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 2415 results

2376. Breathe

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... .” Shallow breathing makes for a shallow kind of life. Without the depth and breadth of the gospel within our lives and our lungs, we move through life simply going through the motions. We lack meaning. We lack purpose. We lack faith. We lack passion. Our culture is a “high anxiety” culture. Tension is high. Tempers are high. Disillusionment is high. Depression is high. We as human beings are in dire need of some God-given life. The only way we can wade through our current toxic environments is ...

2377. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Mark 9:30-37 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · Psalm 1

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... one could say, in service as an elder, but I’ve never known anyone at this church agree to serve because they were seeking power. Many agree to serve because they know their gifts are needed by the church. Others agree to serve because they believe passionately that the church needs to move in new directions. I try to emphasize that leadership in the church is servant leadership, after the model of Christ’s sacrifice. I think it’s irresponsible to say that taking a term on the board of deacons or the ...

2378. What's In a Name?

Mark 10:2-16 · Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 · Psalm 8

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... angels. Recently I heard about an organization that was planning “Angel Con,” similar to “Comic Con,” the nirvana for comic book geeks’ annual event. People who go to Angel Con would be surrounded by other people who are experts in angelology and passionate about angels. In this image we have Jesus described as superior to angels. That implies some kind of hierarchy — as if God is at the top, then angels, then people, then animals and plants. The author of Hebrews cites this morning’s psalm ...

2379. The Ominous Invitation

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... problems? Go into communities driven by greed, power, and money? Go into regions fraught with political discord, division, and derangement? No, discipleship today is not an easy-peasy assignment. In fact, it never was! It takes moxy. It takes consideration. It takes a sense of passion and adventure as you’ve never known before! But oh the sights that you will see! Oh the experiences you will have! Oh the love that you will spread. Oh the lives that you will save! Are you ready to drink his cup and undergo ...

2380. Good News from the Threshing Floor

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... ! A more faithful rendering of what Ruth said captures the young widow’s determination. Something like, “Don’t press me to leave you…. Your people… my people… your God, my God… your resting place, my resting place….” Ruth 1:16-17 (NRSV). Ruth’s passion was so strong Naomi stopped arguing. Bethlehem was buzzing like a beehive when Naomi returned, but Naomi was a changed woman. She was a widow with her widowed daughter-in-law in tow and she told the community to call her “Mara” then ...

2381. A Portion of Thyself

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... . But Martin’s mother was chatting pleasantly with him while they devoured a plate of sandwiches together. She had gone shopping that morning and found him cold and hungry, so she brought him home with her. When the man was ready to leave, he said passionately, “I wish there were more people in the world like you!” Martin’s mother casually threw the compliment aside. “Oh,”she said, “there are! You just have to look for them!” The man broke down. He shook his head, and tears rolled across his ...

2382. Scandal

Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... betrayer, as the hero of the tale? And just as important, what was on the tribal menu for supper tonight? Were the Richardsons the next victims of “fattening the pig for the slaughter”? Don slipped out of the men’s lodge a wary and troubled man. Passion Week Primer The story has a wonderful ending, which will come at the conclusion of this message. But the central issue for Don and Carol Richardson is one that is key to all that Christians talk about and “celebrate” this week and this day: Why did ...

2383. Creation Reborn

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... brightly, and the beasts crept out of the shadows to dance their fancy footwork. When Orpheus came to town, people floated out of homes and shops to jig in the streets and fall in love. Of course, when Orpheus himself fell in love, passion intensified. It was Eurydice who caught his eye and heart, and before long they were fawning and fainting after one another. When Orpheus and Eurydice wed, the world shimmered with significance, and couples everywhere twitterpated. But a week later all meaning was lost ...

2384. 2025 Lent Sermon Series

Sermon

Various Authors

... Promise – Genesis 15:1-8 3. Return and Be Forgiven – Isaiah 55:1-13 4. Passing from Old to New - Joshua 5:13--6:27 5. Endings – Isaiah 43:14-28 6. Suffering Servant Song - Isaiah 52:13--53:12 7. God Shows No Partiality – Acts 10:23b-48 The Passion of the Christ by Brett Blair 1. His Triumphal Entry – Luke 19:28-44 2. His Cleansing of the Temple – Luke 19:45-48 3. His Teachings – Luke 20:27-40 4. His Last Supper – Luke 22:7-38 5. His Trial - Luke 22:66--23:25 6. His Death ...

2385. Do You Think That I Have Come To Bring Peace?

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Will Willimon

... are sacrificing their children today, altars of success, popularity, safety, materialism, it is odd that we should be shocked that Jesus asks for our children. We could certainly lose our children to a lesser God. The Jesus who disturbs our tranquility this morning is a passionate God who presses us to our limits and asks us, “Just what would you give your life for, sacrifice your children to?” For in truth, we shall all die for something and offer our children up to someone. Will the god whom we serve ...

2386. The Captain's Voice

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... she held. She was amazed and my ego was stroked, and she even wanted me to autograph her copy. Then, she wanted to know why I had written it. The Story Of The Bible There is always a story behind the story, isn’t there? Every book is crafted in passion, hammered out in hope, or scripted in the fevers of a message that has to be communicated. Except for the Bible, of course. Often the Bible seems to be above all that because it is God’s book. It is a holy book, a volume that existed from before ...

2387. Wait for It...

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and be sent out! Pentecost is a “calling” and “sending” of the already appointed and anointed! The waiting time between their commissioning and call allows them not just a “dramatic pause,” but time to prepare, to allow Jesus’ words and passion to embolden and strengthen them. They will during this time “pay more attention” to God. As our scripture tells us, they “worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. They were continually in the temple blessing God. Because they knew ...

2388. Basta, basta!

John 16:12-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the delicate balance of things, our place within it, the mysterious of the universe, and even the unknowns of science and ourselves! We still have so much that we cannot possibly fathom about God, God’s relationship with us, and the extremity of God’s passion for us and creation. What we do know, and what becomes all important on this Trinity Sunday, is the extent of our faith. For what we cannot see, imagine, mentally comprehend, or handle becomes the essence of our faith. When our own limitations bind ...

2389. The Power of Story

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... didn’t lecture. He didn’t command. He didn’t cajole. He didn’t threaten. He healed. And he told stories so powerful that people’s lives were changed. Compassion is an interesting word in itself. Etymologically, it means “com” (with) and “passion” (sorrow or suffering). The word literally means to “feel sorrow with” someone else. When stories evoke compassion in someone, when someone’s emotions begin to resonate in a powerful way, it’s as though the mind opens up a new path, makes ...

2390. Do You Have JDD?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... not only with her own distractions but seeks to instill this sense of busyness and urgency for detail and function in her sister Mary as well. When our faith becomes dead and rote, empty, ritualistic, habitual, and tradition-based instead of vibrant, vital, alive, and passionate, it no longer serves the kingdom but only our own sense of busyness. Jesus is not worried that his dinner will be less than perfect, cold, or delayed. He is more interested in who is at his table, and the worshipful manner in which ...

2391. For Someone Deeply Troubled

Isaiah 40:27-31 · John 14:1-6

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... property near Carol’s home, Jim became their handyman. If there was grass that needed cutting, Jim would do it. If there was something that needed fixing, Jim would fix it. And that was true not just for those nuns, but it was true for anyone in need. Jim’s passion rested in race cars. He loved NASCAR and he loved his two Pontiac Firebirds which he tinkered with on an almost daily basis. Jim left us much too early, but I believe that the hole in his heart is now filled and he’s back with his dad again ...

2392. For Someone Who Heroically Suffered, Yet Spread Good Cheer

John 19:25-27 · 2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... life had to offer. I’m not sure who told me this but apparently when Jim and Linda first saw the ocean, before Jim had a chance to take off his sunglasses, Linda was already running up and down the beach. Then there were her shopping trips, one of the passions of her life. She’d shop in a whirlwind manner, shopping more for the benefit of her sister and family than for herself. Linda would often sneak in naps so that when Mike would come home from day care, she could care for him and love him with the ...

2393. For Someone Who Led a Happy and a Virtuous Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 · Matthew 25:31-46 · 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

... ’t be the company it is today if not for the mark he left on almost every facet of the insurance operation. In Marty’s scrapbook, there would be a picture of Canisius College and South Park High School. Marty, as many of you know, was passionate about almost everything he touched along life’s way. He did not just attend both of those schools but, in the years that followed, he did what he could for the schools’ benefit. A distinguished football star at South Park High School, he got involved with ...

2394. In Those Days: The Voice Of The Time Keeper

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... and despair that accompanies what’s supposed to be a season of joy. How can we communicate that? It’s not a matter of whether we see the clock madly rushing down to zero at the end of the game! It’s whether we’re living urgently, passionately, fully, right now. Doing something to set ourselves apart, ignoring the most recent fashions, evaluating the most recent digital devices to see if we really need them, does not mean they are evil, but that we want to evaluate if we can live according to the way ...

2395. God Is Like...a Parent

Hosea 11:1-4 · Luke 15:1-32

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

... not cruel or unfeeling. The parent images of God in the Old Testament are positive images. But when we come to the New Testament, we find a remarkable change. We are shown God as a father still caring and loving, but now the Heavenly Father is passionately concerned about everyone, not just the nation of Israel. The one responsible for this dramatic shift is Jesus. Time after time, Jesus refers to God as a heavenly father. What kind of father is this God? Jesus says that the heavenly Father feeds the birds ...

2396. God Is Like...Fire

Malachi 3:1-4 · Luke 3:1-6, 9,16-17

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

2397. Calculated Christianity

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

Grit is trending these days. Have you heard of it? There was a viral TED talk by Angela Duckworth in 2013 and then she published a book of the same title in 2018 ― Grit: The Power Of Passion And Perseverance. In a nutshell, “grit” is mental toughness, the ability to persevere and keep at it in order to achieve a long- term goal. Like calculating what it is going to take to build that big tower and then keeping after it, no matter that a storm knocked it ...

2398. The Women

John 20:1-9

Drama

William Grimbol

Setting: Five women gathered in a courtyard garden for conversation Time: Christ's ministry Characters: Shirlee Diane Nancy Carol Karen Patti SHIRLEE: Nonsense! DIANE: Quit acting as though you are the only intelligent person present (Pause) ... please. SHIRLEE: Oh, good grief, don't be so offended, but really, miracles? Every year there is some new magician, some new mystic, some awesome miracle worker. (Standing, assuming a mocking tone.) I will make the blind see. I will make the deaf hear. I will ...

2399. The Men

Drama

William Grimbol

SETTING: Four men gathered in a courtyard garden for conversation TIME: Christ's ministry ARNOLD: The man is a lunatic. JOHN: He is beyond that. Claiming to be God. How absurd. ARNOLD: The man is crazy to be preaching and teaching what he does. I mean, really, I am all for helping the poor, or assisting those who are widowed or alone. But ... the idea that the first shall be last? Did you hear that quote? The first will be last one? JOHN: Exactly. He is crazy. Completely. BILL: This helping the poor can be ...

2400. The Children

Drama

William Grimbol

SETTING: Seven children gathered in a courtyard garden for conversation TIME: Christ's ministry JOHN: Who is he? KEITH: Who is who? JOHN: Him ... the one you are talking about? PETER: Just be quiet. JULIE: As you know, my father is a Pharisee. JENA: As is my father. KEITH: How could we not know? CHRIS: You tell us every time. JOHN: What is a MESS-I-A? PETER: Quiet. Go play. We know they are Pharisees. JULIE: My father believes he is just nothing more than another crazy cause leader. JENA: Indeed. You know ...

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