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 1164 results

201. The Great Divide

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

I have to admit, this is not the Jesus I'm comfortable with. All this talk about bringing fire to the earth and that he can't wait until it's set ablaze. What kind of talk is that? Then there is the part about how households will become divided because of him. For goodness' sake, that's exactly opposite from the kind of community we're trying to build here. Can you imagine if I announced an adult education program that promised to teach you how to divide your families in five easy sessions? You wouldn't ...

202. David: The Problem of Family

2 Samuel 18:28-33

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

For nearly a hundred years now Americans have paused on the third Sunday in June to honor their fathers. There are about 66 million of us fathers in the United States. Either out of love or obligation, people will spend one billion dollars buying us 100 million neckties. It's Father's Day. There is a father whose name appears in the Bible more than any other name. That man is David. Jerusalem is called the City of David. Jesus is called the Son of David. He was a man of great accomplishment although ...

203. Forgive To Be Forgiven

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph saying, "Your father gave this command before he died, ‘Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also ...

204. Power For Christian Living: Am I On My Own?

Romans 3:3-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The glorious good news of the gospel is not only are we pardoned by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as “new creatures” – “everything old has passed away…everything has become new” (II Cor. 5:17). We are not on our own. After expressing the truth that we are justified by faith and have peace with God through Jesus Christ, (Romans 12:1). Then states a heartening aspect of the gospel: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that ...

205. Resurrection and Transformation (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Death does not have the power to hold believers in the grave. God will raise them from the dead with a new body restored and fitted for a new reality in God’s eternal kingdom. Understanding the Text As if to make sure no one will misunderstand and confuse his emphasis on the bodily resurrection with a notion that somehow the flesh that decays in the grave will be reinvigorated (cf. 2 Bar. 49.2; 50.2), Paul concludes his discussion on resurrection with a climactic statement on the nature of the ...

206. Let's Go Fishing

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

An old-timer sat on the river bank, obviously awaiting a nibble, though the fishing season had not officially opened. A uniformed officer stood behind him quietly for several minutes. “You the game warden?” the old-timer inquired. “Yup.” Unruffled, the old man began to move the fishing pole from side to side. Finally, he lifted the line out of the water. Pointing to a minnow wriggling on the end of the line, he said, “Just teaching him how to swim.”[1] Mark Twain once spent a pleasant three weeks in the ...

207. The 5 Worst Things Christians Say After A Tragedy

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl, a reporter asked Ray Lewis, star player of the Baltimore Ravens, "How does it feel to be a Super Bowl Champion?" He responded "When God is for you, who can be against you?" Excuse me? God had a favorite team? You mean God liked one Harbaugh brother over the other? Candidate Richard Mourdock in his losing attempt to win a Senate seat in Indiana, said this: “Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen." ...

208. No Reason to Worry

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

April Yamasaki

One year, a friend decided to give up worry for Lent. Other years she had tried giving up chocolate or coffee, but instead of focusing on a physical habit, she decided to tackle her habit of being anxious. Instead of worrying about her family, she would pray. Instead of taking her work problems home with her, she would shut them up in her office and refuse to worry about them. Instead of being anxious about her own life, she would try putting everything into perspective by focusing on the life and ...

209. The Spiritual Fitness Demands of the New Age

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

It is possible to be overweight spiritually: groggy, sluggish. Perhaps we need to work out on the weights or to start jogging. The story goes that when a man was asked how he was feeling, he answered: "I just feel medium." "What do you mean by medium?" "Well, I feel worse than I felt yesterday; but not nearly as bad as I’m going to feel tomorrow." Or it’s like an old song I heard last night: "I’m down in the depths on the ninetieth floor." These people need some spiritual calisthenics. Even Paul admitted ...

210. Taking a Necessary Step

Acts 19:1-7

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

The closeness between John the Baptist and Jesus can hardly be overemphasized. It was true from the time of their conceptions and the evident, close relationship between their mothers. It is said that in certain parts of the world there are still a few who follow only the baptizer. After 2,000 years the transition apparently has not been made. Among those disciples that Paul found, they had no clear witness of the far greater one who would follow John. This may very well be a special word for those today ...

211. Living the Word of God

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Mohandas Gandhi was born in Porbandar in the present state of Gujarat, India, on October 2, 1869. After completing his initial schooling he went to England where he earned a law degree from UniversityCollege in London in 1891. He then returned to his native land and established a law practice in Bombay, but his lack of success led him to accept an invitation to go to South Africa to work for political rights for Indian immigrants in that land. He was appalled to discover the widespread denial of human ...

212. Only the Best

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

In areas where wine is made, there are places many go to sample the different varieties offered by each vineyard. People who are connoisseurs of wine — those who are critical judges in the matter of taste — can tell a good wine from a poor wine. The chief steward in our text was one of those who knew the difference, as does the winemaker, Leigh. After retiring from a career in special education, Leigh decided to take on a hobby, wine making. At first he bought grapes suitable for wine making. Then he ...

213. The Long Lonliness

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

The Beatles surprised the world in the 1960s and took the United States by storm, introducing a new era in popular music. And many of us were pleasantly surprised by the deep insights expressed in rather direct and poignant lyrics. In "Eleanor Rigby," for example, they sing of a woman picking up rice at a church where a wedding has been. Holding the rice, peering through a window, living in a dream she someday will wed, death comes instead. As she lived alone, so she died alone. And so the Beatles lament, ...

214. Job Speaks

Job 3:1-26

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Job’s Protest out of Pain: Opening Curse: At last, Job himself breaks the protracted silence with an explosive speech. This passionate monologue, which stretches from 3:3–26, is divided into two sections: an opening curse (3:3–10); and a questioning lament (3:11–26). 3:1–2 An introduction that summarizes the coming monologue prefaces Job’s speech: After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. These words connect the prose prologue of the first two chapters (“after this”), with the ...

215. Take On Something for Lent

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

An increasing number of responsible pet owners have now “micro-chipped” their dogs and cats. A small “chip” is injected under the skin and when a special scanner is run over the chip, the creature’s whole history is made available—-pet’s name, owner’s name, home address, home phone, vet’s name, vet’s phone, medications taken. It’s all there. Most animal shelters now have these scanners. When a lost or wandering animal is brought in, “scanning” is the first procedure. Often the “lost” is “found,” ...

216. Strength through Diversity

James 2:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

A wealthy businessman decided to take a walk and eat his lunch at the same time. He strolled through a park and purchased a hot dog and a soft drink. As he walked, enjoying the view, two different street people approached him one by one. Each asked, "Can you help me, I am hungry?" Each time the businessman looked straight ahead and kept walking. After finishing his lunch he began to walk back to his office. He stopped and bought a chocolate eclair for dessert. As he was about to take the first bite, he was ...

217. The Conversion Of A Scoundrel

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

King Duncan

After important negotiations with business leaders in his high-rise office building, John D. Rockefeller used to say goodbye to his visitors at the elevator. While the visitors filed into the elevator, an innocent looking man would slip in and ride with them to the ground floor. He would follow the group out the door and then cross the street. A few minutes later, the innocent looking man would go back to Rockefeller’s office to deliver a detailed report of what the unsuspecting visitors talked about ...

218. Once In A Lifetime

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

One Wednesday night at Chicago Stadium, during a fan promotion at a Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat basketball game, a 23-year-old fan by the name of Don Calhoun from Bloomington, Illinois, had a once in a lifetime experience. He was pulled from the bleachers to see if he could shoot a 79-foot shot (a shot that was launched from the opposite free throw line, three-quarters of the length of the basketball court). And Calhoun, who was picked from the crowd because he was wearing bright, yellow shoes, hit "nothing ...

219. What Is Success?

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Erma Bombeck wrote, "I can't remember the name of the man who spoke at my high school commencement, but I remember what he said. He told us the future of the world rested on our shoulders and he charged us with finding our destiny and fulfilling it. He went on to say we alone must cure disease, hunger and poverty throughout the world, and above all, we must find success. "I glanced over at Jack, the class deficient who couldn't even find his parents after they parked the car, and I got an uneasy feeling. ...

220. The Victory Is Ours

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

All Saints provides an opportunity to remember and give thanks for all the believers who have lived before us. Some of the saints are people we might have known quite well, we might recognize the names of others, and still there are many more numbering in the millions whose names and lives are known only to God. There are people we knew personally who impact our faith in profound ways: our parents, grandparents, other relatives, good friends, fellow church members, or neighbors who now reside in heaven. We ...

221. Christian Success and Christlikeness

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: When the Christian faith is reduced to a mere complement to cultural norms, churches come to affirm the very things they should despise and despise the very things they should affirm. Understanding the Text First Corinthians 4:6–13 ends Paul’s response to the deeper and broader issues in the report coming from Chloe’s household. Paul brings the tension between Corinthian ideals and true Christian ideals into their sharpest contrast yet by pointing to his own situation. Everything about Paul, both ...

222. Boast in Our Suffering

Romans 5:1-8

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

The phone rings in the middle of the night. There is only one reason why someone would call you at this time of the night, and it can't be good. The deadpan voice of the police officer tells you the horrible news rather matter-of-factly. Your imagination runs wild. You were not there, but you can hear the tires screeching, the metal smashing, the glass breaking, and the sirens whining. It was not supposed to end this way. She had so much of life yet to live. Your boss calls you into his office. Other ...

223. All The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Gerald Whetstone

Is it tomorrow, or is it still yesterday? In the cartoon, Dennis the Menace is tugging at his dad's covers, and Mr. Mitchell is trying to lift one eyelid. Dennis wants to know, "Is it tomorrow yet? Or is it still yesterday?" It's a profound question. Something like that -- some 2000-year-old Aramaic version of it anyway -- must have been in the minds of the women on their way to the tomb. In fact, they went to the tomb fully expecting to find yesterday, and instead found tomorrow. They went expecting death ...

224. Stranglers Or Wranglers?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

King Duncan

Many years ago at the University of Wisconsin, there was an undergraduate literary club. The club consisted of male students who had demonstrated outstanding talent in writing. At each meeting one of the students would read aloud a story or essay he had written, and then submit it to the others for criticism. The criticism was brutal. Nothing was held back. The students showed no mercy in dissecting the material line by line. So hateful were the sessions that the members called themselves "The Stranglers ...

225. Shiny Objects

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever heard of Shiny Object Syndrome? Many of us may suffer from this syndrome and we don’t even know what it is. Shiny Object Syndrome is the desire to constantly chase new trends, to try whatever new thing comes along in technology, or management techniques, or fashion or food. There’s nothing wrong with jumping on new trends. It’s good to be open to change. But you know you have Shiny Object Syndrome if you quickly lose interest in each new trend and chase after the next trend that comes along, ...

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