Login / Signup

Free Access

A Mother's Prayer

Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
62 Stories For Cycle B
It was the same every night when Ruth Kristmon got into her bed. First she thought of Ray, her late husband, who had laid beside her in the very same bed for 49 years and three months, until his death the previous spring. "I'm coming home soon, Ray," Ruth always said. "I'll meet you in All Saints Park under the Tenth Street bridge." This favorite memory of their courting days, their secret meetings under the bridge, brought a smile to her lips. And then Ruth's thoughts always turned to their children.

"Lord, be with Peter. Give him strength for his work. He has looked so tired and discouraged lately. I wish I was able to help him like I used to when I was able to drive the car. I don't think he has been eating regularly or getting enough sleep. Help him to slow down, Lord. Let him know that he is not the only one working in your world. You know how I worry, Lord. I just don't want Peter to end up with an ulcer like his uncle, Paul.

"Bless Andy, dear Lord, my sweet traveling son. The work you give him takes him so far away. I miss looking upon his face and hearing him laugh. No one can make me laugh like Andy. What a gift you have given him. I worry about him being out on the highway so much. And be with Sally and their children. My heart still aches for Sally. She hasn't come around much since their divorce. I know I have to accept it, Lord, but I don't have to like it. I wish they could be together again. I know Andy needs her and I think he is beginning to know it, too. Keep Andy safe, Lord. Bring him home soon.

"And Steven, dead now these thirty years. How my heart longs for him. I have trusted Steven to your care, Lord. It was the only way I could go on. It was so hard to see his life cut short. I wish it had been me who took the stand instead of him. Perhaps I wouldn't have been as much of a threat to them. But then, it was his work to do, and it was for your glory. I have to accept that, too. Will I see Steven again? Will he be there to meet me, too? Surely he will. I can see him there with Ray, his arm on his dad's shoulder and that cock-eyed grin.

"Thank you for Mary, Lord. How blessed I am to have a daughter like her. If only you hadn't made us so much alike, it might have been easier for us. It's better now that her children are grown. We seem to have come to an understanding. How good it is to see her every day. I don't tell her enough how much I appreciate her. I'm afraid I complain too much about my own aches and pains. Do I expect too much of her, Lord? Don't let Mary overdo on my account. Let her enjoy a life of her own, too.

"And John, O Lord, how proud I am of John. I wish I could visit him more often. Letters seem inadequate to convey all the love we all have for him. Set him free, Lord. You know, as I know, that he is innocent. You know that if he had pleaded guilty he would have been free by now. But John is not of this world. I taught him too well to love truth and to give himself for others. He would have died before he would have implicated the friend he knew to be innocent, too. Keep him safe from all the evil in that place, O Lord. And if it be your will, bring him home to me, a free man, before I die."

Ruth's prayer went on for almost an hour, as it did every night before she went to sleep. She remembered each of her children, their spouses, her seventeen grandchildren and David and Melissa, her new great-grandchildren. "Bless all my babies," Ruth prayed. "Keep them safe, every one."

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 16 | OT 21 | Pentecost 11
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 17 | OT 22 | Pentecost 12
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 18 | OT 23 | Pentecost 13
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Thomas Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed
For August 31, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
When one of our children was young, she pretended to throw something at me from close range, and then she cheerfully declared, “Ha! Made you flinch!” I remember from my own elementary years that that was always regarded as something of an achievement — to make someone blink or to make someone flinch. In reality, of course, it is little more than a test of one’s reflexes. It’s my reflex to blink or to brace when I think something is coming at me, and the reflex is a good one.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Regarding verses 6-7 of the lesson John Calvin observes:

… there is nothing more common than for the ungodly when they are proved guilty, to have recourse to this subterfuge, that they acted with good intention, when they gave themselves up to their own superstitions. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.IX/1, p.78)

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (v. 2)

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity for the children. You will want a container of some kind of treat to give to all of the children.

Note: This is a fairly brief message as presented, but that may help keep an emphasis on the simplicity of the message if you stress it.

* * *

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

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus knew the importance of humility and used a banquet to teach people about it. As we feast on him today, let us make sure we come to him with unassuming spirits.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes we are unaware of our own arrogance.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes we spot other people's haughtiness but fail to recognise it in ourselves.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes we are so humble that we become victims of inverted pride.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Stephen P. McCutchan
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
-- Hebrews 13:1-2

James Evans
The writer of Psalm 81 employs a most interesting mixed metaphor. It is not mixed, however, because the psalmist was careless and neglected his subject matter. On the contrary, it is because of an important insight into human nature that the psalmist has us "eating with our ears."

Verse 10 rehearses what was, and is, the most basic confession of faith for followers of the Lord. God speaks and says, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth and I will fill it."

Ron Lavin
There are three words I hope you will take home from church today. The words are "Only The Lonely." As you think about these words, the assurances of God's Word will comfort and strengthen you. But I'm getting ahead of my story. Before we get to these three words, we need to look at the full text of Luke 14:1, 7-14. That involves looking at three other words: humility, hospitality, and hope.

Humility
Chrysanne Timm
It is never a pleasant prospect to deal with someone who has a complaint with you. As a new pastor, and a very young one at that, one of the things I struggled with most was the experience of conflict with members. I remember as if it were yesterday a significant misunderstanding that developed between the congregation's "matriarch" and me very early in my time there. I prayed about the difficulty we were having, and I knew that I needed to go to her home and ask for the opportunity to talk things out.
H. Burnham Kirkland
Words Of Assurance
In this be confident: that the grace of God is active enough to forgive, and the love of God is powerful enough to transform.

Pastoral Prayer

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL