Sermons on B Proper 27:

A Healthy Appetite Series

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Nov 24, 2022

The proper response to mourning over the reality of suffering, and the key to meekness, is not conquering desire, but learning to desire the right things.

How many of you are planning to watch a football game today? How many of you are mourning the defeat of the Packers??? Anybody care about the fate of the Titans? Have you since switched your allegiance to the Rams or the Bengals? Now, who’s not going to watch anything? Who doesn’t much care one ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

God's Love Revealed Series

Contributed by Michael Stark on Dec 8, 2022

Mary's obedience demonstrates the proper response to God's call in the life of each one.

“In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:39-45

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.12 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Ezekiel 16, Israel, The Brazen Prostitute

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

Ezekiel explains why God will judge Judah.

Today, we’re moving on to Ezekiel in our whistle-stop tour of Old Testament prophecy. Just to keep our goal in mind, our purpose in this series of Reflections is to look at passages of scripture which tell us about how and why God judges, and about ‘End Times’, so we can see if coronavirus and/or ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.13 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Ezekiel 40-42, A Third Temple?

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

Should we expect a third temple as part of the 'End Time' picture?

You’re on a whistle-stop ‘ten-cities-in-fourteen-days’ European tour. You had three days in Paris and then two days in Rome. Now you have two days in London. On your first day you had a highly cultural visit to the British Museum. That was great! Today, your tour guide takes you to a former ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Fourteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B: Country Music, I Aint Leaving You, Thorn

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jun 4, 2024

then I realized that God uses not just our gifts, but our thorns too

Country music often tells stories about real life problems, thus the joke, “What do you get when you play country music backward?” You get back your wife, your dog, and your truck. One song tells about a man taking his beloved wife, whom he truly loves, to his 10th High School reunion, where he ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7

Denomination: Catholic

Twenty-Ninth Sunday In Ordinary Time; 29th Sunday B -- Can You Drink The Cup?

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Oct 18, 2021

For training purposes, the supervisor suddenly handed the nurse a wine glass that happened to be on a nearby shelf. The "director" asked the nurse to "lose" her thumbs by tucking them into her palms. It was uncomfortable and difficult to hold the glass.

Jesus asked James and John, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?” To answer, One can use Theology as Drama. e.g. A supervisor and a nurse did a re-enactment when a patient was going to have an operation on her thumbs the following day. The nurse asked, "Why? What's the matter with ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:42-45

Denomination: Catholic

Watching For The Word

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Sep 15, 2019

Wait patiently, it will come to pass.

WATCHING FOR THE WORD. Habakkuk 1:1-2:4. This is the oracle or “burden” which Habakkuk the prophet did “see” (Habakkuk 1:1). So, right from the top, we understand that the prophet’s patient waiting of Habakkuk 2:1 paid off. When Habakkuk speaks of his message as a burden, it is to ...read more

Scripture: Habakkuk 1:1-17, Habakkuk 2:1-4

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Healing, Resurrection, And Salvation

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Mar 25, 2018

The healing of a man lame from birth, the preaching of Jesus' resurrection, and the call to salvation.

HEALING, RESURRECTION, AND SALVATION. Acts 4:5-12. There is a parallel between the persecution of Jesus upon the healing of a man ‘blind from birth’ (John 9:1), and the persecution of Peter and John upon the healing of a man ‘lame from his mother's womb’ (Acts 3:2). Suffice it to say that ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:5-12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Last Snows Of Spring

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Nov 13, 2013

The imperative to praise the LORD: the command to commend.

THE LAST SNOWS OF SPRING. Psalm 147:12-20. There are two different Hebrew words which are both translated “Praise” in Psalm 147:12. The second is the more familiar verb for ‘to praise’ which is echoed within the ‘Hallelujah’ (‘Praise the LORD’) of Psalm 147:1 and Psalm 147:20. The first verb ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 147:12-20

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Arise, Shine, Your Light Is Come

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Nov 23, 2013

Our job is to reflect His light.

ARISE, SHINE, YOUR LIGHT IS COME. Isaiah 60:1-6. Zion was enveloped in a thick spiritual darkness on account of her sins (Isaiah 59:9-12). It was a darkness like the deepest discouragements and depression of the human heart: a darkness that could be felt (Exodus 10:21). It was a darkness that ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

All The World Is A Stage

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Nov 28, 2013

The deed is done before the all-seeing God. His approval is reward enough in itself.

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE. Matthew 6:1-6; Matthew 6:16-21. “All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare reminds us, “and all the men and women merely players.” “And one man,” continues the playwright, “in his time plays many parts…” Jesus’ teaching on almsgiving, prayer and fasting in the Sermon on ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:16-21, Matthew 6:1-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Advocacy And Fellowship

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Apr 4, 2015

The opening twelve verses of the first Epistle of John introduce us to three main themes: fellowship, sin, and propitiation.

ADVOCACY AND FELLOWSHIP. 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-2:2. The opening of the First Epistle of John is not unlike the famous Prologue of his Gospel (John 1:1-14). It too takes us back to “the beginning”, and introduces us to “the Word” - and it soon becomes clear that the Word is none other than ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-10, 1 John 2:1-2

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Healing Of The Son Of A Nobleman.

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Oct 13, 2022

The second significant sign in the Gospel of John.

THE HEALING OF THE SON OF A NOBLEMAN. John 4:46-54. Returning to Cana, where Jesus had turned the water into wine, He was met by a royal official from Capernaum whose son was sick, even to the point of death. The man entreated Jesus to come down and heal his boy (JOHN 4:46-47). “Except ye see ...read more

Scripture: John 4:46-54

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Abram Steps Out In Faith.

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Dec 6, 2022

Leaving all to follow Jesus.

ABRAM STEPS OUT IN FAITH. Genesis 12:1-4. Our story begins in Ur of the Chaldees, in what is now Southern Iraq, a predominantly pagan city of about 250,000 people, with a central temple to the moon god Sin. Here Abram’s father Terah was thought to have been a craftsman within the moon cult. At a ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 12:1-4

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Giddy Heights Of Agape Love.

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Jan 9, 2022

Some thoughts on 1 Corinthians 13.

THE GIDDY HEIGHTS OF AGAPE LOVE. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. At the end of the previous chapter Paul encouraged the Corinthians (church) to be, literally, ‘zealous’ for the best gifts (‘charismata’). ‘And yet,’ he said, ‘I show unto you a more excellent way’ (1 Corinthians 12:31). What is that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational