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Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C

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As the son turned to... -- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
As the son turned to his mother in the doorway before going to Tuskegee Institute, she tearfully sai
Choices. Sometimes it is easy... -- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
"Choices." Sometimes it is easy to make a choice. At other times it is difficult to make a choice.
Life would be simpler if... -- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Life would be simpler if someone drew the line for us in as clear cut a manner as this: choose life
Onesimus woke from a troubled... -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Onesimus woke from a troubled sleep with a start: Had there been a soft noise, a warning of someone
This scripture reminds us that... -- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
This scripture reminds us that each day God puts before us the choice between life and death.
Margaret Walker won a literary... -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Margaret Walker won a literary fellowship award for her novel Jubilee.
The bathroom remodeling project was... -- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
The bathroom remodeling project was the latest in a long line of projects to improve the storage and
I remember you in my... -- Philemon 1-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
"I remember you in my prayers," Paul said.
Some years ago I worked... -- Philemon 1-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Some years ago I worked in an office situation with a woman who was extremely forceful and aggressiv
The Speaker's Lifetime Library... -- Philemon 1-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
The Speaker's Lifetime Library describes two events occurring on September 6 which are approp
John Huffman, in his book... -- Jeremiah 18:1-11 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
John Huffman, in his book Who's In Charge Here? tells about Robert Dick Wilson, a noted profe
I will not forget the... -- Philemon 1-20 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
I will not forget the story I heard about when a father trusted in his son's maturity.
William Lyon Phelps taught English... -- Jeremiah 18:1-11 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
William Lyon Phelps taught English literature at Yale University for 41 years.
A couple loved sailing and... -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
A couple loved sailing and dreamed of owning their own sailboat on which they could go sailing at an
Watching a child play with... -- Jeremiah 18:1-11 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Watching a child play with Legos is endlessly fascinating.
A man was hired by... -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
A man was hired by the New Jersey Highway Department.
Everyone whose computer has been... -- Jeremiah 18:1-11 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Everyone whose computer has been infected with a virus knows the headaches viruses cause.
Counting the cost. After counting... -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Counting the cost.
Why did Onesimus run? Did... -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Why did Onesimus run?
No one has ever described... -- Luke 15:25-33 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
No one has ever described the dangers of cheap grace more eloquently than the Protestant theologian
The transformation to freedom from... -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
The transformation to freedom from being treated like a slave is profound.
Magazine columnist Margaret Carlson, in... -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Magazine columnist Margaret Carlson, in her book Anyone Can Grow Up, tells about her lifelong
Max Lucado has a great... -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Max Lucado has a great line in one of his books, "I've never been surprised by God's judgment, but I
A Christian layman who was... -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
A Christian layman who was also an avid fan of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team once agreed, severa
Being a disciple takes total... -- Luke 14:25-33 -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C
Being a disciple takes total devotion, determination, and will power.

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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

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John Jamison
Object: This message is a role play. You can do this with only two children playing the parts of the two women, but if you have more children, you could have two more playing the parts of the children, another playing the part of the synagogue leader, and another playing the part of the country’s leader. You can also add any other roles you might want to add to make it interesting. Also, I have created places for your characters to speak, but you can add more of those to make it all more fun and memorable.

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The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Nazish Naseem
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For August 24, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
C. Knight Aldrich, a medical doctor and the first chairperson of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago (1955-1964), was a keen analyst of the motivations for our behaviors. He worked with the social services agencies of Chicago for a time, particularly spending hours with teenagers who had been arrested for shoplifting or other theft. Aldrich interviewed them to find out how they had come to this. He also talked with the parents, attempting to discover how they had handled the problem from the first time they knew about it.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 77:1-6

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
“We have questions about your conduct as our pastor,” Carl announced as soon as Pastor John sat down at the hastily called board meeting. “We have received complaints about you from the congregation.”

“Complaints?” Pastor John frowned. “From whom and about what?”

“Mrs. Finnigan saw you coming out of what she politely described as ‘A Gentleman’s Club’ last Thursday night when she was driving downtown.” Bruce scowled. “Do you deny this?”

“Not at all,” Pastor John said. “I did have to go to that place on Thursday evening.”

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
Jesus was aware of people's deepest needs and what prompted their actions. In our worship today let us consider how we can discover people's deepest needs and the motives for their actions.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes we see only the surface and condemn without real understanding.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes we are afraid to get sufficiently close to other people to see their inner needs.
Christ, have mercy.

SermonStudio

James Evans
(See Epiphany 4/Ordinary Time 4, Cycle C, for an alternative approach.)

The old saying, "experience is the best teacher," could serve as a subtitle for this psalm. Written as a prayer for help in a time of distress or oppression, the psalm subtly hints at a recognition and awareness that only comes with time. There is a track record, so to speak, that the psalmist is aware of: God's record of dependability. Based on God's proven record of saving power and grace, the psalmist is able to pray for salvation, but at the same time celebrate the certainty of its arrival.
Lee Ann Dunlap
Carrie's1 high school guidance counselor noticed she had been acting out a bit in school recently. She had appeared depressed and had been having some authority issues over rules and such. The guidance counselor set Carrie up with a local pastor who had been volunteering a few hours each Friday after a teen suicide a few months before. Most of the other students who came to see the pastor just needed someone to listen to their usual teen issues and heartaches. But, shortly into their time together, Carrie began to open up about some real grown-up problems.
Kirk R. Webster
It's a typical Sunday morning at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Orlando, Florida. The people file in and sit down in plush pews. Their attention is drawn to the chancel where they see choir members calmly seated, robed in dark blue and white. The mahogany altar table is draped with a silk parament. Two bronze candleholders stand guard at the table edges.
R. Robert Cueni
As was his custom, Jesus went that Sabbath morning to the synagogue for worship. As he was preaching and teaching, he happened to glance toward the fringe of the crowd where he saw a very crippled woman. She was bent over and was unable to stand up straight. When he inquired, Jesus was told the woman had been that way for eighteen years.
John H. Will
Call to Worship
Indeed, this is a day of rest and gladness.
This is God's Sabbath, created for our reflection and renewal.
Let us then not profane it, but keep it holy.
We do this as we honor God and commit ourselves to the well--being of God's creation.
Each of us individually needs a personal rejuvenation of spirit.
Together we seek a strengthening of community, a community that continues to build itself in love.
So do we come as one people to worship God, our Maker and our Sustainer.

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