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 655 results
401. Heroes of Faith
Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
A father was sitting on the floor with his three boys getting ready for bedtime prayers. The two older boys were having an argument about their action figures. The issue was whether Superman was better than He-Man. One boy said that Superman could fly, the other countered that He-Man had bigger muscles. And so it went, back and forth, while the youngest boy, Nicholas age four, just watched. Dad turned to Nick and asked: "So who's your hero, Nick?" Without batting an eye, Nick tilted his head, gave Dad one ...
Sermon
King Duncan
On Palm Sunday April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, General of the Union Army, at the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This surrender ended the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. State against state, brother against brother; it was a conflict that literally tore our nation apart. Five days later Good Friday, April 14, 1865 America’s most revered president, Abraham Lincoln, was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s Theatre ...
403. But Is It True?
Luke 2:8-20, Romans 16:25-27
Sermon
Scott Suskovic
Authors such as Lee Strobel, Nicky Gumbel, and Josh McDowell have spoken around the world about these 300 prophecies of the Old Testament and how they all point to Jesus. This cannot be mere coincidence. It cannot be like playing the lottery. The evidence is so overwhelming and the prophecies so compelling that one would think that the only logical conclusion would be to say that it is true. Unless you have the brain of a C. S. Lewis, faith doesn't come through a logical, mathematical proof of Jesus as the ...
404. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
How superstitious are you? Even if you claim to be beyond the pull and pale of alluring sirens and ominous omens, it is hard to escape their influence altogether. Be honest: everybody takes note, whether or not they take seriously, Friday the 13th. Be honest: we notice black cats when they saunter in front of us — not so much the tabbies or calicos. Be honest: after two pieces of bad news, we brace ourselves for a third. Of course, it is just plain sensible not to walk underneath a ladder. As little or as ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
A few years ago, when Etsy and Ebay were first battling it out, an Ebay commercial urged people to buy Christmas gifts on its website. It started off with comedian Jim Gaffigan saying something like "Hand-made gifts for Christmas? Who wants that?" Then he mentioned all the “it” gifts you can buy on Ebay (electronics, sports equipment, etc). The commercial ends with Gaffigan holding a pair of hand-knitted mittens, smelling them, wrinkling up his nose and saying . . . "Smells like church.” The online ...
Sermon
King Duncan
There is a time-honored story about a little boy who was sick. It was Palm Sunday and the children waved palm branches to open the service. But this young man stayed home from church with his mother. His father returned from church holding a palm branch. The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do we wave palm branches on Palm Sunday, Dad, and why do we call it Palm Sunday?” “You see,” his Dad explained, “when Jesus came into town, everyone waved palm branches to honor him, so we got palm branches in the ...
Understanding Series
Elizabeth Achtemeier
Israel Shall Reap What She Sows (8:1-7a): As is frequently the case with Hosea, it is very difficult to know how to divide chapter 8 into its separate oracles. From a form-critical standpoint, verses 1–3 could form an independent unit because they include summons, accusation, and judgment. But they are intimately linked to what follows by their subject matter. Verse 4 spells out the two primary ways in which Israel has rejected what is good (v. 3). It is then connected with verse 5 by the repetition of the ...
Understanding Series
Elizabeth Achtemeier
Israel’s Loss of the Stuff of Life (9:1-4): Some commentators would regard 9:1–9 as the first complete unit in this chapter. Others would point to 9:1–6. Judging on the basis of rhetorical criticism, it seems best to divide the chapter into five separate oracles: verses 1–4, 5–6, 7–9, 10–14, 15–17. What we have here are several oracles, strung together by the redactor/disciple of Hosea on the basis of the common theme of the loss of vitality. In this instance, however, the beginnings and endings of the ...
Understanding Series
John Goldingay
Yahweh Confronts the Bloody City: Chapters 1 and 2 only hinted at the reasons for Yahweh’s anger, but the opening and close of chapter 3 are more concrete. Here Yahweh speaks all through the chapter. Yahweh confronts the city because it is responsible for the deaths of so many people as a result of its desire to accumulate wealth, which has led it into empire-building and war-making. Its apparent strength will not save it. 3:1–4 Woe is an over-translation; the Hebrew hoy resembles English “Oh,” which we ...
Teach the Text
Grant R. Osborne
Big Idea: The central purpose of Jesus’s incarnation is his death on the cross (Phil. 2:6–8). All takes place in accordance with God’s will and plan, so divine sovereignty, not Jewish hatred or Roman might, controls the action. Jesus dies as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Understanding the Text There are four parts to the crucifixion narrative in an A-B-A-B pattern: the mockery by the soldiers (15:16–20), the crucifixion of Jesus (15:21–27), the mockery by the Jewish spectators and leaders and the two ...
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
Big Idea: Envy and pride lead to rebellion and destruction. Understanding the Text Israel’s record in the desert since leaving Sinai had been abysmal. The people had complained about hardships, the lack of meat, and the monotony of manna (Num. 11:1–6). Moses’s own sister and brother had challenged his leadership role (Num. 12:1–2). And worst of all, Israel had been condemned by its unbelief to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Num. 14:1–10, 33). This chapter introduces a new problem: the Levite ...
Teach the Text
Robert B. Chisholm Jr.
Big Idea: The Lord ensures that justice is satisfied, sometimes by allowing one’s children to repeat the parent’s sins. Understanding the Text The Lord confronted David with his sin and announced that he would severely punish him. Through Nathan’s entrapment technique, he even maneuvered David into imposing his own penalty. David must pay fourfold for his theft of Uriah’s wife (2 Sam. 12:6). The first installment of this payment came almost immediately, as the first baby born to Bathsheba and David died. ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
14:53–65 Each of the four Gospels gives an account of the trials of Jesus before Jewish and Roman authorities, but the variations in their accounts make it difficult to construct a complete and detailed picture of the events. In addition to the variations among the four Gospels, there are also questions about the nature of the sources of information available to early Christians in constructing their accounts of the trials, since obviously no Christians were present. We cannot tackle fully these questions ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Is there anyone here who doesn’t appreciate a nice compliment from time to time? A compliment truly is oxygen for the soul. Let me tell you about a service on the web that is designed to lift you up when you are down. It is called “Emergency compliment.com.” You can go there and see brief messages to feed your ego and boost your mood. Who wouldn’t like to be told things like “Your prom date still thinks about you all the time”? Or “You are someone’s ‘the one that got away.’” (1) You’ll find it there: “ ...
Sermon
King Duncan
The Rev. Susan Sparks, senior pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City has published a wonderful sermon online contrasting two kings, Elvis Presley, the king of Rock ’n Roll and Jesus, the King of all creation. You may remember comedian Adam Sadler’s comparison of the two men: Jesus said: “Love thy neighbor.” . . . Elvis said: “Don’t be cruel.” Jesus is part of the Trinity; Elvis’ first band was a trio. Jesus is the Lord’s shepherd; Elvis dated Cybil Sheppard, etc . . . You will find many ...
416. Pilate's Ruse
Matthew 27:1-26 · Luke 22:66--23:25 · John 18:28-40; 19:1-16 · Mark 15:1-15
Sermon
Lori Wagner
[Optional beginning: Search Mateo Cupcakes on Youtube. Three-year old Mateo has just tied an end around his “No Cupcakes” with his Gramma, and is making his case as to why he should have his cupcakes. Normally, he calls his mother “Momma.” But when he’s arguing, his mother is “Linda, honey.” Wonder where he got that from? This video got so many hits in such a short time that Ellen DeGeneres brought Linda and Mateo to her show and sat down with them. Am I the only one who sees him or herself in little Mateo ...
Sermon
King Duncan
A comedian said he was in a shoe shop recently trying out a new pair of sneakers. He said to the salesclerk, “It’s too tight.” She said, “Try it with the tongue out.” [Pastor, stick out your tongue.] He said, “It’th nho ghood, it’th thtill thoo thight!” [It’s no good. It’s still too tight.] Sorry, sometimes I can’t resist a little joke like that. If you’re into fashion or social media, then you probably know that the market for sneakers and athletic shoes is huge. In 2017, the global sneaker market reached ...
Sermon
Will Willimon
"Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh." Imagine a sermon which begins, "Blessed are you poor. Blessed are you that hunger. Oh how lucky are you who weep. How fortunate are those of you whom people hate, exclude, revile. Leap for joy those of you who have cancer. How lucky are you unemployed. How blessed are those going through marital crises." The congregation does a double-take. What? Blessed? Lucky? Those who are hungry? Unemployed? Sick? What is this? Thus begins Jesus' Sermon on the Mount ...
419. Hail, King!
Jeremiah 23:5-6 · Psalm 93 · Revelation 1:4b-8 · John 18:33-37
Sermon
Will Willimon
Let's talk politics! Do I detect a groan? You say that you are sick of politics? That you have had enough of Republicans and Democrats and want to hear of nothing more controversial than basketball? I have a political proposal for you. I couldn't present it during the heat of the campaign, but now the time is right: What we need in this country is monarchy. That's right. A king. Think about it. The problems which beset us are so great, so seemingly insoluble -­ thinning ozone·, national debt, crumbling ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Think about the last trip you took to a new place. Maybe you went on vacation or maybe you just went across town. Did you notice that it seemed to take more time to reach your destination than it did to return home? This sensation of seeming to take longer to make a trip than it is to return home is universal and even has an official scientific name. It is referred to as the “return trip effect” by those who research it. There are plenty of theories behind what causes the “return trip effect.” Researchers ...
421. A VIP Seat
Luke 14:1-14
Sermon
King Duncan
In our society, we have a unique obsession with following the “lifestyles of the rich and famous.” There are TV shows and websites and magazines that focus on the homes and wardrobes and parties of the wealthy and well-connected. And so many of us like to take a sneak peek into this world that we will never experience in real life. Back before the pandemic, sociologist Ashley Mears wrote a book titled Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit that shared insider details on the ...
Sermon
King Duncan
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was assassinated by a well-known actor named John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was the first U.S. president to be assassinated, with his funeral and burial marking an extended period of national mourning. Occurring near the end of the American Civil War, Lincoln’s assassination was part of a larger conspiracy intended by Booth to revive the Confederate cause by eliminating the three most important officials of the United States ...
423. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Mark 9:30-37 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · Psalm 1
Sermon
Thomas C. Willadsen
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he ...
Sermon
Will Willimon
That's the rather impudent query that sprouted on tee-shirts after Duke's back-to­ back basketball national championships. Talk is cheap, but can you do what it takes to get in the game? Richard Hays, in his commentary on Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, says that sums up today's epistle, First Corinthians 9:24-27. One of you once congratulated me, during one of Duke's winning seasons for “never once mentioning basketball in a sermon. “I can see your point. At this time of year, around here, the ...
Sermon
Douglas J. Deuel
Most people today are driven to succeed. That may not be a problem unto itself. The problem comes in how we define success. If we pursue success as defined by secular culture, the focus will be on money and prestige. Those objectives as the key focus of life will leave us spiritually poor, though. G.K. Chesterton's words are insightful here. He said, "To be clever enough to get all that money one must be stupid enough to want it."1 The truly triumphant life can only be discovered in the pursuit of God's ...
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