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An Unlikely Time

Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Second Sunday of Advent - A
Matthew 3:1-12
Romans 15:4-13
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Scott Suskovic
Stephen P. McCutchan
Thom M. Shuman
Advent is a time of waiting, of expectation. But what are we waiting for? When do we expect it to come? Before the birth of Jesus, the Jews were waiting anxiously for a deliverer on par with Moses who would lead them from the bondage of Roman rule back to their glory days. In their minds, they knew exactly what they were expecting in a Messiah. Scott Suskovic reminds us that the Jewish world did not get what they expected. People were looking so hard for their hero in shining armor who would sound the war cry against Rome, that they missed the small cries of a baby in a Bethlehem barn.
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All Saints
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Proper 26 - OT 31 - Pentecost 21
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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Ron Love
Mary Austin
George Reed
Dean Feldmeyer
For October 20, 2019:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Frank Ramirez
God’s persistence results in changing the basics of the covenant — sour grapes and written on the heart. Paul calls for us to be persistent in faithfulness, in holding to the truth in a confusing world. Jesus calls us to be as persistent approaching a just and loving God in prayer. If a woman with no power can persist in pestering an unjust judge until justice is done, won’t it be more likely that God will respond to our prayers?

Jeremiah 31:27-34
Bob Ove
Mark Ellingsen
Ron Love
Bill Thomas
Bonnie Bates
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 31:27-34
A 2018 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 61% of Americans believe in a God who judges them based on what they have done. This was in line with an earlier Baylor University poll finding 47.4% of Americans have an angry god. Most of us have not really heard the word of this lesson about a New Covenant with a God who will remember our sin no more (v.34).

CSSPlus

Arley K. Fadness
“Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray and not lose heart.” (v. 1)

Good morning girls and boys,

I am so glad to see you this morning. Are you ready to hear my children’s message today? (children respond)  Ears and hearts open?

Let’s suppose you want to use your neighbor’s bicycle for an errand. Your neighbor is selfish and sometimes a bully. But you keep on asking and asking. Finally he/she relents and says, “Okay you have been bugging and bugging me, you may use my bicycle.”

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
Contents
“Written On Our Hearts” by Peter Andrew Smith


Written On Our Hearts
by Peter Andrew Smith
Jeremiah 31:27-34

“Okay guys, good practice.” Coach blew the whistle and waved at the players to gather around him. “You’re starting to really come along. Chapel service is in thirty minutes so you’ve got time to get yourself a drink or a snack after hitting the showers.”

The players cheered and headed off the field to get ready for the next activity.

“Hey Coach?” Johnson asked.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Anyone who has suffered any sort of trauma in life will know what it is to have bad dreams. Nightmares often start early in life so that quite small children can be deeply disturbed by them. Sometimes they seem to occur for no reason, but at other times they follow a traumatic experience, or are the result of some worry or anxiety.

SermonStudio

J. Will Ormond
This sermon is a retelling in a contemporary setting of the Parable of the Widow and the Judge. The harsh character of the Judge is exaggerated. The imaginary law clerk is made especially wimpish to highlight the arrogance of the Judge.

The Widow, as in the original parable, is the strongest character in the drama, although outwardly she appears to be the weakest.

This sermon emphasizes the biblical theme of the reversal of roles, and the triumph of faithfulness over human power.


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