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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

At a Youth Club meeting... -- John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 2000
At a Youth Club meeting one week, we set a six-foot long 2 x 4 board on the floor.
This passage reminds us that... -- John 3:1-17 -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 2000
This passage reminds us that love is at the heart of the Christian message.
As Jesus departs from the... -- Luke 24:44-53 -- Ascension of the Lord - B -- 2000
As Jesus departs from the disciples, he prepares them for their mission to all the nations.
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.

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Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
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Proper 9 | OT 14 | Pentecost 4
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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
Bonnie Bates

1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a and Psalm 42-43
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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