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Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B

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Ann and Jim were just... -- Luke 2:22-40 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1997
Ann and Jim were just ordinary parents who recently were blessed with the gift of a little son.
In the second century, there... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1997
In the second century, there was an actor who converted to the Christian faith.
He never hesitated to tell... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1997
He never hesitated to tell me that he was a good Christian.
Doctors who smoke; police officers... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1997
Doctors who smoke; police officers who ignore the seat-belt laws; veterinarians who hunt and kill an
The kids in the neighborhood... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1997
The kids in the neighborhood decided to play team tag. Two sides were selected.
God promises to help us... -- Hebrews 2:14-18 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1997
God promises to help us when we are tested, not to remove the test.
So often people find it... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1997
So often people find it entertaining to see a problem and to see it get worse.
What was his voice like... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
What was his voice like? Gentle? Commanding?
This story seems to be... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
This story seems to be filled with words like, astonished and amazed.
Not long ago, a farmer... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
Not long ago, a farmer was dreading his annual winter visit with his banker.
Many people in our society... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
Many people in our society have a fascination with evil spirits and the confusion and terror they ca
Occasionally you will find a... -- 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
Occasionally you will find a race horse with blinders on.
If you avoid marriage, you... -- 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
If you avoid marriage, you avoid encumbrances, and you can devote yourself to the Lord's work witho
You have all heard the... -- 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
You have all heard the expression, "One man's junk is another man's treasure." If you don't believe
During 1992 at least 11... -- 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
During 1992 at least 11 people perished while attempting to climb the slopes of Mount McKinley in Al
Little do we know how... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
Little do we know how our words will affect someone who hears them.
An old beer commercial shows... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
An old beer commercial shows a fellow looking into the camera saying, "When I have the friends ove
It is good to remember... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
It is good to remember how important our example may be to another person, both in positive and neg
Knowledge puffs up, but love... -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Paul is sharing his gospel in the epistle that love is
Our generation has been treated... -- Deuteronomy 18:15-20 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
Our generation has been treated on several occasions to the kind of false prophet the writer of Deut
Comedian Pat Paulsen says, Bill... -- Deuteronomy 18:15-20 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
Comedian Pat Paulsen says, "Bill Clinton worries me because he's only a heart-beat away from the pre
There was a crazy summer... -- Deuteronomy 18:15-20 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
There was a crazy summer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; it was during the 1950s.
Preachers and prophets, prophets and... -- Deuteronomy 18:15-20 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1994
Preachers and prophets, prophets and preachers; the Word comes through human agents.
Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) was influential... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1991
Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) was influential as a peacher at Trinity Church, Boston.
When people listened to Jesus... -- Mark 1:21-28 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - B -- 1991
When people listened to Jesus speak, they recognized an inherent authority in his words: "He speaks

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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Tom Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
George Reed
Christopher Keating
For September 14, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A sheep stuffy or toy.

* * *

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

Did you know that Jesus traveled around and hunted for people who were doing something illegal and breaking the laws? (Let them respond.) He really did.And when he found someone who was doing something illegal, do you know what he did with them? (Let them respond.)

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Our text tells us that we are skilled in doing evil (v.22). An anonymous late medieval treatise titled German Theology tells us why:

It is the nature and property of the creature to seek itself and its own things, and this and that, here and there, and in all that it does and leaves undone as desire is to its own advantage and benefit. (Varieties of Mystic Experience, p.162)

Martin Luther King, Jr. offers an alternative to this vision:
David Coffin
All three of today’s texts can be viewed as good news that God never gives up on God’s people. This is despite their resistance to repent or simple straying from the community of faith. We can observe family and loved ones at various points of their faith journey through the lens of each of these texts. Jeremiah 4 informs the people their neglect of honoring their covenant with God is about to result in disastrous consequences. Paul recalls in 1 Timothy 1 how he thought he was falling God’s will until he had his literal come to Jesus moment!

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (vv. 6-7)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus told stories to illustrate to the people God's gladness whenever anyone turned to him and chose life. There is still rejoicing in heaven whenever any one of us turns to God.



Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes I think I'm too insignificant for you to bother with me.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes I don't bother with you.

Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes I don't bother with other people, but only with myself.

SermonStudio

James Evans
(See Proper 12/Pentecost 10/Ordinary Time 17, Cycle B, for an alternative approach.)

The psalm writer has an interesting perspective on the origin of injustice in our world. He begins this psalm with the assertion that those who do not believe in God are "fools." He goes on to accuse them of corruption and of being incapable of doing good. Later on he writes, "Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?" (v. 4).

Elizabeth Achtemeier
"Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them" (v. 12). Ours is a society that does not accept that as the Word of God. Many people do not believe that God judges anyone. Rather, the Lord is a forgiving God, a kindly deity who overlooks all wrong. As in the Gospel lesson for the morning, the Lord searches for the one lost sheep and returns it gently to the fold, or he hunts for the one lost coin until he finds it. God accepts the lost as they are, we think, overlooking Jesus' teaching about repentance and transformation of life.
Scott Suskovic
We usually don't spend too much time thinking about our own sinfulness. On occasion, of course, our feelings of guilt overwhelm us. We can't stop thinking about our sinfulness. If we are in that situation, we may need to talk that out with someone. Apart from times like that, we don't think much about our own sinfulness. We have ways of getting around that.

R. Robert Cueni
Back before the ways of the Taliban became common knowledge, there was a fascinating little article about how they jailed barbers when they didn't do culturally correct haircuts.1 The newspaper reported that young men in Kabul, Afghanistan, have started wearing their hair the way the actor Leonardo DiCaprio wears his. Long, not only on the sides, but so long in the front that hair can drop over the eyes. They call the style, "the Titanic," named for the blockbuster movie starring DiCaprio about the 1912 sinking of the cruise ship by that name.

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