Ephesians 3:14-21 Sermon Commentary
Proper 12B
As I’ve said before, there is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time, and that is surely the case with this text. This is an extraordinary prayer for Ordinary Time. Paul has just described the church’s calling in cosmic terms. The unity of Gentile and Jew in the church is intended by God to make known the…
Ephesians 2:11-22 Sermon Commentary
Proper 11B
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 country; he is…
Ephesians 1:3-14 Sermon Commentary
Proper 10B
It’s ironic and sad that predestination is such a contentious issue among some of Jesus’ friends. We sense, after all, that God graciously intends it to be a source of comfort for rather than division among Christians. Thankfully, then, this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson offers preachers a chance to let the Spirit help us unpack this…
Ephesians 2:1-10 Sermon Commentary
Lent 4B
Perhaps few texts, particularly among the New Testament’s epistles, are more familiar or frequently preached than this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson’s. As a result, preachers may wonder what the Spirit would have them “do” with Ephesians 2:1-10. In our questioning we may even hunt for a novel approach to this gospel proclamation. Such a “safari” may,…
Ephesians 1:15-23 Sermon Commentary
Proper 29A
I am physically near-sighted. But I grew up in an era before schools did systematic vision-testing. So neither my parents nor I knew that I was near-sighted until we went to a Detroit Tigers baseball game when I was in the sixth grade. When I told my mom and dad that I couldn’t read its…
Ephesians 5:8-14 Sermon Commentary
Lent 4A
In this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson, Paul summons Christians to “live as children of light” (8). However, we might also say that he offers his readers some walking lessons. After all, the apostle uses some form of the word paripateo no less than six times in chapters 4-6, including three times in Ephesians 5. As the…
Ephesians 1:3-14 Sermon Commentary
2nd Sunday after Christmast C
Few Scripture passages are theologically weightier than this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson. In fact, in an earlier commentary on it, Scott Hoezee remembers once asking the congregation he served about how it would feel if he were from then to on base every sermon on Ephesians 1:3-14. He notes that while most would call it a…
Ephesians 6:10-20 Sermon Commentary
Proper 16B
The past approximately 17 months have taken a heavy toll on many of this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson’s proclaimers and hearers. The pandemic and efforts to mitigate its affects have caused great physical, mental and even spiritual suffering. They’ve left us exhausted. What’s more, just when we seemed to have turned a corner, COVID-19 seems to…
Ephesians 5:15-20 Sermon Commentary
Proper 15B
Near the middle of this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson the apostle summons his readers to “understand what the Lord’s will is” (17b). In a letter that he soaks with grace, this may be among the biggest challenges he sets before God’s Ephesian adopted sons and daughters. Paul spends much of the first part of his letter…
Sermon Commentary Library
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