Home » Old Testament »
Psalm 66:1-9
Proper 9C
To read Psalm 66 while bombs are dropping in Israel, Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, and maybe other places is an odd, disconcerting experience. “All the earth bows to you, they sing the praises of your name.” Really? “His eyes watch the nations, let not the rebellious rise up against him.” Is God just watching, just observing? …
2 Kings 5:1-14
Proper 9C
How status works: The kings in this story set up a stark distinction. First, the narrator highlights the king of Aram’s many and great military victories. Ordinarily, this is an ancient near-eastern literary device to demonstrate, according to the CEB Study Bible “that a country’s gods were able to give victory to their people in…
2 Kings 2:1-14
Proper 8C
Illustration: I am a younger sister. My brother is five years older than I, which meant two things: I thought he was the coolest and he got to do a lot of things I wasn’t allowed to do yet. Which means I know what it feels like to get left behind, envious of the great…
Psalm 16
Proper 8C
We have all seen the latter portion of Psalm 16 used at Christian funerals. It gets printed on the memorial folder or the funeral service bulletin. Or we preachers are asked to base our funeral sermon on Psalm 16, especially verses 9-11. And we have occasionally seen verse 9b engraved on headstones at the cemetery. …
Psalm 22:19-28
Proper 7C
Psalm 22 certainly appears to have one of the biggest turnarounds in the Hebrew Psalter. After famously opening with a cry of divine abandonment and utter dereliction—followed by increasingly graphic descriptions of suffering and ridicule by enemies—the psalm concludes with effusive praise. The God who could not be located as the poem began returned, came…
I Kings 19:1-4, 8-15
Proper 7C
Illustration: Theologian Craig Barnes talks about the temptation to preach what he calls “bad dog sermons.” This is when the preacher stands in her pulpit, wagging a finger at the congregation. If she could reach their noses, she might even smack them with a rolled up newspaper, while scolding “Bad dog. Bad dog!” While there…
Psalm 8
Trinity Sunday C
Some years back I was slated to preach a sermon from Hebrews 2 as part of the major annual Worship Symposium we have held for many years at Calvin University and Seminary. The portion of Hebrews 2 I preached on quotes Psalm 8 and applies some of the psalm’s language to Jesus. In particular it…
Proverbs 8
Trinity Sunday C
Worship Idea: The lectionary offers a sermon series for the first month of the season of Pentecost, before it dives into the prophetic texts for most of the summer. These readings help us flesh out the gifts and attributes of the Holy Spirit. You could consider framing up a short series using the Hebrew Scripture…
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Pentecost
Let’s stipulate that the primary aim of preaching is not to condemn people or hurl about accusations and judgments. The primary aim of preaching is to proclaim the Good News that just is the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Even so, skipping over Psalm 104:35a as the Lectionary apparently would have us essentially do…
Acts 2:1-21/Genesis 11:1-9
Pentecost
The people of the earth have just been through it. The whole of their lives drowned in a flood. Because of their wickedness. And because God is a Holy God, God is not afraid to punish wickedness. But now that God has set the people on dry ground, they are still a little shook. So…
Content related to Old Testament