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E. Carver Mcgriff

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Bible Study

SermonStudio

How To Read The Bible -- Luke 24:32 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
It is above all through the Bible, the book of the Word revealed and incarnate, that God speaks,
Was Jesus Really Divine? -- John 10:30 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
He comes to us as one unknown, without a name, as of old by the lakeside He came to those who kne
What About Miracles? -- Matthew 12:39 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
It is, therefore, inaccurate to define a miracle as something that breaks the laws of nature.
Why Do We Have To Suffer? -- 1 Peter 2:19 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.
Why Do We Speak Of The Trinity? -- John 15:26 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
God's power of creation is given to us through the Holy Spirit.
Does God Help Us? -- John 14:16 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
The reason I can't help thinking of God is because God is here.
Can Prayer Change Things? -- Matthew 7:7 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
Let's stop making prayer profound, theological, and subject to traditional patterns.
What Does The Bible Mean By "Sin"? -- Romans 3:23-24 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
I fall back dazzled at beholding myself, all rosy red, at having, I myself, caused the sun to ris
What About Praying For Loved Ones? -- Colossians 4:3 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
Jesus prayed for others ...-- B. Harvie Branscomb* * *
Is There A Hell? -- Matthew 3:12b -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
One of the most pathetic aspects of human history is that every civilization expresses itself mos
Do We Have To Go To Church? -- Matthew 4:10b -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
The church is that place in human society where men are disturbed by the word of the eternal God,
What About Inclusive Language? -- Matthew 6:9 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
If, through omission or commission, I have inadvertently displayed any sexist, racist, culturalis
Jesus And Family Life -- Matthew 19:14 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
Mama, just look at me one minute as though you really saw me ...
Would Jesus Allow Divorce Today? -- Matthew 6:14 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
The experience of falling in love probably must have as one of its characteristics the illusion t
What About Homosexuality? -- Luke 6:21b -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
Do good and stop talking.-- Motto of the Waldensians in a small church in Italy
Is There Life After We Die? -- John 6:47 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- 1999
To live is to risk dying. I'm ready for it.

Preaching

SermonStudio

Third Sunday In Lent -- Isaiah 55:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Luke 13:1-9 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Isaiah 55:1-9 (C)
Proper 9 -- 2 Kings 5:1-14, Galatians 6:(1-6) 7-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: 2 Kings 5:1-14 (C)
Fourth Sunday In Lent -- Joshua 5:9-12, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Proper 10 -- Amos 7:7-17, Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10:25-37 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Amos 7:7-17 (C)
Fifth Sunday In Lent -- Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Isaiah 43:16-21 (C, RC, E)
Proper 11 -- Amos 8:1-12, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Amos 8:1-12 (C)
Sunday Of The Passion (Palm Sunday) -- Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 22:14--23:56 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Proper 13 -- Hosea 11:1-11, Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Hosea 11:1-11 (C)
Maundy Thursday / Holy Thursday -- Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17, 31b-35 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Proper 14 -- Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Luke 12:32-40 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 (C)
Good Friday -- Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1--19:42 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Good Friday - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Isaiah 52:13--53:12 (C, RC, E)
Fourth Sunday In Advent -- Micah 5:2-5a, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-45 (46-55) -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
The Resurrection Of Our Lord (Easter Day) -- Acts 10:34-43, 1 Corinthians 15:19-26, John 20:1-18 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Easter Day - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
The Transfiguration Of Our Lord -- Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2, Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Transfiguration Sunday - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Third Sunday Of Easter -- Acts 9:1-16 (7-20), Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:1-19 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Third Sunday of Easter - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Proper 7 -- 1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: 1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a (C)
Fourth Sunday Of Easter -- Acts 9:36-43, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Acts 9:36-43 (C)
Second Sunday Of Easter -- Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4b-8, John 20:19-31, Revelation 1:4-8 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Second Sunday of Easter - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Acts 5:27-32 (C)
Fifth Sunday Of Easter -- Acts 11:1-18, Revelation 21:1-6, John 13:31-35 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Acts 11:1-18 (C)
Proper 12 -- Hosea 1:2-10, Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19), Luke 11:1-13 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Hosea 1:2-10 (C)
Sixth Sunday Of Easter -- Acts 16:9-15, Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5, John 14:23-29 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Acts 16:9-15 (C)
Proper 15 -- Isaiah 5:1-7, Hebrews 11:29--12:2, Luke 12:49-56 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Isaiah 5:1-7 (C)
The Ascension Of Our Lord -- Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Acts 1:1-11 (C, RC, E)
Proper 16 -- Jeremiah 1:4-10, Hebrews 12:18-29, Luke 13:10-17 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONSLesson 1: Jeremiah 1:4-10 (C)
Seventh Sunday Of Easter -- Acts 16:16-34, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21, John 17:20-26 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Seventh Sunday of Easter - C -- 2000
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Sermon

SermonStudio

Doing The Right Thing -- Acts 1-11 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Ascension of the Lord - B -- 1999
A well-known businessman in this community was recently asked to do something for the United Method
Repentance: A New Relationship -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 1999
There's a story about a convention of psychiatrists who had gathered in a large auditorium near Gran
Church As Redemptive Community -- Acts 4:32-35 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Second Sunday of Easter - B -- 1999
Some people aren't comfortable with this passage because it seems to them to be a forerunner of cert
Times Of Refreshing -- Acts 3:12-19 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Third Sunday of Easter - B -- 1999
Our text is part of a sermon preached by Peter following the healing of a crippled man.
Jesus: The Only Way To God? -- Acts 4:5-12 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1999
These words attributed to Peter, "There is salvation in no one else," raise a difficult issue.
Kindness In Action: Evangelism -- Acts 8:26-40 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1999
Let's play Sherlock Holmes for a bit and see what deductions we can make about the characters in thi
The Sadness Of God -- Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Good Friday - B -- 1999
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel tells a haunting story from the concentration camps.
Rainbow In The Sky -- Genesis 9:8-17 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- First Sunday in Lent - B -- 1999
"My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; so it is now ."
Rules For A Happy Life -- Exodus 20:1-17 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 1999
America's premier Protestant preacher of the early part of this century, Dr.
Persevering In The Faith -- Numbers 21:4-9 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 1999
Many years ago, a friend of mine remarked that several years earlier he and his wife had quit attend
Written On The Heart -- Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B -- 1999
A place to start with this passage is the use of the word "husband" by Jeremiah to describe the mess
Standing Firm -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Passion Sunday - B -- 1999
Some years ago, a Methodist Bishop of national reknown was asked to speak at an annual conference of
Wonderful Story -- Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Second Sunday in Lent - B -- 1999
There's a great story being used in business circles to define the buzz-word "paradigm." It seems a
On Not Being First -- Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Seventh Sunday of Easter - B -- 1999
We Americans have long had a love affair with winners.
Death Shall Be No More -- Isaiah 25:6-9 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Easter Day - B -- 1999
Someone I love very much goes each year to a cemetery near her home, carrying a small teddy bear.
Come Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire -- Acts 10:44-48 -- E. Carver Mcgriff -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1999
Charles Wesley began one of the Methodist Church's favorite hymns with this line: "Come Holy Ghost,
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 16 | OT 21 | Pentecost 11
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 17 | OT 22 | Pentecost 12
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 18 | OT 23 | Pentecost 13
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Tom Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
George Reed
Christopher Keating
For September 14, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A sheep stuffy or toy.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s get started!

Did you know that Jesus traveled around and hunted for people who were doing something illegal and breaking the laws? (Let them respond.) He really did.And when he found someone who was doing something illegal, do you know what he did with them? (Let them respond.)

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Our text tells us that we are skilled in doing evil (v.22). An anonymous late medieval treatise titled German Theology tells us why:

It is the nature and property of the creature to seek itself and its own things, and this and that, here and there, and in all that it does and leaves undone as desire is to its own advantage and benefit. (Varieties of Mystic Experience, p.162)

Martin Luther King, Jr. offers an alternative to this vision:
David Coffin
All three of today’s texts can be viewed as good news that God never gives up on God’s people. This is despite their resistance to repent or simple straying from the community of faith. We can observe family and loved ones at various points of their faith journey through the lens of each of these texts. Jeremiah 4 informs the people their neglect of honoring their covenant with God is about to result in disastrous consequences. Paul recalls in 1 Timothy 1 how he thought he was falling God’s will until he had his literal come to Jesus moment!

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (vv. 6-7)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus told stories to illustrate to the people God's gladness whenever anyone turned to him and chose life. There is still rejoicing in heaven whenever any one of us turns to God.



Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes I think I'm too insignificant for you to bother with me.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes I don't bother with you.

Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes I don't bother with other people, but only with myself.

SermonStudio

James Evans
(See Proper 12/Pentecost 10/Ordinary Time 17, Cycle B, for an alternative approach.)

The psalm writer has an interesting perspective on the origin of injustice in our world. He begins this psalm with the assertion that those who do not believe in God are "fools." He goes on to accuse them of corruption and of being incapable of doing good. Later on he writes, "Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?" (v. 4).

Elizabeth Achtemeier
"Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them" (v. 12). Ours is a society that does not accept that as the Word of God. Many people do not believe that God judges anyone. Rather, the Lord is a forgiving God, a kindly deity who overlooks all wrong. As in the Gospel lesson for the morning, the Lord searches for the one lost sheep and returns it gently to the fold, or he hunts for the one lost coin until he finds it. God accepts the lost as they are, we think, overlooking Jesus' teaching about repentance and transformation of life.
Scott Suskovic
We usually don't spend too much time thinking about our own sinfulness. On occasion, of course, our feelings of guilt overwhelm us. We can't stop thinking about our sinfulness. If we are in that situation, we may need to talk that out with someone. Apart from times like that, we don't think much about our own sinfulness. We have ways of getting around that.

R. Robert Cueni
Back before the ways of the Taliban became common knowledge, there was a fascinating little article about how they jailed barbers when they didn't do culturally correct haircuts.1 The newspaper reported that young men in Kabul, Afghanistan, have started wearing their hair the way the actor Leonardo DiCaprio wears his. Long, not only on the sides, but so long in the front that hair can drop over the eyes. They call the style, "the Titanic," named for the blockbuster movie starring DiCaprio about the 1912 sinking of the cruise ship by that name.

Special Occasion

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