Login / Signup

Mark Ellingsen

Lent Sale - Save $131!
Mark Ellingsen, a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), has been a professor of Church History at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1993. He graduated magna cum laude from Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania) and Yale University, from which he received three master's degrees in divinity, arts, and philosophy, as well as his Ph.D. He has authored 26 books including his latest, Wired for Racism? How Evolution and Faith Move Us to Challenge Racial Idolatry, published by New City Press and Reality and Waves: A Quantum Physics Cosmology, Philosophy of Religion, and Ethic (Lexington Books). He and his wife have three grown children. When he is not writing or teaching, Ellingsen enjoys discussing politics, sports, and playing guitar.
Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) for multiple selections (scroll list to see all options)

Commentary

Illustration

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 7 (2014) -- Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23, Matthew 5:38-48 -- Bob Ove, Ron Love, Mark Ellingsen, Derl G. Keefer -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2013
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
Twentieth-century... -- Titus 2:11-14 -- Mark Ellingsen -- The Nativity of our Lord - A -- 2013
Twentieth-century Anglo-American novelist Taylor Caldwell compellingly captured the meaning of Chris
The text's warning... -- 2 Timothy 3:14--4:5 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - C -- 2013
The text's warning that the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine seems ful
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 4 | OT 9 (2013) -- 1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39, Galatians 1:1-12, Luke 7:1-10 -- Bob Ove, Mark J. Molldrem, Scott A. Bryte, Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C -- 2013
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39
The parable of the rich fool... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 2013
The parable of the rich fool provides opportunity to reflect on the abuses of capitalism.
NULL -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- Mark Ellingsen -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2013
Our lesson, the Third Servant Song, about the Suffering Servant whom Deutero-Isaiah describes, refer
Poverty plagues... -- Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2013
Poverty plagues America. The U.S.
Sermon Illustrations for Christmas 1 (2013) -- Isaiah 63:7-9, Hebrews 2:10-18, Matthew 2:13-23 -- Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love, Derl G. Keefer, Bob Ove -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - A -- 2013
Isaiah 63:7-9
Sermon Illustrations for All Saints Day (2013) -- Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18, Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31 -- Ron Love, Mark Ellingsen, Bob Ove, Mark J. Molldrem -- All Saints Day - C -- 2013
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Our text is all about... -- Galatians 1:1-12 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C -- 2013
Our text is all about the fleeting character of human approval, how it all pales compared to God's w
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 14 | OT 19 (2013) -- Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Luke 12:32-40 -- Mark J. Molldrem, Bob Ove, Scott A. Bryte, Ron Love, Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - C -- 2013
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
NULL -- Luke 22:14--23:56 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2013
The Passion Sunday gospel reveals how insidious our sin is.
Americans have... -- Matthew 5:38-48 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2013
Americans have over-inflated images about themselves.
The Sunday after... -- Isaiah 63:7-9 -- Mark Ellingsen -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - A -- 2013
The Sunday after Christmas is calculated to be a bit of a "downer" compared to the Christmas festiva
Earthly powers enslave us... -- Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 -- Mark Ellingsen -- All Saints Day - C -- 2013
Earthly powers enslave us.
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 5 | OT 10 (2013) -- 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24), Galatians 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-17 -- Ron Love, Scott A. Bryte, Mark Ellingsen, Bob Ove, Mark J. Molldrem -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - C -- 2013
1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24)
The text is all about faith... -- Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - C -- 2013
The text is all about faith. But we make too much of faith, according to Martin Luther.
Sermon Illustrations for Good Friday (2013) -- Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1--19:42 -- Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love, Mark J. Molldrem, Bob Ove -- Good Friday - C -- 2013
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany of Our Lord (2014) -- Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12 -- Bob Ove, Mark Ellingsen, Derl G. Keefer, Ron Love -- Epiphany of the Lord - A -- 2013
Isaiah 60:1-6
Finding something... -- Matthew 2:13-23 -- Mark Ellingsen -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - A -- 2013
Finding something spiritually meaningful in the Holy Family's fleeing to Egypt is a tall order.
Saints are people who live... -- Luke 6:20-31 -- Mark Ellingsen -- All Saints Day - C -- 2013
Saints are people who live by the Golden Rule. Sort of.
The Gentile widow had nothing... -- 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24) -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - C -- 2013
The Gentile widow had nothing to give Elijah, and yet he healed her child.
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 15 | OT 20 (2013) -- Isaiah 5:1-7, Hebrews 11:29--12:2, Luke 12:49-56 -- Scott A. Bryte, Mark Ellingsen, Bob Ove, Ron Love, Mark J. Molldrem -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - C -- 2013
Isaiah 5:1-7
NULL -- Isaiah 52:13--53:12 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Good Friday - C -- 2013
The lesson portrays the Servant who suffers for us, the Messiah on the cross, as undesirable in appe
Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 (2014) -- Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42 -- Bob Ove, Mark Ellingsen, Derl G. Keefer, Ron Love -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - A -- 2013
Isaiah 49:1-7

Political Pulpit

Preaching

Sermon

The Political Pulpit

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)
Pentecost
33 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Trinity Sunday
25 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
19 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
25 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 4 | OT 9
27 – Sermons
130+ – Illustrations / Stories
20 – Children's Sermons / Resources
19 – Worship Resources
22 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Quantisha Mason-Doll
Thomas Willadsen
Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Elena Delhagen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
For May 26, 2024:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
In preaching about a certain passage once, I freely made reference to the Trinity. A church member, who rather prided himself on being contrarian, said to me afterward, “You know that the Trinity did not exist until the fourth century.”
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bill Thomas
Isaiah 6:1-8

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Indeed, God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. (v. 17)

Who or what determines who goes to heaven and who goes the other direction?

C.S. Lewis, in his book, The Great Divorce, suggests that it is really up to us.

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: An empty trash bag. I use a large, black plastic bag that everyone can easily see. You will also want three photographs to use. I used 8x11-sized copies of photos of three unknown people.

* * *

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
In this story, Mary Louise's dolls come to life on Mid-Summer's Eve, because Mary Louise herself gives them a kiss. She discovers something of herself in each of her dolls, but only one doll acts in exactly the way Mary Louise would have wished. The allegories to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are hopefully obvious!

Mary Louise was a little bit lonely. Not completely lonely, but just a little bit. With no brothers or sisters, Mary Louise spent quite a lot of time playing by herself. Although not completely by herself, for

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
(Occurs in all three cycles of the lectionary for The Baptism Of Our Lord/Epiphany 1/Ordinary Time 1; see The Baptism Of Our Lord/Epiphany 1/Ordinary Time 1 Cycles A and B for alternative approaches.)

Carlos Wilton
Theme For The Day
God's holiness awes, cleanses, inspires, and sends forth.

Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 6:1-8
The Call Of Isaiah

William J. Carl, III
Think of all the faces we show the world every day. We scrub up every morning and put our game face on. We never show our real face except to those who know us best, the ones who see through the game face to the real you and me. But with everyone else we change our faces.

Richard L. Sheffield
In the "Science & Technology," section of a recent issue of Business Week magazine, there was an article about the latest on A - I - D - S, the complicated disease we've come to know simply as AIDS. It says the scientists are learning a lot. One of the things they're learning is how the disease kills. And like just about everything that matters, it isn't simple. Says Business Week, "... HIV doesn't mysteriously lie dormant in the body only to emerge years later, as once thought.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL