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 4876 to 4900 of 4940 results
4876. All In
Exodus 3:1-22
Sermon
Lori Wagner
We hear a lot about covenants in scripture. Anyone know what a covenant is? How would you define it if someone asked you, “What’s a covenant?” That’s right. It has “legal” connotation. It’s actually ancient legal language. You might call it a kind of agreement or contract between two or more parties in a legally binding promise or vow. If you look at our marriage liturgy, you can see it there! You can also see it in our communion liturgy. In the marriage contract, the covenant of marriage refers to the ...
Sermon
Dean Feldmeyer
The Cadillac ELR commercial that was made for and launched during the 2014 Winter Olympics, was called “Poolside.” It featured actor, Neil McDonough, blond, handsome, and cocksure, touting not so much the car as the people who made it and, more importantly, the people who can afford to buy it. In fact, if you don’t watch carefully you don’t even know it’s about a car. It was about hard driving, innovative, creative Americans and it poked a playful stick in the eye of those laconic, lazy Europeans. It ...
4878. Welcome, Inc.
Matthew 10:1-42
Sermon
R. Kevin Mohr
The lady of the house was giving last minute instructions to her butler before the start of a huge dinner being held at the estate: “Bentley,” she said, “I want you to stand at the front door and call the guests’ names as they arrive.” “Very well, madam,” replied the butler, “I’ve been wanting to do that for years.”1 One of the occupational hazards of being a butler is that you have to be welcoming to people who aren’t particularly welcome-able. Actually, it isn’t just butlers who have that experience. ...
4879. Seeking Joy
Philippians 4:2-9
Sermon
King Duncan
Some technical writers who provide product descriptions and instructions on labels for us to follow, obviously get bored with their jobs. Why else would they add catchy little instructions on the labels that have no practicality except to add a little pizzazz to their work? For example, there is an anonymous manufacturer of cotton T-shirts who added these wash instructions to the inside tag: “For Best Results: Machine wash cold. Tumble dry low. Never iron [the design on the shirt].” He could have stopped ...
Sermon
Dean Feldmeyer
Almost every culture has, in its foundational mythology, a Phoenix or firebird. The one with which we westerners are most familiar is the Greek Phoenix which, like all such mythological creatures, is said to die in a burst of sparks and fire only to be born anew from its own ashes. Because this mythological creature lives in a constant cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, the Phoenix is, in most cultures, a symbol of renewal. While early Christians rejected any literal interpretation of the Phoenix myth, ...
Sermon
Dean Feldmeyer
The kingdom of God is a pretty big deal in the Bible. In the New Testament alone it is mentioned 72 times. In the gospels, it’s the subject Jesus talks about more than any other. (The second-place winner is money.) And yet, despite the fact that Jesus talks about it a great deal, we Christians tend to be rather unclear about what exactly is meant by this four word phrase: The kingdom of God. There are a number of reasons for our lack of clarity. The most obvious is that we don’t understand the concept of “ ...
Sermon
King Duncan
We all know what it’s like to have a memory lapse when we are tired or stressed. Few things make you feel more idiotic or frustrated than wracking your brain to remember the simplest bit of information. Does the phrase “senior moment” strike a familiar chord with anyone? A woman wrote into a blog called Cafemom.com with a funny story about her father’s memory lapse while on vacation. The father had just driven his five kids to Canada, and he was dead tired. The border agents, as part of their routine ...
Sermon
King Duncan
If you were to make a list of jobs that require the ability to think on your feet and handle extreme levels of stress, which jobs would make your list? Fighter pilots, police officers, kindergarten teachers, perhaps? They’d belong on that list, right? What about wedding planners? Surely not, you say, but think about it. Wedding planners juggle hundreds of tiny details while also managing the emotions of the wedding party. Their job is to create the perfect day for the bride and groom. That’s a huge ...
Sermon
King Duncan
A study came out last year that was disturbing but not necessarily surprising. The World Health Organization did a study of people around the world who worked 55 or more hours per week compared to those who worked 35-40 hours per week. The study covered health and workplace data from the 1970s to 2018 and included workers in 154 countries. They concluded that, “People working 55 or more hours each week face an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared ...
4885. The Journey
Mark 8:27-36
Sermon
Will Willimon
A few years ago, we had a representative from ''Teach America'' visit our campus. Teach America tries to recruit this nation's most talented college graduates to go into some of the nation's worst public schools. This is Teach America's means of transforming our schools into something better. This woman stood up in front of a large group of Duke students, a larger group than I would suppose would come out to this sort of thing, and said to them, ''I can tell by looking at you that I have probably come to ...
4886. The Long and Dusty Road
Luke 19:28-40 · Psalm 31:9-16
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Dust and stones and weary bones. Some of the most frequent metaphors in scripture have to do with dust, stones, and bones –either wasted, dry bones or bones filled with marrow and reinfused with life. From the earliest scriptures in Genesis, we acknowledge that we have been created from the dust of the earth and infused with Holy Spirit breath to create a soul. Each one of our lives begins and ends with dust. We, as bodies made of dust, travel the long and dusty road of life until to dust we return. Our ...
Sermon
Mark Ellingsen
There is not much more that should or could be said about this song in our second lesson. These are compelling images. A God who wants to wipe away every tear from our eyes is a God who you’ll want to love. He’s a God who makes life a lot easier to live. If we read these words in light of our whole text for the second lesson, in light of the whole book of Revelation, then the idea of God wiping away tears from our eyes becomes even more comforting. For this is a word of comfort about the whole universe. ...
4888. Why the Cross?
Hebrews 2:17-18
Sermon
Charley Reeb
Why did Jesus have to die a brutal death in order for God to forgive us? If you struggle with that question or you know someone who does, this message is for you. Most Christians believe that the cross represents God’s redemptive act in Christ forgiving us of sin and reconciling us to him. Take a look at these words from Hebrews: For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make ...
4889. Catholic
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Sermon
William G. Carter
It never fails. Say it’s a Sunday morning when we have a baptism. There is a mixed crowd of long-timers and newcomers. The baby is beautiful, the family is all smiles, the Presbyterians are delighted. And then at the door, one of the newcomers says, “Why in the world did you say, ‘We believe in the catholic church?’” She is referring to the Apostles’ Creed , of course, and curious why we would say such a thing. With a smile, I usually respond that nobody has a proprietary lock on the word “catholic.” There ...
Sermon
Ronald Love
There is an important flow of events in our lectionary reading this morning. A flow of events that each individual sitting in the pews before me must be willing to accept as the flow of events in your own lives, as you live the Christian life. It begins with the solitude of a retreat, that is focused on prayer. It moves to a revelation that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It ends with what is really a new beginning, going forth in a ministry to others. Let us begin where our lectionary ...
4891. The Power of Weakness
Mark 8:27-38 · Psalm 19
Sermon
Thomas C. Willadsen
Our lessons this morning feels like an archery target. The psalm starts with the long view, the perspective of the psalmist marveling at the beauty of creation. “The heavens are telling the glory of God,” it begins, but that translation doesn’t quite capture the essence of what is to be expressed Psalm 19:1 (NRSV). It more closely means, “The heavens are continually telling the glory of God.” It’s always happening, without ceasing. All we have to do is look up, notice the beauty of the stars, feel the ...
Sermon
Robert S. Crilley
Because he was a rather large kid when we were growing up, I often thought that Jonathan could have made a good bully. His body played the part at any rate -- his pudgy physique forever pushing and shoving against the crowded confines of his wardrobe. Of course, he would have had to lose that goofy grin which always allowed him to look like he was trying to laugh at a joke that he didn't really get. And it probably would have helped if he'd done something with the way he walked, which had a clumsy, awkward ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Pastor Scott Hippler tells about a day when he was about 7 years old. His grandmother had taken him and his cousin to the grocery store. On the way, his grandmother stopped at another store for a few minutes. Young Scott and his cousin stayed in the car. Scott Hippler blames his grandmother for what happened next. She was gone longer that she had said she would be. Back then, he remembers, they put prizes in laundry detergent boxes as an incentive for people to buy those detergents. His grandmother always ...
Sermon
J. Will Ormond
Some people, when they pick up a new book, look first at the beginning and read a few lines, then they turn to the end to see how it turns out. This gives them a preliminary feel for the book and helps them decide whether they want to read it or not. We are faced with something of the same situation by the lectionary passages chosen for today. They are the first four verses from the Gospel of Luke and the last ten verses of the last chapter. We are asked to consider the beginning and the ending of Luke's ...
Sermon
William G. Carter
A cigar-chomping realtor was driving around a young couple to search for their first dream house. After listening to their concerns about mortgage points, maintenance costs, and school systems, he decided to give them a bit of advice. "I've been selling homes for 23 years," he said, "and I've discovered only three things matter when you're buying a home: location, location, location." To prove his point, he drove the couple to see two homes. The paint was peeling on the first house, and the driveway was ...
4896. Proper 10
Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 1:1-14, Amos 7:10-17, Psalm 82:1-8
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
The Neighborly Samaritan The parable of the neighborly Samaritan demonstrates the enduring and provocative power of a good story. The language and point of the parable have worked their way into our language. People who have never read the New Testament or have no idea whatsoever of who a Samaritan is are influenced by it. Many states have what is referred to as a Good Samaritan law. It relieves persons who give aid to an accident victim of liability. In their attempt to render assistance in an accident ...
4897. Proper 25
Psalm 65:1-13, Luke 18:9-14, Joel 2:28-32, 2 Timothy 4:9-18, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
TWO MEN PRAYING The parable about two men praying would have shocked the people to whom Jesus told it. He drew upon two well-known and widely accepted stereotypes. First is the Pharisee, who was generally regarded as the epitome of the religious person. Most Jewish families would have been proud to have their son grow up to be a Pharisee. The second was a publican. He was the epitome of the sinner. He was regarded as a traitor because he worked for the Roman occupying government. Most tax collectors were ...
Sermon
William L. Self
The late Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton, who for many years preached at the Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, tells a wonderful story about the man with two umbrellas. He said that when he crossed the Atlantic one summer he noticed a dark-skinned man sitting in a deck chair, reading the Bible. One day he sat beside him and said, "Forgive my curiosity, but I am a minister. I see you come here every day and read your Bible. I assume you are a Christian, and I am interested to know how it ...
Sermon
John N. Brittain
Matthew 13:31-36a, 44-58; Isaiah 49:1-6 The story is told of an American service man visiting a South Sea island during World War II. His friendly host proudly brought a copy of the Bible out of his hut and said, "This is my most prized possession." With obvious disdain, the GI replied, "Oh, I've outgrown that old stuff!" The islander, whose tribe had recently accepted Christianity and undergone significant changes from their former lifestyle which included cannibalism, responded, "It's a good thing for ...
4900. Proper 26
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Habakkuk 2:2-20, Habakkuk 1:1-4, Luke 19:1-10
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 In a world of adversity the righteous live by faith. Habakkuk and Yahweh are engaged in a dialogue. The prophet, a contemporary of Jeremiah, served during the reign of King Jehoiakim (608-597 B.C.) and during the last days before the Babylonian conquest. Under Jehoiakim conditions in Judah were horrible lawlessness and oppression. In the light of these conditions Habakkuk goes to Yahweh with a complaint: Where is he? Why does he not answer? Why doesn't he do ...
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