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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Life is full of ends... -- Isaiah 43:16-21 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
"Life is full of ends," wrote Phillips Brooks, "but every end is a new beginning, and we
Out of the ashes and... -- Isaiah 43:16-21 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Out of the ashes and debris of 9/11 has come a wonderful book. It is called The
Remember Charles Dickens' famous story... -- Philippians 3:4b-14 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Remember Charles Dickens' famous story, A Christmas Carol? Remember how
The 1970-71 NHL season belonged... -- Philippians 3:4b-14 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
The 1970-71 NHL season belonged to the Boston Bruins. They finished fourteen points
Kim advanced in her job... -- Philippians 3:4b-14 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Kim advanced in her job with a financial company. She worked long hours to achieve the
Hungry, penniless, and cold, she... -- Philippians 3:4b-14 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Hungry, penniless, and cold, she pushed everything she owned in a shopping cart. She
Theologian Paul Tillich dubbed such... -- John 12:1-8 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Theologian Paul Tillich dubbed such extravagance as Mary shows "Holy Waste."
One day a young man... -- John 12:1-8 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
One day a young man went to a photography studio carrying a framed picture of his
Jesus was criticized for allowing... -- John 12:1-8 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Jesus was criticized for allowing Mary to show such extravagant love.
Dr. Wayne Oates, pastoral counselor... -- John 12:1-8 -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2007
Dr. Wayne Oates, pastoral counselor, told the story about a psychiatric clinic in
I grew up on those... -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
I grew up on those pious Hollywood biblical epics of the 1950s, which looked like holy
It was during the Stone... -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
It was during the Stone Age that humans first began using flint to make tools. Flint was
What is striking every Holy... -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
What is striking every Holy Week is Jesus' determination. He began his ministry
Did you watch the PBS... -- Isaiah 50:4-9a -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
Did you watch the PBS specials on Genesis? Hosted by a former White House Press
Talk of having the same... -- Philippians 2:5-11 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
Talk of having "the same mind" can excite science fiction fans to speculate about a
I learned a lesson about... -- Philippians 2:5-11 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
I learned a lesson about humility early in my ministry as a church organist. I had been
This passage in Philippians 2:5-11... -- Philippians 2:5-11 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
This passage in Philippians 2:5-11 is perhaps the most powerful passage about Jesus that
Let the same mind be... -- Philippians 2:5-11 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus ..." (v. 5). What a strange Messiah
Fred Craddock tells of how... -- Luke 22:14--23:56 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
Fred Craddock tells of how, when he was in graduate school at Vanderbilt, he used to
Anyone who has lived on... -- Luke 22:14--23:56 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
Anyone who has lived on or visited a farm will know that roosters love to crow in the
For the past twenty years... -- Luke 22:14--23:56 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
For the past twenty years, a community observes Good Friday with its annual Cross
It's a struggle to keep... -- Luke 22:14--23:56 -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2007
It's a struggle to keep it. Ministers tussle mightily to retain it. As with a suit or dress ten
Humans divide time into manageable... -- Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2007
Humans divide time into manageable hunks, then we name those days, months, and eras.
A small country church in... -- Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2007
A small country church in Wisconsin has a special tradition that they have used at the
One of the most famous... -- Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2007
One of the most famous paintings in the world is Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the

Political Pulpit

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The Political Pulpit

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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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