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Elizabeth Achtemeier

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Second Sunday in Advent -- Malachi 3:1-4 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Second Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
If we read the Old Testament in tandem with the New Testament, we sometimes have to employ a double
Trinity Sunday -- Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - C -- 2003
Perhaps no doctrine of the Christian Church is more obscure in the minds of church-goers than is the
Fifth Sunday in Lent -- Isaiah 43:16-21 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2003
Endings can be sad.
Third Sunday in Advent -- Zephaniah 2:14-20 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
Can we believe that God is carrying on a war against all sinners?
First Sunday after Christmas -- 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - C -- 2003
There are times in the life of the world or of a nation when one individual changes the whole course
Maundy/Holy Thursday -- Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2003
The same Old Testament text is used for Maundy Thursday in all three cycles of the lectionary.
Fourth Sunday in Advent -- Micah 5:2-5a -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
In the prophecies of Second Isaiah, the Lord God declares, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neith
Christmas Eve Day -- Isaiah 9:2-7 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- 2003
Darkness and light. The Bible constantly speaks of those two conditions.
Passion/Psalm Sunday -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2003
This is the stated text also in Cycles A and B.
All Saints' Sunday -- Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- All Saints Day - C -- 2003
Do you ever feel like giving up on your Christian faith?
Proper 28 -- Isaiah 65:17-25 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - C -- 2003
This text forms the last portion of the long judgment-salvation oracle that is contained in Isaiah 6
Pentecost -- Acts 2:1-21 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Day of Pentecost - C -- 2003
This reading from Acts is the stated lesson in all three cycles of the lectionary.
Ascension of Our Lord -- Acts 1:1-11 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2003
As we all know, the book of the Acts of the Apostles forms the second volume, as it were, of Luke's
Christmas Day -- Isaiah 52:7-10 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- The Nativity of our Lord - C -- 2003
In biblical times, when a king was crowned in Israel, two acts took place.
Proper 10 -- Amos 7:7-17 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - C -- 2003
This text gives the third in a series of four visions (7:1--8:3) that the prophet Amos was granted d
Ash Wednesday -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 2003
Karl Barth once remarked that the greatest tragedy in human life would be to come to the end of our
Proper 7 -- 1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - C -- 2003
This story follows immediately on Elijah's victory over Jezebel's prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel,
Proper 11 -- Amos 8:1-12 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - C -- 2003
The lectionary often combines parts of two separate sections.
Baptism of Our Lord -- Isaiah 43:1-7 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - C -- 2003
The subject for this Sunday, as set forth in the accompanying New Testament texts, is baptism, the b
Proper 12 -- Hosea 1:2-10 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C -- 2003
We are a whoring nation, are we not?
Christ the King -- Jeremiah 23:1-6 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - C -- 2003
Both Luke (15:3-7; 19:10) and John (10:11-12) characterize our Lord as the Good Shepherd.
Proper 13 -- Hosea 11:1-11 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 2003
Few passages in the Old Testament are more important than this one, because it sets forth central un
Easter Day -- Acts 10:34-43 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Easter Day - C -- 2003
We have a crowd here today on this Easter Sunday. Churches are always crowded on Easter.
Second Sunday of Easter -- Acts 5:27-32 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Second Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
"We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
Proper 14 -- Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - C -- 2003
In the popular piety that so dominates American religious life, there is the saying that "God hears
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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?”

CSSPlus

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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