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 401 to 425 of 656 results
401. All That God Intends
Illustration
James Packer
... forgiving sins that are confessed in faith and in keeping all the other promises God has made. Moral instability, vacillation, and unreliability are marks of weakness, not of strength: but God's omnipotence is supreme strength, making is impossible that he should lapse into imperfection of this sort. The positive way to say it is this: though there are things which a holy, rational God is incapable of intending, all that he intends to do he does. "Whatever the Lord pleases he does" (Ps. 135:6). As when he ...
402. Shuffle the Deck
Illustration
Staff
It takes just seven ordinary, imperfect shuffles to mix a deck of cards thoroughly, researchers have found. Fewer are not enough, and more do not significantly improve the mixing. The mathematical proof, discovered after elaborate computer calculations, was complicated because of the immense number of ways the cards in a deck can be arranged; any of ...
403. Carved from Ruins
Illustration
Staff
... the cathedral in Florence, Italy, for 40 years. Artisans thought it was beyond repair. But in 1505, a young sculptor by the name of Michelangelo was asked if he thought anything could be done with "The Giant." He measured the block and carefully noted the imperfections caused by the bungling workman of an earlier day. To his mind came the image of the young shepherd boy David. So he carefully made a sketch of that biblical character as he envisioned him. For 3 years he worked steadily, his chisel skillfully ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... out of nice,” came the response. (4) Well, sometimes adults run out of nice, too, and it is not a pretty sight to see. “Nobody’s perfect,” we say at such times. And, of course, it’s true. But sometimes when we give in to our imperfections, sad things happen. Dr. Samuel Massey tells of watching a World War II movie once. In this particular movie one character is giving lessons to another character about how to destroy a dam. The pupil anticipated that, if you packed the dam with enough dynamite you ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... Light we must reflect in our lives, our actions, our words, every day of our lives. We shine with borrowed brilliance. And just as your “diamond is forever,” so is the greatness of God’s gift forever. Singular. Shining. Without question. Without flaws or imperfections. “Unveiled,” God revealed the love and presence of the divine in Jesus Christ. [A great way to end your sermon would be to show this time-lapsed view of 179 snapshots of planet Earth in all its pristine beauty and human splendor. It ...
406. Touched
John 20:24-31
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... If you have “touched” or been “touched” by the thorn-pierced brow, nail-scarred hands, spear-thrust side, spike-torn feet, how can you NOT be “touched?” Christians do not need to fret over whether we are “perfect” or “imperfect.” Whether we are “sanctified” or “unsanctified.” There’s something more elemental and elementary than that: We need to decide if we are “touched” or “untouched” by the presence and power of Jesus. Resurrection Christians are “touched.” If you ...
407. When the Going Gets Tough
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Sermon
King Duncan
... lifted the vase above his head and dashed it against the floor, breaking it into a thousand shards. And then, quietly, he reconnected the pieces by painting the edges with a paint of pure gold. Each crack reflected invaluable gold. In the end, this magnificent, but imperfect, piece became the most valued piece in the collection. (5) Some of you know what it is to have your life almost shattered. But with God’s help you have picked up the pieces of your life and today you are stronger than ever. Adversity ...
408. Witnessing Your Faith
Mark 6:1-13
Illustration
Steven Molin
... you might come across as self-righteous. Don't plan a lecture that you're going to deliver when you have some unsuspecting soul captive in a fishing boat, for example. But do be honest about your life; about your flaws and your regrets and even your continued imperfections. And be honest about this God who loves you just the way you are, warts and all; a God who knows your past, in fact, a God who knows your story better than your biology teacher, or your probation officer, or your spouse. And he loves you ...
409. Proper 13
Psalm 107:1-9, 43, Hosea 11:1-11, Luke 12:13-21, Colossians 3:1-11
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
... our own experiences of love and grace. Prism of Sacredness — shine through our conversations with new descriptions of everything old; let us reflect the Divine in the ways we live with the earth and our neighbors. Help us to handle gracefully the imperfections and complexities that surround us. Let us greet each new day with insight and hopefulness. Amen. Benediction Life is a journey to Mystery. Experiment with multiple names for God; Explore different ways to respond to the Holy Spirit. Laugh each day ...
410. Proper 18
Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, Jeremiah 18:1-11, Luke 14:25-35, Philemon 1-21
Bulletin Aid
Julia Ross Strope
... that God hasn’t managed humankind very well since greed and violence grow while justice seems to be missing? The preacher could hold a large ball of clay and shape it while s/he talks and then crush it or preserve it with all its imperfections. We are the clay; is God messing with us or intentionally shaping our experiences? What is our response — Jeremiah 18:12 or Luke 14:33-34? Contemporary Affirmation (Unison) God was and is; Holy Presence is apparent in Creation and in individual human development ...
411. A Glimpse of Glory
Revelation 21:10-22 - 22:5
Sermon
Steven E. Albertin
... make these great and wonderful claims about the ministry of the church? The church? The church? You've got to be kidding! As our critics continually remind us, the church all too often looks like anything but heaven. Our lives are often as flawed and imperfect as the atheist down the street. We have more skeletons in the closet than we would ever like to admit. And despite our efforts the church isn't anymore effective than any other organization in changing this world. There is as much suffering, injustice ...
Sermon
David J. Kalas
... in the stories of Jacob or Elijah, of Joseph or Mary, of Peter or Paul. They rank among the great heroes of faith, but the Bible does not pretend that they were perfect. On the contrary, it is generous with the evidence of their humanness and imperfections. And so it is, too, with the character at the center of our Old Testa­ment reading today. Four thousand years after he lived and died, Abraham is remembered and honored by untold millions around the globe. So many of the pivotal promises of God trace ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... a whole new world of relationships and responsibilities. If the slave Onesimus is really his “master” Philemon’s “brother” in Christ, then participation in the Christ’s body makes everyone equal, everyone of the same rank, everyone needy, incomplete, imperfect, but everyone beloved. When Paul wrote this letter, to be “refreshed” was a physical thing. Refreshment meant food and water, rest and restoration. An oasis from the hard slough through the deserts of life. In the twenty-first century ...
Sermon
David O. Bales
... do we all, needs to know about God and about herself. It’s as though Jesus says, “You’re so important that God sent me to you.” Not all of her problems are solved that moment, but a whole bunch are. She heads off to the village to share her imperfect understanding of Jesus, and she’s not only on the way to town, she’s on the way to recovery as God’s beloved creature. That’s what happens when Jesus shows up, meeting us at a well, at work, at a party, or a picnic — even encountering us in ...
Sermon
David O. Bales
... ’s one who loves us who asks, “Do you believe this?” When we’re shaky or when we’re steady, we place our trust in Jesus who loves us. When we’re thinking clearly or we’re so muddled that friends insist someone else drive us, we trust, however imperfectly, Jesus who loves us. Because Jesus shows us his unlimited love by what he says and by what he does, we believers don’t view life and death the same as others. We now set out to be the loving presence for others that Jesus is for us; because ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... faults and weaknesses and not only love us, but expect the best from us. Someone who will believe in us who will give us another chance who will call us by another name. Some of us are our own worse critic. We are more than aware of our weaknesses and imperfections than we are our strengths. We feel inadequate and guilty. We feel that much of what we do turns out wrong. We have had more than our share of failure. How Jesus longs to give us a new name. Perhaps you are one to whom a specific sin has dealt ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... words and healing hands. All were offered, not just gleanings and left-overs, but their own portion of Christ’s presence and the gospel gift of God’s love and forgiveness. Our church families, our biological families, our workday “families” are as imperfect today as were the families of faith Paul wrote to in the first century. We all still need to offer, not a “discouraging word,” but words of encouragement. Not mindless “atta boy” platitudes and self-esteem lies, but big dabs of royal ...
418. A Holy Kiss (Father's Day)
2 Corinthians 13:11-14
Sermon
King Duncan
... price the gift of His grace. When Christians with rough edges understand God’s grace, then they will inevitably seek to be more like the person God means for them to be. This is why St. Paul was so enthusiastic about the church at Corinth, however imperfect it may have been. It remembered those things that were central to its existence. In our culture, men particularly, rarely greet one another with a kiss. But we can still express our love with a handshake or a hug. As we leave here this day, I hope ...
Sermon
James Merritt
... do we have to suffer the consciences of Adam and Eve’s sin, but so does this earth. You may ask, “Why was the world also cursed?” The worst thing that could have happened to Adam and Eve and all of us who followed them would be to live as imperfect people in a perfect world. Do you know why? People without God in a perfect world would never see a need for God. To use a medical analogy, sin is like an infection where natural disasters are like a fever. Just as hurricanes and tornados and tsunamis and ...
Sermon
James Merritt
... “Lost Baggage.” Everybody carries some baggage with them. None of us grew up in a totally perfect environment. Whether it was because of an inattentive father, an overbearing mother, or being somewhat lacking either in athletic skill or academic ability, or because of a physical imperfection or being bullied, we all have baggage we need to lose. Jesus deals with one of the major causes of why we have baggage and why we try to dump our baggage on somebody else. We have all sat in both seats. We’ve sat ...
421. The Knot: Bound
Genesis 2:4-25
Sermon
James Merritt
... ? “It is not good that the man should be alone”. This is the first negative thought ever recorded in history. It is not that God had made a mistake. It is not that there was dirt on the carpet or a spot on the window. God’s creation was not imperfect, but it was incomplete. It was not good for Adam to be alone. Technically, he wasn’t because he was surrounded by the birds of the air, the bees of the field, and the fish of the sea, but there was only one – man. God never intended for humans to ...
Sermon
James Merritt
... that no one else would want and then put them together just right and came up with something really beautiful.”[1] That is exactly what God wants to do with every man and every woman that tie the knot in marriage. He wants to take two people, who are imperfect, and form a more perfect union that is beautiful and brings joy to everyone that comes into contact with them. That is why we are in a series we are calling “The Knot.” When a man and a woman come together and tie the knot of marriage, God ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... Jesus Christ. The evening of betrayal, the midnight when the disciples slept, the crowing of the rooster and the grace it represents are all preparation for the dawn of the resurrection. They also represent our situation as we await Christ’s return. This is still an imperfect world. We still live in a world of betrayal, a world in which the church on whom Christ relies is asleep, a world still depending on God’s grace as its only hope. We await the dawn, the return of Christ to dispel the darkness for ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... takes into account whatever mistakes his children make, and skillfully works the whole into a beautiful pattern. That is what God does with our lives. (As referenced by Rodney Holder in Longing, Waiting, Believing [2014]), bringing beauty out of flaws and imperfections. A similar analogy comes from the great English preacher Leslie Weatherhead. In 1936 he wrote a book entitled "Why Do Men Suffer?" In it Weatherhead showcases a conversation he had with an Arabic student who was studying medicine in London ...
Sermon
David J. Kalas
... — alarmed — by what they find. Rather than the dead body of their Lord lying where it had been placed, they find a man, who is very much alive, sitting there instead. The scene would be humorous, if it were not so initially horrifying. The analogy is imperfect, but imagine several grieving women arriving at a funeral home for the visitation. They walk over to the open casket, expecting to weep over the corpse of their loved one, only to discover that he’s not there at all. Ah, but it’s not that ...
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