Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: complain, moan, groan, whine, mutter, grouse, bleat, carp, cavil, protest, rumble, gurgle, murmur, growl, roar, complaint, muttering, grievance, objection, protestation, quibble, criticism, charge, accusation

Showing 1 to 25 of 193 results

1. Who Was That Masked Man?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... a prayer as he passed. Then he mumbled something about having to stay pure for worship. He moved on. "A little later, more footsteps. I moaned a little, thinking that it didn't matter whether it was help or the thieves. If it was the thieves, they could finish the job ... 't think I was dead. As the footsteps got closer, I could see it was a Levite. He was probably on his way to work. My moan startled him. He looked like a mouse of a man. He looked me over like someone looking over a pile of old rags on the side ...

2. No Need For Weeping Anymore

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Erskine White

... celebration of this day, on the bright flowers and festive music, that sometimes we forget; the first sound heard on that first Easter Sunday was the sound of weeping. It was Mary Magdalene's weeping. Tears of hopelessness poured out of her in loud wailing and moaning; her body convulsed in grief and her sobbing pierced the quiet of the early morning stillness. We often overlook the fact that this was the sound which greeted the first Easter's dawn in Jerusalem. She had gone to the garden tomb early in the ...

3. Overcoming Self

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... and whispered to him, "Choose Cory next - he’s so great at dying!" So Cory was chosen. As the game progressed you could see what the boy meant, for when the cowboys threw a bead on Cory and shot him, he let out a moan - no blood-curdling scream, no over-acting - just a moan. He staggered forward and pitched over on his face, twitching once or twice before he went limp to fall over the pretended cliff. For a moment the game came to a standstill as the cowboys and Indians gathered around to admire Cory’s ...

4. Journey to the Cross I: Jesus And The Demon-Possessed Man

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... business, his investments, his decisions, his family, his health, even, his dogs. Then, on this day in this Canadian hotel, he craters… he hits bottom. Filled with anxiety, completely immobilized, paralyzed by his emotional despair, unable to leave his room, lying on his bed, he moans out loud: “Life isn’t worth living this way, I wish I were dead!” And then, he wonders, what God would think if he heard him talking this way. Speaking aloud again he says, “God, it’s a joke, isn’t it? Life is ...

5. Reproached Rolled Away

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... and rowdy unruliness. They once wandered waywardly and aimlessly in the wilderness. Now they would become serious sojourners with a purpose and a mission. And now the Hebrews were poised to go into the Promised Land. After many years of suffering and wandering, moaning and groaning, they were now ready to receive all that God had promised them. It was the obedience, faith, and experience of the younger generation in the wilderness in watching their fathers and mothers die, and the mercy and love of God that ...

6. It Doesn't Have To Be This Way

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

James W. Moore

... his business, his investments, his decisions, his family, his health, even, his dogs. Then, on this day in this Canadian hotel, he craters. He hits bottom. Filled with anxiety, completely immobilized, paralyzed by his emotional despair, unable to leave his room, lying on his bed, he moans out loud: “Life isn’t worth living this way, I wish I were dead!” And then, he wonders, what God would think if he heard him talking this way. Speaking aloud again he says, “God, it’s a joke, isn’t it? Life is ...

7. A Healthy Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... our burdens alone. The body of Christ was meant to suffer with those who suffer and rejoice with those who rejoice. Pastor Alan Wright tells of visiting Lester, an elderly man suffering from cancer. Often, Lester was in such pain that he would just lie on the bed and moan softly, “O-o-h me. Oh me." One day, Pastor Wright happened by when Lester's son was visiting. He was appalled to see the son lean down close to his father and repeat “Oh me. Oh me," as if he were mocking the older gentleman. The son ...

8. Ten Days of Prayer

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... her a sign. At first, there was nothing but silence. This made her angry. What good was God if he would not even answer a simple prayer? But she kept praying. She prayed until her words ran out, and she was reduced to wordless moans. It was not until she came to the end of those moans that she had her answer. It was nothing specific, but the answer she got was the deep conviction that she was loved, and what she was called to do was to love back in whatever way she could. (2) God spelled out no specific ...

9. God's Prescription for a Healthy Christian

Jude 1:17-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... and handed it through the door. The doctor shut the door, they stood out in the hall wringing their hands; they could hear moans and groans. In a minute the doctor was back at the door. He said, "Quick, get me a pair of pliers." The farmer ... downstairs, got a pair of pliers, came back and stuck them through the door. The doctor shut the door and they began to hear more moans and groans. In just a minute the doctor came back and said, "Quick, get me a hammer and chisel." Well, by that time the farmer ...

10. Valley of Suffering (Series: Peace in the Valley)

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... , at least I’ve found Him present in the hell of my life. His promise continues, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” George Buttrick tells about sitting by a hospital bed as a man was moaning in his misery. Finally, the man stopped moaning and asked, “Did Jesus hurt?” “Yes,” replied Buttrick, “Jesus not only hurt in and for our hurt. God raised him from the dead.” Slowly a sense of quietness and peace filled the room. III. Resurrection Wins “Jesus said, ‘I am the ...

11. God's Chosen People: Partners

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... in heart,” of being “afflicted and in pain,” of being “cast-down, O my soul…” They talked about being “like an owl in the waste places,” or “shut-in so they cannot escape, eyes dimmed through sorrow.” In the midst of cries of desolation and moans of despair they emerge in joyous exaltation. The transition from sadness to song is memory, captured in a word like, “I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord.” It has been true for me. I can recall occasions when there was no doubt about ...

12. A Honeymoon at Church Camp: A Real Homecoming

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sermon

Tony Everett

... sleep." Rachael did fall asleep, but was startled by Wally's loud cries for help. Fearing that Wally had been injured, Rachael grabbed a flashlight and rushed out of the cabin in search of her husband. When she finally found Wally, Rachael saw that he was moaning, but uninjured, and gazing into the darkness of the old farm well that was abandoned when the camp was constructed. "What's the matter with you, Wally?" Rachael asked, with just a tiny bit of aggravation in her voice. "You're going to wake up the ...

13. Is the Lord Among Us or Not?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Tony Everett

... us of God’s own life-giving, life-changing love that leads us through any wilderness with a love that never lets us go thirsty. Here in your congregation and in your own lives there will be wilderness times of doubting and despairing, complaining and blaming, moaning and murmuring, grumbling and groaning. That’s normal. That’s even biblical. As the Hebrews did, you will often lose sight of God’s presence with you and God’s promise to you and for you. You will search desperately for a quick fix for ...

14. The Divine Mission

John 17:20-26

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... unhuman shades of gray. Several times the family members, scattered at some distance, were called together for what appeared to be “the end.” On one of these occasions, I stood with them in a circle around Fred’s bed. Fred was greatly agitated and moaned incomprehensibly. I read a Psalm and a promise from Paul, and then we prayed together, holding hands, asking God to take Fred home soon. It only seemed, however, that Fred’s inner restlessness got worse. I stepped closer to the bed and placed my ...

15. Extreme Measures

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... do anything to satiate their lust for greed. The land was invaluable to Naboth because it was a gift from God and a family inheritance he did not want to surrender. But Ahab, annoyed with Naboth's decision, and after returning home from rebuke, moaned and complained to his wife Jezebel of the matter. She, with her devious heart, created a plot to have Naboth destroyed so his land might be confiscated. This story is a tragedy of great proportions because the theft and murder were entirely senseless, and ...

16. When It Is Dark Enough

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... religious notions this text is not about. It is not a call to self-reliance. Now I do not put down self-reliance. I am not impressed by whiners, who would do better if they only took charge of their situations and acted instead of moaning and groaning. But this text is not about self-reliance. Nor is it about seeing your problems as opportunities."When you are given lemons, make lemonade," the church signboard says. "Turn your scars into stars," says another. That is often wise counsel. But this text ...

17. How to Affair-Proof Your Marriage!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... His next-in-line-for-the-crown, Adonijah, was killed. And Solomon wed over a thousand wives and they turned his heart away from the Lord. My, my! But what an awful legacy of immorality David thrust upon his children. A man, utterly broken from the effects of adultery, once moaned to me, "If I had known how far down it would take me, how long it would hold me, how deeply it would hurt me, I would never have done it." Adultery is like a rat nibbling the cheese in a trap. The food is great. But the service is ...

18. Held In His Arms

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... reporter would want the exclusive story on the pit. An IRS agent would ask you if you were paying taxes on your pit. Confucius would look at you and say, "A wise person would not walk so near the pit to fall in." A self-pitying person would moan, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit!" A fire-and-brimstone preacher would bellow, "You deserve your pit!" Buddha would come by and say, "Your desires make you want out. Change your desires." A Hindu would tell you, "You just think you are miserable ...

19. Coping With Heartache

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... present and available to you in Babylon. Make the most of your life where you are." Jeremiah's words are good advice to anyone who suffers heartache. So often, people spend a lot of time and energy wishing that unpleasant things had not occurred in their lives. We moan and groan about our problems and burdens, as if life should be easy. We long for the good old days, when we didn't have the problems that currently afflict us. We join in the universal litany of life: "If only...." It doesn't matter how hard ...

20. The Pastor Who Created A Monster

Haggai 1:1-15, Haggai 2:1-9

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

... had ever received from a sermon. Nevertheless, the members of his church would have probably been surprised if they could have seen his reaction to all the responses. He closed the door to his office. He sat down at his desk, put his head in his hands and moaned to himself, "What have I done? What have I done? I think I've created a monster!" The next Sunday the sign in front of the church that announced the coming sermon read: "A Better Sermon Than Last Week's Sermon." The sermon text from the previous ...

21. Second Thoughts

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... "second thoughts." In those days Levites were assistants to the priests. They were not clergy, but they helped with the Temple sacrifices, and perhaps even sang in the choir. I see this Levite in my mind, journeying along the road. Suddenly, he is startled by a moan from the lips of the man who had been mugged. Instinctively, he stops! He starts across the road to help! And then, I see him pause, and in that introspective interval, an army of "second thoughts" pounces on him! When he heard the cry of pain ...

22. Details

Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

... of the people and sees it as an opportunity: "The harvest is plentiful" (9:37). He likens the great need to a great crop that needs to be harvested. Exactly this same sort of thing goes on today in our conversations about mission. Some moan about our society's increasing secularism. Others get very worried about cities and states with very low percentages of Christians. But for some Christians this means an opportunity. There are people who need to hear the gospel! The harvest is plentiful. What's needed ...

23. Let It Go!

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... actions that cause them. But these are abstract words. Hear then this story: A woman once wore a sword in her breast, but because she did not want to burden others with her wound and suffering, she covered it with her cloak. One day she met a woman, groaning and moaning and groping in the dark. "What is the matter?" she asked. The other told her that she was blind and in need of a staff, and the woman who could see looked around but could find no staff. At last she took the only thing she had, the sword in ...

24. "Unless A Grain Of Wheat ..."

John 12:20-33

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... the reality of his life, which is a broken one, and cries out in deep pain, my heart breaks anew. The cross of Christ invites us to participate in our own pain, to enter our emptiness, to discern our darkness. "He was the sunshine of my day," moaned Kisa Gotami, as she rocked back and forth with her sorrow. Barely aware of her words, she changed them without thinking. "He is the sunshine of my day!" Kisa Gotami, called the Frail One, had nursed her son, the sunshine of her life, and as he grew, watched ...

25. The Savior Life Diet

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... what it is. What they are missing really is a living relationship with God. (Life in the Spirit, Harper and Row Publishers, pp. 13-14) Another writer, Gary Wallis, puts it like this: [There is] something we cannot quite put into words ... some inarticulate moan that issues from deep within us ... some sense that our hearts will never be at rest until they rest in God. (Biblical Preaching Journal, Summer, 1994, pp. 20-21, quoted in Lectionary Homiletics, August, 1997, p. 20) We may pursue the material when ...

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