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 676 to 700 of 2332 results
Understanding Series
John Goldingay
... ’s lordship. And the fate of these Arabian peoples again suggests that there is nothing to be gained by allying with Babylon. Additional Notes 21:13 The root word ‘arab originally referred not to an ethnic group but to people who lived on the high desert plain (the word ‘arabah also denotes the arid steppe in the Jordan rift). Only later did the word come to denote the Arab people. But the word also resembles another root and could mean “evening”: cf. vv. 11–12. The heading is lit. “an oracle ...
Understanding Series
John Goldingay
... and the result of the rising of Yahweh from inactivity, shrieking like a woman in labor. The world is to be turned upside down, but that is good news. The turning of desert into pools of water in the corresponding promise at the end of 41:1–20 is complemented at the end of 41:21–42:17 by the turning of pools of water into desert, but the blind and lost will be guided home through darkness and difficulty. Who is this promise for? The context has implied that the blind and lost may be Israelites as well ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. “A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of ...
679. Chaos and Solitude
Mark 6:30-44, 53-56
Sermon
Ron Lavin
... was chaos all around him because so many wanted to see him, touch him, and hear him. But there was a serenity within him that people could sense. Jesus was and is the still point in a chaotic and churning world. Jesus said, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while" (Mark 6:31). Jesus knew that life includes heavy demands and hard work. Life has to have a counterpoint of rest, a time of recouping, and a healthy rhythm. Without that rhythm, life can become distorted, disheveled, and ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... . For us, it is a picture of the restoration God plans to do through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, for all humankind. And the joy on that day will be so overwhelming that everyone will burst with songs of joy. Isaiah 35:1-10 reads like this: “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the ...
681. The Call of the Wild Within
Genesis 12:10-20, Genesis 12:1-8, Luke 2:41-52
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... and destroying all in their path, and their threat to tear Israel apart. Think of the courage it took for Moses to return to Egypt as a “wanted man,” and to lead a multitude of people out of the most cosmopolitan city in the world and into the barren desert, when he already had a mark on his back for the murder of a fellow Egyptian. Think of the courage of Rahab to risk her life and her entire livelihood to hide Israeli spies under the flax on the roof of her inn in trust they would save her family ...
682. Do(n't) Rock the Boat
Mt 14:22-36, Mk 4:35-41, Lk 8:22-25, Jn 6:16-24
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... Rescues us From the Deep) Psalm 66 (The Lord’s Salvation Through the Waters) Psalm 136 (The Lord’s Mighty Creative Hand) Paul’s Shipwreck (Acts 27) Matthew’s Witness to Jesus Walking on Water [After feeding 5000 thousand people as he taught them in a deserted place], immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... , as the former saints joined the current ones. An old Jewish custom in fact says that whoever puts a stone at someone’s grave takes the deceased within their hearts.** This perhaps comes from the fact that in ancient times, Jews buried their dead in the desert. Instead of flowers, they would place stones upon the graves. Just as the stones/rocks witness to God’s glory, so also does the fish and honeycomb in this story, as they prove the resurrection truth of Jesus. But the most vital sign of God’s ...
684. Three Wise Women
Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... to be. They undoubtedly dreamt proudly of the men they would become and how they would be revered by their people. In reality, Zechariah would be killed for sedition. His wife, Elizabeth, as Jewish folk tale presumes, may have fled with young John into the desert to the Essenes, in order to escape Herod. Mary and Joseph would flee to Egypt with their son. Only later would they return, and in his 30th year, Jesus would be reunited with his cousin, as the prophecy began to unfold. From there, things would ...
685. The Catch
John 21:1-14, John 21:15-25, Acts 10:1-8, Acts 10:9-23a, Acts 10:23b-48
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... , but those rules were to serve a focus not on outward appearance but on being “adorned” with the Holy Spirit. When Samson’s oath was broken, and he killed 30 men for their clothes, the Spirit departed from him. Did God desert him? No! He deserted God! But when the rules and guidelines themselves become the distraction that leads people away from God and God’s mission, they themselves become the idols that would leave one without the “clothing” of Christ. When you literalize, you moralize. As ...
686. Dry Bones
Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... silent valley, bereft of human presence, lonely and uninhabited. It’s the feeling of a ghost town. Some of our malls can feel like that today, can’t they? [You can elaborate here if you wish.] You walk through, and everything is empty, silent, deserted. No people, no movement, no animation, no life. This, we learn, is the state of the soul without God. That valley for Ezekiel represents the people of Israel, who have turned away from God, who no longer resonate with the hopeful and joyful spirit ...
687. Formed by the Potter's Loving Hand
Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, John 8:48-59, John 9:1-12
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... the anointing of the Rose of Sharon. The Rose of Sharon is named for the Song of Solomon, Chapter 2:1, in which the speaker declares, “I am the rose of Sharon.” And in Isaiah, who says, “The desert shall bloom like the rose.” (Isaiah 65:10). This is the beauty of Jesus –who can bring drink from the desert, water from the driest well, and life from death. Like the rosary….the Divine Potter molds us into a prayer that reflects the beauty of God, not just the kind of prayer you say, but the kind of ...
688. Follow the Light
Genesis 1:1-2:3, Matthew 2:1-12, Revelation 22:1-6
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... Truth that comes when we allow Jesus in our lives. Those clouds are not sent by God. That darkness is not God’s darkness or God’s absence from your life. God has not deserted you. You have merely lost track of the Light. In the dark of night, we don’t need much light to show us the way. If you’ve ever driven through the desert or the mountains in the dead of night, you know that the headlights of your car only illumine a short distance in front of your speeding car. But that’s enough light to take ...
689. What is Your Golden Calf?
Exodus 32:1-33:6, Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... you’ve not yet seen, and packing up and traveling there, just hoping there’s a house there when you arrive! God says in Exodus 32:8, in sadness, “they turned aside from the ‘way’ that I enjoined upon them.” God feels they have deserted the covenant. God feels alienated from them relationally. They have foregone trust and have created instead a “substitute” for God, because they couldn’t trust in God’s love, which they deemed not enough without a golden idol. The “way” of God is trust ...
690. Hiding in Plain Sight
Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:19-23, Exodus 2:1-10, Exodus 2:11-25
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. Image Exegesis: Wings, Caves, Mustard Seeds, and Desert Places The “hiddenness” scriptures are filled with interesting metaphors such as hiding under God’s wings, hiding in caves, the hiddenness of the mustard seed, the hiding away in desert places. There are so many hiding stories in scripture, that one just has to sit up and notice! Hiding stories beckon to us to discover what else we ...
691. The Tempest
Jonah 4:1-11, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 1:1-17
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... psychological/spiritual meaning of the valley of dry bones, the winds that break the cedars of Lebanon, the dryness of the desert, the welcome water at Jacob’s well. Likewise in the story of Jonah, the wind and weather swirling as Jonah ... come to that new place. But the theme of the story is clear: God is with us even in our deepest “sleep” and darkest moments. God never deserts us no matter how angry we are or no matter how much we grieve. God never gives up on us no matter how stubborn we are or ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... people in parts of Africa, Asia, of the Holy Land must walk miles to retrieve daily water from a stream or underground well. For many, if a well dries up, the community’s source of water will be completely gone. For the Israelites roaming through the desert under Moses’ watch, lack of water had begun to be a huge problem. Their provisions had likely run out. Usually accustomed to living by their own means, they had no idea where to find water in this wilderness between Egypt and Canaan. This was new ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... not clear if his body has been released to his relatives. Would Jesus have taken part? We don’t know. All we know is that Jesus has received the news of John’s murder, and stricken with worry, pain, and grief, Jesus withdraws in a boat to a deserted place to be by himself for a while, to mourn and to pray. Yet, when others, whether followers, admirers, or concerned folk who know him, hear of what has happened, they have compassion for him, and they follow him. They will not leave him alone in his grief ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... earth was created. This same God so loved. But look what God loved—the world. I don’t believe John meant by this that God is crazy about mountains or lakes or deserts or sunflowers or whatever. I believe he was talking about people. Creative and crafty humanity. That’s who God loves. This complex creature who makes deserts bloom and lakes die. People of every color and nationality and culture and ability and personality. The world. That’s truly limitless love. That’s who God loves. Us! A few years ...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
... into everyday life. "The mountain tops are gifts to us. They give us perspective and they broaden our vision." (3) They empower and energize our faith. But the valley is where the people of God need to be. We don't have to be on Mount Tabor or in the desert someplace. We don't even have to be seeking a mountain top experience for one to happen. God can reach out and transform our lives anywhere, any place, any time. All we have to do is open our eyes and focus upon the one who came to transform darkness ...
Sermon
Frank Ramirez
... a broken statue of an ancient Pharaoh. Shelley’s poem, “Ozymandius,” was published in a magazine called “The Examiner,” on January 11, 1818: I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the ...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
... into everyday life. "The mountain tops are gifts to us. They give us perspective and they broaden our vision." (3) They empower and energize our faith. But the valley is where the people of God need to be. We don't have to be on Mount Tabor or in the desert someplace. We don't even have to be seeking a mountain top experience for one to happen. God can reach out and transform our lives anywhere, any place, any time. All we have to do is open our eyes and focus upon the one who came to transform darkness ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... ‘Ata and discovered the six boys, alive and well. The boys’ families had already held funerals for them. They had given up hope of ever finding them alive. They called the rescue a miracle. But how did six teenagers survive for more than a year on a deserted island? Those of you who remember the classic novel “Lord of the Flies” probably have one vision of how it all turned out. It doesn’t apply in this situation, however. Instead, these boys set up a system of work and rules to govern their days ...
Sermon
Derl G. Keefer
... experience, the church, family life a total success is by each one pulling together in a positive motivational venture. An Upper Room daily devotional titled, Live In Harmony by Maria M. Urdaz de Rosario from Puerto Rico described a particular type of bird that lived in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. They are called “sociable weaver birds” who erect very large and inviting nest to house hundreds of birds on trees and other tall objects. These nests insulate the birds from the extreme cold or heat of the ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... Vermont. He was also a veteran of the Korean War. Sometime in his life, he became a follower of Jesus. His philosophy in life became, “Love Jesus and keep it simple.” So Leonard packed a few belongings in his old truck and moved out into the California desert to fulfill a calling he felt came from God. Leonard didn’t have many resources, but he had a dream to share God’s love with the world. So he began gathering adobe clay and paint and various other items. And he slowly began building a monument ...
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