Excerpt from Lutheran Partners column "Web Resources for Leaders"

Editors: Jennifer and Seth Moland-Kovash

SermonSuite

Preaching resources are easy to come by on the expanses of the World Wide Web. What's harder to come by are resources that are consistently good. The task is to sort through and find the resources you can trust: the resources that deliver inspiration and faithfulness to text and tradition.

There is a truth of "real life" that is also true generally on the Web: You get what you pay for. It's rare to find free resources that are really good. Many people have come to trust SermonSuite from CSS Publishing, a pay-for site. CSS Publishing has been around for quite awhile, providing books, worship and preaching resources, and children's ministry resources. Their exclusively online SermonSuite is quite impressive (www.sermonsuite.com).

The site is aptly named a suite, because it is really a series of resources brought together. And here is the great thing about their payment plans: there is flexibility to purchase just the resources you want a la carte or to pay for various bundles. The most expensive (all seven resources for one year) is $230, which is still a bargain compared to what the equivalent print materials would cost. Two of the seven resources are targeted toward children's ministries, and they are excellent. Gospel Grams provides easily reproduced children's bulletins for each Sunday of the year while CSSPlus provides two children's messages for each Sunday and suggested activities for Sunday school or take-homes.

StoryShare is a collection of contemporary and original stories written by a variety of authors that connect Scripture lessons to life experiences. As with all of SermonSuite's resources, the first page that pops up when you open StoryShare is the stories designated for the upcoming lectionary Sunday, but you can search the entire archive as well.

Emphasis Online brings a trusted CSS print lectionary-based commentary series onto the Web. All the lessons are brought together in an essay, and a series of brief illustrations is provided.

A series of essays produced weekly is found in The Immediate Word; it connects to the lectionary Sunday but is searchable and archived. These essays connect the Word to the world. Reference is made to current movies, news events, and cultural concerns.

SermonStudio brings the full text of more than 400 of CSS Publishing's books online. There are sample sermons for inspiration, as well as reflections on liturgical seasons and special events. More than $10,000 worth of books is provided here as part of your subscription -- all searchable by topic, keyword, Scripture passage, etc.

One unique and helpful resource provided as part of SermonSuite is The Village Shepherd. Where all the other resources are written by a team and a variety of writers, the The Village Shepherd is the online home of one person: an Anglican priest from England named Janice Scott. Each week, Scott provides two sermons and at least one (usually two) original children's stories based on the lessons. We have found the children's stories in particular to be great resources and ways to get into the text.

SermonSuite provides more resources than anyone could possibly use each week. There are only two drawbacks that we found in SermonSuite. The first would be the cost. It "feels" like a lot of money to pay for an online resource ($230 per year), but when you think of what you are getting, it makes sense. The second drawback is the lack of community feel. It is very much a Web 1.0 resource: you go to the site to get content written by experts. There is very little opportunity for response and engagement and sharing among the hundreds and thousands of users. But all in all, SermonSuite can be described as a top-notch online preaching resource. Check it out for yourself. They provide free 30-day samples to all the resources also.

Jennifer and Seth Moland-Kovash serve as co-pastors of All Saints Lutheran Church in Palatine, IL for Lutheran Partners and Lutheran Partners Online. More online resources can be found at http://delicious.com/lutheranpartners/bundle:November%2FDecember%202008.