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Emphasis Preaching Journal

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Francis Whitaker died on October... -- 2 Timothy 1:1-14 -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2001
Francis Whitaker died on October 23, 1999, at the age of 92 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Alvin is a city council... -- Luke 17:5-10 -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2001
Alvin is a city council member in a Rocky Mountain city.
Gary was worried. The next... -- Luke 17:5-10 -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2001
Gary was worried.
The Chesapeake Bay retriever is... -- Luke 17:5-10 -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2001
The Chesapeake Bay retriever is an extraordinary breed of dog.
It takes a lot of... -- Luke 17:5-10 -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2001
It takes a lot of faith to stay at sea for a month, fishing for one's livelihood under a carpet of w
In one scene of Bernard... -- 2 Timothy 2:8-15 -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - C -- 2001
In one scene of Bernard Shaw's play, Saint Joan, Shaw portrays Joan of Arc's inquisition.
The apostle reminds us that... -- 2 Timothy 2:8-15 -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - C -- 2001
The apostle reminds us that it is out of death that we receive life, and it is out of despair that w
Michael Saylor, the C.E.O. of... -- 2 Timothy 2:8-15 -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - C -- 2001
Michael Saylor, the C.E.O.
We advertised the trip to... -- Matthew 2:13-23 -- 2001
We advertised the trip to Europe with a "Christmas in Germany" flyer.
The off-Broadway musical I... -- Matthew 2:13-23 -- 2001
The off-Broadway musical Cotton Patch Gospel, by Tom Key and Russell Treyz (with music and ly
There is an old Hasidic... -- Matthew 24:36-44 -- 2001
There is an old Hasidic story that says that when a child is conceived, God whispers to that child t
In the movie Election... -- Luke 4:21-30 -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 2001
In the movie Election, we are introduced to Tracy Flick, who is the very definition of an ove
The 1998 movie Life... -- Luke 4:14-21 -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2001
The 1998 movie Life Is Beautiful tells the story of an Italian Jewish family during World War
The musical West Side... -- John 2:1-11 -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - C -- 2001
The musical West Side Story is one of the classics of the American musical theater.
In the civil war in... -- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - C -- 2001
In the civil war in Russia that followed the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, literally millions of pea
The Chicago Triathlon is the... -- Matthew 2:1-12 -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2001
The Chicago Triathlon is the largest triathlon in the world.
In a New York... -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2001
In a New York Times article appearing on June 26, 1999, Dan Barney tells the story of a young
Herman Melville wrote what many... -- Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- Transfiguration Sunday - C -- 2001
Herman Melville wrote what many consider to be the Great American Novel, Moby Dick.
The movie Ed TV... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 2001
The movie Ed TV follows the experience of Ed Pukurny, an unambitious, unassuming, regular guy
Why would Jesus tell us... -- Luke 6:17-26 -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - C -- 2001
Why would Jesus tell us to be happy when people hate us, reject us, insult us, and say that we are e
There was once a young... -- Luke 6:27-38 -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - C -- 2001
There was once a young Israeli boy named Raziel who was involved in a terrible accident in Tel Aviv.
For six years, Linda had... -- Luke 5:1-11 -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 2001
For six years, Linda had worked at the Altoona Tribune covering the arts and various other st
It was believed by the... -- Matthew 2:13-23 -- 2001
It was believed by the Hasidic tradition that a zaddik, the leader of a Hasidim, was chosen by heave
Remember those scenes in I... -- John 1:1-14 -- 2001
Remember those scenes in My Fair Lady when Eliza Doolittle labors long and hard to say words
There is a picture by... -- Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) -- 2001
There is a picture by Derick Baegert titled Luke Painting the Virgin and Child, which shows,

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StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. (vv.8-10)

I, John Sumwalt, believe in God! It’s the reality in which, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “I live and move and have my being.”
John E. Sumwalt
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. (vv.8-10)

I, John Sumwalt, believe in God! It’s the reality in which, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “I live and move and have my being.”

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A sign that says, “The Home of Jesus!” (Click here to download the sign I used.)

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The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
George Reed
Dean Feldmeyer
For February 2, 2025:
  • Love Notes To The Powerful by Chris Keating. Jesus' sermon to his hometown crowd provides a reminder of what Rev. William Barbour has called "the terrible joy" of preaching.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
Imagine an aging church leader or preacher who has seen one technology tool after another change the face of how messages of fait are communicated. It started with the chalkboard, overhead plastic sheets on a projector to now various forms of computer software programs off a laptop onto a screen. With all the modern technology changes going at increasing megabytes per second, is God’s Word still as accurate and effective as in times past?
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Jeremiah 1:4-10
There are plenty of things in contemporary American society which could use a prophetic voice to challenge them. We think of all the ugliness in our public discourse and on the net. There is the rising tide of anti-semitism. Reuters reported a 268.1 times wage gap in 2023 between the salary of the median employed worker and CEO pay. Racism is hardly vanishing given legislation passed in a number of state legislatures against teaching Critical Race Theory. John Calvin well described an important aspect of the sort of prophecy we need. He wrote:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
The story of the presentation of Jesus in the temple is strong on two 'bit-part' characters, Simeon and Anna, both of whom are old, and neither of whom has any other mention in the Bible. This story is an imaginary biography of Anna.

SermonStudio

Schuyler Rhodes
Most people, at one time or another, have had the regrettable experience of needing refuge. Untold millions around this war-ripped world are literally refugees, whose lives are shattered as they are uprooted and left bereft of home, family, and any visible means of sustenance. Countless women around the world suffer from the brutality of abuse by their male partners and are in need of refuge. Each day the numbers of homeless poor on the streets of America grows and grows. They, too, need refuge.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
During the 56 years of his life, Adolf Hitler did incredible harm and was responsible for the death of millions of people. Yet in all of the horror that he unleashed, there were pinpoints of light and nobility. One German soldier, Private Joseph Schultz, was one of those pinpoints.
Derl G. Keefer
Jeremiah had a task, a vision, and a promise from God. The prophet Jeremiah had a call from God to preach his word to a people needing to hear from God. His call has been duplicated multiple times over the centuries.
J. Ellsworth Kalas
David Kalas
In the church, most of us think of Epiphany simply as a season on the church calendar, and sometimes as a season we don't understand too well. We may recall that we are celebrating particularly the revealing of Christ to the Gentile world, via the Wise Men, but not much more.

The dictionary, however, adds further dimension to the word, listen: "a sudden, intuitive perception ... into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience."
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