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Wayne Brouwer

Wayne Brouwer is a pastor of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and is an Associate Professor of Religion at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, as well as a member of the faculty of Western Theological Seminary. Brouwer has been the lead pastor in three different congregations. He is a graduate of Dordt College and holds degrees from Calvin Theological Seminary and McMaster University. Over 700 of his articles have been published as well as over a dozen books. Previous CSS Publishing titles by Pastor Bouwer include Political Christianity and Humming Till the Music Returns. He has been a consistent contributor to Emphasis: A Preaching Journal since 2004 and is one of several authors featured in Navigating the Sermon. Pastor Brouwer resides in Holland, Michigan, with his wife Brenda and they are the parents of three daughters.
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Commentary

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Breaking boxes -- Acts 10:34-43, Colossians 3:1-4, John 20:1-18 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Easter Day - A
The central message of Christian faith is that Jesus was raised from the dead.
The day God got lonely -- Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11, Psalm 32 -- Wayne Brouwer -- First Sunday in Lent - A
Today is the first Sunday during Lent. This is an important fact to note.
Living in unsafe neighborhoods -- Genesis 25:19-34, Romans 8:1-11, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, Psalm 119:105-112 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - A
We vacationed recently on Hilton Head Island.
Building a new team -- Mark 8:31-38, Romans 4:13-25, Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday in Lent - B
When Vince Lombardi was hired as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958, the team was in dismal
Starting over -- John 12:20-33, Hebrews 5:5-10, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 51:1-12 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B
A college professor presented his class syllabus on the first day of the new semester.
Spiritual chinook -- John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15, Romans 8:22-27, Acts 2:1-21, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b -- Wayne Brouwer -- Day of Pentecost - B
In northern parts of the United States winter weather reports include phrases like "cold
Leveraging the family genome -- John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-21, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:25-31 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B
Roman historian, Herodotus, told of the pride the Egyptians had in being the oldest
Looking for heroes -- Mark 4:35-41, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49, Psalm 9:9-20 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B
The year was 1934. Times were difficult around the world. Times were especially
Know thyself -- 2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a, Ephesians 4:1-16, John 6:24-35, Psalm 51:1-12 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - B
While this famous Greek maxim is attributed to any number of ancient Greek
Shall we dance? -- 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 6:14-29, Psalm 24 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - B
In both its original Japanese and later American versions the movie, Shall We
Changing times -- Isaiah 40:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday of Advent - B
Advent reminds us of the flow of time. We are all bound by time.
Midterm exams -- Judges 4:1-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Matthew 25:14-30 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A
At the college where I teach in the religion department, we are just past midterm exams.
Testimonies -- Deuteronomy 34:1-12, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 22:34-46 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - A
In Susan Howatch's novel, Absolute Truths, the main character is a rather perfect man.

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
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Proper 24 | OT 29 | Pentecost 19
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
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Proper 25 | OT 30 | Pentecost 20
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

The Immediate Word

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Thomas Willadsen
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For October 12, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
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Jeremiah 29:1,4-7

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
As he entered a village, ten men with a skin disease approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (vv. 12-13)

“I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole.”

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This message is a role-play story. If you have enough children, you could have them play the roles of the ten lepers. However, for the most fun, I suggest planning ahead and recruiting ten adults from your congregation to play the roles.

* * *

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott

Call to Worship:

Jesus healed ten sick people, but nine of them were only interested in themselves and their own condition. Just one was able to look beyond his own concerns and say thank you. In our worship today let us look beyond ourselves and see God.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes we are consumed by ourselves and fail to really care about other people.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes we focus so intently on ourselves that we forget to say thank you.
Christ, have mercy.

SermonStudio

James Evans
(See Easter 6, Cycle A for an alternative approach to vv. 8-20.)

Schuyler Rhodes
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (v. 10). "Perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). These two powerful statements reveal for us the inadequacies of the translation process of the English language. These two juxtaposing passages reveal only a tiny fraction of the contradictions and conflicts found within our holy Word. No wonder people have trouble reading and understanding.
Scott Suskovic
"... suffer as I do" (2 Timothy 1:12).

It was in 1965 that the Rolling Stones recorded the song, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." Even today, over forty years later, we are still saying the same words and feeling the same emptiness of trying and trying, but getting no satisfaction. Commercials promise it with whiter teeth and fresher breath. Wall Street promises it with higher returns. Soap operas promise it with a dynamic love life. Yet those who have conquered each of those summits come up with the same cry, "I can't get no satisfaction." Can you?

Stephen M. Crotts
Have you ever had this experience? You walk into a dark room to do something, flick on the light switch, and nothing happens. I suspect a lot of our Thanksgivings are like that. Thursday late in November rolls around and suddenly it's Thanksgiving! So everybody gives thanks! But quite often the gratitude is just not there. Like the light switch, we reach for it at the appropriate time and it won't work. It's burned out.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
Once there was a wise king who died. His son, who was young and rather brash, came to the throne and after only two months ordered a review all of his father's appointments. He called in the royal secretary, the royal treasurer, and the viceroy for interviews. He found them all to be unworthy and sent them into exile with only the shirts on their backs. Next he decided to interview the local bishop. A courier was sent to the bishop's residence with this message: "You are to report to the palace and answer the following three questions: 1) What direction does God face? 2) What am I worth?

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