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lectionary
16th Sunday after Pentecost
Context This week’s lectionary text from Mark encompasses two distinct healing narratives, each of which has plenty of material for its own sermon. So the first decision for the preacher should be wh... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Mark 7:24-37
Context This week’s lectionary text from Mark encompasses two distinct healing narratives, each of which has plenty of material for its own sermon. So the first decision for the preacher should be wh... -
illustration
The Frustrating Unpredictability of Faith
Writing about ministering to postmodern skeptics, Don Everts and Doug Schaupp share a helpful insight into the mystery of God's movement: The first lesson they have taught us about the path to f... -
illustration
Finding Grace after Contracting Leprosy
Peter Greave (1910-1977) was a British national who endured a challenging and tumultuous life, which took a severe turn in 1939 when he contracted leprosy while stationed in India, also his birthplace... -
lectionary
17th Sunday after Pentecost
Introduction Our lectionary text is inextricably linked with the five verses that precede it. For that reason, I’ll give a summary of verses 1-4. It’s possible the lectionary authors chose to separat... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Luke 17:1-10
Introduction Sometimes verses 1-4 are separated from 5-10 in preaching. N. T. Wright points out, however, that in both sections, the need for humility binds the passages together. A teacher must prac... -
liturgy
Third Sunday of Advent
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ o... -
Quote
Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. -
liturgy
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Book of Common Prayer)
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of ... -
illustration
Jacob's Grip and the Unjust Judge
Jacob was on his way back to face his brother Esau whom he had wronged, and he wrestled with the angel until the break of day. When the angel tried to free himself from Jacob’s persistent grip, Jaco... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guide, Luke 18:1-8
Ancient lens What's the historical context? Jesus' Strangest Tales Occasionally Jesus tells a parable that just doesn’t quite fit the framework of his teaching. Already in Luke we had... -
lectionary
19th Sunday after Pentecost
Ancient lens What's the historical context? Jesus' Strangest Tales Occasionally Jesus tells a parable that just doesn’t quite fit the framework of his teaching. Already in Luke we had... -
illustration
Charlie Stoltzfus
One of my favorite stories about intercessory prayer comes from Tony Campolo. A prayer meeting was held for him just before he spoke at a Pentecostal college chapel service. Eight men took Tony to a b... -
illustration
Going Down to the River to Pray
Have you heard the old spiritual “Down to the River to Pray” or “The Good Old Way”? It is most famous in popular culture because of Alison Kraus’s version of the song recorded for the movie O Broth... -
illustration
God’s timetable
In Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat , the narrator encourages the imprisoned Joseph not to despair because “I’ve read the book and you come out on top.” Unfortun... -
liturgy
Embracing God's Unfailing Promises
Our gracious God, you repeatedly move towards us, even when we pull away. You are not deterred by our rejection of you nor our running from you. Your love is persistent. We confess our distrust of you... -
illustration
Calling on God, not Bank of America
The comedian Richard Pryor, who was critically injured in a severe accident, once shared on Johnny Carson’s show that when faced with life-threatening situations, worldly concerns lose their significa... -
liturgy
Holy Spirit, Grant Us Strength
Father, we confess to boasting in success and security. We have denied you rather that desire you. We have cowered when we needed to be courageous. Jesus, we long to be people who follow you, no... -
illustration
Bruce Almighty Tries Granting Every Prayer
Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'm glad I'm not God!" Too much responsibility! In the 2003 movie "Bruce Almighty," Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) gains God’s divine powers b... -
illustration
Praying with your Feet
A pilgrimage is a way of praying with your feet. You go on a pilgrimage because you know there’s something missing inside your soul, and the only way you can find it is to go to sacred places, places ... -
illustration
When our Prayers Crash into the Ground
Nine-year-old Leo Tolstoy , convinced God would help him fly, dove headfirst out a third-floor window and had his first major crisis of disappointment with God. Fortunately, Tolstoy survived the cr... -
liturgy
Receiving Heaven's Kingdom Through Faith
Gracious God, we believe our hard work should get us comfort, conveniences, and control. We rely on our abilities to create a life independent from you. Father, forgive us, because we need you more th... -
liturgy
Faithfully Led by God's Mercy
Merciful God, you have given us the gift of life. We confess the uncaring ways we have treated others. We have been impatient with those growing old. We have been inattentive to the curiosities of the... -
illustration
He’s Quite Fond of Me
Brennan Manning recounts the story of an Irish priest traveling through a quiet countryside when he comes across an elderly peasant kneeling in prayer by the roadside. Struck by the man’s devotion, th... -
Quote
When we prayed for no one, no one was healed. When we prayed for lots of people, some were healed. -
liturgy
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory
Pastor: Arise, shine, for your light has come, People: and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us. Pastor: Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Go out into t... -
Quote
When we cannot find the words to pray, we are not faithless. We are feeling the fact that we are both embodied and vulnerable. -
illustration
Developing Intimacy
Intimacy happens as we bring more and more of ourselves into God’s presence. To pray with soul and body means, says Jane Vennard, “praying with all of who we are: our physicality, our emotions, our in... -
liturgy
Calling on the Name of the Lord
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. People: Amen. Pastor: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. People: ... -
liturgy
First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; th...
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