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 3160 results
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... . Now I know that's not a popular word, and it doesn't set well in the minds of folks who, for at least a half century, have been schooled in moral relativism, and the notion that what is right and good can be settled by popular vote. This sort of mushy thinking is always coming to a head in some dramatic way. It has come to a head in the devastation of children of separated parents because we have thought too selfishly about divorce. It has come to a head dramatically in an Aids epidemic because we have ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... away; retelling the story to one another to ease the pain and share the haviness. "We know where Emmaus is, (don't we?). We have been there in one way or another at sometime in our lives...Emmaus is whatever we do or wherever we go to salvage and sort out our feelings, to summon the courage and desire to keep going on, or to try and forget. Emmaus is whatever we do or wherever we go to reclaim our sanity when our world goes to pieces; when our ideals and dreams are violated and distorted; when we discover ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... Officer, I told her that I was in a real big hurry, that I had a close connection. She saw that I was obviously nervous and anxious. I'm not sure what else she thought -- you know you hear these stories about how they detect drug smugglers and that sort of thing -- whatever the case, she saw my anxiety and quick as a flash, for some reason, she said, "What is your profession?" Well, I didn't think too much about that, so I simply responded, "I'm a Methodist minister." I was not prepared for her comeback ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... them to experience what he had experienced. Now out of that fact, I ask you two questions: One, have you ever had any sort of religious experience that was worth celebrating?...that caused you to want to throw a party? Maybe you can deal with it better ... midst of the controversy that swirled around her during the summer of 1986 for "crossing over" from Gospel music into the secular market. All sorts of people had laid into Amy Grant for the outrage of people being able to tune in any radio rock station in the ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... 1989). How beautiful! Dick had taught his grandson to make-believe. Faith had been transmitted from one person to another. That's the sort of thing that is to take place in the family, as we build our family house. III. Make love, make faith, and ... Jew, what are you selling?" Standing there in the smoldering ruins, he said, "I am selling hope." Millions of people are selling all sorts of things, spending millions of dollars to get us to buy what they offer. Where are those who will sell hope? The market ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... considered. To fail to move ahead is to court disaster. "Many years ago a young man went to work at a hardware store. He found all sorts of junk that took up space but did not sell well. This clerk asked the owner to allow him to put it all on one table ... not even in the recovery process. I talk about recovering alcoholics because they know some of the truths of the gospel in a firsthand sort of way that the rest of us may not know. I was talking to one recently who was celebrating two years of sobriety. His ...
407. What If
1 Chronicles 7:1-5
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... special focus in our home. It became a matter of anguish and search and trauma. Even a crisis of faith for Jerry. Little Kay became a part of Jerry's life; though over a thousand miles away, Kay became a part of our household in Nashville. Jerry went through all sorts of faith contortions, praying but not really knowing how to pray. Would God heal Kay? If God would not heal her, why would He let her suffer, why? What did God have to do with this? If God had anything to do with it, what kind of God was He ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... happened lately, has happened. I'm no longer Victor. My grandfather named me Mikal in English that is Michael." And then he went on to say, "I've looked in the Old Testament, your Bible, and I understand the name Michael in Hebrew means God's person". And with a sort of impish smile he said, "And that's not really a bad name, is it?" Naming and the need to be named is the most crucial of all human needs. I really believe that that's what God has been doing throughout history. Naming and being named. That's ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... stood back and said, "That's it, that's all she needs." A bit puzzled, the man responded, "Well you know what's best doc, but I gotta tell you this, because of previous commitments I can bring her in only on Tuesdays and Fridays." We laugh at that sort of joke because the pain behind the reality of indifference is hard to bare. Listen to this cry of a woman who has prepared breakfast for her husband. In his book, The Surrender and the Singing, Ray Ashford wrote: "I once watched a man murder a beautiful and ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... In fact, many of the crises that men and women face come at particular times in their age movement, when they make some sort of dramatic passage from one direction to another, or from one phase of living to another. Now I would not diminish the ... like his brothers, fittin’ to live and work and do. But in a way of speaking Lord, you done made it up to him, you give him a sort of wisdom, made him knowing and gentle. The birds come to him and the varmints move free about him, and like his __, he’d a taken to ...
Sermon
David J. Kalas
... fights and away from harm. On the other hand, our "just walk away" ethic -- which seems very reasonable -- leads to all sorts of broken relationships and abandoned commitments. If being hurt in a situation -- or the likelihood of being hurt again -- is best ... you. Pray for those who abuse you. If anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Who can take seriously this sort of advice? Are these teachings excerpted from a sermon titled "How to Be a Doormat"? No, these are teachings about how to be ...
Sermon
Elizabeth Achtemeier
... the power and the glory belong to God alone, and any leader who seeks rule and honor for him- or herself is not serving the Lord. Second, what God does the message of the group proclaim? The human imagination is very fertile, and persons dream up all sorts of deities these days. But is the God being proclaimed the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is he the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead? The early Christians in Jerusalem had experienced the risen Christ. They had talked and eaten with him ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... and justice ministry to the poor, reaching out to the least of these And its not just a periodic getting tired now and then – the truth is we get worn out – being Christian and practicing ministry wears us down. We talk about fatigue in all sorts of ways – what I’m talking about could be designated “compassion fatigue.” Boil it down, refine it to its most precious essence and you come out with this: love and compassion is the call of every Christian. Our scripture lesson is more than clear about ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... She had to bury that bitterness and hatred. She had to allow the memory of that whole life situation to be healed. So, there on that log beside that lake, we had a funeral. She allowed that part of her to die, and we danced at a resurrection. That same sort of thing has to happen in all of us. When we give ourselves to the lordship of the living Christ, then we begin to experience life as a series of deaths and resurrections, and we can shout with that writer in the book of Revelation: “I saw a new Heaven ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... Jesus didn’t just carry the cross then, He carries it now – and He waits for us to help Him carry it. If you get too close to the cross, you may end up carrying it. All sorts of mystery surround the cross. It is at the core of the Christian faith – “Jesus Christ, crucified, dead and buried. . .” but all sorts of mystery surrounds it. As I reflected on Simon and his helping Jesus bear the cross, I was driven back to a word of Paul to the Colossians, Colossians 1: 24-26. It’s a great testimony ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... of life that promise much but offer little. There are ways of life and there is the way: Jesus, “the way, the truth, and the life.” There are those who would say that it’s too exclusive to claim Jesus as the way. There are all sorts of ways, they say. Did you see the TV segment about the orphanage in Albania? A young man, Mark Nyberg, is the director. Burning, looting, and wild tirades of killing forced our government to evacuate American citizens from Albania -- but Nyberg would not leave. He moved ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... has to be in a place of power. So, we put “our person” on the throne. We soon learn how much power corrupts, and how true it is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. When will we learn that we cannot establish the Kingdom of God before the King comes? Any sort of war against the world basically is an effort to set up a kingdom without a king. But there is a third perspective. I believe that when we’ve been at our best throughout history, we have heard the message of Jesus that we are to be salt and ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... who was their nephew. The salespeople were afraid they were going to stagger into some shelf and turn it over and crash all sorts of expensive and beautiful things. I ended up back at the gift wrapping section at the same time one of these men ended ... introduce themselves – and the teacher told Emerson this story. The teacher wanted them to tell about their family, what they did and that sort of thing. When it came to Mary, she said, “I’m Mary Taft. My great-grandfather was the President of the United ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... and then – the truth is we get worn out – being Christian and practicing ministry wears us out. We talk about fatigue in all sorts of ways – what I’m talking about could be designated “compassion fatigue.” Boil it all down, refine it to its most precious ... itself. But this was the surprising thing about the whole situation. Around the crushed Thresher, there were sea creatures – all sorts of sea creatures. They had big eyes, their skin was very thin, and yet they were swimming around the Thresher ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.” There are all sorts of images for it. Among Christians in Africa, the New Testament word for “redemption” is “God took our heads out.” Now that is a ... was praying that week told me he was praying and fasting every Wednesday to overcome the anger that was controlling his life. That sort of thing might be going on with you – you’re not completely free – there are sins with which you are still wrestling. ...
Sermon
Phil Thrailkill
... to spiritual growth, in my life or in theirs. No wonder their lives are out of control. No wonder the devil has such an easy time keeping them locked up in destructive habits and besetting sins. They are like jell-o that never set up, sort of runny and unstable for years on end! A steady intake of pop Christianity is a deadly substitute for substantial spiritual nourishment that puts muscle on your Christian bones and biblical convictions deep in your souls. Have you noticed that about the first two thirds ...
Sermon
Phil Thrailkill
... ­and I am always who I am, a sinner in need of mercy. The grace of the thing is that after years of soaking in this sentence prayer it has moved down past the narrow sliver of waking consciousness and taken root in my heart where it functions as a sort of spiritual drag line, pulling the crud of sin and self-deception to the surface to be evacuated through confession and repentance. When I wake in the night I heard this prayer bubbling out of my heart. My heart’s desire is to be full of mercy. I want to ...
Sermon
Phil Thrailkill
... extend greetings to those who extend them to us. Tit for tat; you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. It’s the form of love than calculates the benefits and keeps the boundaries between neighbors and enemies. It is the primary force of social cohesion for all sorts of groups, but it is not yet a Jesus thing, only a human thing. Jewish tax collectors who sold out their faith and country to the Roman occupiers do as much. Gentile outsiders do as much. So what? You don’t need the kingdom of God or the ...
424. Playing to the Right Audience
Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4
Sermon
Phil Thrailkill
... medical and psychological problem. I find that I commit gluttony when I am anxious or fearful, which is too much of the time. Food is a safe place to hide, isn't it? A socially acceptable fix, a way to numb feelings. Being a person prone to excesses of all sorts, I often find it easier not to eat at all than in moderation. Periodic fasting is a potent reminder that my belly is not God, and that the grace of Christ is sufficient. I often cry when I fast, not because of low blood sugar but because I see my ...
Sermon
Phil Thrailkill
... from an ownership mind set to a stewardship mentality; then all God has to do is squeeze you gently for gifts of time and prayer and service and money to flow freely, like honey from a full honeycomb. Such people are conduits through which God can pour all sorts of resources. Calvin Miller wrote, “The world is poor because her fortune is buried in the sky and all her treasure maps are of the earth.”8 No shortages in the kingdom of God; what God asks of you, God finds a way to pay for. Jesus understood ...
Showing results