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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Communicating God's Love

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

NULL -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2010
It is not always easy to do the right thing.
NULL -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2010
Stop for a moment and evaluate your resources.
NULL -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Ron Love -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2010
Jesus was asked what it meant to be one of his followers.
NULL -- Jeremiah 18:1-11, Philemon 1:1-21, Luke 14:25-33 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2010
Jeremiah 18:1-11
NULL -- Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 -- Craig Kelly -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
If you perform a Google search for Mount Vesuvius, you will be met with a variety of pictures of the
NULL -- Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
Someone asked in an adult Sunday school class if there were prophets today.
NULL -- 1 Timothy 1:12-17 -- Ron Love -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
Rembrandt completed an inspiring painting in 1634 that he titled, "The Descent from the Cross." Stan
NULL -- 1 Timothy 1:12-17 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
One character in the book Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is named Inspector Javert.
NULL -- Luke 15:1-10 -- Timothy Smith -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
Karen asked her parents if they would be able to keep her cat while she and her family were away on
NULL -- Luke 15:1-10 -- Craig Kelly -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
During basic training, soldiers in the United States Army are taught what is known as the Soldier's
NULL -- Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Luke 15:1-10 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
NULL -- Jeremiah 8:18--9:1 -- Ron Love -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
We will never be sure of all the details. Separating fact from fiction may be nearly impossible.
NULL -- Jeremiah 8:18--9:1 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
We spend a lot of our time ignoring big problems. It is not a new phenomenon.
NULL -- 1 Timothy 2:1-7 -- Timothy Smith -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
Michelle knows first hand the power of prayer. She remembers the time when she was newly married.
NULL -- 1 Timothy 2:1-7 -- Craig Kelly -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
The Presidential Prayer Team (www.presidentialprayer
NULL -- Luke 16:1-13 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
Samantha likes to bribe people.
NULL -- Luke 16:1-13 -- Ron Love -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
Tom Monaghan needed money if he were going to study architecture at the University of Michigan and o
NULL -- Jeremiah 8:18--9:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, Luke 16:1-13 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2010
Jeremiah 8:18--9:1
David's family had gone though some hard times... -- Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 -- Timothy Smith -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
David's family had gone though some hard times.
There have been many stories of individuals or families cashing in... -- Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 -- Craig Kelly -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
There have been many stories of individuals or families cashing in because a family member bought st
Julie of Bradenton, Florida, wrote an inspiring letter to Abigail Van Buren... -- 1 Timothy 6:6-19 -- Ron Love -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
Julie of Bradenton, Florida, wrote an inspiring letter to Abigail Van Buren, better known to us as D
The book Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein is a well-known book... -- 1 Timothy 6:6-19 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
The book Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein is a well-known book of children's poetr
Ashley never knew her mother... -- Luke 16:19-31 -- Timothy Smith -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
Ashley never knew her mother, her parents divorced when she was very young.
So many people only look to immediate, short-term gratification... -- Luke 16:19-31 -- Craig Kelly -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
So many people only look to immediate, short-term gratification.
Sermon illustrations for Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 (2010) -- Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31 -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2010
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

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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
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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...

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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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