Commentary posted on January 4, 2021

Epiphany 1B Sermon Commentary

The Epiphany 1B Sermon Starters include commentary and illustration ideas for Mark 1:4-11 from the Lectionary Gospel; Genesis 1:1-5 from the Old Testament Lectionary; Psalm 29 from the Lectionary Psalms; and Acts 19:1-7 from the Lectionary Epistle.

Related Reformed confession: Lectionary Epistle: Belgic Confession Article 18

 

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Mark 1:4-11 Sermon Commentary

Epiphany 1B

Fans of Peter Jackson’s films in The Lord of the Rings trilogy will recall the opening sequence in the final film, The Return of the King.  As the movie opens, we are taken back hundreds of years from the main action of the trilogy to the time when the Hobbit-like person Smeagol finds the Ring…

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Psalm 29 Sermon Commentary

Epiphany 1B

My Mom has always had a fear of storms of any kind.  We used to joke about the fact that if ever there was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning or a Tornado Watch, you would soon see Mom’s purse on the top step of the stairs leading to the basement in case we had to flee…

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Acts 19:1-7 Sermon Commentary

Epiphany 1B

The woman who told me with a puzzled look on her face, “I don’t think anyone here has the Holy Spirit,” had been part of a church community I pastored for about six months. Yet in that short time she’d concluded that members of our church didn’t have the Holy Spirit. So she sadly left…

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Genesis 1:1-5 Sermon Commentary

Epiphany 1B

This First Sunday after Epiphany celebrates the Baptism of Jesus, that spectacular epiphany of his glory as he began his public ministry.  All of the Lectionary readings for this Sunday were chosen because they have to do with water, whether the primeval waters of Genesis 1 or the waters of the Mediterranean that spawn a…

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