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 388 results
Sermon
James Weekley
"What is God up to now?" he wondered. "Are you serious, Lord? Did I hear you correctly? You say you want me to withdraw my money from the bank, stop my newspaper, pull up stakes, leave the friends I have grown up with, and move to a somewhere land which has no name?" God did not even give Abraham an Exxon road atlas and a U-Haul trailer. All that he had to go with was faith. "Now I want to see those inner potentials flex their muscles," God reminded the wandering Aramean. Even more remarkable for Abraham ...
327. The Shepherd King
Revelation 7:9-17
Sermon
On those Sundays when I am able to attend worship services in the parish to which I belong, I am confronted, upon entering and taking my place in the nave, with an artist’s attempt to transport the image of the oldest Christian representation into the twentieth century. It is a painting of the risen and ascended Lord, obviously sitting upon a throne in the heavens, surrounded by a half-halo of angel faces amid the clouds. The pastor and building committee, who commissioned the piece of art, knew what they ...
328. Laborers Needed for the Harvest
Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42
Sermon
Dennis Kastens
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them ...
329. A Victory For The Angels
1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
Sermon
King Duncan
Baseball, which used to be America's pastime, finally hit a home run this past week--a truly outstanding World Series. You don't have to be a baseball fan to appreciate the drama. In fact, with a little imagination, we can envision a conflict of biblical proportions--the Angels against the Giants. The Angels were characterized as a group of no-names, re-treads, journeymen ballplayers while the Giants had their very own Goliath--Barry Bonds, already a baseball legend. The Angels were so close to losing. ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Sometime ago a woman from Houston was out in Los Angeles visiting some relatives. While there, she went to an ice cream shop and ordered an ice cream cone. As she was sitting there at the counter, waiting for her cone, she happened to glance to her right. Who should be there, right next to her, but Paul Newman! She couldn't believe it! He had been her heart throb and dream boat for years. She was crazy about him. And there he was, sitting on the stool right next to her, close enough to touch. But she didn' ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Dr. Mickey Anders tells a hilarious story about a man who took his film to a one-hour photo developing service in downtown Chicago. He left his film and returned in an hour to discover that the place was no longer a one-hour photo shop. Now it was a one-hour dry cleaners. The confused man hesitantly entered the store, met the same clerk, and asked about his film. The gentleman behind the counter said, “Was that a suit or just shirts?” The man replied, “It was 35-millimeter film.” The clerk asked, “Was it ...
332. Choose Four
Acts 2:14-41
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
US citizens spend more on weight-loss programs, pills, and panaceas than any other people in the world. US citizens also spend more on greasy, high-calorie, nutritionally-free, fast foods than any other people in the world. No wonder USAmericans are so often pilloried in the press as being two-faced or wishy-washy in our priorities and commitments. The problem is, that as privileged citizens of this remarkably gifted country, US citizens have so many choices available to us that limiting ourselves to one ...
Sermon
John Wayne Clarke
In this the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus begins to withdraw to the east side of the Sea of Galilee. He has fed the 5,000, and he has walked on water. The press of the crowds had become all consuming and he needs some solitude to prepare himself for what lay ahead. Considering that the crowds that followed him more than likely knew of the feeding of the 5,000, and some may even have heard of the miraculous walking on water, it is difficult to explain why in these verses, they would doubt anything ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
Many years ago, Dr. James Fisher, a practicing psychiatrist, wrote a very entertaining little book entitled A FEW BUTTONS MISSING . It was a light treatment of some of his experiences in psychiatric practice. However, near the end of the book, Dr. Fisher became very serious. This is what he said. “What was needed, I felt sure, was some new and enlightened recipe for living a sane and satisfying life — a recipe compounded from all the accumulated scientific knowledge acquired through study and research. I ...
Understanding Series
Cheryl A. Brown
Other Minor Judges: Following Jephthah’s story is a second series of minor judges, this time three. Their stories are placed here intentionally to communicate something the author wants to underscore. While they admittedly do not make the best stories for preaching texts, nevertheless these too are inspired Scriptures that are profitable for our instruction (2 Tim. 3:16). Each one’s story stereotypically follows the established pattern for minor judges with little variation, mostly those that describe the ...
Teach the Text
Robert B. Chisholm Jr.
Big Idea: The Lord vindicates his chosen servants when they look to him for justice. Understanding the Text For a second time in the story, the Ziphites report David’s whereabouts to Saul (cf. 1 Sam. 23:19). Earlier Saul confessed David’s innocence and even asked the Lord to bless David (1 Sam. 24:16–21), but now again the king is ready to hunt David down and kill him. David decides once more to demonstrate his loyalty to Saul. Though the Lord again seemingly delivers Saul into his hands, David refuses to ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Ezra is not ashamed to let his great emotional distress be seen and heard by the public. This is an example of how God can use the sincere emotional expression of a righteous person to bring conviction on the whole congregation. Ezra’s leadership is noteworthy; he does not force the people to submit to him. He trusts God to work among the people. Then, their representative, Shekaniah, comes to Ezra and urges him to lead the way in changing the situation. The law required the people to put away their ...
338. Gethsemane
Mark 14:32-42
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
14:32–42 This is another of the most well-known scenes from the Gospels, the subject of paintings and of countless sermons and meditations. The tradition that Jesus prayed fervently before his arrest is preserved in variant forms in John 17:1–18 and Hebrews 5:7, as well as in the parallels to the present account, Matthew 26:36–46 and Luke 22:40–46. As a final preparation before the rush of violent events to follow, Jesus withdraws to a quiet area just outside the eastern wall of Jerusalem for prayer. The ...
Sermon
Don Tuttle
We all make choices. Sometimes they are binary. The optometrist asks: “Which is better, A or B?” Other times we choose from a plethora of options. Think Starbucks. Will that be a Mocha, Latte, Cappuccino, Macchiato? Tall, grande, venti? Decaf, half-caf, regular? Skinny or regular? Straight or flavor shots? Such is life. Our text today is about choices. The most obvious one is the one made by the chief priests, elders, and people. They choose between Jesus, the King of the Jews, or Barabbas, a notorious ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Shiva is the Jewish custom of mourning. From ancient times, families sat together to mourn those who passed on. It’s clear that Jesus’ disciples understood their responsibilities in these customs. And yet Jesus, while honoring the dead in grief, defies these customs, even while defying death itself. Jesus knows that it is not the custom that defines mourning, but the way one uses grief to honor the dead. We see this already in Matthew 8:22 when one of his disciples feels compelled to sit shiva for his ...
Sermon
Richard F. Bansemer
The sermon text is from the Gospel of Mark, the ninth chapter, verses 33-35: "... when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?’ But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, ‘If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’ " What does one get out of being a Christian? Each of us has probably asked that of himself on occasion. Ask it again, ...
Sermon
King Duncan
A Mercedes-Benz TV commercial shows one of their cars colliding with a concrete wall during a safety test. Someone then asks a Mercedes engineer why their company does not enforce their patent on their car's energy-absorbing car body. The Mercedes' design has been copied by almost every other car maker in the world in spite of the fact that they have an exclusive patent. The engineer replies in a clipped German accent, "Because in life, some things are just too important not to share." (1) Wow! What a ...
Sermon
King Duncan
John and Ruth Jones were celebrating the 4th of July by having their extended family over for a cookout. They had planned a spectacular home fireworks display--even though fireworks were illegal in their state. A relative called at the last minute to ask if he could bring a friend to the cookout. John and Ruth graciously said yes. The friend turned out to be a police officer. What were John and Ruth to do? John quietly whispered to their son, John, Jr., "Hide the fireworks--quick." That is no surprise. If ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
One of my favorite plays is “Harvey” by Mary Chase. I’ve seen it stage, on TV and in movie. It is a delight in any medium, more than a delight; it is a challenge, a challenge to our unimaginative, prosaic, living ruts. You may recall that this play is about Elwood P. Dowd, an eccentric, drinking man whose closest friend was an enormous rabbit called Harvey (who was unseen for the most part by anyone but Elwood.) In fact, because Harvey was unseen, yet so real to Elwood, his family hired Dr. Chumley, a ...
345. The Confessing Body
Illustration
Charles W. Colson
Yet membership in a confessing body is fundamental to the faithful Christian life. Failure to do so defies the explicit warning not to forsake "our assembling together." His understanding of this prompted Martin Luther to say, "Apart from the church, salvation is impossible." Not that the church provides salvation; God does. But because the "saved" one can't fulfill what it means to be a Christian apart from the church, membership becomes the indispensable mark of salvation. "So highly does the Lord esteem ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Job’s final speech in the first cycle, divided into three chapters in the Hebrew Bible, can also be split into two major sections: Job addresses his friends (12:2–13:19), and Job addresses God (13:20–14:22). Job is sharply sarcastic toward his friends as he opens his mouth (12:2–13:19). Oh, yes, they understand everything! But Job is no dolt. He knows no less than others. He seems to recognize that, from others’ point of view, his situation has turned him into a laughingstock. Contempt quickly replaces ...
347. The Lord Speaks
Job 38:1--41:34
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
38:1–41:34; 40:3–5; 42:1–6 Review · God’s Speeches with Job’s Responses:The polyphony in the words and ideas that have cut across the respective characters’ mono­logic points of view grinds nearly to a halt with God’s thunderous voice. Job finally gets to stand before God. The wish is granted. But, teasingly, this will be no dialogic interchange. This is monologue. God has a different set of values, other premises than those held by Job. God’s barrage of questions, though in the form of an invitation to ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The zoom lens now focuses in on another, still more intimate relationship from which Christians were tempted to withdraw because of their new, otherworldly faith: marriage (3:1–7). Should Christian husbands or wives leave their partners if they do not share their faith? Again, some Christians answered yes. But Peter insists that they should not. He devotes more space to wives (3:1–6) because they could more easily be made to suffer from their husbands than vice versa. He eloquently teaches that the ...
349. Flash Mob
Matthew 21:1-11
Sermon
Lori Wagner
One year ago, crowds at London’s many train stations stopped amazed, as flash mobs broke out everywhere to celebrate the end of covid lockdown. Professional dancers, as well as over 100 volunteers contributed to the surprise flash performances. You can see the joy on people’s faces as they sway to the music and collectively cheer and celebrate together.[1] It had been a long, rough season. People needed this. The laughter and smiles were infectious, and a new sense of hope swept through the country. Music ...
350. Epiphany 3
Mark 1:14-20
Bulletin Aid
Wayne B. Keller
Liturgical Color: Green Theme: Jesus' preaching commands/demands change - Repentance Call to Worship One pastor did this: Begin with a contemporary call to repentance, using the method of the Old Testament prophets. You may want to read, The Prophets on Main Street, by J. Elliott Corbett, published by John Knox Press, Richmond, Virginia. You may want to conclude with the words ascribed to Jesus by Mark in chapter 1 , verse 15. Then, continue with the following, or a similar, litany: Pastor: We have heard ...
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