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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Communicating God's Love

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Several years ago, a movie... -- Revelation 21:1-6 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Several years ago, a movie came out titled, Cocoon. It was the story of some old
It is said that Albert... -- John 13:31-35 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
It is said that Albert Einstein kept two pictures of great scientists on his office wall: Sir
It was Bill's first night... -- John 13:31-35 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
It was Bill's first night at college, his first night away from home. As he walked across
Over the years, Frank and... -- John 13:31-35 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Over the years, Frank and Sarah had drifted away from the church. They were not upset
How can she be so... -- John 13:31-35 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
"How can she be so stupid?" I asked my wife. Driving east, we came to a four-way stop.
God created heaven and earth... -- Acts 16:9-15 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
God created "heaven and earth," one aspect of which means what is invisible to us
Three powerful truths stand out... -- Acts 16:9-15 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Three powerful truths stand out: 1) obedience to the heavenly vision, 2) women are
Often God speaks to us... -- Acts 16:9-15 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Often God speaks to us in the dark. In fact, sometimes we can see and hear clearer
Through all the accounts in... -- Acts 16:9-15 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Through all the accounts in Acts of Paul's missionary journeys, there is a clear sense of
This brings me to the... -- Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
"This brings me to the other sense of glory -- glory as brightness, splendour, luminosity.
In the movie, Insomnia, Al... -- Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
In the movie, Insomnia, Al Pacino's character, detective Will Dormer, gets sent
Hank has been a truck... -- Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Hank has been a truck driver for many years. During that time, he has traveled all over
Ask people, What special tree... -- Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Ask people, "What special tree was located in the Garden of Eden?" Most will reply that
In the 1810 Mexican War... -- John 14:23-29 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
In the 1810 Mexican War of Independence, Guanajuato was the first major city that
In John 14:25, Jesus speaks... -- John 14:23-29 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
In John 14:25, Jesus speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the "Comforter," the
Naturally the disciples were frightened... -- John 14:23-29 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Naturally the disciples were frightened. Jesus was talking about his leave-taking. They
Almost everyone has a favorite... -- John 14:23-29 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2007
Almost everyone has a favorite teacher, a person whose love for his or her students was
Back in the days of... -- Acts 1:1-11 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
Back in the days of the old west, there used to be three classes of tickets on the
Power drinks and nutritional power... -- Acts 1:1-11 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
Power drinks and nutritional power bars are all the rage with athletes these days.
Community Church planned a special... -- Acts 1:1-11 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
Community Church planned a special celebration for its 150th anniversary. Several
The disciples asked him, Lord... -- Acts 1:1-11 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
The disciples asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to
Mark Twain responded to the... -- Ephesians 1:15-23 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
Mark Twain responded to the Philippine-American War in 1899-1902 by writing The
Early in the year 2007... -- Ephesians 1:15-23 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
Early in the year 2007, as I write this, I wonder if this can be a year of hope. In a world
Paul Wharton tells a story... -- Ephesians 1:15-23 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
Paul Wharton tells a story about a wise old Middle-Eastern mystic. He confessed: "I was
You are witnesses of these... -- Luke 24:44-53 -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2007
"You are witnesses of these things." The scriptures call us all to be Christ's witnesses. In

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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