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 201 to 225 of 3108 results

201. Casting Out Demons

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

An Upbeat Word for a Downbeat World, #5 (Alternate) The Lord has authority over demons. That's the good news for the day. No demon can stand up to Christ. Now obviously, few of us are conscious of being demon possessed. You may have heard about the preacher who asked one elderly lady how it was with her soul. "Oh," she replied, "the old devil has been giving me a rough time." Immediately her husband protested. "Now hold on," he said, "she's not too easy to live with herself." Is there a demon that is ...

202. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

It was an incredible military breakthrough. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Joe Rochefort broke the Japanese codes. From an intelligence base on Oahu, he predicted an attack on Midway Island for June 3, 1942. Because of Rochefort's skill, the United States surprised the Japanese Navy with its first defeat in 350 years. Four carriers were lost, one cruiser, 2500 men, 322 aircraft, and the best of their pilots. The tide turned in the Pacific; Japan never recovered momentum. Commander ...

203. Accepting Responsibility

Lamentations 1:1-22

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

There is a broad tendency in our culture to blame other people for our mistakes, to shift responsibility to someone else, to refuse to be accountable for the sins we commit. One motorist filled out an insurance claim by stating that he was driving along, minding his own business, when a parked car got in his way. Criminals will blame their behavior on their genetics and home life. This kind of blaming was carried to its most extreme form in the case of the Menendez brothers, who suggested in court that ...

204. When God Is The Problem

Psalm 13:1-6

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction During Lent we are focusing our biblical attention almost exclusively on the passages from the psalms, allowing their themes and their spirit to rise up and identify themselves to us. Today we are continuing to gain a greater familiarity with these conversations from the heart. Through song and reading and spoken word the religiosity of the psalmists of old is speaking to us today. A For the first two Sundays in Lent our attention was on what Old Testament professor Walter Brueggeman called ...

205. Heart To Heart

Ezekiel 18:1-32

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!" "A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26) Do you have heart trouble? You may be one of thirty million Americans who have physical heart trouble. Heart disease costs Americans fifty billion dollars a year. In some people, the heart needs repair or a ...

206. Shameless Passion

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

Today is Palm Sunday. Some of you wonder why our text is not highlighting the trek into Jerusalem on a donkey, but rather this coming Friday's story of Jesus' suffering as found prophesied in the Old Testament. Why is this the chosen lesson? Too many people move from Palm Sunday's jubilation to Easter's victory and never take the excruciating walk through the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Trials, and Mount Calvary. But you must go through it all really to know the joy of the Open Tomb! I like ...

207. A Faith I Could No Longer Count On

Psalm 73:1-7, 13-18

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction The seventy-third psalm mirrors the life of faith for everyone who is honest enough to allow his or her faith to be pushed to the limit. It begins with a simple, Sunday School outlook which lifts up the clear virtue of a good God who is good to good people. We all like that sort of thing, and quickly say "Amen" to that. It doesn't take long at all for the psalmist to "grow up" and realize that the simple theology of a good God smiling on good people doesn't hold much water. Just because that's ...

208. Responding In Anger

Job 7:11-21 · Matthew 21:12-13

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

A 75-year-old man went to his doctor for a physical examination. The doctor went through all the procedures and found everything to be perfect. "It's amazing," the doctor said to the patient. "You have the body of a man 25 years younger. What's your secret?" The patient replied: "Well, when my wife and I were married fifty years ago, we made an agreement. We decided never to fuss or to argue with one another. Whenever we have a difference of opinion that causes friction and we can see a fight coming on, ...

209. The Return Of The Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: Gracious and eternal Father, today we come seeking to understand your purpose and your will for our lives. Help us to know that although we seek you, you have sought us first in love. Lord, grant us wisdom in these moments. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. One of the most common complaints that I hear about the medical profession is that many doctors are too detached from their patients. People tell me that doctors don't have time to listen to them because they are so anxious to get on to the ...

210. The Cross And Our Shadows

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Carl Jech

Many of us grew up singing the hymn "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" with it's memorable line: "I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place ..." This image of "the shadow of the cross" has been used in many different ways by poets and writers. In the hymn, it refers to a place of refuge and rest "from the burning of the noon-tide heat and the burdens of the day." The hymn also refers to the strength-giving character of the cross by comparing it to "the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land." Surely ...

211. Proper 26

Lk 19:1-10 · 2 Thes 1:5-12 · Ex 34:5-9 · Hag 2:1-9

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Haggai 2:1-9 Haggai encourages the exiles to re-build the temple. After defeating the Babylonians who deported the Jews, Cyrus the Great (558-528 B.C.) permitted the return of the exiles to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. In 521 Cyrus was succeeded by Darius who permitted another wave of exiles to return. Among them was a prophet, Haggai, whose ministry covered only one year, 520. When he saw how the exiles were building their houses to the neglect of re-building the temple, he aroused and ...

212. Gentle Touch

Isaiah 42:1-9

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical Aim: God's gentle with our lives and shortcomings. Props: Sticks that are partially cracked and almost broken or weak, and one that is strong and difficult to break. Lesson: How many of you like to play with sticks? (response) When I was young, I loved to play with sticks. Hold up the whole stick, and mimic the following. Sometimes I would pretend that I was Robin Hood and the stick was a bow. Sometimes I was a knight and the stick was a sword. Sometimes I was a baseball player and the stick was ...

213. The Flight From Light

Isaiah 60:1-22, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Erskine White

"And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way." (Matthew 2:12) The other day I called someone to compliment her on a job she had done exceedingly well. We had worked on a project together which became a great success, in no small part because of the leadership she provided. As I spoke with her, I went on and on about how much her work had been appreciated. "Everyone who was there really loved you," I told her; "in fact, they’re raving about you!" ...

214. Jesus and Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

It happened almost twenty years ago. I had been here at St. Luke’s for only a few months. It was a beautiful spring day. The phone rang in our home on a Sunday afternoon. I answered and a young man on the other end of the line said he needed to tell me something and then ask me a question. The words came in a rush of emotion. He told me that a month ago, he was in our church and he felt God touching his heart and urging him to come down front to be baptized and to join the church. “It was so powerful,” he ...

215. Jesus and Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

216. Surprised Sheep And Graceless Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Stan Meade

Before we begin this morning, I believe we need a little background on sheep and goats. Sheep are the most profitable animals man has ever domesticated. Catgut comes from sheep, not cats. I'm sure all you cat lovers will find that a blessing. Sheep are good for meat, fur and milk. They outnumber humans in most countries. Then there are goats. More people world-wide drink goat's milk than cow's milk. Moroccan leather, Angola and cashmere sweaters come from goats. And ladies, do you remember those old mohair ...

217. When Is Being Right Wrong?

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

Rick Brand

I finally got a copy of the Rules of Life. We all want them because we think that having a set of rules for life will make life so much easier and less confusing. Just find the twelve rules and follow them and it will take away a lot of worry and agony out of life. So I was excited when I got them. I do not know who made them up, but I got them by e-mail off the Internet, so I know that makes them official. The Twelve Rules of Life: Never give yourself a haircut after three drinks. There are only two tools ...

218. Gross Personality Disorder

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"BTK." Seldom have three initials struck such terror into the hearts of a local population as BTK (which stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill"). When the BTK serial killer was finally captured in the summer of 2005 people in the Wichita, Kansas area first breathed a sigh of relief, then drew in a gasp of surprise. The man who had left a sadistic trail of tortured and murdered women since 1974 turned out to be the most average appearing, normal neighbor anyone could imagine. No one suspected Dennis Rayder of ...

219. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

John 16:17-33

Sermon

James McCormick

I first heard the words of today’s sermon title when I was a teenager. They came over the radio in a country and western song. The words: “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden.” I encountered those words again a few years ago when they appeared as the unofficial slogan of the emerging nation of Israel. When Jews migrated to Israel and were asked to settle in “kibbutzim” in parched desert frontiers, they were reminded of the arduous task ahead by the signs posted all around the settlements ...

220. A New Attitude

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A hotel in Budapest was having problems with its elevator. Since most of the guests spoke at least some English, the owner put up a sign. However, either he had a sense of humor or he was not very adept at English. The sign read like this: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.” I’ve known some unbearable people, haven’t you? Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote a book some years ago titled, Falling into Greatness. In it he tells about an old friend who ...

221. What Is Man?

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

I don’t know what you think about human nature. Someone once said, “Little monkeys grow up to be big monkeys; little pigs grow up to be big pigs; but people, wonderful people, can grow up to be monkeys or pigs.” Winston Churchill once said, “I like pigs. Dogs look UP to us. Cats look DOWN on us. Pigs treat us as EQUALS.” Well, maybe he’s right. The legendary broadcaster Walter Cronkite was once reading the news about luxury car maker Rolls-Royce having a recall campaign. Here is what he said, “Rolls-Royce ...

222. The Good Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 1 Kings 19:9-18, 1 Kings 19:19-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What kind of yoke are you wearing today? Not this kind you say! Are you sure? Indeed, we may not get up in the morning and fit ourselves into a wooden harness like the one you see here –although sometimes our clothing may feel like that if we’ve gained a few pounds, no? But we all do bear a yoke. We yoke ourselves to ideas, concepts, issues, material things, relationships, belief systems. Our yokes in a sense bear the markings of those identities that we are willing to take on as our own identity, the ...

223. Good Sex

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Will Willimon

At the beginning I'll admit that this is cheap, sensationalized, misleading title for a sermon, "Good Sex." When you're preaching on a college campus these day s, a preacher must resort to unorthodox tactics to lure people to church! Yet there is more to my sermon than mere sensationalism. In spite of what Dr. Ruth, Playboy and Playgirl have told you, many of you are old enough to know that sex which should be so good, often ends up so bad. As Frederick Buechner has said, "Sex is like nitroglycerine, it ...

224. Seeking the Presence of God

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

It is a well-known cliché that “God never gives us more than we can handle”, but I have sometimes found that not to be so. When my youngest brother died of brain cancer at age five, it was more than I could handle. When my first husband was emotionally and physically abusive, it was more than I could handle. When my second husband and I lost our twin sons at birth, it was more than I could handle. The COVID pandemic was more than we could handle. Wars and violence are often more than we can handle. ...

225. What To Give The God Who Has Everything

Psalm 50:1-23

Sermon

Erskine White

"Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God ..." (v. 14) With Thanksgiving near and Christmas not far behind, I wonder if any of you have people who are very difficult to shop for, people for whom it is very difficult to decide what to give. The two hardest people on my shopping list were always my grandparents. Especially as the years went by, I found myself asking, "What do you give to people who already have everything?" New sweaters or potholders or neckties didn’t mean very much, since they were already ...

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