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 801 to 825 of 1230 results
Sermon
King Duncan
... story behind that song is inspiring. In the late 1960s, while expecting their third child, the Gaithers were going through a traumatic time. Their firstborn child, Suzanne, was four, and her sister Amy was three months old. The timing for another baby wasn’t ideal. On top of that, Bill was recovering from a bout with mononucleosis. The breakup of the marriage of Bill’s sister, Mary Ann, had left his family devastated. What’s more, a close friend had accused Bill and Gloria of using their ministry just ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... Harbor welcoming immigrants from almost every land on earth. We know her as the Statue of Liberty. Within the pedestal on which this great statue stands is a poem by Emma Lazarus graven on a tablet with these immortal words that describe the highest ideals of this nation of immigrants, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Today, we as ...
Sermon
John Smylie
... that is a very scary transformation to imagine — to have surgery done upon one's heart, to have to face God on a one-to-one intimate level is an awesome proposition. It is much easier to view God's law as something on stone, something "out there," some ideal that we all strive for but never quite make, or even a demand which seems a bit unreasonable. It is much safer to live within a "religious system" than to enter into a relationship with the living God. For that is the sword which Jesus brought. He did ...
Sermon
John Smylie
... that is a very scary transformation to imagine — to have surgery done upon one's heart, to have to face God on a one-to-one intimate level is an awesome proposition. It is much easier to view God's law as something on stone, something "out there," some ideal that we all strive for but never quite make, or even a demand which seems a bit unreasonable. It is much safer to live within a "religious system" than to enter into a relationship with the living God. For that is the sword which Jesus brought. He did ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... “team spirit” isn’t fueled by a supportive crowd. It isn’t made possible by indulgent officials. It isn’t aided by any special knowledge of the terrain. The Christian “team spirit” is based on an unrelated bunch of believers embracing an ideal of “agape” — of “genuine love.” Believing in the life-changing power of that love — the love that brought Jesus into our midst and to the cross and out of the tomb — gives Christians a “home court advantage” anywhere we go. Our “team ...
Sermon
Richard Gribble
... leaders in what became known as the Grand Alliance. Yes, Churchill knew that the dark hour would pass and that peace, prosperity, and joy would once again reign. He was a leader, but his life and his work pointed to something greater, the ideals for which he and all free people live. He prepared his people and led them to the light of joy. Winston Churchill, through his charismatic outreach, pugnacious personality, and inspirational rhetoric, was able to champion the cause as Great Britain moved from the ...
Sermon
Richard Gribble
... ' famous novel, Don Quixote. Don Quixote lives with the illusion of being a knight-errant, battling windmills that he imagines are dragons. Near the end of the play, the protagonist is dying and at his side is Aldonza, a worthless prostitute he has idealized by calling her Dulcinea — Sweet One — much to the delight of the howling laughter of the townsfolk. But Don Quixote has loved this woman in a way unlike anything she had ever experienced. Thus, when Quixote breathes his last, Aldonza begins to sing ...
Sermon
Richard Gribble
... 's prophets and speak the truth. It will not be easy, but then Jesus never said that a Christian life well led would be a bed of roses. G. K. Chesterton, the famous British writer, commented in his 1910 book, What's Wrong with the World, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." Let us not be misled. If we live our vocation to holiness well, it will ultimately lead to the cross. But, in the great Christian paradox, it is only through the cross ...
809. God Begins Anew
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Sermon
Robert A. Hausman
... cross in which God is not a spectator above the fray, but incarnate deeply within it. Sin and death are not dealt with by denial, optimism, or positive thinking, but by a life and death struggle that ends on a cross. God did not become some sort of ideal person, but the person we do not want to be: broken, outcast, and accursed. The cross is God in Christ being dehumanized, abandoned, and crucified for us. This is not some denial of the awful reality of our existence, but an embracing of it. The Son suffers ...
Sermon
Robert A. Hausman
... . Such symbolic actions are reminders that commitment to the God of Israel was to be at the heart of existence — in the home, with the family, beginning each day, ending each day, going in and out of the house — all of life was to be so ordered. An ideal representative of such faithfulness was a rabbi of the first century, Rabbi Akiba, who was martyred by the Romans. When they took him out to kill him, it was the time of the day to say the Shema. As they were tearing the living flesh off his bones ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... that can’t be faked. If you’re tired of wearing a mask, then ditch it. Live a life of authentic Christian service. Give yourself to God. Give yourself to serving God’s children. 1. Alma Barkman, Daily Guideposts (Nashville: Ideals Publications, 2006), p. 308. 2. Biblical Illustrator. 3. Don Friesen, http://www.ottawamennonite.ca/sermons/examine.htm. 4. John F. Westfall, Enough Is Enough (New York: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), p. 104. 5. Edward F. Markquart, http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com ...
812. The Duration of Life
Heb 9:27
Illustration
Brett Blair
A little known segment of the Grimm's Fairy Tales is the called "The Duration of Life." It goes like this: God originally determined 30 years as the ideal span of life for all animals, including mankind. The donkey, the dog, and the monkey considered it much too long, however, and begged God to reduce their years by 18, 12, and 10. Being healthy, vigorous, and somewhat greedy, the man asked to be given those extra years. God agreed, ...
813. Would You Give Your Blood?
Illustration
Thomas Lindberg
... that she had the same disease the boy had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor. "Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister." Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust ...
814. What Might Have Been
Illustration
Joeseph Stowell
... moment that he suffered an epileptic seizure, something he would live with the rest of his life. In that Siberian prison Fyodor Dostoevsky was allowed only a New Testament to read. There he discovered something more wonderful, more true than his socialistic ideals. He met Christ, and his heart was changed. Upon leaving prison he wrote to a friend who had helped him grow in Christ, "To believe that there is nothing more beautiful, more profound, more sympathetic, more reasonable, more manly and more perfect ...
815. Historic: The Declaration of Independence
Illustration
Staff
... to Jefferson, regarded as the strongest and most eloquent writer. The document is mainly his work, although the committee and Congress as a whole made a total of 86 changes to Jefferson's draft. As a scholar well-versed in the ideas and ideals of the French and English Enlightenments, Jefferson found his greatest inspiration in the language and arguments of English philosopher John Locke, who had justified England's "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 on the basis of man's "natural rights." Locke's theory held ...
816. Avoid Shattered Glass
Illustration
In his classic work on the Beatitudes titled The Heavenly Octave, F.W. Boreham included this passage: "The ideal peacemaker is the man who prevents the peace from being broken. To prevent a battle is the best way of winning a battle. I once said to a Jewish rabbi, 'I have heard that at a Jewish wedding a glass is broken as part of the symbolism of the ceremony. ...
817. Two Are Better Than One
Illustration
Walter Wangerin, Jr.
Marriage is not romanticized in the creation account. Its ideal purpose is not one of sweet feeling, tender words, poetical affections or physical satisfactions not "love" as the world defines love in all its nasal songs and its popular shallow stories. Marriage is meant to be flatly practical. One human alone is help-LESS, unable. But "Two are better than ...
818. The Firm Foundation of Despair
Illustration
... gate of darkness, it remains only to cherish, ere yet the blow falls, the lofty thoughts that ennoble his little day;. . . proudly defiant of the irresistible forces that tolerate, for a moment, his knowledge . . . and his condemnation, to sustain alone, a weary but unyielding Atlas, the world that his own ideals have fashioned despite the trampling march of unconscious power.
819. Beauty Beyond the Pitfalls
2 Tim 1:5
Illustration
Unknown
... , being a (mother) is very much so!) So, with all those qualifications, why bother with Mothers' Day at all? I'll tell you why - because for all its stumbling blocks, pitfalls and broken dreams, for all the soiled diapers, soiled wallpaper and spoiled plans, we're talking about a beautiful ideal, a natural part of God's creative plan to bring love and caring to light. Motherhood is a constant demand for the gift of love and caring.
820. Pastor's Personal Concerns
Illustration
H.B. London
Consider what pastors think about work, home, and lifestyles as reported in a survey conducted by Leadership magazine: 94 percent feel pressured to have an ideal family; The top four problems in clergy marriages are: 81 percent, insufficient time; 71 percent, use of money; 70 percent, income level; 64 percent, communication difficulties, 63 percent, congregational expectations; and 57 percent, differences over leisure; 24 percent have received or are receiving marital counseling; 33 percent of pastors are ...
821. Disease of the Soul
Illustration
James Packer
... a form of sloth but not at the physical level. It is apathy of the soul. It shows in a certain toughness of mind and wariness of spirit which often results from hurt and disillusionment. People with accidie in this sense have grown cynical about ideals, enthusiasms, and strong hopes. They look pityingly at young people and say, "They'll learn," taking it for granted that when they've learned, they'll become tough inside too. Once upon a time these leather-souled people were keen, hopeful, and expectant. But ...
822. The Reference Letter
Illustration
Staff
... someone asks you for a reference to get a job and you find yourself in an awkward position? You don't want to lie, but you really can't tell the truth because it will hurt. Robert Thornton, professor of economics at Lehigh University, once composed the ideal letter to fit the situation: I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine. In my opinion you will be fortunate to get this person to work for you. I recommend him with no qualifications whatsoever. No person would be better for ...
823. Cash Your Blessings
Illustration
Staff
... to be a draft for ten pounds. This is the condition of many of God's children. He has given us many "exceeding great and precious promises," which we either are ignorant of or fail to appropriate. Many of them seem to be pretty pictures of an ideal peace and rest, but are not appropriated as practical helps in daily life. And not one of these promises is more neglected that the assurance of salvation. An open Bible places them within reach of all, and we may appropriate the blessing which such a knowledge ...
824. Simple Courage to Raise a Family
Illustration
Charles Colson
... Later, when Rousseau turned to political theory, these ideas seem to reappear in the form of general policy recommendations. For example, he said responsibility for educating children should be taken away from parents and given to the state. And his ideal state is one where impersonal institutions liberate citizens from all personal obligations. Now, here was a man who himself had turned to a state institution for relief from personal obligations. Was his own experience transmuted into political theory? Is ...
825. Out with the Old Rules
Illustration
Staff
... secular counterparts. "The percentage of evangelical students agreeing with these statements far exceeded the corresponding percentage of the general population," Hunter wrote. "Self-fulfillment is no longer a natural by-product of a life committed to higher ideals, but rather is a goal, pursued rationally and with calculation as an end in itself. The quest for emotional psychological and social maturity, therefore, becomes normative. Self-expression and self-realization compete for self-sacrifice as a ...
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