Login / Signup

Wayne Brouwer

Wayne Brouwer is a pastor of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and is an Associate Professor of Religion at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, as well as a member of the faculty of Western Theological Seminary. Brouwer has been the lead pastor in three different congregations. He is a graduate of Dordt College and holds degrees from Calvin Theological Seminary and McMaster University. Over 700 of his articles have been published as well as over a dozen books. Previous CSS Publishing titles by Pastor Bouwer include Political Christianity and Humming Till the Music Returns. He has been a consistent contributor to Emphasis: A Preaching Journal since 2004 and is one of several authors featured in Navigating the Sermon. Pastor Brouwer resides in Holland, Michigan, with his wife Brenda and they are the parents of three daughters.
Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) for multiple selections (scroll list to see all options)

Commentary

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Beautiful Scandal -- Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1--19:42 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Good Friday - C -- 2025
When Canadian missionaries Don and Carol Richardson entered the world of the Sawi people in Irian Ja
Miracles -- Acts 9:36-43, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2025
Tinkerbell is the delightful sprite in Peter Pan who drifts between the world of senses and
The Good Life -- Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - C -- 2025
When Ryan Barbarisi was in fifth grade at Grace Community Christian School in Tempe, Arizona, his te
Living Upside Down -- Amos 7:7-17, Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10:25-37 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - C -- 2025
An ancient legend tells of a remote mountain village where people used to send their senior citizens
Becoming... -- Jeremiah 1:4-10, Hebrews 12:18-29, Luke 13:10-17 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2025
C.
Investment Portfolio -- Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2025
The president of the college I attended was the kind of man who always said what was on his mind.
Becoming Healthy -- Luke 4:14-21, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2025
It seems everybody knows about Victor Hugo’s greatest novel, even if few have actually read it.
Starting Over -- Genesis 45:3-11, 15, 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50, Luke 6:27-38 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - C -- 2025
We all believe in justice; we all cry out to have our rights protected.
Turning Point -- Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Philippians 3:17--4:1, Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday in Lent - C -- 2025
There is an ancient legend first told by Christians living in the catacombs under the streets of Rom
Big Beginnings -- Genesis 1:1-5, Acts 19:1-7, Mark 1:4-11 -- Wayne Brouwer -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - B -- 2024
Children are often naively honest, as a friend of mine found one day.
Ecstasy and Real Life -- 2 Kings 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, Mark 9:2-9 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2024
Shortly before he died in a training accident with the Royal Canadian Air Force in December of 1941,
Lost... -- 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Exodus 20:1-17, John 2:13-22 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 2024
Each of our lectionary readings for today reminds us that we have forgotten who we are.
Waking to a New Day -- Acts 10:34-43, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, John 20:1-18 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Easter Day - B -- 2024
When builders dug in modern Rome to secure the footings for a new parking garage, they uncovered an
The Life that Changes Lives -- Acts 10:44-48, 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - B -- 2024
It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed.
Good Grace -- Mark 2:23--3:6, 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20), 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 4 | Ordinary Time 9 - B -- 2024
The Black Angel. That’s what Michael Christopher calls Herman Engel in his play.
Importance -- Mark 6:1-13, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B -- 2024
Do you remember Rudyard Kipling’s tale of “How the Camel Got Its Hump”?
Reaching -- 2 Samuel 19:5-9, 15, 31-33, Ephesians 4:25--5:2, John 6:35, 41-51 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B -- 2024
In Hendrik Ibsen’s famous drama Peer Gynt, the hero of the story tries to find the meaning
Submission -- Proverbs 31:10-31, James 3:13--4:3, 7-8a, Mark 9:30-37 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 2024
Friends in Alberta used to tell of an uncle who married late in life.
I Want to See! -- Job 42:1-6, 10-17, Hebrews 7:23-28, Mark 10:46-52 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - B -- 2024
In Morris West’s novel The Clowns of God, there’s a powerful scene where a father and his d
When Democracy Isn't Enough -- John 18:33-37, Revelation 1:4b-8, 2 Samuel 23:1-7 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B -- 2024
One morning in 1872, David Livingstone wrote this in his diary: “March 19, my birthday.
What Did You Get for Christmas? -- Isaiah 62:6-12, Titus 3:4-7, Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20 -- Wayne Brouwer -- The Nativity of our Lord - C -- 2024
There is a powerful scene in Herman Melville’s great epic, Moby Dick, where Captain Ahab st

Free Access

Turning Point -- Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Philippians 3:17--4:1, Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday in Lent - C -- 2025
There is an ancient legend first told by Christians living in the catacombs under the streets of Rom
Beautiful Scandal -- Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1--19:42 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Good Friday - C -- 2025
When Canadian missionaries Don and Carol Richardson entered the world of the Sawi people in Irian Ja
Becoming Healthy -- Luke 4:14-21, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2025
It seems everybody knows about Victor Hugo’s greatest novel, even if few have actually read it.
Becoming Healthy -- Luke 4:14-21, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2025
It seems everybody knows about Victor Hugo’s greatest novel, even if few have actually read it.

Illustration

StoryShare

New Beginnings For A New Year -- Matthew 25:31-46, Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, Revelation 21:1-6a, Psalm 8 -- David O. Bales, Terry Cain, Wayne Brouwer, John E. Sumwalt -- New Year's Day - A -- 2006
Contents What's Up This Week

Sermon

SermonStudio

A Portion Of Thyself -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 2021
At a graduation ceremony, the president of a Christian college stood at the podium and looked out ov
Into The Wilderness -- Luke 4:1-13 -- Wayne Brouwer -- First Sunday in Lent - C -- 2021
Jesus was tempted.
Mountaintop Experience -- Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday in Lent - C -- 2021
Some years ago, the History Network created a strange new hit series.
Who's Fault Is It? -- Luke 13:1-9 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2021
The youth pastor at one of my former congregations had a cartoon taped to his office door.
In The Mirror -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2021
The first birth is extraordinarily exciting, isn’t it?
Terms Of Endearment -- John 12:1-8 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2021
In his short story, “The Capital of the World,” Ernest Heming-way reported an event they talk about
Scandal -- Luke 22:14--23:56 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2021
While Don Richardson was a student at Prairie Bible Institute in the 1950s, his heart burned in anti
Night And Light -- John 13:1-17, 31b-35 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2021
A friend of mine had rewritten a familiar proverb and used it ominously.
Faces At A Funeral -- John 18:1--19:42 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Good Friday - C -- 2021
During the nineteenth century, all Oxford graduates were required to translate a portion of the Gree
Creation Reborn -- John 20:1-18 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Easter Day - C -- 2021
When I was a pastor in rural southern Alberta, we held our Easter Sunrise worship services in a ceme
Messiah's Community -- John 20:19-31 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday of Easter - C -- 2021
In his widely-read testimony, Man’s Search for Meaning, famed psychiatrist Viktor Frankl remembered
Starting Over -- John 21:1-19 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Third Sunday of Easter - C -- 2021
Sometimes the healing of our hurts starts only when we find another song to sing.
Hearing A Familiar Voice -- John 10:22-30 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2021
As parents of three wonderful daughters, my wife and I can sympathize with the couple who sent their
The Accent Of Heaven -- John 13:31-35 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2021
She opened our eyes to the way that civilizations unfold and develop.
Glowing Network -- John 14:23-29 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2021
During World War II, many members of the Lutheran church in Germany lost their faith because Hitler
The Captain's Voice -- Luke 24:44-53 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Ascension of the Lord - C -- 2021
I was walking through a building on a college campus when I spied a student lounging in an overstuff
The Divine Mission -- John 17:20-26 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Seventh Sunday of Easter - C -- 2021
A friend of mine taught ethics at a Christian college.
A Cry in the Dark -- Luke 21:25-36 -- Wayne Brouwer -- First Sunday of Advent - C -- 2015
"Screw your courage to the sticking-place," says Lady Macbeth to her doomed husband in Shakespeare's
The Peaceable Kingdom -- Luke 3:1-6 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday of Advent - C -- 2015
What difference does my life make for others around me? What difference does anyone's life make?
A Dance in the Desert -- Luke 3:7-18 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Third Sunday of Advent - C -- 2015
Even though we like laughter and enjoy praise and celebration, especially at this time of year, it d
King Jesus -- Luke 1:39-45 (46-55) -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - C -- 2015
One morning in 1872, David Livingstone wrote this in his diary: "March 19, my birthday.
The Wrong Gift -- Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) -- Wayne Brouwer -- The Nativity of our Lord - C -- 2015
What did you get for Christmas?
Kingdoms In Conflict -- Matthew 21:33-46 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - A -- 2007
When Vince Lombardi was hired as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958, the team was in dismal
Political Pardon -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A -- 2007
My parents were married in the wave of weddings that followed World War II.
Why Is God Unfair? -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2007
One of my favorite courses to teach is "Introduction to Biblical Literature." It is a 200-level cour

Stories

StoryShare

New Beginnings For A New Year -- Matthew 25:31-46, Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, Revelation 21:1-6a, Psalm 8 -- David O. Bales, Terry Cain, Wayne Brouwer, John E. Sumwalt -- New Year's Day - A -- 2006
Contents What's Up This Week
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 23 | OT 28 | Pentecost 18
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 24 | OT 29 | Pentecost 19
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 25 | OT 30 | Pentecost 20
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 October 19, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 31:27-34
John Calvin makes very clear why a new covenant is needed according to this text. He observes:

… the fault was not to be sought in the law that there was need of a new covenant, for the law was abundantly sufficient, but that fault was in the levity and the unfaithfulness of the people. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.X/2, p.130)
David Coffin
What happens when one’s past life narrative or goals in life have drastically shifted or collapsed? How do they rebuild hope? For Israel, they lost their land, monarchy, and national identity. In the days of the New Testament,they could easily be identified as living in the “fourth world” country. That is, existing in substandard conditions in one’s own native land?

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
Rose sat back in her chair and opened her magazine. She heard the thump of the stairs and caught a glimpse of her daughter and son in the corner of her eye. She turned her head as they put water bottles in their backpacks.

“What are you two doing?” she looked over at the clock. “Don’t you have homework?”

“All done,” Paul and Linda announced at the same time.

Rose ignored Linda but locked eyes with Paul. He met her gaze for a few moments and then sighed.

“Okay, I’m almost done but still have some math questions,” he admitted.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus told us that we should always pray and not lose heart, for God is on our side. In our worship today let us pray to the Lord for the needs of others and for all our own needs.


Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes you don't seem to be there when I pray and I feel like I'm talking to myself.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes my prayers seem so dry and boring that I give up.

Christ, have mercy.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Psalm 119 is well-known as the longest chapter in the Bible. The poem is actually an extended, and extensive, meditation on the meaning of the law. Given the sterile connotations often associated with "law" and "legalism," it's hard sometimes to appreciate the lyrical beauty of these reflections. One thing is for certain, the writer of this psalm does not view the law as either sterile or void of vitality.

Schuyler Rhodes
There is perhaps no better feeling than knowing that someone "has your back." Having someone's back is a term that arose from urban street fighting where a partner or ally would stay with you and protect your back in the thick of the fray. When someone has your back, you don't worry about being hit from behind. When someone has your back you can concentrate on the struggle in front of you without worrying about dangers you cannot see. When someone has your back you feel protected, secure, safe.
David Kalas
I wonder how many of us here are named after someone.

Chances are that a good many of us carry family names. We are named for a parent, a grandparent, an uncle, or an aunt somewhere on the family tree. Others of us had parents who named us after a character in the Bible, or perhaps some other significant character from history.

All told, I expect a pretty fair number of us are named after someone else.

John W. Clarke
Our reading today from the prophet Jeremiah is one in which the Hebrew people, not knowing what else to do in terms of addressing their predicament, decide to blame it all on God. They believed their problems to be the result of their sins and the sins of their fathers. Of course, one person's sin does indeed affect other people, but all people are still held personally accountable for the sin in their own lives (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:2).
Donna E. Schaper
As usual, the epistle is a little more graphic than we can quite grasp. Itchy ears: what a concept just in physical terms. Experience it for a minute. You itch, you scratch, you sort of know you shouldn't scratch because it will only make the itch worse. But still you scratch, while wondering how the itch ever got started in the first place. What a concept: itchy ears as a vehicle for spiritual truth.

John E. Berger
Did Jesus ever do comedy? Indeed he did, and the Parable of the Unjust Judge is partly comic monologue. The routine began with a probate judge so ridiculously dishonest that he announced, "... I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone...." (There must have been a gasp of disbelief from Jesus' audience.)

The Unjust Judge was nagged by a widow, however, who had every right to nag, because she had been cheated by somebody in the community. A good judge would have helped the widow, but remember, this judge "neither feared God nor had respect for people."

CSSPlus

And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? (v. 7)

Good morning, boys and girls. Yesterday, I was riding in my car and I kept hearing this noise. I call it a squeak. Do you know what a squeak sounds like? (let them answer) Squeaks are very annoying. It is hard to find a squeak in your car, so it is still squeaking.

I also have a chair that has a squeak and I brought it in with me today because it is

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL