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 2401 to 2425 of 5000 results

2401. Rich Man, Poor Man

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... class warfare sermon. We are to treat ALL persons with love and respect, and to be servant to all. This is how we best show our love for Christ. Pastor Alex Steveson tells an intriguing story that brings this point home: Once upon a time there was a squire who longed to be a knight. He wanted to serve his king and be the most honorable and noble knight who ever lived. At his knighting he was so overcome by dedication that he made a special oath. He vowed to bow his knees and lift his arms in homage to his ...

2402. Ash Wednesday

Psalm 51:1-17, Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Matthew 6:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... he was. Make real for us his prayer; inspire us as we look at the cross and wear it as a sign of our loyalty and gratitude. Our Father who … Call To Confession (Leader) On this day/night, we make opportunity to focus on the decisions Jesus made long ago. It is opportunity, too, to consider the decisions we make day-by-day: Are they consistent with the gospel? What needs to change within our attitudes and priorities to feel God’s affirmation? You are my child; I am pleased with you. Let our prayers be ...

2403. Proper 5

1 Kings 17:8-24, Psalm 30:1-12; 146:1-10, Luke 7:11-17, Galatians 1:11-24

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... that we might know and feel your grace. Amen. Call To Confession Elijah moved among the Hebrews with words of judgment and words of healing. Like the widow in the 1 Kings story today, we have many concerns. Do we have enough food? Will our resources last as long as we live? Will our bodies and minds stay strong? At some point each of us will die but until that moment, let us live fully, doing what is pleasing to the Holy One and caring for one another. Pray the printed prayer with me. Community Confession ...

2404. Someone Bigger than Phil

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... asked a question. “What about Son of Sam’s idea of God? He said God told him to kill some people. Is his idea of God okay?” The group decided to modify their opinion just a bit. “People can have any idea they want of God as long as they don’t hurt other people,” they decided. “That really sounded like the most reasonable way to many of the students. Nobody gets hurt and everybody gets their own god . . . .” (2) These young people were genuinely searching for a way to understand God. Most of ...

2405. You Provoke Me...and That's Good

Hebrews 10:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... he and Coach Kafka . . . not only reached out to me at my biggest moment of need, they did it by zeroing right in on where my life‑gift sat waiting to be discovered. I’m convinced the gift would have sat that way, too at least for a very long time had either one turned away from the urge to help me.” (4) You never know where an act of kindness may lead. Jewish physician Boris Kornfeld was imprisoned in Siberia. There he worked in surgery, helping both the staff and prisoners. During this time he met a ...

2406. Not So With You

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Show me your Facebook friends. Are all your “friends” just like you? Or do you have friends that don’t look like you, don’t think like you, don’t worship like you, don’t sit where you sit at the table? Or is your Facebook page just one long look in the mirror? “Not So With You.” The words haunt and hound down through the centuries. We are to be “in” the world but not be “of” the world. We are to be discernible disciples of Jesus who live by the polities and protocols of another world ...

2407. Holy Trinity

Psalm 8:1-9, Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, John 16:12-15, Romans 5:1-5

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... dry and food crops are insufficient to feed the hungry, especially in Africa. We know that human behaviors cause detrimental changes to the earth’s ecosystems. Give us courage to do things differently so food and energy resources serve more people for a very long time. May peace between leaders trickle down to make peace between neighbors. Amen. Benediction Go from this place with ideas that will build bridges between peoples. Go with a song in your heart and a lilt in your step. Go, aware that Divinity ...

2408. Christmas 1

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26, Psalm 148:1-14, Luke 2:41-52, Colossians 3:12-17

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... humankind. Help us midwife your goodness in our neighborhoods. Thank you for our children. Keep them safe and hopeful. Dreamer of a New Reign — this is a season of peace, we like to think. When we are honest, we see that peace is a long way off, a long time coming. But like shepherds and young parents in every generation, we pray for peace throughout the global village, in our families, and in our minds. We wish the beauty of Eden and the tranquility of the stable would surround the whole cosmos. Overflow ...

2409. From Self-Help to God-Trust

Hebrews 7:11-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to be “messed with.” But as the author of Hebrews continually reminds his readers, the biggest “game changer” of all time occurred in the first century. The relationship between sinful humanity and God was re-negotiated by the arrival of the long-awaited “priest” “according to the order of Melchizekek” (Hebrews 7:17). Melchizedek was a priest of the “Most High God” who welcomed and blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20). This priest stood outside the traditional line of priests, and yet was ...

2410. The Lost Five Commandments

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the back wall. Piling in is always a great idea because “going along with the crowd” has such a great track record of good decisions throughout history. Right?!? When Pilate asked the crowd which prisoner he should release-a convicted thief and life-long scoundrel or a pious rabbi who legally had done no wrong -the crowd piled into the Sanhedrin’s wagon and shouted, “Give us Barabbas!” Jesus was crucified by a crowd piling in the bandwagon. Teaching the love of Christ by offering the unconverted ...

2411. Born at Bethlehem — Hope

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... tore at her clothes and the sun warmed her head and filled her with wild, joyful singing! “I felt as though I could fly, as though the Holy Spirit were in the strong gusts, ready to lift me off my feet into heaven.” Ellyn continues, “I stayed there as long as I dared. Knowing that my family would be waiting impatiently, I went down the spiral stairs at last. But inside my heart, I felt as though I carried a promise from God. At twelve, I didn’t know what to call the feeling inside of me. But ...

2412. Responsibility Comes with Privilege

Acts 8:4-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... gift, one single grain of rice. Then, after hugging and kissing his daughters, he set off on his journey. Each of the daughters used the gift in different ways. The eldest thought the gift was special and wanted to display it. She went to her room, tied a long, golden thread around the grain of rice and placed it in a beautiful crystal box on her bureau. She could see it each day and it reminded her of her father, the king. The second daughter also believed the gift to be important. She placed her grain of ...

2413. Passing the Test

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... that make us shudder, our hearts start to pound and the palms of our hands begin to sweat. From our earliest days in school, we all have had to learn to deal with tests. It may begin with a simple first grade spelling test. But it doesn't take too long before it morphs into ISTEP, the SAT, the Bar, the Boards, or a doctoral qualifying exam. Or it might be as ordinary as a driver's test or as basic as remembering the correct password on your email account. No wonder the Boy Scouts insist that their young men ...

2414. The iPod Vs. The Larynx

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... be able to mouth a few words. Have you ever tried to get several people to join in "singing" the latest rap or hip-hop song? It is virtually impossible. We live in a world dominated by "individualism." The days of the "Top 40" hits are long gone. The music market has been splintered into dozens of different styles and demographics. There are only a few piano manufacturers. Who buys sheet music besides choral directors? What do we sing together anymore? "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" or "The Star Spangled ...

2415. On Not Giving Up

Galatians 6: 7-16

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... , the caterpillar will turn into a butterfly. But God's new creation in Christ is radically different. It's more like planting a bulb and getting a mountain or the caterpillar turning into a star. It was so radically new that even circumcision with its long history and all its religious significance no longer applied. For Paul and for the Galatians, what counted was being this radically new creation! For us today, what counts is being a new creation! In my own strength, I can never do enough. In your own ...

2416. Saint and Sinner

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... nervous and contrite Luther, Luther suddenly realized something and said, "You forgot a few." With that he added more and more to the list provided by the devil and then wrote on the bottom, "Paid in full by Jesus Christ." Step Three is to come clean. Make a list. A long list. Add a couple of more things and then nail it to the cross and walk away. Your debt has been paid in full through the blood of Jesus. In my last church there was a very active member named Tom. Since he was a member of the council, I ...

2417. To God Be The Glory!

Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.[5] * Through an attitude of hope — the Christian's light brightly shows the attitude of hope to a world that is sickened with the disease of hopelessness. Armies line up on one another's borders and territories. Terrorists have ...

2418. Strengthening Your Grip On Prayer

1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... in all areas of life. This lifestyle should not be arduous or stagnant. In Jesus' day prayer had become liturgical, standardized, and routine. It was always formal. Swindoll in his book, Strengthening Your Grip, states that prayer had become ritualistic, long verbiage, repetitious words and phrases that caused a sense of pride. We can ask, "Is it any wonder that prayer had lost its value?" Bottom-line prayer is the type of prayer that Jesus modeled for us. The ingredients include honesty, spontaneity ...

2419. Mugwumpers

1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

... their bases by participating in rituals that responded to both the Canaanite gods and the God of Israel. Elijah challenged the people to choose who they truly worshiped. "How long will you go limping between two different opinions?" (v. 21) or as one translation has it, "How long will you continue to sit on the fence?" To use an 1884 political term: How long will you be mugwumpers — that is people who like to keep their mug on one side of the fence and their wump on the other side? Remember that to ...

2420. Live the Lullaby

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... first journey was taken while in the womb. This visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth is the bow with which Luke’s narrative ties together the two storylines he has been developing John and Jesus. Of course, Mary would not have made the long journey by herself. As a young unmarried woman she would have traveled with some older male relatives to assure safety and propriety. Luke’s timeline of Elizabeth’s pregnancy suggests that Mary’s visit may have been to give assistance to Elizabeth in her final ...

2421. When We Are Uncertain about The Future

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... to hack it? My family seems to be coming apart. What if I end up alone?” And then there are the trials of the aging. “How long will my health hold out? Can I make it without being a burden to my children?” I had better quit before all of us are ... was afraid. A mature faith understands that though life is difficult, we are never beyond God’s loving and gracious care. Dr. Thomas G. Long tells of talking to a minister of a church in a dangerous part of the city. This pastor said he was always amazed by ...

2422. When We Feel Lost

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son ... .’” (3) Rembrandt knew that a gracious God could be portrayed as a loving mom or dad. There has been a long-running controversy in Christian circles over inclusive language, especially for the person of God. Is God a male? Of course not ...

2423. So Send I You

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... To bear the burdens of a world a‑weary So send I you to suffer for My sake So send I you to loneliness and longing With heart a‑hungering for the loved and known Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear one So send I you to know My love alone So send I ... you to leave your life's ambition To die to dear desire, self‑will resign To labor long, and love where men revile you So send I you to lose your life in Mine So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred To ...

2424. Blessed Are Those Who Believe

John 20:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... you make the evidence of your existence so insufficient?’” There is a part of us that says with Thomas, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” We all long for certainty. But that is one gift that God has not granted us. Undoubtedly, God has His reasons. If His aim is to produce mature spirits fit to spend eternity in His presence, it makes sense that He would not reveal Himself in His fullness to us. Such ...

2425. The Healing Fountain of Tears

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... hundreds of thousands of Gulf coast residents. The well-housed went to homeless overnight, and people were left struggling just to find shelter, find food, and find clean water. The bare basics of life became the most all-important “finds.” But not long after — once two days became a week — another need became pungently apparent. People needed clean clothes. Babies continued to trash their onesies, socks stank, T-shirts were as hard as T-bones. It was in response to the Katrina catastrophe that Tide ...

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