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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Grandma and Grandpa worked hard... -- 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 2008
Grandma and Grandpa worked hard.
The apostle Paul models an... -- 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 2008
The apostle Paul models an excellent work ethic through making tents.
Almost three-quarters of Americans... -- Matthew 23:1-12 -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 2008
Almost three-quarters of Americans who haven't darkened the door of a church in the last six months
The time had come for... -- Matthew 23:1-12 -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 2008
The time had come for Jeff to begin searching for another job.
Jocelyn was learning almost daily... -- Matthew 23:1-12 -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 2008
Jocelyn was learning almost daily in her school that smoking is bad for a person's health and that s
Because our modern world has... -- Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
Because our modern world has radio, television, and the internet, we're more aware of groups that wa
Going to college: mixing students... -- Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
Going to college: mixing students from dozens of different schools, cities, towns, states, families.
Joshua's stirring words, As for... -- Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
Joshua's stirring words, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord," also call us to obedi
The Left Behind series of... -- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
The Left Behind series of novels has been a publishing phenomenon, each one of them a huge be
Bob was pleased to discover... -- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
Bob was pleased to discover that his family had purchased a new barbeque grill for his Father's Day
My uncle usually had at... -- Matthew 25:1-13 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
My uncle usually had at least two jobs at once.
The motto for the Boy... -- Matthew 25:1-13 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
The motto for the Boy Scouts of America is "Be Prepared." Although Sheila was never a Boy Scout, she
Matthew tells us that watchfulness... -- Matthew 25:1-13 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2008
Matthew tells us that watchfulness is something we must have. But what exactly is watchfulness?
Christians have tended to approach... -- Judges 4:1-7 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
Christians have tended to approach "salvation" as either a big game or a long season, each yielding
When Megan was a young... -- Judges 4:1-7 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
When Megan was a young girl, she would watch her mother share Jesus with just about everyone she met
French mathematician, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662... -- Judges 4:1-7 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
French mathematician, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), once said, "Reason commands us far more imperiously
I walk in the mornings... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
I walk in the mornings near the hospital. Sometimes I walk early and sometimes a little later.
A man was walking down... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
A man was walking down the road when he came upon a half-completed cathedral.
If we take Paul literally... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
If we take Paul literally and never close our eyes to sleep, soon we would not notice anything at al
As Pam was going through... -- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
As Pam was going through her mother's desk she happened upon a notebook full of names.
Because the pie was limited... -- Matthew 25:14-30 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
Because the pie was "limited" and already distributed, an increase in the share of one person automa
Matt and Keri shared with... -- Matthew 25:14-30 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
Matt and Keri shared with the congregation their experience with tithing, giving 10% of their income
In an article for Timesonline... -- Matthew 25:14-30 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2008
In an article for Timesonline, September 30, 2007, Sir Peter Lampl documents how British chil
Your children are so talented... -- Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - A -- 2008
"Your children are so talented -- and yet they're so nice!" people often exclaimed to Janet.
During the exile, God's people... -- Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - A -- 2008
During the exile, God's people are scattered like abandoned sheep.

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The Political Pulpit

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Proper 23 | OT 28 | Pentecost 18
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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For October 19, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 31:27-34
John Calvin makes very clear why a new covenant is needed according to this text. He observes:

… the fault was not to be sought in the law that there was need of a new covenant, for the law was abundantly sufficient, but that fault was in the levity and the unfaithfulness of the people. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.X/2, p.130)
David Coffin
What happens when one’s past life narrative or goals in life have drastically shifted or collapsed? How do they rebuild hope? For Israel, they lost their land, monarchy, and national identity. In the days of the New Testament,they could easily be identified as living in the “fourth world” country. That is, existing in substandard conditions in one’s own native land?

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
Rose sat back in her chair and opened her magazine. She heard the thump of the stairs and caught a glimpse of her daughter and son in the corner of her eye. She turned her head as they put water bottles in their backpacks.

“What are you two doing?” she looked over at the clock. “Don’t you have homework?”

“All done,” Paul and Linda announced at the same time.

Rose ignored Linda but locked eyes with Paul. He met her gaze for a few moments and then sighed.

“Okay, I’m almost done but still have some math questions,” he admitted.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus told us that we should always pray and not lose heart, for God is on our side. In our worship today let us pray to the Lord for the needs of others and for all our own needs.


Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes you don't seem to be there when I pray and I feel like I'm talking to myself.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes my prayers seem so dry and boring that I give up.

Christ, have mercy.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Psalm 119 is well-known as the longest chapter in the Bible. The poem is actually an extended, and extensive, meditation on the meaning of the law. Given the sterile connotations often associated with "law" and "legalism," it's hard sometimes to appreciate the lyrical beauty of these reflections. One thing is for certain, the writer of this psalm does not view the law as either sterile or void of vitality.

Schuyler Rhodes
There is perhaps no better feeling than knowing that someone "has your back." Having someone's back is a term that arose from urban street fighting where a partner or ally would stay with you and protect your back in the thick of the fray. When someone has your back, you don't worry about being hit from behind. When someone has your back you can concentrate on the struggle in front of you without worrying about dangers you cannot see. When someone has your back you feel protected, secure, safe.
David Kalas
I wonder how many of us here are named after someone.

Chances are that a good many of us carry family names. We are named for a parent, a grandparent, an uncle, or an aunt somewhere on the family tree. Others of us had parents who named us after a character in the Bible, or perhaps some other significant character from history.

All told, I expect a pretty fair number of us are named after someone else.

John W. Clarke
Our reading today from the prophet Jeremiah is one in which the Hebrew people, not knowing what else to do in terms of addressing their predicament, decide to blame it all on God. They believed their problems to be the result of their sins and the sins of their fathers. Of course, one person's sin does indeed affect other people, but all people are still held personally accountable for the sin in their own lives (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:2).
Donna E. Schaper
As usual, the epistle is a little more graphic than we can quite grasp. Itchy ears: what a concept just in physical terms. Experience it for a minute. You itch, you scratch, you sort of know you shouldn't scratch because it will only make the itch worse. But still you scratch, while wondering how the itch ever got started in the first place. What a concept: itchy ears as a vehicle for spiritual truth.

John E. Berger
Did Jesus ever do comedy? Indeed he did, and the Parable of the Unjust Judge is partly comic monologue. The routine began with a probate judge so ridiculously dishonest that he announced, "... I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone...." (There must have been a gasp of disbelief from Jesus' audience.)

The Unjust Judge was nagged by a widow, however, who had every right to nag, because she had been cheated by somebody in the community. A good judge would have helped the widow, but remember, this judge "neither feared God nor had respect for people."

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And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? (v. 7)

Good morning, boys and girls. Yesterday, I was riding in my car and I kept hearing this noise. I call it a squeak. Do you know what a squeak sounds like? (let them answer) Squeaks are very annoying. It is hard to find a squeak in your car, so it is still squeaking.

I also have a chair that has a squeak and I brought it in with me today because it is

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