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Ron Love

Ronald H. Love was called into the ordained ministry from a career as a state trooper. He has served Methodist churches in rural, inner-city and suburban settings for 20 years, and also served for four years as an Army chaplain. Dr. Love has also been a corporate librarian for a Fortune 500 company and been a university professor for ten years, teaching history and theology. His writing experience includes denominational publications, magazine articles on religion, and a newspaper devotional column. He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology (Slippery Rock State College), master's degrees in library and information science (University of Pittsburgh), secondary education (Duquesne University), church history (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), and theology (Wesley Theological Seminary), as well as a doctorate in homiletics (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). Dr. Love now resides in South Carolina.
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Commentary

Children's sermon

Illustration

The Immediate Word

Gods Of Gold -- Exodus 32:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14 -- Dean Feldmeyer, Ron Love, George Reed -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - A -- 2011
The lectionary text from the Hebrew scriptures assigned for this week -- Aaron's creation of the gol
The Green Room -- 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Exodus 33:12-23, Matthew 22:15-22 -- Ron Love, Mary Austin, George Reed -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - A -- 2011
In this week's lectionary epistle passage, Paul commends the Thessalonian Christians for their faith

Emphasis Preaching Journal

NULL -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Ron Love -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2010
Labor Day 2000 marked the fortieth anniversary of Betty Haughin's column, "Chit Chat." The column is
Names. Nicknames. Titles... -- Matthew 1:18-25 -- Ron Love -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - A -- 2010
Names. Nicknames. Titles.
NULL -- Jeremiah 2:4-13 -- Ron Love -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - C -- 2010
Stacy Finley knew people would go to any lengths and pay exorbitant sums of money for the promise of
NULL -- Isaiah 63:7-9 -- Ron Love -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - A -- 2010
As a young vaudeville actor Bob Hope found himself alone each Christmas.
NULL -- Luke 14:1, 7-14 -- Ron Love -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - C -- 2010
William Booth had just stepped into the pulpit when members of his Methodist congregation started th
NULL -- Matthew 2:13-23 -- Ron Love -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - A -- 2010
"So you understand the roaring wave of fear that swept through the greatest city in the world just a
Margaret Lee suffered from asthma... -- Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 -- Ron Love -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - C -- 2010
Margaret Lee suffered from asthma, so her husband, Sam Houston, the US Senator from Texas, decided t
NULL -- Jeremiah 31:7-14 -- Ron Love -- Second Sunday after Christmas - A -- 2010
Seventeen-year-old Joni Eareckson dived off a floating dock into the shallow water of the Chesapeake
NULL -- Jeremiah 18:1-11 -- Ron Love -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2010
Adelide Pollard was discouraged. Living in Chicago she taught at several girls' schools.
NULL -- John 1:(1-9) 10-18 -- Ron Love -- Second Sunday after Christmas - A -- 2010
At the conclusion of the sermon, distribute to everyone in the congregation a wallet-size picture of
NULL -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Ron Love -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2010
Jesus was asked what it meant to be one of his followers.
NULL -- Ephesians 3:1-12 -- Ron Love -- Epiphany of the Lord - A -- 2010
Why is it that we practice a religion that has so little room for others?
NULL -- 1 Timothy 1:12-17 -- Ron Love -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
Rembrandt completed an inspiring painting in 1634 that he titled, "The Descent from the Cross." Stan
NULL -- Isaiah 42:1-9 -- Ron Love -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - A -- 2010
Actress Ann Julian's struggle with cancer and her resulting double mastectomy has been much publiciz
NULL -- Jeremiah 8:18--9:1 -- Ron Love -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
We will never be sure of all the details. Separating fact from fiction may be nearly impossible.
NULL -- Matthew 3:13-17 -- Ron Love -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - A -- 2010
Cecil B.
NULL -- Luke 16:1-13 -- Ron Love -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
Tom Monaghan needed money if he were going to study architecture at the University of Michigan and o
Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft... -- Isaiah 9:1-4 -- Ron Love -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - A -- 2010
Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to enter the moon's orbit.
NULL -- Matthew 4:12-23 -- Ron Love -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - A -- 2010
In 1946, a California lawyer needed a change in his life.
Julie of Bradenton, Florida, wrote an inspiring letter to Abigail Van Buren... -- 1 Timothy 6:6-19 -- Ron Love -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
Julie of Bradenton, Florida, wrote an inspiring letter to Abigail Van Buren, better known to us as D
Norman and Ruth Peale share adjoining offices... -- 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 -- Ron Love -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - A -- 2010
Norman and Ruth Peale share adjoining offices at the Foundation for Christian Living in Pawling, New
NULL -- Lamentations 1:1-6 -- Ron Love -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2010
Anna Matilda McNeil Whistler was immortalized in her son's painting, popularly known as "Whistler's
NULL -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- Ron Love -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2010
Steve Martin, reflecting on his recently published autobiography, Born Standing Up, said in a

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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Tom Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
George Reed
Christopher Keating
For December 7, 2025:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
There was an incident some years ago, when an elderly lady in some village parish in England was so fed up with the sound of the church bells ringing, that she took an axe and hacked her way through the oak door of the church. Once inside, she sliced through the bell ropes, rendering the bells permanently silent. The media loved it. There were articles in all the papers and the culprit appeared on television. The Church was less enthusiastic - and took her to court.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
(See The Epiphany Of Our Lord, Cycle A, and The Epiphany Of Our Lord, Cycle B, for alternative approaches.)

This psalm is a prayer for the king, and it asks God to extend divine rule over earth through the anointed one who sits on the throne. Although the inscription says the psalm is about Solomon, that is a scribal addition. More likely, this was a general prayer used for more than one of the Davidic kings, and it shows the common belief that the monarch would be the instrument through which God acted.

Mark Wm. Radecke
In her Pulitzer Prize winning book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, author Annie Dillard recalls this chilling remembrance:
Paul E. Robinson
There is so much uncertainty in life that most of us look hard and long for as many "sure things" as we can find. A fisherman goes back again and again to that hole that always produces fish and leaves on his line that special lure that always does the trick. The fishing hole and the lure are sure things.
John N. Brittain
If you don't know that Christmas is a couple of weeks away, you must be living underground. And you must have no contact with any children. And you cannot have been to a mall, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, or any other chain store since three weeks before Halloween. Christmas, probably more than any other day in the contemporary American calendar, is one of those days where impact really stretches the envelope of time not just -- like some great tragedy -- after the fact, but also in anticipation.
Tony S. Everett
One hot summer day, a young pastor decided to change the oil in his automobile for the very first time in his life. He had purchased five quarts of oil, a filter wrench, and a bucket in which to drain the used oil. He carefully and gently drove the car onto the shiny, yellow ramps and eased his way underneath his vehicle.

Charles L. Aaron, Jr.
We've gathered here today on the second Sunday of Advent to continue to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord. This task of preparing for the arrival of the Lord is not as easy as we might think it is. As in other areas of life, we find ourselves having to unlearn some things in order to see what the scriptures teach us about God's act in Jesus. We've let the culture around us snatch away much of the meaning of the birth of the Savior. We have to reclaim that meaning if we really want to be ready for what God is still doing in the miracle of Christmas.
Timothy J. Smith
As we make our way through Advent inching closer to Christmas, our days are consumed with many tasks. Our "to do" list grows each day. At times we are often out of breath and wondering if we will complete everything on our list before Christmas Day. We gather on this Second Sunday in Advent to spiritually prepare for what God has done and continues to do in our lives and in our world. We have been too busy with all our activities and tasks so that we are in danger of missing out on the miracle of Christmas.
Frank Luchsinger
For his sixth grade year his family moved to the new community. They made careful preparations for the husky, freckle-faced redhead to fit in smoothly. They had meetings with teachers and principal, and practiced the route to the very school doors he would enter on the first day. "Right here will be lists of the classes with the teachers' names and students. Come to these doors and find your name on a list and go to that class."
R. Glen Miles
The text we have heard today is pleasant, maybe even reassuring. I wonder, though, how many of us will give it any significance once we leave the sanctuary? Do the words of Isaiah have any real meaning for us, or are they just far away thoughts from a time that no longer has any relevance for us today?
Susan R. Andrews
When our children were small, a nice church lady named Chris made them a child--friendly creche. All the actors in this stable drama are soft and squishy and durable - perfect to touch and rearrange - or toss across the living room in a fit of toddler frenzy. The Joseph character has always been my favorite because he looks a little wild - red yarn spiking out from his head, giving him an odd look of energy. In fact, I have renamed this character John the Baptist and in my mind substituted one of the innocuous shepherds for the more staid and solid Joseph. Why this invention?
Amy C. Schifrin
Martha Shonkwiler
Litany Of Confession
P: Wild animals flourish around us,
C: and prowl within us.
P: Injustice and inequity surround us,
C: and hide within us.
P: Vanity and pride divide us,
C: and fester within us.

A time for silent reflection

P: O God, may your love free us,
C: and may your Spirit live in us. Amen.

Prayer Of The Day

Emphasis Preaching Journal

The world and the church approach the "Mass of Christ" with a different pace, and "atmospheres" that are worlds apart. Out in the "highways and byways" tinsel and "sparkly" are everywhere, in the churches the color of the paraments and stoles is a somber violet, or in some places, blue. Through the stores and on the airwaves carols and pop tunes are up-beat, aimed at getting the spirits festive, and the pocketbooks and wallets are open.
David Kalas
In the United States just now, we're in the period between the election and the inauguration of the president. In our system, by the time they are inaugurated, our leaders are fairly familiar faces. Months of primaries and campaigning, debates and speeches, and conventions and commercials, all contribute to a fairly high degree of familiarity. We may wonder what kind of president someone will be, but we have certainly heard many promises, and we have had plenty of opportunities to get to know the candidate.
(A)
During my growing up years we had no family automobile. My father walked to work and home again. During World War II his routine at the local milk plant was somewhat irregular. As children we tried to guess when he would come. If we were wrong, we didn't worry. He always came.
Wayne Brouwer
Schuyler Rhodes
What difference does my life make for others around me? That question is addressed in three related ways in our texts for today. Isaiah raised the emblem of the Servant of Yahweh as representative for what life is supposed to be, even in the middle of a chaotic and cruel world. Paul mirrors that reflection as he announces the fulfillment of Isaiah's vision in the coming of Jesus and the expansion of its redemptive effects beyond the Jewish community to the Gentile world as well.

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