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The Immediate Word

▶TIW Contributors

George Reed
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Chris Keating
Tom Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Elena Delhagen
Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - A
Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
Mary Austin
George Reed

For August 2, 2026:



Dean Feldmeyer Insufficiency Becomes Sufficient
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 14:13-21

What is The Immediate Word?

The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture for your sermon, children’s sermon, 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 an Internet-based service that gives you weekly information, inspiration, and presentation materials for your sermon, children’s sermon, and worship service.

Enabling: THE IMMEDIATE WORD will enable you to create high-impact sermons, children’s sermons, sermon outlines, worship services and compose pastoral prayers that help people pray with you, write compelling pastoral columns for your newsletter, arm your Sunday school teachers with meaningful, up-to-the-minute discussion sermon material, speak more constructively during the "Concerns of the Church" portion of your sermon, children's sermon and worship service about matters that worry your parishioners, advertise timely discussion topics to draw people into your church, and more.

Interactive: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is a dynamic, interactive process. First, among the team of clergy that creates it every week. Secondly, with you: you can personally participate in the creation process by providing your input and reactions to the input of others on new sermons, children’s sermons, sermon outlines and worship resources.

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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.

Recent TIW Installments

Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - A
Insufficiency Becomes Sufficient
Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - A
No One is Sitting Around
Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - A
A Weed by Any Other Name
Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - A
The Fertile Soil of the Heart
Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - A
Power In Rest

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

Arley K. Fadness
“...and he cried out, “Lord save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and saved him.” (30b, 31a)

Good morning boys and girls,

How are you today? Thinking about school yet? For some of you it will soon be time for going back to classes, seeing your friends and having new experiences, won't it?

I am happy to see you here at worship this morning.
Good morning! Today I want to talk about beauty. I have with me a beauty kit that people use to make themselves more attractive. Many people put this on themselves. Have you seen people put on lipstick before? (Let them answer.) What part of the body gets the beauty treatment? (Let them answer.) The face gets most of the attention. When we look at people, we usually look at their faces. Our faces are important.
Leah Thompson
But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. (v. 26)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ

Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

The local community

Those who suffer

The communion of saints


These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.
Janice B. Scott
Griselda had a turbulent life. She always blamed her name. For as long as she could remember, Griselda had been called Grizzy. Griselda wasn't sure whether this sounded like a bear or just a really miserable person, so she was generally a cross between the two. Sometimes she was angry for no particular reason, so she snarled and roared like a bear. At other times she felt so miserable her mouth would drag down at the corners, and she felt like crying for no particular reason. Whichever it was, everybody kept their distance.

StoryShare

Sandra Herrmann
Alex A. Gondola, Jr.
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Where's Your Jesus Now?" by Sandra Herrmann
"God Is Still Speaking, But Are We Listening?" by Alex Gondola


What's Up This Week
C. David Mckirachan
Keith Wagner
Contents
"My Sisters Were Saints" by C. David McKirachan
"Why Do You Preach?" by C. David McKirachan
"Against the Wind" by Keith Wagner
"Grateful and Gracious" by Keith Wagner


* * * * * * *


My Sisters Were Saints
by C. David McKirachan
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

SermonStudio

Dallas A. Brauninger
1. Text
Carlos Wilton
Theme For The Day
Faith always involves an element of risk.

Old Testament Lesson
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Joseph Is Sold Into Slavery
E. Carver Mcgriff
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 (C)
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
They said it couldn't be done. People for decades had said it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes. The great American miler Glenn Cunningham had held the world standard of 4:06.4 in 1934, but it was a Swedish runner, Gunder Haag, who clocked an amazing time of 4:01.4 in 1945, a record which stood for nearly a decade.
Tempe Fussell
Curtis Fussell
Grandparents are some of the most well-balanced people on the face of the earth. They have to be. After all, they have to spend the same amount of time with each grandchild. They have to get something for every grandchild on every trip. And, of course, Christmas gifts must at least look like they cost exactly the same. Jacob has a long way to go in mastering that finesse. He picked a favorite wife and he chose a favorite son. Joseph was the special son who got extravagant gifts and extra attention. He got to stay at home when the brothers had to travel with the herd.
Marilyn Saure Breckenridge
Introduction
Arley K. Fadness
It's art class. The student potter, under the watchful eye of the artist--instructor, carefully fashions, spins, and shapes a lump of green clay into a beautiful Grecian chalice. The clay figurine is then fired, soon to be painted and glazed. The potter and the mentor watch through the glass door of the oven as the fire heats the new creation toward a hardy sturdiness - durable and strong.
Beverly S. Bailey
Hymns
Sing Praise To God (NCH6, CBH59, UM126, PH483)
Immortal Love, Forever Full (NCH166, CBH629)
Here, O God, Your Servants Gather/Sekai No Tomo (NCH72, CBH7, PH465)
When The Storms Of Life Are Raging (CBH558, UM512)
O Sing A Song Of Bethlehem (NCH51, UM179, PH308)
Precious Lord, Take My Hand (CBH575, NCH472, UM474, PH404)
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (CBH582, NCH18, 19, UM127, PH281)
O Day Of God, Draw Nigh (PH452)

Anthems
Frank Ramirez
Call To Worship (Psalm 105:1-4)

One: O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.

All: Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.

One: Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

All: Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.


Collect

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
I grew up as a football-and-basketball guy, but the girl I married came from more of a tennis-and-golf family. The only golf I had played prior to vacationing with her family was the kind of golf that features windmills, bumpers, and loops.

Never having played on a real golf course before, I found it quite intimidating. As I tried to do what I had never done before, however, I gained a new appreciation for the skill of the people who were good at it.
R. Craig Maccreary
The longer I go in life the more I become fascinated with words: how we use them, where they come from, how their use changes over the years. The Christmas carol, "Deck The Halls" now takes me to a different place when we get to the line, "Don we now our gay apparel." I don't mean to be overly cute, rude, or crass but it is an example of how language can go off in directions that we never anticipated.

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