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Robert Leslie Holmes

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When The Impossible Becomes Imminently Possible! -- John 6:1-21 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - B -- 2008
He already had in mind what he was going to do.-- John 6:6
Soul Bread! -- John 6:24-35 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - B -- 2008
I am the bread of life.
Planning Your Way Out -- John 6:35, 41-51 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B -- 2008
I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.-- John 6:47
Tough Talk For Tentative Disciples -- John 6:56-69 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - B -- 2008
This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?-- John 6:60
The Inconcealable Christ! -- Mark 7:24-37 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - B -- 2008
He could not keep his presence secret.-- Mark 7:24
The Way Up Is Down! -- Mark 9:30-37 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 2008
Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the
Right-Handed Sinners! -- Mark 9:38-50 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - B -- 2008
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.-- Mark 9:44
This Gospel Is For Our Children -- Mark 10:2-16 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - B -- 2008
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to suc
The Great Inescapable Question Of Eternity -- Mark 8:27-38 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - B -- 2008
Who do you say I am? -- Mark 8:29
The Heart Of The Matter Is The Heart! -- Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - B -- 2008
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
When The Baker Becomes The Bread! -- John 6:51-58 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - B -- 2008
This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world ...
The Sacrament Of War And Peace! -- Genesis 14:18-20 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- 2000
As dawn awakened one August morning over a tiny French village called Pielo, its citizens were herde
Make Up Your Mind! -- 1 Kings 18:20-39 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C -- 2000
Why hasn't Hollywood made this into a major motion picture epic?
Secondhand Religion -- 1 Kings 17:8-24 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - C -- 2000
The life of Elijah is filled with fascinating experiences that help us to see God more clearly and l
Bad News From A Good Man! -- 1 Kings 21:1-21a -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - C -- 2000
There are two facts we all need to remember before we can make any real sense out of life.
The ABC Gospel -- 2 Kings 5:1-14 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - C -- 2000
Someone has called it ABC spirituality, meaning, "Anything But Christianity." In the search for reli
Once Before A Time! -- Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - C -- 2000
During a serious shortage of currency in Great Britain, thousands of people were starving and many w
The Second Touch For The Out Of Touch! -- 1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - C -- 2000
There's an old legend that tells how God sent one of his angels to Satan with the message that all t
One Fired-Up Preacher! -- 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - C -- 2000
Norval Christy was fifteen years old when he agreed with the Lord that everything he possessed was a
Laughing In The Face Of Darkness! -- Acts 2:1-21 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Day of Pentecost - C -- 2000
A seminary student writing a term paper about confession of sin started to type, "When we confess, C
Plumb Line Prophecy -- Amos 7:7-17 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - C -- 2000
Not many tourists to Washington, D.C., look for the Federal Bureau of Standards offices.

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Tough Talk For Tentative Disciples -- John 6:56-69 -- Robert Leslie Holmes -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - B -- 2008
This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?-- John 6:60
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 16 | OT 21 | Pentecost 11
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 17 | OT 22 | Pentecost 12
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 18 | OT 23 | Pentecost 13
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

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John Jamison
Object: This message is a role play. You can do this with only two children playing the parts of the two women, but if you have more children, you could have two more playing the parts of the children, another playing the part of the synagogue leader, and another playing the part of the country’s leader. You can also add any other roles you might want to add to make it interesting. Also, I have created places for your characters to speak, but you can add more of those to make it all more fun and memorable.

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The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Nazish Naseem
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For August 24, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
C. Knight Aldrich, a medical doctor and the first chairperson of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago (1955-1964), was a keen analyst of the motivations for our behaviors. He worked with the social services agencies of Chicago for a time, particularly spending hours with teenagers who had been arrested for shoplifting or other theft. Aldrich interviewed them to find out how they had come to this. He also talked with the parents, attempting to discover how they had handled the problem from the first time they knew about it.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 77:1-6

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
“We have questions about your conduct as our pastor,” Carl announced as soon as Pastor John sat down at the hastily called board meeting. “We have received complaints about you from the congregation.”

“Complaints?” Pastor John frowned. “From whom and about what?”

“Mrs. Finnigan saw you coming out of what she politely described as ‘A Gentleman’s Club’ last Thursday night when she was driving downtown.” Bruce scowled. “Do you deny this?”

“Not at all,” Pastor John said. “I did have to go to that place on Thursday evening.”

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus was aware of people's deepest needs and what prompted their actions. In our worship today let us consider how we can discover people's deepest needs and the motives for their actions.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes we see only the surface and condemn without real understanding.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes we are afraid to get sufficiently close to other people to see their inner needs.
Christ, have mercy.

SermonStudio

James Evans
(See Epiphany 4/Ordinary Time 4, Cycle C, for an alternative approach.)

The old saying, "experience is the best teacher," could serve as a subtitle for this psalm. Written as a prayer for help in a time of distress or oppression, the psalm subtly hints at a recognition and awareness that only comes with time. There is a track record, so to speak, that the psalmist is aware of: God's record of dependability. Based on God's proven record of saving power and grace, the psalmist is able to pray for salvation, but at the same time celebrate the certainty of its arrival.
Lee Ann Dunlap
Carrie's1 high school guidance counselor noticed she had been acting out a bit in school recently. She had appeared depressed and had been having some authority issues over rules and such. The guidance counselor set Carrie up with a local pastor who had been volunteering a few hours each Friday after a teen suicide a few months before. Most of the other students who came to see the pastor just needed someone to listen to their usual teen issues and heartaches. But, shortly into their time together, Carrie began to open up about some real grown-up problems.
Kirk R. Webster
It's a typical Sunday morning at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Orlando, Florida. The people file in and sit down in plush pews. Their attention is drawn to the chancel where they see choir members calmly seated, robed in dark blue and white. The mahogany altar table is draped with a silk parament. Two bronze candleholders stand guard at the table edges.
R. Robert Cueni
As was his custom, Jesus went that Sabbath morning to the synagogue for worship. As he was preaching and teaching, he happened to glance toward the fringe of the crowd where he saw a very crippled woman. She was bent over and was unable to stand up straight. When he inquired, Jesus was told the woman had been that way for eighteen years.
John H. Will
Call to Worship
Indeed, this is a day of rest and gladness.
This is God's Sabbath, created for our reflection and renewal.
Let us then not profane it, but keep it holy.
We do this as we honor God and commit ourselves to the well--being of God's creation.
Each of us individually needs a personal rejuvenation of spirit.
Together we seek a strengthening of community, a community that continues to build itself in love.
So do we come as one people to worship God, our Maker and our Sustainer.

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