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He's Alive! -- John 20:1-18 -- Steven Molin -- 1993
Dear friends in Christ, grace to you and peace -- especially peace -- from God the Father, and from
The Set Face -- Luke 9:51-56 -- Herchel H. Sheets -- 1993
"He set his face to go to Jerusalem." Looked at in one sense, that is a simple statement about physi
Let Me See Your Hands -- John 20:19-29 -- 1993
A little boy, growing up in a community where his father
As Mortals See -- 1 Samuel 15:34--16:13 -- Charles Curley -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B -- 1993
I made a big mistake when I began to read and study in preparation for this sermon on 1 Samuel 15:34
Daring To Hope -- Job 42:1-6, 10-17 -- John P. Rossing -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - B -- 1993
Last time we checked in with Job, God had just dropped a bombshell.
Whatever Happened To Sanctification? -- Exodus 20:1-17 -- Durwood L. Buchheim -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Let Us Pray: Almighty and Merciful God, help us to find our lives
It's A Small World After All -- Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 -- Leonard H. Budd -- 1993
Lately Jude had spent more and more time with his head resting back against the wall, eyes closed, r
A Faith, A Farm And A Family -- Ruth 1:1-18 -- John P. Rossing -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - B -- 1993
John Denver wrote a song 20 years ago about wanting to get away from the big city to a place in the
Lift High The Cross -- Numbers 21:4-9 -- Durwood L. Buchheim -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Last Sunday we left the people of Israel at Mount Sinai where
The M And M Factor -- Mark 2:23--3:6 -- Leonard H. Budd -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - B -- 1993
Caleb was probably the laziest boy in the whole village.
Parable Of The Marriage Feast -- Matthew 22:14 -- Maurice A. Fetty -- 1993
Jesus had quite a lot to say about banquets, dinner parties, and marriage feasts.
Wade In The Water -- 2 Kings 5:1-14 -- Frederick C. Edwards -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - B -- 1993
The lives of the rich and famous hold a strange fascination
The Final Stone -- Matthew 27:60 -- Steven Molin -- 1993
"It is finished." That's how John's Gospel records the closing moments in the earthly life of Jesus
The Misdirected Tears -- Luke 23:26-31 -- Herchel H. Sheets -- 1993
Playwright Arthur Miller has a character in one of his plays say, "There are no unimportant tears."1
Encounter With A Stranger -- Luke 24:13-35 -- 1993
I had just sat down to eat with a group in the fellowship
Giants In Your Way -- 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 -- Charles Curley -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B -- 1993
The hand of the Philistines was heavy upon Israel.
God's Way Of Doing Things -- Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17 -- John P. Rossing -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B -- 1993
I know a couple who have on their wall a framed piece of needlework that someone gave them for a wed
The Right Spirit Within Us ... -- Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- Durwood L. Buchheim -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Today, in our Old Testament journey to Easter, we make a
Have You Confronted Christ? -- Mark 3:20-35 -- Leonard H. Budd -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 1993
Simon bar Jacob - Simon, son of Jacob - had just finished the pruning of his olive trees, ending wit
Rejoicing In Life's "Melissa Moments" -- Matthew 17:1-8 -- Kenneth Cauthen -- 1993
What do you do with your mind when you are engaged in some routine task?
And Now For Something Completely Different -- Isaiah 43:18-25 -- Frederick C. Edwards -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - B -- 1993
At the end of a week-long retreat in a mountain camp setting a
Stones To Bread -- Matthew 4:1-11 -- Steven Molin -- 1993
Dear friends in Christ, grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and his Son, our Lord and Savio
The Rejected Drug -- Matthew 27:32-37 -- Herchel H. Sheets -- 1993
"They offered him wine mixed with myrrh." It was a drug, provided by kind women, maybe the same ones
Breakfast In Galilee -- John 21:1-14 -- 1993
I do not usually eat a big breakfast. Most of the time I just
Song Of Loss Song Of Hope -- 1 Samuel 18:1-5, 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 -- Charles Curley -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - B -- 1993
David loved Jonathan and, from the day they met, David was loved in return, with a love which has vi

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Baptism of Our Lord
29 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
40 – Children's Sermons / Resources
25 – Worship Resources
27 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 2 | OT 2
30 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
39 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
30 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 3 | OT 3
30 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
31 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
25 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
George Reed
For January 11, 2026:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
At Jesus' baptism God said, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Let us so order our lives that God may say about us, "This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased."

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, when I fail to please you,
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, when I'm sure I have pleased you, but have got it wrong,
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, when I neither know nor care whether I have pleased you,
Lord, have mercy.

Reading:

StoryShare

Argile Smith
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Welcoming Mr. Forsythe" by Argile Smith
"The Question about the Dove" by Merle Franke


What's Up This Week

SermonStudio

Constance Berg
"Jan wasn't baptized by the spirit, she was baptized by spit," went the joke. Jan had heard it all before: the taunting and teasing from her aunts and uncles. Sure, they hadn't been there at her birth, but they loved to tell the story. They were telling Jan's friends about that fateful day when Jan was born - and baptized.


Elizabeth Achtemeier
The lectionary often begins a reading at the end of one poem and includes the beginning of another. Such is the case here. Isaiah 42:1-4 forms the climactic last stanza of the long poem concerning the trial with the nations that begins in 41:1. Isaiah 42:5-9 is the opening stanza of the poem that encompasses 42:5-17. Thus, we will initially deal with 42:1-4 and then 42:5-9.

Russell F. Anderson
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Isaiah 42:1--9 (C, E); Isaiah 42:1--4, 6--7 (RC); Isaiah 42:1--7 (L)
Tony S. Everett
Jenny was employed as an emergency room nurse in a busy urban hospital. Often she worked many hours past the end of her shift, providing care to trauma victims and their families. Jenny was also a loving wife and mother, and an excellent cook. On the evening before starting her hectic work week, Jenny would prepare a huge pot of soup, a casserole, or stew; plentiful enough for her family to pop into the microwave or simmer on the stove in case she had to work overtime.

Linda Schiphorst Mccoy
Bil Keane, the creator of the Family Circus cartoon, said he was drawing a cartoon one day when his little boy came in and asked, "Daddy, how do you know what to draw?" Keane replied, "God tells me." Then the boy asked, "Then why do you keep erasing parts of it?"1
Dallas A. Brauninger
E-mail
From: KDM
To: God
Subject: Being Inclusive
Message: Are you sure, God, that you show no partiality? Lauds, KDM

The haughty part of us would prefer that God be partial, that is, partial to you and to me. We want to reap the benefits of having been singled out. On the other hand, our decent side wants God to show no partiality. We do yield a little, however. It is fine for God to be impartial as long as we do not need to move over and lose our place.
William B. Kincaid, III
There are two very different ways to think about baptism. The first approach recognizes the time of baptism as a saving moment in which the person being baptized accepts the love and forgiveness of God. The person then considers herself "saved." She may grow in the faith through the years, but nothing which she will experience after her baptism will be as important as her baptism. She always will be able to recall her baptism as the time when her life changed.
R. Glen Miles
I delivered my very first sermon at the age of sixteen. It was presented to a congregation of my peers, a group of high school students. The service, specifically designed for teens, was held on a Wednesday night. There were about 125 people in attendance. I was scared to death at first, but once the sermon got started I felt okay and sort of got on a roll. My text was 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, as some refer to it. The audience that night was very responsive to the sermon. I do not know why they liked it.
Someone is trying to get through to you. Someone with an important message for you is trying to get in touch with you. It would be greatly to your advantage to make contact with the one who is trying to get through to you.
Thom M. Shuman
Call To Worship
One: When the floods and storms of the world threaten
to overwhelm us,
All: God's peace flows through us,
to calm our troubled lives.
One: When the thunder of the culture's claims on us
deafens us to hope,
All: God whispers to us
and soothes our souls.
One: When the wilderness begs us to come out and play,
All: God takes us by the hand
and we dance into the garden of grace.

Prayer Of The Day
Your voice whispers
over the waters of life,
Amy C. Schifrin
Martha Shonkwiler
A Service Of Renewal

Gathering (may also be used for Gathering on Epiphany 3)
A: Light shining in the darkness,
C: light never ending.
A: Through the mountains, beneath the sea,
C: light never ending.
A: In the stillness of our hearts,
C: light never ending.
A: In the water and the word,
C: light never ending. Amen.

Hymn Of Praise
Baptized In Water or Praise And Thanksgiving Be To God Our Maker

Prayer Of The Day

CSSPlus

Good morning, boys and girls. What am I wearing this morning? (Let them answer.) I'm wearing part of a uniform of the (name the team). Have any of you gone to a game where the (name the team) has played? (Let them answer.) I think one of the most exciting parts of a game is right before it starts. That's when all the players are introduced. Someone announces the player's name and number. That player then runs out on the court of playing field. Everyone cheers. Do you like that part of the game? (Let them answer.) Some people call that pre-game "hype." That's a funny term, isn't it?
Good morning! Let me show you this certificate. (Show the
baptism certificate.) Does anyone know what this is? (Let them
answer.) Yes, this is a baptism certificate. It shows the date
and place where a person is baptized. In addition to this
certificate, we also keep a record here at the church of all
baptisms so that if a certificate is lost we can issue a new one.
What do all of you think about baptism? Is it important? (Let
them answer.)

Let me tell you something about baptism. Before Jesus
Good morning! How many of you have played Monopoly? (Let
them answer.) In the game of Monopoly, sometimes you wind up in
jail. You can get out of jail by paying a fine or, if you have
one of these cards (show the card), you can get out free by
turning in the card.

Now, in the game of life, the real world where we all live,
we are also sometimes in jail. Most of us never have to go to a
real jail, but we are all in a kind of jail called "sin." The
Bible tells us that when we sin we become prisoners of sin, and

Special Occasion

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