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Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Sermon Commentary
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…
2 Samuel 7:1-14a Sermon Commentary
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…
Psalm 89:20-37 Sermon Commentary
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…
Ephesians 2:11-22 Sermon Commentary
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…
Sermon Commentary From Other Lectionary Cycles
Psalm 23 Sermon Commentary
Lent 4A
On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we are given a tough assignment by the RCL: preach on Psalm 23, the best known, best loved text in the entire Bible. Rolf Jacobsen summarizes the difficulty of such an assignment. We can run the risk of trivializing the sublime. Or we can turn the sermon into an…
Sermon Commentary for Sunday
This Week's Commentary
Lent 4A
The Lent 3A Sermon Commentaries include reflection and illustration ideas for John 9:1-41 from the Lectionary Gospel; 1 Samuel 16:1-13 from the Old Testament Lectionary; Psalm 23 from the Lectionary Psalms; and Ephesians 5:8-14 from the Lectionary Epistle.
Related Reformed confession: Lectionary Epistle: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 27 (Lord’s Day 10)