Luke 24:13-35 Sermon Commentary
Easter 3A
One of the things that makes this story so lovely is that it subtly reminds us that the circle of disciples is much larger than we make a point to remember when we’re reading the gospels. “Now on that same day two of them were going…” These two on the road are from “the eleven…
1 Peter 1:17-23 Sermon Commentary
Easter 3A
Some biblical phrases are so theologically rich that gospel proclaimers might be tempted to preach entire sermons on them alone. This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson offers one example of that. In 1 Peter 1:17b the apostle summons his scattered readers to “Live out [anastraphete*] your time [chronon] as foreigners [paroikias] here in reverent fear [phobo].” Preachers…
Acts 2:14, 36-41 Sermon Commentary
Easter 3A
Illustration I was, it may surprise some of you to learn, a theatre geek in high school. Of course I loved to be on stage performing for an audience (I know, right? Shocker.) But I also helped with costumes, did some stage managing and student directing. But my favorite part wasn’t the flush of pride,…
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 Sermon Commentary
Easter 3A
Since I can detect no logical reason for skipping verses 5-11 as the Lectionary would have us to do, it makes sense to preach on the entire psalm as these 19 verses form a seamless whole. But I leave that up to you! In general, as a psalm in Eastertide, one could map this song…
Acts 2:14a, 22-32 Sermon Commentary
Easter 2A
Commentary: Note: although this Lectionary text takes only a portion of Peter’s sermon, this commentary reaches to both sides a bit to make some general comments on the content of the sermon as well as the kind of people/the nature of the church it intends to birth. Qualities of a Spirit-Filled Sermon What does a…
John 20:19-31 Sermon Commentary
Easter 2A
Those Jesus called “brothers” last week have been told the news about Jesus’s resurrection by Mary Magdalene (v. 18) and they’ve come together, not out of hope or wonder, but John says, out of fear. For all intents and purposes, I think that we are supposed to understand that the disciples are in hiding because…
1 Peter 1:3-9 Sermon Commentary
Easter 2A
Jesus’ resurrection, as we noted last week, changes everything. It even changes the way people God has raised to life with him see things. The Spirit equips God’s adopted children to, among other things, love and believe in the Jesus whom we can’t yet see with our eyes. By God’s amazing grace, we trust in…
Psalm 16 Sermon Commentary
Easter 2A
What if we took the middle section of Psalm 16 and grafted it over the story of Jesus from the Gospels? If we did that, what would we see and notice? Consider the following: 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. Can we read these words and not…
Matthew 28:1-10 Sermon Commentary
Easter Day A
The world is about to turn! It is no longer the Sabbath and a new day and a new week is dawning. I just love that the NRSV describes the time with the -ing ending on dawn. Easter is meant for dawnings. We go from the quiet of the dawn to the shock of an…
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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