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Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 1C
Luke’s substantial narrative powers surely did not suddenly fail him in this third chapter. So we need a different kind of explanation for the curious way by which Luke frames up this part of the story. Consider: First, we get the odd insertion in verses 19-20 about John’s imprisonment following his finally crossing the line…
Psalm 29 Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 1C
Thunderstorms. On average each day 45,000 such storms occur on Planet Earth. They are among the most powerful forces we know. In the simplest, but also in perhaps the most boring, sense a thunderstorm is an atmospheric stabilizer. Acting like a giant heat machine, a thunderstorm forms when there is a lot of cold air…
Acts 8:14-17 Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 1C
While it’s at least tangentially related to this Sunday’s gospel lesson, Acts 8:14-17 may seem like a rather odd text for the second Sunday of the new year. It isn’t, after all, just a mysterious text that even the most learned scholars struggle to fully understand. While the Lectionary longs to unite Christians around the…
Isaiah 43:1-7 Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 1C
On this second Sunday in the Epiphany season, the church focuses on the Baptism of Jesus, arguably one of the greatest manifestations of his glory. This Old Testament reading was undoubtedly chosen because of its baptismal echoes of passing through the waters and being called by name. In the same way that Isaiah 60 anticipated…
Commentary posted on January 7, 2019
Epiphany 1C Sermon Commentary
The Epiphany 1C Sermon Starters include commentary and illustration ideas for Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 from the Lectionary Gospel; Isaiah 43:1-7 from the Old Testament Lectionary; Psalm 29 from the Lectionary Psalms; and Acts 8:14-17 from the Lectionary Epistle.
Related Reformed confession: Lectionary Gospel: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 31 (Lord’s Day 12)