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 126 to 150 of 656 results
126. What Kind of Sheep Are You?
Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ezekiel 34:1-31
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... cloth that would bind the lamb’s legs, so he wouldn’t hurt himself), and he would be laid into the manger to be nurtured and fed. [You can try to put your lamb into a manger if you dare.] Here he would be examined for impurities or imperfections on his body and head. If the lamb was pure, he would be fit for the Temple flock. This lower level “birthing room” in the Migdal Eder was kept ceremonially clean for the tamiym (lambs without blemish). And if it was cold outside, the sheep would be brought ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... is a common one, not only within our intimate and marital relationships, but within all of our relationships, whether private or public. We tend to build our social relationships on “imaginary stones.” We base and construct our lives and hopes not on an imperfect rock-solid truth but on what we consider to be an ideal, imagined conformity. One day, we wake up discovering that we have no real foundation under our feet, that we have built an entire life, or family, or relationship, or social structure ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... that the Way of Jesus is the only thing that can make us “straight” –for He is our foundation, the living Stone and the only foundation that will last. Advent is a time of preparation. And more than ever this season, we need to focus on our own imperfections. To focus on Jesus. And on making ourselves ready for Him to take over the driver’s seat of our lives. It’s time, as John might say, for our road construction to begin. Because good news is coming. HE is coming soon. Ruth Graham, wife of the ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... it had no scars. No nail marks. No whip marks. No evidence of how much Jesus’ love for us cost him. (9) Yes, love and happiness are inseparable. But love requires sacrifice. Therefore, we must sacrifice in order to be happy. Love does not come easy in this imperfect world. But love is the central commandment that Christ gives to those who would be his disciples. It is what God made us for, and how God planned for us to operate in this world. If you don’t know that kind of love, then please ask Jesus ...
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
... that word. It's ugly and it pushes all the wrong buttons. It makes us feel guilty and we don't like to feel guilty. It smacks of judgement, and we don't want anyone sitting in judgement of us. It points out our imperfections, faults and frailties; and we don't want to know about our imperfections, faults and frailties. We don't want to admit that we can be wrong or make mistakes. We don't like the word but the Biblical witness is that "there is no distinction, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of ...
131. Don't Be Afraid
Matthew 17:1-9
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... you create a “golden” ambience in which you feel assertive yet protected –protected from the harshness of full light. Protected and reassured by the dark. Anyone who has stood in front of a mirror in the bright noon of day knows the shock of seeing every line and imperfection in your face, every flaw on your skin, every grey hair that glints in the sun. We would rather see ourselves in that golden light, half-dark/half-light, one in which we can pretend for a while that we are the vision we wish to be ...
Sermon
Mary Austin
... therapist put her hand on the teacher’s shoulder and told her what had made the difference. “No one ever ran after him before. No one. They just let him go.” The people with the scars turn into our teachers. Our own scars also become our wisdom. Our imperfection is also the gift we have to give. Our bumps, bruises, and hurts are places where grace shows up. I should add that I mean this in a spiritual sense. If someone in your life is giving you real bumps and bruises, that’s not God’s will for ...
133. Advent 1
Isaiah 63:7--64:12, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Psalm 80:1-19, Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
... third type of sign is in history. We see the signs that point to the inadequacies of all other ideologies and systems to bring humanity to its ultimate fulfillment. We even acknowledge that the church in its human institutional form is so often partially or imperfectly the body of Christ. We persist in the hope and the promise that beyond history a state of existence is found in which the full blessings and glory of God are accomplished. 2. Signs of False Hopes. Not all signs of cosmic disorders point to ...
134. The Heart Of The Matter
Jeremiah 30:1--31:40
Sermon
Robert P. Hines
... Christ the new covenant has come into being. Forgiveness of sin is the basic message of the gospel. That's why we declare to the community every week this phrase: "Friends, believe the good news of the gospel: in Jesus Christ we are forgiven." Our knowledge of God may be imperfect, but we know all we really need to know. We're not perfect, but we do want to please the Lord with our lives. The heart of the matter is this: we aren't sure why we should be, but we're forgiven, and in Christ we're moving toward ...
135. The Voice From Heaven
Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38
Drama
Dallas A. Brauninger
... a response and share a responsibility in keeping these promises. In the act of baptism, I find the holy -- call it Holy Spirit, if you will -- within the mutual connections of God-with-us (Emmanuel) and us with God despite our shortcomings and imperfections. This presence empowers as it draws us toward living with a greater purpose. We take these vows as symbols of the presence of the holy. I pondered many things that day by the river. Will you people in the approaching millennium still allow yourselves ...
Sermon
Gerald Whetstone
... us by name, who gathers us into this community of believers, whose voice we know and trust -- the voice of the Shepherd. This is the community into which we have been baptized, among whom we are called to live, with whom we are sent to serve. Imperfect, to be sure. But always accountable to the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. We need one another. Our gospel describes the church gathered together as a flock with one Shepherd. Our lesson describes the intimately intertwined lives of the community of the ...
Sermon
Sandra Hefter Herrma
... lack of offspring, even though God repeated his promise as well as his care for Abraham numerous times. So it isn't that Abraham is an example of a perfect person, nor has he perfect trust in God. He is a person much like you and me -- failed and imperfect. Yet this is the man God decided to choose. This is the one through whom all the world will eventually return to God! And to this man, who has really done nothing to earn God's approval, God has made a promise. A treaty (covenant) has been made between ...
138. Divine Naivet
Isaiah 63:7--64:12
Sermon
Paul E. Robinson
... a claim, knowing full well that they could not be trusted to walk the straight and narrow? Compare if you will the difference between our song about wonderful Santa Claus, before whom one must be perfect or tremble, and the Lord God, who embraces imperfect creatures, acting as though they had done nothing wrong. The parable of the Prodigal Son might better be called the parable of the Loving Father. It was Jesus' way of communicating the amazing love and forgiveness, even apparent naivet‚, of a loving ...
Sermon
Robert F. Scott
... purity. People: Holy, holy, holy is the Christ, our Redeemer. Leader: Blameless and without flaw are you, Holy Spirit. People: Holy, holy, holy is the Holy Spirit who sustains us. Leader: We thank you, Holy God, that you have reached down to us in our imperfections. People: Wash us, and we shall be clean. Leader: We praise you, Gracious God, for forgiveness so freely offered in Jesus Christ. People: Cleanse us, that we may be your renewed people. All: Glorious and holy is our God, God of heaven and of earth ...
Bulletin Aid
H. Burnham Kirkland
... up the truth of life that would claim our love. We beseech you, O Savior, to give some gracious sign of recognition and mercy to all whom we name in our hearts before you: ... Strengthen them where ways seem hard and painful. Hallow and fulfill our imperfect hopes and prayers for them. Be merciful unto the dying. Give us anew the promise that with the final Easter Dawn we shall behold an imperishable joy on the faces of all whom we have loved here and entrust to your leading beyond the grave. Thanks be ...
Sermon
Alex Gondola
... Rome dishonest merchants would use wax to fill in cracks in pottery. (I guess like some dishonest antique dealers doctor furniture with fillers today.) Something sinecere, "without wax," was something without falseness, something that was just what it appeared to be, shortcomings, imperfections, and all. The pure in heart are not people who are perfect but people who are sincere. People who long to know God and sincerely try to do what's right. J. B. Phillips does well when he translates this Beatitude ...
Sermon
Alex Gondola
... he did say, over and over again, "Come as you are." It's not so much that any of us need to change our whole life to moral perfection before we are welcomed by God. It's more like we come to God in humility with all our sins and imperfections and then we start to change. Or put another way, you don't have to "get good" before you are invited to be God's friend. You have God as a friend and then you begin to "get good." Master preacher Martin Copenhaver writes: "All of God's parties are ...
Bulletin Aid
Derl G. Keefer
... about each other's background that help you put together another part of the puzzle that your partner will sometimes seem to you. Be sure to let each other know what things you love about one another as you learn to work around the little imperfections you discover. Stop often and appreciate the wonder of sharing your love and lives with one another. Not everyone has that. Another similarity between making a home and making a marriage is that both take time. You probably have some ideas about how you want ...
Sermon
Charles H. Bayer
... . What of this Jesus today? Where can he be found? Is he a memorable character from an old book? Or are we, "the body of Christ," Christ alive in today's world? Perhaps we are all of Christ the world around us will ever see. As sinful and pitiful and imperfect as we are, we are his voice, his hands and feet. And what are we to be about? Do we exist for the care and feeding of ourselves? Is this body in the world to make the comfortable even more comfortable? When you think of the church and your part ...
Sermon
Frank Luchsinger
... in power according to the Spirit of holiness ..." so Paul writes of the One who is to come; the One we are expecting (Romans 1:3, 4); the designated Son of a designated God come to a designated people. God reveals himself in power; we humbly and imperfectly place names on what we see and feel. God designates a Son and the Son designates a people. Designating/Naming What we know of our world and of God is as human as life itself. From the beginning of time we have been naming. Frederick Buechner describes ...
146. Going Ahead Anyway
Matthew 2:1-12, Matthew 2:13-18
Sermon
William B. Kincaid, III
... of cooperation and kindness, it is unrealistic to think we are going to eliminate from the face of the earth divisive, rude, evil people. Our only choice, unless we want to give in or give up, is to work around the evil. Yes, this is an imperfect world, but that does not relieve us of our responsibility to work for what is good and right. If anything, the evil present in our world only accentuates the need for us to do something. Someone penned a few thoughts and titled the piece "Anyway."2 People ...
147. Christmas 1
Galatians 3:26--4:7, Galatians 3:15-25, Colossians 3:1-17, Hebrews 2:5-18, Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
... . His advice is that you dress not necessarily for the position you have but for the position you aspire to. This passage states that God has dressed the people for salvation. The gracious God of all does not leave his people naked, exposing their imperfections, but covers them with his salvation. "He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has clothed me with the robe of righteousness" (v. 10). This spiritual dressing up is compared to the glad attire of the bride and groom at their wedding ...
148. Christmas 2
Mt 2:13-23 · Jn 1:1-18 · Eph 1:3-14 · Jer 31:7-14 · Is 61:10--62:3 · Ps 147
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
... . His advice is that you dress not necessarily for the position you have but for the position you aspire to. This passage states that God has dressed the people for salvation. The gracious God of all does not leave his people naked, exposing their imperfections, but covers them with his salvation. "He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has clothed me with the robe of righteousness" (v. 10). This spiritual dressing up is compared to the glad attire of the bride and groom at their wedding ...
Sermon
Harold Warlick
... is painting a picture of heaven as a forgiving place. And in his post-resurrection appearances he comes back to those he has forgiven and even breaks bread and is recognized not as a ghost but as one who shares the common meal with as yet imperfect humans. Apparently forgiveness still goes on in heaven when we bring our limited perceptions and judgments there. Frankly, that should be a great load off our minds. Will we enjoy heaven? Most assuredly. Armed with that certainty, let us move forward with joy and ...
Sermon
Harold Warlick
... love was there but was overshadowed by a misguided life or by the demands of survival. Instead of forever seeking our father's approval or our mother's approval, we may have to put God back there and find the ways in which our parents were truly imperfect and truly human like us. Making peace, whether face-to-face or in the memory of a relationship, gives us tremendous strength. It also grants us the adulthood we desperately need. We can forget and then we can remember. You see, when we make peace with our ...
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