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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.
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Commentary
Epiphany 4B
Those who take a deep enough whiff of Deuteronomy 18 may detect at least a hint of death clinging to it. In fact, we might even say that the scent of death both lingers within and bookends the Old Testament lesson the Lectionary appoints for this Sunday. The lesson begins innocently enough, though (again!) right…
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Commentary
Epiphany 3B
Sometimes actions have surprisingly pleasant results. A soccer players weakly strikes a ball that ricochets off a defender and into the goal. Or a chef blends guacamole, tuna fish and lima beans into a recipe that somehow turns out to be delicious. Other actions, however, have surprisingly unpleasant results. With perfect form a basketball player…
1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Commentary
Epiphany 2B
Nothing quite grabs our attention like a voice in the night. After all, it almost always signals trouble. The voice may be that of a child from the next bedroom: “Grandma, I’m sick,” or a teenager’s cell phone: “Dad, I’ve run out of gas.” Sometimes, of course, the voice in the middle of the night…
Genesis 1:1-5
Commentary
Epiphany 1B
Questions about the “beginning” (1) of the universe, earth and people intrigue at least some of us. So God’s people sometimes turn to passages like Genesis 1:1-5 for answers to those questions. Yet wise people also ask whether Genesis is even interested in those increasingly divisive issues. To honestly answer questions about creation’s beginnings, God’s…
Psalm 148
Commentary
Christmas 1B
What a magnificent Psalm for this first Sunday after Christmas! The middle Psalm in the five Psalm “Hallelujah chorus” that ends the Psalter, Psalm 148 calls on the entire universe to praise Yahweh. These five Psalms are called the Hallelujah chorus because each one begins and ends with the Hebrew words Hallelu Yah, Praise Yahweh. …
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Commentary
Christmas 1B
My wife and I have a friendly but persistent discussion about on what date we should begin singing Christmas carols. Were it up to her, our home’s halls would start ringing with carols the day after American Thanksgiving. Were it up to me, we’d begin singing Christmas carols roughly one week before Christmas Day. From…
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Commentary
Advent 4B
2 Samuel 7’s David has been busy battling both Israel’s internal and external enemies. He’s also just finished “battling” his wife, Michal. So some who proclaim and hear 2 Samuel 7 feel a little like David. We come from dealing with, sometimes even “battling” people in our neighborhoods, families (and even churches). So we some…
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Commentary
Advent 3B
We often connect much of the Christmas season to happiness. God’s people love to sing, “Joy to the World.” We decorate our homes, stores and communities with bright lights. Most of us like to celebrate with both the young in age and the young in heart. This Sunday, however, is also a part of a…
Isaiah 64:1-9
Commentary
Advent 1B
It’s always tempting for those who preach and teacher God’s Word to talk more about prayer than actually pray. So those who proclaim Isaiah 64 won’t just want to explore, exegete and apply it carefully this week. We’ll also want to actually spend time praying, perhaps using its structure and themes to do so. The…
Judges 4:1-7
Commentary
Proper 28A
You’d probably have to thumb through a lot of children’s Bible story books before you’d find a retelling of Judges 4. It’s, after all, very resistant to the kind of moralizing such books sometimes like to do. In fact, even adult readers may have to dig pretty deeply to find anything edifying in this text….
About Doug Bratt