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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.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Commentary
Proper 19C
At first glance, 1 Timothy 1:17 may seem like a strange place to put such a stirring doxology. After all, while we profess the Spirit inspired its placement, it’s only a relative handful of verses into Paul’s letter to his “true son in the faith” (1). While there are, of course, exceptions, we generally find…
Philemon 1:1-21 2025
Commentary
Proper 18C
Jesus’ friends sometimes define ourselves by our relationships to other people. We naturally think of ourselves primarily as parents, children, spouses, friends, employers, employees or students. But this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson at least tacitly invites preachers to help our hearers to consider other relationships by which we ought to define ourselves. The Paul who writes…
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 2025
Commentary
Proper 17C
Few English labels have traditionally carried more of a negative wallop than that of “do-gooder.” We tend to be critical of people we call “do-gooders,” perhaps largely because we assume they do good out of selfish motives. Yet Hebrews’ narrator ends this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson with a summons to “not forget [epilanthanesthe*] to do good…
Hebrews 12:18-29 2025
Commentary
Proper 16C
Whenever I read this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson, I’m reminded of how both our relationship with and worship of God is a kind of balancing act. Our natural preference for cut-and-dried answers may at least help explain why any form of relating to God easily devolves into one extreme or the other. Jesus’ friends easily either…
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…
About Doug Bratt