Revelation on Images

Quote

Author

Nicola Slee

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:1-14 , 1 Kings 19:9-13 , Isaiah 6:1-8, John 1:1-14 , Colossians 1:15-20, Psalm 145:3

No one image or model, however elusive or rich, can do more than offer glimpses and hints toward the divine.

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Christmas: Nativity of the Lord (Guide B)

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1-14, Proverbs 8:22-23, 30-31, John 20:28-29

Preaching Commentary Introduction John 1 contains some of the richest Christological passages in all of Scripture. It rewards deep meditation on its meaning. Its use as the Christmas gospel text is...

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Transfiguration Sunday (Guide A)

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a), Luke 9:28-36, Luke 9:37-43a, Mark 5:35-43

Preaching Commentary There they are on top of a mountain praying with Jesus. Mount Tabor in lower Galilee? Mount Hermon in the far north of Israel near Syria? Some other mount? No one knows. Sudden...

scripture guide

Luke 9:28-43 (Guide A)

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 9:28-36, 37-43a, Mark 5:35-43, Mark 9:2-8

There they are on top of a mountain praying with Jesus. Mount Tabor in lower Galilee? Mount Hermon in the far north of Israel near Syria? Some other mount? No one knows. Suddenly, Jesus is transfigur...

Quote

Author

Basil of Caesarea

Keywords

The world is a work of art, set before all for contemplation, so that through it the wisdom of Him who created it should be known …"

lectionary

Transfiguration Sunday

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 9:2-9, Exodus 24:16-18, Daniel 7:9, 13-14, Revelation 1:14-15, Mark 1:11, Isaiah 53:null, Psalm 2:6-8, 2 Peter 1:17-18

Preaching Commentary Context The Gospel of Mark presents two clear phases of Jesus’ ministry. The first phase (chapters 1-8) takes place in Galilee. It is characterized by words and deeds of power ...

lectionary

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 8:1-4

AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Gospel for a Jewish Community Matthew’s Gospel presents a favorable view of the Jewish Law and its traditions. In...

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Epiphany of the Lord

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1-6, Genesis 32:30, John 2:1-12, Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Ephesians 5:8, Luke 1:78, Titus 2:11, Isaiah 49:6, John 1:5, Isaiah 60:19, Revelation 22:5

Preaching Commentary Word Study Ἐπιφάνεια: The Greek word from which the English transliterates Epiphany is a combination of a preposition and a verbal idea. Epi -upon and fainō -to shine, illumi...

Quote

Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Keywords

All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 1:18-25 (Guide A)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 8:1-4

Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Gospel for a Jewish Community Matthew’s Gospel presents a favorable view of the Jewish Law and its traditions. In contrast to Luke...

lectionary

Christmas: Nativity of the Lord

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Preaching Commentary Rediscovering the Wonder of Jesus’ Birth It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes familiarity breeds something far less intense, but equally as destructive—co...

liturgy

God of light and truth, you are beyond

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12-20, Psalm 136:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 60:1-5, Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 1:3, John 11:40, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 4:12-17

God of light and truth, you are beyond our grasp or conceiving. Before the brightness of your presence the angels veil their faces. With lowly reverence and adoring love we acclaim your glory and sing...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Isaiah 60:1-6

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1-6, Genesis 32:30, John 2:1-12, Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Ephesians 5:8, Luke 1:78, Titus 2:11, Isaiah 49:6, John 1:5, Isaiah 60:19, Revelation 22:5

Word Study Ἐπιφάνεια: The Greek word from which the English transliterates Epiphany is a combination of a preposition and a verbal idea. Epi -upon and fainō -to shine, illuminate. An epiphany is li...

illustration

A Place of Revelation

Author

Marlena Graves

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:14-15, Exodus 33:18-19

On this earth, then, in our deserts, God personally reveals and names himself. When he does so, his pleasure floods our senses, his beauty engulfs us, and our God-misconceptions are devastated. He mov...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Mark 9:2-9

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 9:2-9, Exodus 24:16-18, Daniel 7:9, 13-14, Revelation 1:14-15, Mark 1:11, Isaiah 53:null, Psalm 2:6-8, 2 Peter 1:17-18

Context The Gospel of Mark presents two clear phases of Jesus’ ministry. The first phase (chapters 1-8) takes place in Galilee. It is characterized by words and deeds of power and authority. The seco...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 2:1-20 (Guide A)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Rediscovering the Wonder of Jesus’ Birth It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes familiarity breeds something far less intense, but equally as destructive—complacency. As a child,...

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 139 (NIV)

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:null

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my w...

lectionary

Epiphany of the Lord

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12, Micah 5:2

Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: Irony When we discover a bit of irony in life, we feel like we’ve struck gold. When we stumble upon a bit of irony in Scripture, it’s holy gold! Maybe you read...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Philippians 2:null, Philippians 2:7-8, John 1:11, John 14:2-3

Preaching Commentary Inexpressible Things This chapter of Paul’s Corinthian correspondence is rich indeed, revealing so much about Paul and his relationship to the Corinthian church, a church which...

Quote

Author

Thomas à Kempis

Keywords

Every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine.

lectionary

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Deuteronomy 1:5, Exodus 18:13-27, Exodus 20:18-19, Exodus 33:11, Deuteronomy 34:10, John 1:21, John 6:14, Acts 3:22-23, 1 Timothy 2:5, Luke 24:27

Preaching Commentary Context A Copy of the Law or a Second Law? Like the other books in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), the title of the book of Deuteronomy comes from its tran...

liturgy

Lord Jesus Christ, you reveal God to

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Lord Jesus Christ, you reveal God to us, yet we are sometimes repulsed, bored, or exhausted by what we see. We become jaded to your work in the world, and our eyes glaze over rather than getting excit...

liturgy

God of glory, you sent Jesus among us

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-13, Matthew 5:16, John 8:12, Romans 12:2, James 5:16

God of glory, you sent Jesus among us as the light of the world, to reveal your love for all people. We confess that our sin and pride hide the brightness of your light. We turn away from the poor; we...

Quote

Author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Keywords

Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.

Quote

Author

Ambrose of Milan

Keywords

The world is an example of the workings of God, because while we observe the work, the Worker is brought before us.

Quote

Author

Thomas Merton

Keywords

Life is this simple. We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through all the time. This is not just a fable or a nice story. It is true. If we abandon ourselves to G...

lectionary

Pentecost

Author

Jeff Volkmer

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15, John 15:26-27, John 16:4-15, John 13:10, John 14:7, John 14:13-14, John 13:31-32, John 14:19-21, John 14:16, John 14:15-18, John 3:8, John 8:46, Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, John 12:31, John 6:12, Ephesians 2:2, Hebrews 12:2, John 16:12, John 14:17, John 16:14, John 16:6, John 14:6

Preaching Commentary Context The Upper Room Discourse Our Gospel reading for today takes place within what has come to be known as the “Upper Room discourse,” a stretch of Scripture unique to Jo...

lectionary

13th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:13-20, Daniel 7:13-14, Mark 3:16, John 1:42

Preaching Commentary A Bombshell Confession Simon Peter’s confession that Jesus was, indeed, the “Messiah, the Son of the living God” is the climax of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ earthly ministry. ...

illustration

Blind Bartimaeus and One-Eyed Thor

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:7 , Isaiah 42:6–7, 2 Kings 6:15–17 , Mark 10:46–52 , Luke 24:30–31, Psalm 119:18 , Luke 18:35-43, Matthew 20:29-34

I absolutely love Marvel movies. I’m talking about Thor, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Widow, Guardians of the Galaxy. All of them. In Ragnarok , Thor, the Norse god, played by the incredibly good-...

illustration

If God Wanted to Remain Silent…

Author

Michael Kendrick

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 19:1-2, Romans 1:20, Isaiah 6:3, Job 12:7-9, Colossians 1:16, John 1:3

If God wanted to remain silent about His existence, He wouldn’t have bothered creating the stars; He wouldn’t have made the Milky Way, or Betelgeuse. In fact, He wouldn’t have made the majestic Rocky ...

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