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Robert J. Elder

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Just Say The Word -- John 1:(1-9) 10-18 -- Robert J. Elder -- Second Sunday after Christmas - B -- 2008
Up until the modern era, with the advent of two-way radios, when generals needed to communicate with
Can Anything Good Come Out Of Our Town? -- John 1:43-51 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - B -- 2008
Well, good, old Nathaniel. In a way, he's the mystery disciple of the New Testament.
Time's A-Wasting -- Mark 1:14-20 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - B -- 2008
Just when everything seems as normal as can be ...
A Whole City At The Door -- Mark 1:29-39 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - B -- 2008
One of my all-time favorite church magazine cartoons pictures a physician in his office, speaking wi
Skin Game -- Mark 1:40-45 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - B -- 2008
Let's think about skin for a minute. Skin is something very precious to us.
Jesus At Home -- Mark 2:1-12 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - B -- 2008
When he [Jesus] returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
Due For Renewal -- Mark 2:13-22 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany 8 | Ordinary Time 8 - B -- 2008
Every pastor, on occasion, feels the need to remind a congregation that we need not fear things that
Looking Up: Looking Out -- Mark 9:2-9 -- Robert J. Elder -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
This passage serves as a gift to the church as we prepare to enter into the season of Lent beginning
How To Know What To Know -- Mark 13:24-37 -- Robert J. Elder -- First Sunday of Advent - B -- 2008
But about that day or hour no one knows ...
When Did This Start? -- Part 1 -- Mark 1:1-8 -- Robert J. Elder -- Second Sunday of Advent - B -- 2008
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ.-- Mark 1:1a
When Did This Start? -- Part 2 -- John 1:6-8, 19-28 -- Robert J. Elder -- Third Sunday of Advent - B -- 2008
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John ... they said to him, "Who are you?"
How Can This Be? -- Luke 1:26-38 -- Robert J. Elder -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - B -- 2008
This is the irrational season When love blooms bright and wild.
Worth The Wait -- Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) -- Robert J. Elder -- The Nativity of our Lord - B -- 2008
... I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people: to you is born this day ...
The Thoughts Of Our Hearts -- Luke 2:22-40 -- Robert J. Elder -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B -- 2008
Luke wrote his gospel to a man we know only by name.
Grand Opening -- Matthew 2:1-12 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany of the Lord - B -- 2008
Carefully the plans are laid.
I Went Down To The River To Pray -- Mark 1:4-11 -- Robert J. Elder -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - B -- 2008
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgive
Can Teach, Can Do -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Robert J. Elder -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 2008
Every time I have ever studied this passage with other people, it seems to me that we have been all
Pastor, It's Cornelius On The Line ... -- Acts 10:34-43 -- Robert J. Elder -- Easter Day - A -- 2001
There stood Peter, in the very position in which lots of believers have found themselves.
What Are They Saying About Us? -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Robert J. Elder -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 2001
Why should it be said among the peoples, "Where is their God?"
Looking Up, Looking Out -- Acts 1:1-11 -- Robert J. Elder -- Ascension of the Lord - A -- 2001
Alan Paton was a courageous South African author whose courage was manifest in his novels, written d
To Be Lord, To Be Messiah, To Be Crucified -- Acts 2:14a, 36-41 -- Robert J. Elder -- Third Sunday of Easter - A -- 2001
Think of all the ways in which we hold ourselves at a distance from people and things that come near
All Things In Common Are Not All Common Things -- Acts 2:42-47 -- Robert J. Elder -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - A -- 2001
Now here is what I often think of as a passage of scripture with high potential for use as a brick--
Covering Our Ears And Shouting -- Acts 7:54-60 -- Robert J. Elder -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - A -- 2001
In the earliest experience of the church, the apostles soon discovered that their teaching and preac
How To Be Christian Without Being Religious -- Acts 17:22-31 -- Robert J. Elder -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - A -- 2001
One thing about ancient Athens. It was a marketplace for new ideas.
Atonement: At--One--Ment -- Isaiah 52:13-53:12 -- Robert J. Elder -- Good Friday - A -- 2001
See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up.
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Easter 2
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4 – Pastor's Devotions
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34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
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4 – Pastor's Devotions
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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:

StoryShare

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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