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 2226 to 2250 of 5000 results

2226. Count the Stars

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... go away.” (6) That’s one way to deal with life. Wait for things to change on their own. Wait and hope our problems go away. But what if they don’t change or go away? You could be sitting there with your blanket for a long, long time. Could it be that some of the things you are counting as obstacles could really be opportunities in disguise? There was a hilarious report from the Philippines sometime back. Officials in Manila decided they were going to reduce the number of disease‑carrying insects in ...

2227. Discover the Promise of Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Ralphie and the Red Ryder BB Gun. We even watch some the TV specials trying to recapture that elusive feeling. We come with longing. We come to the Advent season hoping that God will once again meet us face to face while we're bent over the ... Worship and to all the activities knowing that we need to be prepared. John's words have echoed in our ears and in our thoughts all year long. And so we seek to prepare. We know this time is God's time. This moment is God's moment. All of creation groans in expectation ...

2228. A Chance To See

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." [52] Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. Bartimaeus, was sitting in HIS spot. No telling how long it had been HIS spot. He'd shuffle out everyday and sit in the same spot along the busy street leaving Jericho. Those few people who had a conscience and a touch of empathy would toss a coin or two into his begging bowl. And he'd make just enough ...

2229. Be A Barnabas

Acts 4:33-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... chairs on Sunday morning. We can "Reach Out Without Passing Out." Want to know how? I'm glad you asked that questions. II. Being A Son Or Daughter Of Encouragement A. Barnabas Cards: Today I want to introduce something I've used in several churches. It's been so long that I don't remember whether it was my idea or someone else's. All I know is it works. They're called Barnabas Cards. One of the things Paul writes in Hebrews is "And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds." Hebrews ...

2230. Superman: More Than A Super Hero

John 1:1-5, 9-14; John 13:31-32; John 20:30-31

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to rely on our own power or the power of this world, the power of worldly, fictional heroes we're like the little boy who received a Superman cape for his birthday. Ecstatic, he donned the cape and ran as fast as he could around the backyard. It wasn't long, though, before he came back into the house with the cape in his hand. In disgust, he threw it on the floor and in anger said, "This thing doesn't work." (5) B. One of the things Brian Singer and the writers of Superman and every other comic book that ...

2231. Fulfilling Others?

Luke 4:14-30

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... best way. Here is the common bond between a ghetto storefront church and the massive Gothic structure some miles away: they both bear the name of Jesus Christ; and they each seek, in their own way and setting, to fulfill the human longing. What about you and me? What is the longing in our lives which Christ has filled? "Today," Jesus said, "this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." For you, for me? To what degree are we in the business of fulfilling the scripture in the lives of others? Jesus is ...

2232. Your Face Gives You Away

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... my Maker face‑to‑face!” Then Larimore adds these worlds about this ninety‑two year old woman, “Her face literally glowed.” Nothing is more beautiful that a person whose face glows with their love for God. Here were Fran’s last words to her doctor: “For twice as long as you’ve been alive, I’ve been enjoying [God’s] companionship and thanking him for his faithfulness in helping me be who I think he wants me to be. I talk to God all the time, and I’m here to tell you he listens! It’s ...

2233. What the World Expects of the Church

Luke 15:1-7

Illustration

Brett Blair

... there was an article describing the events of the evening before. The article began with this striking line: "Someone trusted the church last night, and the church came through!" Bishop Fizgerald later reflected on this event and wrote these words: It will be a long, long time before I can forget that newspaper headline. So much of the world's future depends on the faithfulness of the "People of God" to the "Great Commission." There is a deep hunger across our land as countless people grope for answers to ...

2234. A Sacred Death

Illustration

Thomas Long

... pastor: After the service, I struck up a conversation with a woman whom I had not seen in many years. "How is your dad?" I asked her. "I remember him as one of my favorite people." "I lost my dad last summer," she said sadly. "Cancer. But he lived a long and good life," she added, "and in many ways he died a peaceful death. The last few moments of his life were amazing. "My sister, my brother and I were with him when he died. He had a stroke a few days before and lost his speech. You can imagine ...

2235. Resurrection Power (Series: Living on the Resurrection Side of Life)

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... how. Will you tell other families who may be lax or visionless to reach out and renew their experience of God? Kenny Chesney has a new song out. The title is “Don’t Blink”. A 102 year-old man was being asked by a reporter the secret of his long life. The old man, looking up from his pipe replied, “All I can say is – Don’t’ Blink.” Take a nap when you’re six years old and suddenly you’re twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife. Don’t Blink – you just might miss ...

2236. The Gift of Purpose

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." II. Power A. I think that Mary might have understood something that took me a long time to understand. Something that a lot of people still miss. If there is no point to life, if there is no meaning or purpose to ... grasp was weak, and he wouldn't be able to keep himself from being swept over the falls by the raging stream for very long. Seeing his friend's plight Gary immediately grabbed hold of a sapling and stretched out over the water as far as he could in ...

2237. We Are Weak, But He Is Strong...

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... four had ever been to jail. Why had the predictions by the earlier class proven false? They found a common denominator; over 100 of these men remembered having the same high-school teacher, Miss O'Rourke, who had been a tremendous influence on them at the time. After a long search, Sheila O'Rourke was found in a nursing home in Memphis. When asked for her explanation she was puzzled and replied, "All I did was love every one of them." (1) And that's all Jesus did for us. He loved us. And He loves us with an ...

2238. Radical Love at Home (Series: Radical Love in a Risky World)

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... squanders his wealth in wild living. We usually think he was a kid right out of high school, out to sow his wild oats. Maybe he was middle-aged and on a mission to regain his lost youth. Even worse, he could have been some old fool who has lived long enough to know better. Whatever his age, he reckons with a truth: money won’t buy us love; travel won’t bring us happiness; getting what we want doesn’t mean having what we need. Too many selfish dreams leave us stranded in some pig pen. What draws us to ...

2239. Reviewing Our Hungers (Series: Questioning Our Values)

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . I replied, “Righteousness is like country ham, fine wine, or Krystal hamburgers. You have to develop a taste for it.” Righteousness is a passion for the right, the good, the worthy. It is doing all the good you can, in every way you can, for as long as you can. Righteousness is more than keeping the rules; it is a stand for justice, a search for truth, a life of love. I have been reading the story of Jim Lawson, John Lewis, Diane Nash, C. T. Vivian, Bernard Lafayette, Jim Bevel, Rodney Powell, and ...

2240. Will 2012 Be the End of the World?

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... the odds of it happening in our lifetime are very, very remote. Every scientist will tell you that there will be an end to this universe some day. Nothing in this universe lasts forever. If God wills it, the end could be today, but chances are it is a long way off. I don’t care what the Mayan calendar says, or Nostradamas, or Tim LaHaye or Hal Lindsey this earth has been around for millions of years and may be around for millions of years yet to come. Nobody knows. Don’t listen to me. Listen to Jesus ...

2241. Catch of the Day

Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... being out with Dad like that, that didn't happen very often. But you know what I remember most about that meal? I have no idea how long we had been there, or how much we had eaten. I know I did my part because I can remember eating and eating and eating. I tried ... people sought to get right with God they started to return what they had taken. The result was that it wasn't long before the shipyards of Wales were overwhelmed with returned property. There were such huge piles of returned tools that several of the ...

2242. Hope In The Midst of Uncertainty

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... and give ourselves up." (1) I also read about a For Sale ad in the Roanoke, Illinois, Review which read: "Hope chest: Brand new, half price, long story." (2) I'd like to know the story behind that one, wouldn't you? This morning we begin a series of sermons on Hope. ... hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope ...

2243. If, Because, Regardless

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... he asks, "What do you say? What do you say? What do you say?" The boy squirms and runs away. Phil calls after him, "You little brat. You have NEVER thanked me. I'll see you tomorrow, maybe." But the viewer knows he will be back again and again, as long as he is needed. Have you ever thought about how much we take God for granted. Think about all the complex details that have to come together every day, just to sustain our lives. Yet how often do we stop to thank God for all God has done for us ...

2244. Thanks, But No Thanks

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 't need anyone to remind him that he was despised or that he was a sinner. People reminded him of that every single day. Every time he collected taxes. But his prayer was heartfelt, simple and humble. "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" He didn't make a big long list of his wrongs. He didn't try to justify himself by giving excuses. He didn't try to gloss over any with the, "Well, everyone else is doing it" excuse. He didn't try to bargain. He simply sought mercy and forgiveness. And God's response to his ...

2245. Where Love Comes From

John 13:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... he still had scars.” (3) There are some people who don’t know how to love because they have never been loved. Ted Engstrom tells about a man whose life seemed doomed from the start. He had been born to a dominating, unloving mother who worked long hours, and often left him at home by himself. The neighborhood children also rejected him. He was a small and unattractive child. He failed in school, and eventually dropped out, in spite of a high IQ. He went into the Marines, but the other Marines rejected ...

2246. To Live Is to Choose

Matthew 7:13-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . Indecision is poisonous to the person. Decision making is perilous but life is life by the choices we make. I saw it in a cartoon not long ago. Two men were sitting at a bar. Obviously, in a philosophical mood and it seems to me that most people get in a philosophical moods ... their stories. Let me close with one of those stories. It was right about ten thirty one evening in Nashville not long ago. When I told the service station attendant to fill it up with gas, the only other person around the service ...

2247. Where In the World Is God?

Mark 15:33-41

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the Psalmist, Moses, cried, “O Lord, why hast thou done evil to this people?” And there is the prophet’s plea: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and thou wilt not hear? Now none of us would pretend that we have been to the depth of the ... and that terrible question may be silent in our throats, but clamoring in our souls: “O God, why have you forsaken me?” “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” So tuck these two truths back in your mind - in that place where you keep important ...

2248. On the Road with the Little Children

Luke 18:15-17

Sermon

James W. Moore

... of us. That is our faith and our hope… and when we accept that in the spirit of child-like trust… that’s when we know… really know… the “Blessed Assurance” we sing about and that’s when we know “the peace that passes all understanding.” That day long ago, Jesus said: “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them: for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs.” There are so many child-like qualities that we as Christians of all ages would do well to embrace and cherish ...

2249. He Pitched His Tent Among Us

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... States during the past 25 years. We’re hoping to have him for a preaching mission here at Christ Church next fall. I heard him not long ago, and he was at his best. In his inimitable way, Georgia drawl and all, he stated a profound truth simply. Listen to him. “I live around ... His Kingdom, when he comes again to establish a new heaven and a new earth. Now I don’t want to labor this too long; but I don’t want you to miss the depth of it, either. God has pitched his tent among us. Is there a more heartening ...

2250. Assurance: The Privilage of All Believers

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... sees sin in their lives the envy, the strife; but he does not see them as having lost their faith. Note the big point of Scripture and of Wesley: Paul sees these persons in Corinth as “babes” in Christ. Now we need not get tied up with how long we may remain “babes” in Christ. To some degree, we may all always be thus designated. But Paul and Wesley would not be cavalier about this. Sin and our struggle against it must always be seen as serious business. Wesley made the point clearly by asking the ...

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