Commentary posted on July 13, 2015

Proper 11B Sermon Commentary

 

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Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Sermon Commentary

Proper 11B

Comments and Observations “Be specific!   Show, Don’t Tell!” Those are fairly common pieces of advice from me when I grade student sermons.   Generalities, undefined words like “this” or “that,” brief lists that quickly conclude with “and so on” or “et cetera” just don’t cut it.   The concrete and the specific always trump the vague and…

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Psalm 89:20-37 Sermon Commentary

Proper 11B

Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Most scholars suggest Psalm 89 is a psalm of lament.  Yet the poet devotes most of it to praising God for God’s faithfulness and celebrating God’s covenant with David and his descendants.  Even the segment toward which the lectionary directs our attention seems reluctant to highlight the lament aspect…

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Ephesians 2:11-22 Sermon Commentary

Proper 11B

Comments and Observations If ever there were a text that resonates with life today, it is this ancient word.  In this text Paul answers the burning question at the heart of the immigration debate in America.  What is the right path to full citizenship?  Of course, Paul is not talking about full citizenship in a…

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2 Samuel 7:1-14a Sermon Commentary

Proper 11B

Comments and Observations In his commentary on I and II Samuel Walter Brueggemann makes the bold claim that this text from II Samuel 7 is the centerpiece to the whole of the Samuel corpus and is a crucial text for the church to pay attention to in this day and age as well.  In the…

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