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William H. Shepherd

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Commentary

Emphasis Preaching Journal

The wrong anthem -- Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:14--27:66, Psalm 31:9-16 -- William H. Shepherd, Schuyler Rhodes -- Passion Sunday - A -- 2011
The choir director was aghast. "I just didn't realize," she said. "It was totally inappropriate.
Idol-rife -- Acts 17:22-31, 1 Peter 3:13-22, John 14:15-21, Psalm 66:8-20 -- William H. Shepherd, Schuyler Rhodes -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - A -- 2011
In Garret Kreizer's novel, God of Beer (2002), the high school social studies teacher tells t
It was good -- Genesis 1:1--2:4a, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20, Psalm 8 -- William H. Shepherd, Schuyler Rhodes -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - A -- 2011
The more I listened, the more I heard desperation.
Beartivity -- Isaiah 9:2-7, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-14 (15-20), Psalm 96 -- William H. Shepherd -- The Nativity of our Lord - C -- 2003
I live in a house with my wife, two cats, and about 200 teddy bears.
School of rock(s) -- Isaiah 2:1-5, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44, Psalm 122 -- William H. Shepherd -- First Sunday of Advent - A
Christianity is, among other things, an intellectual quest. The curriculum to know God truly.
"X" marks the spot -- Genesis 29:15-28, Romans 8:26-39, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, Psalm 119:129-136 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - A
God works in hidden ways.
School days, school days -- Exodus 12:1-14, Romans 13:8-14 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - A
Good old golden rule days.
Show me your ways -- Exodus 33:12-23, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Matthew 22:15-22 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - A
I have to admit that I have absolutely no interest in preserving the institution of the church.
The jar left behind -- Exodus 17:1-7, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42, Psalm 95 -- William H. Shepherd -- Third Sunday in Lent - A
I was reading the work of a well-known biblical critic who said, "Adequate water sources were crucia
The deed in the jar -- Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31, Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C
If I've read it once, I've read it a dozen times: the religious thriller, where the plot hinges on a
Mountaintop experience -- Exodus 24:12-18, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9 -- William H. Shepherd -- Transfiguration Sunday - A
It was the most boring sermon I ever heard, until it became the most interesting.
Read the manual -- Acts 2:14a, 36-41, 1 Peter 1:17-23, Luke 24:13-35 -- William H. Shepherd -- Third Sunday of Easter - A
My friend was overwhelmed by his first church convention.
Covenant: the next generation -- Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67, Romans 7:15-25a, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - A
One of the central concepts of the Bible is the "covenant." A covenant is a contract-plus.
Search and preserve mission -- Isaiah 63:7-9, Hebrews 2:10-18, Matthew 2:13-23, Psalm 148 -- William H. Shepherd -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - A
"Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty," says the bumper sticker.
The wrong anthem -- Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:14-27:66 -- William H. Shepherd -- Passion Sunday - A
The choir director was aghast. "I just didn't realize," she said. "It was totally inappropriate.
It was good -- Genesis 1:1-2:4a, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20, Psalm 8 -- William H. Shepherd -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - A
The more I listened, the more I heard desperation.
God I ain't -- Hosea 1:2-10, Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19), Luke 11:1-13, Psalm 85 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C
The movie Rudy (1993) is about a football player who refuses to quit.
It came from beneath the sea -- Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18, Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31, Psalm 149 -- William H. Shepherd -- All Saints Day - C
Theaters in the 1950s were deluged with "wildlife-gone-amok" disaster films ...
It could happen to you -- Genesis 45:1-15, Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32, Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28, Psalm 133 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - A
There is a chain of tradition.
By what authority? -- Exodus 17:1-7, Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:23-32 -- William H. Shepherd -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - A
They rang the church doorbell insistently.
Called before born -- Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42, Psalm 40:1-11 -- William H. Shepherd -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - A
"Who's your family?" Southerners know this greeting well, but it is not unheard of above, beside, an

Preaching

SermonStudio

Compose -- William H. Shepherd -- 2004
One who preaches without a net must have something memorable to say.
Overview: In A Nutshell -- William H. Shepherd -- 2004
Preaching without a net involves the mastery of the five acts of traditional rhetoric (see Ch
Sample Sermon Manuscripts -- William H. Shepherd -- 2004
Preaching cannot be taught in the abstract, but only in the doing.
The Secret of Preaching Without a Net -- William H. Shepherd -- 2004
Prepare like crazy, so that you areoverprepared.
Stand And Speak -- William H. Shepherd -- 2004
We are coming to the end of the week -- Friday, if not Saturday.
Study -- William H. Shepherd -- 2004
The preacher who would work without a net, like all preachers, will need to pay attention to the act
UPCOMING WEEKS
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Trinity Sunday
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Proper 6 | OT 11
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Proper 7 | OT 12
20 – Sermons
100+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
18 – Worship Resources
16 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 8 | OT 13
27 – Sermons
100+ – Illustrations / Stories
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For May 31, 2020:
  • We Are The 120 by Ron Love — Let us never forget that we are the 120; the unseen members of the Body of Christ.
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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Acts 2:1-21 is the obvious choice for your Pentecost lectionary text and perhaps you have used it on many occasions. However, the lectionary includes several options and I explore them in this Charting the Course to try to show there is more than one way to experience God’s Spirit.

Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
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Mark Ellingsen
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M Adryael Tong
Acts 2:1-21
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without the wind, branches without sap, and like coals without fire, we are useless.” The Day of Pentecost is the day we celebrate the birth of the church and the Holy Spirit coming on the apostles and they began to speak in other languages (Acts 2:4).

StoryShare

C. David Mckirachan
Frank Ramirez
Contents
“You. Yes, You.” by C. David McKirachan
“Dream, Pray, Plan” by Frank Ramirez


You. Yes, You.
by C. David McKirachan
Acts 2:1-21

CSSPlus

Bethany Peerbolte
These verses follow the metaphor of living water flowing from our hearts into the world. The opening activity will work off of that image to show how water works. Water fills in all the empty places it can find. Even when we think there is no room, water can find the emptiness and fill it up.

What you will need:
A transparent jar or bowl
A couple of large rocks (or other large objects that will fit in your container)
Sand
Water

In your lesson say something like:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus promised his friends that great power would be available to them when he had finally disappeared from this earth. That power came on the Day of Pentecost. In our worship today let us explore what sort of power this was and whether it is still available to us.


Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I have difficulty connecting with things that happened 2,000 years ago.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I assume that all your power was in the past, belonging to a by-gone age.

SermonStudio

Kristin Borsgard Wee
All of you have heard stories of miracles. Some of you have experienced a miracle. The one which tops my list comes from several years ago. A woman I knew had been doctoring for stomach problems. Nothing seemed to be working. Her local doctor sent her to Rochester. The Mayo doctors ran her through a battery of tests and discovered cancer. They did surgery immediately. They took one look and closed her up. There was cancer everywhere. She came home to die. But she didn't get sick and weaker as we expected. We saw her in church every Sunday. Several months later, she was back at Mayo.

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