Synonyms: renounce, relinquish, dispense with, forswear, disclaim, disown, disavow, discard, wash one's hands of, give up, stop, cease, drop, forgo, desist from, have done with, abjure, abstain from, discontinue, break off, refrain from, set/lay aside, desert, leave, leave high and dry, turn one's back on, cast aside, break (up) with, vacate, quit, evacuate, withdraw from, surrender, cede, yield, indulge in, give way to, give oneself up to, yield to, lose oneself to/in, uninhibitedness, recklessness, lack of restraint, lack of inhibition, unruliness, wildness, impulsiveness, impetuosity, immoderation, wantonness
Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on
Showing 251 to 275 of 609 results
251. No Freudian Slip!
Matthew 6:25-34
Sermon
Steven E. Albertin
It's late afternoon but it is still several hours before supper is served. You are hungry. You remember that cookie jar in the kitchen and decide to indulge yourself in a little afternoon snack. You open the jar already imagining the taste of those chocolate chip cookies. But the cookie jar is empty! No cookies! Who ate them? You turn around, and standing there behind you, looking up at you with a funny look on his face, is your six-year-old. "I didn't do it, Daddy. I didn't eat those last four chocolate ...
252. The Agenda Factor
2 Samuel 7:1-17
Sermon
William L. Self
Architecture and power are Siamese twins joined at the hip. Rulers have always wanted to translate their power into brick and mortar -- from the tower of Babel and Egypt's pharaohs to Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. I. M. Pei, in his contract given by FranÁois Mitterand to renovate the Louvre, was commissioned to re-establish the glory of France. Serious resources have been committed by rulers to display their strength and grandeur with architecture. David had finally consolidated his ...
Sermon
Paul W. Kummer
Can you see the young boys running through the city of Jerusalem yelling, "Blow the trumpets!" and the people of that city yelling back, "What?" "Blow the trumpets! Grab the shofar! We need to let everyone know!" And the people still scream back, "Why? What's going on?" The adults know that the blowing of the trumpets in Jewish tradition can only mean one of three things: 1) It's time to move camp (but wait, we haven't lived in tents for decades!); 2) We need to get ready for war (but I didn't know there ...
254. Seeds And The Kingdom
Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
At this writing the U.S. House of Representatives has just completed its 100 days of legislation on the so-called Contract with America. It was an effort to change quickly a process which was at work through several decades. Some analysts criticize the legislation for having been put together too hastily. It was driven by a desire to demonstrate instant results. The probability is that the legislation will move through the Senate with more "deliberate speed." The Senate will look more closely to discern ...
255. The Burdens Of The Past
Haggai 2:1-9, Haggai 1:1-15
Sermon
Robert P. Hines
Recently a young man who participates in Civil War reenactments was giving a talk about his hobby. He shared with the group how a soldier in that war carried his own food supply with him. A bag of food weighed about seven pounds. The rifle he carried weighed ten pounds. The blanket and backpack weighed another forty pounds. This means the typical soldier in the Civil War carried over fifty pounds of material and weaponry with him all the time. Carrying that much weight must have been a heavy burden that ...
Sermon
Gerald Whetstone
"What I have here is really going to turn things around in this country," he said. "Maybe even the world." Actually, he didn't have very much to say. He just kept eating, trying not to seem famished, and all the while never letting a bulging, tattered briefcase off his lap. It wasn't the Sunday noon dinner I had pleasantly anticipated. But there had been a knock on the front door just after noon. Though I'd long before taken down the brass plaque identifying my home as the Lutheran parsonage, I had a ...
Sermon
Sandra Hefter Herrma
How everyone loves a newborn baby! We cannot help but turn when we hear the distinctive cry of a very new person. And when we see new babies, we almost always go over for a look, even if we don't talk to the parents. It's instinctive, really -- an inborn guarantee that this tiny infant, dependent for its every need on the goodwill of those around it, will get what it needs. So when the baby cries, mothers who are nursing find that their bodies automatically "let down" the milk, and even if they wanted not ...
258. The Potter Almighty
Jeremiah 18:1--19:15
Sermon
Richard L. Sheffield
"I believe in God the potter almighty, maker of heaven and earth." That's the beginning of The Apostles' Creed, as Jeremiah might have written it: I believe in God who has created heaven and earth, and you, and me, like a potter at work at a potter's wheel. That's a biblical image that still makes sense for you and me. At craft shows, in art classes, in hobby shops, you can still find a potter's wheel. And you can take classes in making pottery. If you do, you'll find that these days the potter's wheel has ...
259. Confidence To Spare
Psalm 27:1-6, 13-14
Sermon
Robert G. McCreight
Introduction A year and a half ago as I was greeting people at the rear door of the sanctuary following worship one Sunday, I talked with a visitor to worship that day. Standing behind this visitor was Mabel Yark. Mabel is one of my favorite people; she's a favorite with many people. Now you need to know that I have the kind of relationship with Mabel that I could say this to the visitor that day. I introduced him to Mabel and I invited him to guess Mabel's age. I know Mabel would not be offended. He ...
Sermon
Robert R. Kopp
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.... -- Romans 8:28 I'm glad I'm a man. As my son was being born 22 years ago, two thoughts came to mind. First, "What a miracle!" Second, "Thank You, Jesus, for making me a man because I could never do that!" It's like Joan Rivers said, "If a man wants to know what it's like to give birth, all he has to do is take his upper lip and pull it over his head." I'm also aware of sexism in society and church. But as a beneficiary of sexism ...
Sermon
Timothy J. Smith
There is a movement under way today -- almost underground -- that is designed to help young people. It's a movement championed by mothers concerned about the challenges facing children and youth these days. Moms In Touch International began almost fifteen years ago when two Canadian mothers decided to get together with some friends to pray for their children entering junior high school. Today there are Moms in Touch groups in every state, and representatives in about 45 foreign countries. "It's a real ...
262. You Can Be Well Fed
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Sermon
Michael B. Brown
I used to serve as pastor to a delightful young woman who was a physiologist. A committed health nut, she probably weighed all of 90 pounds soaking wet. She ran about five miles per day and actually seemed to enjoy counting fat grams. Though a truly charming young lady, she was not much of a realist. I note that because one of her goals was to make me as skinny as she was. Following a trip to a church conference at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, I made the mistake of telling her that I had stopped at the ...
263. Proper 8
Luke 9:57-62, Galatians 5:16-26, 2 Kings 2:1-18, Luke 9:51-56
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 Elisha succeeds Elijah as prophet of Israel. Elisha was a faithful and devout disciple of Elijah. So loyal was he that he would not let Elijah out of his sight. Knowing that he was soon going to depart this world, Elijah asked Elisha what he could give him. Wisely Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. This was granted to Elisha, for when Elisha took Elijah's mantle, he used it to separate the waters of Jordan. The power and authority of Elijah's ...
264. A Birth Bringing a Blessing
Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7
Bulletin Aid
Dennis Koch
Gospel Note Luke's birth narrative, like Matthew's, is both profound and problematic, especially if treated as an historically factual account. Taken as a theological statement, however, the story is full of meaning. Especially clear is the testimony Luke attributes to the angels: first one announces the birth itself, then a multitude proclaims the blessing of peace on earth that it will bring. Liturgical Color White Suggested Hymns From Shepherding Of Stars The Hills Are Bare At Bethlehem Away In A Manger ...
265. Baptism of The Lord
Mt 3:13-17 ·Acts 10:34-48 · Is 42:1-9
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Is 42:1-9 · Acts 10:34-43 · Mt 3:13-17 Roman Catholic: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 · Acts 10:34-38 · Mt 3:13-17 Episcopal: Is 42:1-9 · Acts 10:34-38 · Mt 3:13-17 Lutheran: Is 42:1-7 · Acts 10:34-38 · Mt 3:13-17 Seasonal Theme: The Holy Spirit is prominently featured in the Epiphany Season pericopes. The Spirit does not act in isolation but works to create and sustain the spiritual community. Each week we will examine a different aspect of the Spirit's presence in Christian community. ...
266. The Sponge And Wine
Mark 14:1--15:47
Sermon
Harry N. Huxhold
Our age has been called a drug culture. Offhand, it would be impossible to estimate the amount of drug abuse in our society. At times we believe that our intense efforts and huge expenditures to curtail drug abuse are successful only to discover otherwise. However, today we are also engaged in a national debate about the medicinal use of drugs as an important part of the health care delivery system. The drug industry is under scrutiny, because of the high cost of the society's reliance upon their products ...
Sermon
Charles R. Leary
Thomas Wolfe penned the immortal words, “You can never go home again.” Our Gospel documents that truth in a unique way. Early in his ministry, Jesus and his disciples made a tour through his hometown. The people in Nazareth were unable to accept him as the inspired Teacher. Their judgment was limited to how they had always known him: a child, a young man, a carpenter, a local boy. They were unable to see him as Jesus the Rabbi and the Christ to be. And so they rejected him. It was on that occasion that ...
Sermon
Larry R. Kalajainen
On the old television show "All In The Family," there was an episode when Archie Bunker's son-in-law Mike, or "Meathead" as Archie always called him, asks Archie a riddle. "A young man is seriously injured in an accident and is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. When the surgeon is called, it turned out that the young man was the son of the surgeon, but the surgeon was not the boy's father." Archie suggests that the boy was adopted, or that the surgeon was his step-father. But with a triumphant ...
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
Most Americans eat well. Three square meals a day is not uncommon. Indeed, many eat five or six times a day if coffee breaks, evening snacks, and other times of eating are counted in addition to breakfast, lunch, and supper. Drive through a town of any consequence and count the number of fast food places and restaurants that are found. At some corners of major roads or along a block or two of a busy thoroughfare you may find five to ten feeding establishments. It is not uncommon to find in close proximity ...
Sermon
Larry R. Kalajainen
On a television movie about a family of Virginia plantation owners during the Civil War, one of the sons married a woman whom his family despised because she was not of their class. She was the daughter of a poor "dirt farmer," without the privileged education, carefully cultivated social graces, or the wealth of the family who lived in the big house on the plantation. She became pregnant with their first child shortly before her husband went off to war with Jeb Stuart's calvary, and reluctantly, the ...
Sermon
Michael Rogness
I would urge every preacher to attempt an experimental sermon occasionally, especially if he or she is normally a very routine, conventional person.51 -- John Killinger Change attracts attention. Every preacher knows this after watching people's attention shift to a child walking up the aisle and out the door to the bathroom. I was in a church once where a bird was flying around the sanctuary. The pastor could just as well have been reading out of the phone book for all the attention the sermon retained. A ...
Sermon
Clement E. Lewis
Words Of Preparation from 1 Peter 2:4-5: Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. Hymn: "Higher Ground" Scripture: Matthew 7:24-29 (NRSV) Jesus said, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been ...
Bulletin Aid
Dennis Koch
Gospel Note Mark often uses the disciples to represent the attitudes of his own contemporary church. Here we have them vying for positions of prestige in glory. Jesus' response hints that suffering takes precedence over glory, that positions in glory are granted by a higher authority, and that in any case such quibbles belong to the world. Christian greatness, it seems, is a matter of servanthood, not status. Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns God, Who Stretched The Spangled Heavens Out Of The Depths, ...
Sermon
W. Robert McClelland
In The Lady And The Tiger, Frank Stoc_esermonskton sets before the reader the dilemma of a gladiator who faces his fate in the arena standing before two doors. He must choose which of them to open. Behind one door waits a hungry tiger. Behind the other, a lovely maiden. Jesus presents us with a similar dilemma in this parable. Behind one door to the kingdom waits the tiger of divine wrath. Behind the other door stands the fair maiden of grace. The parable is offered in response to the worried question, ...
275. Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 30:1--31:40
Sermon
George Paul Mocko
That Reformation Theme of How You Can't Find God in Head, Heart, or Hands: Something Jeremiah, Paul and Luther Agree on; Our Arrogance; How God Has to Find Us and WhatFaith is All About. How do you find out what God is like? What he is supposed to be doing in this world? What he wants from it and us? How do you find out what God is like? Reason, said the ancient Greeks. Apply logic and the only possible logical conclusion is that God exists. So convinced were the ancient Greeks of the unassailable nature ...
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