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 1726 to 1750 of 4946 results
1726. Prepare The Way
Malachi 2:17--3:5
Sermon
Robert A. Hausman
Traditionally, the second Sunday in Advent brings us face to face with the forerunner, John the Baptist. But John does not stand alone. He stands knee deep in history, and history is a part of the world Christ came to redeem. Let us look at the gospel lesson (Luke 3:1-6) before we turn to the Old Testament. It begins in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. So who was Tiberius? He was born of noble parents, who then were divorced so that his mother could marry the emperor, Caesar Augustus. Tiberius had a ...
1727. Proper 12
Psalm 85:1-13, Colossians 2:6-23, Hosea 1:1-2:1, Luke 11:1-13
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
PERSISTENT PRAYING A special interest of Luke in both the Gospel and the Book of Acts is prayer. He frequently notes the prayer life of Jesus. Before every major crisis in his ministry Jesus spent time in prayer. The parables for today with their surrounding materials give an occasion for the preacher to deal with the whole subject of proper praying. It is an opportunity to deal with common misconceptions of prayer. It is also an opportunity to consider the whole discipline involved in praying. While Jesus ...
1728. Proper 19
Psalm 14:1-7, 1 Timothy 1:12-20, Jeremiah 4:5-31, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
Recovering The Lost Most of us have experienced loss. It may be money or something else of value. It may be a pet or an animal we were raising. It may be a person who rebelled against the family or cut all ties with church and community. Loss always results in sadness. If the loss is due to our carelessness or our actions, we probably have a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomach. It is a combination of guilt and sadness at the same time. Even if the loss may not be of great value, we may spend hours ...
Sermon
Richard Gribble
Monday Holy WeekIsaiah 42:1-7John 12:1-11 Following The Road All people have a vocation in life. Many times the word vocation is applied to priesthood and religious life alone, but this is far too limiting. All people have a vocation, a road that they will follow in life. Some people will follow the vocation to the single life; most will follow the call to married life and family. Some will follow the invitation to become religious and/or priests. Many people will be wives or husbands who work daily to ...
1730. Proper 22
Luke 17:1-10, Lamentations 1:1-22, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Lamentations 1:1-6 Lament for Jerusalem that lies in ruins. The series of seven lections is interrupted by a passage from Lamentations. In 586 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered and burned to the ground. The people were carried away to Babylon. Jerusalem now lies in ruins and is deserted. Along with the city, the holy temple is now a heap of ashes. The book of Lamentations is a collection of five poems moaning Jerusalem's end. It is appropriate that Lamentations is in this series from ...
1731. Maundy Thursday
Lk 22:14-30 · Jn 13:1-17, 31b-35 · 1 Cor 11:17-32 · Ex 12:1-14 · Ps 116
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14 The passover marked the beginning of a new era for the Israelites. "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (v. 2). The people are ordered to set aside a flawless lamb to be slaughtered, roasted and eaten on the 14th day of the month. Everyone was to be part of the feast. The meal was to be eaten in haste because God was on the move. The people are to be ready to leave as soon as the Lord breaks the bars of slavery. The blood is to be placed on their ...
Sermon
Ronald Lavin
I am the good shepherd. -- John 10:11 (NRSV) These words of Jesus bring us into contact once again with the great I AM. Who is this good shepherd? The one who made heaven and earth, the one from whom we came and the one to whom we go. The Great I AM The situation seemed out of control. The woman was dying of cancer. She had nowhere else to turn. She had tried all the chemotherapy which had been prescribed. She had even traveled to Mexico for a new treatment that a friend had experienced. Nothing worked. ...
Sermon
William G. Carter
Mark 2:23--3:6 (C, RC) Mark 2:23-28 (L) A few years ago, I was asked to serve as the worship leader at a regional church conference for teenagers. The enthusiastic recruiter told me about the wonderful experience I could expect from the gathering. "Every summer," she said, "the conference brings together about a hundred or so young people at a camp that has no swimming pool. We gather during the dog days of August. The conference is so much fun, nobody misses the pool!" My assignment was to preach sermons ...
Sermon
Charles R. Leary
The text is one you memorized in kindergarten. It’s one of the Ten Commandments. However, what we just heard from the lips of Jesus is his own unique interpretation: “Keep holy the Sabbath day ... The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” That text refers to the day you and I observe as Sunday. And so, I am asking, “What’s A Sunday For?” It is of great interest to me how many Christians think the Sabbath Commandment is about work, while others think it is about rest. What is of even greater ...
Drama
Dallas A. Brauninger
WHAT'S HAPPENING The Gospel called Mark wants to set a tone of direct action and quick response in this story. Mark shows an absence of dragging feet and suggests a sense of urgency. Jesus gets things done. From Mark's perspective, whatever happens around Jesus, the response is always immediate. "Immediately" is a favorite action word in the first chapter of Mark. After the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit immediately drives him out into the wilderness (Mark 1:12). When Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to be ...
1736. Bristle Unity
Ephesians 4:3
Children's Sermon
Wesley T. Runk
Object: A toothbrush and the bristles of a toothbrush. Lesson: eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever noticed how important it is to keep certain things together? Sometimes it is hard to keep a number of things together, but if you don't you only have trouble. When everything that is supposed to be together is working together we call that unity. Unity is good, and we need more of it. Let me show you what I mean. The other morning I ...
Sermon
Erskine White
He awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free. "And he did not know that the Lord had left him.(Judges 1:20) (I will be speaking directly to the children in church this morning, but the rest of you can listen if you want to.) I imagine some of you like to watch the cartoons on Saturday morning. Am I right? You watch the superheroes, as I did when I was a kid. In my day, it was Superman and Wonder Woman; of course, they're still around, but there are also some new ...
1738. Proper 11
Colossians 1:15-23, Luke 10:38-42, Genesis 18:16-33, Colossians 1:24--2:5, Psalm 15:1-5
Sermon Aid
George Bass
THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary followed and the calendar year used in this cycle, this Sun-day could very well fall near August 6. Liturgical "old-timers" in some churches will remember that August 6 is, or was, the date for celebrating the Transfiguration of Our Lord. The Book of Common Prayer continues a practice formerly followed by Lutheran books of worship: Namely, that the Transfiguration is observed on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany by the use of the readings for the ...
Sermon
Carlyle Fielding Stewart
As we commence celebrations of Black History this month, I want to say what a wonderful thing that we have time for formal observances of the great contributions black people have made to world civilization in general and to America in particular. We are a great people who have literally and spiritually come a long, long way. We have built the pyramids and originated the mathematical, medical, and physical sciences. We invented the first alphabet and gave to humanity its first language and systems of civil ...
Drama
Robert A. Morgan
I thought I was an old man when we were brought to Babylon, and I am ten years older now. I never expected to live this long under what I assumed would be the acute hardships of being captives, held against our wills in this strange land so far from home. But actually, daily life since we reached here has not been all that difficult. The journey from Jerusalem was very difficult. The Babylonian soldiers who had herded us together saw to that. There were not enough horses or donkeys to carry us all, and ...
Sermon
John P. Rossing
John Denver wrote a song 20 years ago about wanting to get away from the big city to a place in the country - "somewhere to build me a faith, a farm and a family." The story of Ruth reminds me of that song, because it's about simple people living on the land, and about the strength they draw from faith and family. The story starts by telling us it took place "in the days when the judges ruled." Those were days of dreadful battles between God's people and their enemies, of mighty warriors and great heroes ...
Sermon
Joann Hary
The other day as I was sitting outside the pre-surgical room at the hospital with nothing much to do but wait, I opened one of the multitude of magazines there and saw this wonderful cartoon. There were two witches on brooms flying through the air. You know how we picture witches to look. Well, one looked pretty happy while the other was obviously very upset as she complained to the other, "I told you before we started out today that it was going to rain. But no, you wouldn't listen to me, you and your ...
Sermon
Johnny Dean
The final Episode of the Seinfeld show which aired at the end of the 1998 TV season received a lot of flack for being disappointing. Perhaps the reason so many were disappointed in the show is because it moralized. It wasn’t very funny; in fact, it was self deprecating. All of the characters receive a one year sentence for failing to help someone who was robbed. What happens is this: Jerry plays a comedian on the show and he has just received a contract from NBC to do a sitcom and the network is flying ...
Drama
Martha L. Leach
Characters: Narrator Abraham Centurion Narrator: Faith is the attribute of Lent which perhaps should have been considered before all others. For repentance, sacrifice, commitment, humility, and service are all the results of faith in our lives. Tonight Abraham and the Centurion meet. As the Centurion returns to his tent and prepares to sleep, Abraham approaches. Abraham: Greetings! It seems I've been walking for days. Do you have time for a weary traveler? Centurion: I can see that you are very tired. Come ...
Sermon
Johnny Dean
I know it’s not summer yet, but the summer SEASON has already begun – at least, as far as department stores and Hollywood are concerned. The summer season for those who manufacture and sell summer clothing items, and for those who produce, direct, and market movies for public consumption begins each year in the month of May. Of course, the biggest hit of this summer season supposedly will be the newest entry into the "Star Wars" series. As I watched and read reports about how anxious and enthusiastic ...
Sermon
Rolf E. Aaseng
Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But know this: If the owner of ...
Sermon
Carl Jech
Introduction Do you know what your name means? Many names do have a definite historical or linguistic meaning. Jeffrey, for example, means "peaceful." Helga means "holy." Vivian means "full of life." Carl means "strong" or "manly." Michael means "one who is like God." You would be surprised at how many names have religious or biblical background. All the various forms of the name John go back to the biblical, Hebrew name Jo-nathan - the Jo refers to God (Jehovah or Yahweh) and Nathan means gift. Thus Joan ...
Sermon
"For the man who wants to save his own life will lose it; but the man who loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." (St. Mark 8:35 TEV) "We're only number two; we try harder!" I'm sure you've all seen the magazine ad of the car rental agency that uses this slogan. In a way the slogan strongly reflects some of our national thinking. One of the key doctrines of our American enterprise is hard work. If a person's going to succeed in life, we say, he will have to exert himself. It is often ...
Sermon
Shortly before dawn one morning a couple years ago, a gasoline pipeline erupted and a terrible fire flared up right down the middle of a suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, street. A woman delivering newspapers was caught in the flames; her car ignited and she was severely burned, but survived. People were awakened to discover flames shooting higher than telegraph poles. "The whole neighborhood is on fire," was one person’s description. In one home, a father woke up his wife, told her to get her daughter while ...
Sermon
This story has the stuff in it for creating a modern day television soap opera. It mirrors life as it was, and is right now in this world, at its worst and at its best. The Book of Ruth begins with a refugee problem. Elimelech, a native of Bethlehem, leaves home with his wife and two sons to seek refuge in Moab (of all places); it was here Moses was buried. As a result of his sin Moses got into real trouble with God and was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. The move from Bethlehem to Moab was nothing ...
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