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Worship

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Fifth Sunday After Epiphany -- Matthew 5:13-20 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - A -- 2001
Theme: Discipleship Call To Worship
Fifth Sunday After Epiphany -- Psalm 112 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - A -- 2001
Words Of Assurance
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany -- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - A -- 2001
Theme: Choose Life Call To Worship
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany -- 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - A -- 2001
Theme: Working Together For God Call To Worship
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany -- Matthew 5:21-37 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - A -- 2001
Theme: Importance Of Personal Relationships Call To Worship
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany -- Psalm 119:1-8; 33-48; 129-144 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - A -- 2001
Words Of Assurance
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany -- Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2001
Theme: Moral Holiness Call To Worship
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany -- 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2001
Theme: Christ The Sure Foundation Call To Worship
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany -- Matthew 5:38-48 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2001
Theme: Christian Perfection Call To Worship
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany -- Psalm 98 -- H. Burnham Kirkland -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2001
Words Of Assurance

Drama

Sermon

SermonStudio

The Underlying Mercy -- Job 1:1; 2:1-10 -- Stan Purdum -- 2005
The Underlying Mercy
An Odd Couple -- Ruth 1:1-18 -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - B -- 2005
An Odd Couple
Being Good ... For Nothing -- Job 23:1-9, 16-17 -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - B -- 2005
If I were to ask you to complete the sentence, "You know it is going to be a bad day when ..." how w
With Friends Like These ... -- Job 38:1-7 (34-41) -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- 2005
With Friends Like These ...
From Silence To Sight -- Job 42:1-6, 10-17 -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - B -- 2005
Playwright Neil Simon has written a comedy, God's Favorite, based on a contemporary Job, a ty
Risking Relationships That Redeem -- Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17 -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- 2005
Fried green tomatoes were the house specialty at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Alabama during the 1930s.
Baby Blues -- 1 Samuel 1:4-20 -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - B -- 2005
Baby Blues
Write To The Heart -- Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- Reformation Sunday - B -- 2005
A four-year-old girl was at the pediatrician's office for a checkup.
Dusting Off Our Gratitude -- Joel 2:21-27 -- Mary S. Lautensleger -- Thanksgiving Day - B -- 2005
In the Deep South there is a most unusual monument paying homage to, of all things, the boll weevil.
A Double Share Of The Spirit -- 2 Kings 2:1-12 -- Schuyler Rhodes -- 2005
A Double Share Of The Spirit

Children's sermon

Preaching

SermonStudio

Ash Wednesday -- Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 2003
Karl Barth once remarked that the greatest tragedy in human life would be to come to the end of our
Baptism of Our Lord -- Isaiah 43:1-7 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - C -- 2003
The subject for this Sunday, as set forth in the accompanying New Testament texts, is baptism, the b
Christ the King -- Jeremiah 23:1-6 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - C -- 2003
Both Luke (15:3-7; 19:10) and John (10:11-12) characterize our Lord as the Good Shepherd.
Easter Day -- Acts 10:34-43 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Easter Day - C -- 2003
We have a crowd here today on this Easter Sunday. Churches are always crowded on Easter.
Second Sunday of Easter -- Acts 5:27-32 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Second Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
"We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
Third Sunday of Easter -- Acts 9:1-6 (7-20) -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Third Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
We have three different accounts of the conversion of Saul in the Gospel according to Luke (9:1-20;
Fourth Sunday of Easter -- Acts 9:36-43 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
A number of subsidiary themes emerge in this reading from Acts, and we probably should take note of
Fifth Sunday of Easter -- Acts 11:1-18 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
This story about Peter's mission to the Gentiles continues the account that began in 10:1, and it re
Sixth Sunday of Easter -- Acts 16:9-15 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
Our text for the morning sets us down in the middle of what many have called Paul's second missionar
Second Sunday after Epiphany -- Isaiah 62:1-5 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - C -- 2003
For those who like to preach from all three lectionary texts, the stated readings for this Sunday co

Worship Service

Stories

SermonStudio

Friendship -- 1999
"For the lonely man all the treasures of the world are no substitute for companionship.
Future -- 1999
The church sexton got the paper roll which plays the carillon bells in the church tower in the playe
Gandhi -- 1999
Some memorable scenes from the great movie Gandhi:
Giftedness -- 1999
On 60 Minutes there was a special about "Savant Syndrome." People who seem mentally challenge
Gifts -- 1999
Carolyn Rocco, daughter of the first president of our seminary, lost her stole at a restaurant and d
God's Love -- 1999
While I was greeting people at the door as guest preacher for the day, a woman came up behind me, pu
God's People -- 1999
We walked five miles from ToToTa, Liberia, to a little bush village.
God's Power -- 1999
Not everyone enjoys Monday night football as much as I do.
God's Presence -- 1999
At a community Thanksgiving service at the First Methodist Church, Des Moines, the Drake University
God's Word -- 1999
"In every age the church with the Holy Scriptures at its side has had some witnesses to the truth an

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 13 (OT 18, Pent 10)
29 – Sermons
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20+ – Worship Resources
24 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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Proper 14 (OT 19, Pent 11)
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110+ – Illustrations / Stories
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4 – Pastor's Devotions
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Proper 15 (OT 20, Pent 12)
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New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
Mary Austin
George Reed
For August 2, 2026:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Tom and Ben couldn't stand each other. They'd known each other for a very long time since they had been at school together years ago and had lived in the same village ever since. But they'd never hit it off. Unfortunately, being a village there was only one church, and Tom and Ben were both churchgoers.

StoryShare

Frank Ramirez
Argile Smith
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Not a Cup but a Cow" by Frank Ramirez
"Compassion at Work" by Argile Smith


What's Up This Week

SermonStudio

Jerry L. Schmalenberger
Seasonal Theme
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.

Theme For The Day
God's blessing from our troubles and the kingdom's invitation to share with others.

Old Testament Lesson
Genesis 32:22-31
Jacob Wrestles At Peniel
Stan Purdum
This psalm belongs in the category of "personal lament," which means it probably was not used for corporate worship, but by an individual pray-er. From the tone, the person is clearly in some unspecified distress, probably from persecutors of some sort. Protesting his innocence and his faithfulness to God, the psalmist asks for divine relief, and concludes with an expression of confidence that God will come to his aid (v. 18: "I shall awake satisfied").
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.
Larry Lange
To Jim it seemed like an opportunity to right decades of wrongs.
Wayne Brouwer
Yogi Berra, the great baseball player of an earlier age, was known for his unusual and creative use of the English language. In giving directions to his home, for example, he often told people, "When you come to the fork in the road, take it." His formula for success, as some heard it, was this: "Ninety percent perspiration, and the rest mostly just plain hard work." Then there was the time he went to a restaurant by himself and ordered a large pizza. The waitress asked if he would like it cut into four or eight pieces. "Better make it four," he replied.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
Willy Loman lived in a world of indifference; nobody seemed to care about him and others. It was a world where people thought mostly of themselves. Willy was a traveling salesman, but not a very good one. For many years he had been on the road, traveling from one city to another, one hotel to a second. His area was all of New England. Several times each year he would make his rounds, going from his home in New York north to Waterbury, Connecticut, then on to Providence, Boston, and north still further to Portland and Bangor in Maine before returning home.
Jeff Wedge
Aren't families fun, at times? Paul reminds us in the lesson for today that families can be a source of many things in our lives.

Consider the husband who had promised his wife to replace the kitchen cabinets, but kept putting off the home improvement. The wife had to leave to care for her sick mother for two weeks and returned to find the new cabinets installed in the kitchen.
Thom M. Shuman
Call To Worship
One: We come to this place of worship,
to encounter the One who has called us here.
All: This Holy One -- our God --
is with us in every moment.
One: God is in our celebrations and joys,
God is in our darkest nights of loneliness.
All: This Holy God -- our God --
blesses us and calls us by name.
One: As night fades before the coming light,
we meet the One who saves us --
even from ourselves.
All: This God -- our Holy God --
touches us with the spirit of hope.
Beverly S. Bailey
Hymns
Break Now The Bread Of Life (NCH321, CBH360, UM599, PH329)
Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown (UM386, CBH503)
God Is Here (NCH70, PH461)
Holy Spirit, Truth Divine (LBW257, NCH63, PH321)
Our God, To Whom We Turn (NCH37, PH278)
Sweet Hour Of Prayer (NCH505)
Sheaves Of Summer/Una Espiga (NCH338, PH518)
You Satisfy The Hungry Heart (PH521)

Anthems
Asleep On Holy Ground, Michael Card, The Beginning, Solo
Frank Ramirez
First Lesson: Genesis 32:22-31
Theme: Out Of Joint

Call To Worship (based on Psalm 145:1-4)

One: We will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.

All: We will proclaim you as God and King in the midst of our community.

One: Every day we will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.

All: Your name is great, Lord, and worthy of this praise.

One: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

We all love stories of courage among those who wrestle with daunting difficulties in life and actually pull out a win:

* Francis Parkman suffered from both arthritic muscles and poor eyesight. He could work only five minutes at a time, scrawling huge letters on his manuscript, yet he managed to complete a massive twenty-volume historical masterpiece.
David Kalas
Early in the cherished 1965 movie, The Sound of Music, we see the sisters at the abbey wondering about their whimsical novice, Maria. At the moment, no one can find her, and one of the sisters dutifully reports to the Reverend Mother that she has looked in all the usual places. "Considering that it's Maria," responds the wise, old woman, "perhaps you should look someplace unusual."

CSSPlus

Leah Thompson
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. (v. 19)

Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about bread. How many of you have eaten bread recently? (allow answers) What did you eat with your bread? (allow answers)
Cynthia E. Cowen
The Point: Jesus wants us to work together to spread the kingdom of God.

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