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 2426 to 2450 of 4959 results

2426. Well, What Did You Expect?

Acts 12:1-19a

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... prayer wheel or mumble a routine prayer that we heard or learned as a child, the principle is always the same - WE HAVE NO EXPECTATION IN IT! But consider James Montgomery’s classic words that go to the very heart of it: "Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, Unuttered or expressed A motion of a hidden fire That trembles in the breast." That is praying! Certainly the direct opposite of the vain repetition about which our Lord warns us of often. It’s the kind of prayer that puts the breath of God into a ...

2427. Freedom Can Be Frightening

Leviticus 25:8-55

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... ’S." Our trouble is that we habitually try to tear that text in two. All things CANNOT belong to us - UNLESS WE BELONG! Here’s where we go astray. That which BELONGS to us, we struggle for. That to which we belong, we forget. Liberty? That’s very desirable. Loyalty? That’s too demanding. To have life say to us: "All things are yours," that’s joyous. To have life say to us: "And you are Christ’s," that’s too serious, much too serious. And yet, wherever we look in life, we can’t have the one ...

2428. Chapter III

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... and when it collapsed, injuring a score of children, they sent their lawyer running to court to have it declared an "act of God." Or, a young executive, who was a member of one of my congregations, drove himself incessantly to fulfill an insatiable desire to make it big in the business world. He sacrificed his family, his health, and everything else, to get a nameplate marked "Vice-President" screwed onto his office door. At age 43 he dropped dead of a heart attack, leaving a wife and four dependent ...

2429. Chapter VI

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... and soon set even brothers at each other’s throats. The drive to dominate, to become first, is an old one! It drove Cain to turn the earth red with the blood of Abel, his brother. That blow set a shock wave in motion that has never stopped! In the desire to have things our way, we have learned through a continuing stream of evidence, some men will go to any lengths. They will lie, cheat, steal, and finally kill to get what they want. Often we will try all of the more subtle ways we know to rise to a ...

2430. Chapter VIII

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... one who lives it understands just how valuable people are. That understanding of what life is all about turns a person around and away from the direction laid out by the "I’ll take it," or "I’ll keep it," crowd. It sends us out into the world with a desire to invest our lives in it and its people. It moves us to want to plow back into the world what we have gained from it, and hence, to provide the seed that can grow and somehow bring strength to others. That turn-around even makes us redefine "success ...

2431. Sharing with Others

John 6:5

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... pack it into a box to send to boys and girls who are hungry. Do you know what? I think that if everyone was as generous as you, we could feed thousands of hungry people every year. All we need is love - which God gives us plenty of - and a desire to share it with others. Now I'm going to ask you to bring up your food, and we'll put it in the box to send to the hungry children.

2432. CARVER

1 Kings 6:35

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... upon the carved work." Carving was one of the very earliest activities, of man. Before primitive man knew anything about agriculture or clothing he had found a way of chipping, rubbing, or scraping many different kinds of materials into the sculptural shapes he desired. Bone, ivory, and horn carvings have been found that were made 50,000 years ago. It is interesting to note that, apart from allusions, usually sarcastic, to the carvings of idols, all the Old Testament references to the carving of wood, stone ...

2433. FERRYMAN

2 Samuel 19:18

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... without them. Of course, this is a business, like any other, and the ferryman expects, and deserves, his wage. Today, this is in the form of pay just as any other service receives pay. In the time of which our reference speaks, there probably was a desire to ingratiate themselves with the reigning monarch! But the general idea was the same - the worker is worth his hire. However, the ferryman was probably given only a small fee for his service, and had to supplement his income by other means. Perhaps he was ...

2434. FULLER

Mark 9:3

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... had to scrape the material to remove any foreign materials, dirt, etc. The final state then was bleaching in the sun. After the material had gone through this treatment, the natural oils in it were cleaned away, and the material was ready to be used (if white was desired), or to be dyed. The fuller then became a dyer also. There is also the strong probability that he often traded in textiles as well. We find mention of the Fuller’s Field in 2 Kings 18:17, which was a field in which these various processes ...

2435. MAGICIAN, SORCERER

Micah 5:12; Acts 8:9

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... gods, river gods, and forest gods, and their priests often claimed that they could persuade these dieties to do their bidding. It was also commonly believed that hosts of spirits, both good and evil, inhabited the earth and that they could, if they desired, grant any human being the most miraculous powers. Magic, the performance of seemingly impossible acts, was orginally an important part of religion. Such works as Homer’s ODYSSEY and THE ARABIAN NIGHTS depict the ancient world as a place of mystery and ...

2436. POTTER

Jer. 18:4; Rom. 9:21

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... water. The clay was next tossed up into the air to drive out air bubbles. The potter would then knead the clay for many hours. Finally, the clay was "thrown" onto the potter’s wheel to be shaped. The potter shaped his clay into its desired form while the wheel revolved counter-clockwise. By jabbing his forearm into the wet clay, the potter could hollow out his object. Upon finishing, the article was then returned to the wheel for removal of excess clay, for smoothing, or for strengthening its bottom so ...

2437. WATER CARRIER

Joshua 9:27

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... water was carried from the well to the home at specified times. As I said, this was hard work, that involved pulling up the water, sometimes, when the level was low, from quite a distance, pouring it into goatskins, and then carrying it to the desired place. And there were many accidents that could befall the unwary and make the process a failure! And then the water carrier had to start all over again! Even today, water carriers are needed. In spite of increased technology and methodology, there are many ...

2438. Judgement Day Is Coming

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... God consign anyone to an eternal hell” Let's allow the scripture to respond to that question. Hell was not prepared for people. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. So, for a person to go to hell is to go against God's plan. God does not desire that a single person be loSt. Judgment and hell are the fate of persons who choose to live apart from God. Hell is the chosen place of the person who loves self more than God, who loves this world more than God's world. Final judgment is that moment at ...

2439. Broken and Beautiful

Luke 18:9-14, Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... ; broken people know their own spiritual needs. Proud people need to prove they are right; broken people are willing to yield the right to be right. Proud people claim their rights with a demanding spirit; broken people yield rights with a meek spirit. Proud people desire to be served; broken people are willing to serve others. Proud people have an attitude which says, "The church is lucky to have me in it." But broken people feel this way: "I don't deserve to have any part in this ministry. O how good ...

2440. Picking A Winner, Claiming A Treasure

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... that this eternal cure for his terminal illness is free and available; then that person will gladly give anything at this disposal in order to have this gift. Having this gift requires neither money nor work nor learning. You just have to crave it more than you desire anything or anyone on earth. The New Testament tells us of two young men who caught a glimpse of the Treasure. One was a rich young ruler who loved his affluence just a little bit more than he loved Jesus. "He went away sorrowful." But there ...

2441. When The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... verse 12: "But to all who received Jesus, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God." Years ago I visited an elderly couple one day who had recently moved into our community. The wife had visited our church and had expressed a desire to join. The husband was not able to attend because of poor health. So, I went to the home and discussed with them what it means to be Christians and church members. I asked them several questions, including this one: Have you made a personal commitment ...

2442. Even The Bosses Wash Feet!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Dream is to reach a point in your life where you don't have to do anything you don't want to do and can do everything you do want to do." That is the American Dream, isn't it? Even we Christians yearn for a situation in which our desires and preferences dominate our lifestyles. Maybe that's why we cringe when we read about the rich young ruler who encountered Jesus. He was told by Jesus, "Go sell what you have, give to the poor, and come and follow me." The young man could not bear to part with ...

2443. God Makes The First Move

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... ARE UTTERLY LOST IN OUR NATURAL STATE. Note the first part of that verse: "No one can come to me unless the Father...draws him." In other words, without the grace of God, we would feel absolutely no need for God, no perception of sin, no desire to live righteously. Consider certain big-name, sports heroes in professional football and basketball who in the last year have gotten into big trouble, primarily because of drugs. Most of us read about those tragedies in the newspaper and we wonder why the guy would ...

2444. The Witness of the Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... player. Whenever he gets a good hand, he wags his tail." Because of the grace of God, we are holding the best hand on earth. Our joy ought to show! Let's suppose that you were unable to have a child the natural way. But because of your great desire to love and rear a child, you decided to go through the complicated process of adoption. Let's suppose that after a year of much work, prayer, and considerable expense, a precious little six-day-old girl was placed in your arms. Even before you gazed upon her for ...

2445. Only One Superpower

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... budget within a year or so; that is, if the politicians can control their addiction to spending. Recent reports tell us that our children's math and science scores are high as compared to other industrialized nations. Though race relations leave much to be desired, the cities are relatively calm this summer. No O.J. Simpson case is dividing the races. America is on a roll! Even as I speak, that little microwave-oven-sized space rover called sojourner, sent by America, is beginning to move about on the ...

2446. Marriage: God's Idea

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... MARRIAGE: GOD SAW ADAM’S NEED BEFORE ADAM DID. Eve was in the mind of God long before she was in the arms of Adam. What was the most basic need that marriage met? It was not sex, though we may assume that Adam and Eve had normal sexual desires. Sex is a wonderful creation of God and vitally important in a marriage. The Bible tells us that Adam and Eve were "naked and unashamed." A healthy marriage is the only context in which one can truly celebrate sexuality without fear or shame. It is the best context ...

2447. Mary's Revolutionary Song

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... and white components. He is proud of each strand of his racial heritage. Jesus delights in flipping the social order on its head, elevating the humble and putting down the pompous. Today there are two contrary movements in Shelby County. One is a desire to isolate from all that is negative in Memphis. The negative is usually associated with the poor and the black. The isolationists want to keep their schools, neighborhoods, and government as undefiled by the poor and black as possible. The attitude is: Let ...

2448. Our Scheduled Appointments with God

Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... is and the Bible is God's inspired guidebook. Are you willing to embrace these two resolutions with me between now and Easter? It could be a momentous spiritual adventure! If you are willing to agree to resolution 2, just sign that insert in your bulletin. If you desire to become part of a Sunday School class or Bible study group, just write the word "group" and a phone number at the top of the card. We will help you located the right group. One of our members faxed me something he had discovered as he had ...

2449. The Forgiving Father (Father's Day)

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Brett Blair

... clear. A person cannot stay away so long that God’s love is no longer offered. In the same way God waits patiently when you leave for a season of sin. He does not sit and scheme about what he is going to do if you ever come back. His desire is not revenge but relationship and restoration. He wants you to return. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul gives us his renowned definition of love. What is the first quality that he lists? Love is patient. III Third, I think that the story implies that God’s love is eager ...

2450. Never Underestimate The Power of a Cup of Cold Water

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Jewish circles a commitment to him will bring division within the family. A son who follows Christ will be at odds with a father who rejects the resurrection. A mother who becomes a disciple will be at odds with a daughter who believes she can live as she desires. A son-in-law will be at odds with the in-laws because he has led their daughter away from traditional Judaism. No greater example can be found for the divisive nature of the Gospel than the life of Paul. Paul was an outstanding colleague among his ...

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