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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Commentary

Communicating God's Love

Guest column

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Richard Foster describes this certain... -- Romans 8:14-17 -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 1994
Richard Foster describes this certain prayer that he once heard a man offer: "Strange as it may seem
When I was in high... -- 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 1994
When I was in high school, our youth group would have a food drive each year.
The late, brilliant theologian Joseph... -- Mark 16:15-20 -- Ascension of the Lord - B -- 1994
The late, brilliant theologian Joseph Sittler had the following to say about the mission of the chur
Sometimes we believe it is... -- 1 John 4:1-11 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1994
Sometimes we believe it is impossible to love one another. Case in point is Lieutenant Deshazer.
In his book Healing the... -- 1 John 3:18-24 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1994
In his book Healing the Shame that Binds You, author and lecturer John Bradshaw explores the basis f
The story is told of... -- 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B -- 1994
The story is told of a lady who lived in a gloomy basement apartment.
A man put a note... -- 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - B -- 1994
A man put a note on a dollar bill and asked all who spent it to write down what it was spent for.
Tiffany brought the seed home... -- Mark 4:26-34 -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B -- 1994
Tiffany brought the seed home from school, carefully carrying the little cup so the soil would not s
Paul's words about looking to... -- 2 Corinthians 4:13--5:1 -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 1994
Paul's words about looking to things unseen are out of step with a culture that understands identity
A man decided to surprise... -- John 13:1-17, 31b-35 -- Maundy Thursday - B -- 1994
A man decided to surprise his wife and hire a cleaning team to do the spring cleaning.
A man was on a... -- John 3:14-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 1994
A man was on a European trip with his wife.
Christ emptied himself in death... -- Philippians 2:5-11 -- Passion Sunday - B -- 1994
Christ emptied himself in death -- the extreme limit of self-
Perhaps the temple officials who... -- John 2:13-22 -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 1994
Perhaps the temple officials who allowed the money-changers and purveyors of perfection for sacrific
The baseball community speaks fondly... -- Luke 24:36b-48 -- Third Sunday of Easter - B -- 1994
The baseball community speaks fondly of "Yogiisms." "Yogiisms" are anecdotes attributed to Yogi Berr
An elderly man came to... -- 1 Corinthians 15:19-28 -- Easter Day - B -- 1994
An elderly man came to President Abraham Lincoln with a tale of sorrow.
This story seems to be... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
This story seems to be filled with words like, astonished and amazed.
Paul seems to be saying... -- 1 Corinthians 7:17-23 -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - B -- 1994
Paul seems to be saying, "Bloom where you are planted." Martin Luther talked about the priesthood o
They followed Jesus because John... -- John 1:35-42 -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - B -- 1994
They followed Jesus because John had said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" and they knew they had found t
I once saw a cartoon... -- Acts 10:34-38 -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - B -- 1994
I once saw a cartoon that had to do with worship.
In ancient mythologies, Wisdom is... -- Sirach 24:1-2, 8-12 -- 1994
In ancient mythologies, Wisdom is almost always feminine.
The irate employee stomps into... -- Mark 1:9-15 -- First Sunday in Lent - B -- 1994
The irate employee stomps into the paymaster's office and shouts, "There's been a terrible mistake!
As we witness in this... -- Mark 8:31-38 -- Second Sunday in Lent - B -- 1994
As we witness in this scripture reading, there is a price to be paid for living the Christian life.
Bob was a young man... -- 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 1994
Bob was a young man who always listened to his parents and would never rebel against their wishes.
You know I can't play... -- 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - B -- 1994
"You know I can't play football after school," said David.
Suppose today you threw a... -- Luke 3:1-6 -- Second Sunday of Advent - C -- 1994
Suppose today you threw a large, rough rock into a stream of water.

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 8 | OT 13 | Pentecost 3
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 9 | OT 14 | Pentecost 4
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...

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John Jamison
Object: A pig stuffed animal.

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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
George Reed
For June 22, 2025:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,  for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.  As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (vv. 25-28)

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a
Life can be frightening sometimes. Thus it is both comforting but disconcerting to find a giant of faith like Elijah to fear the future. On that matter Martin Luther once claimed:
David Kalas
We’re not far from the 4th of July. And while for so many Americans, it seems that the holiday has become more about long weekends, cookouts, and fireworks shows, the theme of freedom is still there at least in the background. We might take advantage of that, therefore, and give some thought to the theme of freedom as it is revealed in our assigned texts for this week.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

The madman cried out to Jesus, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" In our worship today let us explore what Jesus has to do with us and invite him to heal our brokenness.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, we often find ourselves thinking, saying and doing things that we quickly regret.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Constance Berg
When Jill was five, she began to have headaches. The headaches were so severe she would throw up. Sometimes she would pass out. They usually came once a month. Jill could be playing, resting, or watching television when the headaches would come. Her only warning was a sudden pain in her head, then a blinding light would appear, and she would be rocked with pain. In her teenage years, they became debilitating, causing Jill to be in bed for three days at a time.
Stan Purdum
I'm not sure when the term "burn out" ceased being only a description of what happened to a campfire when you ran out of firewood to a term describing the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, usually coming immediately after an extended period of overwork, but the expression seems to fit that later situation, doesn't it? Exhaustion, deep weariness, all used up, nothing more to give, wiped out, burned out -- call it what we will, its symptoms are all too familiar to many of us.
April Yamasaki
In the classic movie, Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews plays a no-nonsense, yet delightful, nanny to two young children. As a nanny to a wealthy family, she is part teacher, part parent, and part disciplinarian. She gets the children up in the morning, puts them to bed at night, supervises their many adventures, and guides them in many ways. While they are in her care, she is responsible for their overall safety and well-being.

Julia Ross Strope
Zoos are no longer in people's good graces.
Religion faces the same problem.
Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.
-- Yann Martel, Life of Pi

Call To Worship
Leader: I'm so glad you're here! There are seats for everyone; there's slight air movement; the windows engender tranquility and imagination and words will stimulate fresh thoughts.

People: It's good to be here, in sanctuary. We're glad for opportunities to gather and to express our gratitude to God and our appreciation for one another.

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