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 326 to 350 of 2331 results
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
... on the cross as our guarantee that God so loved us that He gave His Son, His only Son, that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. 1. “Helen and Bill Thayer begin a 1,600-mile walk across the Gobi Desert on May 1, 2001.” by Kate Kershner, Posted 7/01/2011, HistoryLink.org Essay 9851. Sources: Helen Thayer, Walking the Gobi (Seattle: The Mountaineers Books, 2007); Kate Kershner, interview with Helen Thayer, May 29, 2011, Seattle, audio file in possession of Kate Kershner ...
327. The Reckoning
Matthew 14:13-21, Genesis 32:22-32
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... of decision when you need to trust Jesus, who he is, and what he’s capable of in your life, is your true time of reckoning. God often comes into our lives in our greatest times of desperation and dilemma, most often when we find ourselves in our most deserted places. And those are the times in which we struggle the most. Those struggles are important. They are a vital part of the process of coming into a place of deep faith. The question is, will you allow God to prevail? All of us need a little limp in ...
328. A Tree Well Watered
Jeremiah 16:1--17:18
Sermon
Robert A. Hausman
... the rich away empty. God has a preferential option for the poor, because if God does not side with them, who will? They have no one to depend on except God. But for those of us who trust in mere mortals, though we may appear to be thriving in the desert, we "shall not see when relief comes" (v. 6), and we shall perish in the parched salt land of our self-sufficiency. Those who trust in the Lord stand in stark contrast to this picture. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the ...
329. Roots Near The River
Jeremiah 16:1--17:18
Sermon
Tony Everett
... of those who rely on the latest self-help fad to help them cope with the problems of the day. Their hearts turn away from the Lord, the true source of strength. When challenges occur in their lives, they will be like thirsty shrubs in a waterless desert of salt. They will be unable to see when any relief does come (v. 6). When we allow ourselves to seek meaning and guidance only on our own efforts, our eyes become clouded. Our perceptions become unclear and untrustworthy. Life looks just as hopeless as it ...
Sermon
Carlyle Fielding Stewart
... paths; a God with whom they have forged a personal relationship; a God of the Exodus and the Jordan; a God who brought them into a new deal in a new land; a God who brought them through the desert, quarried waters from a rock, and set rainbows and clouds in arid desert oases. The people have forgotten about that God who brought them through, who kept them from annihilation by their enemies and vouched their safe passage through many dangers, toils, and snares. How quickly the people forget! But is this ...
Sermon
James McLemore
... . African-Americans, you used to hold a standard for strong families and strict morals. You had strong family ties and extended family principles that caused you to treat each other like brothers. You seem to have forgotten your morals and deserted your religion. You have abandoned your children and deserted your families. And now when God looks at Black America, you look like Sodom and you act like Gomorrah. God has an image that God expects us to reflect. God has a standard that God expects us to uphold ...
Sermon
James McLemore
... people are not listening to his words. There is a well, but there is no water in the well. The well has run dry. In this text, Jeremiah addresses the mistakes of a religious people, living in a religious society. He tells them they have deserted the God that they were devoted to, they have turned away the firstfruits of their offerings, and their well has run dry. "Two sins my people have committed," says Jeremiah. "They have forsaken the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns (they have ...
Sermon
James McLemore
... 4:22. When Jeremiah looked at the results of this wind, he said, "I looked at the earth and it was formless and empty. I looked at the mountains and they were quaking. I looked and there were no people. I looked and the fruitful land was a desert." Judah and Jerusalem that Jeremiah loved would never be the same again, after the coming of the Lord's Wind. But God has a reason for sending the Wind. Even when the Wind seems to bring destruction, if the Lord sends the Wind, it's the preparation for another ...
334. Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:16-26
Illustration
John R. Steward
In the introduction to his book Fruits of the Spirit, Charles Hembree remembers an ancient fable. The fable tells of three merchants who were crossing the Arabian Desert. Because of the heat of the desert they were traveling at night. On that starless night they were crossing over a dry creek bed. As they were crossing a voice in the darkness spoke to them. The voice told them to stop right where they were. Then they were commanded to bend down and pick up the ...
335. Proper 19
Psalm 14:1-7, 1 Timothy 1:12-20, Jeremiah 4:5-31, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
... the Lectionary The First Lesson. (Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28) Jeremiah warns the people that a hot wind will come from the desert. It is not a cleansing wind, but one of judgment. It is coming because of the foolishness of the people who do evil ... prove that he had not sold it for his own profit. 5. "In the Wilderness." (v. 4) This would not be the wilderness of the desert. It was probably in the uncultivated area of Palestine. The wilderness was often used as a symbol of the untamed forces of nature. Such ...
336. Confession
Job 42:1-6
Sermon
John A. Stroman
... , creation, and human life that were just too wonderful for him, things that he did not know. His accusation before God now seemed to him to be ludicrous and unwarranted. But at no time did God ever chastise him for speaking his mind. It was those moments of desertion and abandonment and the absence of God's presence that most of his hearers and readers identify with Job. This is the universal feeling of those who have walked the path of faith. Who has not felt at some time in life forsaken by God? How many ...
337. Hear, Hear
Acts 8:26-40
Sermon
Paul W. Kummer
... it! It's a process of learning to listen to the Spirit through the Word and in our spirit controlled by him. Listen and act even if it seems unlikely. The angel led Philip away from a hotbed of witness opportunities to a seemingly inappropriate place: a deserted road. God cares for a single convert, no matter how hard or opposed to God he might be. When God says, "Go," go! 2. Ask thought-provoking questions: If you don't know what else to say, ask a meaningful, spiritual question or play off something they ...
Sermon
Gerald Whetstone
... is Caiaphas. In the political and military realms, Pilate and Herod. And all those who served them and their purposes. Who is his adversary? More than any of these, it is the one whose purposes all of them serve, the one with whom he contended in the desert. Now they would do battle again. Deep within, the Warrior King on the donkey knows he has an all-righteous and all-powerful ally. "Behold, the Lord God helps me. Who will declare me guilty?" In this age when kings no longer lead their armies into battle ...
Sermon
Paul E. Robinson
... when it dawned on them, they would not keep themselves from pouring out their praise and presents in adoration and worship. The wise men knew that this was the King of kings when Jesus was born, and they could not but search for him, crossing a dangerous desert to find him and worship him. It dawned on them, and they responded. Has it dawned on us yet? Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote these marvelous words: Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees takes off his ...
340. Raised Voices
Deuteronomy 26:1-15
Drama
Pamela Urfer
... me that this harebrained scheme is God's plan. REBECCA: Nothing? Not even his promises to save us? Not even the way we have been praying day and night for deliverance? HANNAH: There's deliverance and there's deliverance. Spending the rest of my life wandering in the desert is not my idea of a good time. REBECCA: But, Hannah! Where's your faith? HANNAH: If doing stupid things is your idea of faith, then I feel sorry for you. REBECCA: Okay. But I think God will make it clear to us very soon that this is ...
Sermon
Robert S. Crilley
... one's foundation, of having nowhere to stand and nothing to hold on to -- that is an insecurity which touches the very depths of what we fear most. Such, I now believe, is what so frightened Jonathan that rainy afternoon: the feeling that he had been deserted, that everything on which he thought he could depend had somehow been displaced. And perhaps this is the backdrop against which the story of Aaron and the Golden Calf can best be understood as well. What happens is this: during Moses' long delay up on ...
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
... thanks. They are to remember the miracles which the Lord has done in the past. The latter verses recount the experience of the Israelites being brought out of Egypt with riches and then reminds them of the way in which the Lord provided for the Israelites in the desert as is told in the passage in the first lesson for today. The gratitude for the memory of God's provisions should lead them to be obedient to God's statutes and laws. In such manner they will praise the glory of the Lord. Context of Related ...
Sermon
John A. Stroman
... authors without hesitation compared the Spirit of God with the wind. In the Hebrew the same term is used for both the Spirit and the wind. The word ruach meant breath. It meant the breath of life as well as the desert wind that at times blew violently across the desert. This is illustrated by the incident that happened in 587 B.C. The Babylonians leveled the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. They carried the Israelites off into exile and this was the beginning of what is called the Babylonian ...
Sermon
Elaine M. Ward
When a brother visited the hermits in the desert and saw them working, he asked, "Why do you work for the bread that perishes? Mary has chosen the best part, to sit at the feet of the Lord without working." The Abbot told his disciple to give the brother a book ... did or serve at Jesus' feet as Martha did, may we follow in the footsteps of our Lord, the Servant of God, in the name of the Parent, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 1. Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert (New York: New Directions, 1960).
345. Orders Are Orders
Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20
Drama
Robert F. Crowley
... RANUTE: But I won't like it. Where are we supposed to do this? LOM: In Bethlehem. RANUTE: Bethlehem? LOM: Yeah, you know, Judea. RANUTE: You're pulling my wing. LOM: No, really. The orders say Bethlehem, in Judea. RANUTE: But, that's like going to the middle of the desert. That's just a little town. Two shops and a well, that's it! Why can't we go to a big city like Rome or Athens or at least Jerusalem! LOM: Because the orders say Bethlehem, that's why. RANUTE: This is ridiculous. Why Bethlehem? LOM: I don ...
Sermon Aid
Wayne H. Keller
... Color: Green THE COMMUNITY GATHERS TO CELEBRATE Pastoral Invitation (Pastor and People) In the name of the Living Bread and Wine, welcome to worship. As we begin worship, I invite you to think about the kind of disciple you are, a devotee or a deserter, especially when things get rough. (One minute of silence.) Now, are you ready to explore that question? (Wait for a response; if none, ask it again, until you get a response.) Pastor: The Good News is profound and simple. "God never hides from those ...
Drama
Donald Neidigk
... than to work all day in the sun for one small denarius. The people in the city soon got wise to me though. How anxious those merchants were when I came near. So I had to change my tactics. The place to make the easiest profit was the desert, the wilderness area where roads were more like rocky paths winding around hills, below cliffs, and through narrow ravines. From a thousand hiding places I could watch for the unsuspecting businessman or pilgrim, and then leap on him as he passed by. With the help of a ...
Sermon
Charles H. Bayer
... I too may worship him." The oily voice of Herod sticks in their minds. They do not return to Jerusalem. A dream, warning them not to return to Herod, confirms their dis-ease. They take a back road out of town, and make their way across the desert. Their dream was right, as was their intuition. Herod was not to be trusted. He had tried to enlist them in his cause, but they had resisted. Powerful people intent on violence often try to co-opt religion. Every king, or president or chairman wants the blessing ...
349. Proper 17
Hebrews 13:1-25, Jeremiah 2:1-3:5, Luke 14:1-14
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 2:4-13 Yahweh protests Judah's faithlessness. Jeremiah takes no credit for what he says to his nation: "Hear the word of the Lord." In this passage Yahweh asks why they have deserted him for gods that were no gods. Why did the nation desert him after he was so very good to the nation in leading them through the wilderness for a land of plenty? Priests, rulers and prophets turned against God, and therefore Jeremiah was shocked. The people of God are guilty of two sins: ...
350. Proper 22
Luke 17:1-10, Lamentations 1:1-22, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
... what about the people? "Exile" sums up their lot. They were made captives and in chains were carried off to Babylon to work as slaves. The people's enemies have overtaken them. They were victims of cruelty. The picture of Jesus' passion comes to mind: deserted by Disciples, mocked, beaten, and finally killed on a Roman cross. 3. Because (v. 5). Why did this tragedy happen? Where was God when his chosen people needed him? Jeremiah tells us this destruction was the Lord's work. He made Judah suffer. It was ...
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