Luke 17:11-19 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23C
This is a great text for those of us preaching in Canada since it happens to be Thanksgiving weekend. Of course, it’s a good text for all of us around the world, but the thing that sets this leper apart from the other nine was his act of gratitude. What better theme for the holiday?…
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23C
Pen Pal Jeremiah is a compendium of literary genres, as we have already seen a whiplash of sorts from a kind of poetic prophecy to narrative and now to letter. Those of us who read Hebrew Scripture along with the New Testament may not notice how strange it is to find an epistle embedded in…
Psalm 111 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23C
Psalm 111 was written by somebody who pulled out every stop on the praise organ and then let it rip! In the span of just 10 verses, God is praised up and down, forward and back. God is extolled for the works of God’s hands, for keeping covenant with God’s people, for providing food for…
2 Timothy 2:8-15 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23C
While verse 14 falls near the end of this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson, it’s at least arguably central to it. After all, while translations like the NIV separate it with a paragraph break from the rest of this Lesson, it can be seen as speaking to both what follows and precedes that break that translators have…
Psalm 37:1-9 Sermon Commentary
Proper 22C
We can probably describe Psalm 37 as taking the long look. Although the Revised Common Lectionary gives us just shy of a quarter of the longer psalm, the first 9 verses do deliver a good capsule summary of the rest of the song as well. The basic message is simple: don’t fret when evil people…
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 Sermon Commentary
Proper 22C
So then, What is a Covenant-Keeping God to Do? Elizabeth Achtemeier, in her Interpretation commentary on the book of Habakkuk insists that, while the backdrop of this prophetic book is the disobedience and injustice of God’s people and their subsequent punishment at the hands of an invading Babylonian army, that is not the primary focus…
Luke 17:5-10 Sermon Commentary
Proper 22C
When I was a teenager, a well-meaning adult wanted to encourage me in the faith with a small gift. Obviously bought at the Christian bookstore, it was a dark blue pen on a matching dark blue lanyard and it had an actual mustard seed encased in the cap with verse 6 written in mustard yellow…
2 Timothy 1:1-14 Sermon Commentary
Proper 22C
It has been so dry in the northeastern United States that even the slightest or most carelessly tossed spark can easily turn into a destructive conflagration. As a result, on a recent vacation in New England, my wife and I saw countless reminders to be very careful in the handling of outdoor fires. One of…
Jeremiah 32:1-15 Sermon Commentary
Proper 21C
“A Little Book of Consolation” For those who have been tracking in Jeremiah with me through this season of Lectionary readings, be warned! This week’s lectionary text switches from poetry to narrative and left me quite disoriented. How can both the apocalyptic lament and the story of a land purchase both be Jeremiah? Let me…
Sermon Commentary Library
Our weekly sermon commentaries are Lectionary-based, which across its three-year cycle, encompass a vast array of biblical texts. Filter the Sermon Commentary Library to search Scripture texts by book and chapter to find commentary, illustrations, and reflections to spark ideas.
Looking for something else? View our Heidelberg Catechism sermon resources and our Reformed Connections to the RCL section that traces Lectionary texts to specific parts of the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession.