Sermons on Exile:

St. John Evangelist Vs The Gnostics

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 23, 2018

John emphasizes that the Word was made flesh, and pitched His tent among us, in His Gospel, chapter 1.

December 27, 2018 Feast of St. John the Evangelist Every human movement begins with high ideals preached by an effective communicator. Thus Luther began by noticing and preaching against the corruption he saw in Rome. Our democratic republic took its original light from Thomas Paine. Jefferson and ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-4, John 1:14-16, John 20:1-8

Denomination: Catholic

Christ And The Little Christs In Us

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 28, 2013

We owe a great debt to the saints, like Basil and Gregory, who defended the divinity and Messiahship of Jesus.

January 2, 2014 Thursday before Epiphany–Ss Basil and Gregory Lumen Fidei Today we have what might be called “the proclamation of John,” and we hear both Johns speaking to us of Christ. John the Baptist tells us that he is NOT the Christ. John the apostle tells us that Jesus is ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:22-28

Denomination: Catholic

How To Get Up When You're Down

Contributed by Ian Humphrey on Nov 4, 2015

HOW TO GET UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN

Psalms 42 & 43 HOW TO GET UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN This Psalm was written by David in exile by Absalom's rebellion. The heading of this Psalm is a “maschil,” - “a psalm of instruction,” In Psalm 42 and 43 (which go together) the Psalmist was “in the pits.” He was ...read more

Denomination: Holiness

A Call To Serve

Contributed by Kevin Ruffcorn on Oct 28, 2013

Samuel is called by God and responds in faith, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:1-21 “A Call to Serve” INTRODUCTION One of the most difficult theological concepts to comprehend, I believe, is that of call—that the Lord calls us to a specific vocation. Most Christians can accept the idea that pastors and other church professionals have ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Denomination: Lutheran

The Little Cantata

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Nov 7, 2013

Victory in Jesus!

THE LITTLE CANTATA. Psalm 98:1-9. The Psalmist is calling us to sing of the mighty acts of the LORD whereby He has gotten Himself the victory (Psalm 98:1), secured our salvation, and demonstrated His righteousness (Psalm 98:2). This reaches back to the Exodus, when Moses and Miriam celebrated ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 98:1-9

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Harvest Of Joy

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Nov 13, 2013

Stand amazed at the infinite mercy of God!

A HARVEST OF JOY. Psalm 126. The common heading within this group of fifteen Psalms (Psalms 120-134) is “A Song of degrees” - a reference, some believe, to the miracle of the sun going back by ten degrees as a pledge to King Hezekiah that the LORD would extend his life by fifteen years (Isaiah ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 126:1-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How To Hear A Parable Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 28, 2012

The parables of Jeremiah and Jesus are in a special form that we need to understand if we are to get all the benefits they can provide.

Monday of 17th Week in Course 2012 St. Peter Chrysologus Verbum Domini As we continue our reflections on the letter of Pope Benedict, Verbum Domini, we have a happy intersection of the celebration of St. Peter Chrysologus and these two parabolic readings. No, I’m not teaching a mathematics ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 13:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

A Different Kind Of Messiah Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 22, 2014

Jesus Christ was not the Messiah expected by the Jews, but He was exactly what mankind needs.

Christmas Day Mass 2014 Thirteen Days of Christmas “A child is born for us, and a son is given to us; his scepter of power rests upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Messenger of great counsel.” These words from today’s Introit chant are the keynote for our Christmas ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:5-6

Denomination: Catholic

Injustice And Scandal

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 17, 2019

We must always turn our backs on injustice. When we support it, we encourage innocent people to become guilty.

Injustice and Scandal When we read the story of Elijah, the prophet, we come across two really disgusting people, rulers of the breakaway kingdom of Israel. They are Ahab the king and Jezebel his wife. The history tells us that “Ahab ben Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:6, 1 Kings 21:1-29

Denomination: Catholic

Reflections On The Introit Sign Of The Cross Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 8, 2019

Let the cross embrace us.

Tuesday of the 2nd Week in Advent 2019 The Sign of the Cross Those of us that are daily immersed in the Word of God, specifically in the Sacred Scriptures, sometimes forget that what we read each day are revolutionary words. They are revolutionary words intimately associated with the first ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11, Matthew 18:12-14

Denomination: Catholic

Our Confession Of Sin Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 14, 2019

Like Abraham, Jacob and David, and like all of our individual ancestors, we fall short of the mark too often–committing venial sins of omission and commission, and perhaps even total turn-aways from God’s plan.

Tuesday of the 3rd Week in Advent 2019 Our Confession of Sin I have to admit that this is one of my favorite weekday Masses in the whole Lectionary, because we hear the genealogy of Our Lord Jesus. These old Hebrew names don’t necessarily roll off the tongue, but the list is important, because ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 49:2-10, Matthew 1:1-17

Denomination: Catholic

Marrying Unbelievers (Ezra 9)

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Dec 3, 2025

Why is God so against marrying unbelievers?

Why is God so against business partnerships and marriages with those outside the faith? Let’s look at Ezra 9. Were some returnees from Babylon unfaithful to God? As is often the case, were princes and officials foremost guilty? Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Abiding In The True Vine

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Apr 18, 2021

We are nourished by His Word, and cultivate our relationship with Him through prayer.

John 15:1-17. ABIDING IN THE TRUE VINE. 1. The True Vine. John 15:1-8. In Psalm 80:8-16 Israel is poignantly portrayed as a vine which has spread throughout the whole land, only to be torn down, devoured, and burnt at the time of the Exile. The vineyard motif is again taken up in Isaiah ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-17

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Shut Up And Believe The Good News, Zechariah

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 15, 2024

Gabriel: “I AM GABRIEL, and I bring good news. But you didn’t believe the gospel, so you’ll get to shut your mouth until the prophecy comes true.”

Fourth Sunday of Advent 2024 Today’s Gospel just leaps out at us in the congregation if we haven’t any Old Testament background or have failed to read the earlier part of Luke’s Gospel. Zechariah and Elizabeth, up in the hill country of Judea, are childless, elderly members of a priestly clan. We ...read more

Scripture: Micah 5:1-4, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-45

Denomination: Catholic

Mark Connects Ot & Nt Series

Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Feb 3, 2023

The real connectivity between Judaism and Christianity took place through the Gospel writers. He established his purpose for writing this Gospel. It’s not for telling some stories about Jesus Christ and the conflicts between Jesus and the Leaders of Judaism and Romans.

Mark 1:2-3 Mark connects OT & NT Introduction: The real connectivity between Judaism and Christianity took place through the Gospel writers. As we understood last week that Mark was the earliest and the first Gospel accepted by the Canon of the Church. So, he established his purpose for ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:2-3

Denomination: Methodist