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 2751 to 2775 of 4934 results
Sermon
James Merritt
I don't watch a whole lot of television, but one of my favorite shows is CSI. CSI is one murder mystery after another that uses state-of-the-art technology and forensical analysis to find out "Who Done It?" I have yet to see a show that does not absolutely fascinate me with what science and technology can do. That is why I can understand why The Da Vinci Code would appeal to so many people regardless of its religious content, because it is a murder mystery. The victim is the curator of The Louvre Museum in ...
2752. Why Me?
Proverbs 16:4, Colossians 1:16
Sermon
James Merritt
A survey that was recently taken in USA Today asks the question, "If you had the opportunity to get a direct and clear response from God, what one question would you ask Him?" By an almost 2 to 1 margin, over the number two answer, the number one question people would ask God was this, "Why am I here on earth?" Let's face it more than ever before, life, the meaning of it, the purpose of it, the reason for it, gets more and more complicated. I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of people on this ...
2753. A New Hope
Jeremiah 18:1-10
Sermon
James Merritt
Amazingly, George Lucas, who created one of the most famous villains of all time in Darth Vader, could not resist the storyline that even with the Darth Vader there is always "A New Hope." There is always the hope that anyone who has gone over to the dark side, no matter how far or how deep, can once again reemerge to the light side and the right side. Thousands of years ago God told the Prophet Jeremiah of a land that we could call "The Land of New Hope". To illustrate that land, He told Jeremiah to go ...
Sermon
James Merritt
Jessica was four years old and she had had a perfect Christmas. She got all the presents she wanted. Her cousins were with her to share the holidays. She had eaten her favorite food all day long and as her mother tucked her in for bed she looked up at her at smiled and said, "Mom, I sure hope Mary and Joseph have another baby next year." After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph did go on to have several other babies. However, the first baby born to Mary was not one that they had. It was one that Mary had by ...
Sermon
James Merritt
Today, I am going to deal with a problem that I freely admit that I have and I am absolutely convinced everyone has this problem to one degree or another. I am going to be honest with you. Sometimes, I have a problem with procrastination and starting tomorrow I am going to do something about it! The truth of the matter is everybody in this room has at least one thing that you haven't yet done in your life and the only reason you haven't done it is simply because you've procrastinated. I heard about two ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Sometimes in human relationships, the more we know a person, the more we love them. Now that’s true, not because the more we know people, the greater they become in our eyes, because oftentimes as we know people, we begin to discover their weaknesses, their failures and faults, their shams and their shames. Now unlike our knowing other people, the more we know Jesus, the greater he becomes, and the more we love him. Napoleon was once visiting with a group of cynics and these skeptics concluded that Jesus ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
When anxious teenagers finally go to get that sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the “driver’s license,” they have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test. It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last — suggesting that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being sure you can see where you are going! For most drivers, ...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
An elderly man was critically ill when he asked to see his doctor, his minister, and his closest business associate. As the three of them gathered around the man's bed, he said to them, "I know they say you can't take it with you, but who knows for sure? So, I'm giving each of you an envelope with a $100,000 in cash, in case I need a little spending money on the other side." A few days later the old man died. On the day of the funeral, the doctor, the minister and the business man all slipped an envelope ...
Sermon
Lee Griess
When the famous agnostic, Robert Ingersoll, died, the printed funeral program left this solemn instruction. It read: "There will be no singing." For without faith, few feel like singing in the face of death. Running, perhaps. Crying, certainly. But not singing. Not in the face of death. For without faith, death steals our reason to sing. Death takes the song off our lips and leaves in its place stilled tongues and tear-stained cheeks. We know that is true, not only because we have experienced it, but also ...
2760. Testing, Testing
Matthew 22:34-46
Sermon
Chris Ewing
Sometimes things happen that push us back to our deepest questions and force us to answer. A marriage breakdown, loss of a job, kids leaving home, or simply the midlife re-evaluation that all of us go through — any of these can push us back to asking what it's all about, what we really want in our lives, what matters and what doesn't ... what we want our life to count for. Sometimes the question gets asked more directly. An Islamic family moves in down the street, and their children ask your children what ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Some of you may be familiar with the Darwin Awards. People are nominated for the Darwin Awards when they do something really stupid that costs them their lives. The reason that they are called the Darwin Awards is that by offing themselves in such an absurd way, it is suggested that these misguided folks have inadvertently improved the gene pool for rest of humanity. It’s a cynical view of life, but it has led to a collection of stories that are both true and bizarre. For example, there is the story of a ...
2762. Surprise!
Luke 1:26-38
Sermon
David E. Leininger
Do you like surprises? Some folks do. Not me, I do not like bad surprises at all and only tolerate good surprises. In general, I prefer no surprises. I realize that life is full of surprises though, so they will come whether I want them or not. Some surprises will be bigger than others, of course. Ask Mary. She surely got a major surprise. There she was, doing the dishes or sweeping the floor or sitting engrossed in the latest Harlequin Romance, or whatever young Israelite girls did in those days, when the ...
Sermon
John Smylie
Today's reading is the longest assigned reading that we have the entire year. Many churches break the reading up into several parts, assigning individuals and groups to particular lines and sections. Perhaps we do this so we can keep the interest of the listener. Perhaps we do this so we can engage the drama of the reading. It seems to me the reason we have such a long reading today is because we have come to the heart and center of our faith. We need to hear the whole story. We need to be reminded not in ...
Sermon
John Smylie
I think some people are natural-born gardeners. Our Lord grew up in a society that was familiar with agriculture. The images that he used to explain the ways of his Father in heaven are familiar to his audience. Growing up, my closest experience to agriculture was living in, "the Garden State." Most people, when they pass through New Jersey, are surprised to see that expression on the license plates of vehicles registered in New Jersey. Most folks traveling through New Jersey experience the megalopolis, ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
In mid-August the basketball team of Georgetown University, the “Hoyas,” set out on a ten day “good will tour” of China. They played various Chinese teams in an effort to foster good feelings between the USA and China. The basketball games were a kind of “visual aid” to accompany vice-president Joe Biden’s concurrent visit with Chinese political leaders. On August 18 the “Hoyas” played against the “Bayi Rockets” of Shanghai at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena. Unfortunately all the “good will” went “ ...
2766. The Place beyond Revenge
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22
Sermon
Donna Schaper
A custom is begun! Because of the vengeance that the king took against Haman for Esther, the Jews are to remember their salvation. On the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the month they are to send gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. Oh, God, help me to understand violence! Help me to understand vengeance. I am pretty good at the other sins, like lust and greed, pride and gossip, but violence I just don't understand. I also don't really understand the tribalism that is beyond it. Is that ...
2767. The News From Nazareth
Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)
Sermon
David E. Leininger
"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer...." We hear a lot about old Rudy these days. Are you aware that, while male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December? Female reindeer, however, retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring. This is according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, every single ...
2768. Lent 5
Psalm 126:1-6, Isaiah 43:16-21, John 12:1-11, Philippians 3:4b-14
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship Leader: You’re here! Winter seems displaced by the new growth of spring. This is the fifth Sunday in Lent — with one more to come: Palm Sunday. (Candles counting the Sundays in Lent can be lighted.) People: We are glad for the longer days and enjoy later sunsets and the brightness of the rising moon. Leader: This very moment is ours to appreciate. Scriptures tell us not to dwell on the past but to watch for the new things that God is doing. People: In the spring light, we let go of old ...
2769. Proper 13
Psalm 107:1-9, 43, Hosea 11:1-11, Luke 12:13-21, Colossians 3:1-11
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
Call To Worship Leader: This is a good place to be this morning. The world goes on around us while we are in sanctuary. Here, together, we know that evil and good exist in our global village yet we choose to rest a while, giving our psyches and bodies a chance to be tranquil. People: Sometimes we feel like the philosopher in the biblical essay, “Ecclesiastes,” thinking that “everything is useless.” We work hard and have little to show for it. The sun rises and sets; the wind blows round and round; rivers ...
2770. A New Point of View
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Sermon
Steven E. Albertin
In 2000, Mel Gibson appeared in the comedy, What Women Want. The film was fairly successful at the box office because it built on a fantasy that I think all of us have indulged in at one time or another. He plays an executive who works at an advertising agency in Chicago. His life dramatically changes when he is jolted by electricity and develops the ability to read women's minds. It leads to some absolutely hilarious and humorous situations. Sure enough, it transforms him into a great lover who knows ...
2771. Running with Perseverance
Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2
Sermon
Charles L. Aaron
United Methodist Bishop, Robert Schnase, tells of his hobby as a "serious runner." He reports that people often ask him how to get started on a running program. He recounts the usual practice of people trying to become serious about running. The typical start date is January 1, as part of a New Year's resolution. The resolution holds fast for the first week, with an early rise and an eager first few jogs. The problems pop up "during the second week when the alarm screams them awake at six, they tell ...
2772. Sarah
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Sermon
Scott Suskovic
Max Lucado, in his book, In the Eye of the Storm, writes about a woman named Sarah who was rich.1 Really rich! She inherited twenty million dollars plus had an additional income of $1,000 a day. That's a lot of money today. But in the late 1800s when Sarah lived, it was downright staggering. You can imagine that she was well-known, having come from the elite, upper crust of the New England coast. Well-known and powerful. Her name and money opened doors closed to most of us. Colleges wanted her scholarships ...
Sermon
James Merritt
Envision: such a powerful word. In 1969 America did something that had only been dreamed of and fantasized about in books and novels—she put a man on the moon. How did this happen? Because John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 envisioned putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Nearly a half-century ago, 22,000 acres just south of Orlando, Florida was a swamp where alligators outnumbered people. Porous limestone underlay the vegetal muck. It was land no one wanted until November 22, 1963 when a ...
Understanding Series
David J. Williams
Paul’s removal to Caesarea began a two-year imprisonment in that city. During these years he stated his case (and therefore the case for the gospel) before two governors and a king, thus further fulfilling the ministry to which he had been called (9:15). These were days of high drama as well as of tedious confinement, but through it all Paul maintained his unswerving purpose to serve Christ and the gospel. 24:1 The first of the two governors to hear Paul’s case was Antonius Felix, the brother of Pallas, ...
Understanding Series
L. Ann Jervis
1:11–12 Paul continues his self-defense by focusing on the gospel itself. This is Paul’s usual way of underscoring his authority and credibility. For instance, at the beginning of Romans—a letter in which Paul wishes, among other things, to encourage the Roman believers to accept his apostolic authority—Paul highlights his understanding of and commitment to the gospel (Rom. 1:1–6). At the start of Galatians Paul also turns his hearers’ attention to the gospel. Paul was so thoroughly identified with the ...
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