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First Sunday after Christmas Day - B

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

During one of the welcome... -- Hebrews 2:10-18 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
During one of the "welcome home" ceremonies for Desert Storm troops, actor Glenn Ford told a true st
The text mentions, When the... -- Galatians 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
The text mentions, "When the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son ..."
Verse 13 refers to Jesus... -- Hebrews 2:10-18 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
Verse 13 refers to Jesus having trust in God.
A psychiatrist in New York... -- Galatians 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
A psychiatrist in New York City is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics.
The spring of 1991 brought... -- Hebrews 2:10-18 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
The spring of 1991 brought a series of disasters to the human community.
In the ancient world a... -- Galatians 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
In the ancient world a slave had no rights or status.
I once knew a man... -- Hebrews 2:10-18 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
I once knew a man who spent a long and uneventful life being afraid of death.
In his marvelous anthology of... -- Galatians 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
In his marvelous anthology of one hundred words and phrases,* Edward Chinn tells of a triumphant pro
A coach once asked for... -- Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
A coach once asked for an explanation of the difference between power and authority.
In the comics, Hagar the... -- Colossians 3:12-17 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
In the comics, "Hagar the Horrible" Hagar dresses up in his Viking armor as he prepares to go out an
Naomi was a most religious... -- Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
Naomi was a most religious person.
A poor woman entered a... -- Colossians 3:12-17 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
A poor woman entered a department store to be greeted by an eager salesperson.
I remember with immeasurable fondness... -- Colossians 3:12-17 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
I remember with immeasurable fondness an elderly woman whom I loved dearly when I was a small boy.
You are familiar with the... -- Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
You are familiar with the expression, "Kids say the darndest things," or maybe the one that begins,
3:12-17A pastor sat in the... -- Colossians -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
3:12-17A pastor sat in the office of a business woman whose heart was broken.
Slave versus Son: the way... -- Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
Slave versus Son: the way we raise our families, how we relate to contemporaries, the integrity of o
An Indian chief was disturbed... -- Luke 2:22-40 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
An Indian chief was disturbed about how lazy his braves had been during the hunting season, so he ca
A little boy who had... -- Luke 2:41-52 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
A little boy who had lost his tooth asked his mother, "Why do I get money if I put my tooth under my
What is it that a... -- Luke 2:22-40 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
What is it that a person most wants to see before he dies?
Jane Brooks, writing in the... -- Luke 2:41-52 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
Jane Brooks, writing in the "My Turn" column of Newsweek (April 29, 1991), calls herself one
Have you known great-greatgrandparents... -- Luke 2:22-40 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
Have you known great-greatgrandparents who lived long enough to attend the wedding of their great-gr
Letting go. These are difficult... -- Luke 2:41-52 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
"Letting go." These are difficult words for anybody. They are particularly difficult for parents.
It has probably happened in... -- Luke 2:22-40 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
It has probably happened in every family. In ours it happened with my paternal grandmother.
A story is told of... -- John 1:1-18 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
A story is told of a French lighthouse keeper who worked near Calais.
An ancient king of Persia... -- Isaiah 45:22-25 -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
An ancient king of Persia, Shah Abbas, once disguised himself as a peasant so that he could move fre

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New & Featured This Week

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
In the sometimes-tiresome debate over science and scripture with respect to creation, it’s easy to become distracted. While the argument typically requires a focus on the how, we may lose sight of the what. And so, for just a moment, let me invite us to think for a moment about what God created.
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
Acts 8:26-40
As a local church pastor, I was often asked if I would baptize a child whose family were not members of the church. Some churches rebelled against this, but I remember this scripture — the hunger for understanding and inclusion of the Eunuch and Philp’s response — to teach and share and baptize in the name of our God. How could we turn anyone away from the rite of baptism?

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
“Dad, I think you worked a miracle.” Rolf slowly walked around the tree. “After that windstorm, I assumed this tree was as good as gone.”

“We just needed to give the branches time to heal and come back,” Michael replied.

 “I know, but so many of them were battered and broken I figured that it couldn’t recover. Now though it looks just like it did before the storm.” Rolf paused. “Do you think it will bear any fruit this summer?”

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A live plant that produces fruit, and a broken branch from that plant. I used a tomato plant from a local greenhouse. Ideally, find a plant with blossoms or small fruit already growing. If you use a different kind of fruit-producing plant, just change the script to fit.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Elena Delhagen
Dean Feldmeyer
Quantisha Mason-Doll
For April 28, 2024:
  • On The Way To Gaza by Chris Keating based on Acts 8:26-40. On the way to Gaza, Philip discovers the startling ways the Spirit of God moves across borders, boundaries, customs, and traditions.
  • Second Thoughts: Abiding by Katy Stenta based on John 15:1-8.
  • Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Tom Willadsen, Elena Delhagen, Dean Feldmeyer.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. In our service today, let us absorb from the vine all the nourishment we need.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes our branches become cut off from the vine.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes our branches are withered.
Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we fail to produce good fruit.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
We will meet Psalm 22 in its entirety on Good Friday, but here the lectionary designates just verses 23-31. The lectionary psalms generally illuminate the week's First Lesson, which in this case is about the covenant initiated by God with Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17. The nine verses from this psalm, while not inappropriate, nonetheless leave us looking for an obvious connection with the First Lesson.

John S. Smylie
I think some people are natural-born gardeners. Our Lord grew up in a society that was familiar with agriculture. The images that he used to explain the ways of his Father in heaven are familiar to his audience. Growing up, my closest experience to agriculture was living in, "the Garden State." Most people, when they pass through New Jersey, are surprised to see that expression on the license plates of vehicles registered in New Jersey. Most folks traveling through New Jersey experience the megalopolis, the corridor between New York City and Washington DC.
Ron Lavin
A pastor in Indiana went to visit an 87-year-old man named Ermil, who was a hospital patient. A member of his church told the pastor about this old man who was an acquaintance. "He's not a believer, but he is really in need," the church member said. "I met him at the county home for the elderly. He's a lonely old man with no family and no money."

Paul E. Robinson
"Love is a many splendored thing...." Or so we heard Don Cornwall and the Four Aces sing time and again. Of course you or I might have other words to describe love, depending on our situation.

Love. "I love you." "I love to play golf." "I just love pistachio lush!" "It's tough to love some people." "Jesus loves me, this I know."

Love.

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