Stan Mast was the Minister of Preaching at the LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church in downtown Grand Rapids, MI for 22 years. He graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1971 and served four churches in the West and Midwest regions of the United States. He also served a 3 year stint as Coordinator of Field Education at Calvin Seminary. He has earned a BA degree from Calvin College and a Bachelor of Divinity and a Master of Theology from Calvin and a Doctor of Ministry from Denver Seminary. He is happily married to Sharon, and they have two sons and four grandchildren. Stan is a voracious reader and works out regularly. He also calls himself a car nut and an “avid, but average” golfer.
Stan wrote weekly sermon commentaries for the CEP website from 2012 to 2019.
Acts 10:34-43
Commentary
Easter Day A
In this (Old Testament?) reading, we hear not the original story about how Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified by Roman soldiers, but a retelling of that story to a Roman soldier. If you want to emphasize the fact of the resurrection in your Easter sermon, choose the Gospel readings for your text. …
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Commentary
Palm Sunday A
This is going to be a disappointing Palm Sunday for any church that follows the RCL, because there isn’t much joy and celebration in the readings. Psalm 31 is filled with suffering and Philippians 2 traces the downward movement of Christ’s kenosis, while the Gospel reading from Matthew 26 and 27 is the whole passion…
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Commentary
Lent 5A
At first glance, this famous vision of the valley of dry bones seems more like an Easter text than a Lenten text. I mean, if the text left us with a valley full of dry bones, it might fit the somber mood of the last week of Lent. But it doesn’t, because the bleached-out bones…
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Commentary
Lent 4A
In our first reading for this Fourth Sunday of Lent, we are introduced to the most famous king of Israel, David son of Jesse. It’s a favorite passage for many Bible students because of the parade of likely candidates from Jesse’s family, each of whom is rejected, and then the entrance of the least likely…
Exodus 17:1-7
Commentary
Lent 3A
In my last two Sermon Commentaries on the Old Testament readings for Lent (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 and Genesis 12:1-4a), I noted that the Lectionary is focusing on texts that highlight the “one for all” theme running throughout salvation history, culminating in the One who died for all, once for all. That theme continues here in…
Genesis 12:1-4a
Commentary
Lent 2A
The early chapters of Genesis show us the steady downhill slide of humanity beginning with the Fall in Eden, with some terrifying secondary falls along the way—Cain and Abel, the increasing depravity of humans resulting in the massive cleansing of the Flood, the building of Babel resulting in the scattering and confusion of the nations….
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Commentary
Lent 1A
And so our Lenten journey begins. The text chosen by the RCL for this First Sunday of Lent remind us that the journey to salvation began at a tree where salvation became necessary and ended at a tree where salvation was accomplished. Genesis 3 shows us the disastrous human choice that brought death in all…
Exodus 24:12-18
Commentary
Last Epiphany A
We come at last to the last Sunday of Epiphany, Transfiguration Sunday. Epiphany began with the proclamation of Christ to the nations, represented by the Magi from the East, and it ends with an even more dramatic presentation of God’s glory on a mountain. Indeed, all of the lectionary readings for today feature a mountain…
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Commentary
Epiphany 6A
This is one hard text to preach. On the one hand, it seems so simple that it doesn’t even need a sermon. I mean, what more can we say about a text that is this straightforward. On the other hand, its simple straightforward message is so demanding and absolute that it will be unpalatable for…
Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12)
Commentary
Epiphany 5A
On some liturgical calendars, we are in Ordinary Time right now. But the Revised Common Lectionary helps us keep the glory shining for a bit longer by calling this the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. The Lectionary throws us a curveball, however, with this hard-hitting text about fasting. What on earth does this social justice passage…
About Stan Mast