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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Living away from home for... -- 2 Kings 2:1-12 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
Living away from home for the first time is an experience that everyone looks forward to.
The story of Elisha's determination... -- 2 Kings 2:1-12 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
The story of Elisha's determination to stay with Elijah until he was taken reminds one of the determ
June felt that her fifth... -- 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
June felt that her fifth-grade Sunday school class was slighted because it was given the only classr
Making decisions in the dark... -- 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences.
In his book, An Anthropologist... -- 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man wh
Imagine a game of blind... -- 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
Imagine a game of blind-man's bluff at the edge of a pool.
Imagine the glory of God... -- 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
Imagine the glory of God filling your heart, driving away all negative or painful thoughts and feeli
Nothing is more surprising than... -- Mark 9:2-9 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
Nothing is more surprising than the rise of the new within ourselves.
Pliny the Elder was a... -- Mark 9:2-9 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
Pliny the Elder was a Roman writer who lived during the same time period as Jesus.
A new church was started... -- Mark 9:2-9 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
A new church was started with the hope of attracting young people in their twenties and thirties.
On June 11, 1962, three... -- Mark 2:2-9 -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 2008
On June 11, 1962, three men went through the roof, only not down through the roof, but up.
As a boy living in... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
As a boy living in the country, Sonny thought his grandfather was some kind of wizard.
According to scripture repentance is... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
According to scripture repentance is wholly an inward act, and should not be confounded with the cha
Wabush, a town in a... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
Wabush, a town in a remote portion of Labrador, Canada, was completely isolated for some time.
Not too many years ago... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
Not too many years ago, newspapers carried the story of Al Johnson, a Kansas man who came to faith i
Greek mythology tells about a... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
Greek mythology tells about a woman named Cassandra.
Today's ashes weave together the... -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
Today's ashes weave together the glory of last year's Palm Sunday, along with today's intention to t
One of the most memorable... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
One of the most memorable examples of reconciliation in modern times occurred in a little Pennsylvan
Paul considered himself Christ's ambassador... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
Paul considered himself Christ's ambassador. What is an ambassador?
One of the methods that... -- 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
One of the methods that bookkeepers use to ensure that their books are correct is bank reconcilia
Humans go to great lengths... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
Humans go to great lengths to look good and some go to even greater lengths to look as though they d
He made free use of... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
He made free use of Christian vocabulary.
During one of his political... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
During one of his political campaigns, a delegation called on Theodore Roosevelt at his home in Oyst
There is an old fairy... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
There is an old fairy tale about a poor shoemaker with only enough money to buy the leather for one
In the midst of drought... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 2008
In the midst of drought, famine, and starvation, the prophet Joel calls us to fast and turn toward G

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Proper 23 | OT 28 | Pentecost 21
30 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
29 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
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Proper 24 | OT 29 | Pentecost 22
31 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
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Proper 25 | OT 30 | Pentecost 23
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New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A football, a hand-held microphone, a camera, a stack of play money bills. These are the objects I used, but you can use any objects that might symbolize “success”.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great!

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
For October 20, 2024:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. (v. 4)

The outhouse on the farm where I grew up was beside the ash pile, at the end of a well-worn path, under a boxelder tree about fifty yards from the back door of the house. It was a two-seater – cold in winter, smelly and hot in summer. There was always a Sears and Roebuck catalogue on the floor in the corner, which served as both reading and wiping material.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Bill Thomas
Mark Ellingsen
Bonnie Bates
Frank Ramirez
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
Most people assume God’s answer to Job, showing him the depth and breadth of the universe is meant to cow Job’s resistance, leading him, now broken, to repent, abjectly saying “...therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes (42:6).”
Mark Ellingsen
All the lessons testify to the theme that it’s not at all about you and me; it’s all about God!

Job 38:1-7 (34-41)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus said, "What is it you want me to do for you?" In our worship, let us explore what we want Jesus to do for us today.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, we are sometimes selfish in our requests to you.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, we are sometimes unreasonable in our requests to you.
Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, help us to make you the centre of our world.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

David E. Leininger
The story of Job is familiar to all of us -- a man whose world was spinning merrily along with everything falling into place is suddenly confronted with one misery after another ... disaster, death, disease, and despair. In some of the most moving poetry ever written, chapter after chapter attempts to deal with the age-old question of why, so often, life is unfair.

Schuyler Rhodes
The voice of praise rings beautifully through this psalm as each verse gives poetic color to the glories of creation and its maker. It is something to be read and re-read as we contemplate the wonders of God.
Steven Molin
There is a candy shop in the city of Keystone, South Dakota, just a few hundred yards down the mountain from that infamous Mount Rushmore monument. I can't tell you the name of that candy store, but I can certainly recall the sign on the counter that stands at just about eyeball-level for the average seven-year-old. The sign says this: "If Mom says, 'No,' ask Grandma!"

Harold C. Warlick, Jr.
An elementary principle in the business world is the law of supply and demand. When supplies outrace the demand for a product, prices are low. We call that a "buyer's market." On the other hand, when there are more buyers demanding a product than there are supplies of the product, prices are high. We call that situation a "seller's market."

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