Matthew 2:13-23 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 1A
Well this is a real “Merry Christmas!” story, isn’t it? While not all of us have had a warm and fuzzy Christmas, many of us have had the privilege and joy of spending time with loved ones, relaxing, and enjoying the holidays. This story shocks us out of the feel-goods and brings us back to…
Isaiah 63:7-9 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 1A
How Can I Keep from Singing? The Sunday after Christmas is, especially for those who have (mostly) kept Christmas at bay with Advent hymns, a chance to sing all the Christmas carols that wouldn’t fit into a Christmas Eve or Christmas morning service. Unfortunately, once we get to January, people have turned the calendar page….
Psalm 148 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 1A
The first Sunday after Christmas in 2025 is also a mere three days after Christmas Day. By then most of us, if we are honest, are a bit worn out and worn thin by all the holiday hustle and bustle. Good times were had perhaps. Or maybe the holidays were more stressful than good as…
Hebrews 2:10-18 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 1A
By this Sunday at least some of us will have finished our Christmas celebrations. We’ll have opened our gifts and boxed our ornaments, as well as put away our trees, lights and creches. Even some of Jesus’ friends who haven’t yet finished celebrating Jesus’ birth have turned our attention from the baby Jesus (back) toward…
Matthew 1:18-25 Sermon Commentary
Advent 4A
We don’t know much about Joseph but what we do know is of pretty good quality. Even in our passage this week—where Joseph doesn’t even utter a word—we are given a number of positive characteristics to understand what kind of person Joseph is. Joseph is righteous; he also is not one to bear a grudge….
Isaiah 7:10-16 Sermon Commentary
Advent 4A
Backs Against the Wall The text of Isaiah 7:10-16 (well, really, verse 14) is embedded in the Christian imagination as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary. But, before it served that purpose, it had another. Taking in the context of the first 9 verses of chapter 7, here’s the…
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Sermon Commentary
Advent 4A
Since I have been writing the Psalm sermon commentary for quite a few years now, I find that it seems like I have to write something for Psalm 80 every year. There’s a reason for that feeling: I have been writing on Psalm 80 every year during Advent because the Lectionary assigns it in Years…
Romans 1:1-7 Sermon Commentary
Advent 4A
When I read this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson, I think of the English Standard Version’s translation of John 1:16: “From [Christ’s) fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (italics mine). Since Paul layers Romans 1 with grace upon grace in both obvious and subtle ways, it offers preachers an opportunity to explore how God’s grace…
Matthew 11:2-11 Sermon Commentary
Advent 3A
Even the stalwart in faith wonder during times of difficulty. Of course, we know this to be true even for Jesus, who prays to have the cup of suffering taken from him in the Garden. But in our passage today, we see it on full display in the strong-in-faith-and-purpose John. John was the one who…
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.