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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 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Commentary
Advent 3B
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson might bring to mind for some North American preachers the Christmas “classic” song, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” After all, generations of merry makers have sung of how Santa Claus is “making a list/ He’s checking it twice/ He’s going to find out/ Who’s naughty and who’s nice.” And then,…
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Commentary
Advent 2B
Women who have been pregnant tell me that expectant mom sometimes experience impatience tinged with a kind of restlessness. Especially near the end of their pregnancy, they’re anxious for their baby to be born. Some still-pregnant moms even envy those whose children have already been born. This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson at least alludes to some…
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Commentary
Advent 1B
Many Westerners have now entered the season of waiting. But the primary object of most of our contemporaries’ wait is Christmas’ arrival. Citizens of the 21st century don’t think much about the Advent that is also a season of waiting. Even many Christians who celebrate Advent focus more on waiting for our celebration of Christ’s…
Ephesians 1:15-23
Commentary
Proper 29A
I am physically near-sighted. But I grew up in an era before schools did systematic vision-testing. So neither my parents nor I knew that I was near-sighted until we went to a Detroit Tigers baseball game when I was in the sixth grade. When I told my mom and dad that I couldn’t read its…
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Commentary
Proper 28A
In the northern hemisphere the days are becoming noticeably shorter. If the Lord tarries, where I live, for example, there will be nearly 13 minutes less daylight on this coming Sunday than there were just last Sunday. That contributes to the sense that this is a dark time of the year. That darkness, however, helps…
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Commentary
Proper 27A
No matter how strong Jesus’ friends’ faith is, the death of someone we love can be immensely difficult. Among other things, it sometimes forces survivors to make painful adjustments that may take many months, if not years. Death, however, also raises troubling questions about the fate of those who have died. Such questions seemed to…
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Commentary
Proper 26A
What we call “post-modernism” heavily influences 21st century Western culture. One characteristic of that worldview is a kind of moral relativism. In other words, the idea that most ideas are equally valuable profoundly shapes our culture. No “word” carries any more moral authority than another. In a post-modern culture that offers a buffet of religious…
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Commentary
Proper 25A
Though the sheer volume of sermons on them seem to belie the claim, preaching on the epistles can and perhaps even should be rather challenging. Reading Epistolary Lessons is, after all, as one colleague has pointed out, a bit like reading someone else’s mail. Preaching on this Sunday’s particular Epistolary Lesson is perhaps even more…
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Commentary
Proper 24A
Larry (not his real name) was as crusty a person as I’ve ever met. While he professed to be a Christian, he’d alienated nearly everyone, including members of his family and church. His long-suffering wife was one of the few people who continued to stand by him, perhaps as much out of pity as almost…
Philippians 4:1-9
Commentary
Proper 23A
In a world that knows so little peace, this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson’s references to “the peace of God” [eirene tou Theou]* are very attractive. In fact, preachers may want to comb media reports shortly before they preach on Philippians 4 in order to cull some contemporary examples of that lack of peace. We probably won’t…
About Doug Bratt