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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Farmers are required to live... -- James 4:13-17; 5:7-11 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B
Farmers are required to live with an overall patient trust in a power beyond themselves, whet
Jesus asks his followers to... -- John 6:51-58 -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B
Jesus asks his followers to incorporate him completely into their lives.
Jerusalem is the mother of... -- Baruch 5:1-9 -- Second Sunday of Advent - B
Jerusalem is the mother of us all.
Have you ever wished you... -- John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 -- Day of Pentecost - B
Have you ever wished you could have been with Peter and John, hearing Jesus' words and staying close
I love to go to... -- John 1:43-51 -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - B
I love to go to the circus when it is in town.
How about this for non... -- Mark 1:14-20 -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - B
How about this for "non-vanity" license plates based on this passage and made available to every Chr
Ron is 48 years old... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
Ron is 48 years old and recently had a malignant brain tumor removed after suffering from a headache
Could I love a god... -- John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 -- Day of Pentecost - B
Could I love a god so smallthat human form contained it all?
In July of 1656 Quakers... -- Acts 4:23-33 -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B
In July of 1656 Quakers began to arrive in Boston.
Jurgen Moltmann, a prominent theologian... -- 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 -- Third Sunday in Lent - B
Jurgen Moltmann, a prominent theologian at the University of Tubingen, Germany, attracted much atten
Igunza Massambullah was showing me... -- Revelation 7:2-4, 9-17 -- All Saints Day - B
Igunza Massambullah was showing me around the family "shamba" in rural, eastern Kenya.
The day that Joellen joined... -- Micah 5:2-5a -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - B
The day that Joellen joined our congregation she asked if she could sing in the choir.
Paul speaks here of voluntarily... -- 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - B
Paul speaks here of voluntarily submitting himself to the law, giving up some of his freedom for a h
My Name is Bill W... -- John 1:1-14 -- The Nativity of our Lord - B
My Name is Bill W. is a movie about the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Isaiah was moved by the... -- Isaiah 6:1-8 -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B
Isaiah was moved by the power of a vision, a dream. It stood him on his feet and got him going.
To love someone is to... -- John 10:11-18 -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B
To love someone is to know them. A seminarian once told a professor that he really loved him.
We have the story of... -- John 3:14-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B
We have the story of the mother of Samuel who late in life, barren and without children, wanted a c
History tells us that Constantine... -- Jeremiah 23:1-6 -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B
History tells us that Constantine endeavored to Christianize the Roman world.
Slave versus Son: the way... -- Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
Slave versus Son: the way we raise our families, how we relate to contemporaries, the integrity of o
Boaz and Ruth would have... -- Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B
Boaz and Ruth would have liked Marion McQuade.
Curtis always tried to get... -- Acts 4:32-35 -- Second Sunday of Easter - B
Curtis always tried to get on the good side of every new boss in the company.
In the aftermath of the... -- Mark 6:1-13 -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B
In the aftermath of the tsunami late in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many people around the w
Unlike the selection of the... -- John 6:56-69 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - B
Unlike the selection of the disciples in the synoptic books, John's disciples are weeded
At some point in time... -- Job 28:20-28 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - B
At some point in time we all sit around and ask ourselves the great questions of life.
William Barclay has told that... -- Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - B
William Barclay has told that one of the most dangerous jobs during World War II was sailing in conv

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 10 | OT 15 | Pentecost 5
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 11 | OT 16 | Pentecost 6
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 12 | OT 17 | Pentecost 7
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: You may present this message as a simple story, or have the children act it out as a role-play. I will show the role-play version, but you can ignore the acting pieces and just tell the story if you prefer.

Note: For the role-play version, you will need to select two girls and one boy to play the roles. You might also have a broom and a dust rag if you want to.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s get started.

The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For July 20, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52
Amos proclaims the word from God that punishes the people. The people are to be punished for their lack of faith, for their focus on practicing deceit, betraying honesty to their neighbors, and being impatient for the time after the Sabbath when they can focus on profit and selling their crops and wares. Oh, my! What a terrible message for people. You have been unfaithful so I will punish you. And then in the psalm, God is proclaimed to be the olive tree, that which brings blessing.
David Kalas
I have tried to find different ways of saying it so that my children don’t tire of hearing it. But the basic principle remains the same, and my kids have heard it a ton. “First things first.” They ask if they can do this or they start to do that, and I will endeavor to redirect them, saying, “Why don’t we make sure we’re doing first things first!”

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (v. 24)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
One of Martha's earliest memories was of her little sister Mary singing and dancing in the middle of an admiring crowd of friends. Mary had always been a dancer, from the time she could walk. Privately, Martha thought she'd always been something of a show-off and ought to go on the stage, for Mary loved an audience.

SermonStudio

John E. Sumwalt
Jeanne Jones
Several years ago, before we moved to Wisconsin, I was an honorary nanny for our pastor's son, Jonathan. I took care of him from the time he was able to walk until our pastor moved, when Jonathan was about five. We had wonderful times together. One time, when I was at their house, and we had been doing some spiritual direction together, Pastor Michael asked me if I knew the name of my guardian angel.
James Evans
We are not surprised when we learn about crooks and robbers boasting about "mischief done against the godly" or "plotting destruction" all day long. The image we have in our minds about who "bad" people are, and how they conduct themselves, make such accusations completely plausible. We are less inclined to believe such things about leaders, especially respected leaders among us. We have difficulty believing someone with wealth and power would deliberately plot to do someone else harm.
Arley K. Fadness
Today's gospel from Luke 10 follows the parable of the good Samaritan. Luke positions the good Samaritan and the Mary-Martha story back to back for good reason. The parable and the story are examples of the Great Commandment "to love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself." The good Samaritan parable illustrates "love to neighbor," whereas the Mary-Martha story illustrates "love to God."
Kirk R. Webster
In the early 1990s, Wesley Nunley of Dallas completed a project he had dreamed of for decades. "I tell you, this could be a big thing," he explained. Wes then walked out to a concrete octagon in the middle of his backyard. With a beaming smile, arms raised up in excitement, the energetic retiree said, "This welcomes the UFO to land, which has never been done before."
John W. Wurster
It was the best of times. A time of prosperity and confidence, a time of relative peace, a time when most everything looked pretty good, a time when most everyone felt pretty good. It was a time maybe not unlike our own time.
H. Burnham Kirkland
Words Of Assurance
Our God is both wise and caring: afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.

Pastoral Prayer
God, we bow before you this morning, knowing that you hear every prayer. We know that in all of Creation, you are the source of life. You are the one who set the light swirling between the galaxies. The breath of your Spirit pulses through all life. You have even become flesh among us. We praise you, Lord, that in all your wonder, you have not forgotten us.

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