Isaiah 1:10-18 Sermon Commentary
Proper 26C
Commentary: As Worship Sourcebook: While the point Isaiah is making is that Israel’s worship is unacceptable to God because it does not match their behavior toward the most vulnerable in society, this text is also — kind of accidentally — a primer on the central aspects of worship among the faithful in Jerusalem. We can…
Luke 19:1-10 Sermon Commentary
Proper 26C
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he… You probably know the song. But have you ever wondered why it only tells part of the story in Luke 19.1-10? We sing of Jesus inviting himself over, but we never voice the part about what happens when Zacchaeus fully welcomes Jesus…
Psalm 32:1-7 Sermon Commentary
Proper 26C
Psalm 32 has multiple voices. In this commentary I will comment on the entire Psalm despite the RCL’s cutting it off at verse 7. But the four remaining verses are important to get the upshot and meaning of the entire poem. The psalm begins with the first voice with a double beatitude pronounced by an…
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 Sermon Commentary
Proper 26C
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson returns to one of last Sunday’s themes that is suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ. However, while last Sunday’s Lesson largely addressed Paul’s suffering for his faith, this week’s focuses mostly on the Thessalonian Christians’ suffering for their faith. By the power of the Holy Spirit, preachers might let 2…
Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22 Sermon Commentary
Proper 25C
Dialoguing with God This text—not just the parts chosen by our Lectionary editors but the whole chapter—offers a beautiful example of God and God’s people in relationship, dialoguing and talking out their differences. In this case (and, to be honest, most cases), their difference of opinion shows up over sin, over human failure to keep…
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Sermon Commentary
Proper 25C
I’ve always wondered if Paul’s hands didn’t shake at least a bit as he wrote, “The time for my departure [analyseos*] is near [ephesteken] (6).” Or if his brow furrowed with a sort of defiance as he penned in verse 7, “I have fought [egonismai] the good fight [kalon agona]” (7). Or if the aging…
Luke 18:9-14 Sermon Commentary
Proper 25C
A Pharisee and a tax collector walk into the temple to pray… It sounds like it could be the start of a bad joke. And in some ways, it is—especially as you read Eugene Peterson’s version in The Message: “The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not…
Psalm 84:1-7 Sermon Commentary
Proper 25C
Psalm 84 is a lovely poem and song and at just a dozen verses, it’s a fairly short song at that. So why the RCL would have us take up only the first seven verses is a mystery to me. Aside from a passing reference to “the wicked,” verses 8-12 simply continue the radiant imagery…
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 Sermon Commentary
Proper 24C
Paul begins this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson by summoning Timothy to “Continue in [mene en*].” It is a call to persevere, in the paraphrase The Message offers, an invitation to “stick with.” If it were an American country western song, it might sound something like, “Keep on trucking.” Verse 14a’s “But” [de] connects that summons to…
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.