Rev. Douglas Bratt is a Minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. After serving Christian Reformed churches in Iowa, Michigan and Maryland, he retired in July, 2024. He enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, reading good literature, and watching televised sports in his free time.
Doug began writing sermon commentaries for the CEP website in 2006 and started writing weekly in 2012.
Romans 13:11-14
Commentary
Advent 1A
Preachers might consider opening a message on this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson with an anecdote that’s similar to mine. As I write this, my wife and I have just returned from a two-week vacation in Hawaii. While both the scenery and people were lovely, we’re exhausted. The current five-hour time difference between Hawaii and the US’s…
Colossians 1:11-20
Commentary
Proper 29C
The contrast between the images of the Son of God presented by this Sunday’s Epistolary and Gospel lessons could hardly seem starker. Preachers might find fertile homiletical ground in that space – perhaps especially on this Christ the King Sunday that falls so close to the beginning of the Christmas season. Preachers might follow the…
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Commentary
Proper 28C
“Doing what is good [kalopoiountes*]” (13) can be very hard work. It can be “tiring” [enkakesete]. Doing good can, in fact, be downright exhausting. Especially when the Scriptures appear to summon Jesus’ friends to do things those Scriptures call “good” but seem to us to be at least somewhat harmful. Preachers prompted by the Holy…
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Commentary
Proper 27C
I grew up near a college that tried to take the Scriptures quite literally. One of the most memorable bumper stickers that “graced” at least some of its faculty and students’ cars read “In the case of the Rapture this car will be unoccupied.” As I matured, I wondered what havoc Rapture would wreak on…
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Commentary
Proper 26C
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson returns to one of last Sunday’s themes that is suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ. However, while last Sunday’s Lesson largely addressed Paul’s suffering for his faith, this week’s focuses mostly on the Thessalonian Christians’ suffering for their faith. By the power of the Holy Spirit, preachers might let 2…
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Commentary
Proper 25C
I’ve always wondered if Paul’s hands didn’t shake at least a bit as he wrote, “The time for my departure [analyseos*] is near [ephesteken] (6).” Or if his brow furrowed with a sort of defiance as he penned in verse 7, “I have fought [egonismai] the good fight [kalon agona]” (7). Or if the aging…
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Commentary
Proper 24C
Paul begins this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson by summoning Timothy to “Continue in [mene en*].” It is a call to persevere, in the paraphrase The Message offers, an invitation to “stick with.” If it were an American country western song, it might sound something like, “Keep on trucking.” Verse 14a’s “But” [de] connects that summons to…
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Commentary
Proper 23C
While verse 14 falls near the end of this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson, it’s at least arguably central to it. After all, while translations like the NIV separate it with a paragraph break from the rest of this Lesson, it can be seen as speaking to both what follows and precedes that break that translators have…
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Commentary
Proper 22C
It has been so dry in the northeastern United States that even the slightest or most carelessly tossed spark can easily turn into a destructive conflagration. As a result, on a recent vacation in New England, my wife and I saw countless reminders to be very careful in the handling of outdoor fires. One of…
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Commentary
Proper 21C
Robert Frost entitled his arguably most well-known poem “The Road Not Taken.” It begins, famously, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” That phrase likely, in turn, helped inspire M. Scott Peck’s arguably most famous book’s title: The Road…
About Doug Bratt