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
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Sermon
Susan R. Andrews
We could always count on it. Every year, on the second Sunday of January, my dad would preach his drinking sermon — or, I should say his anti-drinking sermon. Having seen firsthand in my mother’s family the deathly cost of drunkenness, having spent more nights than he could remember offering pastoral support to families dealing with the fall-out of alcohol, Dad was convinced that alcohol was a demon. It was all too often the destroyer of the abundant life which God gives us to cherish. His message was ...
Eulogy
Richard E. Zajac
Laughter [Tell of their humorous nature, describe their positive qualities.] A man from Chicago left its cold and snowy weather for a sunny vacation in Florida. His wife, who was on a business trip, was expected to join him the next day. After settling in a Florida hotel, the husband decided to send his spouse an e-mail. As it turned out, he had misplaced her e-mail address. Trusting his memory, he typed in what he believed was her address and with it a message. But unfortunately, he was one character shy ...
Sermon
Betty Lynn Schwab
Lent 1 Minister: "The Lord spoke to Moses: ... you shall set up the tabernacle ... And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:1, 2, 34). "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the people of Israel saying: ... lasting seven days, there shall be the festival of tabernacles" (Leviticus 23:33f). Youth: Why do we have this decoration in our sanctuary today? Reader 1: This is a model of the tabernacle, booth or temporary hut built by each Jewish family in Jesus' time for Sukkot or the ...
529. Easter 6
John 14:15-31
Sermon Aid
Liturgical Color: White Gospel: John 14:15-21 Theme: The preeminence of love through the coming of the Counselor. Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration One pastor began this way: "Welcome to the celebration of the promise of the Counselor. Through the Spirit of truth, where do you see and experience the reality of God?" Continue with this litany between pastor and ministers: Pastor: You have heard that God is dead; but I say to you, God is living and is here. Ministers: Praise be to the living God! Pastor ...
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
If today at lunch someone asks you what the preacher talked about today, you will have an easy answer. It is this: When God is your guide, any road is good. Let's repeat that together: When God is your guide, any road is good. The great jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, when quite old, was catching a train one day. The conductor stood in front of him waiting for his ticket. Judge Holmes was searching through all his pockets trying to find it. The conductor, knowing Judge Holmes, said, "No problem, sir. I know ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Even though it happened years ago, many of us here this morning can still recall the tragedy as if it were yesterday. Remember the way a whole country held its breath, prayed its prayers, and sat glued to the television set? We watched, spellbound, as the Herculean efforts of hundreds of firefighters, engineers, mining experts, and emergency services specialists, labored to save the life of one trapped child. As we watched and prayed, this little girl became everyone's child. This child was Baby Jessica, ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Anybody here remember how much you always wanted your parents to watch you when you were little? Go back in time. Remember swimming at the local pool as a child? No matter how poor or perfect your swimming skills, you always kept on eye on Mom or Dad so you could catch their attention. Whether you were diving, dog paddling, or just hanging on the edge practice-kicking, your refrain was a constant "Watch this!" "Watch this!" "Watch me!" "Watch me again!!!" All of us were anxious to gain parental approval, ...
533. The Battle Hymn
Matthew 17:1-9
Illustration
In 1861, a prominent Bostonian woman and her husband were visiting Washington, D.C. shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. They witnessed an impressive military review one day and were on their way back to their hotel with some friends in a carriage when their way was blocked by several columns of soldiers. To pass the time, Julia Ward Howe and her friends began to sing popular army songs, including "John Brown's Body." The soldiers cheered the singing, but one of her friends suggested to Mrs. Howe ...
534. Luke 14:25-33
Luke 14:25-33
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
The Lukan travel narrative continues in today's reading with the pointed observation that "large crowds were traveling with" Jesus, yet another signal to the reader that Jesus is in mid-journey on a relentless pilgrimage to Jerusalem begun and first noted in 9:51. Aware of the throngs, Jesus turns to them and utters a hard and enigmatic saying which can have no other effect than to diminish considerably the ranks of the discipleship wannabes in the crowd. "Whoever comes to me," he says, "and does not hate ...
535. Wrong!
Acts 2:1-13
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Today is Pentecost, the birthday of the church. The symbols of the Pentecost gift are wind and fire. Every birthday is accompanied by a cake over which there is the ritual of wind and fire. But in the course of blowing out candles in your lifetime, have you ever missed one? Ever miscalculate the amount of wind needed to get it 100% right? [To make your sermon more EPIC, you might want to showcase a birthday cake, and blow out some candles. You could even have some fun and include some gag (magic re- ...
Understanding Series
J. Gordon Harris
Inheritance for the Calebites: 14:6–15 Surprisingly, allotment of land in Canaan begins with confirming the inheritance of an outsider. Caleb, son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, represents a number of peoples who intermingle with the descendants of Jacob to form the nation of Israel. Caleb, like Rahab, becomes a model of faith for those who inherit the land as legitimate heirs of Jacob. To emphasize the importance of the Kenizzite leader, the narrator places Mosaic promises for Caleb ahead of those given to ...
537. Submit to Babylon’s Yoke!
Jeremiah 27:1-22, Jeremiah 28:1-17
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The northerner Babylon has come. Jeremiah has preached repentance (25:5). Now he “meddles” in foreign policy and urges submission to Babylon rather than resistance or revolt. This unusual counsel, given not as a politician but as a prophet, is pressed on the visiting envoys, on Zedekiah himself, and on the priests and people. Each group is instructed to submit to Babylon; each is warned not to heed false prophets. The sign act of carrying a wooden yoke makes the message memorable: surrender to ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Jesus’s spiritual critique is now turned back on him, and he is assailed with words not even found in the Synoptics (8:48–49). If the Jews here are children of the devil (8:44), then Jesus is demon possessed (7:20; 8:48). The nearest parallel to this is in Mark 3:22–27, where Jesus is said to be in league with Satan. But John 8:48 cuts deeper. Despite this offense, Jesus presses home the implications of his divine status. This will bring the final crisis. Jesus and those who believe in him are free from ...
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