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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.
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Commentary
Proper 15C
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson continues Hebrews 11’s exploration of faith. It offers more examples of God’s people who were so sure of what they hoped for and certain of what they could not yet see that they lived lives of faithful obedience. However, Hebrews 11:29ff. offers examples not just of the blessings God extends to…
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Commentary
Proper 14C
While it doesn’t explicitly identify Christian faith’s Object, this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson begins with what some of God’s adopted children consider to be the classic definition of Christian faith. In verse 1 Hebrews’ unnamed author says, “Faith is confidence [hypostasis*] in what we hope for [elpizomenon] and assurance [elenchos] about what we do not see…
Colossians 3:1-11
Commentary
Proper 13C
Two of our grandchildren transferred to a different school at the beginning of this past academic year. While their adjustment was, by God’s grace, quite smooth, it was also quite large. Among other things, our grandchildren had to put on different clothing. They had to swap the uniforms of their previous school for their new…
Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)
Commentary
Proper 12C
At the time my wife and I knew Missy, she was the delightful 6 year-old daughter of our wonderful friends. She had an age-appropriate faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But while other Old Testament stories fascinated other children, Genesis’ account of Abraham’s circumcision especially fascinated Missy. She even retold the story in…
Colossians 1:15-28
Commentary
Proper 11C
My maternal grandfather had to drop out of school after completing the sixth grade in order to help his widowed mother provide for his ten siblings. Yet while his formal education was limited, my Grandpa Steenbergen remained a lifelong learner. His almost insatiable appetite for learning made him a voracious reader. One of the books…
Colossians 1:1-14
Commentary
Proper 10C
This is a fruitful season of the year in the world’s northern hemisphere. So my wife and I thoroughly enjoy watching freshly picked fruit and vegetables appear at our local farmstand. While most of our local strawberry plants have finished bearing fruit for the season, we’re now enjoying delicious peaches that have been harvested from…
Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
Commentary
Proper 9C
This Sunday brings us to the end of the Revised Common Lectionary’s very brief tour of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Galatia. The epistle’s tone is among the strictest if not harshest of all the Pauline letters. Yet the apostle ends it with verse 18’s “The grace [charis*] of our Lord Jesus Christ be…
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Commentary
Proper 8C
Our three sons are taller than my relatively tall wife and me. They range in height from about 6’2 to 6’6. So it can be challenging for us to walk with them. When our sons are walking with purpose, they walk far faster than my wife and I do. They, in fact, must often slow…
Galatians 3:23-29
Commentary
Proper 7C
Some advertisements thrive on presenting various “before-and-after” scenarios. Diet pills and plans like to place side by side pictures of people who were overweight before they went on their regimen but looked healthier after they completed it. Remodelers and others also employ pictures of kitchens before and after they did their work in order to…
Romans 5:1-5
Commentary
Trinity Sunday C
Hope is not just the name of my alma mater’s most heated rival. It’s also that without which no image bearer of God can truly live. While their hearts may beat and brains may still function, people who have no hope are, as Lewis Smedes once noted, basically walking dead people. Conversely even if their…
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