Dictionary: Face
Synonyms: countenance, physiognomy, profile, features, expression, facial expression, look, appearance, air, manner, bearing, guise, cast, aspect, impression, grimace, scowl, wry face, wince, frown, glower, smirk, pout, moue, side, flank, vertical, surface, plane, facet, wall, elevation, dial, display, (outward) appearance, nature, image, front, show, act, false front, facade, exterior, mask, masquerade, pretence, charade, pose, illusion, smokescreen, veneer, camouflage, respect, honour, esteem, regard, admiration, approbation, acclaim, approval, favour, appreciation, popularity, estimation, veneration, awe, reverence, deference, recognition, prestige, standing, status, dignity, glory, kudos, cachet, effrontery, audacity, nerve, gall, brazenness, brashness, shamelessness, look out on, front on to, look towards, be facing, have/afford/command a view of, look over/across, open out over, look on to, overlook, give on to, give over, be opposite (to), accept, come to accept, become reconciled to, reconcile oneself to, reach an acceptance (of), get used to, become accustomed to, adjust to, accommodate oneself to, acclimatize oneself to, be confronted by, be faced with, encounter, experience, come into contact with, run into, come across, meet, come up against, be forced to contend with, beset, worry, distress, cause trouble to, trouble, bother, confront, burden, brave, face up to, meet head-on, dare, defy, oppose, resist, withstand, cover, clad, skin, overlay, dress, pave, put a facing on, laminate, inlay, plate, coat, line
Antonyms: dodge, fear, back, give way, back down, dodge, avoid, throw in the towel, withdraw, cave in, retreat, succumb to, lay down one's arms, throw in the sponge, defer, submit, escape, bashfulness, shun, evade, elude
Showing 1001 to 1025 of 4935 results
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Ecclesiastes 5:1–9 offers an interlude before Qoheleth concludes his investigation of life under the sun. This section is distinct from the one that immediately precedes it, as indicated by the repeated references to God, the dominance of imperative verb forms, and the complete absence of first-person verb forms. Here for the first time in the book, the author directly addresses the reader. This section, addressing one’s attitude toward God (5:1–7) and government (5:8–9), in its context may serve to warn ...
Understanding Series
Robert H. Mounce
Opposition Mounts: In chapter 12 Matthew relates a number of incidents that reveal the basis for Pharisaic opposition to Jesus and his ministry. Jesus vindicates his disciples’ plucking grain on the Sabbath (vv. 1–8), restores a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath (vv. 9–14), moves away when he hears of a plot against him (vv. 15–21), refutes the Pharisees’ claim that he drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub (vv. 22–32), calls his antagonists “snakes” who will be held accountable on the day of judgment (vv ...
1003. Proper 28
Luke 21:5-19 · 2 Thess 3:6-13 · Is 12:2-6 · Is 65:17-25
Bulletin Aid
B. David Hostetter
CALL TO WORSHIP Sing praises to the Eternal One, who has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal priesthood, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel and the church. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Your work, Eternal Engineer, is beyond our understanding and we do not know what it means for you to rest from your work. We confess that we are often reluctant to work. We lose the satisfaction that comes with rest after a job well done. We are too willing to let ...
Sermon
Thomas C. Short
And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you ...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
“Is it real—or is it Memorex?” Memorex today makes televisions, dvd players, flash players, clock radios. But back a million-years-ago, Memorex made cassettes. And “Is it real–Or is it Memorex” was their slogan. It was a slogan the company used to tout the superiority of its tape for authentic recording productions. The “Memorex” company put its recorded sound up against a live voice. You got to decide. Was there any difference? Of course, they decided for you–they claimed there was no difference. The text ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
While the first antichristic passage (1 John 2:18–25) describes a church split in which so-called believers abandoned the Johannine fellowship and likely rejoined the local Jewish community, the second antichristic passage describes a threat in the impending future that is not a schism but an invasion. False teachers are about, and the way they are discerned is also by considering their Christology. In contrast to the first group, however, which refused to believe that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, this ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
If we attempt to reconstruct the situation for which the individual prayer (vv. 1–30) was appropriate, there emerges a complex web of circumstances. First, in verse 4 there are “my enemies without cause,” by whom “I am forced to restore what I did not steal.” (Are these false accusations of robbery for which he is forced to make restitution?) Second, in verses 7–12 he is alienated and endures scorn (v. 10) from family and neighbors “for your sake,” which is defined further as “zeal for your house” and ...
Sermon
Mark Radecke
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit." "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all." "I declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." "Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost." In more ways than we might at first imagine, our liturgy ...
1009. The Thief
Luke 23:26-43
Children's Sermon
Wesley T. Runk
Object: a mask I want to introduce you today to a man whom we would not want for a friend. That’s different, isn't it? I do not introduce you to people like this very often, but today we are going to pretend that we are listening to a thief. This is not an ordinary thief, but a very special thief. This is the thief who died on a cross beside Jesus when Jesus was crucified. I don’t know his name, but that is not very important for our story. Will you now please pretend that the thief is here, and that he is ...
1010. What I Am Preaching Today
Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12
Illustration
Staff
The story is told of the cold winter Sunday morning when the parking lot to the church was filling up quickly. Church members were whispering among themselves as they walked into the church, skirting around the man leaning up against the wall outside the church. He was almost lying down as if he was asleep. His long trench coat was almost in shreds and a hat concealed his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small, and so holey that his toes stuck out. He was homeless, asleep, and ignored. The ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Every generation has a signature dance. You might even say that every generation must live with its own “dorky dance” stigma. Anyone remember the “Twist?” The “Conga?” The “Hokey Pokey?” The “Funky Chicken?” About fifteen years ago you could not go anywhere — a party, a wedding reception, a baseball game — without being bullied to “Do the Macarena with Me.” The Macarena might have been a good ice-breaker at youth camps, or a way to get your blood moving again during the Seventh Inning Stretch. But is was ...
Sermon
Nancy Kraft
When I was in college, they used to show movies in a lecture hall that was tiered at a deep angle down to the front of the room. As soon as you entered the door from the rear, you had to go down an aisle of very steep stairs. I remember arriving late once, after the movie had already begun. As I tried to find a place to sit, it was so dark in the room that I nearly wiped out trying to negotiate the stairs. I ended up practically crawling on my hands and knees, groping my way to a seat. At the time I ...
Understanding Series
John Goldingay
Critique of the Community: While there are positive notes throughout 56:9–59:8, the dominant tone is confrontational, and even the positive notes incorporate barbed comment. The way the passages speak of shalom, which occurs six times (57:2, 19, 21; 59:8), sums up this point. This distinctive concentration of references finds its closest parallel in Zechariah 8, which again belongs to the same period as Isaiah 56–66. Admittedly there are no specific indications of a particular context here, and the ...
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
Let me ask you an odd question: If you died tomorrow, how hard would it be for your loved ones to sort through your belongings? I stole that question from Ashley Hamer, a science writer and podcaster, in an article she wrote about the practice of Swedish death cleaning. Have you heard about this? It sounds morbid, but it’s actually a good idea. Swedish death cleaning is the practice of going through your possessions every few years and getting rid of the things you no longer need or no longer feel ...
Sermon
James Bjorge
Christmas is a time to get "hooked" on Jesus. And that is a condition from which you will need no withdrawal. A Catholic Sister, who is blind, told me she has an incurable disease. I thought she was going to elaborate on her blindness which came as a result of diabetes. Rather she said, "I have the Jesus disease." Then she went on to say that she wanted no cure for that state of being. However, we will often have to admit that there is a post-Christmas slump. It is a bit of a let-down after a season’s high ...
1016. The Power of God Is Real
Matthew 28:16-20
Illustration
Paul van Dine
In David Dunn's book entitled "Giving Yourself Away," he tells of a lesson he learned from a bus driver whom he once had met. Riding the bus this day, Dunn noticed a driver who was exceptionally cheerful in every imaginable circumstance. There was a kind and happy word from him for everyone who stepped on the bus, and again for everyone who left. As he was about to get off, Dunn told the driver he was the happiest bus driver he had ever seen and wondered what the reason was. "Well," the driver said, "to be ...
1017. A Bill of Rights
Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
A church that believes in anything and everything is standing on the brink of believing in nothing. What is your basis for deciding between right and wrong? Do you even think in terms of right and wrong anymore? Do you have categories of rightness and wrongness in your life? Or are you paralyzed by an overdose of tolerance, drowning in what is "politically correct"? Jesus was more loving and accepting than any person who has ever walked this earth. He dined with sinners and tax collectors, he welcomed the ...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
At the tender age of 18, I preached my first sermon on marriage and family. It was entitled “When Home is Heaven.” A few months later I got married and reality struck. After a few courses in psychology and shortly before our first son was born, I preached a sermon on the “Twelve Essential Elements of Effective Parenting.” Our children were normal preacher’s kids so I stopped giving advice on raising children. Now that my sons are grown and my wife is out of town, I thought I would end this series of ...
1019. Wonder: It Is So Exciting
Matthew 17:1-9
Illustration
Brett Younger
In the comic strip Peanuts, Snoopy's brother Spike, the one who lives in the desert, is sitting with his back against a cactus, writing a letter that says, "At night the sun goes down, and the stars come out; and then in the morning the sun comes up again. It's so exciting to live in the desert." We've gotten used to sunrises and sunsets, mornings and evenings, the moon and the stars. We've gotten used to music and art, friends and family, joy and sorrow. We too easily grow accustomed to the wonders that ...
1020. I Want You All to Get A’s
Matthew 20:1-16
Illustration
Will Willimon
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard that cries out against our sense of judgment. We cannot help but puzzle and protest over the actions of the landowner. We cannot avoid the conclusion that this story is just not fair. ​William Willimon gives the story a modern twist: First day of class the professor says, "Now class, this is a course in advanced mathematics. Your entire grade will be based upon your solution of a very difficult mathematical problem. And I want you all to do well. I want everyone ...
Understanding Series
David J. Williams
This chapter and the next, which are largely an account of the “acts of Stephen,” serve a twofold purpose. First, they complete Luke’s picture of the early church while it was still for the most part confined to Jerusalem, noting certain problems that arose in connection with the common fund and how they were resolved. Second, they set the scene for the later chapters that tell of the church’s expansion beyond Jerusalem. This they do in two ways: first, by tracing the course of events that forced many ...
Understanding Series
Craig A. Evans
The Births of John the Baptist and Jesus Foretold: One of the problems in comparing the Synoptic Gospels is accounting for the distinctive features of the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke. On the one hand, Matthew mentions an angelic announcement to Joseph (1:20), the Magi (2:1), a star (2:2), the flight to Egypt (2:13–14), and the slaughter of the infants (2:16). Luke’s account contains none of these items. Moreover, only Matthew cites Isa. 7:14 (see 1:23), Mic. 5:2 (see 2:6), Hos. 11:1 (see 2:15), ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
5:1–20 Mark’s stories of Jesus’ works are designed not only to tell something of what Jesus did but also to dramatize or symbolize important points. To read these stories the way Mark intended, we must look for what they suggest as symbols, and this involves reading the accounts carefully, with an eye for detail. The present story particularly seems intended to symbolize important truths, and it deserves close attention. The first thing to notice is where this event takes place. Though there is some ...
1024. Holy Love and Herod's Love
Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:19-23
Sermon
Mark Radecke
You must understand something about Herod the Great before you can understand what caused him to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. In the thousand years that lay between King David in Old Testament times and King Herod, no king of Israel wanted to be loved by his people more than Herod the Great. It was a consuming passion for him. He played the political game withh consummate skill. Althougha member of the royal family by birth, Herod ruled at the pleasure of the Roman emperor ...
Children's Sermon
Wesley T. Runk
Object: A ladder. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about rescuing someone whom we love very much. Let's pretend that there is someone caught in a house that is burning and she cannot get out by the door, but she is too high to jump without really getting hurt. What will we do to rescue this person? (Let them answer.) Those are good answers. We could do a lot of those things, but maybe the best answer is to put our ladder up against the house and either climb up the ladder and help ...
Showing results