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 2376 to 2400 of 4961 results

2376. They'll Know We Are Christians by Our...

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Did you know that sometimes there is conflict in a church? It’s true. Churches are made up of people. And people, as we all know, have differing opinions about things. For example, there is evidence that the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the church of Galatia because certain members of their congregation were stirring up trouble. Surely you would think that couldn’t happen in the church that early in Christian history, but it did. There was much disagreement. Here was the issue: many of the early ...

2377. By the Sea

Matthew 4:18-22, John 1:35-42, John 1:43-51

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Hear the word of the LORD, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.' Jeremiah 31:10 Props: Conch Shell You are being called. It’s the middle of Monday morning. You’re in your office amidst the hustle and bustle of people rushing down the hall. You’re late to a meeting. Your report to the boss is due in 20 minutes. You have to pick up your daughter after school and take your son to basketball practice. You can ...

2378. A Restless Spirit

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It’s Mother’s Day, otherwise known in the liturgical church as the “Festival of the Christian Home.” Today parents remember our baptismal covenant and recommit to bringing up our baptized progeny in the Christian tradition in our homes, churches, and extended family. This is also when we honor mothers in particular and their influence on our lives. In honor of that celebration today, let me remind you of just how awesome it is to be a parent. Here’s a scenario I think we’ll all be familiar with. A little ...

2379. The Little Boat

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Picture Jesus and the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The day had started off well enough -- crowds clamoring to see Jesus, bringing their illnesses and troubles to him as they always did, seeking his help and healing. Jesus was in control. He helped them all. The disciples observed the power of the Lord as they had so many times before. A good day to be alive! A good day for a sail and a rest! As they moved onto the water, the waves lapped against the small boat. The boat gently rocked back ...

2380. The Joy of Being a Caring Person

Mt 25:31-46 · Lk 16:19-31

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Being a Christian is really a matter of spirit, but this spirit, when acted out in life relationships, becomes a many-dimensioned thing. You are not a Christian if you are not a caring person. Jesus put the emphasis here. He shocks us a bit in Matthew when he tells those that have neglected the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the lonely, the sick, and those in prison, that they have totally missed life. He puts it bluntly - "Depart from me." Then he turns around and says to those who had cared for the ...

2381. The State Of The Church

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Robert Allen

The day after Christmas we carefully made our way out of town on the ice. We were on our way to South Padre Island for a few days of rest and fun. It is a long drive to South Texas, and we were glad to finally arrive. When we found the leasing agent for the condo we had rented, I went inside to get the key. When I went inside the office, the woman at the desk was on the phone speaking Spanish to someone. The longer I waited, the more irritated I became. I was tired after the long drive, I wanted to get ...

2382. A Shepherd's Love

John 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Two television evangelists were talking. One was explaining how he was seeking to be the ideal shepherd to his television flock. “There are three ways I seek to do that,” he said. “What three ways do you mean?” asked the other evangelist. “Well” he explained, “First, we FIND them. Every year we find new stations to carry our ministry. Then we FEED them. I give them the plain unvarnished word of God.” “But what’s the third thing?” asked the second evangelist. “Well,” he answered, “Once we’ve found them and ...

2383. What If It Happens To Me? The Fear of Suffering

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to talk to you today about perhaps the most thorny issue confronting the Christian faith. In fact, it is the single biggest obstacle for non-Christians to overcome in order to become believers in Christ. George Barna, who is the George Gallup of the Christian world, conducted a national survey in which he asked this question, "If you could ask God only one question and you knew He would give you an answer, what would you ask?" By far and away the number one response was this one - "Why is there pain ...

2384. Broken Pieces

Matthew 1:3, 5, 6

Sermon

James Merritt

Whether you are rich or poor, black or white, Jew or Gentile, male or female, there is one thing every single person on this earth has - we all have family trees, genealogies, ancestors and if we live long enough descendants, but family trees represent more than babies and bloodlines. They represent a mosaic. Remember the definition of mosaic? mosaic (mo-za'ik) n. 1. A picture or decoration made up of diverse, multi-colored small pieces. In reality, that is what a family tree is - a picture of a family ...

2385. Help Me, I'm Lost

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

It is one of the great adventure stories of all time. A man named Thor Heyerdahl wanted to test the theory that people from South America could have settled the Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific long before Columbus sailed to the New World. So Heyerdahl took a small team of men to Peru, where they constructed a raft out of balsa logs. These logs were tied together with rope much as a group of sailors might have done in earlier, less sophisticated times. Heyerdahl named the raft the Kon-Tiki. He and ...

2386. The Knot: Frayed (Part 2)

1 Peter 3:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

There is a man in Chicago by the name of Slats Grobnik who sold Christmas trees. One year he noticed a couple on a hunt for a Christmas tree. Someone told him the couple was barely making ends meet. After looking at all the expensive trees they found a Scotch pine that was okay on one side, but it was really bare on the other one. They picked up another tree that was not much better. It was kind of full on one side and scraggly on the other. She whispered something in her husband’s ear and he walked over ...

2387. What Do You See?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

A businessman was returning to the U.S. from Asia and had a connecting flight in Iran. After deboarding the plane he stopped by the bathroom. After washing his hands he looked down to realize his bag had been stolen. That is a problem for anyone, but for him it was a disaster, because his wallet and passport were in it. He rushed out into the terminal to see if he could spot someone running away, but he found no one. He was relieved that at least he was traveling with a co-worker, but his supposed friend ...

2388. Defeating Discouragement

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Yard sales are interesting to me. I don’t frequent them very often, but I am always fascinated by the fact that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Someone can’t wait to get rid of old tapes and records — doesn’t want them cluttering up the house anymore. Along comes a complete stranger and he just can’t believe anyone would want to sell them. He buys them for a steal and drives home with a big smile thinking he just committed robbery. He brings the records home, clutters up his own house ...

2389. Step Five - Integrity

Jn 4:16-24 · 1 Jo 1:5-10 · Is 6:1-8

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step five: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs. I have been accused during this sermon series of being too sober - in my preaching. So: joke de jour. A minister, a priest and a rabbi were having lunch one day. They were talking about the spiritual support they gave the members of their congregation: listening to their confessions, saying words of absolution, visiting them when they were ill and comforting them in times of loss. What the minister, priest ...

2390. Living Lightly

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson for the message today comes from the 45th chapter of the Book of Genesis. I’m beginning with the 4th and ready through the 20th verses. Joseph said to his brothers, come near to me I pray you, and they came near. And he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life, for the famine has been in the land these two years and there are yet five years in ...

2391. The Future You Hope For

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Inside all of us there is a subconscious mind. It's a storage box into which people and events are constantly putting ideas. I heard a cute story the other day about how we "program" the minds of our children. The pastor was at the front of the church giving a children's sermon. "Now, children," he said, "what has a bushy tail and likes to climb in trees, and hide nuts?" There was a total silence. The pastor tried again: "You know, children: He's sometimes gray with little ears, and he runs in trees, ...

2392. Being A Man of God

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some of you have known me long enough to know that one of my favorite theologian is Charles Schultz, the artist who gave us the wonderful Peanuts cartoons. In one of my favorite cartoons, Lucy comes storming into the room and demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single ...

2393. Division of the House

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

William G. Carter

The more we read the Bible, the more we see things we might wish Jesus never said. This passage is one of them: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Did any of us come to church today to hear him say that? This is the season for family reunions. Most of us have been in gatherings that include fathers, mothers, grandparents, and children. It it is somewhat disturbing to come to church today and hear Jesus say, “I have come to set a man ...

2394. The King's Wedding Feast

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Context of the Lectionary The First Lesson. (Exodus 32:1-14) The passage recounts the experience of the people of Israel in the wilderness when Moses had gone up the mountain of Sinai. They assumed that he was not returning. They appealed to Aaron for a god to lead them. He got from the people all the gold of their jewelry and from that produced the golden calf. The people proceeded with an orgy of worship. Moses came down and discovered what was happening. In his anger he shattered the tablets which ...

2395. The Condition Of Mercy

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: Our Father and our God, on this day we give you thanks for all the blessings of our lives. In these moments, may we learn something about what it is for which we need to be most thankful. Lord, in these moments may we experience your mercy and your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. A social psychologist by the name of David Myers has written a book titled The Pursuit of Happiness. The book has 59 pages of references and a 43-page bibliography. This large number of citations clearly ...

2396. The Two Washings

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Dean Lueking

On this Maundy Thursday let us ponder again the Cross of Christ our Savior and its consequences for us all. One way to approach such a task as this is to direct our thinking to two washings that take place in connection with the passion of Christ. The first one is described by the Evangelist Matthew: So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man ‘s blood, see to it yourselves." ( ...

2397. The Gift

Drama

Esther Lense

If the church’s seating arrangement allows, have all the children of the pre-school through the sixth grade sit together on one side of the chancel, with the junior choir on the other side. As the program opens, the children of the pre-school through sixth grade face the congregation and sing Come and Hear the Grand Old Story. As they sing, the "family" characters enter and arrange themselves on the chancel or stage. The school children are seated, and the spotlight focuses on the chancel. A mother and ...

2398. Samaria and Our Spiritual Journey

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Edward DeBono is a man who travels all over the world, giving seminars on how to think. He teaches what he calls “lateral thinking,” and he illustrates what he means by that from an experience early in his life. Some thirty years ago he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. One night he attended a party in London. The party lasted late, and he got back to Oxford after the gates were closed. Traditionally in that college the gates were locked at twenty minutes past midnight. So, in order to get to his room, he ...

2399. Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Amos 3:1-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Summarizing Oracles (3:1-12): By including both Israel and Judah in the series of oracles against the foreign nations in 1:3–2:16, Amos has shown that the people of God have joined with the rest of the nations in a common rebellion against the lordship of Yahweh, thereby profaning God’s holy name. The prophet will then in 3:13–4:13 spell out the specific indictment against Israel. But before he does so, as Amos’s book is now arranged, he must first include some summarizing statements, in 3:1–12, that lay ...

2400. The Sin Offering

Leviticus 4:1--5:13

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: There needs to be cleansing from sin before God. Understanding the Text The sin offering is the fourth in a series of five offerings found in Leviticus 1:1–6:7. Why are the sin and guilt offerings not treated with the earlier atoning sacrifice, the burnt offering? Probably because unlike the burnt offering, the sin and guilt offerings are obligatory.1The burnt, grain, and fellowship offerings can be offered whenever one feels the need; sin and guilt offerings are mandatory whenever one commits ...

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