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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Communicating God's Love

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

and to clothe yourselves with... -- Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - B -- 1994
"... and to clothe yourselves with the new self, ..."
Former President Jimmy Carter worships... -- Ephesians 3:14-21 -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - B -- 1994
Former President Jimmy Carter worships in a baptist church in Plains, Georgia.
If we listen to this... -- Ephesians 2:11-22 -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - B -- 1994
If we listen to this passage there is a bombshell within it with which we are over-due to cope.
Sometimes sin is like a... -- Mark 6:14-29 -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - B -- 1994
Sometimes sin is like a savings account -- it is compounded on a regular basis.
My father always had a... -- Lamentations 3:22-33 -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B -- 1994
My father always had a good sense of humor and he always had a backyard garden, too.
This text can be and... -- Ephesians 5:21-31 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - B -- 1994
This text can be and often is badly misused, to the detriment of many a marriage.
One evening at a party... -- Ephesians 4:25-5:2 -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B -- 1994
One evening at a party Charlie Chaplin was doing impressions of famous people of his time.
One Sunday morning I was... -- John 6:51-58 -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - B -- 1994
One Sunday morning I was preparing for a baptism during the service.
Dr. Peter Wise was a... -- James 5:13-20 -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - B -- 1994
Dr. Peter Wise was a psychologist in Madison, Wisconsin, and Dr. Fred Koenecke was a psychiatrist.
The Son of Man is... -- Mark 9:30-37 -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 1994
"The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after bei
Who do people say that... -- Mark 8:27-38 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - B -- 1994
"Who do people say that I am?"
Crunch! The dry leaves announced... -- Mark 12:28-34 -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - B -- 1994
Crunch! The dry leaves announced each step she took down the wooded path.
It was a recurring dream... -- Hebrews 7:23-28 -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - B -- 1994
It was a recurring dream. In it she was on a journey, one she had been on for many years.
A rather skeptical young man... -- Hebrews 4:14-16 -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - B -- 1994
A rather skeptical young man moved into the little village.
By the time I was... -- Hebrews 4:12-16 -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - B -- 1994
By the time I was eight or ten years old, my mother would send me to the nearby grocery store to get
What kind of God would... -- Hebrews 2:9-11 -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - B -- 1994
What kind of God would deignto put on human flesh,to taste the saltiness
A visitor to the Capitol... -- 1 Timothy 2:1-7 -- Thanksgiving Day - B -- 1994
A visitor to the Capitol was watching from the gallery with his small son when the House was called
One day as my wife... -- John 18:33-37 -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B -- 1994
One day as my wife and I pulled onto the interstate I noticed in my rearview mirror a police car fo
When I was a freshman... -- Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 -- All Saints Day - B -- 1994
When I was a freshman in college, I had an opportunity to represent my church at a national meeting
The desires of the flesh... -- Galatians 5:16-25 -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 1994
The desires of the flesh are often too much for the church.
When and where do we... -- Exodus 3:1-6 -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 1994
When and where do we see God?
Prior to these verses, the... -- Mark 16:15-20 -- Ascension of the Lord - B -- 1994
Prior to these verses, the 11 had heard stories of the risen Christ, but they had not believed them.
Reader's Digest has an article... -- 1 John 4:1-11 -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1994
Reader's Digest has an article by Nadine Crenshaw, a woman who writes romance novels.
He was a very wealthy... -- 1 John 3:18-24 -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1994
He was a very wealthy man. He was a man who considered himself to be a good Christian.
When Big Al Miller was... -- 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B -- 1994
When "Big" Al Miller was 12 years old, he peddled the Detroit Free Press every day and he made his c

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Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
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John Jamison
Object: A pig stuffed animal.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Let’s get started!

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For June 22, 2025:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,  for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.  As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (vv. 25-28)

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a
Life can be frightening sometimes. Thus it is both comforting but disconcerting to find a giant of faith like Elijah to fear the future. On that matter Martin Luther once claimed:
David Kalas
We’re not far from the 4th of July. And while for so many Americans, it seems that the holiday has become more about long weekends, cookouts, and fireworks shows, the theme of freedom is still there at least in the background. We might take advantage of that, therefore, and give some thought to the theme of freedom as it is revealed in our assigned texts for this week.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

The madman cried out to Jesus, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" In our worship today let us explore what Jesus has to do with us and invite him to heal our brokenness.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, we often find ourselves thinking, saying and doing things that we quickly regret.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Constance Berg
When Jill was five, she began to have headaches. The headaches were so severe she would throw up. Sometimes she would pass out. They usually came once a month. Jill could be playing, resting, or watching television when the headaches would come. Her only warning was a sudden pain in her head, then a blinding light would appear, and she would be rocked with pain. In her teenage years, they became debilitating, causing Jill to be in bed for three days at a time.
Stan Purdum
I'm not sure when the term "burn out" ceased being only a description of what happened to a campfire when you ran out of firewood to a term describing the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, usually coming immediately after an extended period of overwork, but the expression seems to fit that later situation, doesn't it? Exhaustion, deep weariness, all used up, nothing more to give, wiped out, burned out -- call it what we will, its symptoms are all too familiar to many of us.
April Yamasaki
In the classic movie, Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews plays a no-nonsense, yet delightful, nanny to two young children. As a nanny to a wealthy family, she is part teacher, part parent, and part disciplinarian. She gets the children up in the morning, puts them to bed at night, supervises their many adventures, and guides them in many ways. While they are in her care, she is responsible for their overall safety and well-being.

Julia Ross Strope
Zoos are no longer in people's good graces.
Religion faces the same problem.
Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.
-- Yann Martel, Life of Pi

Call To Worship
Leader: I'm so glad you're here! There are seats for everyone; there's slight air movement; the windows engender tranquility and imagination and words will stimulate fresh thoughts.

People: It's good to be here, in sanctuary. We're glad for opportunities to gather and to express our gratitude to God and our appreciation for one another.

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