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 2451 to 2475 of 5000 results

2451. The Journey Begins

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... t trust the Son of God, then your hearing won’t make a difference. Peter has taken the second step of what will be a life-long journey, but now he is about to experience the greatest thrill of all – the third step. When you hear the Word of God and you trust ... fishing boat] This is a picture of a type of boat they were in. A fishing boat was 7½ feet wide and over 27 feet long. They were filled so full that they both began to sink. We are talking about tons of fish – the greatest in the history of that ...

2452. An Invitation to a Wedding

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch.” Sounds like a good practice to me. Let’s face it, the times are a-changing, particularly when it comes to apparel. The whole world seems to be moving toward “casual Friday,” all week long. A certain woman is employed by the human‑development department of a corporation in the Midwest. Her job is to train employees in proper dress codes and etiquette. One day as she was stepping onto the elevator, a man casually dressed in jeans and a golf ...

2453. About that Salesman

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... church is the hypocrisy of many Christians. Oh, well, one excuse is as good as another. But we need to be mindful that people are watching, just as Roy was watching when he returned to church. The last thing these people want is to see a show. What they long to see is simply that we live out the Gospel that we love as Jesus loved, that we are people of authenticity and character. Halloween’s gone. It’s time to take off the mask and live the faith you subscribe to. In today’s world, nothing else will ...

2454. Winners and Losers

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... torn with all the stuffing coming out but it belonged to Archie. There was a junky little black and white TV, no rabbit ears‑-but a bent coat hanger, and there was even a recliner chair all Archie’s. It was evident that Archie had saved a long time to have anything “this nice.” Archie looked at Max and said, “I have all I need now.” Can you imagine that? Suddenly, however, Max noticed that there stretched out in the recliner was a big ol’ man-‑a friend of Archie’s. Max recognized him as ...

2455. An Announcement from the Wilderness

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... you I am well pleased.” Our introduction to the coming of Christ in Mark’s Gospel isn’t angels singing in the heavens or a bright star moving toward Bethlehem. Instead, it is John the Baptist out in the wilderness. John has an announcement to make. Pastor Dr. Tom Long tells about a church one Sunday morning in Charlotte, N. C. It came time for the sermon. The preacher was just about to open his mouth and begin when suddenly a man in the balcony a stranger, a man nobody knew stood up and said in a loud ...

2456. Humvee Holiness and Humble Holiness

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... each person the grace of acceptance that divine love demands. The church is not to be a “pretend” place, full of “pretend” people wearing their pretend clothes and pretend faces. No one in the sanctuary this morning has over-sized phylacteries and extra-long fringes. No one is better than anyone else. We are only gathered together here because of our faith in Christ, and because of the sacrifice of Christ which makes us all equal. Jesus was famous for not looking on the outward surfaces. In Mark ...

2457. Why Christmas Is So Dangerous

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... considerable shadow of possible shame upon both families. And then came Gabriel. Gabriel seems to be the angel charged with announcing big news at bad moments. Think of Gabriel as the one who knocks at your door just after you have finished the long-planned remodel. Finally everything is just as you envisioned it. Then “Gabriel” arrives and announces “good news.” The dream job you always hoped for is awaiting you. The chance of a lifetime has arrived where you can use all your energies and creative ...

2458. A Call for Repentance - Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... . His name was Robert Robinson. He notes that it was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London. However, Robert Robinson’s mood was anything but sunny. While others were hurrying off to church, the sound of church bells only reminded Robinson of a time long ago when his faith was vibrant. He had once loved God, but he had wandered far, far away. His heart, which had once burned with so much passion for God and the things of God, now contained only cold embers. Lost in his lonely thoughts, Robinson ...

2459. Get Out the Ticker Tape - Palm Sunday

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... teetotaler swearing off of alcohol, drugs and quitting his 60-a-day cigarette habit says that religion now plays an important role in his life. Starr, recently turned 70, said: “I feel the older I get, the more I’m learning to handle life. Being on this quest for a long time, it’s all about finding yourself. For me, God is in my life. I don’t hide from that. I think the search has been on since the 1960s. I stepped off the path there for many years and found my way back onto it, thank God.” Yes ...

2460. While It Was Still Dark

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... hand, with Easter, we see hope bursting forward with every blossom of springtime. I was amused to read about an elementary school class that was taking a test. One question was, “Upon what do hibernating animals subsist during the winter?” One child wrote, “All winter long hibernating animals subsist on the hope of the coming spring.” (7) That may not have been the answer the teacher was looking for, but that doesn’t keep it from having a ring of truth. We do subsist on hope. It is built into ...

2461. Jesus Heals Body and Soul

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... She began to wait on them.” No rest for the weary. She was well, so she was able to fill her expected role in the household. But, of course, the point of the story is that Jesus healed her, as he healed many others. It didn’t take long for word to get around about Jesus’ wondrous acts of casting out demons and healing the sick. “That evening,” says Mark, “after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had ...

2462. One-Way Street

John 14:5-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... I could say about religion is that it is a good thing for all of us to have. It doesn’t matter what you believe – as long as you believe in something.” [3] That statement is only true if this is true and that is that all religions are basically the same ... to God, first of all you are building a toll road. You have to pay your way as you go along. You will run out of road long before you get to God. Secondly, the road you are building is going the wrong way. If you try to be good enough for God you will ...

2463. What Do You See?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... was a dead Samaritan. No class or race of people was hated more by the Jewish people than Samaritans. Samaritans were publicly cursed in the synagogue. They were excluded from temple worship. Prayers would be offered every day begging God to keep them out of heaven. It is a long story as to why they were hated so much, but just suffice to say it was all pure racism. If you really wanted to insult a person or insult a Jew 2000 years ago, all you had to do was just call him a “Samaritan.” That is why some ...

2464. Just Grace

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... 9 o’clock in the morning and hires some more workers. He comes back at noon and does the same. He comes back at 3 and then comes back at 5pm and hires some more workers even though sundown is coming in an hour and they can’t work very long and they certainly can’t be very productive. In fact, anybody that knows anything about business knows that the later the day went the more reason there was not to hire anyone else, particularly if you had to hire them at the going rate, because you would be getting ...

2465. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... going to look at a fall that was even longer and greater and had far more consequences than this one. This fall was so long and so hard that it resulted not just in the death of the ones that fell, but the death of everyone who has lived ... lost. What I want to share with you today is exactly how paradise is lost, because what a couple named Adam and Eve did ever how long ago is the same things that we do today that cause us to lose our happiness and peace, joy, and fulfillment, and meaning. It is the second ...

2466. Planting Your Feet

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... he did, but that didn’t work out too well for him. “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away?through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” (Psalm 32: 3-4, ... off, you just normally put on a fresh set of clothes. You don’t put back on the clothes that you have been wearing all day long, because you have accepted what that shower has done for you. That is what David did and what we need to do. When you have sinned ...

2467. A Few Remaining Tremors

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... the check, but it bounced. When we called the bank, the bank said that account had been closed. We called Ray and got no response. Not long after that, we got a call from the lighting company telling us that their bill had not been paid, so we wound up not only ... As you can guess, we haven’t heard another word from Ray and don’t even know how to contact him. It didn’t take me long to realize I had two options. I could live the rest of my life holding that debt over Ray and every time I thought about ...

2468. You Are God's Child

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... and the chairman rose and asked for an extension so Carver could continue his presentation, which he did for an hour and three quarters. They voted him four more extensions so he spoke for several hours. At the end of his talk they all stood up and gave him a long round of applause. And all because he knew who he was and because he refused to be defined by the labels of his culture.” (1) George Washington Carver knew who he was. He was a child of God. It is a powerful thing when a person discovers that he ...

2469. Shall We Take the Escalator?

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... farm for the summer. He confided in the farmer that he wanted to develop some strong muscles while he was there. The farmer told him that that could be easily done by picking up a sack of potatoes in each hand and holding them at arm’s length for as long as he could. If he did this several times a day and increased the weight every week or so, he’d have strong muscles in no time. The young man thought this was a great idea and began immediately by picking up 5-pound potato sacks in each hand. He ...

2470. A Man with No Name

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... . And the amount he collected was barely enough to allow him to buy bread for the day. But Bartimaeus never gave up. Somewhere, somehow, he believed there was something better for him. And suddenly it was here--the opportunity for which he had prayed for so long. There was a tumult of excitement on the road. A local celebrity and his disciples were passing by. A large crowd of curious folk had gathered to see this man called Jesus pass through their town on his way to Jerusalem. The news of his compassion ...

2471. A Small Town Is Blessed

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

... Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened . . .” The world didn’t know it, but all the truly important people on earth were huddled in a stable that night long ago in the tiny town six miles outside of Jerusalem known as Bethlehem. In the world’s estimation the important people were in Rome--Augustus Caesar, his household and the Roman senate--but we know better. The truly important people that night consisted of some ...

2472. The Wrong Gift

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... is where we all truly want to go. Only in finding Jesus and the coming of God's kingdom will our desires find fulfillment and our longings be satisfied. Only then will our homesickness end. That is why this "wrong" gift of God keeps giving each year. Perhaps it is not the ... who knew him described him: He is quite short; he has such sensitive skin that he dares not be out in the sun too long — and never without his head covered; he walks with a limp; his right hand fails him from time to time, so he rarely ...

2473. What Are You Seeking?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... to maintain tradition? It is both the strength and the weakness of the church that we love for things to stay the same. A wonderful story is told about a new graduate from a seminary who went out to his first congregation, a country church which had a long history. As he was conducting his first worship service, he noticed right away that everyone sat on one side of the church. That seemed sort of strange. Then, when it came time to sing the hymn just before the sermon, the new pastor was amazed to see the ...

2474. An Extraordinary Wedding Gift

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... How is it,” he asked plaintively, “that you can have coffee in the morning, and I have to have tea?” I have no idea how many years this couple had gone assuming that they knew what the other wanted. You don’t have to be married for long, though, to have such misunderstandings. Somebody saw an ad in a newspaper. “Bike For Sale: Suzuki 1000. This bike is perfect! It has 1000 miles and has had its 500 mile dealer service. (Expensive.) It’s been adult ridden and all wheels have always been on the ...

2475. I Don't Get No Respect

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... be a better person may manifest itself in many ways. Let me give you a concrete example of the difference between self-esteem and self-respect. A pastor tells about two young couples who attended his church for a while. The two men in the foursome had been long-time best friends; the two women enjoyed being together as well. One of the men, Mark, was quite a dynamic person. He was physically handsome and took great care of himself. Bob, on the other hand, was quite an ordinary guy. He was a nice guy, but he ...

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