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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Commentary

Communicating God's Love

Guest column

Illustration

Emphasis Preaching Journal

When did God begin? When... -- Revelation 1:4b-8 -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B -- 2000
When did God begin? When will God end?
How difficult it is for... -- 1 Timothy 2:1-7 -- Thanksgiving Day - B -- 2000
How difficult it is for us in our daily prayers to praise God, to adore him, and to thank him.
Chain of Command is a... -- Hebrews 9:24-28 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B -- 2000
"Chain of Command" is a key concept within the military system.
The performance of an athletic... -- Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - B -- 2000
The performance of an athletic team depends a lot on morale and confidence, perhaps even more than s
The vision of God wiping... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- All Saints Day - B -- 2000
The vision of God wiping away every human tear is lovely, but do we consider the role of God in thos
For many folk, religion consists... -- 1 John 5:1-6 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2000
For many folk, religion consists of what a person believes.
The most often memorized statement... -- 1 John 4:7-21 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2000
The most often memorized statement in 1 John is from 4:16, "God is love." It is more than a theologi
John's words in this passage... -- 1 John 3:1-7 -- Third Sunday of Easter - B -- 2000
John's words in this passage, "no one who abides in him sins" (v.
When I served as chair... -- 1 John 3:16-24 -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2000
When I served as chair of a church growth committee relating to three denominations, I discovered th
She knew the French language... -- 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B -- 2000
She knew the French language and spoke it well enough, but she was undeniably an anglophone.
Spinach saves the day! That's... -- Romans 8:22-27 -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 2000
Spinach saves the day!
Knowing God as Father, Son... -- Romans 8:12-17 -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 2000
Knowing God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is to know a lot about God.
In the early days of... -- Ephesians 1:15-23 -- Ascension of the Lord - B -- 2000
In the early days of "black and white" television there was a series in which people were suddenly m
If I had been there... -- 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
If I had been there, if I had heard Jesus teach, if I had seen his miracles, if I had watched him di
It was the birthday of... -- Romans 4:13-25 -- Second Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
It was the birthday of a 95-year-old woman.
Linking the rescue of Noah... -- 1 Peter 3:18-22 -- First Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
Linking the rescue of Noah with the sacrament of baptism might seem inappropriate.
It is almost a crime... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2000
It is almost a crime against Christ, the tendency to narrow the meaning of the biblical word "salvat
I asked members of a... -- 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2000
I asked members of a Bible study group to imagine that they were witnessing the dying of Jesus on a
This passage about confessing our... -- 1 John 1:1-2:2 -- Second Sunday of Easter - B -- 2000
This passage about confessing our sins often evokes criticisms such as, "What good does it do to con
Over a century ago, a... -- 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 -- Easter Day - B -- 2000
Over a century ago, a rationalist named David Straus re-
Sometimes Bible translations convey unintended... -- Hebrews 10:16-25 -- Good Friday - B -- 2000
Sometimes Bible translations convey unintended humor.
Paul's chastisement of the Corinthian... -- 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 -- Maundy Thursday - B -- 2000
Paul's chastisement of the Corinthian Christians for the "divisions" (v. 18) and "factions" (v.
An older book on gardening... -- Philippians 2:5-11 -- Passion Sunday - B -- 2000
An older book on gardening, titled A Sense of Humus, reminds the reader of this Latin word for groun
In this passage, the author... -- Hebrews 5:5-10 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
In this passage, the author of Hebrews states that one who is chosen to be high priest "is able to d
we are by nature children... -- Ephesians 2:1-10 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 2000
"... we are by nature children of wrath," Paul writes (v. 3).

Political Pulpit

Sermon

The Political Pulpit

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 23 | OT 28 | Pentecost 18
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 24 | OT 29 | Pentecost 19
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 25 | OT 30 | Pentecost 20
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

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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