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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

The human eye is a... -- John 2:13-22 -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
The human eye is a very sensitive instrument.
Timing is everything. The Danish... -- Mark 1:9-15 -- First Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
Timing is everything. The Danish make a little round pancake called an aebel-skiever.
Sometimes suffering is necessary to... -- Mark 8:31-38 -- Second Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
Sometimes suffering is necessary to reach the desired goal.
Nearly everyone had loved Jane... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2000
Nearly everyone had loved Jane.
A congregation that had been... -- John 20:19-31 -- Second Sunday of Easter - B -- 2000
A congregation that had been very slow to change was just adding the passing of the peace.
Tom had been an ordinary... -- Mark 9:2-9 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2000
Tom had been an ordinary student. Good but not great grades. Popular but not overly so.
Whitewater kayaking had always been... -- John 20:1-18 -- Easter Day - B -- 2000
Whitewater kayaking had always been a treat for Janice.
Pastors work hard on their... -- John 13:1-17, 31b-35 -- Maundy Thursday - B -- 2000
Pastors work hard on their sermons, and rightfully so.
Tamara was eight years old... -- John 18:1-19:42 -- Good Friday - B -- 2000
Tamara was eight years old.
Every young child who has... -- Mark 14:1--15:47 -- Passion Sunday - B -- 2000
Every young child who has become separated from his or her parents at the grocery store knows the fe
He had only moved 45... -- John 3:14-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
He had only moved 45 miles, but to Tim the distance seemed endless.
Brandy is a twelve-year... -- John 12:20-33 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
Brandy is a twelve-year-old girl who lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
If you saw a restaurant... -- John 6:1-21 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - B -- 2000
If you saw a restaurant with a sign out front that read: "Steak dinner, complete with soup, salad, d
Many people treat going to... -- Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - B -- 2000
Many people treat going to church as being not much different than going to a restaurant.
In May of 1998, a... -- Mark 6:14-29 -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - B -- 2000
In May of 1998, a Roman Catholic bishop in Guatemala was executed.
In recent years, a number... -- Mark 6:1-13 -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B -- 2000
In recent years, a number of ministers in England have been the subject of crimes.
Before being sent into battle... -- John 6:56-69 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - B -- 2000
Before being sent into battle, one of the most basic things that soldiers are taught is how to ident
In the spring of 1998... -- Mark 5:21-43 -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - B -- 2000
In the spring of 1998, there was a story in the news about a fifteen-year-old boy who bled to death
One day I bought a... -- John 6:51-58 -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - B -- 2000
One day I bought a bottle of a cleaning product at the grocery store.
Tom had been a preacher... -- Mark 1:29-39 -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - B -- 2000
Tom had been a preacher for over forty years when his retirement came.
In 1889, a ship left... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 2000
In 1889, a ship left the Netherlands bound for America.
Growing a good garden is... -- 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - B -- 2000
Growing a good garden is an art.
I applied for ordination while... -- 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - B -- 2000
I applied for ordination while I was serving a small country church.
Sometimes non-Christians are ripe... -- Acts 19:1-7 -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - B -- 2000
Sometimes non-Christians are ripe to hear and respond to Christian realities.
A bad habit and I... -- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - B -- 2000
A bad habit and I struggled for many years.

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 28 | OT 33 | Pentecost 23
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
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Thanksgiving
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80+ – Illustrations / Stories
24 – Children's Sermons / Resources
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Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

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, wild fires, 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 September 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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