Login / Signup

The Immediate Word

Professional Allowance Sale - Save $131!

TIW Contributors

George Reed
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Chris Keating
Tom Willadsen
Bethany Peerbolte
Katy Stenta
Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - B
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Bethany Peerbolte
Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen

For January 24, 2021:



What is The Immediate Word?

The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture for your sermon, children’s sermon, and worship service. The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture.

Cutting Edge: THE IMMEDIATE WORD gives you the tools to be cutting edge ... to put you in touch with today's most critical issues and to aid you in crafting messages and presentations that will truly help your congregants understand the Gospel in the context of what is current and most important to them.

Collaborative: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is a unique collaboration of some of the sharpest, most contemporary clergy of our day in an Internet-based service that gives you weekly information, inspiration, and presentation materials for your sermon, children’s sermon, and worship service.

Enabling: THE IMMEDIATE WORD will enable you to create high-impact sermons, children’s sermons, sermon outlines, worship services and compose pastoral prayers that help people pray with you, write compelling pastoral columns for your newsletter, arm your Sunday school teachers with meaningful, up-to-the-minute discussion sermon material, speak more constructively during the "Concerns of the Church" portion of your sermon, children's sermon and worship service about matters that worry your parishioners, advertise timely discussion topics to draw people into your church, and more.

Interactive: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is a dynamic, interactive process. First, among the team of clergy that creates it every week. Secondly, with you: you can personally participate in the creation process by providing your input and reactions to the input of others on new sermons, children’s sermons, sermon outlines and worship resources.

Timely: THE IMMEDIATE WORD sends participants the topic of the week on Friday and the final product on Tuesday afternoon, giving you time to digest the sermon and worship service materials and then incorporate them into your preparations for the coming Sunday service to deliver high-impact sermons and worship services.

Satisfaction Guaranteed: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is not only guaranteed to satisfy you, we believe it will actually energize your ministry. We are so confident that you will find THE IMMEDIATE WORD to be such a great value that if you are not completely satisfied with the service we will refund the balance of your subscription payment, no questions asked.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)
Epiphany 2 (OT 2)
28 – Sermons
110+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
25 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 3 (OT 3)
20 – Sermons
110+ – Illustrations / Stories
26 – Children's Sermons / Resources
21 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 4 (OT 4)
34 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
35 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 5 (OT 5)
34 – Sermons
100+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
27 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)

Recent TIW Installments

Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - B
And Immediately, God’s Mind Is Finally Changed
Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - B
There’s Bad News and There’s Good News
The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - B
Chaos Into Order
Second Sunday after Christmas - B, Epiphany of the Lord - B
The Ingathering
First Sunday after Christmas Day - B
Passing The Torch

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

The Immediate Word

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Bethany Peerbolte
Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen
For January 24, 2021:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
Recently, British researchers discovered that 42 percent of the church-goers in that country fall asleep during the sermon. The numbers may be astounding, but the habit is as old as Eutychus’s fatal nap in Acts 20.

Even the great eighteenth-century evangelist John Wesley noticed that a number of people in his congregation were fast asleep. Without a warning, he suddenly broke his train of homiletic thought, and yelled out at the top of his voice, “FIRE! FIRE!”
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played University of California in the Rose Bowl. In that game a man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for California, but became confused, however, and ran 65 yards in the wrong direction. One of his teammates outran him and tackled him at their own one-yard line. Cal attempted to punt on the next play, but Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety.

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Frank Ramirez
Contents
“Yes, God Speaks to Us Directly” by John Sumwalt
“Not Getting Any Credit” by Frank Ramirez


Yes, God Speaks to Us Directly
by John Sumwalt
Psalm 62:5-12

“On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.” (v. 7)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott

One of the interesting features about this story of the calling of the first disciples, is that they all immediately left everything to follow Jesus. It was as though they instinctively knew where they would find life with a capital L.

Donovan Duckling is instinctively tied to his mother's apron strings. When the time is right, will he have a strong enough desire to cut those ties?...

SermonStudio

Constance Berg
The prophet Jonah was commanded by God to go to Nineveh; Joel Fil‡rtiga was inspired to go to Paraguay. Jonah knew the journey and its destination would not be kind; Paraguay has not been kind to Joel Fil‡rtiga. Jonah obeyed God's call and went to Nineveh, even though he knew he it would be difficult; Joel Fil‡rtiga obeyed God's call and went to Paraguay, and his life would never be the same.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
Once upon a time, a diamond was born. He was nothing striking, but rather rough, like the rest of his family. He lived in the darkness and was very content to do just that. As a young diamond he heard tales of how some of his ancestors had left the darkness to a place of light, but that didn't concern him. One day he began to hear noise in the distance, and it came progressively closer. It was the sound of machinery with men talking and often yelling over the roar of the equipment. As time progressed, an opening was made in the cave where he lived.
James R. Wilson
Call To Worship
Leader: Let the redeemed of the Lord gather this day for worship!
People: We were once condemned by our sins and now we know the mercy of God.
Leader: God sent the prophets to call us back into God's will.
People: And God is true and faithful to all who hear and obey the Holy Word.
Leader: Let us proclaim the righteousness of the Lord for all the world to hear!
All: Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Collect

Special Occasion