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New Year's Day - B

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

There is a longing for... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2008
There is a longing for the new that's especially powerful in our society.
Helen knew in her heart... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2008
Helen knew in her heart that she needed to make a change in her life.
On April 18, 1906, a... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2008
On April 18, 1906, a devastating earthquake rocked the city of San Francisco.
Time is told by death... -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
Time is told by death, who doubts it? But time is always halved -- for all we know, it is
There is nothing better than... -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
"There is nothing better than to be happy and do good...."
It was afternoon on New... -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
It was afternoon on New Year's Day. All of the out-of-town relatives had left and other
An elderly parishioner told her... -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
An elderly parishioner told her pastor this: In my lifetime I have seen my children born,
For Hebrew Christians, the sea... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
For Hebrew Christians, the sea was a continuing threat of chaos again seeping into (or
The home of God is... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
"The home of God is with mortals." Many churchgoers I know talk about going to heaven
Behold I make all things... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
"Behold I make all things new." Today we stand at the gate of a new year. God offers his
A wealthy Christian went along... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
A wealthy Christian went along on a trip to India, sponsored by an organization called
An Irish king was looking... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
An Irish king was looking for a successor who would love God and his fellow human
Cassie had been thinking about... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
Cassie had been thinking about returning to college to finish her degree for several
On the Canadian prairies, where... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2007
On the Canadian prairies, where pastureland is at a premium, the government set aside
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima, Japan, was the target for the first use of atomic weapons in history.
Annie was dying. Though it... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
Annie was dying.
When Marvin Hamlisch and Edward... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
When Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban wrote A Chorus Line, they created a musical about the
In a New York... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
In a New York Times article appearing on June 26, 1999, Dan Barney tells the story of a young
On January 21, 2000, I... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
On January 21, 2000, U.S.
You've probably seen them. I... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
You've probably seen them.
Some children drag home every... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
Some children drag home every stray cat and dog they find. My friend Dennis brought home drifters.
Last year at this time... -- Revelation 21:1-6a -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
Last year at this time, there was much hype about Y2K.
Sending a representative is one... -- Luke 2:15-21 -- New Year's Day - B -- 2000
Sending a representative is one thing. Showing up in person is quite another.
Five doctors went duck hunting... -- Luke 2:15-21 -- New Year's Day - B -- 2000
Five doctors went duck hunting one day.
So, we finally have a... -- Luke 2:15-21 -- New Year's Day - B -- 2000
So, we finally have a name that we can call him.

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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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