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Worship

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Self-limitations -- George A. Nye -- 1994
"It's my life!" "This is my body!" We're very possessive of
Journeys -- George A. Nye -- 1994
There's a big risk in granting freedom to others. It becomes a
Just -- George A. Nye -- 1994
"Just" is such a horrid little word. We use it most often as a
Gifts -- George A. Nye -- 1994
The story of Job doesn't work for many of us who have known
Time -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Are you guilty of murder? Most of us are , at least to the
Loopholes -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Loopholes are highly desirable in everything from income
Temptation -- George A. Nye -- 1994
A prayer that's often in our heart of hearts, if not in our
Bonsai Christians -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Bonsai trees are formed by stunting normal trees through a
Disconnected -- George A. Nye -- 1994
A person with amnesia has no past. And having no past, she has
Ruts -- George A. Nye -- 1994
There's a Canadian sign at a rural crossroads: "Be careful

Drama

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Building Bridges -- Matthew 5:21-37 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - A -- 2001
There was a story on CNN a few months ago about a town in Wales that was divided by a river.
You Want Me To Do What? -- Matthew 5:38-48 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2001
There's an old Charles Schulz Peanuts cartoon that has Lucy chasing Charlie Brown around the
Why Worry? -- Matthew 6:24-34 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 8 | Ordinary Time 8 - A -- 2001
We were told that one of the major trends of the latter part of the twentieth century was anxiety.
It's A Mystery -- Matthew 17:1-9 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Transfiguration Sunday - A -- 2001
Mike, a member of our Good Earth Band at THE GARDEN, and a Ph.D.
Strength Out Of Weakness -- Romans 8:26-39 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - A -- 2001
It was the July 22, 1999, CNN live coverage of the burial at sea of John F. Kennedy, Jr.
The Pain Of Caring -- Romans 9:1-5 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - A -- 2001
Amazing statements have a powerful way of burning themselves into our memories.
The Word Of Confession -- Romans 10:5-15 -- Tom M. Garrison -- 2001
On January 21, 2001, George W.
Have Mercy On Me -- Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - A -- 2001
"Lord, have mercy on me." My earliest memory of that statement goes back to a little farm in central
A Living Sacrifice -- Romans 12:1-8 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - A -- 2001
I had always assumed I understood the word "sacrifice." A recent trip to Mexico City, however, washe
Victims? -- Romans 12:9-21 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - A -- 2001
After watching Gandhi, the acclaimed movie about the nonviolent leader of India, for the sixt

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Preaching

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The One Shepherd -- John 10:11-18 -- William E. Keeney -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1996
The Good Shepherd parable comes on the fourth Sunday of Easter.
The Fruitful Vine -- John 15:1-8 -- William E. Keeney -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1996
What is a preacher to make of a parable or extended allegory about a vine in an urban and industrial
Bread For Life -- John 6:35, 41-51 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B -- 1996
Friends told me recently that they had bought a bread-making machine.
Eating Living Bread -- John 6:51-58 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - B -- 1996
Most Americans eat well. Three square meals a day is not uncommon.
Tying Up A Strong Man -- Mark 3:20-35 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 1996
Mark's gospel account very quickly gets into the conflict that will eventually culminate in the deat
Seeds And The Kingdom -- Mark 4:26-34 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B -- 1996
At this writing the U.S.
To Search The Heart With Candles, And A Man Named Angell James -- James W. Angell -- 1995
I was ten when I first got an inkling that someday I might wind up as a preacher.
After A Lost Election, Field Of Dreams -- James W. Angell -- 1995
Iowa is an Indian word meaning "beautiful land." And that's where it all began for me.
Preaching Because We Have Something To Say Rather Than Because We Have To Say Something -- James W. Angell -- 1995
The pulpit is less than half of the mystery of preaching.
Windows Of Wonder - Choosing Illustrations That Set Ideas Dancing -- James W. Angell -- 1995
I feel life is so small unless it has windows into other worlds.- Bertrand Russell

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Easter 5
28 – Sermons
150+ – Illustrations / Stories
29 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20+ – Worship Resources
26 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 6
29 – Sermons
150+ – Illustrations / Stories
30+ – Children's Sermons / Resources
20+ – Worship Resources
28 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 7
22 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
24 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20+ – Worship Resources
21 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

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Richard E. Gribble, CSC
When Charlie Atlas was a teenager his parents purchased for him a dresser mirror that he placed in his bedroom. Before this, whenever Charlie needed to use a mirror, he went to the bathroom, but there he was only able to see his head and possibly his shoulders. When he got dressed up he used his parents' full-length mirror in their bedroom. Charlie was happy with his new mirror; he spent many hours in front of it.
Elizabeth Achtemeier
There is a strange belief abroad in our land at the present time, the belief that we cannot know God. Such a belief rises partly from a feeling of awe before the divine -- the feeling that God is so unfathomable, so other, so beyond our feeble understanding that we cannot possibly experience who he truly is in all of his fullness and perfection. And perhaps that is the reason that the Athenians have erected that idol "to an unknown God" that Paul encounters when he visits their city. They know that there is a god beyond them, but they cannot define him or name him.
Stan Purdum
(See Proper 23/Pentecost 21/Ordinary Time 28, Cycle C, for an alternative approach to vv. 1-12.)

Psalm 66 is a song of communal thanksgiving, probably composed to celebrate some national deliverance. Because of the personal language of verses 13-20, there is some speculation that this psalm was originally two hymns, but as it stands, it contains a combination of corporate and personal prayers, both appropriate in worship.
Russell F. Anderson
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Acts 17:22--31 (C, E, L)
Schuyler Rhodes
Are you one of those people who always has a backup plan? Do you make your commitments and focus your energies on one thing, but have an alternative in mind just in case things don't work out with the first one? You might call it "Plan B" or something else, but basically you're hedging your bets and covering yourself in case the situation goes south.
Mark Ellingsen
Jesus was still in the middle of his farewell discourse to his disciples. He was trying to comfort the despair that they were feeling when they had first heard the news (during the last supper) that Jesus would be leaving them (John 13:21, 33; 14:1). He had comforted them with the good news that he was on the way to God the Father, that in associating with Jesus, the disciples had been in fellowship with the Father (John 14:6-11). Whoever believed in him, Jesus said, would be able to do the works that he had done, even greater works (John 14:12).
Albert G. Butzer, III
Here are two statements about the world. Tell me if both of them ring true for you. The first of them is this: "The world is a beautiful place." And the second statement is this: "The world is a terrible and dangerous place." Both statements are true - don't you agree? - and yet, ironically, they seem to say the exact opposite thing. How much easier it would be to affirm one statement or the other, but not both.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
The name Robert Stroud is not one commonly heard in ordinary conversation, but this man's contribution to humanity will live on in the minds of many under a different title, "The Birdman of Alcatraz." By nature, Robert Stroud was not a congenial man. As a youth he was always getting into fights, disagreements, and various altercations. When he was only nineteen he killed a man in a barroom brawl, was convicted of second--degree murder, and was sentenced to the Federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, since the crime was committed on Federal land.
Richard W. Ferris
In a large stone cathedral in Europe there was a grand, magnificent pipe organ. On a particular Saturday afternoon, the sexton was making one final check of the choir and organ loft high in the balcony at the back of the church. As he was making his inspection, he was startled to hear footsteps echoing up the stone stairway behind him. He thought the doors were all locked and that no one else was in the church. He turned to see a man in slightly tattered traveling clothes coming toward him.
Dallas A. Brauninger
First Lesson: Acts 17:22-31
Theme: To A Known God

Call To Worship
Leader: God is a known God who continually gives us evidence of presence.
People: God is a knowable God who extends to us the hand of hope.
All: Come, let us worship God. Amen.

Collect
Beverly S. Bailey
Hymns
Our Cities Cry To You, O God (PH437)
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (PH376, UM384, LBW315, NCH43)
Holy Spirit, Truth Divine (PH321, UM465)
There's A Sweet, Sweet Spirit (PH398, UM334)
Thy Holy Wings, O Savior (UM502)
Come Down, O Love Divine (LBW508, NCH289, PH313)
O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee (OBW492, NCH502, PH357)
My Song Is Love Unknown (LBW94, NCH222, PH76)

Anthems
Praise The Lord, Service Music, Hal Hopson, CGA, Unison 2--part

The Immediate Word

Nazish Naseem
Katy Stenta
Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
Mary Austin
George Reed
For May 10, 2026:

StoryShare

John Fitzgerald
Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the classic Little House on the Prairie series neared an end to her
life. At this juncture she penned an essay about hope in face of the constant current of change. Here is an excerpt from that writing: 
Frank Ramirez
Peter Andrew Smith
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Always Be Ready" by Frank Ramirez
"Looking for God" by Peter Andrew Smith
"A Gentle Profession" by Peter Andrew Smith


What's Up This Week

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
The lessons for the Sixth Sunday of Easter direct us to sermons on the great things God’s love does, appreciating in two cases this love’s cosmic character (especially leading to a stress on justification by grace). This is an appropriate theme with the festival of the Ascension in view, which celebrates Christ’s almighty power and cosmic vindication. 

Acts 17:22-31
William H. Shepherd
Schuyler Rhodes
In Garret Kreizer's novel, God of Beer (2002), the high school social studies teacher tells the class about Gandhi's assertion that if God ever came to India, he'd have to come as bread, in order to get the attention of the starving peasants. The teacher then asks the class what form God would have to take in order to get the attention of their high school. "Beer," says one student. "Yeah," another chimes in, "it's the only thing to do around here."

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ

Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

The local community

Those who suffer

The communion of saints


These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

CSSPlus

Hi there, boys and girls! How many of you have rules that you have to follow at home? (show of hands) What are some of the rules you have? (let them tell you) What about at school? Do you have rules there? What are they? (let them tell you)

Why should we even have rules? (see what they think) I think we have rules because it makes it easier for us to be together. If we are all kind to each other, we will all be happier. If there are rules, then maybe people will fight less.

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