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Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C

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The wrath of God will... -- Colossians 3:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1998
The wrath of God will come against the evil in this world. The evil is real and potent.
In 1997, ForbesI... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1998
In 1997, Forbes magazine estimated that Charles Feeney had to be one of the wealthiest men in
Frederick Speakman, in his book... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1998
Frederick Speakman, in his book Salty Tang, relates the fable of the nightingale which traded
A story is told about... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1998
A story is told about a very industrious man who used his entrepreneurial skills to amass a sizable
Jacob Leeder was a shy... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1998
Jacob Leeder was a shy man. He appeared to live very modestly.
Gordon W. Allport, in his... -- Colossians 3:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1998
Gordon W.
My best friend worked one... -- Colossians 3:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
My best friend worked one summer as a mosquito control officer in a mountain resort area.
Mom? Judith's heart skipped a... -- Hosea 11:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
"Mom?" Judith's heart skipped a beat as she recognized the voice on the line.
The great Quaker mystic Rufus... -- Hosea 11:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
The great Quaker mystic Rufus Jones tells the following story.
After all I've been through... -- Hosea 11:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
After all I've been through with that kid, I ought to just strangle him.
Da Vinci's Mona Lisa has... -- Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
Da Vinci's Mona Lisa has intrigued viewers for several centuries.
Respect for the white-haired... -- Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
Respect for "the white-haired ones" is nearly universal amongst Native American peoples.
A few years ago, the... -- Hosea 11:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
A few years ago, the national news was focused on a couple living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who had ra
Orson Welles' epic movie, Citizen... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
Orson Welles' epic movie, Citizen Kane, chronicles the life of one man determined to control his des
There is a Buddhist story... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
There is a Buddhist story about a wrestler who wore a precious stone in an ornament on his forehead.
Before gambling was permitted in... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
Before gambling was permitted in Atlantic City, it had the 50th lowest crime rate among American cit
David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize... -- Luke 12:13-21 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has made it his calling to comment on political and econo
Have you ever purchased a... -- Colossians 3:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
Have you ever purchased a new outfit of clothing, only to hang it in the closet, continuing to wear
A couple once came to... -- Colossians 3:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
A couple once came to their pastor to get his opinion on an argument that they were having.
The news from the doctor... -- Colossians 3:1-11 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
The news from the doctor was mixed. Bob had suffered a serious heart attack.
Jerry had always enjoyed writing... -- 2 Peter 1:16-19 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
Jerry had always enjoyed writing, but the request he had just received presented an unusual challeng
It is rumored that in... -- 2 Peter 1:16-19 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
It is rumored that in a fire station in California an electric light has been burning for 86 years.
What is the old adage... -- 2 Peter 1:16-19 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
What is the old adage from World War I?
Eyewitness accounts have become very... -- 2 Peter 1:16-19 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
"Eyewitness" accounts have become very popular on television as they seem to carry some added weight
What is particularly troubling right... -- Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - C -- 1995
What is particularly troubling right now is the status of the nuclear weapons in the former Soviet U

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Proper 16 | OT 21 | Pentecost 11
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Proper 18 | OT 23 | Pentecost 13
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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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