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R. Craig Maccreary

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Commentary

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Has it dawned on you? -- Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12, Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2022
Note: This installment was originally published in 2007.
Don't miss out on the coming reformation -- Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 3:19-28, John 8:31-36 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Reformation Sunday - A -- 2011
Reformation Day always seemed to me to be the odd day out on the church calendar.
Ride on in majesty? -- Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - A -- 2011
As the ship made her way down the channel, there was hardly a dry eye among those watching.
Passionate about the passion -- Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:14--27:66, Psalm 31:9-16 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Passion Sunday - A -- 2008
I suspect that most preachers will not be looking for ways to dive headlong into
All things to all people? -- Acts 10:34-43, Colossians 3:1-4, John 20:1-18, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Easter Day - A -- 2008
What does the territory ahead look like as you chart your way through what is
Charting the course without the chart -- Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10, Psalm 23 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - A -- 2008
People have all sorts of travel styles. I am constantly amazed at those who can just pick
Standing on the promises -- Genesis 12:1-9, Romans 4:13-25, Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26, Psalm 33:1-12 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - A -- 2008
If you want to know how to get me to sing, though of course I am not sure that
The grand national preach-off -- Genesis 22:1-14, Romans 6:12-23, Matthew 10:40-42, Psalm 13 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - A -- 2008
Nowadays it is hard for any television viewer to avoid the reality show genre where "real
Don't blow your inheritance -- Genesis 28:10-19a, Romans 8:12-25, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - A -- 2008
I suppose all of us have particular objects of our venom and disgust. Whenever said
Gotcha! -- Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28, Romans 10:5-15, Matthew 14:22-33, Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - A -- 2008
The longer I go in life the more I become fascinated with words: how we use them, where
Choose your weapon -- Exodus 3:1-15, Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28, Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - A -- 2008
Weapon: "1) something (as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy; 2) a
So who will you be voting for? -- Exodus 16:2-15, Philippians 1:21-30, Matthew 20:1-16, Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2008
Needless to say, I suspect that I have captured your attention at this point. Most of the
What you are not responsible for -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, Revelation 21:1-6a, Matthew 25:31-46, Psalm 8 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
'Tis the season to measure up, sum up, and own up. While most sanctuaries will not be
Locked in a room with open doors -- Acts 16:16-34, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21, John 17:20-26, Psalm 97 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Seventh Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
About 25 years ago, Ernest Campbell, former preaching minister at New York's
Christianity, the basic course -- Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19, Psalm 66:1-12 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - C -- 2007
A survey of Christian education resources reveals a trend toward an increasing number of
What's new? -- Isaiah 65:17-25, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Luke 21:5-19, Psalm 98 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - C -- 2007
Life can be quite onerous depending on the answer given to this question. Many of
Keeping up appearances -- Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42, Psalm 40:1-11 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - A -- 2007
One of my favorite British situation comedies is Keeping Up Appearances. It
What's carved above your church door? -- Song of Solomon 2:8-13, James 1:17-27, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - B -- 2006
There is a certain irony here as we approach the Sunday before Labor Day and the
Any questions -- show of hands -- Proverbs 31:10-31, James 3:13--4:3, 7-8a, Mark 9:30-37, Psalm 1 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 2006
"Any questions?" The words hang in the air at the end of the teacher's lecture as the
Do you really want to be in that number? -- Isaiah 25:6-9, Revelation 21:1-6a, John 11:32-44, Psalm 24 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- All Saints Day - B -- 2006
I have to admit that Monty Python's Flying Circus is an acquired taste. Yet,
Propping up or opening up -- 1 Samuel 1:4-20, Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25, Mark 13:1-8, 1 Samuel 2:1-10 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - B -- 2006
It is never a good place to be when you feel that you are loosing it. When clearly marked
Primal urge -- Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21, Psalm 19 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2006
The texts set before us all have to do with encountering the primal and basic core of
Getting started on the right foot -- Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Romans 10:8b-13, Luke 4:1-13, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- First Sunday in Lent - C -- 2006
We now set sail for Jerusalem, the events of holy week, and the hope of Easter morning.
Prisoners for love -- John 15:9-17, 1 John 5:1-6, Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B
In a scene from the current hit Broadway show, The Producers, a chorus of

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Don't miss out on the coming reformation -- Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 3:19-28, John 8:31-36 -- R. Craig Maccreary -- Reformation Sunday - A -- 2011
Reformation Day always seemed to me to be the odd day out on the church calendar.
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New & Featured This Week

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
In the sometimes-tiresome debate over science and scripture with respect to creation, it’s easy to become distracted. While the argument typically requires a focus on the how, we may lose sight of the what. And so, for just a moment, let me invite us to think for a moment about what God created.
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
Acts 8:26-40
As a local church pastor, I was often asked if I would baptize a child whose family were not members of the church. Some churches rebelled against this, but I remember this scripture — the hunger for understanding and inclusion of the Eunuch and Philp’s response — to teach and share and baptize in the name of our God. How could we turn anyone away from the rite of baptism?

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
“Dad, I think you worked a miracle.” Rolf slowly walked around the tree. “After that windstorm, I assumed this tree was as good as gone.”

“We just needed to give the branches time to heal and come back,” Michael replied.

 “I know, but so many of them were battered and broken I figured that it couldn’t recover. Now though it looks just like it did before the storm.” Rolf paused. “Do you think it will bear any fruit this summer?”

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John Jamison
Object: A live plant that produces fruit, and a broken branch from that plant. I used a tomato plant from a local greenhouse. Ideally, find a plant with blossoms or small fruit already growing. If you use a different kind of fruit-producing plant, just change the script to fit.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Elena Delhagen
Dean Feldmeyer
Quantisha Mason-Doll
For April 28, 2024:
  • On The Way To Gaza by Chris Keating based on Acts 8:26-40. On the way to Gaza, Philip discovers the startling ways the Spirit of God moves across borders, boundaries, customs, and traditions.
  • Second Thoughts: Abiding by Katy Stenta based on John 15:1-8.
  • Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Tom Willadsen, Elena Delhagen, Dean Feldmeyer.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. In our service today, let us absorb from the vine all the nourishment we need.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes our branches become cut off from the vine.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes our branches are withered.
Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we fail to produce good fruit.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
We will meet Psalm 22 in its entirety on Good Friday, but here the lectionary designates just verses 23-31. The lectionary psalms generally illuminate the week's First Lesson, which in this case is about the covenant initiated by God with Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17. The nine verses from this psalm, while not inappropriate, nonetheless leave us looking for an obvious connection with the First Lesson.

John S. Smylie
I think some people are natural-born gardeners. Our Lord grew up in a society that was familiar with agriculture. The images that he used to explain the ways of his Father in heaven are familiar to his audience. Growing up, my closest experience to agriculture was living in, "the Garden State." Most people, when they pass through New Jersey, are surprised to see that expression on the license plates of vehicles registered in New Jersey. Most folks traveling through New Jersey experience the megalopolis, the corridor between New York City and Washington DC.
Ron Lavin
A pastor in Indiana went to visit an 87-year-old man named Ermil, who was a hospital patient. A member of his church told the pastor about this old man who was an acquaintance. "He's not a believer, but he is really in need," the church member said. "I met him at the county home for the elderly. He's a lonely old man with no family and no money."

Paul E. Robinson
"Love is a many splendored thing...." Or so we heard Don Cornwall and the Four Aces sing time and again. Of course you or I might have other words to describe love, depending on our situation.

Love. "I love you." "I love to play golf." "I just love pistachio lush!" "It's tough to love some people." "Jesus loves me, this I know."

Love.

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