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 4476 to 4500 of 4957 results
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... does encapsulate several essential Christian convictions. First, there is the assertion that the physical, earthly world is not the be-all/end-all of human existence. Instead there is a different venue, a “citizenship in heaven” that lays claim to people of faith. Those who enjoy the privileges of that residence live in a state of expectation — anticipating a Savior, specifically “the Lord Jesus Christ.” This “citizenship” (“politeuma”) was a distinctly separate community that was allowed ...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... his epic film entitled “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” If the story of God’s redemptive work through the gift and grace of Jesus Christ, is indeed the “greatest story” ever told, then a “first runner-up” title could certainly be claimed by this week’s gospel text — the parable known as “The Prodigal Son.” Let’s just call it “The Greatest Short Story Ever Told.” Theologically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally this parable remains as remarkable and moving in the twenty ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... his epic film entitled “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” If the story of God’s redemptive work through the gift and grace of Jesus Christ, is indeed the “greatest story” ever told, then a “first runner-up” title could certainly be claimed by this week’s gospel text — the parable known as “The Prodigal Son.” Let’s just call it “The Greatest Short Story Ever Told.” Theologically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally this parable remains as remarkable and moving in the twenty ...
4479. Be a Bethany
John 12:1-11
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... open armed. Bethany was not where Jesus went to preach or preside. Bethany was where Jesus went to hang out with his “buddies.” After the hometown community of Nazareth ran Jesus out on a rail, even threatened to do an “honors killing” because Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah had so embarrassed everyone, Bethany was Jesus’ “home.” It was the place where he felt safe. It was the place where he felt loved. It was the place where he had a close connection to friends who were not “professional ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... . The disciples were sequestered away from the hostile crowd that had demanded Barabbas be freed and Jesus be crucified. Those gathered close enough to hear Jesus’ final words and watch his final breaths are a crowd of strangers. When Joseph of Arimathea claims Jesus’ body none of Jesus’ disciples step forward to help. Luke notes that only “the women who had come with him from Galilee”(23:55) cautiously followed — getting just close enough to see in which tomb Jesus’ body was laid. The final ...
4481. So Send I You
John 20:19-23
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... look we are invited to “Discover your inner...” something. “Discover your inner power.” “Discover your inner Self.” “Discover your inner goddess.” “Discover your inner animal.” My favorite is one that greets you as you make your way to baggage claim in Memphis: “Discover your inner Elvis.” This is Eastertide, when we celebrate that Christ is alive. We serve a “risen Savior.” We believe Jesus is “in the world today.” And how is Jesus alive in “in the world today.” Because ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... Bible message today is based on a man who has been nicknamed “Doubting Thomas.” Thomas was a faithful follower of Jesus. He had proven his loyalty as a disciple when Jesus was alive. But Thomas was also a rational man. And when the other disciples and the women claimed that Jesus had risen from the dead, Thomas was not going to get excited until he saw Jesus with his own eyes. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were,” he said, “and put my hand into his side ...
4483. John 21:1-19
John 21:1-14
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... exuberance for his task Peter brings in the entire netful — a total of 153 fish. Since the time of St Jerome commentators have taken great delight in trying to parse the meaning of this numerological detail. Jerome cited the naturalist Oppian who claimed there were 153 different species of fish. The number in the disciple’s catch, therefore, was seen as an all-inclusive, universal number. Jerome’s assertion was that this specific number demonstrated that all the peoples of the world (all the “fish ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... their favorite “picks” against each other, these celebrity coaches are encouraging these singers to find their own voice. To make the song they are singing their OWN song, no matter who wrote it, no matter what its style. Coaching voices to find and claim ownership of a single song is catnip to a TV audience. Coaching every new generation of Christ’s disciples to hear Jesus’ voice in every activity and attitude of our lives, to hear Jesus in every song we sing, is an ongoing transforming reality ...
4485. Just Checking
Revelation 22:1-6
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... new life has always been tied to the possibility, to the reality, of death. But John’s vision, the Revelation he received, proclaims a final farewell that affirms a profound flip-flop. Instead of the end game being death, the “end” for those who claim and cling to Christ, is life. Life eternal. A life without the final “circle the drain” of death. Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952) is one of the greatest writers of children’s books of all time. Her two most famous are perhaps Goodnight Moon (1947 ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... (Acts 2:1 4). Disciples don’t call down fire. Disciples call up and call upon the name of Jesus. 2) As Jesus’ road trip continued he encountered others who thought they might come along for the journey. The first wanna-be follower claimed the desire to follow Jesus “wherever you go.” Jesus’ surprising response reveals that there is no established roadmap for disciples. Disciples don’t know where they are going — they only know who they are going with. Followers of Jesus don’t know where ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... for loving, to love will be difficult and will be an injustice to those who truly deserve to be loved. As for loving a stranger, Freud states, “Not merely is this stranger on the whole not worthy of love, but, to be honest, I must confess he has more claim to my hostility, even to my hatred.” (5) Sigmund Freud and Jesus were in two different camps. Is it possible for me to love my neighbor if he is somehow different from me? Freud said no. But Jesus says, “Yes.” The boundaries of our love can be ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... couldn’t even make it around the block, which was about a mile. He had to stop a few times to catch his breath, huffing and puffing. “Just imagine a big, fat guy,” he writes, “gasping for air, barely able to jog around the block, who claims that he will be the heavyweight champion of the world again! I looked ridiculous to everyone who saw me. I’m sure they laughed as they peeked through their curtains early in the morning while I slowly shuffled past their houses. Only two people on this entire ...
4489. Wake Up Call
Romans 13:8-14
Sermon
Timothy J. Smith
... the note inside the envelope that states that their parents have supported a local health clinic in the children’s honor. Everyone smiles, some with tears streaming down their faces. “It’s the best part of the holiday,” one of the sons claims. “Our parents raised us to believe that giving back is important,” says another son. “We worked at soup kitchens and we always had people over for Christmas dinner who had nowhere else to go.” The children now in their twenties continue the tradition ...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... “freedom” often found themselves without any structure or stability to help them achieve true independence. Rather than being set “free,” they were cruelly set adrift. But Paul has no such “freedom” in mind for Onesimus. First and foremost, Paul claims Onesimus as his “child,” a baptized convert whom the apostle declared was his “child.” Huge amounts of eisogesis have suggested the circumstances which may have brought about this relationship. But all we have is the text. There is no ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... “freedom” often found themselves without any structure or stability to help them achieve true independence. Rather than being set “free,” they were cruelly set adrift. But Paul has no such “freedom” in mind for Onesimus. First and foremost, Paul claims Onesimus as his “child,” a baptized convert whom the apostle declared was his “child.” Huge amounts of eisogesis have suggested the circumstances which may have brought about this relationship. But all we have is the text. There is no ...
4492. The ME and the WE
Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... ’s one voice told Martin to “change his plan.” Martin’s one voice then told the people to “change the world.” One speech changed the world. One person changed the world. The Power of One. Sir Arthur Keith (1866-1955), of the Royal College of Surgeons, claimed that if 300 individuals were taken out of history, we would still be living in the Stone Age. But it is also true that if you add to history a handful of people and let them rule unimpeded, like Hitler, or Stalin, or Osama bin Laden, we ...
4493. The Lamb
Revelation 7:9-17
Sermon
Argile Smith
... . For Polycarp, he came to the rescue, giving his servant what he couldn’t give himself in his time of tremendous need. Many other Christians have heard the voice of the Good Shepherd. No, they didn’t stand before tribunals or courageously stake their claim in Christ and die because of their unwillingness to disown him. But they have stood in the face of great pain just the same. They have endured the torture of suffering associated with their bodies wasting away because of terminal diseases. They have ...
4494. 2 Timothy 2:8-15
2 Timothy 1:1-2:13
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... is what Paul proudly proclaims to Timothy as “my gospel.” Underlying Paul’s declaration is the threat offered by those who are preaching a different message, an alternative “gospel” that is more acceptable to some. That teaching, revealed in 2:18 as a claim that for true believers “the resurrection has already taken place,” does not embrace the reality of a faithful life. The “good news” of the gospel, Paul insists, is married together like sweet and salt with a life on earth that expects ...
Sermon
David O. Bales
... to a physical world that’s quite open to the spiritual realm. Dr. Lori Wiener serves in the National Cancer Institute of Maryland. She’s a social worker and coordinator of the Pediatric HIV Psychosocial Support Program. She’s dealt with many children who claim they’ve been visited and comforted by children who’ve died of AIDS. Wiener tells of one child who was having lunch with her mother and looked up, waved, and said, “Bye-bye, Allen. Bye-bye.” The mother asked what she was talking about ...
Sermon
David O. Bales
... of Israel, and by the way, Israel would then dominate all other nations. They’re fleeing Jerusalem, but they’ve also been disturbed by a bunch of women. The women visited Jesus’ tomb and discovered Jesus’ body was gone. They returned to Jesus’ other students, claiming that angels told them Jesus was alive. The women’s report about an empty tomb was then confirmed by others, though they didn’t see any angels. But these two ex-students know there’s no way out of a crucified death. At this ...
4497. A Man of God
Matthew 1:18-25
Sermon
King Duncan
... ’s the first thing we know about Joseph. We know also that Joseph was a man of great character. We know this from his willingness to take on the role as Jesus’ father. Even though Joseph was not biologically related to Jesus, he was willing to claim him as his own. Pastor Philip McLarty tells about a friend of his years ago whose girlfriend was pregnant. Naturally, he assumed he was the father. But the scuttlebutt around school was that she’d been seeing other guys, and that his friend wasn’t the ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... stands her husband a patient and loving man named Joseph. Joseph believes in his young bride nearly as strongly as he believes in God. Some sheep and oxen and a lowly donkey complete the scene. Later they will be joined by some unruly shepherds who will claim to have been serenaded by angels as they guarded their sheep on a hillside. And still later will come three magi from the east bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. “We have seen his star,” they will say, “and have come to worship him ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... Protestant churches are planning . . . anything? How many Protestant churches are even aware that this milestone is approaching? How many people even admit to the identity of “Protestant” anymore, much less understand what that label once meant? How many of us claim a Christian identity but in actuality have slowed to a stuporous halt in our spiritual journey, and instead of traveling an ever unfolding journey of faith have become stuck and stranded in some spiritual version of “The Doldrums.” We ...
Sermon
David O. Bales
... as well as frustrated with his Judean subjects who not only insist upon one God but rule out all others. Betting one’s devotions upon the head of one god can be understood, even admired. But where do these Jews get off claiming there is only one? We could compare Pilate’s faith that allows for many gods with the current, stringent, unofficial, universal belief upon American university campuses. On secular campuses the consistent conviction, held even by atheists, is that all religions are the same ...
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