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Richard A. Jensen

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Lent 2 -- Mark 8:31-38, Mark 8:27-38 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We will treat these texts as one.
Proper 4; Pentecost 3 -- Mark 2:23--3:6 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
The series of controversy stories comes to an end with today's text.
Advent 1 -- Mark 13:24-37 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
This week's Markan text comes near the end of Mark's Gospel, but it comes first in the Church Year.
Advent 2 -- Mark 1:1-8 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
Seven of the Lectionary B pericopes from Mark's Gospel come from the first chapter of Mark!
Baptism Of The Lord; Epiphany 1 -- Mark 1:4-11 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We will focus our attention here on verses 9-11.
Epiphany 3 -- Mark 1:14-20 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
The first two verses of this pericope have been commented on in chapter 3.
Epiphany 4 -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
The story of the man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit fits structures in Mark which have been
Epiphany 5 -- Mark 1:29-39 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We note again that this passage is one of four healing stories which inaugurate Jesus' ministry.
Epiphany 6 -- Mark 1:40-45 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We have before us this week another healing story as the One who brings God's reign explodes into mi
Palm Sunday -- Mark 11:1-11 -- Richard A. Jensen -- Passion Sunday - B -- 1996
"When they were approaching Jerusalem." These words open the Palm Sunday text.
Epiphany 7 -- Mark 2:1-12 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
This week's pericope is interconnected with many Markan stories and themes.
Lent 1 -- Mark 1:9-15 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We will begin commentary here with v.
Resurrection Of The Lord -- Mark 16:1-8 -- Richard A. Jensen -- Easter Day - B -- 1996
We stand here at the climactic passage in Mark's Gospel.
The Parable Of The Sower -- Mark 4:1-20 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We have indicated a number of times that the Parable of the Sower plays a crucial role in the overal
Passion Sunday -- Mark 14:1--15:47 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
The Sunday of the Passion confronts us with a different kind of challenge.
Proper 10; Pentecost 9 -- Mark 6:14-29 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
Today's text centers in two men: John the Baptist and King Herod.
Proper 11; Pentecost 10 -- Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
In her outline of Mark's Gospel, Mary Ann Tolbert presents Mark 6:35„8:21 as a unit of material.
Proper 17; Pentecost 16 -- Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
With Mark 7 we come to some repetition of basic Markan themes.
Proper 18; Pentecost 17 -- Mark 7:24-37 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
Both of the Markan stories appointed for this week take place in the land of the Gentiles.
Proper 20; Pentecost 19 -- Mark 9:30-37 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
The lectionary moves directly from the story on the Mount of Transfiguration (9:1-8) to Jesus' secon
Proper 21; Pentecost 20 -- Mark 9:38-50 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
Mary Ann Tolbert sets this week's text in its larger context:
Proper 22; Pentecost 21 -- Mark 10:2-16 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We have understood this entire section of Mark's Gospel from 8:22„10:52 as a journey "on the way" to
Proper 23; Pentecost 22 -- Mark 10:17-31 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
Today's text begins with the story of the man who ran to Jesus in order to ask him what he must do t
Proper 24; Pentecost 23 -- Mark 10:35-45 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
The first thing to note about the appointment of today's text from Mark's Gospel is that which is om
Proper 25; Pentecost 24 -- Mark 10:46-52 -- Richard A. Jensen -- 1996
We come now to the end of Part One of Mark's Gospel. Part One goes from chapters 1-10 of Mark.

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John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity.

Note: You will need to select six children to play roles in this activity. If you have a smaller group, you might ask some older youth or even adults to play the parts of the two attackers and the man being attacked. I will give suggestions for how they can play their roles, but feel free to help your children make the story as fun and memorable as you can. I have used boys and girls in the various roles, but you can change those however you want to change them.

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The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
For July 13, 2025:
  • Samaritans Among Us by Dean Feldmeyer based on Acts 2:1-21. Samaritans were despised and dismissed by the original audience who first heard Jesus tell this parable. Who are the Samaritans in our lives and how does this parable apply today?

StoryShare

Frank Ramirez
I say, “You are gods,
    children of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals
    and fall like any prince….”
(vv. 6-7)

There have been any number of brother-sister acts that achieved a measure of fame. Take the Carpenters, famed for their singing, musicianship, and songwriting skills. Also worthy of mention are John and Joan Cusack who have acted together in over sixteen films.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
An ancient legend tells of a remote mountain village where people used to send their senior citizens out into the woods to die. The villagers had an eye to the future; they felt that those beyond a certain age would only slow down progress or use up valuable resources to no economically profitable end. Those who reached a certain age weren’t “put out to pasture” or “put out of their misery”; they were simply put out of other people’s way.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82
The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is more than 2,700 feet high—over half a mile tall. It has 160 floors and is twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City. It is home to the world’s fastest elevator which reaches speeds of forty miles an hour. The Burj Khalifa also hosts the world’s highest outdoor observation deck (on the 124th floor) and the world’s highest swimming pool (on the 76th floor).

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Mabel hummed a familiar hymn tune as she made her way to church. She always enjoyed her Sunday morning walk. It was one of the few times she felt safe to walk alone through the inner city, for she knew nobody would be up at 7.45 in the morning. Today was a particularly beautiful morning, with blue sky, warm sunshine, and the song of a few intrepid blackbirds who still inhabited the city.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Often, a distinction is made between the pastoral or priestly work of the church and the prophetic work. Pastoral care has to do with the care of souls, the offering of comfort in times of loss. The priestly character of pastoral work seeks to mediate the presence of God to those who are hurting.

Schuyler Rhodes
Trusting is never easy. Even in the best of relationships, people step into trust slowly. There is wariness -- questioning -- worry. What happens if trust is betrayed? What if this doesn't work? Sometimes it's like a dance. We step in and out of trust, moving to the rhythms of fear. For many, the routine is achingly familiar. Indeed, it's not easy to trust.
John Jamison
It was back in the days when the railroad was the most common mode of transportation. There were automobiles, and some airplanes, but the steam locomotive was the way most folks traveled and the way that most of the goods were distributed around the country. After dinner, people sat in the drawing room and listened to the radio programs, fading in and out from some faraway location, over the magical broadcasting signal.
Robert Leslie Holmes
Not many tourists to Washington, D.C., look for the Federal Bureau of Standards offices. It's the Capitol and the White House, the Supreme Court Building or the Smithsonian most of us want to see when we go there. Yet, at the Bureau of Standards offices something very important is stored, something that impacts your life and mine every single day. Have you ever bought the materials for a new project? When you did, most likely you purchased so many inches or feet or yards. Or, you stopped to buy gasoline for your car and purchased it at a certain price per gallon.
David O. Bales
I have the two best jobs in the world. I teach social studies at Leon Griffith Junior High School (a fairly small junior high) and I am Sunday School Superintendent at Calvary Presbyterian Church (an enormous church school). Each job is my vocation. I tell people that at school they'll find my room where the halls cross. At church they can look but probably won't find me. I'll be in someone's classroom. At each job I practice what I most deeply believe: it's how you see the world that determines how you respond to it. I'll give you an example, actually, two examples.
Erskine White
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
(Stuart K. Hine)

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