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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Commentary

Communicating God's Love

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Past performance does not guarantee... -- Isaiah 55:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Past performance does not guarantee future returns. This statement is necessary to
When Christians gather for Sunday... -- Isaiah 55:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
When Christians gather for Sunday worship, it often seems we have arrived for a
Have you ever really been... -- Isaiah 55:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Have you ever really been thirsty? Today in the USA almost every community large and
Many scholars think that Isaiah... -- Isaiah 55:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Many scholars think that Isaiah 55 was written during the end of the terrible years of
If you feel God has... -- 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
If you feel God has gone away on vacation and left you on your own, go straight to him.
The children of Israel experienced... -- 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
The children of Israel experienced hard times as they trekked from Egypt to the promised
Bill and Tom are cousins... -- 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Bill and Tom are cousins born only ten days apart. Growing up they became best friends
It's an assumption we make... -- 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
It's an assumption we make often. We're standing firm. We know we're right and God's
A Christian said to a... -- Luke 13:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
A Christian said to a suffering person, "God must have a reason." Such speculation ranks
Hope -- I was visiting a... -- Luke 13:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Hope -- I was visiting a patient one day at the hospital following a major setback
In Luke 13, Jesus answers... -- Luke 13:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
In Luke 13, Jesus answers a question everyone struggles with. Are disasters God's way of
Since the book of Job... -- Luke 13:1-9 -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Since the book of Job, people have been pointing fingers at the sufferer. The old Jewish
If you could do it... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
If you could do it, I suppose it would be a good idea to live your life in a straight line --
Pioneers tell similar stories. When... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Pioneers tell similar stories. When they first settled the western plains, they had nothing.
Ashley enjoys hiking and usually... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Ashley enjoys hiking and usually plans vacations around places where she would like to
That Sunday evening I knew... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
That Sunday evening I knew that life would never be the same. It was the last service that
Science teachers interest and entertain... -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Science teachers interest and entertain even bored students when they turn on the black
Do you know that Jesus... -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Do you know that Jesus really loves you? Have you experienced that feeling of total love
Some time ago, a husband... -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Some time ago, a husband and wife faced serious marriage problems. Neither would take
The divided church at Corinth... -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
The divided church at Corinth needed to be reminded that they were not to regard any
The biggest problem with American... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
"The biggest problem with American Christianity," said Ernest Campbell, former pastor
It was during the Great... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
It was during the Great Depression on the Canadian prairies, that sixteen-year-old Hans
Betty asked her Sunday school... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Betty asked her Sunday school class to pray for her grandson. Rick became a father one
I enjoy taking myself by... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
"I enjoy taking myself by surprise," said Peter Ustinov. I wonder how he kept secrets
We all endure emotional shocks... -- Isaiah 43:16-21 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
We all endure emotional shocks -- like when we forget to pay a bill and a past-due notice

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
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Proper 24 | OT 29 | Pentecost 19
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27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
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Proper 25 | OT 30 | Pentecost 20
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Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Tom Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
George Reed
Christopher Keating
For October 26, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
I am a scoreboard watcher. I follow a lot more games than I actually watch, but since technology makes it easy to check scores on a moment’s whim, I watch a lot of scoreboards of teams and games that I am at least mildly interested in. And as I check those scores, I find myself having immediate reactions: “Great!” “Oh, that's too bad.” “Excellent!” “Nuts.” And in the midst of that sports-fan roller coaster, I must continually remind myself that not all scores are final.
Bill Thomas
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Joel 2:22-32
Martin Luther sings the praises of God’s love revealed in this lesson. He wrote:

The love of God which lives in man loves sinners, evil persons, fools and weaklings in order to make them righteous, good, wise, and strong. Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p.57)

John Wesley nicely summarizes the Spirit’s role in fighting the lure of our old sinful habits:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This message is a role-play story. You will need two children to play the roles of the Pharisee and the tax collector. I usually ask two children if they will help me as they are all coming forward for the message, but you may select them however you choose.

* * *

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, but your commandments are my delight.
Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live.
(vv. 143-144)

When I was an associate pastor in Janesville, Wisconsin one of my responsibilities was to give a lecture on spirituality once a month at a drug treatment facility. The students who attended were persons who had been convicted of drunk driving and were required to attend the class as a condition of their sentence. Attendance was always good.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

We all dislike people who blow their own trumpets, although sometimes we may be in awe of them. Jesus too deplored such behaviour and was never in awe of those who practised it. In our worship today let us open ourselves to Jesus, allowing him to see what is in our hearts.



Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes we allow other people's behaviour to intimidate us.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes we refuse to reach our own fullest potential because we are afraid.

SermonStudio

Schuyler Rhodes
Every morning when sleep leaves and waking comes there is cause for praising God. Caught up, as we are, in the currents and eddies of our lives, this is easy to forget. This wonderful psalm is a reminder. God's bounty and abundance spill into our lives like waters over a causeway. God's delight in creation explodes in a million different colors. In every moment there is reason to give God praise.
Robert R. Kopp
When I was a little boy growing up in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania's First Presbyterian Church, one of those Christian chalk artists with black light, neon colors, and black felt canvas who made pictures of Jesus look like those Elvis portraits for sale on the side of the road at the beach showed up as entertainment for a Sunday evening potluck dinner.
John E. Berger
Today's sermon begins with this little one-person drama.
Mark Ellingson
Have you ever felt that you were absolutely at the end of your rope, left without hope? Sometime during the years of 539 B.C. to 331 B.C. that is the way the people of Judah felt. It seems that their land had been ravaged by a plague of locusts which had had catastrophic consequences.

Once a harvest has been destroyed, you cannot repair it. If a building has burned to the ground, you cannot repair it. In those instances you need to start from scratch with a fresh start.

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