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 1651 to 1675 of 4963 results
Sermon
Robert S. Crilley
... to follow God; the sanctuary had resounded with choral anthems and Gregorian chant; and each Sunday a steady stream of villagers traveled from the surrounding countryside to be nourished in prayer and praise. Now but a handful of monks remained, shuffling aimlessly through the cloistered hallways, weary and discouraged. The sanctuary -- once filled with worshippers -- echoed only an eerie silence amidst the lengthening shadows. And those few visitors who ventured to the abbey on Sunday mornings came more ...
Sermon
Phyllis Faaborg Wolk
... with his own sin as he looked honestly at the cross and the price Jesus paid for his salvation. It was almost more than he could handle. He needed more sleep, more rest, more time with his family. He prayed for the time to pass quickly through the remaining weeks of Lent. At the end of the service, the pastor felt exhausted. The church was empty as he walked up the aisle to remove his robe and hurry home for lunch before the afternoon youth activities. As he shuffled across the tile, the little two-year-old ...
1653. Sowers Of The Seed
Psalm 119:1-176, Romans 8:1-17, Genesis 25:19-34, Matthew 13:1-23
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
... those who live with God's word as a lamp to guide them with the wicked who are trying to trap them. Nevertheless, the faithful seek to live according to God's precepts and decrees forever. It is a prayer to be instructed so as to remain faithful. Putting it all Together The lessons have some commonality in the theme of productivity and faithfulness in response to God's action and the dangers from the pressures of the people around them or the temptations of the flesh. Context of Related Scriptures Hebrews 6 ...
1654. Proper 12
Mt 13:31-33, 44-52 · Rom 8:26-39 · Gen 29:15-28 · Ps 105:1-11, 45b
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
... with their Creator. They find the longing satisfied when they realize the purpose for which God intended them to be. In the life of the flesh the possibility of continued growth is lifelong. Even when the physical powers begin to fade and falter, spiritual growth remains a continual search to the end of life in the flesh. 4. Worth the Risk. Both the person who found the treasure in the field and the merchant who found the valuable pearl took risks to obtain something they expected to give them greater value ...
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
... to be rewarded with positions of prominence and influence. 2. Who Do You Follow? Someone has suggested that with a change of pastor a congregation may actually have two or more sub-congregations in the same church. One congregation may feel their loyalty remains with the previous pastor. Another group may identify with the new pastor. Still others may feel they belong to some earlier beloved pastor. The issue is not to which pastor the congregation owes loyalty. It is rather a question of all giving loyalty ...
Sermon
John A. Stroman
... is the most sought after thing in the world. It has been the goal of governments, presidents, kings, princes, nations and the United Nations. It has been the subject of more prayers, sermons, litanies, and worship services than any other single subject. However, it remains the most elusive. Some have become cynical in this long and, what they have considered, futile quest for peace. Thomas Hardy, the English poet, wrote after World War I, Peace upon earth was said; we sing it. And pay a million priests to ...
Sermon
Thomas Long
... the center field stands, then to right field, until the whole outfield, including people who did not even know the story, were shouting, "Give the kid the ball!" Players began to glance up from the field to the stands to see what was going on. Horn Rims remained stubbornly firm. Finally, a man got up out of his seat, walked over to Horn Rims and spoke some words patiently and gently to him. Horn Rims hesitated, then reached into his pocket and handed the ball to the kid. "He gave the kid the ball!" someone ...
1658. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites
Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16
Sermon
Thomas Long
... politicians are defeated at the polls, hypocritical friends get dropped and hypocritical preachers lose the trusting ears of their congregations. It may well be that our age is particularly tough on hypocrisy. In some ways, it is our one remaining public sin. We can tolerate embezzlement, infidelity, brawling and addiction in our public figures, but not pretense and hypocrisy. Presidential press conferences are scrutinized not only for major policy shifts but also for flickers of insincerity passing across ...
Sermon
Robert G. McCreight
... save himself. If he fails to do this, he will surely die. When he has been thrown into the water, he must relax and make no effort to save himself. In that confusing moment, he won't know which way to swim to the surface of the water. He must remain calm and allow the life-saving quality of his life jacket to take over, gently lifting him to the surface and safety. The psalmist discovered that this same thing works in the life of faith. In the time of crisis, when the old rules don't apply and things don ...
Sermon
Thomas A. Pilgrim
... themselves. Some years ago in Russia a group of Christians were meeting secretly one night. Suddenly, two Russian army officers burst into their meeting. They said to the people, "Leave immediately or we will kill you." A few of the Christians left, but the others remained. The two officers locked the door. Then they turned around and said, "We are Christians, too. We just did not want to be with anyone not willing to pay the price." The question is always whether we are willing to pay the price, and travel ...
Sermon
Marc Kolden
... as being even more offensive. Does what is promised to us in the eucharist offend us? Threaten us? Wait until you hear the whole story of the crucified one. He will tell us that he is like a grain of wheat which unless it falls into the ground and dies remains a single grain and does not bear fruit (John 12:24). And he adds: Those who love their life lose it; and, whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Christ, the bread of life, gives us a kind of life unlike ...
Sermon
Marc Kolden
... also we need to realize that the command to forgive sins applies to all of us. It simply means that we are all to share the Gospel: as we do it, people will hear and believe; as we do not do it, they will not hear and believe but will remain lost in their sins. That is the risk God takes in Christ. That's why it is so important that we hear this story today so that through it Jesus can give us peace. We need to hear the story so that Jesus can remind us again that he is ...
Sermon
Lee Griess
... . And that fear can be grouped into three distinct categories: a fear of falling, a fear of loud noises, and a fear of abandonment. As we grow into adults, we are able to deal fairly well with two of those fears. For some, of course, the fear of heights still remains and even though as we grow old we regain that fear of falling and breaking a bone, it is not the same as the fear of falling that a baby experiences. Likewise as we grow older, we lose our fear of loud noises, even though many a parent has ...
1664. Seeing The Unseeing
John 9:35-41, John 9:13-34, John 9:1-12
Sermon
David Belgum
... to question him after he made the remark above, he made this statement: "If you were blind [like a sociopath who can't distinguish right from wrong], you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see [understand the spiritual issue],' your guilt remains" (John 9:41 RSV). One really needs to wrestle with Jesus' words here as they might pertain to one's own life. I suppose that those who can see physically feel really glad about that, satisfied, one might say. Remember John Newton, the slave trafficker ...
Sermon
John R. Bodo
... their needs supplied, be treated like princes. They were going to have silver spoons stuck in their mouths -- and pushed down their throats. For Nebuchadnezzar's generosity had a purpose. By becoming page boys in the royal court, Daniel and his friends were not only to remain in the king's service all their life: they were also going to provide for their fellow Jews a shining example of the wisdom of the proverb: "When in Babylon, it pays to do as the Babylonians do." Nebuchadnezzar was not going to miss a ...
Sermon
Elaine M. Ward
... , or art. Some through stories, for our very life is an unfolding story of our encounter with God. The "Jordan" is the symbol of our willingness to listen, to find our mission, our work. To step into the Jordan is to risk rather than to search for ways to remain safe and dry on the shore, for while we are wandering in grief and longing, God jumps out and says, "You are my beloved son, daughter. No longer do you need to live out the story of the abused, the abandoned, the anxious one. You are accepted! I am ...
Sermon
Elaine M. Ward
... his words to a community that had finally revolted against the Roman rule and had failed, to a community trying to make sense out of a chaotic world. The temple where God resided and ruled had been destroyed. The revolt was a defeat. All that remained were a few at Masada awaiting their death. To this community Jesus' words created a new world, connecting life with God beyond the Temple, in the world here and now, and they asked, and continue to ask, for a response. "Whose words will you follow?" There ...
Sermon
Elaine M. Ward
... hour'?" Our text says that they came to Philip and said, "We wish to see Jesus," and Jesus answered, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." And then he told them, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Living some three generations after the death and resurrection of Jesus, John wrote his "good news" to people who were risking their lives for Christ. To be a Christian meant facing one's immediate death ...
1669. A Love Feast
John 13:1-17, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Bulletin Aid
Frank Ramirez
... took a towel and performed a task reserved for slaves. Feetwashing was an essential act in the ancient world. People might bathe before they went to a friend's house for a dinner, but their feet got dirty on the way though the rest of their body might remain clean. So a good host provided water so people could wash their own feet. A rich host might provide slaves to wash the feet for them. That was hospitality. But nowhere in the ancient world do we find an example where the master washed the feet of the ...
Sermon
John N. Brittain
... seek that which is best for the beloved. A few years ago I visited an acquaintance, a pastor from Central America, who had just completed a year long fellowship of graduate study in Indianapolis. I was surprised to learn that his family was remaining in the United States a second year, at considerable hardship, while his wife completed her bachelor's degree, a process she had interrupted when they married over a decade earlier. "So many men in our region," he said, "progress in their careers and education ...
1671. Guilt And Grace
Romans 8:28-39
Sermon
Alex Gondola
... are careful not to promise their readers too much. Paula and Dick McDonald, for example, authors of Guilt Free (Gossett and Dunlap Publishers) claim that by following their program most people can reduce their guilt load by up to sixty percent! But, the remaining forty percent, according to the McDonalds, is "not solvable." They tell their readers to learn to "live around it." There's no true escape in pop psychology, either. Guilt is something like an automobile horn. It's useful, of course. But if the ...
1672. "Friend, Why Are You Here?"
1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Sermon
Alex Gondola
... plates to be used for Holy Communion. There were to be eight bread plates in all. They were made of wood. And the suggestion was made to carve a verse from Scripture into the rim of each plate. Seven verses were quickly selected. Only one verse remained. The committee in charge asked the supervising architect of the project to make the final selection. His choice was from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26: "Friend, why are you here?" (v. 50, RSV). Let's recall the setting for this quotation by Jesus. Do you ...
Sermon
Alex Gondola
... plates to be used for Holy Communion. There were to be eight bread plates in all. They were made of wood. And the suggestion was made to carve a verse from Scripture into the rim of each plate. Seven verses were quickly selected. Only one verse remained. The committee in charge asked the supervising architect of the project to make the final selection. His choice was from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26: "Friend, why are you here?" (v. 50, RSV). Let's recall the setting for this quotation by Jesus. Do you ...
Bulletin Aid
Rolland R. Reece
... expected of us to do something similar? How can this be? You see us in court rooms, railing at those who have harmed or killed our loved ones. We search for words that will hurt the guilty, not only in this moment but for all the remaining days of his/her life. Our shrill voices carry the hatred and venom that permeates all our conscious thought. The courts and the community support our verbal spewing believing that the guilty fully deserves this acidic volley of our words. We understand today's anger, but ...
Bulletin Aid
Derl G. Keefer
... , wife. If your life is to be successful, it will be done as God is asked to control and guide it. Allow God to mold your lives together to form a beautiful duet of love. Human imperfections will appear where dating bliss first blurred your sight. Remain unmoved in your love for each other. Imperfection and faults can be overcome with time, patience, and devotion to one another. Let God be the perceptible presence in your home. Also, allow your home to be a harbor of rest and repair from the pressures of ...
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