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Tim Smith

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

NULL -- 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24) -- Tim Smith -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - C -- 2010
Lilia felt empty following her divorce. Her friends stood by her but she felt alone nonetheless.
NULL -- Luke 7:11-17 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - C -- 2010
When Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, lost their five-year-old daught
NULL -- Luke 8:26-39 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - C -- 2010
It had been several years since Patricia had been in contact with any of her family.
NULL -- Galatians 5:1, 13-25 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - C -- 2010
Tensions were running high among members of the family.
NULL -- Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - C -- 2010
Linda Graham believes in miracles.
NULL -- Philemon 1:1-21 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2010
It is not always easy to do the right thing.
NULL -- Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2010
Someone asked in an adult Sunday school class if there were prophets today.
NULL -- 2 Timothy 3:14--4:5 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - C -- 2010
Kelly feels the pressure teaching in a public school to not share her faith.
NULL -- Luke 18:9-14 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - C -- 2010
Gail was upset over the girl her son was dating. She knew that she was all wrong for him.
NULL -- 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - C -- 2010
It was one of those moments when we ask ourselves "What am I doing here?" Pam was clearly out of her
NULL -- Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 -- Tim Smith -- All Saints Day - C -- 2010
The day after his father's funeral Gary visited with his mother.
NULL -- Luke 6:20-31 -- Tim Smith -- All Saints Day - C -- 2010
Often we do not realize the influence we have on other people.
NULL -- Luke 21:5-19 -- Tim Smith -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - C -- 2010
Harold remembers the time when he was serving in the Navy almost fifty years ago.
NULL -- John 6:25-35 -- Tim Smith -- Thanksgiving Day - C -- 2010
Robin remembers one Thanksgiving years ago when she and her children
NULL -- Colossians 1:11-20 -- Tim Smith -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - C -- 2010
Sara remembers her parents insisting that she and her sister attend Sunday school and church each we
Tomorrow Dick will be ringing a bell... -- Romans 13:11-14 -- Tim Smith -- First Sunday of Advent - A -- 2010
Tomorrow Dick will be ringing a bell in front of a local store for the
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

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For July 27, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A card with Luke’s short version of the Lord’s Prayer to give to each child. Make your own card or use the one I have attached to this message.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s hear the story. But I want to begin by asking you a question.

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
Luke frowned at the email he was writing. He moved a couple of words around and then hit the save button. He ran the email though the grammar checker and spell checker again. He took a deep breath and then started reading through it one more time. After he finished, he noticed the time. He had to send it soon or it would be too late for there to be a response before the deadline. He sighed and sat back in his chair. He wished he wasn’t so nervous.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Hosea 1:2-10 and Psalm 85
I came across an interesting fact about how the state of Ohio deals with sealing and expunging a court record. The process for filing a court file and expunging a criminal record are combined into the same thing. If granted, the request seals the record forever, and officials are not allowed to discuss the person’s past criminal record.
David Coffin
Another mass shooting appears on the television “Breaking News!” Many people have lost count of the number of school or concert shootings in the recent years in the USA. Usually prominent are comments such as, “We hold these families up in prayer,” and “more mental health is needed.” People who work both in spiritual care and mental health have heard this all before.

The Village Shepherd

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

The Church of Christ

Creation

The communion of saints


These responses may be used:


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


God, the centre of my being,

When I think of you, praise spills from my lips. I wish I always acted as though you were my centre, for then perhaps your kingdom would be known here.

SermonStudio

James Evans
(See Advent 2, Cycle B, for an alternative approach to vv. 1-2 and 8-13.)

In 1988, Southern Baptists held their annual convention in San Antonio, Texas. It was a contentious meeting, as factions within the denomination vied for control of the various agencies and boards. Throughout the week, angry words were spoken across the aisle as various resolutions and officer elections revealed the deep schism growing within the group.

Michael D. Wuchter
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
-- Luke 11:1-4

One of the disciples said to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray."

Lee Ann Dunlap
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't
put Humpty Dumpty together again.


This is a nursery rhyme we learned as children, and somewhere along the line in history class we were taught that its composer, "Mother Goose," was, in fact, a political satirist. If we look between the lines of these playful rhymes we will find some kind of hidden message poking fun at royalty. (I guess you had to be there to get the joke.)
Kirk R. Webster
Do you have somebody in your world who seems to live his/her life daily on a treadmill of self-imposed rules, almost as Tarzan swings from one vine to another? These people swoop from one regulation to another rule, to another regulation, in an attempt to maintain control and safety in their lives. They travel by self-imposed boundaries that probably aren't necessary to a fulfilling life. Consider our 45-year-old suburbanite named Jim.
Julia Ross Strope
A single song is being inflected through all the colorations of the human choir.
The way to become human is to recognize the lineaments of God in all the wonderful modulations of the face [of humankind].
-- Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces

Call To Worship (Leader)
We are in sanctuary -- together, removed from the world, secluded for a while.
We have brought with us our burdens and anxieties.
We've come here with our hopes and thanksgivings.

Special Occasion

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