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Emphasis Preaching Journal

It was not a vision... -- 2 Samuel 7:1-16 -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - B
It was not a vision of glory that inspired George Frederick Handel to compose his masterpiece, Me
One way to characterize Jesus... -- John 2:13-22 -- Third Sunday in Lent - B
One way to characterize Jesus' actions at the temple is to say he was housecleaning.
In Walter Brueggemann's book, The... -- Ezekiel 31:1-6, 10-14 -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B
In Walter Brueggemann's book, The Prophetic Imagination, he talks about the difference between the t
Tree roots are very important... -- Ephesians 3:14-21 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - B
Tree roots are very important to tree growth. There are basically two types of tree roots:
And the child's father and... -- Luke 2:22-40 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
"And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
A weary couple will again... -- Isaiah 40:1-11 -- Second Sunday of Advent - B
A weary couple will again welcome their adult son home from the addiction services rehab center afte
This year I have been... -- Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 -- Seventh Sunday of Easter - B
This year I have been picked to head up a team at Annual Conference (United Methodist's annual legis
As the years passed, the... -- 1 John 1:1-2:2 -- Second Sunday of Easter - B
As the years passed, the eternization of Jesus became more important to each writer of the gospel.
Rabbi Kushner's runaway bestseller asked... -- 2 Chronicles 36:14-23 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B
Rabbi Kushner's runaway bestseller asked the searing question, "Why does a good God let bad things h
A parishioner approached her minister... -- Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - B
A parishioner approached her minister to make an appointment. Rev.
In those days ... The mayfly... -- Luke 2:1-20 -- The Nativity of our Lord - B
"In those days ..." The mayfly lives only six hours.
There is always hope in... -- Mark 7:31-37 -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - B
There is always hope in Jesus Christ.
In my early teens I... -- 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
In my early teens I attended a fundamentalist church with my mother.
West of Phoenix, Arizona, at... -- Acts 2:1-11 -- Day of Pentecost - B
West of Phoenix, Arizona, at a site in the desert near Palo Verde, a large nuclear generating statio
I once met a woman... -- Genesis 22:1-18 -- First Sunday in Lent - B
I once met a woman who married three alcoholics.
A psychiatrist in New York... -- Galatians 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
A psychiatrist in New York City is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics.
Abraham did not waver when... -- Romans 4:13-25 -- Second Sunday in Lent - B
Abraham did not waver when God told him that he and Sarah would have children, even though they were
What's in a name? asks... -- Acts 3:12-19 -- Third Sunday of Easter - B
"What's in a name?" asks Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.
Kings and other important people... -- Ephesians 1:3-14 -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - B
Kings and other important people have always had the need to ensure the authenticity and
A prophet is someone who... -- Deuteronomy 18:15-20 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B
A prophet is someone who looks at the present under a microscope in order to see which way events wi
There was great excitement surrounding... -- Romans 16:25-27 -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - B
There was great excitement surrounding the drive-through nativity at least for the first two years.
Estrangements come easily. And quickly... -- John 17:11b-19 -- Seventh Sunday of Easter - B
Estrangements come easily. And quickly.
One of the students who... -- Acts 4:8-12 -- Third Sunday of Easter - B
One of the students who was active in the campus ministry student group at Whitewater, Wisconsin, in
My grandfather was a lumber... -- John 12:20-33 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B
My grandfather was a lumber man in South Carolina in the 1920s.
Commenting on this pericope, Wilham... -- Mark 12:38-44 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B
Commenting on this pericope, Wilham Barclay of Glasgow, wrote: "It is never the amount of the gift t

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Easter 2
20 – Sermons
170+ – Illustrations / Stories
26 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
20 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 3
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 4
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
33 – 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: An old, worn-out shoe and an old banana.

* * *

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

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
For May 18, 2025:
  • Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Chris Keating based on Acts 11:1-18 and John 13:31-35. As Peter, popes, pastors, and even pew-sitters learn, change often becomes the smokescreen that conceals deeper conflicts that keep us from loving as Jesus commanded.
  • Second Thoughts: Giving and Accepting Love by Tom Willadsen based on John 13:31-35.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Acts 11:1-18
Who do we exclude? In the days of the early church, everything was about purity, about the acts that made one a member of the Jewish community first and then a part of “the way” of Jesus. Imagine the horror among the crowds of the faithful when Peter traveled to the Gentiles, to those who did not believe in the one true God before Jesus came into the world. Yet, Peter is clear. He has had a vision and, in that vision, was declared, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” God ordains who is included, not people.
David Kalas
The old idiom claims of certain people, “To know them is to love them.” A variation on the saying might be appropriate when talking about the Lord.  Specifically, we might say that to know him is not merely to love him, but to know that he is love.

This may seem like an unspectacular statement to church folks.  I fear that we are perhaps so accustomed to the affirmation that God is love that we no longer recognize the profundity of it. Or the scandal of it.

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them and be their God;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
(vv. 3-4)

SermonStudio

Bonnie Bates
We continue this Easter season with the epistolary readings from Revelation. In this reading, we see the final vision of the world to come: the new heaven and the new earth, the new Jerusalem. This is also an apocalyptic vision, the vision the seer shared with us of the end of the world as we know it. This is a writing about a prophetic promise of what is to come at the end of time as we know it. John’s vision is almost complete and we may be comforted by this vision of what is to come.
James Evans
(See Christmas 1, Cycle A; Christmas 1, Cycle B; and Christmas 1, Cycle C for alternative approaches.)

The theme of this psalm is the glory of God. The praise is extravagant and unrestrained. The psalmist makes good use of repetitive themes to drive home the central message of the psalm, namely that God is worthy of praise. The psalmist, with great deliberation, leads worshipers through a litany of causes and effects that demonstrate the praiseworthiness of God.

David Kalas
Professional sports has no statistic for measuring talking. Yet talking can be an important part of the game.

We can measure how fast a player pitches or serves. We keep statistics on batting averages, shooting percentages, and quarterback ratings. We track yards-after-catch, on-base percentages, and shots on goal. We record height and weight, wins-and-losses, and times in the 40-yard dash. But we have no way of measuring a player's talking.
John M. Braaten
It is often difficult for Christians to get past the idea that those who have given themselves to the Lord should be treated a little better than the average woman or man who does not possess a living faith. In other words, there ought to be some kind of return for what you have done for God, for what you have given in time, energy and money. That doesn't sound outrageous, does it? In this "you get what you deserve" world, you really ought to be rewarded. Harmless as that sounds, it is the first step toward a theology of glory.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ

Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

The local community

Those who suffer

The communion of saints


These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

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