Synonyms: replica, copy, representation, mock-up, dummy, imitation, double, duplicate, lookalike, reproduction, prototype, stereotype, archetype, type, version, style, ideal, paragon, perfect example, specimen, perfect specimen, fashion model, supermodel, mannequin, sitter, poser, subject, artist's model, photographic model, design, mark, configuration, variety, kind, sort, original, original design, exclusive, toy, miniature, facsimile, prototypical, prototypal, archetypal, illustrative, perfect, exemplary, classic, flawless, faultless, consummate, impeccable
Antonyms: deficient, imperfect
Showing 276 to 300 of 2962 results
Sermon
Harold Warlick
... ." So Moses loosened his sandals and kicked them from his feet. Now, that's strange - "Put off your shoes!" If it's holy ground wouldn't you want someone to put on his shoes? You cannot go in McDonald's barefooted today. Shoes are designed to protect. Shoes are designed to protect the feet from the rough rigors of the road. Put off your shoes, Moses. Feel the bare dirt. Get real, Moses. We're going to deal with reality here, old boy. Being a wealthy, arrogant Egyptian, jumping on someone and murdering him ...
Sermon
Walter Kimbrough
... reality of God in the affairs of history is that God sends a great announcement. For most people, a well-designed and printed card invitation, mailed to selected friends would suffice to announce a marriage or any other festive occasion. ... a holy place. It is life threatening if you persist and force your way up. J. Edgar Park once declared that, “The experience was designated to instill a sense of reverence in the people’s intercourse with God.’’ There ought to be an ‘‘awe” in our lives when ...
Sermon
Mark Ellingsen
... John's gospel always has to be understood in the context of the famous prologue of the gospel (John 1:1-8). (In the second lesson, the author of Hebrews designates Jesus as both a "high priest [Hebrews 4:14-15]," who presumably offers a sacrifice through his death; yet the sacrifice presumably was not offered to a wrathful God since God is designated as the one who could save Jesus [Hebrews 5:7].) The prologue reminds the reader that Jesus is the eternal word of God through whom God created the world (John ...
279. The Call To Victory
Revelation 7:9-17
Sermon
Sims Robert
... The people of God celebrate as if it has already happened, for indeed, for the faithful it has. A pastor had been invited to give the invocation at an athletic field used for the Special Olympics. Eight hundred special athletes came to participate in games designed just for them. The events started with a parade of athletes; 800 young men and women made their way around the track, banners held high and flags waving, cheering as they went. Some of them limped, some had braces on their legs and used crutches ...
280. Time and Timing
Habakkuk 1:12--2:1, Habakkuk 1:1-4
Sermon
Paul W. F. Harms
... the cross is a long time, especially after you have first been beaten until the white of your backbone and the white of your ribs show through the mangled flesh that once covered them. As if to heighten the confusion even more, what Christ seems to designate as injustice - "My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me?" - God called the real understanding of justice, different than any other understanding of it. To give the wicked what they have coming to them is nothing else but routine. But what if the wicked ...
Sermon
Brett Blair
... was sitting in his father's workshop watching his dad work on a harness. "Someday Father," said Louis, "I want to be a harness-maker, just like you." "Why not start now?" said the father. He took a piece of leather and drew a design on it. "Now" he said, "take the hole-punch and hammer out this design, but be careful that you don't hit your hand." Excited, the boy began to work, but when he hit the hole-punch, it flew out of his hand and pierced his eye! He lost his sight in that eye. Later, as fate ...
Sermon
Larry Powell
... as it is for coming up with newer, more challenging contests or more expanded memory banks? The real challenge is not in beating the computer, but in solving some of humanity's contemporary dilemmas. And the solutions are available, somewhere, inside the greatest computer ever designed - the mind of man. It is always easier to "play" or "exploit" than it is to come to terms with difficult issues. And the people who are willing to invest their time to think will always have the upper hand. Think about it! A ...
283. Jesus Reflects -- A Dramatic Monologue
Isaiah 9:1-7, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20
Drama
Edward G. Hunter
... for people to respond to his message of love? My ministry was essentially a ministry of love: of healing, of forgiveness, of reconciliation. But, for the most part it has been rejected. If men do not respond to the message of the cross they are left to their own designs and judgment. What more can God do? For now, however, I wish to soak up the peacefulness of this night. I lay here on my back and gaze up into the heavens. The jeweled sky! The marvel of the world and this vast universe! The handiwork of God ...
Sermon
... could be wearing masks even in the presence of our dear ones, turning out to be strangers to them and they to us. We’ve fooled ourselves into thinking small lies are no big deal, but small lies rob us of the fullness of life God has designed us to enjoy. The subtle snake is always on the job, sneaking up to the human race by the hour, promising liberty while delivering slavery. II What’s the alternative? That Christ offers discipleship and thereby sets us free. He said: If you continue in my word, you ...
Sermon
Wallace H. Kirby
... Jeremiah began to look for and to build for a future of hope. The picture God presents through Jeremiah is brief and simple, and extraordinarily rich. The parable still speaks to us today. Each of us is clay in the Potter’s hands, just as surely as Judah was. God designs the vessel - the person each of us is created to become - in his mind. It does not even know what is to be made of it. A vase? A pitcher? A candlestick? Only the Potter knows! Once we have learned to accept the fact that God is the Potter ...
Sermon
Kendall McCabe
... made "I don't go to church because I don't get anything out of it," the implication is we should be learning something, that a collection of facts about God or aids for self-improvement should be our reward for attendance. The seating design doesn't help. Here we are in a room designed like a lecture hail, with people tiered in rows, all reminding us of dear old school days when we were expected to be still, not talk to our neighbors, not chew gum, and learn what the person up front was talking about. Often ...
Sermon
Dean Lueking
... A crowd of people were at the door of the conference hall, waiting to receive materials for the next session. I was talking with a person wearing a button (what is a convention delegate without a button?) which was an ingenious design in black and white - spelling out the name of our Lord. But the design of the name JESUS was such that one had to look twice, maybe three times, to discern the name. It was a kind of riddle. The artist intended it that way. One could not recognize the name immediately and then ...
Sermon
... in need. We need to remember that sickness and healing are not merely individual concerns, but the responsibility of the whole body of Christ. Before beginning a healing ministry, it is of critical importance that the pastor be very clear about the purpose and design of this worship experience. The reason for this is, as mentioned, that the healing ministry is so often misunderstood. The minister should do extensive reading in this area, and if possible, attend a seminar on healing ministries so that he is ...
289. Lent 4
1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 43:1-5, Hosea 5:1-15, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Romans 8:1-17, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 20:20-28
Sermon Aid
... whole world might be saved. John 9:1-41 See the comments on this gospel for the Third Sunday in Lent and the sermon suggestion, too. SERMON SUGGESTIONS Matthew 20:17-28 - "A Glimpse of God's Glory." In Phoenix at Coventry, the book explaining how he designed the new cathedral at Coventry, England, the architect, Basil Spence, wrote about his first visit to the bombed-out old cathedral: As soon as I set foot in the ruined nave I felt the impact of delicate enclosure. It was still a cathedral.... I was deeply ...
290. Proper 4
Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Genesis 12:1-8, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29, Romans 3:21-31, Psalm 31:1-24, Psalm 33:1-22
Sermon Aid
... Rock" is a tourist attraction in Wisconsin that is really worth seeing. It is the epitome of Jesus' teaching; there is no way that floods can reach it and destroy it, because it is built on a high crag, many feet above the ground. The architect who designed and built it must have been a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, because it seems to be integral to the rock itself. The "house" is part of a complex which includes a fascinating museum and the usual souvenir shops and restaurant. It takes about a full day ...
291. Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11
Sermon Aid
... events, the World Series, The Super Bowl, the N.B.A. finals calls for a celebration. Let's keep on asking God to bless our time together. You may want to designate, in the order of worship, this heading: The Triumphal Entry: Here He Comes! The Cheers of the Crowd! Act of Recognizing our Humanness and Receiving New Life Suggestion: Designate the heading of this section of worship with this: The Disillusionment: Why Am I Hear? The loneliness of Jesus Message with the Children of All Ages Ask: "Have you ever ...
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
... lunch. Verse 5 tells us that Jesus laid down a new law: The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. "Son of Man" was a title from the book of Daniel that clearly referred to the Messiah, the Christ. That title was Jesus' favorite self-designation. Jesus was claiming the right to remake Jewish law to serve the purposes of the Kingdom of God. The Pharisees were unreasonable about Sabbath observance. But I wonder if the pendulum has not swung too far in the opposite direction. Now in many parts of America, Sunday ...
293. It Isn’t Fair!
Matthew 20:1-16
Sermon
... seem to get more time before surrendering to him. It isn’t accidental that one entire branch of our nation’s federal government is devoted to justice. Few of us would argue about the wisdom of spending large sums for police protection, a provision designed to give criminals "their just desserts." One definition of "justice" is "giving every person what is his due." We want justice to be "blind" (and picture her that way in sculpture) because people are more likely to be treated fairly. In light of all ...
294. Surprise! Surprise!
Matthew 25:31-46
Sermon
Michael L. Sherer
... in his company. He didn’t have to include us. But he speaks a cosmic "Yes!" to us and ratifies it time and time again. Still, he is not content to behave like an ordinary architect. He gets involved with the people who inhabit what he designs - all sorts of people with all sorts of costumes and smells and habits and misfortunes and unmet needs. And the striking thing is that the architect disguises himself and moves about among the poorest and the most vulnerable of all of them. It serves his purposes ...
Sermon
Hubert Beck
... to him." In Christ himself the revelation of God is made perfect. All the signs surround him and superimpose themselves on him so that he and they are inter-connected. The words and the signs all mark Christ out as the Son of God, and are plainly designed to become the basis of such a confession. That is why Peter writes, "We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor ...
296. Bezaleel
Exodus 35:30--36:7
Sermon
Warren Thomas Smith
... utmost care, but God would. This is Bezaleel. His genius is expressed in making beautiful that which a lesser figure would be content to make ordinary. There were curtains of fine linen, draperies of blue, purple, and scarlet with gold thread worked into the design. Acacia wood was carved with brass and silver sockets fitted into place. There were gold and silver vessels, hangings and tent pegs of brass, as well as costumes for Aaron and the lesser priests. "... in the first month in the second year, on the ...
297. Grace, Salvation, and Redemption
Romans 8:18-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Romans 5:1-11
Sermon Aid
T. A. Kantonen
... word chiefly in the plural, favors or bounties on a natural plane and conditioned by merit. In the imperial inscriptions of the first century the word takes on new potential. It is often preceded by an adjective such as "divine" or "immortal" or "eternal" and designates a royal favor or gift to some community by a Nero or a Caligula. Such usage may have influenced Paul to adopt this word to represent the sovereign self-giving love of God. Furthermore, in the mystery cults the word had taken on still another ...
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
... restraint would soar higher into the skies. But it doesn't. It starts zigzagging, flipping, and diving. Finally, it crashes into a tree or power line. I see an analogy here. Only when I keep the line taut between me and God, only when I operate according to his design and command, then and only then do I soar. When I break free from him to do my own thing, I am bound for a crash landing. In verse 22 of our scripture lesson, Pontius Pilate asked an awesome question: "Then what should I do with Jesus who is ...
299. Adultery, Cure and Prevention
Proverbs 7:1-27, John 8:1-11
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
... as to abstinence. These courses are slim on value content. For that, we must rely on the home and the church. Make the case at home for abstinence before marriage and fidelity during it. For goodness sakes, be positive. Tell them that God's rules are designed, not to cheat us out of something good, but to help people experience the very best sex on earth. Sex at its best is an experience shared by two people in a life-long marriage commitment. Teenagers, don't let something second-rate and dangerous rob ...
300. SHIPBUILDER
2 Chronicles 20:36
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
... of ships were swept up to a carved figure that represented the name of the ship. On the stern, the ship carried a statue of the patron god of the vessel’s home port. Today, we have marine designers, who have extensive training in their field, but in biblical times it was a master ship’s carpenter who drew up the design for the ship that was to be built. These men probably had served a long apprenticeship, since, after all, a great deal of skill was required. If you would like to have an idea of what a ...
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