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 2251 to 2275 of 5000 results

2251. God's Chosen People: Partners

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... wall, and began to listen and look. Very soon ushers came up and engaged him in quiet conversation, and it wasn’t long before quietly and without adieu they were accompanying him out the door. After the service, a very proper and polite woman, handsomely ... called us to be His friends and the friends of God. That’s a tremendous offer. It means that no longer do we need to gaze longingly at God from a far off; we are not like slaves who have no right whatever to enter into the presence of the Master; we are ...

2252. The Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... - only the “healthy, wealthy and wise” must be on good terms with him. What does this say to the poor, the desperately ill, and the oppressed? The idea of a chummy God who will give us everything we want if we will practice positive and possibility thinking long enough and hard enough is not Christian. It may be good psychology for some — but it’s incomplete Christianity. You can’t take the mystery/y out of the faith. You can’t chart the workings of God on a computer or with a slide rule. The ...

2253. Let God Be God - As if It Could Be Otherwise

Exodus 7:14-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... might lack He had his pleasant side. Of course, it’s tongue in cheek - now Hell has holy boiled away. It’s true isn’t it? How long has it been since you gave any thought to the reality of hell? I sometimes wish that God were back - we do, now and then, don’t ... couldn’t live with himself, so he gave up ordination. His is a dynamic Christian now, but still bears the pain of that sin long ago and he is miserable not living with his ordinal call. I could go on, but you know, sure you know in your heart ...

2254. The Blood Shall Be a Token

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . If you don’t like the language, you’ll have to argue with God. It’s the language of the Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments. It is only when we are cleansed from what is repugnant to divine holiness that we can really be with Christ. As long as we continue indulging in known sin, there can be no communion with him, It is only as we “walk in the light as He is in the light” that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, “we have fellowship with one another” (I John 1:7) Cleansed ...

2255. Exodus and Easter

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... When the Israelites looked back, all they could see was here and there a poor drowned body beaten upon the seashore. This was a great moment for Israel, the end of a frightful period in their history, a joyous daybreak that had come at the end of a long night of oppressive captivity. Now the meaning of the story is not found in the drowning of the Egyptians soldiers. No one should rejoice at the death or defeat of a human being. Rather, the story symbolizes the death of evil. God’s victory in the struggle ...

2256. In the Lions' Den (Dealing with Stress)

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... for worship - rules that required people to worship no other but the king for at least 30 days. Daniel was caught in the trap; and, much to the grief and almost despair of King Darius, he was thrown into the lions’ den; and you know the story. All night long the king fasted and prayed. When he went to the den the next morning, the lions mouths had been stopped, and not the least bit of harm had been done to Daniel. That’s the picture living in the lions’ den. I deliberately chose this 16th Psalm as ...

2257. Why Jesus Didn't Perform Funerals

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... is relaxation. For many of us worry is the most destructive force in our life. We worry because we have never entirely entrusted our life to God. The late Norman Vincent Peale once told about a friend of his who coped in a marvelous way with a long bout with a disease. Dr. Peale asked him, “At any time during this experience were you afraid?” “Yes,” he replied, “there was one time when I was afraid. That was when my temperature stayed at 104 degrees for three days. The thought crossed my mind that ...

2258. The Perspective of Longevity

Luke 7:11-17

Illustration

George Bass

Ide Ward was going on 120 years of age when he died early in 1982; a doctor said he died "just of old age," but George Will of the Washington Post called his long life a "triumph of the spirit." Will says, "Aging, like a lot of other common things (life, love, memory, the existence of the universe, the infield fly rule), remains a mystery. But many gerontologists believe that, absent disease or imprudent living, an individual ages according to his or her genetically ...

2259. Pastoral Prayer

Illustration

Brett Blair

... of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts. Give us strength, too strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces. And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our ...

2260. The Shared Life of the People of God

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... a runaway. One of them was, even then, paying me $25.00 per month on a loan 1 had arranged for him to pay the hospital bill of the young girl he had made pregnant (he repaid the entire amount). One of them had gone through a long period of depression because his mother had committed suicide. My relationship with these young people had come primarily through Leo Fessenden. Because he was available to them, listened to them, cared about them, did for them what he could, they trusted me when I was recommended ...

2261. The Harvest of the Spirit, Part 2

Galatians 5:16-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... received a lot of love and affirmation; yet, there are times when I feel an absence of peace. A subtle franticness and I lose my sense of centeredness. Sometimes it is short lived; sometimes it’s for a day, even a week. The time is determined by how long it takes for me to realize I’ve taken my eyes off Christ – my mind is not stayed on Him, When I discover what priority has replaced Christ as the priority in my life, then through prayer and recommitment, I recover peace. So, that’s the first way ...

2262. Like a Waving Flag

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Castle when she is present. When she is absent from the grounds, the ancient Royal Standard of Scotland is hoisted. Long before there was reliable news sources, just one glance overhead would let the citizens of the kingdom know if their monarch ... of what they may provide for us. “Tit for tat.” I owe you, you owe me. We’re “even” as long as we’re evenly indebted to each other. As long as everything “balances out,” we feel things are fair and just. But that is not how a “kingdom” works. ...

2263. The Shepherd Lord

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... full power and tenderness of those words. Yet — the fact remains; they must be appropriated by each on of us. By far, I think, the presence of the delegation from South Africa, flavored the World Methodist Conference more than any other factor. I could talk long about their impact upon my life, and I’ll be sharing about that and other experiences of the Conference from time to time. One experience will be enough now as I close this sermon. May of you remember Abel and Freda Hendricks, who visited our ...

2264. He Came, He Is Coming

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... days. So, advent celebrates the word of Jesus: “Look up and raise your head because your redemption is drawing near.” There have been and there will always be signs of His coming. Solzhenitsyn related such a sign which overwhelmed him and turned his waiting in that long imprisonment of a Soviet Labor Camp into meaning and even Joy. “His life was so bleak and empty that he was ready to end it. He was working outside on a slave labor detail and he had gone to such a depth of despair that he decided ...

2265. Chaos or Christ: Dreams Which Calm our Fears

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... chance, have sex for fun, live together for convenience, and marry, if they determine they can get along together in the long run. That's not the way it was in Jesus' day. Parents arranged engagements, which evolved into a yearlong betrothal where couples ... explain. Concerned parents got this letter from their college student just before the holidays. Dear Mom and Dad, Sorry to be so long in writing but my paper was destroyed in the dormitory fire. It all started when some students were making crack in the ...

2266. Light a Candle

Matthew 5:14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... Compared to bombs bursting in air and buildings exploding before our eyes, this candle seems tiny and insignificant doesn't it. Yet there is an old Quaker saying that goes, “If you want to destroy the darkness, then just light a candle." It will do it every time. Take a long look at the candle before you. Notice it has a wick right in the middle of it. What is a candle without a wick? Well, just either hot or cold wax, which will never burn in any way or form. At the core of your being, more basic to you ...

2267. The Christ Connection

Colossians 1:9-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... THE ANSWER. As a child, I used to wonder what kind of magic pen God used to write it on the side of the barn. As a teenager, I drove so fast I did not have time to see it at all. But, as an adult, sometimes I take the long way home so I can make sure it is still there, shining on the foggiest of nights. So out of place in one way and yet, such a revelation in another. CHRIST IS THE ANSWER. Of course, if Christ is the answer, we must naturally ask what is the question ...

2268. You Are Invited

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . Yoke-mates are no longer free to do as they please. They must obey each other so that the load can be moved in the long run. The choice of a yoke-mate is extremely important. It is also true in normal life. Thomas Wheeler was Chairman of the Board of ... we make suffering redemptive? How do we even start to love our enemies? What is the true meaning of community? I've been on this trip a long time and I've only begun to learn some of these things. But today and last week and in the days and weeks to come, I' ...

2269. Making Wise Investments

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and I have all different kinds of talents, abilities, and recourses at our finger tips. A friend of mine said to me not long ago, “Howard, you should stick to preaching because you'll never make a living playing golf." Of course, he was absolutely right. ... 95, would practice up to six hours a day. One day his friend said to him, “My goodness, at age 95 why are you practicing so long?" And the master replied, “Because I still think I am making a little bit of progress." You use it or you lose it. And to ...

2270. Following the Footsteps of the Faithful

Hebrews 11:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... can render, and help I can give, let me neither defer it nor neglect it, but let me just do it. Whatever it takes for as long as it takes in whatever way it takes. Let me do it. Of course, many of you know much more about faithfulness than I. For the ... Jim: “This is such a great organization that you just have to stay with it. I have had the pleasure of being here for a long time. If everyone is willing, I want to stay a little longer.” Dr. Olds: “You’re not only looking into the past, you’re ...

2271. An Invitation to Christian Discipleship

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... with the prayers, and you wonder why the people up front wear weird clothes every Sunday called robes. Yet, something inside you is longing for someone outside of you to show you the real meaning of life. Jesus is saying to you, “Come and see.” Check out ... you who are here to day, it is time to RISE AND FOLLOW. Take a step into the River of Life. I will never forget it as long as I live. The sun was breaking the eastern sky as I stood on a boat sailing from Tiberius on a ride across to the northern shore ...

2272. Will I Really Live Forever?

John 11:18-27, 39-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of life here. Belief in immortality transforms the way I live my daily life. Belief in immortality gives reason to character. Why be good if it makes no difference? Do your kids ever ask that question of you? I ask it occasionally of myself. The preacher in Ecclesiastes asked it long ago, way before Peggy Lee put it in a song, “Is that all there is?” You see, if that is all there is, then being good does not make a lot of sense. Just keep on dancing, bring out the booze and have a ball, if that’s all ...

2273. Finding Our Place In All Creation

Job 38:1-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... The injuries were not too serious and the paramedic was really nice. We went out a few times and he invited me to move in with him, which sure beats dorm life a lot. He's extremely smart even though he dropped out of high school. I really like his long hair and tattoos. The weekends are a real blast when we get high on drugs. I especially hope you like him since I may be expecting our first child soon. Love, Your daughter. P.S. There was no accident, no paramedic, no love affair, no drugs, no baby. However ...

2274. Getting in S.H.A.P.E. for Ministry

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... God has entrusted to us. Have you discovered your spiritual gifts? Follow your heart. What do you feel passionate about? Where is your heart? There is a group of people in this church who feel passionately about a ministry to young adults, which has been a long neglected ministry in this church. God is going to honor their passion. It is going to happen in the weeks and months that are yet to come. Where is your heart and what do you feel deeply about? William Booth said the secret of the Salvation Army ...

2275. A Very Present Help

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , “Be still and know that I am God.” Be still and know that I am God. Be still. Emerson once said, “Let the hours be silent so the centuries can speak.” Today is the closest thing to a Sabbath that America has experienced in a very long time. There are no golf tournaments today. There are no NASCAR races today. The football games have been canceled. While there are elements of silence that frighten us all, I urge you to cherish this moment. Lean into it fully. Hug your family today. Talk with some ...

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