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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Inspiration comes and goes mysteriously... -- Luke 2:41-52 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - C -- 1997
Inspiration comes and goes mysteriously.
While Nero fiddled, Rome burned... -- Mark 9:30-37 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 1997
"While Nero fiddled, Rome burned."
When Jesus enters the life... -- Mark 10:46-52 -- Reformation Sunday - B -- 1997
When Jesus enters the life of blind Bartimaeus, he is sitting on the side of the road.
Servanthood must be learned.br... -- Mark 10:35-45 -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - B -- 1997
Servanthood must be learned.
The Branch Davidians who barricaded... -- Mark 13:1-8 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - B -- 1997
The Branch Davidians who barricaded themselves behind flimsy walls outside Waco, Texas, truly believ
Whoever belongs to the truth... -- John 18:33-37 -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B -- 1997
"Whoever belongs to the truth listen to me" is the way Today's English Version translates John 18:3
A widow is remembered across... -- Mark 12:38-44 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B -- 1997
A widow is remembered across the centuries not for the amount of her church offering but for the sac
If you are a single... -- Mark 5:21-43 -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - B -- 1997
If you are a single-minded person and a "doer" more than a "thinker," it is very difficult to stop w
Back in the 1970s, one... -- John 6:56-69 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - B -- 1997
Back in the 1970s, one of the fads was the Pet Rock.
We know nothing about the... -- Luke 2:41-52 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - C -- 1997
We know nothing about the youth of Jesus except his visit to the Temple in Jerusalem at the age of t
When Jesus calls us to... -- Mark 9:38-50 -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - B -- 1997
When Jesus calls us to be at peace with one another, he does so with full recognition that it is not
The Hebrews were constantly complaining... -- Mark 9:30-37 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 1997
The Hebrews were constantly complaining to Moses as they made the journey through the desert toward
The woman who begged Jesus... -- Mark 7:24-37 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - B -- 1997
The woman who begged Jesus to heal her daughter was no fool.
The gift of justification (being... -- Romans 3:19-28 -- Reformation Sunday - B -- 1997
The gift of justification (being made right with God) is equivalent to having a death sentence commu
Jesus asks James and John... -- Mark 10:35-45 -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - B -- 1997
Jesus asks James and John if they were able to drink of the cup of suffering he was facing.
Often church folk become impatient... -- Mark 10:2-16 -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - B -- 1997
Often church folk become impatient with children and exclude them because they are inconvenient, imm
There are many priorities in... -- Mark 13:1-8 -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - B -- 1997
There are many priorities in life. They change as we grow older and we face new situations.
Maxie Dunnam tells of a... -- John 18:33-37 -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B -- 1997
Maxie Dunnam tells of a visit he and his wife made to Czechoslovakia after Communism collapsed.
Phil Jackson, coach of the... -- Mark 12:38-44 -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B -- 1997
Phil Jackson, coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association, does not have to lo
Jairus connected his daughter to... -- Mark 5:21-43 -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - B -- 1997
Jairus connected his daughter to Jesus through his prayer, his petition, his intercession, his reque
The Eat, Drink, and be... -- John 6:56-69 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - B -- 1997
The "Eat, Drink, and be Merry" sermon comes at us in every which way through the media, through adv
Luke provides a priceless glimpse... -- Luke 2:41-52 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - C -- 1997
Luke provides a priceless glimpse into the family life of Jesus' boyhood, providing us with untold h
We are urged to cast... -- Mark 9:38-50 -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - B -- 1997
We are urged to cast our concerns upon the Lord.
To be embraced by God's... -- Ephesians 2:4-10 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 1997
To be embraced by God's salvation as a free gift, we must first abandon all trust in ourselves, all
The difference between Law and... -- Romans 3:19-28 -- Reformation Sunday - B -- 1997
The difference between Law and Grace is continually misunderstood.

Political Pulpit

Sermon

The Political Pulpit

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 28 | OT 33 | Pentecost 23
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Christ the King Sunday
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Thanksgiving
34 – Sermons
80+ – Illustrations / Stories
24 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
24 – 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.

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