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 2126 to 2150 of 2157 results
Sermon
David E. Leininger
... an overview of the life and ministry of Jesus. This one was breaking new ground. It begins with words that might be construed as either a title or simply a summary of what we are about to encounter. In the phrasing of the ancient King James Version of scripture in which many of us were nurtured, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” More contemporary renditions say “the good news of Jesus...” (NRSV, GNT), “the wonderful story of Jesus...” (TLB), and so on. The story of ...
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
... stores. His uncle taught him that their extravagant lifestyle was evidence of God’s blessing and the abundant life that Jesus promised to his followers. In an article for Christianity Today, Costi wrote, “Our lifestyle was lavish, our loyalty was enforced, and our version of the gospel was big business. Though Jesus Christ was still a part of our gospel, he was more of a magic genie than the King of Kings.” But Costi remembers having some questions about his family’s theology and practices. When a ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... overwhelming us and challenging us with indeterminable and mysterious experiences that go beyond our ability to comprehend. The word in our scripture for today to describe God’s cloud-like, enveloping presence is the Greek word “episkiasei.” In most versions of scripture, scholars have translated the word as “overshadow.” “The power of the Most High will overshadow you,” announces the angel to Mary. But that definition leaves us curious. What does it mean? The actual Greek definition helps. It ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... our town ready? WE ALSO NEED TO GET OUR FAMILIES READY. After all, our first responsibility is to those closest to us. In a Family Circus cartoon, the little girl sits her baby brother on her lap and tells him the story of Christmas. According to her version: Jesus was born just in time for Christmas up at the North Pole surrounded by eight tiny reindeer and the Virgin Mary. Then Santa Claus showed up with lots of toys and stuff and some swaddling clothes. The three Wise men and elves all sang carols while ...
Sermon
Mary Austin
... : “Gaithersburg is a multi-cultural church with members from over thirty countries, so living together is fun and full of things to learn.” If we’re going to the twentieth floor, I can say a little more! Jesus, always the master communicator, is giving the disciples his version of an elevator speech here. This is the core of what he’s trying to teach them. We can feel the focus of the gospel shift now. The first eight chapters of Mark make the case for who Jesus is. He shows us and tells us by his ...
2131. Ambassadors For Christ
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Sermon
John B. Jamison
... changed. Instead of arriving to enjoy a reunion, he was met with suspicion and accusation. Instead of being welcomed as the one who helped establish the church in Corinth, he was received as someone who was not to be trusted, someone who had presented a false version of the faith, someone who was not to be believed, someone who was not a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Some of the Corinthians said that Paul was clearly not a true disciple because he did not show his faith through working more wonders. They ...
2132. A Little Foolishness
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Sermon
John B. Jamison
... didn’t know those little bits. That’s what he enjoyed. And he wasn’t really reading his Bible, but excavating, it looking for those little treasures he could use to pose his questions. When he wasn’t sitting in his chair reading his King James version, he was out running around town looking for preachers. Hap didn’t drive a car but rode a bicycle through the streets, and when necessary, the alleyways that some preachers learned to travel by. The preachers in town all knew about Hap. Most of them ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... given time. It’s the ultimate in God’s method of “incarnation.” It’s also an amazing metaphor with which to celebrate the season of “epiphany!” The word for this connective medium that God offers to Jacob is translated in the English versions of our scriptures as “ladder” or sometimes “staircase.” But the Hebrew word, as usual, is so much more interesting than that. In fact, the usual words employed in Hebrew to indicate a ladder or staircase are not listed here at all. Instead, the ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... for your house has consumed me.” Taken from Psalm 69:9, the psalm is a lament to God, realizing that his time on earth is limited and that he knows that those he is taking on will come for him soon. Luke, Matthew, and Mark include a slightly different version, adding: “It is written,” he said to them, “’My house will be a house of prayer’ but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Luke 19:46; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17), referencing Jeremiah 7:11. If you read the entirety of that passage in ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... mind/soul, then later ascend to sit at the right hand of God. The emphasis is on the sovereignty of God. [3] Doksazo means to ascribe weight by recognizing real substance, as well as value. See Strongs 1392. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Testament), created in the 1st century BCE, the Hebrew words “kavod” meaning glory is translated using the Greek word “doxa.” For Plato manifestations of doxa are physical forms. For Jesus the doxa is the entire incarnational body/mind/spirit as ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... he has healed have become his most ardent disciples. To those he has shown unexpected grace, they have become his most passionate followers. When we bestow forgiveness and grace upon others, no matter what they’ve done or not done to us, we act out our own version of “measure for measure.” As Jesus has forgiven us –for we all fall short of the glory of God—so we will forgive others in his Name. And in so doing, they themselves will experience the power and glory of God in their lives, often for ...
Sermon
Mary Austin
... the kind of teacher who is about service, not triumph. We have this moment all the time, when we buckle down to the real job we have, instead of waiting for the perfect one …or make our peace with the real person we married, instead of the Hallmark card version of love… when we go to the college we can afford, instead of the one that looked so perfect on the tour …when we decide to show up for our real lives, instead of waiting until we have money, get braces, lose fifteen pounds, move into our dream ...
Sermon
John B. Jamison
... God’s love was pretty much the opposite of tough. That was it. Loving a brother or sister doesn’t mean we are emotionally ‘in love’ with them. It means we value them as fellow children of God and will help them when they have a need. But one Bible version of John’s passage says we should show pity for the suffering. Isn’t showing pity an action? I think John would say that, if we pity someone who is suffering, it does not mean we feel sorry for them or we are saying “tsk tsk” while we shake ...
2139.
Psalm 139:1-24
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... in a relationship with God. Additional Notes 139:14 I am fearfully and wonderfully made: The MT reads lit., “I am awesomely wonderful” (“made,” which the translators simply added, is difficult to justify). We should probably follow the ancient versions and read, “You are awesomely wonderful.” 139:15 The depths of the earth is probably not a metaphysical statement lit. describing a (mythical) belief about the formation of the soul there, but a metaphorical statement lit. drawing the analogy ...
Understanding Series
William Nelson
... the people (e.g., 1 Kgs. 22:19–23; Isa. 6). Daniel applies the dream to the Babylonian king. He will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals (4:25). That the king will eat grass like cattle (4:25) is not in the MT version of the dream (4:15), but it shows up here in the interpretation (and also in 4:32, 33). However, the verb “to eat” or “to be fed” should be added before “grass of the field” in verse 15, based on the statement here and in verse 32 (see the ...
Understanding Series
William Nelson
... order to develop it. The NRSV reading is superior: “At that time my reason returned to me.” This means when the seven years were finished, or at the time when he turned his gaze heavenward. In other words, these verses form a doublet; two different versions of the conclusion of the story are preserved here. Verse 34 (NRSV) Verses 36–37 (NRSV) my reason returned to me my reason returned to me I blessed the Most High, Now I, Nebuchadnezzar and praised praise and extol and honored and honored the one who ...
Understanding Series
Elizabeth Achtemeier
... in 5:2 is affirmed once again. Additional Notes 8:6 Selling even the sweepings with the wheat: Some have suggested that this line properly belongs at the end of v. 5. 8:8 Instead of like the Nile, the MT reads “like the light,” omitting only a yod. The versions support the NIV translation.
2143. Gathered Around Jesus
Mark 6:30-34; 53-56
Sermon
David Coffin
... will die. But there is new life after every death. What kind of seeds are we planting now? As we gather around Jesus, are we being told what it means to usher in the kingdom of God in our particular community?” We may have to leave our version of “Walnut Grove” in ruins as they did on “Little House on the Prairie.” Also, we may have found new life in our community that differs from that in the past. The good news, which need not burden us, is that our congregation remains Christ’s church ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... was giving them a spiritual answer. They wanted a political one. So that’s how they saw him, interpreted him, heard him, understood him. No wonder Jesus gets periodically frustrated with even his own disciples. They do the same. Hear what happens next. In Mark’s version of this same occurrence (6:52), an important line is added to the story: Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against ...
2145. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Mark 9:30-37 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · Psalm 1
Sermon
Thomas C. Willadsen
... steps for him as we go down and he repeats. Now he knows there’s a number past two. He won’t learn his numbers if we only count one time. He needs to hear them and repeat them. At our last church supper, we were talking about Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer; it’s different from Luke’s. There were about a dozen people there and none of us remembered when we learned the Lord’s prayer. We must have learned it in Sunday school, or at home, or maybe even from reciting it every week during ...
Sermon
Thomas C. Willadsen
... the book of Ruth follows the book of Judges. That’s the logical place for it. The book of Ruth begins, “In the days when the judges ruled…” Ruth 1:1 (NRSV). It is worth noting, however, that the Hebrew scriptures have a different sequence. In that version, the book of Ruth follows Proverbs. The last part of Proverbs is an ode to the Eshet Ḥayil. There is not a precise translation for this term. It can be rendered as “women of valor” or “capable wife.” The book of Ruth follows this poem in ...
Sermon
Wayne Brouwer
... by a particular geographic location. The second strategy in the divine mission had come, and the gospel was now to be preached to the whole world through Jesus’ disciples. Then, when Mary Magdalene wept because she missed her “Lord” (which is the Greek version of “Yahweh”), a man appeared on her periphery, and she assumed that he was “the gardener.” Of course, Mary’s perception had to be incorrect, because, as we know from John, the man was actually Jesus. But was Mary really wrong? John ...
Sermon
John B. Jamison
... miles north of Nazareth. His mother and disciples were there too. At some point, Jesus’ mother came to him and told him they had run out of wine. Jesus took some jugs of water and performed his first miracle by turning the water into wine. That is the quick version of the story, and on its own it creates a lot of questions. The obvious question is why did Jesus do it? Why did he use his powers to do something as mundane as turning water into wine? It seems more like a sideshow magic trick than a miracle ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
In the last two weeks, we’ve followed Jesus as his ministry is getting underway. We experienced his baptism in which the Holy Spirit surrounded and affirmed him and his messianic identity. We saw him turn water into wine, illuminating his identity as Holy Bridegroom and prophetic messiah who will inaugurate the fulfillment of God’s abundant promise. Now in our scripture for today, we see Jesus formally announcing his mission –God’s mission – a proclamation that the time of God’s fulfillment had come and ...
Sermon
Wayne Brouwer
... divine Spirit, and sending them out as his ambassadors, exactly in the manner of which he prayed back in chapter 17, on Thursday night, before the betrayal, arrest, farce of a trial, and horror of crucifixion. Is this, as some have suggested, John’s different version of Pentecost (Acts 2)? Actually no, it is not. John was very consistent about every detail in his gospel. Remember that on Thursday night, as they sat together in the upper room, eating a meal, Jesus had a lot to say. He told his disciples ...
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