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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Communicating God's Love

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

The play No Exit... -- Luke 6:27-38 -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - C -- 2001
The play No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre depicts a caricature of hell.
Paul Harvey tells about an... -- Luke 6:17-26 -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - C -- 2001
Paul Harvey tells about an old man who wanted a school that upheld democracy and treasured education
It seems miraculous that John... -- Luke 5:1-11 -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 2001
It seems miraculous that John P.
It can be difficult, looking... -- Matthew 2:13-23 -- 2001
It can be difficult, looking at undifferentiated material -- like a genealogical list, seeing God's
You have my word that... -- John 1:1-14 -- 2001
"You have my word that I will love you forever!" the young man whispered to his sweetheart as he pla
An old four-panel comic... -- Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) -- 2001
An old four-panel comic strip from cartoonist Tim Downs shows a man on Christmas Eve asking a little
A woman worshiper, rising to... -- Matthew 1:18-25 -- 2001
A woman worshiper, rising to sing the hymn before the sermon, saw a woman weeping in the row across
Someone in a religious cult... -- Matthew 24:36-44 -- 2001
Someone in a religious cult once warned Ralph Waldo Emerson that the world was going to end in 10 da
John the Baptist waved his... -- Matthew 3:1-12 -- 2001
John the Baptist waved his arms, shook his finger and shouted, "Repent!" When the preacher in the pu
Will the real Jesus please... -- Matthew 11:2-11 -- 2001
"Will the real Jesus please stand up?"
RCA used the image of... -- Luke 4:21-30 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 2001
RCA used the image of a dog sitting attentively next to a record player and the caption was, "His ma
A popular movie a couple... -- Luke 4:14-21 -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2001
A popular movie a couple of years ago was The Prince of Egypt.
As a child I was... -- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 -- 2001
As a child I was taught to ask the following questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how.
One Sunday morning a little... -- John 2:1-11 -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - C -- 2001
One Sunday morning a little boy commented, "I like it when we have bread and medicine at church." Af
You've probably seen them. I... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
You've probably seen them.
During election campaigns, candidates sometimes... -- Matthew 2:1-12 -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2001
During election campaigns, candidates sometimes use the slogan "All politics is local." What that me
John Calvin, the founder of... -- Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- Transfiguration Sunday - C -- 2001
John Calvin, the founder of the Presbyterian movement in the 1500s, once said: "To walk rightly in t
In real life, most of... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 2001
In real life, most of us do just about anything to keep others from discovering who we really are.
The Pope, Billy Graham, and... -- Luke 6:27-38 -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - C -- 2001
The Pope, Billy Graham, and Oral Roberts were in a plane crash over the Atlantic Ocean.
Soren Kierkegaard wrote a parable... -- Luke 6:17-26 -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - C -- 2001
Søren Kierkegaard wrote a parable in which he invited Christians to think of life as one huge play.
Some children were playing hide... -- Luke 5:1-11 -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 2001
Some children were playing hide and seek one day.
A parishioner came to his... -- John 1:1-14 -- 2001
A parishioner came to his pastor and asked her to pray for him in some specific matter.
In a recent study of... -- Hebrews 2:10-18 -- 2001
In a recent study of pastors able to turn congregations around it was noted that there was a common
God made a stable cold... -- Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) -- 2001
God made a stable cold and bareThe symbol of God's love and care.
Jean, a newly-ordained pastor... -- Matthew 1:18-25 -- 2001
Jean, a newly-ordained pastor, was appointed to serve her first church.

Political Pulpit

Sermon

The Political Pulpit

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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
Nazish Naseem
For November 16, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
Another natural disaster has flattened a number of coastal communities. Despite the weather and major television station warnings, and government disaster preparations, the dystopian destruction nightmare of Luke 21 has decimated another community. Also, it is reasonable to believe that this is not the last year for hurricanes, Tsunami’s, wildfires, mudslides and tornados. They will occur again. However, as weary citizens are interviewed in one group of people with the background of homes in rubble and streets still draining flood waters, they will not leave. This is their home.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez

Isaiah 65:17-25 and Isaiah 12

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. (v. 25)

A week after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, country singer Toby Keith — who died Feb. 5, 2024 — wrote a patriotic ballad titled “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” It was filled with populist fighting rhetoric that matched the mood of a nation shaken by the shocking death and destruction of that day.

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A blood pressure monitor. It is actually called a sphygmomanometer, and is pronounced “sfig·mow·muh·naa’·muh·tr”.

* * *

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.

SermonStudio

Stephen P. McCutchan
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
-- Isaiah 12:3

John W. Clarke
No reading of Luke is complete without coming to realize that Luke is concerned that the world understands that Jesus is the hope of the world and that any teaching that leads away from that fact is a false teaching. No matter what, no matter when, Jesus will be there to give us life.

Scott Suskovic
Whoever does not work should not eat!
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NLT)

Wow! Kind of takes your breath away, doesn't it? Not a lot of ambiguity in that rule. "You don't work, you don't eat." For a religion based on grace, it seems a bit unyielding.

Mark Ellingson
Freedom is such a lovely word, a compelling image. What is freedom? How would you define it? What does it mean to you? Webster's New World Dictionary defines freedom as being exempt from control or from arbitrary restrictions. Freedom is said to be the ability to choose or determine one's own actions.

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