Login / Signup

William J. Carl, III

Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) for multiple selections (scroll list to see all options)

Sermon

The Village Shepherd

God Never Gives Up On Us -- 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15) -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 2008
Note: There is no content for Proper 5 / OT 10 / Pentecost 3 from The Village Shephe

SermonStudio

God Never Gives Up On Us -- 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15) -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 2008
Have you noticed that no matter how much of a mess we make of our lives, God never gives up on us?
Finding Our Roots In God And Country -- 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B -- 2008
It's a scary thing to go back and explore your roots.
The Real Underdog! -- 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B -- 2008
Every boy I knew growing up in the Midwest loved this story. We acted it out.
Dancing In Holy Places -- 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - B -- 2008
Dancing in holy places -- that's the theme of this text.
What A Way To Start A Church! -- Acts 2:1-21 -- William J. Carl, III -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 2008
What a way to start a church! It's certainly not the typical format for new church development.
Getting Through The Grief -- 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - B -- 2008
Getting through grief may be one of the hardest things we do as human beings.
Having Trouble Sleeping Through The Night -- 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - B -- 2008
Having trouble sleeping through the night? You're not alone. Samuel did, too.
The Many Faces Of God -- Isaiah 6:1-8 -- William J. Carl, III -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 2008
Think of all the faces we show the world every day.
Samuel Was The Search Committee -- 1 Samuel 15:34--16:13 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B -- 2008
I don't know about you but when I was growing up I always loved hearing the story of Cinderella.
Finding The Right House For God -- 2 Samuel 7:1-14a -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - B -- 2008
Have you ever noticed how some families move a lot?
God Never Gives Up On Us -- 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15) -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 2008
Have you noticed that no matter how much of a mess we make of our lives, God never gives up on us?
The Problem With Finding The Kingdom -- Matthew 13:44-52 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - A
I don't know about you, but when I finished reading these parables of the kingdom, I wasn't so sure
Straight Talk, Due Process and Grace -- Matthew 18:15-20 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - A
It never ceases to amaze me how periodically someone joins the church thinking with great naivete th
The Problem With Miracles In Our Time -- Matthew 14:22-33 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - A
If the truth be known, most of us would have to admit that we walk a very fine line between believin
Rocky -- Matthew 16:13-20 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - A
It is said that Winston Churchill never liked talking to subordinates.
Church People Beware! -- Matthew 21:28-32 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - A
I don't know about you, but I don't think much of the choices Jesus offers in this passage.
Who's Keeping Score? -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A
What we have in our passage is the contrast between a theology of grace and a theology of keeping sc
You Provide The Bread -- Matthew 14:13-21 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - A
When I was growing up, church picnics were a big thing.
Living Sacrifices -- Matthew 16:21-28 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - A
If we're really honest we have to admit that Peter speaks for all of us when he rebukes Jesus for sa
The Faith Of Outsiders -- Matthew 15:21-28 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - A
Have you ever had an inner emotional pain that would not go away?
The Unfairness of God -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- William J. Carl, III -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A
Have you ever noticed how sometimes life just isn't fair?

Free Access

What A Way To Start A Church! -- Acts 2:1-21 -- William J. Carl, III -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 2008
What a way to start a church! It's certainly not the typical format for new church development.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 8 | OT 13 | Pentecost 3
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 9 | OT 14 | Pentecost 4
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

Thomas Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed
For July 6, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity for the children.

Note: You will need an older volunteer to help with this activity. One option would be to find a teenager with some physical ability. If a teen is not available, an adult could be used instead. For simplicity here, I will refer to my older volunteer as “TOM”. You will also need to select three of your younger children to serve as volunteers in the story.

* * *

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
2 Kings 5:1-14
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Bonnie Bates
2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30
Naaman seeks healing. He travels hoping healing will come to him when he visits the king of Israel. Yet, healing does not come in that way. Rather healing comes through Elishah. Healing comes from believing and being cleansed in the River Jordan. Healing comes through Naaman’s faithfulness and through God’s grace. Psalm 30 also reminds us to seek healing; to seek God and God will heal and restore us. Do we believe that? Do we believe that God can bring healing?

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ (vv. 10-11)

When I visit your church for the first time, consider the possibility that I might be looking for a church home. I am a good-looking old guy, but I have gray hair and I dress down in the summer, so don’t be put off by my cargo shorts and tank top. Talk to me!

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Damien and Ora grinned at each other in excitement. The time had come - at last! They'd been with the Leader for months and months, waiting for this moment. Not that it had felt much like training. They'd simply lived with the Leader, listening to his stories, hearing about the Kingdom, learning to get along really well with all the other people at Mission Headquarters. Now all seventy of them were ready, the spaceship had docked, and the Mission was about to begin. Ora was glad she'd been paired up with Damien again.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Stan Purdum
Carlos Wilton
(See Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B, and Easter 3, Cycle C, for alternative approaches.)

Anyone who has ever had the experience of losing a friend because of some conflict or dispute, and then has had the friendship restored because of love and forgiveness, has a unique insight into the meaning of this psalm. Although the poem begins and ends with praise, there is in the middle of the poem a brief moment of confession and contrition that puts the praise portions of the psalm in an entirely different light.

April Yamasaki
A word of encouragement came from an unlikely source the other day in a television interview with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The former football player, wrestler, and now actor was asked about a low time in his life when he was very discouraged about his career and future.

"How did you make your way back from that?" he was asked.

The Rock replied, "You have to put yourself out there. You have to get out there and fail, and learn from your failures."

Larry D. Powell
In the summer of 1983, I participated in a ministerial exchange program sponsored by my denomination. My assignment was to a circuit of churches on the Isle of Man, a tiny island located in the Irish Sea. The months preceding the exchange included considerable correspondence with the minister on the island with whom I would exchange pastoral duties for six weeks.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
A wealthy businessman decided to take a walk and eat his lunch at the same time. He strolled by a park. There he purchased a hot dog and a soft drink. As he walked through the park two different "street people" approached him one by one. Each asked, "Can you help me? I am hungry." Each time the businessman looked straight ahead and kept walking. After finishing his lunch, he stopped and bought a chocolate eclair for dessert. As he was about to take the first bite, he was forced to jump out of the way as a young boy raced by on his skateboard. The eclair went flying and landed on the ground.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL