Login / Signup

John T. Ball

Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) for multiple selections (scroll list to see all options)

Sermon

SermonStudio

Jesus -- The Bread Guy -- John 6:35, 41-51 -- John T. Ball -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B -- 2005
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is often the "Bread Guy." Here he is different from the Jesus of Matthe
A Healing Ministry For The Modern Church -- Mark 7:24-37 -- John T. Ball -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - B -- 2005
The mission and ministry of Jesus was preaching, teaching, and healing.
The Inversion Of Ambition -- Mark 9:30-37 -- John T. Ball -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 2005
In today's text, Jesus teaches the disciples about the power of evil.
All That Goes Down Must Go Up -- Ephesians 1:15-23 -- John T. Ball -- Ascension of the Lord - B -- 2005
We are now almost fifty days after Easter, days that were filled with the immediate presence of the
Selling Sin In A Celebrative Age -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10 -- John T. Ball -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2005
Dialing the number of a large, well-known metropolitan church, the caller asked, "What time is your
On Having A Good Church Fight -- 1 John 1:1--2:2 -- John T. Ball -- Second Sunday of Easter - B -- 2005
Today's scripture from 1 John is one of the treasures of all the New Testament.
Salvation Is A Journey, Not An Arrival -- 1 John 3:1-7 -- John T. Ball -- Third Sunday of Easter - B -- 2005
In this Information Age, we find summaries of the news helpful.
Faith As Alternating Current -- 1 John 3:16-20 -- John T. Ball -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2005
Some troublesome things about the Christian life are its mood swings.
The Commandments Are Not Burdensome -- 1 John 5:1-6 -- John T. Ball -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2005
In the Exodus story, Moses leads the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity and takes them to the moun
True Resurrections -- 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 -- John T. Ball -- Easter Day - B -- 2005
Today, Easter is the central festival of the church, out of which comes two derivative festivals, Ch
Listening To Minority Voices -- 1 Peter 3:18-22 -- John T. Ball -- First Sunday in Lent - B -- 2005
The endurance of humanity and even the whole cosmos could depend upon giving a serious listening of
Abraham: The Near Death Of God's Promise -- Romans 4:13-25 -- John T. Ball -- Second Sunday in Lent - B -- 2005
Since Dr.
Finding Our Salvation In Today's World -- 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 -- John T. Ball -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 2005
One of Louis Armstrong's vocal hits went like this:
Goodness -- A Way Of Life -- Ephesians 2:1-10 -- John T. Ball -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 2005
Traditionally, the letter to the Ephesians was thought to be another one of Paul's New Testament wri
Palm/Passion Sunday And Today's Faith -- Philippians 2:5-11 -- John T. Ball -- Passion Sunday - B -- 2005
In the slaughter of World War I, 1914-1918, a whole generation of European men went to their deaths.
Love -- The Only Absolute Commandment -- 1 John 4:7-21 -- John T. Ball -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2005
Love is central to the New Testament message. Jesus called his followers to practice love.
Mediating The Grace Of God -- Hebrews 5:5-10 -- John T. Ball -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B -- 2005
God is always mediated to us. God never comes to us directly and immediately. This is a good thing.
Dave, Tell Me About The Cross -- Hebrews 10:16-25 -- John T. Ball -- Good Friday - B -- 2005
Dave, having just finished seminary, and before leaving for doctoral studies on the west coast, drov
Isaiah, Advent, And Human Hopefulness -- Isaiah 2:1-5 -- John T. Ball -- First Sunday of Advent - A -- 2004
In Jill St.
First Comes An Everyday Hope -- Isaiah 11:1-10 -- John T. Ball -- Second Sunday of Advent - A -- 2004
Today's great spiritual priority may be for a grounded everyday hope.
The Interruption Of Advent Somberness -- Isaiah 35:1-10 -- John T. Ball -- Third Sunday of Advent - A -- 2004
On many Advent altars Christians often place a wreath holding four candles.
The Strangeness Of God's Care -- Isaiah 7:10-16 -- John T. Ball -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - A -- 2004
Religion is a mutual relationship. We pledge loyalty and devotion to God and God blesses us.
When Personal Concerns Are Swallowed Up In Wonder -- Isaiah 42:1-9 -- John T. Ball -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - A -- 2004
We are a culture awash in personal problems.
Theology Two Sizes Too Small -- Isaiah 49:1-7 -- John T. Ball -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - A -- 2004
One of the legacies of children's writer Dr.

Free Access

Generosity As The Clue To Life -- Mark 8:27-38 -- John T. Ball -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - B -- 2005
All the great founders of our religious traditions offer secrets to the good life.

Stories

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 28 | OT 33 | Pentecost 23
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Christ the King Sunday
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Thanksgiving
34 – Sermons
80+ – Illustrations / Stories
24 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
24 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
Nazish Naseem
For November 16, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
Another natural disaster has flattened a number of coastal communities. Despite the weather and major television station warnings, and government disaster preparations, the dystopian destruction nightmare of Luke 21 has decimated another community. Also, it is reasonable to believe that this is not the last year for hurricanes, Tsunami’s, wildfires, mudslides and tornados. They will occur again. However, as weary citizens are interviewed in one group of people with the background of homes in rubble and streets still draining flood waters, they will not leave. This is their home.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez

Isaiah 65:17-25 and Isaiah 12

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. (v. 25)

A week after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, country singer Toby Keith — who died Feb. 5, 2024 — wrote a patriotic ballad titled “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” It was filled with populist fighting rhetoric that matched the mood of a nation shaken by the shocking death and destruction of that day.

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A blood pressure monitor. It is actually called a sphygmomanometer, and is pronounced “sfig·mow·muh·naa’·muh·tr”.

* * *

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ

Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

The local community

Those who suffer

The communion of saints


These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

SermonStudio

Stephen P. McCutchan
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
-- Isaiah 12:3

John W. Clarke
No reading of Luke is complete without coming to realize that Luke is concerned that the world understands that Jesus is the hope of the world and that any teaching that leads away from that fact is a false teaching. No matter what, no matter when, Jesus will be there to give us life.

Scott Suskovic
Whoever does not work should not eat!
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NLT)

Wow! Kind of takes your breath away, doesn't it? Not a lot of ambiguity in that rule. "You don't work, you don't eat." For a religion based on grace, it seems a bit unyielding.

Mark Ellingson
Freedom is such a lovely word, a compelling image. What is freedom? How would you define it? What does it mean to you? Webster's New World Dictionary defines freedom as being exempt from control or from arbitrary restrictions. Freedom is said to be the ability to choose or determine one's own actions.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL