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 1701 to 1725 of 1967 results
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
When our Lord wanted to drive home a truth, he told a story and the greatest story ever told is the story in the Bible of the Prodigal Son. Every preacher has tried to preach it; songs have been written about it; movies have been made of it. There are Prodigal Ministries and Prodigal Magazines, but let not our familiarity with the story blind us to its meaning for our lives. For whoever you are, wherever you came from, however you perceive your future, you are in this story, in every word on every line. “A ...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
The famous preacher and poet, John Donne said nearly 500 years ago, “No man is an island; no man stands alone. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. Any man’s death diminishes me.” When God Almighty created the world and everything that is in it, he failed to get it just right the first time around. He who made the beasts of the field and the birds of the air discovered Adam lacked a suitable helper. The Lord God said to himself, “It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a helper ...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Alexander Pope said “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Lewis Smedes says, “God invented forgiveness as a remedy for a past that not even he could change nor forget.” Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven. Those who are forgiven much, love much.” Come, let us take a closer look. Jesus is invited to join Simon the Pharisee for dinner. Why Simon invited Jesus is anybody’s guess. Maybe Simon sincerely wanted to know Jesus. Maybe dinner was a trap. Maybe Simon was just curious and decided to find out for ...
1704. Go
Matthew 28:16-20
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
This morning I'm going to use a word that some people say shouldn't be used in mixed company. Some say it should NEVER be used from the pulpit because it will run off any visitors you have. And still others say it is so repulsive a word that it should never be used at all. I'm going to go out on a limb this morning and use that word. And I hope it doesn't offend your sensibilities too much. I'm talking about the "E" word. Evangelism. I hope you'll forgive me if that offended you but that's what I think our ...
1705. Exit and Entrance
Galatians 4:21-31
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
It was in the newspaper back in the late 1950’s, at the height of the civil rights movement - an unforgettable picture which captured not only the emotion of one man, but the deep sense of freedom and joy and release and affirmation of a whole people. A black man, who must have been over 100 years old, was being carried on the shoulders of a group of young men. They were taking him up the steps of a courthouse in a Southern town to register to vote. The caption beneath the picture said he was born a slave ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Barbara Walters, of Television’s 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the current Afghan war. She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands. She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk behind their husbands. From Ms. Walters’ vantage point, despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to walk even farther back behind their husbands, and are happy to maintain the old custom. Ms. Walters ...
Sermon
J. Howard Olds
Faith. By faith, Noah built an Ark. By faith, Abraham fathered a son. By faith, John Wesley formed a movement called Methodists. By faith, Frances Asbury came to America. By faith, Green Hill built a home in Brentwood, Tennessee. By faith, Robert I. Moore led this church to this location. By faith, what are you and I going to do for the sake of those who come behind us? That’s the question I want to pose today. According to the writer of Hebrews, there are two or three things about faith that you and I ...
1708. The Irrational Season
Romans 14:1--15:13
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
One brief, sunny morning a woman looked out her living room window and was amazed to discover a dead mule on her lawn. Immediately she called the sanitation department and asked them to remove the carcass. But by the time the work-crew arrived, she had changed her mind. She gave the men $100.00 each, instructing them to carry the mule upstairs and to deposit it in the bathtub. After they had dutifully followed her instructions, one of the workers asked why she wanted the dead mule in her bathtub. She said ...
1709. The Resurrected Rabbit
Humor Illustration
One day, Mrs. Beemer looked out the kitchen window and saw her Doberman carrying in its mouth a rabbit. Mrs. Beemer froze in her tracks! Her next-door-neighbors had raised rabbits for many years. She was sure that her dog had killed one of their beloved bunnies. Mrs. Beemer had no idea how to apologize to her neighbors. They would never trust her again if they found out. Mrs. Beemer got the dead rabbit away from her dog and took it inside. She washed it thoroughly, moussed and blow-dried its fur, and then ...
Sermon
Derl G. Keefer
One of the most prolific songwriters of the nineteenth century was Fanny Crosby. She was the daughter of John and Mercy Crosby from Putnam County, New York. Fanny was born on March 24, 1820. At age six weeks she became ill with a slight cold, causing inflammation of the eyes. Her concerned parents sent for the doc­tor to come and examine her. The family doctor was out of town and a doctor unfamiliar with the Crosby family came to the home. He recommended the use of hot poultices, which destroyed her sight ...
1711. Revelation 7:9-17
Revelation 7:9-17
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Revelation is a book full of secrets and symbols, dreams and visions, strange creatures, scary predictions, and sealed scrolls. The mysterious nature of all the details John records in his final book have challenged each new generation of believers to come to grips with this unique message. The first few chapters in Revelation, with its letters to the churches and the sequential unsealing of the seven scrolls, is an unveiling of sacred information. This vision is filled with both words of praise and ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Of all the things Christians do, baptism might be the weirdest –– at least from an outsider perspective. For those born into the Christian tradition, baptism is a wonderful, beautiful moment, a joyful celebration. For those outside the Christian faith, it can seem completely strange, even macabre. Baptism is a “ritual drowning,” a symbolic death that ushers the baptized into a spiritually reborn, renewed life. However we dress this ritual up — whether with lacy baptismal gowns for infants or with lemonade ...
Teach the Text
Grant R. Osborne
Big Idea: There are two primary aspects to this story: (1) Jesus has given himself as the Passover sacrifice, producing a new exodus and a new covenant; (2) the disciples will fail, but Jesus will meet them after his resurrection and give them the strength to overcome. Understanding the Text This is the core of the eucharistic scene, the reason why Jesus celebrated the Last Supper—to show his disciples that his coming death was to be a vicarious sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Structure There is an A-B ...
1714. Leadership and Servanthood
1 Corinthians 4:1-21, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23
Teach the Text
Preben Vang
Big Idea: Christian leaders must remember they are mere servants who are expected to be trustworthy and eager to enhance the mission and message of their master. Understanding the Text First Corinthians 3:16 and 17 function as a bridge connecting two sides of the same argument. Still addressing the secular nature of the church’s behavior, Paul concludes his exhortation to use superior building materials with a reminder that the Corinthians are building God’s holy temple. This reminder becomes the launching ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
14:1–2 These verses introduce the events of the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus and resemble previous indications of hostile intentions against Jesus (cf. 3:6; 12:12). Although previously the Pharisees are frequently mentioned as criticizing and opposing Jesus (e.g., 2:16–3:6; 7:1–5; 8:11; 10:1–2; 12:13), they are not linked by name with the actual arrest and execution in Mark (cf. Matt. 27:62; John 18:3). Instead, it is the priests and scribes who are mentioned here. The material in 14:1–15:47 is ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
15:1–5 In this passage the Jewish leaders meet to make a formal decision about Jesus (v. 1) and they hand him over to Pilate, the Roman governor, whose interrogation of Jesus is then briefly described (vv. 2–5). All three Synoptic Gospels record a morning meeting of the Jewish Council to deal with Jesus (cf. Matt. 27:1; Luke 22:66), which is further evidence that any hearing held during the night must have been either an interrogation or some sort of pretrial hearing, not a formal trial. Otherwise no ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
David and Abigail: Sandwiched between the two parallel incidents in which David has the opportunity to destroy Saul but chooses to spare his life is this very different account of David’s activities during this period. At first sight it appears out of place in the overall schema of the books of Samuel, where the focus is on the question of power, primarily in national leadership. But here too power is a key motif, and there are several reasons the writers might consider this incident to be relevant. 25:1a ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
David and Bathsheba: The mopping-up operation to complete the siege of the Syrian capital Rabbah is described in 11:1, but the completion is not recorded until 12:26–31. In between is the story of David’s involvement in adultery, betrayal, and murder. 11:1 The writers make it clear that David’s presence in Jerusalem at this time was unusual. The fighting season has begun, but at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab. That is, he did not go himself, and the verse stresses that while the army ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
15:42–47 In Roman practice, a person executed for treason (the charge placed against Jesus) was not ordinarily given a burial but was left on the cross to be devoured by scavengers. Only by special permission of the Roman magistrate could such a criminal be given an ordinary burial, and even then public mourning was forbidden. By contrast, Jewish custom required that even criminals be given burials, on the day of their death if at all possible. To fail to observe this custom was to defile the land, and so ...
1720. Hallelujah!
Revelation 19:1-10
Understanding Series
Robert W. Wall
19:1–3 Now that the third woe is completed, the reader is ready to hear God’s concluding word that speaks of salvation rather than of judgment. These doxologies describe the logical response of worship to the angel’s earlier demand for the heavenly community to “Rejoice … O heaven/Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!” (18:20). They also form part of the heavenly liturgy of joy that is marked by the repeated acclamations of Hallelujah! (19:1, 3, 4, 6)—found only here in the NT but often in the OT ...
Sermon
Brett Blair
It is fascinating to me that in our Southern Protestant religious culture, such a strong emphases is placed upon literal interpretation. Interestingly, Jesus so often did not speak literally, but figuratively. He spoke in allegories and images. He painted word pictures. Instead of literally coming out and saying what he meant, he so often would tell a story and let people draw their own conclusion. Indeed, these hidden messages of Jesus frequently frustrated his disciples. They wished that he would speak ...
1722. Jacob's Sheep
Matthew 28:16-20
Sermon
Lori Wagner
A few years ago in 2016, a couple named Gil and Jenna Lewinsky of Canada, made it their mission to return a rare breed of sheep called “Jacob’s Sheep” to their origin land of Israel. For the first time in 2,000 years, the primitive looking, spotted (piebald) sheep with four horns will roam their native hillsides. The name “Jacob’s Sheep” for this genus of sheep comes from the reference in Genesis 30 in which Jacob takes all of the “spotted” sheep with him from his father in law Laban’s flocks. Said to have ...
1723. The Heart's Deceit
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Sermon
Lori Wagner
Rules. We need them. They are like guardrails for our safety, our well-being, and our peace of mind. What feels like a risky journey is made secure and free of worry by the guidelines, laws, and rules of our societies. When rules function as our boundaries, our structure to our otherwise aimless endeavors, they comfort us. But when our rules become our journey, our primary focus, the purpose for the trip itself, we have become prisoners of our own safety nets. How does this happen? It usually has to do ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
If there’s anything we learned about the pandemic is that the virus wasn’t the only one. We are living in a pandemic of loneliness like we’ve never seen before. Even in our current semi-post-pandemic world, loneliness continues to plague our psyches. “Isolation, grief, and loneliness which continues even in this phase of the pandemic has “changed our brain” and will continue to do so.”[1] Although necessary, social distancing along with fear of the virus has put us into an almost continual “fight and ...
Sermon
April Yamasaki
On a recent trip out of town, I stayed at a hotel that offered a complimentary breakfast. After serving myself from the generous buffet, I decided to send a photo of my breakfast to my sisters just for fun. I re-arranged the country-fried potatoes on my plate, moved the sausage patty and hard-boiled egg so they were nestled beside the potatoes, with the watermelon and other fresh fruit filling the rest of the plate. With my cup of herbal tea and cutlery to the right, and my newspaper to the upper left, the ...
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