Dictionary: Rest
Synonyms: relax, take a rest, ease up/off, let up, slow down, pause, have/take a break, unbend, repose, laze, idle, loaf, do nothing, take time off, slack off, unwind, recharge one's batteries, be at leisure, take it easy, sit back, sit down, stand down, lounge, luxuriate, loll, slump, flop, put one's feet up, lie down, go to bed, have/take a nap, nap, catnap, doze, have/take a siesta, drowse, sleep, lie, be laid, recline, be, be placed, be positioned, support, prop (up), steady, balance, lean, lay, set, sit, stand, position, place, put, be based on, be grounded in, be founded on, depend on, be dependent on, rely on, hinge on, turn on, hang on, pivot on, be contingent on, revolve around, centre on, relaxation, leisure, ease, inactivity, respite, time off, time out, breathing space, break, interval, interlude, intermission, base, holder, stay, prop, brace, rack, hook, frame, shelf, bracket, trestle, tripod, plinth, pedestal, foundation, bed, foot, substructure, a standstill, a halt, a stop, remainder, residue, remaining part/number/quantity, part/number/quantity (that is) left over, others, those left, remains, remnant, remnants, rump, surplus, difference, extra, excess, superfluity, overflow, overspill, additional people/material/things, extra people/material/things, remain, continue to be, keep, persist in being, carry on being, go on being
Antonyms: work, motion, movement, struggle, rage, go mad, have a fit, see red, hit the roof, toil, be active, labor, effort, agony, activity, do, blow one's stack, blow a gasket, do one's nut, go ape, go wild, lose it, drive, action, move
Showing 2151 to 2175 of 3834 results
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
[Begin your sermon with a stack of catalogs, holding up and naming each one.] Among the avalanche of pre-Christmas (yikes!) catalogs already clogging up our mailboxes, here is one that manages to distinguish itself from the pack--which of course is it's whole intention. It's put out by the snooty, upscale gadget merchant Hammacher-Schlemmer. The stand-up-and-take-notice quality of this particular edition was not because the merchandise was new, or on sale, or geared towards any particular time of year or ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Say "Green Bay Packers fan" and what do you think of? Anyone? That's right. Cheese hats. Say "Peabody Hotel" and what do you think of? Anyone? That's right. Ducks. At the classy Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN, hundreds come to lunch every day for one specific reason. It's not that the chef is glamorous or that the deserts are gigantic or that the menu is gastronomic. That all may be true. But that's not why they come. No, the diners come for the ducks. Not to eat duck. But to watch ducks. The Peabody Hotel ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
A group of men celebrated on and on in a sports bar. "Here's to 94," one of them toasted. "Hip-94-Hooray," another of them cheered. "Ninety-four, Ninety-four," "Ninety-four," they chanted in unison. The waitress could take the mystery no longer. When one of them left for the men's room, she intercepted him and asked, "Why the big deal about 94?" "It only took us 94 days to finish this puzzle we've been working on." "What's so special about that?" He replied, "Hey, the box reads 5-7 years." Puzzles are not ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
It's a sad life-lesson. You probably learned it first as a young child. Leave something out, unattended, not locked-down or locked-up, and it's a pretty safe bet it's going to get stolen. Depending upon where and when you grew up, this lesson might have been learned later or earlier. But I doubt if there's anyone here today who hasn't had the experience of being robbed of something at sometime in their life. (You may want to get stories from your congregation of things they had stolen as children or as ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Do you remember how fascinating and fun transparency books were? Especially grizzly, gross, and so, of course, great, were those that showed what lay inside the human body. Those books, with their series of clear pages that overlaid one on top of another--adding the veins, the arteries, the muscles, the internal organs the nervous system--revealed a hidden world to curious kids. Now there are moving, revolving, 3-D images kids can call up on the family computer, images that are much more accurate and ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Here are the catalogues that came to our house this past week. (Save in a box or basket all the catalogues that arrive at your home for one week, and empty them out in front of the congregation.) Order anything from any catalog and you immediately get on the mailing list for hundreds of others. Depending upon your attitude, these catalogs can either be a delightful escapist fantasy, or a miserable consumeristic experience in "wannabe-ness." Here are some exclusive, high-end catalogs. These are especially ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Until Roy’s fall one of the longest running, best attended, financially successful Las Vegas shows was Siegfried & Roy. This was a combination magic show/three-ring circus extravaganza performed by master illusionists Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn. Using their trademarks enormous white tigers as companions and cohorts in their performances, Siegfried & Roy awed and amazed crowds with their innovative magic and their fearless use of those big cats. Then on October 3rd, 2003, something went terribly ...
2158. Mystery
Ephesians 3:1-13
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Those who live in the extreme northern latitudes of America and North America tend to put up Christmas lights earlier than those who live in the south. People who live large blocks of life in the dark enjoy the extra light, the cheery twinkling brightness, of Christmas season lights just a bit longer than is usual for most. Not only does the Sweet family put our Christmas lights up on Thanksgiving. We leave them up just as long as we can get away with and still avoid ridicule. After all, even though the ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The first vacuum clear was constructed of odd parts. The vacuum effect was accomplished by the attachment of an old pillowcase as its bag. A few hundred refinements later, the Hoover family popularized and sold door-to-door the motorized sucking machine dubbed the vacuum cleaner. It doesn't take a degree in interior design to notice how the humble vacuum cleaner has ably reflected the styles and dreams of popular culture. In the 1930s Hoover incorporated a round headlight into the front of their cleaning ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
On Christmas day of 2002, Andrew "Jack" Whittaker, Jr. of Scott Depot, West Virginia, won $113 million in the Powerball lottery. He announced two goals for the money: he would give ten percent to his church, and he would put people to work. Whittaker has started making good on both his promises, but in ways perhaps he didn't initially imagine. On Tuesday, 05 August 2003, someone bashed in the window of his SUV and hoisted a brief case containing about a half million dollars. But the real kicker to this ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
It's impossible to travel "chic-ly" [stylishly] when you travel with children. I don't care how beautifully matched your luggage; I don't care how organized you pack. Even if you get your kids those cute little rolling suitcases, you will still arrive at your destination with a messy entourage of unpackables. Depending on the children's ages and infatuations, these may be stuffed animals (think Beanie Babies), cars and trucks (think Matchbox), or beeping, blinking boxes (think GameBoy). The one constant in ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
I confess. . . . I'm a big Martha Stewart fan. My favorite image of Martha Stewart? It's the American Express Card commercial where she pokes fun at herself. She's sitting on the bottom of a drained pool, counseling us on how to use all our cutup, no-longer-needed other credit cards. Martha suggests re-tiling the bottom of a swimming pool with them, as she carefully places credit card fragments into an Olympic-pool sized mosaic-reproduction of the Venus de Milo. There is nothing Martha Stewart can't find a ...
2163. Warts and All
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
"Warts and all . . . " I love that expression. But it hits close to home, as I grew up with warts and moles all over my body. Some grew and grew and kept on growing. Others would appear, then disappear, then reappear in another spot. None of my warts or moles looked pretty and round and flat like Cindy Crawford's. Am I the only one here this morning that had to contend with barnacles on the body? Accepting someone warts and all means taking them with all their beauty and blemishes, all their gifts and all ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
It used to be the separation between a positive and a negative could be measured in millimeters. Here's a water glass. Is it half full or half empty? (I always opt for half-full, in the spirit of the bumper sticker that reads "Just say NO to Negativity"). A tiny difference in the water level determined whether we call it half-empty or half-full--whether the glass is a good thing (full) or a bad thing (empty). But have you noticed that it's rare to find anything that's plain old good anymore? In fact if ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Ever have one of those days? The mortgage payment is due. The car is making an ominous, expensive-sounding noise. The kids are suddenly having trouble in school, with friends, and with faith. Deadlines from work are stacking up and toppling over. Your spouse needs some extra care and attention. Then you know what it is to feel as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Anyone remember where that saying "the weight of the world" comes from? Recall some long-ago learned mythology and remember ...
2166. Fear Factor
Psalm 25:1-22
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
So . . . when did throwing up become the newest spectator sport? The hottest TV trend in pop culture? The red-hot reality show fear factor is supposed to highlight people facing up to and facing down their greatest fears. Whenever I've tuned in, the only thing I've seen is people hurling. They have good reason. The most crowd-pleasing, Nielsen-boosting activity seems to be when the "everyman" and "everywoman" participants are forced to consume large quantities of such disgusting delicacies as horse rectum ...
2167. By God’s Spirit
Zechariah 4:1-14
Sermon
James McCormick
I believe that God is here. I believe that God wants to meet us here and speak His word of life and give His gift of grace. I really believe in the presence and power of God! There is no more urgent task confronting the contemporary Church than the intensification of the experience of God at the heart of our life together. Not God as an interesting relic of the past… not God as object of learned discussion…not God as obligatory word uttered and then forgotten… and not God assumed but not central. No, none ...
Sermon
James McCormick
During my years of ministry, church buildings have been located in a variety of places. There was Monterey Road, Clinton Boulevard, Culver Avenue, Gibbs Street, Duarte Road, Hardy Street. And in 1982, for the first time I became pastor of a church on Main Street. I’ve always thought that is where the church should be – not off on some side street somewhere - but on Main Street. Of course, you know, when I talk about Main Street, I am not talking primarily about geography. I am talking about ideas and ...
Sermon
James McCormick
From the time Patricia and I first came to Big Canoe, almost four years ago, every day I have thought to myself, “What a rare privilege it is to live in this place, and especially to be a part of the faith community that is Big Canoe Chapel. So many people - so many rich histories - so many varied faith traditions! What a privilege to be here!” At the same time, every day I have thought to myself, “It is difficult to live graciously in the midst of so much diversity. We have to work at that every day!” ...
Sermon
James McCormick
One of my favorite musical forms is the spiritual. For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite spirituals has been “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.” I don’t know why, exactly. I like the melody. I like some of the images it calls to mind. It stirs up some deep feelings within me. I don’t know, I just like it. But recently, some of the words have been troubling me. All throughout the song there is the recurring phrase, “We didn’t know who you was,” or, “We didn’t know ‘twas you.” One typical verse says, “The ...
2171. Be Kind
Ephesians 4:17--5:21
Sermon
James McCormick
Since before I can remember, I went to Vacation Bible School every summer. I loved Vacation Bible School and I have many fond memories of my experiences there. I remember rousing games of “Red Rover” in which the boys tried to impress the girls. I remember making first century houses out of clay. There were times when we dressed up in bath robes and re-enacted Biblical dramas. I remember spatter painting – I loved spatter painting! We would get a leaf or a flower or some other object and put it on a piece ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
EXEGESIS of Matthew 1:18-25 Matthew begins his gospel by taking special care to establish Jesus’ historical and theological identity. The first seventeen verses enumerate the genealogy of Jesus “the Messiah” and establishes Joseph’s lineage as a descendant of the royal house of David. Yet this information also problematizes the narrative, for Matthew also reveals that Jesus’ conception was a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Mary, a betrothed young woman, remained a virgin until Jesus’ birth. In today’s ...
2173. Which End Is Up?
Ephesians 3:1-13
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Exegesis: Ephesians 3:1-12 The epistle text for this week can be read with two different agendas in mind. On one hand the focus is on establishing apostolic tradition. In the first century there was a necessary concern with creating a continuity of tradition and authority for the fledgling Christian church. Hence Paul’s apostolic authority, his priority of leadership, is part of these verses’ testimony. Especially since these Ephesians probably had not known Paul’s preaching personally, it is an imperative ...
Sermon
Elizabeth Achtemeier
The resurrection is for everyone. That is the message of our text. It tells the story of the visit of the Apostle Peter to the house of a Roman soldier named Cornelius, who is stationed with the other troops in the town of Caesarea on the northern coast of Samaria. Prompted by the vision of an angel who has urged him to summon Peter, Cornelius sends two of his servants to fetch the apostle. At the same time, Peter has been given the strange vision of a great sheet let down from heaven, filled with unclean ...
2175. Advent 2
Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 14:1--15:13, Isaiah 11:1-16, Psalm 72:1-20
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The future looms large during Advent. We are, after all, entering into a sacred time of hope when we look with expectation toward the consummation of our salvation. If, however, we become too preoccupied with our future, we may miss the salvific work of God in our present lives, which actually grounds our Advent faith. Our Old Testament texts for this Second Sunday of Advent confront us with this danger. Both are messianic texts that soar to breathtaking heights in envisioning the ...
Showing results