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J. Ellsworth Kalas

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The Signs Of Summer -- Luke 21:25-36 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- 2003
The season of Advent is upon us, and with it is a spirit of heaviness.
The Hinge Of History -- Luke 3:1-6 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Second Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
Henry Ford said that history is bunk; but history has gotten its revenge on the pioneer auto maker.
The Divine Opportunity -- Luke 3:7-18 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
Opportunity comes with so many different faces that we often don't recognize it.
Songs Of The Season -- Luke 1:39-45 (46-55) -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
No season of the year sings as well as Christmas.
Epiphany: Glory Beyond Our Expecting -- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - C -- 2003
In 1986 a relatively unknown basketball team from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock defeated
Epiphany: A Faith To Work Miracles -- John 2:1-11 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - C -- 2003
I consider it divine good fortune that we have a scripture lesson so early in the year which encoura
Epiphany: The Joy Of Fulfillment -- Luke 4:14-21 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2003
I've read some books where it seemed the author had no purpose in writing.
From Empty Nets To Full Lives -- Luke 5:1-11 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 2003
It's funny what experiences and phrases will stay with you from childhood.
Epiphany: The Tragedy Of Rejection -- Luke 4:21-30 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 2003
In the church, most of us think of Epiphany simply as a season on the church calendar, and sometimes
God Communicates In Humanly Understandable Terms -- Luke 2:41-52 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - C -- 2003
One Christmas morning, a young widow was doing her best to make Christmas happy for her two little b
Christmas And The New Family -- John 1:1-18 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- Second Sunday after Christmas - C -- 2003
When Wilbur and Orville Wright completed their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on Dec
Music From Another Room -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- 2003
Introduction
Awake To Glory -- Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- J. Ellsworth Kalas, David Kalas -- Transfiguration Sunday - C -- 2003
Today we celebrate one of the most neglected passages in the Bible.
The Signs of Summer -- Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- First Sunday of Advent - C -- 1988
The season of Advent is upon us, and with it a spirit of heaviness.
Epiphany: The Tragedy of Rejection -- Luke 4:21-30 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 1988
In the church, most of us think of Epiphany simply as a season on the church calendar, and sometimes
Awake to Glory -- Luke 9:28-36 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Transfiguration Sunday - C -- 1988
Today we celebrate one of the most neglected passages in the Bible.
The Hinge of History -- Luke 3:1-6 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Second Sunday of Advent - C -- 1988
Henry Ford said that history is bunk; but history has gotten its revenge on the pioneer auto maker.
The Divine Opportunity -- Luke 3:10-18 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 1988
Opportunity comes with so many different faces that we often don't recognize it.
Return to the New -- Luke 2:21 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- 1988
The shepherds in the Christmas story appeal to our sentiment, but the wise men appeal to our imagina
Epiphany: Glory Beyond Our Expecting -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - C -- 1988
Several years ago a relatively unknown basketball team from the University of Arkansas at Little Roc
Epiphany: A Faith to Work Miracles -- John 2:1-11 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - C -- 1988
I consider it divine good fortune that we have a Scripture lesson so early in the year which encoura
Epiphany: The Joy of Fulfillment -- Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 1988
I've read some books where it seemed the author had no purpose in writing.
Songs of the Season -- Luke 1:39-45 (46-55) -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - C -- 1988
No season of the year sings as well as Christmas.
Christmas and the New Family -- John 1:1-14 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- The Nativity of our Lord - C -- 1988
When Wilbur and Orville Wright completed their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on Dec
From Empty Nets to Full Lives -- Luke 5:1-11 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 1988
It's funny what experiences and phrases will stay with you from childhood.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Easter 2
20 – Sermons
170+ – Illustrations / Stories
26 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
20 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 3
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 4
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

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John Jamison
Object: A sheep or lamb stuffed animal.

Note: For the best experience, when you ask the questions, take the time to draw the children out a bit and help them come up with answers. Make it more of a conversation if you can.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Let’s get started! (Hold the sheep in your lap as you continue.)

The Immediate Word

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For May 4, 2025:

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John E. Sumwalt
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice… (vv. 11-12a)

Phillip Hasheider is a retired Wisconsin beef farmer and an award-winning author who was dead for six minutes and came back to tell about it. If you have ever thought about dying and wondered what it would be like, then Hasheider’s Six Minutes in Eternity is a book you will want to read.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
A medical worker is working long, hard, stress filled hours in an urban hospital setting. One day he or she is called into the administrator’s office to be terminated due to angering professionals in the upper echelon. The worker protests that it is, “My word against their word, why am I to be the scapegoat?” The administrator pulls rank! The worker is asked to turn in their badge and do not come into the premises again unless as a patient. The now unemployed medical worker still feels the calling to be a healer. So, they get a job at an alternative/natural health medicine store.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
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Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Martin Luther believed that the story of Paul’s conversion demonstrates that there is no need for special revelation. The reformer commented:

Our Lord God does not purpose some special thing for each individual person, but gives to the whole world — one person like the next — his baptism and gospel. (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.271)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
I've recently spent several hours by the lakeside, for I've been in retreat this past week in the little village of Hemingford Grey, in Huntingdonshire. A great delight for me was to walk to the flooded gravel pits, sit on a bench in glorious sunshine, and watch the water birds. For me, that's a wonderful way to become very aware of the presence of God through the beauty of his created world. And sitting like that for several hours, doing nothing but watching and waiting, I can't help but absorb the peace which passes all understanding.

SermonStudio

Constance Berg
When Beth was a teenager, she lived on the streets. She smoked cigarettes and drank beer and her parents had said that she had to choose: her friends or her family. Beth chose her friends and lived from house to house and eventually in homeless shelters. She barely avoided being raped at one point. About six months of shelter-hopping was all she could take, and she found a shelter that sponsored her until she took the GED. They told her she was brilliant: she was just bored and dissatisfied with the status quo. The shelter supervisors suggested she look into community college.
James Evans
(For alternative approaches, see Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B; and Proper 9/Pentecost 7/Ordinary Time 14, Cycle C.)

The main theme of this psalm is captured profoundly in the movement within a single verse: "Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with morning" (v. 5). Casting life experiences between light and dark is not unique or novel, of course, but the poet's treatment of these themes offers some fertile ground for reflection.

Elizabeth Achtemeier
We have three different accounts of the conversion of Saul in the Gospel according to Luke (9:1-20; 22:6-16; 26:12-18). They differ in a few minor details, but essentially they are the same. In addition, Paul writes of his conversion in Galatians 1:11-16, and in 1 Corinthians 9:1 and 15:8-9, stating that at the time of his conversion on the road to Damascus, he saw the Lord. For Paul, that made him an apostle, equal to the twelve. An apostle, in Paul's thought, was one who had seen the risen Christ and had been sent to announce that good news.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
Once in a far-off land, there was a great king whose dominion extended far and wide. His power and authority were absolute. One day, as events would happen, a young man, a commoner, committed a grave offense against the king. In response, the king and his counselors gathered together to determine what should be done. They decided that since the offense was so grave and had been committed by a commoner against someone so august as the king, the only punishment that would satisfy justice was death.

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