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Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

NULL -- Jeremiah 1:4-10, Hebrews 12:18-29, Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2010
IllustrationsJeremiah 1:4-10
In The Red and the... -- Jeremiah 1:4-10 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
In The Red and the Black, French novelist, Stendhal, presented the main
In the third grade, I... -- Jeremiah 1:4-10 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
In the third grade, I was chosen to narrate the annual Christmas play in my elementary
Jeremiah, what is the worst... -- Jeremiah 1:4-10 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
Jeremiah, what is the worst sin you will deal with? In a way, he answered that question in
Here we are given the... -- Jeremiah 1:4-10 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
Here we are given the call of the great prophet, Jeremiah. That call was a strange one.
It is hard to explain... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
It is hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia, as it would be
Ralph had just purchased a... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
Ralph had just purchased a piece of land on which sat an abandoned farmyard. It was his
Harriet had a persistent cough... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
Harriet had a persistent cough that would not go away. For several months, she tried
I don't believe in the... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
"I don't believe in the old gods, I believe in science," said a beautiful, supposedly
In Guy Vanderhaeghe's novel, The... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
In Guy Vanderhaeghe's novel, The Last Crossing, Charles Gaunt describes his
In talking with a young... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
In talking with a young man one day about why he didn't come to church, he told me his
Jesus was aware of the... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
Jesus was aware of the hypocrisy of those scolding him for performing healing on the
William Barclay has observed that... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
William Barclay has observed that this was the last time we hear of Jesus being in the
I was ecstatic. After months... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
I was ecstatic. After months of concentrated work, our young families were starting to
I was ecstatic. After months... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2001
I was ecstatic.
A member of our congregation... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2001
A member of our congregation recently returned from a trip to Peru sponsored by Medical Missions.
One of my summer challenges... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2001
One of my summer challenges each year is to coach a neighborhood girl's softball team.
Fire is an appropriate image... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2001
Fire is an appropriate image for God because fire is something that we often experience as being bey
In the spring of 1999... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2001
In the spring of 1999, Ingo Potrykus, professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zuri
When this passage warns us... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2001
When this passage warns us not to refuse to hear God when God speaks, I think of my grandparents.
Four brothers gathered around the... -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2001
Four brothers gathered around the bed of an 84-year-old woman late one Friday night.
The admonition to worship with... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 1998
The admonition to worship "with reverence and awe" in response to the majesty of God (v.
Now thank we all our... -- Hebrews 12:18-29 -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 1998
"Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices." How often have we lifted our voices in u

The Immediate Word

Quitters -- Luke 13:10-17, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Hebrews 12:18-29, Psalm 71:1-6 -- Kate Murphy, George Reed -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2010
In this week's Old Testament readings, the Lord calls a reluctant Jeremiah to the difficult and ofte
A Far-Out Teacher -- Luke 13:10-17, Hebrews 12:18-29, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6 -- Barbara Jurgensen, Stephen P. McCutchan, Thom M. Shuman -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2007
With summer winding down and back-to-school planning on the minds of the young people and teachers i

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The Village Shepherd

Why Not Work Within The Law? -- Luke 13:10-17 -- Janice B. Scott -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C
Some years ago, probably in the eighties, when women were only permitted to be deaconesses within

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Worship

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In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 16 | OT 21 | Pentecost 11
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
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29 – Worship Resources
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Proper 17 | OT 22 | Pentecost 12
29 – Sermons
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Proper 18 | OT 23 | Pentecost 13
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The Immediate Word

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

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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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