Matthew 21.23-32 Sermon Commentary
Proper 21A
Comments, Questions, and Observations This is the day after Jesus has cleansed the temple. Now he has returned and the leaders have come out in force to challenge this man upsetting the system. They demand that Jesus tell them who he thinks he is: by what authority is he changing and teaching things, and who…
Philippians 2:1-13 Sermon Commentary
Proper 21A
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson offers preachers a virtual embarrassment of theological riches. Its verses 5-11’s celebration of Jesus’ humiliation and exaltation are among Christians’ favorite passages. They, in fact, make up the Epistolary Lesson’s reading on each Palm Sunday. However, as the New Testament scholar Troy Troftgruben notes, this 17th Sunday after Pentecost also offers…
Exodus 17:1-7 Sermon Commentary
Proper 21A
Comments, Observations and Questions: Don’t Forget to Remember There is a recent song, written by Ellie Holcomb, entitled: “Don’t Forget to Remember.” The chorus goes like this: “Don’t forget to remember you’re never alone. No matter if you are up high or down low. And as sure as the sun keeps rising above. Don’t forget…
Psalm 25:1-9 Sermon Commentary
Proper 21A
Psalm 25 has its share of ups and downs. On the one hand there are some very sunny promises here. The opening of the psalm assures us that those who trust in the Lord will never be put to shame. Were we to peer at the dozen verses that round out Psalm 25 beyond the…
Psalm 145:1-8 Sermon Commentary
Proper 20A
With 150 psalms to choose from, it is something of a mystery why this is the third time in three months that the Lectionary has had us somewhere in Psalm 145. Even so, here we are again. If a given preacher did preach on part or all of the 145th Psalm in July and/or August…
Philippians 1:21-30 Sermon Commentary
Proper 20A
John Wooden was the hugely successful coach of America’s UCLA’s men’s basketball team. He also sought to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. Wooden once famously said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson’s Paul would probably have agreed. After all,…
Exodus 16:2-15 Sermon Commentary
Proper 20A
The waters of the Red Sea have barely even crashed back together. The victory song has barely even faded off Miriam’s lips. The Israelites have barely even finished filling their canteens at an oasis with twelve springs and 70 palm branches. But out in that desert, the people of God melt into a collective toddler…
Matthew 20:1-16 Sermon Commentary
Proper 20A
Jesus’s questions, on the lips of the vineyard owner, hit like bricks: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” That second question’s literal translation is, “Is your eye evil because I am good?” Though the “evil eye” image is unfamiliar…
Psalm 103: (1-7), 8-13 Sermon Commentary
Proper 19A
In past sermon commentaries here on the CEP website I have relayed the anecdote involving the author John Donne. A friend of mine who taught English once lent an acquaintance a book of collected writings by John Donne. When the person returned the book, my friend asked him what he thought of Donne’s work. “He’s…
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.