Login / Signup

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) for multiple selections (scroll list to see all options)

Commentary

Communicating God's Love

Guest column

Illustration

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Highway engineers who plan the... -- Mark 1:1-8 -- Second Sunday of Advent - B
Highway engineers who plan the roads that wind through mountains have to take many factors into cons
Jonathan Edwards, arguably the greatest... -- Mark 1:1-8 -- Second Sunday of Advent - B
Jonathan Edwards, arguably the greatest systematic theologian ever born on this side of the Atlantic
It's truly amazing what surgeons... -- Isaiah 61:1-3, 8-11 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
It's truly amazing what surgeons are doing for the human body.
Death, where is thy Victory... -- Isaiah 61:1-3, 8-11 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
Death, where is thy Victory?
For just a moment imagine... -- Isaiah 61:1-3, 8-11 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
For just a moment imagine you are looking out over a vast landscape of seemingly happy people.
Many years ago my mother... -- Isaiah 61:1-3, 8-11 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
Many years ago my mother told of a young man who lived in her community and graduated from medical s
Give thanks, says Paul, in... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
"Give thanks," says Paul, "in all circumstances." Have we any idea some of the circumstances in whic
When I was a young... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
When I was a young boy I worked for a few summers picking cucumbers.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 -- Third Sunday of Advent - B
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in every thing give thanks." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
I am presently on... -- John 6:24-35 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C
I am presently on a diet.
We live in a... -- John 6:24-35 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C
We live in a hungry world.
Many of the things... -- John 6:24-35 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C
Many of the things that we do unconsciously, or perhaps it would be better to say without t
Leslie Weatherhead has reminded... -- 2 Samuel 12:15b-24 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C
Leslie Weatherhead has reminded us that a skeptic could formulate a list of charges against Go
There are actually two... -- John 6:24-35 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - C
There are actually two kinds of bread: material -- helps us from without inwards; and spiritua
Just a few months after... -- Isaiah 63:16-64:8 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
Just a few months after the beginning of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur was forced to flee
A famous episode from the... -- Isaiah 63:16-64:8 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
A famous episode from the original "I Love Lucy" television series shows her stomping grapes in a hu
It has been said that... -- Isaiah 63:16-64:8 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
It has been said that sin as a caterpiller is dangerous, but that sin as a butterfly is a thousand t
Lucy Van Pelt, of the... -- Isaiah 63:16-64:8 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
Lucy Van Pelt, of the Peanuts comic strip, once circulated the neighborhood with a petition s
Advent is a gift from... -- 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
Advent is a gift from God to the world and is reminiscent of that old story about Chanticleer, the r
Mrs. Mary Barrett said that... -- 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
Mrs. Mary Barrett said that we should praise God and give thanks for everything that happens to us.
Understanding Your Gifted Child, the... -- 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
"Understanding Your Gifted Child," the title of the pamphlet read.
Ever expected an important phone... -- Mark 13:32-37 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
Ever expected an important phone call?
Two persons stepped briskly along... -- Mark 13:32-37 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
Two persons stepped briskly along the same city street in the early days of the Advent season.
At a fort in a... -- Mark 13:32-37 -- First Sunday of Advent - B
At a fort in a coastal town in France, a cannon was fired every day at five o'clock.
Over the years I have... -- Isaiah 40:1-11 -- Second Sunday of Advent - B
Over the years I have read or heard this text during many Advent seasons; yet the full power of it d

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

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.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL