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Online Sermons & Sermon Illustrations

What is SermonSuite

SermonSuite, a division of CSS Publishing, is an online collection of professionally published lectionary and non-lectionary sermons, children's sermons, sermon illustrations, exegesis, homiletical resources, and worship resources which have been developed over the years to help pastors deliver relevant, high impact messages and worship resources.

This site's collection of professionally written, edited and published resources can be accessed online 24/7 giving pastors a versatile collection of fresh, innovative preaching and worship material for building dynamic messages that connect with your congregation and keep your pews filled.

Category  SermonsChildren's
Material
IllustrationsExegetical
Material
Worship
Material
Subscription
              
     
The Immediate WordYesYesYesYesYes
SermonStudioYesYesYesYesYes
Emphasis  YesYes 
StoryShareYes Yes  
The Village ShepherdYesYes  Yes
CSSPlus Yes   
Gospel Grams 1 Yes   
Gospel Grams 2 Yes   

Components

Click on any of the following component names to learn more...

     The Immediate Word

     SermonStudio

     Emphasis Online

     StoryShare

     The Village Shepherd

     CSS Plus

     Gospel Grams 1

     Gospel Grams 2



The Immediate Word

The Immediate Word a theological perspective on today's headlinesThe Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture for your sermon, children’s message, and worship service. The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture.

Cutting Edge: THE IMMEDIATE WORD gives you the tools to be cutting edge ... to put you in touch with today's most critical issues and to aid you in crafting messages and presentations that will truly help your congregants understand the Gospel in the context of what is current and most important to them.

Collaborative: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is a unique collaboration of some of the sharpest, most contemporary clergy of our day in a web based service that gives you weekly information, inspiration, and presentation material.

Enabling: THE IMMEDIATE WORD will enable you to create messages about matters that your parishioners are discussing and concerned about.

Timely: THE IMMEDIATE WORD posts the topic of the week and a brief introduction on Monday and the final product on Tuesday afternoon, giving you time to digest the material and then incorporate them into your preparations for the coming Sunday service.

Satisfaction Guaranteed: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is not only guaranteed to satisfy you, we believe it will actually energize your ministry. We are so confident that you will find THE IMMEDIATE WORD to be such a great value that if you are not completely satisfied with the service we will refund the balance of your subscription payment, no questions asked.

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SermonStudio

SermonStudioSermonStudio, a flagship product of the site, is home to thousands of sermons, children’s messages, outlines, sermon illustrations, worship services, exigetical resources, dramas, prayers, preaching resources, and more.

Within this component, you will find high quality resources for all liturgical seasons from Advent/Christmas all the way through Thanksgiving. You’ll find lectionary and non-lectionary content as well as funeral and wedding homilies, communion and baptism homilies, special occasion messages and others based on Biblical and general themes.

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Emphasis Preaching Journal

Emphasis Preaching Journal Commentary and illustrations based on the LectionaryEmphasis Preaching Journal provides in-depth, scripturally sound, lectionary-based commentary on weekly texts, plus thousands of illustrations to help you create riveting messages.

For each Sunday, Emphasis writers and editors delve into the heart of the four lectionary readings, providing you with several fresh, solid ideas -- based squarely on the lectionary texts -- for creating messages that speak powerfully to your audience. The writers look for overall themes that hold the readings together, then they home in on the themes and the specific scripture links, suggesting multiple homiletical directions. Since a single idea each week may not provide what you are looking for at that particular time, Emphasis suggests several, giving you the opportunity to select the one that matches your specific needs.

Emphasis is like having a dedicated, thoroughly-versed research team right in your own study to help you create messages that are truly yours, and that speak powerfully to your audience.

Archives
Emphasis gives you even greater value by putting back issues of the journal at your fingertips. This access to the Emphasis archives, combined with the ability to find commentaries and illustrations based on lectionary, scripture, or keyword, makes Emphasis an efficient, indespensible, time-saving tool for your ministry.

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StoryShare

StoryShare -- stories of faith for preaching and teachingStoryShare is a treasure trove of good stories that relate authentic, life-changing experiences that demonstrate the Lord's power and presence. All of the content in StoryShare is lectionary based and serves to help you illustrate the weekly readings. The stories can be used as illustrations or, in some cases, as standalone homilies. Along with new stories being added every week, a subscription to StoryShare also gives you access to the archives, so if the new stories don't catch your eye, it's likely something from the archives will work for you.

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The Village Shepherd

The Village Shepherd sermons, children's stories and liturgies, and prayers based on the lectionaryThe Village Shepherd offers sermons, children's stories and liturgies, and prayers based on the lectionary. This content is sure to touch your heart, because they reflect the simple virtues and tranquil serenity that characterize Reverend Janice Scott's English countryside pastorate. The questions "Where is God in this particular situation?" and "Where does the Gospel story cross our own human story?" are always at the heart of these meditations -- but rather than finding overt answers, instead you will be gently led to make your own connections and discover the powerful ways in which God works. Janice Scott has the unique ability to find interesting details in ordinary life that illuminate scripture, while still challenging even the most intellectual reader. And that gift is precisely what also makes her an outstanding communicator with children.

For every Sunday in all three lectionary cycles you will find:
  • A homiletical message for each Gospel, Second Reading, and First Reading.
  • Children's stories based on the Gospel for the week.
  • Children's liturgy and story based on the Gospel. (The story included with the liturgy is different from the story mentioned above.
  • A group of intercessory prayers for your worship service.
The convenient search engine enables you to quickly find exactly what you need -- all the rich content of The Village Shepherd can be searched by lectionary, scripture, or keyword.

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CSS Plus

CSSPlus - children's sermons and activities based on the LectionaryCSSPlus (Children Sermon Service) offers great children's sermons for lectionary and non-lectionary users. CSSPlus is a subscription service of children's messages that provide one new children's message per week for each Sunday of the year based on the lectionary Gospel. In addition to the children’s homilies, each week includes several different children’s activities which are perfect for use in Sunday school or at home during the week.

Lectionary users will find this component useful because every entry is referenced and searchable by lectionary.

Non-lectionary users will find CSSPlus equally useful because every entry is also referenced and searchable by scripture reference and keyword.

So, whether you are a lectionary user or a non-lectionary user, this component will provide you a vast selection of great children's messages from first-rate communicators with children, and you'll quickly find just what you are looking for.

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Gospel Grams 1

Gospel Grams - children's activities for ages 5-7 based on lectionary textsGospel Grams 1 providers lectionary-based children’s activity bulletin to communicate the Gospel for children ages 4-7. Gospel Grams 1 is an activity bulletin designed to communicate the Gospel to young children at their own level. Instead of kids drawing cars or flowers on scrap paper or the regular worship bulletin, why not give them their very own bulletin that will reinforce the Gospel message for the day in fun and interesting ways.

Geared to children ages 4-7, Gospel Grams 1 uses imaginative Bible word games and puzzles, coloring pictures, and stories to engage kids with the Gospel lesson for the day. And because it is lectionary-based, the children will be on the same "scriptural" page as the adults.

In all, there are 56 Gospel Grams per lectionary cycle. Since they are downloadable pdf files, you can print as few or as many as you need -- therefore keeping waste to a minimum.

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Gospel Grams 2

Gospel Grams 2 provides lectionary-based children’s activity bulletin to communicate the Gospel for children ages 8-10. Gospel Grams 2 is an activity bulletin designed to communicate the Gospel to young children at their own level. Instead of kids drawing cars or flowers on scrap paper or the regular worship bulletin, why not give them their very own bulletin that will reinforce the Gospel message for the day in fun and interesting ways.

Geared to children ages 8-10, Gospel Grams 2 uses imaginative Bible word games and puzzles, coloring pictures, and stories to engage kids with the Gospel lesson for the day. And because it is lectionary-based, the children will be on the same "scriptural" page as the adults.

In all, there are 56 Gospel Grams per lectionary cycle. Since they are downloadable pdf files, you can print as few or as many as you need -- therefore keeping waste to a minimum.

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Advent 3
31 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
30 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Advent 4
36 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
19 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
3 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Christmas!
27 – Sermons
100+ – Illustrations / Stories
31 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
3 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For January 5-6, 2025:
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Christopher Keating
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For January 5-6, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A large paper bag with candy or stickers inside, depending on what you are comfortable giving your children.

Note: When the child reaches into the bag, quickly squeeze or shake the bag and make a noise to surprise them. The goal is just to surprise them, not scare them. Have fun with this!

* * *
John Jamison
Object: A small candle and a bright flashlight. If you have a really bright flashlight, just shine it in the children’s direction, and not directly into their eyes.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Today’s story is about Jesus. But I need to warn you that the story may sound a little confusing when I tell it to you.

One day, a man named John was writing to people to tell them about Jesus, and this is what he wrote. He said:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bill Thomas
Isaiah 60:1-6
David Coffin
An upper middle-aged man is politely led out of the factory where he works by both the union and management representatives into mandatory early retirement. The company wants to hire two employees at a lower rate of pay rather than pay this skilled worker for the thirty years of seniority that he earned through days of sweat and toil.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Frank Ramirez
Just when you thought the holidays were over, when the last of the holiday snacks, Chex Mix and cookies and the fruit in the basket that arrived in the mail, were finally eaten, New Year’s celebrated and the football games turned off for the moment, and things are almost back to normal — along comes a late Christmas card, with its traditional picture of shepherds and kings and angels and cows and sheep and the light shining out of the manger, a tried and true quotation from scripture or a reference to a Christmas carol, and a swiftly penned greeting from an old friend, to make it all real agai

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth
and thick darkness the peoples,
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
(vv. 1-2)
Frank Ramirez
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth…a great company, they shall return here (Jeremiah 7:8).

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

When Jesus came, many people failed to recognise him. As we worship him today let us try to recognise him in each other.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, Lord, have mercy.

Reading:

John 1:10-18

SermonStudio

Stephen P. McCutchan
He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!
-- Psalm 147:20

Constance Berg
Karny runs. She runs marathons. She runs races. She runs for fun. Karny loves to run because it reminds her that she is alive. Alive to feel the ocean breeze near her house. Alive to feel the gentle pain in her legs after a good ten-mile run. She is grateful for her life because she was so close to losing it.
Richard A. Jensen
The focus in Matthew 1 was on names. Name after name after name culminating in THE Name: Jesus! In Matthew 2 there is a focus on places. The first place mentioned is Bethlehem. Matthew begins his birth story by simply telling us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. In the course of the story the Magi come from the east looking for the city in which the "child of the star" was to be found. Herod didn't know. The chief priests and scribes looked it up. Bethlehem!
John T. Ball
Today is an important day in the life of the world and the life of the church. In the northern hemisphere this is the first day of the New Year. Last night many of us celebrated the eve of this New Year -- noisily or somberly. Noisy types went out to dinner and danced until our feet grew weary. We counted down the last seconds of the old year, and wildly greeted one another with shouts, drinks, hugs, kisses, and fireworks. Then we sang the traditional lines of Robert Burn's poem, "Auld Lang Syne," and went home.
Mary S. Lautensleger
Walking in the dark is difficult, even in the familiarity of your own home. Furniture has a way of rearranging itself in the dark so that you can whack your shins a little easier. Small, sharp toys crawl out from their hiding places to park themselves in your path. Your dog or cat is stretched out on the carpet, sleeping blissfully until your foot makes contact with a tail or a paw.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
One Christmas morning, Dennis, Nancy, and their young son, Eric, were traveling south from San Francisco to their home in Los Angeles. They had spent Christmas Eve with relatives in the Bay Area, but both parents had to work the next day, thus, it was necessary to travel on Christmas. About noon, Dennis and Nancy decided they were hungry so they stopped at a local diner for lunch. Naturally, because it was Christmas, the restaurant was nearly empty and Eric, their young son, was the only child in the restaurant.

Steven E. Albertin
"Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words can never harm me."

There has never been a bigger lie that has ever been so widely perpetuated. A friendly playground game erupts into a fight and insults fill the air. One of the combatants defiantly shouts, "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words can never harm me." Even though such words attempt to minimize the harm inflicted by such insults, in fact they reveal just the opposite. These words have wounded him deeply.

Special Occasion

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