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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Communicating God's Love

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

It was as though... -- Mark 3:20-35 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
A universally--recognized saint... -- Mark 3:20-35 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
A universally--recognized saint in our day is Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India.
The Blue Laws, which... -- Mark 2:23-28 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
The "Blue Laws," which prohibit certain Sunday activities, originated in the colony of New Hav
When I was a... -- Mark 2:23-28 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
When I was a little girl, I was fortunate to live in a rural community that still had a piece
The proper observance of... -- Mark 2:23-28 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
The proper observance of the Lord's Day isn't the pressing problem today that it was in the pa
Why do Christians break... -- Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Why do Christians break bread together? Because Jesus first broke bread in the Upper Room?
November is the season to... -- Luke 20:27-38 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - C
November is the season to settle before the fireplace and look back, to remember and to be grateful.
The Old Testament law of... -- Luke 20:27-38 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - C
The Old Testament law of levirate marriage (see Deuteronomy 25:5-10) provided a kind of social secur
I have always been grateful... -- Luke 20:27-38 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - C
I have always been grateful for this short encounter between Jesus and scoffers.
According to an old... -- 1 Samuel 16:14-23 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
According to an old rabbinical legend, the harp of David hung over his couch.
Here is the classic... -- 1 Samuel 16:14-23 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Here is the classic case of, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.” (Notice, not
Long before the time... -- 1 Samuel 16:14-23 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Long before the time of Christ, the great philosopher Plato knew the spiritual powers of music
The Reverend Joe Keiller... -- Deuteronomy 5:12-15 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
The Reverend Joe Keiller was a good, hard-working minister.
It seems like centuries... -- Deuteronomy 5:12-15 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
It seems like centuries ago; but it was really only three or four decades back that my father
In the Catholic Church... -- Deuteronomy 5:12-15 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
In the Catholic Church is a ritual called litany of the hours.
It is interesting and... -- Deuteronomy 5:12-15 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
It is interesting and important to notice that, according to the Jewish tradition, the day beg
The amusing story is... -- Exodus 24:3-8 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
The amusing story is often told of a mother who returned from her shopping to find her childre
Whenever sacrifices were offered... -- Exodus 24:3-8 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Whenever sacrifices were offered in he Old Testament there was an altar present.
Moses told the people... -- Exodus 24:3-8 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Moses told the people what the Lord wanted them to do, and they said, “We will do it.” But the
Herbert Lockyer has told... -- Exodus 24:3-8 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Herbert Lockyer has told of a friend in Glasgow, Scotland, who, many years ago, was in and out
One might wonder how... -- Genesis 3:(1-7) 8-21 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
One might wonder how Adam and Eve could be tempted.
Jesus knew the importance... -- Genesis 3:8-21 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Jesus knew the importance of storytelling as a way to convey great truths.
An ice-cream parlor... -- Genesis 3:(1-7) 8-21 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
An ice-cream parlor manager from Bethesda, Maryland, named Nathan Peabody, received a phone ca
In his book, I... -- Genesis 3:(1-7) 8-21
In his book, Rebellion, Albert Cam us writes about a little Frenchman who was taken pri
Helen Keller was born... -- 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - C
Helen Keller was born with the crushing handicaps of both blindness and deafness ‚--'' a helpl

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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
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20 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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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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33 – Children's Sermons / 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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