Ephesians 1:3-14 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2A
Is there a better way to begin anything, including a new year, than by talking about blessing? Paul might have seemed to think so. He, after all, begins this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson with three references to the Greek combination of eu and logos that’s often translated as some form of the English word “blessed.” In…
John 1:10-18 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2A
The world didn’t know what it has, but God keeps giving anyway. That grammatically incorrect sentence is my best quickfire attempt at summing up this Christmas dip into the Gospel of John’s prologue. The world didn’t know that it had a gift waiting to be recognized and enjoyed. And because it could not recognize the…
Psalm 147:12-20 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2A
In Michigan where I live, since Thanksgiving Day we have already endured our share of snow spreading out like wool and some serious icy blasts as well. One good thing about winter is that it gives you a leg up on understanding the various psalms that, like Psalm 147, use winter weather as imagery for…
Jeremiah 31:7-14 Sermon Commentary
Christmas 2A
Commentary: A Bittersweet Moment The first Sunday of the new year can feel like a bittersweet time for people who have just prepared for Christmas—baking, hosting, buying, wrapping, sending—within an inch of their lives. I’m mindful of empty nesters whose homes were a little less empty. For families who rarely see one another traveling, being…
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….
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.