Dictionary: Face
Synonyms: countenance, physiognomy, profile, features, expression, facial expression, look, appearance, air, manner, bearing, guise, cast, aspect, impression, grimace, scowl, wry face, wince, frown, glower, smirk, pout, moue, side, flank, vertical, surface, plane, facet, wall, elevation, dial, display, (outward) appearance, nature, image, front, show, act, false front, facade, exterior, mask, masquerade, pretence, charade, pose, illusion, smokescreen, veneer, camouflage, respect, honour, esteem, regard, admiration, approbation, acclaim, approval, favour, appreciation, popularity, estimation, veneration, awe, reverence, deference, recognition, prestige, standing, status, dignity, glory, kudos, cachet, effrontery, audacity, nerve, gall, brazenness, brashness, shamelessness, look out on, front on to, look towards, be facing, have/afford/command a view of, look over/across, open out over, look on to, overlook, give on to, give over, be opposite (to), accept, come to accept, become reconciled to, reconcile oneself to, reach an acceptance (of), get used to, become accustomed to, adjust to, accommodate oneself to, acclimatize oneself to, be confronted by, be faced with, encounter, experience, come into contact with, run into, come across, meet, come up against, be forced to contend with, beset, worry, distress, cause trouble to, trouble, bother, confront, burden, brave, face up to, meet head-on, dare, defy, oppose, resist, withstand, cover, clad, skin, overlay, dress, pave, put a facing on, laminate, inlay, plate, coat, line
Antonyms: dodge, fear, back, give way, back down, dodge, avoid, throw in the towel, withdraw, cave in, retreat, succumb to, lay down one's arms, throw in the sponge, defer, submit, escape, bashfulness, shun, evade, elude
Showing 3376 to 3400 of 3569 results
3376. Generosity Is the Secret to Our Joy
Matthew 20:1-16
Illustration
John Claypool
There is an old rabbinic parable about a farmer that had two sons. As soon as they were old enough to walk, he took them to the fields and he taught them everything that he knew about growing crops and raising animals. When he got too old to work, the two boys took over the chores of the farm and when the father died, they had found their working together so meaningful that they decided to keep their partnership. So each brother contributed what he could and during every harvest season, they would divide ...
3377. The Only Bible
Matthew 22:1-14
Illustration
Rebecca Pippert
It is important to come to church with our hearts prepared. This young man named Bill had wild hair and wore a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. He was brilliant, a bit esoteric, and very smart. He became a Christian while in college. Across the street from the university campus was a very conservative church, with many well-dressed and beautifully attired members. They wanted to develop a ministry to students, but weren't sure how to go about it. One day Bill decided to go there. He walked in ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
If you do not live a gospel that calls you to a life of sacrifice and service, you are living a shallow, selfish, shoddy substitute that promises much and demands little. This week's texts give off both green lights and red lights: the hopeful green lights of salvation and redemption (in Hebrews) and the ominous red lights of sacrifice and service (in Mark and Isaiah). The ongoing challenge of discipleship is to acknowledge both these colors as we encounter them, not abandoning or avoiding atonement ...
3379. Settle for an F
Hebrews 13:1-8
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
If "A" is for adultery and "F" is for faithfulness, settle for an "F." Faithfulness is central to an "I Do" marriage. "I never knew what happiness was until I got married, but then it was too late." "Marriage is a great institution, but who wants to spend the rest of one's life in an institution." Without the lumps and bumps, woes and warts of marriages, stand-up comics would starve. In some ways our culture has much in common with the attitude that prevailed in the first century - remaining faithfully ...
3380. ...More...
Luke 16:19-31
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The world's philosophy is a four-letter word: More. The church's theology is also a four-letter word, but it often means more's opposite: Love. Will the church be a force and a forum for love? The problem with our world, our nation and our church can be summed up in one word: More. "More" has become, as Laurence Shames has put it, America's "unofficial national motto." We want more of everything: more fun, more money, more excitement, more love, more programs, more church members, more, more, more. "More ...
3381. Give Us a Break
2 Thessalonians 2:1-17
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
When was the last time you took a "breather" from all those distractions that claim to be the most important concerns in life? Take a break from the din and listen instead to the voices of biblical and church tradition - our true "sponsor" whose words we should heed, despite the cacophony of advertising that tries to dissuade us from the tradition. Remember when television shows were regularly interrupted by a velvet-voice announcing, "And now a word from our sponsors"? From there the programming moved ...
3382. Body Language
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Illustration
Donald B. Strobe
Presbyterian preacher Thomas Hilton tells of watching Billy Graham on television a few years back, when his small daughter Karin came into the living room and looked at the television set and exclaimed, "Dad, what is he so mad about?" To a small child the body language of a person is often more important than the verbal language. She saw the raised arm, heard the loud voice, saw the intense face, and assumed anger. I have an idea that was not the message that Billy was trying to get across, but children ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
How can we regroup, catch our breath, decompress, get some rest and regain our strength? There's an answer in Church tradition. Canadian postmodern theorist and culture critic Arthur Kroker, professor of Political Theory at Concordia University in Montreal, calls this time we live in "the recline of Western Civilization." Not "decline," but "recline." Some symptoms of "recline"? You're sitting in your family room, parked in a La-Z-Boy, a proverbial couch potato. The perpetual motion of your remote control ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
A child saved the day for Jesus. Could it be that our children save the day for us? Is it time for us to sit at the feet of our children? Meet a 5-year-old girl named Megan. Like many kids her age for generations before her, Megan was terrified of a monster that lived under her bed. What to do? But unlike any previous generation before her, Megan did something about the monster under her bed. She sat down at her computer and used a software package for children to tell her story about how scary the monster ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The ultimate resolution a Christian can make is to live in the light of divine intentions, not human inventions. Did anyone come down to breakfast this morning and announce "I'm so hungry, I feel as if I haven't eaten since last year!"? It's fun to play with all the brand-new possibilities open to you on January 1. Go jogging this morning, and you've exercised every day this year. Get through lunch without eating potato chips or a candy bar, and this year reflects a whole new healthy and perfectly-kept ...
3386. Stone Testaments
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Mark the milestones in your life journey. [Note: This is an interactive, experiential, participatory sermon. You will need to arrange ahead of time for a flower or stone for every person, which is given to them with their bulletins. And you will need a musician, preferably a cellist, who will be a secret partner with you for this experience. The fewer the people who know what you are going to do, the better. The element of surprise is key to the narrative.] Have you ever had this experience? You arrive ...
3387. Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)
Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Matthew's text moves from one phase of Jesus' ministry into the next. For the past two chapters, Matthew has been busy stockpiling healing and miracle stories one after another in order to build an indisputable case for Jesus' divinity. Matthew's focus on the miracles has been so intense that there has been little said up to this point about the disciples who follow him and are witnesses to all these wondrous works. Verses 35-38 serve, then, a transitional purpose. They offer a final summing up of Jesus' ...
3388. Luke 10:38-42
Luke 10:38-42
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
In this pericope, Jesus' emphasis on active love is brought into question. Both the early and medieval churches latched on to the apparent dichotomy between Martha and Mary as biblical justification for the primacy of the contemplative over the active life of faith. Martha the busy, bustling hostess is gently reprimanded by Jesus for her criticism of Mary's attentive position at Jesus' feet. Mary, Jesus explains to Martha, has chosen "the better part" by resting from the work of the world in order to focus ...
3389. Luke 16:19-31
Luke 16:19-31
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
There is considerable debate surrounding this week's gospel text - the rich man and Lazarus. Scholars point out this story's similarity to other Egyptian and Jewish stories. A well-known Egyptian "version" is that of Si-Osiris, the son of Setme Chamois. A young boy, who also happens to be a very wise, reincarnated soul, proves to his father that a shocking reversal of fortunes may await him in the afterlife. Having the distinct advantage of supernatural powers, Si-Osiris is able to take his father on a " ...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
We have inherited from a long tradition the images that flash across our minds during today's reading of Acts 2:1-21. The church claims Pentecost as its natal date. The birthday of the church is the day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus' frightened and furtive disciples, transforming them into power players and proclaimers of the gospel. Ecclesial tradition envisions Pentecost as a miracle of language. The miracle was not one of ecstatic utterances such as Paul speaks of in Corinthians, but one ...
3391. Mark 8:27-38
Mark 8:27-38
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
As Mark's familiar journeying motif continues in today's gospel lesson, the disciples are about to be taken by Jesus to a place they would never have imagined. The disciples have just witnessed some of the most impressive demonstrations of Jesus' powers. Jesus had fed a crowd of 5,000 on five barley loaves and two fish (Mark 6:30-44). He had walked across water to join his disciples aboard ship (Mark 6:45-52). Further along on their journey, Jesus had healed a Gentile girl who was demon possessed and a man ...
3392. The Personal Touch - Sermon Starter
Mark 1:14-20
Illustration
Brett Blair
One day Lamar Hunt, the man who started the American Football League and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, came across his daughter's Super Ball and was given the inspiration for the name of the championship game between his upstart AFL and the old guard National Football League. "Why not," he wondered, "call our championship game the Super Bowl?" The name caught on quickly and thus, an American tradition was born. Today's the big game! And there is an interesting story behind one of the players. If you ...
Sermon
King Duncan
One of the best known stories in all literature is the story of Noah and the Ark. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the more modern version of that story. Let me give you an abbreviated version as posted by somebody on the Internet: The Lord spoke to Noah and said, “Noah, in six months I’m going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water. But I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. So I am ordering you to build an Ark.” “OK,” Noah said, trembling ...
Sermon
King Duncan
A woman was getting swamped with calls from strangers. The reason? A medical billing service had launched an 800 number that was identical to hers. When she called to complain, she was told to get a new number. “I’ve had my number for twenty years,” she pleaded. “Couldn’t you change yours?” The company refused, so the woman said, “Fine. From now on, I’m going to tell everyone who calls that their bill is paid in full.” The company got a new number the next day. This is the day on the church calendar when ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Author Larry Davies, in his book Sowing Seeds of Faith in a World Gone Bonkers, tells a story with which many of us can identify. He says the check‑out line at his local grocery store was long and he was in a hurry. Seeing another line nearby nearly empty, he walked over and stood behind the only customer still to make a purchase. A young twenty‑something woman was holding a small basket with fifteen to twenty jars of baby food. There was nothing else in the basket: just baby food. “This is great,” he ...
3396. Finding God in Fellowship
John 2:13-22
Illustration
King Duncan
The late Billy Graham shared his son Franklin's experience in the Middle East. Franklin was visiting a camp which held nationals from Kuwait. These people had traveled for days across the hot burning desert in buses. He noticed a woman who looked very distressed. She had small children around her. As Franklin began talking with her he discovered that she had given birth to a baby just three days before she and her family were evacuated from Kuwait. The newborn baby was dirty and smelly. Franklin was able ...
3397. We Become His Son
John 3:14-21
Illustration
King Duncan
There is a story that comes out of the Bedouin culture. "Bedouin" is the Aramaic name for "desert dwellers." These people live much as the characters of the Old Testament did. During a heated argument, according to this story, a young Bedouin struck and killed a friend of his. Knowing the ancient, inflexible customs of his people, the young man fled, running across the desert under the cover of darkness, seeking safety. He went to the black tent of the tribal chief in order to seek his protection. The old ...
3398. Easter 5
Psalm 148:1-14, John 13:31-35, Acts 11:1-18, Revelation 21:1-6
Bulletin Aid
B. David Hostetter
READINGS Psalter—Psalm 148 First Lesson—A mysterious vision opens Peter’s heart to include Gentiles in the church. Acts 11:1-18 Second Lesson—John describes a vision of the new heaven and earth: the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:1-6 Gospel—Jesus says that the distinguishing feature of his disciples should be their love for one another. John 13:31-35 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Leader: Praise the name of the Eternal One, People: for ...
3399. One Life Will Do Fine
Illustration
Staff
In one of his books, noted Presbyterian author Frederick Buechner tells about a trip to the grocery store. He and his wife were in a hurry, so when they entered the small New England general store, they tore their shopping list in two. He took one half of the list and she took the other and they set off down separate aisles. The store was mostly empty so they talked with each other from one aisle to the next. Standing by the shelf of breakfast cereal and cake mix, Buechner called out, "Don't forget the ...
3400. Drawn Not by Wrath but by Love
John 6:35, 41-51 
Illustration
The author Ron Lee Dunn tells the story of two altar boys. One was born in 1892 in Eastern Europe. The other was born just three years later in a small town in Illinois. Though they lived very separate lives in very different parts of the world, these two altar boys had almost identical experiences. Each boy was given the opportunity to assist his parish priest in the service of communion. While handling the communion cup, they both accidentally spilled some of the wine on the carpet by the altar. There ...
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