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Ash Wednesday - C

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

What does it mean to... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 1995
What does it mean to be reconciled?
Mary and Harry lived in... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 1995
Mary and Harry lived in a two-room house on a narrow and busy country road.
As they worshipped, disaster struck... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 1995
As they worshipped, disaster struck the congregation of Goshen United Methodist Church in Piedmont,
Obtaining more and more of... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - C
Obtaining more and more of that which is supposed to make us feel secure often only increases our in
The Lenten season is a... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - C
The Lenten season is a time of self-examination and introspection.
You don't have to be... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - C
You don't have to be a farmer to know that you have to plow the ground before you can plant seed.
I give when I go... -- Deuteronomy 26:1-11 -- Ash Wednesday - C
"I give when I go!" That is the response too many church members make to a stewardship caller who is
A while back I read... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - C
A while back I read a news account of a government worker who called for the demise of the position
Once we meet Jesus, we... -- Ash Wednesday - C
Once we meet Jesus, we become his ambassadors.
Bobby was invited to accompany... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 -- Ash Wednesday - C
Bobby was invited to accompany a schoolmate and his friend's father to a major league ball game.
Ash Wednesday is an important... -- Matthew 6:1-16, 16-18 -- Ash Wednesday - C
Ash Wednesday is an important red-letter day in the life of the church.
I don't know which came... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 -- Ash Wednesday - C
I don't know which came first, the chicken or the egg, but in this case it really doesn't mat
Merle Allison Johnson has told... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 -- Ash Wednesday - C
Merle Allison Johnson has told, in one of his books, about a ministers' coffee group, whose conversa
Rend your hearts and not... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-19 -- Ash Wednesday - C
"Rend your hearts and not your garments." The prophet calls for genuine, demonstrable repentance.
A Christian counselor was working... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-19 -- Ash Wednesday - C
A Christian counselor was working with a husband and wife who were having trouble.
All three readings today --but... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-19 -- Ash Wednesday - C
All three readings today --but especially the first reading in Joel --suggest that there are appropr
It's an old truism that... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-19 -- Ash Wednesday - C
It's an old truism that you get out of something only what you put into it.
God says to us, now... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2 -- Ash Wednesday - C
God says to us, "now is the acceptable time," and "now is the day of salvation." In a limited sense,
The ancient writer, Theophrastus, reminded... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2 -- Ash Wednesday - C
The ancient writer, Theophrastus, reminded the world 300 years before the birth of Jesus: "Time is t
X marks the... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2 -- Ash Wednesday - C
"X marks the spot." This saying may have come from old treasure maps --a crudely marked X ind
God continues to work in... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2 -- Ash Wednesday - C
God continues to work in surprising ways in the world.
In the ghetto of one... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - C
In the ghetto of one of our most economically depressed cities, an anonymous donor recently gave a g
We have it on good... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - C
We have it on good authority --from Jesus --that we will have our hearts where our riches are.
Doris is one of those... -- Matthew 6:1-8; 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - C
Doris is one of those people to whom this pastor feels very indebted.
A man was hired to... -- Joel 2:12-19 -- Ash Wednesday - C
A man was hired to paint a church.

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Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Thomas Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed
For July 6, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity for the children.

Note: You will need an older volunteer to help with this activity. One option would be to find a teenager with some physical ability. If a teen is not available, an adult could be used instead. For simplicity here, I will refer to my older volunteer as “TOM”. You will also need to select three of your younger children to serve as volunteers in the story.

* * *

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
2 Kings 5:1-14
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Bonnie Bates
2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30
Naaman seeks healing. He travels hoping healing will come to him when he visits the king of Israel. Yet, healing does not come in that way. Rather healing comes through Elishah. Healing comes from believing and being cleansed in the River Jordan. Healing comes through Naaman’s faithfulness and through God’s grace. Psalm 30 also reminds us to seek healing; to seek God and God will heal and restore us. Do we believe that? Do we believe that God can bring healing?

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ (vv. 10-11)

When I visit your church for the first time, consider the possibility that I might be looking for a church home. I am a good-looking old guy, but I have gray hair and I dress down in the summer, so don’t be put off by my cargo shorts and tank top. Talk to me!

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Damien and Ora grinned at each other in excitement. The time had come - at last! They'd been with the Leader for months and months, waiting for this moment. Not that it had felt much like training. They'd simply lived with the Leader, listening to his stories, hearing about the Kingdom, learning to get along really well with all the other people at Mission Headquarters. Now all seventy of them were ready, the spaceship had docked, and the Mission was about to begin. Ora was glad she'd been paired up with Damien again.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Stan Purdum
Carlos Wilton
(See Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B, and Easter 3, Cycle C, for alternative approaches.)

Anyone who has ever had the experience of losing a friend because of some conflict or dispute, and then has had the friendship restored because of love and forgiveness, has a unique insight into the meaning of this psalm. Although the poem begins and ends with praise, there is in the middle of the poem a brief moment of confession and contrition that puts the praise portions of the psalm in an entirely different light.

April Yamasaki
A word of encouragement came from an unlikely source the other day in a television interview with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The former football player, wrestler, and now actor was asked about a low time in his life when he was very discouraged about his career and future.

"How did you make your way back from that?" he was asked.

The Rock replied, "You have to put yourself out there. You have to get out there and fail, and learn from your failures."

Larry D. Powell
In the summer of 1983, I participated in a ministerial exchange program sponsored by my denomination. My assignment was to a circuit of churches on the Isle of Man, a tiny island located in the Irish Sea. The months preceding the exchange included considerable correspondence with the minister on the island with whom I would exchange pastoral duties for six weeks.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
A wealthy businessman decided to take a walk and eat his lunch at the same time. He strolled by a park. There he purchased a hot dog and a soft drink. As he walked through the park two different "street people" approached him one by one. Each asked, "Can you help me? I am hungry." Each time the businessman looked straight ahead and kept walking. After finishing his lunch, he stopped and bought a chocolate eclair for dessert. As he was about to take the first bite, he was forced to jump out of the way as a young boy raced by on his skateboard. The eclair went flying and landed on the ground.

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