Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Sermon Commentary
Advent 1B
The Lectionary directed us to Psalm 80 not long ago during Year A on October 3 and now here it is again at the head of Advent for Year B. If you want to see the commentary on this from just two months ago, you can click here. For this commentary we will look at…
1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Sermon Commentary
Advent 1B
Many Westerners have now entered the season of waiting. But the primary object of most of our contemporaries’ wait is Christmas’ arrival. Citizens of the 21st century don’t think much about the Advent that is also a season of waiting. Even many Christians who celebrate Advent focus more on waiting for our celebration of Christ’s…
Mark 13:24-37 Sermon Commentary
Advent 1B
Advent comes in with an apocalyptic bang! This series of verses has come to be known as Mark’s “Little Apocalypse,” a snapshot of the turning point that ends this world and begins the new. I must confess that I can easily get lost in the devastating or destructive depictions in apocalyptic literature to the point…
Isaiah 64:1-9 Sermon Commentary
Advent 1B
What are you waiting for? At the beginning of Advent, we turn our hearts toward the practices of waiting and anticipation. Though I suppose a lot depends on what it is you are waiting for: for out of town guests to arrive, best get busy preparing extra linens and stocking up on meals. Waiting for…
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…
Psalm 95:1-7a Sermon Commentary
Proper 29A
This is another one of those lections that stops just short of the place in the psalm where there is a decisive—yet probably important—shift of tone and theme. Yes, the first seven verses of Psalm 95 are a lovely doxological celebration and a call to worship this Creator and Redeemer God for all God is…
Matthew 25:31-46 Sermon Commentary
Proper 29A
These last few weeks of passages have reminded us that asking, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16.30) is not the only question that matters. Growing in our understanding of how belief and faith is translated into daily living is just as important. And the question, “What happens when Jesus returns?” is just…
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 Sermon Commentary
Proper 29A
A Shepherd In the US context, the day after Thanksgiving begins the Christmas season. But this is one of those years where a fluke of the calendar means the church won’t be celebrating Advent (let alone Christmas) yet. We have one last Sunday in Ordinary Time. Liturgically, the first Sunday of Advent begins a brand…
Matthew 25:14-30 Sermon Commentary
Proper 28A
We pick up right where we left off last week, listening to Jesus teach his followers some important truths about how they are to live in light of what he will do in the future. This parable deals with the same question of how people ought to actively wait for the coming of the Lord,…
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.
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