Mark 10:35-45 Sermon Commentary
Proper 24B
Comments, Questions, and Observations Saying, “Before I ask you something, I want you to promise me that you’ll do whatever I ask,” is almost always a sign that something is amiss. On the positive, the person making the request could have more confidence in the person they are speaking to than that person has in…
Hebrews 5:1-10 Sermon Commentary
Proper 24B
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson is so grounded in Jewish theology and praxis that 21st century non-Jewish preachers may find it challenging to preach about in a way that’s faithful to both the text and our own context. However, given the text’s focus on the work of a high priest, preachers might ask if there are…
Psalm 91:9-16 Sermon Commentary
Proper 24B
If you have been reading my sermon commentaries here on the CEP website over the years, then you have no doubt sensed that I hold a very high view of Scripture as God’s Word. I take it more than seriously and I reverently honor its inspired nature and believe it is infallible in all the…
Job 38:1-7, 34-41 Sermon Commentary
Proper 24B
Image: To begin as a kind of summary of where Job has been, we might turn to that sage philosopher in black, Johnny Cash. In his song, I Won’t Back Down, Cash sings: I won’t back down. No, I won’t back down. You can stand me up at the gates of hell But I won’t…
Mark 10:17-31 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23B
The thing about this rich man is that he seems sincere. Unlike say, the Pharisee praying out loud and comparing himself to others in a pompous way (Luke 18.10-14), this man “kept all the commandments” and sought after the good teacher. I don’t think it’s a stretch to describe the rich man as searching. Having…
Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23B
Image: It’s been over four years since the world learned the technology of online meeting software. And still, not a meeting, class, or conversation goes by without someone saying, “whoops, you’re muted.” And sometimes all it takes is a simple click to unmute. Sometimes the discovery that we can’t hear someone leads to a whole…
Psalm 90:12-17 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23B
The Lectionary has us picking up just the tail end of Psalm 90 this week. It is a curious poem. It opens with a lyric consideration of how God had been his people’s dwelling place—their home—from generation to generation. But then in the middle section there is a shift in tone as a rather fearsome…
Hebrews 4:12-16 Sermon Commentary
Proper 23B
Preachers might listen for the Spirit’s promptings to move us in one of two directions with this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson. We might prayerfully concentrate separately on either verses 12-13 or 14-16. Each, after all, contains a veritable goldmine of theology that has rich pastoral implications. However, preachers might also listen for how the Spirit may…
Job 1:1; 2:1-10 Sermon Commentary
Proper 22B
Once Upon a Time… Love it or hate it, Job rarely allows a neutral reading. However, we can, perhaps, safeguard against the worst interpretations by stopping at the outset to clarify the text’s genre. According to Hebrew scholar, Robert Alter, the interpretive key may be found in the very first verse: “A man there was…
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.