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Illustration
Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - B
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark Ellingsen
A 2008 Pew Forum poll revealed that 65% of the American public believe that many religions (not just through the sacrifice of Christ) can lead to eternal life. So what is at stake in insisting on the importance of Christ's sacrifice on the cross? We need reminders of the sacrifice of Christ for the same reason people with desk jobs still need baths or showers -- because even desk-job employees get dirty. We need to be reminded of the sacrifice of Christ for the same reason even healthy patients need annual check-ups with the doctor, because they are still mortals susceptible to disease.
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Proper 8 | OT 13
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Proper 10 | OT 15
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22 – Commentary / Exegesis
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Proper 11 | OT 16
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Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
When I was a boy, I heard a preacher remind his congregation about the true nature of the cross. He observed that we have turned the cross into both a lovely adornment in our sanctuaries and a piece of jewelry for our bodies. It is, for us, a smooth, attractive, gilded thing. But the original cross, he insisted, was nothing like that. The cross that Jesus bore -- and the cross, therefore, that we are invited to take up as his followers -- is harsh and heavy. It is rugged and bloody. It is heavy wood across the back, not silver or gold on a lapel or necklace.
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Good morning, boys and girls. Does anyone live on a farm or near a farm? (let them answer) What do farmers use today to plow fields and harvest the grain? (let them answer) That's right, tractors. Before farmers used tractors what did they use? (let them answer) That's right, horses. Did you know that farmers also used to use animals called oxen? These animals are like bulls that have horns and are very strong. They can pull a plow easily as long as they worked in pairs. If the oxen didn't work together, it was hard.

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