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 201 to 225 of 606 results
Sermon
King Duncan
... avoid the changes that are thrust on us. They happen. They will always happen. The best way to prepare for them is to learn to be adaptable. The way we learn to be adaptable is to move out of our comfort zone occasionally and try something new. Acquire a new skill, take up a new hobby, travel somewhere where few people speak your language, involve yourself in a ministry that is outside your comfort zone. Anytime we try something that we have never tried before, we gain confidence, we push back the limits of ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... not to say that we are rotten sinners. But at times we feel our life is going nowhere. We are not having nearly the success or the joy we anticipate out of life. And Christ says to us, "Turn around." Perhaps we are in a destructive relationship, or we have acquired an unsavory habit, or we're in some trying situation that is sucking the passion for living right out of us. We know we need to change. We know we ought to start over. Where do we get the power to do what we need to do? And Christ says ...
Sermon
King Duncan
In Operation Desert Storm a few years ago, for camouflage purposes, a division of soldiers had to repaint their Humvees to the color of the surrounding sand. The result was that the Humvees suddenly acquired a distinctly pinkish cast. As you can imagine, this became quite a source of humor for the soldiers. Someone even made a bumper sticker for one of these Humvees. It read, "Ask me about Mary Kay." Human beings are so creative. Particularly when it comes to humor. We can see ...
204. It's Not About Us
Revelation 22:1-6
Sermon
King Duncan
... an age, it's a style, it's a success. I'm the youngest. Most people who are wealthier than me are up in their 70s." Trump is a self-made celebrity who is fond of referring to himself in the third person. He seems obsessed with acquiring things--airlines, casinos, and high-rise buildings---and putting his name on them. His voracious appetite for power prompted a friend to make the observation that, "He's so exclusively involved with himself, with his need to announce and re-announce himself, that there's no ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... Jesus wasn't a very good judge of character. Think back to our scripture reading for today. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come home and eat with him, and Jesus accepted the invitation. This is a clear example of the measure of respect Jesus was acquiring in the region, since Pharisees didn't invite just anyone to their homes. However, someone else did come to the Pharisee's house that day--an uninvited guest. The Bible tells us that a certain woman who lived in the same city learned that Jesus was ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... oppressors, he added a surcharge when he collected taxes with which to line his own pocket. So we have a short, wealthy corrupt tax collector. Oh, one thing more--he was unhappy. That's not too surprising. If your primary goal in life is to acquire wealth, you'll never find true happiness. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the singer and actress who calls herself Madonna explains how her life has changed since she first came to fame in the early 80s. Referring to one of her more famous songs, "Material ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... . They sold whatever they could get at healthy margins. Neckerman saw this as an opportunity. If only he could position his store as the low-cost, high-value leader, he could build the enterprise of his dreams. As it happened, Neckerman managed to acquire a large shipment of spools of thread. Thread was in great demand in those days. Clothes also were in short supply. Women were constantly repairing their families' old garments. The obvious step for Neckerman would have been to sell these spools of thread ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... false accusations. Moses waited 40 years in the desert. (1) Can you imagine waiting forty years or more for a particular event to happen? And these are just a few of the Bible's many wait-ers. Patience is probably the hardest virtue for most modern Christians to acquire. We are taught that faith will remove all obstacles, and we expect them to be removed immediately. But sometimes God's timetable is not the same as ours. And that's a hard lesson for us to learn. We are too often like Clarence Day's father ...
209. What Would Bill Do?
1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
Sermon
King Duncan
... in an HBO movie starring William H. Macy. Bill Porter’s perseverance and positive thinking have had an impact on many people. As one of his many fans wrote: “I once read that the quality of one’s life is not measured by the things one acquires, but by the lives one touches.” Bill Porter has touched many lives. (1) Bill Porter’s story inspires us. But it also reminds us. Life is tough. For some people like Bill Porter, it is unbelievably tough. Sooner or later, however, you and I will have ...
Sermon
Edward Inabinet
... be distributed to the needy." Wow! They do not consider themselves needy. Some of us feel life has cheated us if our neighbor drives a nicer car than we drive. No wonder there is no joy to our lives. A small girl visited around her neighborhood and acquired cookies, candy, and a collection of trinkets. When her mother reproved the little lady for bothering the neighbors, the child replied, "Oh, the neighbors wanted me to come. I''m somebody they can give things to." In a sense she''s right. There is a need ...
Sermon
Brett Blair
... wherever you wish. PUSH it and it will go nowhere at all. It's just that way when it comes to leading people. They need to follow a person who is leading by example." It is easy to fall into the trap of outer significance. No sooner do we acquire a little power than we are trying to display it with letters after our name, or through the clothes on our back, or by titles on the door. Someone once wrote Ann Landers a letter asking if a person who receives an honorary doctoral degree should use it publicly ...
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
... . Nothing that the Church does seems to touch the real world very much. There is an old criticism of the Church which goes: “They’re praising God on Sunday, they’ll forget about it Monday; it’s just a little habit they’ve acquired!” Interestingly enough, one of the first Methodist hymnbooks had a section of hymns in it titled, “For Believers Fighting.” What was envisioned was not believers fighting amongst themselves (we’ve had enough of that), but believers fighting the forces of evil in ...
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
... is what we do in church, and what we do at work, at home, or at play. Somehow the two realms never quite connect. As the cynic said, “They’re praising God on Sunday, they’ll forget about it Monday, it’s just a little habit they’ve acquired.” Jesus’ family and friends were too close to the forest to see the trees. They did not recognize Him for Who he was. It might be instructive to couple this Scripture with the one in chapter 3 which suggests that we who claim to be Jesus’ followers are ...
Sermon
Donald B. Strobe
... at the marvel of modern technology, but nothing astonished them as much as the running water in their hotel bathrooms. Water for them in their arid countries meant life and power and wealth. They knew its scarcity and its value, yet here it could be acquired by the turning of a faucet, free and seemingly inexhaustible. When they prepared to leave Paris, Lawrence found them trying to detach the faucet so that they might always have an ample supply of water. He tried to explain that behind the flowing taps ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... Sabbath is a delight--not a curse or burden. God gives us divine permission to cultivate and enjoy life. There is a time-honored story of a hunting expedition that went on a safari deep in the jungles of Africa. The hunters from New York City wisely acquired the services of some of the natives who knew the land to help carry the provisions. The head of the safari paid the natives well and worked them long days and nights to get to their desired location. Everybody was tired and weary. Finally, one of the ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... this way: Man does not need to go to the moon or to other solar systems. He does not require bigger and better bombs and missiles. He will not die if he does not get better housing or more vitamins . . . His basic needs are few, and it takes little to acquire them, in spite of all the advertising. Man can survive on a small amount of bread in the meanest shelter. His real need, his most terrible need, is for someone to listen to him, to care for him, to love him, not as a patient; but as a human soul ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... to get up quickly and get with it..." (1) Trials and troubles are also part of our maturing and growing process so that we too are not destroyed and defeated when the powers and principalities of darkness chase after us. I remember that before my children acquired the ability to walk they had to crawl, and then begin the process of getting up and falling down until they learned to keep their balance. As I understand troubles and hardships, they usually come because of three principles at work. First of all ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... this way: "Man does not need to go to the moon or to other solar systems. He does not require bigger and better bombs and missiles. He will not die if he does not get better housing or more vitamins.... His basic needs are few, and it takes little to acquire them, in spite of all the advertising. Man can survive on a small amount of bread in the meanest shelter. His real need, his most terrible need, is for someone to listen to him, to care for him, to love him, not as a patient; but as a human soul ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... power. "Power is everything," the copy read. "You''ve worked hard to get it. It''s been a long way up the ladder of success and power. So why not look the part in the latest power suit? A suit that emphasizes the trim figure you've pumped iron to acquire, that signals the influence you wield." Then came the hook, the appeal to the universal longing for power. "And even for those of you who are not yet in the positions of power you deserve, look like a warrior in armor who has taken command. So get suited up ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... they will go to the feast, but they will have no fun. They will be first-class "party-poopers." Unbeknown to anyone is the revelation that Babette has been a renowned chef in a fine French eatery in Paris. Babette prepares for the feast by acquiring the finest foods available. I gained 10 pounds just watching the movie. My mouth could almost taste the delicious treats. This simple, austere faith community tries really hard not to enjoy it. However, the absence of joy gives way to laughter and joy. The ...
Sermon
Robert Noblett
... a common theological pin number which, if accurately entered, will grant us access to the love and forgiveness of God. Four, we can commend a humility befitting the children of an awesome God. Walter Lippmann once made this observation: "A man who has humility will have acquired in the last reaches of his beliefs the saving doubt of his own certainty."1 There is a certainty that quiets and centers us, but there is also a certainty from which we need to be saved, hence Lippmann's "saving doubt." Can we not ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... to remember. It began with the three virgin Marys marching out onto the stage. As they stood there, they, of course, were waving to their parents. It’s not every Christmas pageant that has three virgin Marys, but over the years the school had acquired three Mary costumes, and so, quite naturally the script was revised. This gave a chance for more children to be involved and kept down the squabbling over who got the starring roles. The two Josephs walked up behind the Marys. Then twenty little angels ...
223. Keeping Sunday
Mark 2:23-3:6
Sermon
David G. Rogne
... as well, for there was nothing else to do. If they did find something else to do, the church prevented them from enjoying it by heaping up guilt over desecrating the Sabbath. As Christians have become more affluent, however, they have managed to acquire more of life's amenities: vans, trailers, motor homes, boats, cabins, leisure. Weekends, of course, are the logical times to enjoy these amenities. The church has been reluctant to acknowledge this because it might seem to give people permission to stay away ...
Sermon
Fredrick R. Harm
... beings are very much like Oliver. We are always saying, one way or another, "We want more." Who was it that first said, "Enough is always a little more than a man has"? Philosophers and sages of long ago were sure that happiness does not lie in acquiring many "things" but in taming our desires. An ancient Greek thinker named Epicurus said of a friend, "If you want to make Pythocles happy, do not add to his possessions, rather, take away from his desires." Surely the happy ones are those who sing along with ...
225. Growing Faith
Romans 4:1-25
Sermon
Paul E. Robinson
... is called the "Doxology." "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." Saint Paul said that the more Abraham gave glory to God, the more his faith grew. How would that work for us? I believe we grow faith, which seems to be something that cannot be directly acquired (like happiness) by doing what we can do, namely glorify God. If we focus on the glory of God, instead of the glory of all the other things that get our attention, our spirits have the possibility of beginning to consider God first, to trust God ...
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