Login / Signup

Third Sunday of Advent - C

Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) for multiple selections (scroll list to see all options)

Children's Activity

Commentary

Children's bulletin

Children's Liturgy and Story

Children's sermon

Children's Story

Devotional

Drama

Illustration

Emphasis Preaching Journal

W. H. Auden, in one... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2006
W. H. Auden, in one of his poems, challenges his readers to "practice their scales of
The commercial culture may have... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2006
The commercial culture may have kidnapped the baby Jesus (or at least it may seem that
Slate: a fine-grained sedimentary... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2006
Slate: a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash. It is easy to split
It would be Alice and... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2006
It would be Alice and Robb's first Christmas as a married couple. Both had children from
Did you ever have a... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2006
Did you ever have a minister call you and fellow audience members "venomous snakes"?
Houses vary in size... -- Zephaniah 3:14-20 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
Houses vary in size.
There is a carnival... -- Zephaniah 3:14-20 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
There is a carnival atmosphere to the celebration of the new creation.
It was all her... -- Zephaniah 3:14-20 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
It was all her fault.
In his book, I... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
In his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum tells
Paul admonishes his readers... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
Paul admonishes his readers always to be gentle with others.
In his play I... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
In his play Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel tells the story of five unmarried sisters
Catherine Marshall, in I... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
Catherine Marshall, in Stories for the Heart, tells the parable of the king who offered
God loves me just... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
"God loves me just the way I am," Allen said with a tinge of doubt.
The message to each... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
The message to each group mentioned in the text is particular to the temptations with which th
The judge in Washington... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
The judge in Washington, D.C., noticed the change in the 15-year-old before him.
Growing up in a... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2003
Growing up in a home where both of my parents were ordained clergy in the Salvation Army, I wa
In Marathon, Florida, Billy Wagner... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
In Marathon, Florida, Billy Wagner, the emergency management chief for Monroe County, tried to persu
Two thousand people were baptized... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
Two thousand people were baptized all at one time in Charlotte, North Carolina, at The United House
Emma loved to tell her... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
Emma loved to tell her story.
The Communist authorities in a... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
The Communist authorities in a Chinese prison commanded the prisoners to shout back, "Prison is good
Few strategies for child-rearing... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
Few strategies for child-rearing and support receive as much affirmation as mentoring models.
Christmas was coming and my... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
Christmas was coming and my stress level was so high that I felt as if I was going to lose it comple
A third grader, Megan, came... -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
A third grader, Megan, came and sat down next to me on the first night of summer church camp.
Joseph Berger, in his I... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2000
Joseph Berger, in his New York Times column "Our Towns," once wrote a story called "Impeachme
A shopping service, trying to... -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 1997
A shopping service, trying to make customers Christmas-

Intercession

Prayer

Preaching

Sermon

SermonStudio

The Divine Opportunity -- Luke 3:10-18 -- J. Ellsworth Kalas -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 1988
Opportunity comes with so many different faces that we often don't recognize it.
The Awakening -- Zephaniah 3:14-20 -- Robert G. Tuttle -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 1988
Zephaniah is saying to the Children of Israel, "Things will not always be as they are.
His Coming is to be Welcomed, Not Feared -- Zephaniah 3:14-20 -- James H. Bailey -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 1985
One of the main objectives of the Moody Institute of Religion and Science is to relate science and t
What Shall We Do? -- Luke 3:10-18 -- Roy C. Nichols -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 1985
It didn't take long for John's reputation to spread into the villages 'round about.

The Immediate Word

Prepare Or Beware! -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Carter Shelley -- Third Sunday of Advent - C
Dear Fellow Preacher,
Something To Get Excited About -- Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6 -- Scott Suskovic, Thom M. Shuman -- Third Sunday of Advent - C
Zephaniah's exhortation to rejoice and exult in God's salvation gives us something to rejoice in.

The Village Shepherd

Social Justice -- The Fruits Of Repentance? -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Janice B. Scott -- Third Sunday of Advent - C
I've had many reports of the Remembrance Sunday service held at Dickleburgh (in Norfolk, England)
Don't Be Anxious -- Philippians 4:4-7 -- Janice B. Scott -- Third Sunday of Advent - C
On the radio this last week, I heard about an engineering firm which has ordered its staff t
All Will Be Well, But Is It Instant Gratification? -- Zephaniah 3:14-20 -- Janice B. Scott -- Third Sunday of Advent - C
Now that we're well into December, you need to leave home at daybreak if you want to spot a parking

Stories

Worship

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 10 | OT 15 | Pentecost 5
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 11 | OT 16 | Pentecost 6
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 12 | OT 17 | Pentecost 7
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: You may present this message as a simple story, or have the children act it out as a role-play. I will show the role-play version, but you can ignore the acting pieces and just tell the story if you prefer.

Note: For the role-play version, you will need to select two girls and one boy to play the roles. You might also have a broom and a dust rag if you want to.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s get started.

The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
Nazish Naseem
For July 20, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52
Amos proclaims the word from God that punishes the people. The people are to be punished for their lack of faith, for their focus on practicing deceit, betraying honesty to their neighbors, and being impatient for the time after the Sabbath when they can focus on profit and selling their crops and wares. Oh, my! What a terrible message for people. You have been unfaithful so I will punish you. And then in the psalm, God is proclaimed to be the olive tree, that which brings blessing.
David Kalas
I have tried to find different ways of saying it so that my children don’t tire of hearing it. But the basic principle remains the same, and my kids have heard it a ton. “First things first.” They ask if they can do this or they start to do that, and I will endeavor to redirect them, saying, “Why don’t we make sure we’re doing first things first!”

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (v. 24)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
One of Martha's earliest memories was of her little sister Mary singing and dancing in the middle of an admiring crowd of friends. Mary had always been a dancer, from the time she could walk. Privately, Martha thought she'd always been something of a show-off and ought to go on the stage, for Mary loved an audience.

SermonStudio

John E. Sumwalt
Jeanne Jones
Several years ago, before we moved to Wisconsin, I was an honorary nanny for our pastor's son, Jonathan. I took care of him from the time he was able to walk until our pastor moved, when Jonathan was about five. We had wonderful times together. One time, when I was at their house, and we had been doing some spiritual direction together, Pastor Michael asked me if I knew the name of my guardian angel.
James Evans
We are not surprised when we learn about crooks and robbers boasting about "mischief done against the godly" or "plotting destruction" all day long. The image we have in our minds about who "bad" people are, and how they conduct themselves, make such accusations completely plausible. We are less inclined to believe such things about leaders, especially respected leaders among us. We have difficulty believing someone with wealth and power would deliberately plot to do someone else harm.
Arley K. Fadness
Today's gospel from Luke 10 follows the parable of the good Samaritan. Luke positions the good Samaritan and the Mary-Martha story back to back for good reason. The parable and the story are examples of the Great Commandment "to love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself." The good Samaritan parable illustrates "love to neighbor," whereas the Mary-Martha story illustrates "love to God."
Kirk R. Webster
In the early 1990s, Wesley Nunley of Dallas completed a project he had dreamed of for decades. "I tell you, this could be a big thing," he explained. Wes then walked out to a concrete octagon in the middle of his backyard. With a beaming smile, arms raised up in excitement, the energetic retiree said, "This welcomes the UFO to land, which has never been done before."
John W. Wurster
It was the best of times. A time of prosperity and confidence, a time of relative peace, a time when most everything looked pretty good, a time when most everyone felt pretty good. It was a time maybe not unlike our own time.
H. Burnham Kirkland
Words Of Assurance
Our God is both wise and caring: afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.

Pastoral Prayer
God, we bow before you this morning, knowing that you hear every prayer. We know that in all of Creation, you are the source of life. You are the one who set the light swirling between the galaxies. The breath of your Spirit pulses through all life. You have even become flesh among us. We praise you, Lord, that in all your wonder, you have not forgotten us.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL