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Matthew 18:21-35

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Commentary

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Somebody has to pay! -- Exodus 14:19-31, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A
Anger is like a volcano. Deep in many of us there is a lake of pain, pure molten hurt.

Illustration

Emphasis Preaching Journal

More than one sitcom has... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A -- 2002
More than one sitcom has been based on a simple premise.
In the film Jesus of... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- 2002
In the film Jesus of Montreal, an actor, Daniel, is asked to perform in a Passion play.
Words have power. Words of... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A -- 1999
Words have power. Words of forgiveness have the power to forgive.
Remember the trickle down theory... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A -- 1996
Remember the "trickle down theory" so popular during the Reagan presidency?
Nobody ever said forgiving our... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A
Nobody ever said forgiving our enemies, or even one another, would be easy.
During the Civil War, two... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A
During the Civil War, two brothers had fought long and hard, one on the Union side and the other on
Jesus said we are to... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A
Jesus said we are to forgive as much as seventy times seven.
Pete was a next-door... -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A
Pete was a next-door neighbor to Mark, the school bully.
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For October 26, 2025:

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David Kalas
I am a scoreboard watcher. I follow a lot more games than I actually watch, but since technology makes it easy to check scores on a moment’s whim, I watch a lot of scoreboards of teams and games that I am at least mildly interested in. And as I check those scores, I find myself having immediate reactions: “Great!” “Oh, that's too bad.” “Excellent!” “Nuts.” And in the midst of that sports-fan roller coaster, I must continually remind myself that not all scores are final.
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Joel 2:22-32
Martin Luther sings the praises of God’s love revealed in this lesson. He wrote:

The love of God which lives in man loves sinners, evil persons, fools and weaklings in order to make them righteous, good, wise, and strong. Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p.57)

John Wesley nicely summarizes the Spirit’s role in fighting the lure of our old sinful habits:

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John Jamison
Object: This message is a role-play story. You will need two children to play the roles of the Pharisee and the tax collector. I usually ask two children if they will help me as they are all coming forward for the message, but you may select them however you choose.

* * *

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John E. Sumwalt
Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, but your commandments are my delight.
Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live.
(vv. 143-144)

When I was an associate pastor in Janesville, Wisconsin one of my responsibilities was to give a lecture on spirituality once a month at a drug treatment facility. The students who attended were persons who had been convicted of drunk driving and were required to attend the class as a condition of their sentence. Attendance was always good.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

We all dislike people who blow their own trumpets, although sometimes we may be in awe of them. Jesus too deplored such behaviour and was never in awe of those who practised it. In our worship today let us open ourselves to Jesus, allowing him to see what is in our hearts.



Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes we allow other people's behaviour to intimidate us.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes we refuse to reach our own fullest potential because we are afraid.

SermonStudio

Schuyler Rhodes
Every morning when sleep leaves and waking comes there is cause for praising God. Caught up, as we are, in the currents and eddies of our lives, this is easy to forget. This wonderful psalm is a reminder. God's bounty and abundance spill into our lives like waters over a causeway. God's delight in creation explodes in a million different colors. In every moment there is reason to give God praise.
Robert R. Kopp
When I was a little boy growing up in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania's First Presbyterian Church, one of those Christian chalk artists with black light, neon colors, and black felt canvas who made pictures of Jesus look like those Elvis portraits for sale on the side of the road at the beach showed up as entertainment for a Sunday evening potluck dinner.
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Today's sermon begins with this little one-person drama.
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Have you ever felt that you were absolutely at the end of your rope, left without hope? Sometime during the years of 539 B.C. to 331 B.C. that is the way the people of Judah felt. It seems that their land had been ravaged by a plague of locusts which had had catastrophic consequences.

Once a harvest has been destroyed, you cannot repair it. If a building has burned to the ground, you cannot repair it. In those instances you need to start from scratch with a fresh start.

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