Romans 10:8b-13 Sermon Commentary
Lent 1C
In the United States across the last decade or so, partisan political divides have been more evident in society than has been true in a very long time. But it’s not just society. Christian congregations have been riven over such issues too. A recent study showed that during and after the COVID pandemic, many congregations…
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Sermon Commentary
Lent 1C
Deuteronomy is a beautiful and unique book of the Pentateuch. Whereas the preceding four books can be read as a kind of biography of the people of God, Deuteronomy is fashioned more like the people’s memoir. No biography is complete, of course. Certain elements are left out or glossed over but, by and large, you…
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Sermon Commentary
Lent 1C
At first blush Psalm 91 seems an odd choice for the Year C First Sunday in Lent. After all, Psalm 91 is one of those psalms that makes lavish promises as to the constant well-being and prospering of anyone who makes God their refuge and strength. If you are on God’s side, God is constantly…
Luke 4:1-13 Sermon Commentary
Lent 1C
For many of us in more evangelical traditions, we think of retreats as pleasant and uplifting spaces where we can reconnect with God, be refreshed, and maybe even have a “mountaintop” spiritual experience. Retreats are hard to make space and time for, so it really isn’t surprising to me that most of us modern Christians…
Exodus 34:29-35 Sermon Commentary
Transfiguration Sunday C
Commentary: It’s instructive that the season of Epiphany, which begins with a bright star in the East, leading the Magi to worship the Christ-child concludes with Transfiguration Sunday, in which glory and shining, brilliance and light are, again, prominent themes. This imagery would have been at home in the Ancient Near Eastern imagination as, according…
Psalm 99 Sermon Commentary
Transfiguration Sunday C
Psalm 99 might seem to be a better fit for the Reign of Christ Sunday later this year than for Transfiguration Sunday. There is really nothing in the accounts of Christ’s transfiguration that point to God—or Christ Jesus—as King. But that is what Psalm 99 is all about. Probably if we wanted to make a…
Luke 9:28-36 Sermon Commentary
Transfiguration Sunday C
Comments, Questions, and Observations The liturgical calendar gives us a glimpse and experience of glory before reminding us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Transfiguration Sunday ends Epiphany even as our heels are nipped by Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent—a season where we will try our very hardest to…
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 Sermon Commentary
Transfiguration Sunday C
It may be a good thing that Transfiguration Sunday happens only once a year. After all, it’s not just that Jesus’ transfiguration is even to his closest friends among the most puzzling moments in his earthly life. It’s also that the RCL editors seemed to struggle to find passages outside of the gospels that speak…
Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40 Sermon Commentary
Epiphany 7C
Psalm 37 is a little bit all over the place. The Lectionary would have us skip 27 of this poem’s 40 verses but to preach well on this psalm, we need to at least read through verses 12-38. And if we do so, then we see that Psalm 37 is at once highly realistic and…
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.