. Most land rock is granite. Most oceanic rock is thicker basalt. These rocks comprise 95% of the earth’s substance. The surface yields sedimentary rock, primarily such as shale and limestone, which make up the remaining percent.[1] From the ...

2215. Whose Fault Is It?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

The youth pastor at one of my former congregations had a cartoon taped to his office door. It pictured a little guy standing, trembling, in front of a massive desk behind which was sitting a big, big man. The little guy wore torn jeans and a T-shirt, and had a leather loop around his neck holding a cross in front of his chest. His hair was messy and his toes peeked out the front of his sandals. A stick-on name patch read, “Hi! I’m Mike! I’m the Youth Pastor.” On the dark and imposing desk was a bronze ...

2216. Standing Firm

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

The call of Paul in this letter is to stand firm in the Lord, to not falter, to not align our minds on our earthly life but focus on the eternal life to come. Sounds like a big task, doesn’t it? I woke up hearing the words sung by Sidewalk Prophets, but I was remembering the first words of the refrain as “stand firm in the Lord.” You should look up the beautiful lyrics online. As I had been thinking about the title I had given for this message, I wondered about the emotions Paul was feeling in this letter ...

2217. The Unlocked Heart

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Love begins with emotional connection. If you want to love and be loved, you must release the lock on your heart.” How many of you have used a combination lock? These are little but mighty devices. They look so small and insignificant. And yet, these little locks can be powerful deterrents to everything from thieves to curious toddlers –and to you when they are locking away something vitally important that you need to access and you forget the combination to the lock! The following event I’m going to ...

2218. Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: The evil one always is ready to tempt the Christian just as Jesus was tempted. Summary: A modern retelling of the temptation of Christ. Playing Time: 4 minutes Setting: A lonely place Props: A knapsack with bread and wine Costumes: Hiking clothes Time: The present Cast: Guy Angela ANGELA: (Carrying a knapsack, sees Guy) Hi there. This is kind of a lonely place, isn't it? GUY: It suits me. I'm kind of a lonely guy. ANGELA: Oh, that sounds disturbing. GUY: Well, it shouldn't. I mean, I didn't mean it ...

2219. The Narrow Door

Luke 13:22-30

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: Without faith it is impossible to please God, and impossible to do what he asks. Summary: It's the day for the 10K race and the announcer from the local radio station is there to interview the runners. She talks to Rahab, who shares a secret: "The Narrow Door" strategy. It's about how to run the race of life. Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: Starting line at the 10K race Props: None Costumes: Rahab -- running shorts, top, and shoes Time: The present Cast: Announcer Priscilla Rahab -- a runner ...

2220. Anybody Listening?

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

William G. Carter

His name was George, and he sat in the back row of the sanctuary on the preacher's right. A permanent scowl was chiseled on his face. His posture announced to all that he was a man not easily pleased. Ushers tip-toed around him. Whenever his name came up in conversation around church hallways, someone would always ask, "Why does a grouch like that keep coming to worship?" No one ever came up with an answer. One thing was certain -- George was particularly hard on preachers. "I have heard hundreds of ...

2221. Dabar Adonai

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Tony Everett

Twenty-five young teenagers are sitting at their desks in the classroom, minds focused on anything and everything except the complex algebra problem that their teacher is writing on the board. Suddenly, their reverie is broken by the word of the teacher: "I need a volunteer to come to the board and solve this simple binomial equation." Immediately, students become deeply involved with books under their desks. Pencils suddenly drop to the floor. Eyes become engrossed on a page, any page, in textbooks. No ...

2222. Who's In Charge Here, Anyway?

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Tony Everett

At age seventeen, Joseph was a spoiled brat and something of a tattletale. In order to understand the full impact of today's text, we must remember that fact. Chapter 37 of Genesis describes this in vivid detail. As the youngest of many children, and born late in his father's life, Joseph became Jacob's favorite. And Jacob did nothing to disguise it either. While Jacob's other sons wore the typical knee-length sleeveless tunics, Jacob made his "favorite" son a colorful, long and luxurious robe, with full ...

2223. Proper 22

Luke 17:1-10, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13, Lamentations 1:1-22, Psalm 137:1-9

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Servant's Duty Question is sometimes raised about the lack of condemnation of slavery in the New Testament. Jesus never seems to have opposed it. In fact, in the parable about the servant's duty, Jesus uses the duties of a slave as a model. Elsewhere he uses the term for the proper relationship among persons, though it is frequently translated as servant rather than as slave. In a time when governments did not provide a safety net for the unemployed and people without land to farm or other means of ...

2224. Plain Talk

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

Two men were traveling by light airplane to a business meeting in Alaska. Somewhere over the tundra the plane's motor failed and they were forced down. When they returned home each wrote an article for his favorite magazine about the resulting crisis. One was an avid outdoorsman and his article was titled, "Survival In The Frozen North." The other was very religious and his article was titled, "How Prayer Saved Me From The Wild Wolf Pack." The stories were about the same incident. The authors were ...

2225. Easter Joy

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

A remarkable feature of Dwight D. Eisenhower's memoirs is the composure with which he greeted crises. He titled his autobiography At Ease, an appropriate description for not only his retirement, but the manner in which he appeared to be on top of life. Colleagues, of course, could recall how excited he could get in revealing his impatience with mediocrity and the failures of the people in his command. However, what was impressive was the way he took control in the European theater in World War II with no ...

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