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Second Sunday of Advent ›
Matthew 3:1-12
Romans 15:4-13
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Advent 2 Quick Links... ›
Sermon Illustrations
Children's Resources
Sermons
Worship Resources
Exegesis / Commentary

New & Featured This Week

  • Sermon

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    Paul E. Robinson
    There is so much uncertainty in life that most of us look hard and long for as many "sure things" as we can find. A fisherman goes back again and again to that hole that always produces fish and leaves on his line that special lure that always does the trick. The fishing hole and the lure are sure things.

    A gardener finds it hard to switch from tried and true varieties of vegetables....

  • Sermon

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    Tony S. Everett
    One hot summer day, a young pastor decided to change the oil in his automobile for the very first time in his life. He had purchased five quarts of oil, a filter wrench, and a bucket in which to drain the used oil. He carefully and gently drove the car onto the shiny, yellow ramps and eased his way underneath his vehicle.

    Unfortunately, lying there on his back, all he could see when...

  • Sermon

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    R. Glen Miles
    The text we have heard today is pleasant, maybe even reassuring. I wonder, though, how many of us will give it any significance once we leave the sanctuary? Do the words of Isaiah have any real meaning for us, or are they just far away thoughts from a time that no longer has any relevance for us today?

    We Americans tend to be realists. We look at situations and attempt to...

  • Worship

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    Amy C. Schifrin
    Martha Shonkwiler
    Litany Of Confession
    P: Wild animals flourish around us,
    C: and prowl within us.
    P: Injustice and inequity surround us,
    C: and hide within us.
    P: Vanity and pride divide us,
    C: and fester within us.

    A time for silent reflection

    P: O God, may your love free us,
    C: and may your Spirit live in us. Amen.

    ...

  • Commentary

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    The world and the church approach the "Mass of Christ" with a different pace, and "atmospheres" that are worlds apart. Out in the "highways and byways" tinsel and "sparkly" are everywhere, in the churches the color of the paraments and stoles is a somber violet, or in some places, blue. Through the stores and on the airwaves carols and pop tunes are up-beat, aimed at getting the spirits festive,...

  • Commentary

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    David Kalas
    In the United States just now, we're in the period between the election and the inauguration of the president. In our system, by the time they are inaugurated, our leaders are fairly familiar faces. Months of primaries and campaigning, debates and speeches, and conventions and commercials, all contribute to a fairly high degree of familiarity. We may wonder what kind of president someone will be...

  • Commentary

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    During my growing up years we had no family automobile. My father walked to work and home again. During World War II his routine at the local milk plant was somewhat irregular. As children we tried to guess when he would come. If we were wrong, we didn't worry. He always came.

    If it had been a good day, if I had tended to my duties, if I had gotten along reasonably well with my...

  • Commentary

    Isaiah 11:1-10
    Wayne Brouwer
    Schuyler Rhodes
    What difference does my life make for others around me? That question is addressed in three related ways in our texts for today. Isaiah raised the emblem of the Servant of Yahweh as representative for what life is supposed to be, even in the middle of a chaotic and cruel world. Paul mirrors that reflection as he announces the fulfillment of Isaiah's vision in the coming of Jesus and the expansion...

  • Sermon

    Matthew 3:1-12
    Janice B. Scott
    There was an incident some years ago, when an elderly lady in some village parish in England was so fed up with the sound of the church bells ringing, that she took an axe and hacked her way through the oak door of the church. Once inside, she sliced through the bell ropes, rendering the bells permanently silent. The media loved it. There were articles in all the papers and...

  • Sermon

    Matthew 3:1-12
    Mark Wm. Radecke
    In her Pulitzer Prize winning book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, author Annie Dillard recalls this chilling remembrance:

    "I see tonight the picture of a friendly member of the forest service in Wisconsin, who is freeing a duck frozen onto the ice, by chopping out its feet with a hand axe. It calls to mind the spare, cruel story Thomas McGonigle told me about herring gulls frozen on...

  • Sermon

    Matthew 3:1-12
    Charles L. Aaron, Jr.
    We've gathered here today on the second Sunday of Advent to continue to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord. This task of preparing for the arrival of the Lord is not as easy as we might think it is. As in other areas of life, we find ourselves having to unlearn some things in order to see what the scriptures teach us about God's act in Jesus. We've let the culture around us snatch away...

  • Sermon

    Matthew 3:1-12
    Susan R. Andrews
    When our children were small, a nice church lady named Chris made them a child--friendly creche. All the actors in this stable drama are soft and squishy and durable - perfect to touch and rearrange - or toss across the living room in a fit of toddler frenzy. The Joseph character has always been my favorite because he looks a little wild - red yarn spiking out from his head, giving him an odd...

  • Worship

    Matthew 3:1-12
    Amy C. Schifrin
    Martha Shonkwiler
    Litany Of Confession
    P: Wild animals flourish around us,
    C: and prowl within us.
    P: Injustice and inequity surround us,
    C: and hide within us.
    P: Vanity and pride divide us,
    C: and fester within us.

    A time for silent reflection

    P: O God, may your love free us,
    C: and may your Spirit live in us. Amen.

    ...

  • Commentary

    Matthew 3:1-12
    The world and the church approach the "Mass of Christ" with a different pace, and "atmospheres" that are worlds apart. Out in the "highways and byways" tinsel and "sparkly" are everywhere, in the churches the color of the paraments and stoles is a somber violet, or in some places, blue. Through the stores and on the airwaves carols and pop tunes are up-beat, aimed at getting the spirits festive,...

  • Commentary

    Matthew 3:1-12
    David Kalas
    In the United States just now, we're in the period between the election and the inauguration of the president. In our system, by the time they are inaugurated, our leaders are fairly familiar faces. Months of primaries and campaigning, debates and speeches, and conventions and commercials, all contribute to a fairly high degree of familiarity. We may wonder what kind of president someone will be...

  • Commentary

    Matthew 3:1-12
    During my growing up years we had no family automobile. My father walked to work and home again. During World War II his routine at the local milk plant was somewhat irregular. As children we tried to guess when he would come. If we were wrong, we didn't worry. He always came.

    If it had been a good day, if I had tended to my duties, if I had gotten along reasonably well with my...

  • Commentary

    Matthew 3:1-12
    Wayne Brouwer
    Schuyler Rhodes
    What difference does my life make for others around me? That question is addressed in three related ways in our texts for today. Isaiah raised the emblem of the Servant of Yahweh as representative for what life is supposed to be, even in the middle of a chaotic and cruel world. Paul mirrors that reflection as he announces the fulfillment of Isaiah's vision in the coming of Jesus and the expansion...

  • Children's sermon

    Matthew 3:1-12
    I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (v. 11)

    Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about a man chosen by God to introduce Jesus to the world. His name was John the Baptist. Has anyone heard of John the Baptist? (let...

  • Children's sermon

    Matthew 3:1-12
    I brought with me today a poster of a candidate who ran for office. Can any of you tell me who this person is? (Let them answer.) Can you tell me what office he ran for? (Let them answer.)

    People who run for office want you to know who they are. They print thousands of posters and bumper stickers. What else do they do? (Let them answer.) They advertise on radio and...

  • Preaching

    Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
    Stan Purdum
    (See The Epiphany Of Our Lord, Cycle A, and The Epiphany Of Our Lord, Cycle B, for alternative approaches.)

    This psalm is a prayer for the king, and it asks God to extend divine rule over earth through the anointed one who sits on the throne. Although the inscription says the psalm is about Solomon, that is a scribal addition. More likely, this was a general prayer used for...

  • Worship

    Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
    Amy C. Schifrin
    Martha Shonkwiler
    Litany Of Confession
    P: Wild animals flourish around us,
    C: and prowl within us.
    P: Injustice and inequity surround us,
    C: and hide within us.
    P: Vanity and pride divide us,
    C: and fester within us.

    A time for silent reflection

    P: O God, may your love free us,
    C: and may your Spirit live in us. Amen.

    ...

  • Commentary

    Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
    David Kalas
    In the United States just now, we're in the period between the election and the inauguration of the president. In our system, by the time they are inaugurated, our leaders are fairly familiar faces. Months of primaries and campaigning, debates and speeches, and conventions and commercials, all contribute to a fairly high degree of familiarity. We may wonder what kind of president someone will be...

  • Commentary

    Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
    Wayne Brouwer
    Schuyler Rhodes
    What difference does my life make for others around me? That question is addressed in three related ways in our texts for today. Isaiah raised the emblem of the Servant of Yahweh as representative for what life is supposed to be, even in the middle of a chaotic and cruel world. Paul mirrors that reflection as he announces the fulfillment of Isaiah's vision in the coming of Jesus and the expansion...

  • Sermon

    Romans 15:4-13
    John N. Brittain
    If you don't know that Christmas is a couple of weeks away, you must be living underground. And you must have no contact with any children. And you cannot have been to a mall, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, or any other chain store since three weeks before Halloween. Christmas, probably more than any other day in the contemporary American calendar, is one of those days where impact really stretches the...

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