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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.
James 3:1-12
Commentary
Proper 19B
It’s not a little ironic that most of us who preach this Sunday on the potential dangers and blessings of the use of our tongues will do so with our tongues. So we do well to let the Spirit speak to us through James 3 before we even begin to preach. After all, it strongly…
James 2:1-10 (11-13), 14-17
Commentary
Proper 18B
“Faith without works is dead.” In a world where so many things divide Christians, nearly all sides unite to claim this famous verse for themselves. Both “progressives” and “traditionalists” cling tenaciously to this profession. While some see it as a call to a strict(er) obedience to God in response to God’s grace, others focus on…
James 1:17-27
Commentary
Proper 17B
Were you to ask North American citizens of the 21st century, “What is God like?” you might get, especially in some culturally diverse areas, as many as 15-20 answers. Some of them would reflect long-standing religious traditions. Others might reflect a kind of DIY theology. And some answers might reflect an atheism or agnosticism. Few…
Ephesians 6:10-20
Commentary
Proper 16B
It’s not surprising that preachers and scholars generally pay most of our attention to this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson’s military imagery. After all, while Paul’s images are easily misunderstood and misapplied, they’re also prominent in this text, vivid and memorable. We’ve even managed to cram some of them into things like Vacation Bible School weeks. So,…
Ephesians 5:15-20
Commentary
Proper 15B
Does any subtle difference exist in tone and meaning between a summons to “Be careful” and “Be very careful”? There may be an added urgency that comes through with the addition of the adjective “very.” When, for example, my wife drives home alone from caring for our grandchildren, I always try to ask her to…
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Commentary
Proper 14B
Few themes in advertising and social media are more prominent than transformation. We like to put next to each other before-and-after pictures of people who are overweight and people whose weight is later more appropriate, as well as pictures of things like kitchens before and after they were remodeled. The juxtaposition is meant to impress…
Ephesians 4:1-16
Commentary
Proper 13B
Controversy about how to faithfully respond to God’s grace continues to roil parts of Christ’s Church. It sometimes seems as if some of Jesus’ 21st century North American friends struggle to find our unity in anything but our Christian ethics. Quite simply, we spend a great deal of time arguing about and dividing over what…
Ephesians 1:3-14
Commentary
Proper 10B
It’s ironic and sad that predestination is such a contentious issue among some of Jesus’ friends. We sense, after all, that God graciously intends it to be a source of comfort for rather than division among Christians. Thankfully, then, this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson offers preachers a chance to let the Spirit help us unpack this…
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Commentary
Proper 9B
Given the choice between “power” [dynamis]* (9) and “weakness” [astheneia], people naturally choose power. It’s a tendency that’s not easy for even Christians to shake. In fact, I wonder if some of Christ’s Body’s deepest divisions aren’t at least partly rooted in the members of that Body’s desire to cling to the power we have….
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Commentary
Proper 8B
It’s probably a good thing that the Revised Common Lectionary offers preachers the opportunity to preach on this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson once every three years. Otherwise some of us might never feel emboldened to preach on what the apostles call “the grace of giving” (7). Yet this is another text about which preaching on it…
About Doug Bratt