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Conventional ice hockey wisdom dictated...

Illustration
Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - C
Luke 6:27-38
Conventional ice hockey wisdom dictated that a defenseman had three jobs: clear the puck out of the defensive zone, usually with a crisp pass; keep the front of the net clear so the goaltender could see the puck; and keep the puck in the offensive zone by patrolling the blue line. Only on rare occasions was a defenseman allowed to carry the puck up ice. A defenseman seldom scored. All that changed when a young Bobbie Orr donned the jersey of the Boston Bruins. Orr was renowned for his end-to-end rushes, his uncanny vision of the whole ice, and for putting the puck in the net.
UPCOMING WEEKS
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Lent 2
20 – Sermons
170+ – Illustrations / Stories
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24 – Worship Resources
20 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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34 – Sermons
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32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
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30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
27 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

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For March 30, 2025:

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Peter Andrew Smith
Paul reread the parable again and sighed. Why had he agreed to lead the Bible study this week? When Pastor Luke asked him, he had been all excited and enthusiastic. He knew the parable of the prodigal son inside and out having read commentaries and stories about it before. He had actually preached a sermon on the passage when Pastor Luke was away and received great feedback from the congregation.

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SermonStudio

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It is a well-known cliché that “God never gives us more than we can handle”, but I have sometimes found that not to be so. When my youngest brother died of brain cancer at age five, it was more than I could handle. When my first husband was emotionally and physically abusive, it was more than I could handle. When my second husband and I lost our twin sons at birth, it was more than I could handle. The COVID pandemic was more than we could handle. Wars and violence are often more than we can handle. Homelessness, poverty, grief, and loss are often more than we can handle.
John N. Brittain
I suppose we are all a little bit nervous about the prospect of a sermon on a Bible story as familiar and sometimes as overworked as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. "What can I possibly say that hasn't been said before?" And I know what's going through your minds: "Are we going to be subjected to the same old sermon yet another time?" Confronting a familiar Bible passage like this mid-Lent really serves to address the discipline of reading Scripture as part of our devotional life, particularly passages that are very familiar.
Charles D. Reeb
A. A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six:

When I was One, I had just begun.
When I was Two, I was nearly new.
When I was Three, I was hardly Me.
When I was Four, I was not much more.
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So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.1

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to worship:

 While the Prodigal Son was still far off, his father saw him, ran to him, put his arms around him and kissed him. In our worship today, let us turn to God so that he may run to us, put his arms around and kiss us.

Invitation to confession:

 Jesus, for the times when we run away from you,

Lord, have mercy.

 Jesus, for the times when we have wasted our inheritance on dissolute living,

Christ, have mercy.

 Jesus, when we return to you,

Lord, have mercy.

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