Sermons on Sacrament:

Being Close To The Poor Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 5, 2015

'No one must say that they cannot be close to the poor because their own lifestyle demands more attention to other areas.'

Thursday of 2nd week in Advent 2015 Joy of the Gospel The passage from Isaiah we just heard is from what is often called “Second” Isaiah, probably a disciple of the original Isaiah who wrote during and immediately following the Babylonian exile. It is full of hope; from this we find ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 41:13-20

Denomination: Catholic

Doing It Right Series

Contributed by Kevin Ruffcorn on Sep 7, 2017

Holy Communion is meant to bring us closer to God and to each other, and not separate us.

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 “Doing It Right” INTRODUCTION Do you remember the school days of “Lunch Box Envy”? I do. My mother firmly believed that all school lunches should be packed in an ordinary brown paper bag. Metal lunch boxes with Roy Rogers, Sky King, Buck Rogers or Mighty Mouse were out ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Denomination: Lutheran

How Much More Will God Give His Holy Spirit Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 7, 2017

If there is evil in our lives, God has to permit it to happen, or it wouldn’t. But God never wills evil. He only wants our good.

Thursday of 27th Week in Course 2017 Reformation/Revolution Who among us has not looked on some captain of industry or some venal politician and wondered why “evildoers not only prosper but when they put God to the test they escape.’” as the people did in Malachi’s day? Sometimes it does seem vain ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:5-13

Denomination: Catholic

Last Or First? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 28, 2019

At the beginning of the new year and decade we must ask ourselves if there is any hint of anti-Christ in our hearts.

New Year’s Eve 2019 Last or First? Our holy Scripture today is taken from the apostle John. The Gospel teaches about the beginning, and the letter tells us about the end. And both beginning and end must be centered on Our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, everything we do in the new year, the new decade ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:18-21, John 1:1-18, John 8:12

Denomination: Catholic

Prepared, Ready, Oiled Up Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 1, 2020

We have to BYOB–bring our own brightness. Five prepared; five didn’t. Five were always ready; five figured they’d have time to get ready. Oops.

Thirty-Second Sunday in Course reflections As we come to the end of this year of grace, a year with even more challenges of every kind than usual, the Word of God focuses on goals, on ends, on what a football coach would call the “last three minutes of the ball game.” And the first word to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Psalm 63:2-8

Denomination: Catholic

The Struggle With Satan Lent Sunday 1 Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 23, 2023

Was the Lord bragging about how He defeated the old Worm, man’s adversary, Satan? No.

First Sunday of Lent 2023 How did St. Matthew come by the story he shared in today’s Gospel? It was easy to understand the first line, what happened when Jesus, who was fresh from His baptism by John, where the Holy Spirit came upon Him in form of a dove, went into the wilderness of Judea. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

Twenty-Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A: Marriage Supper Of The Lamb

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Sep 2, 2023

Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness

At the wedding rehearsal, the bride told the priest that she was nervous that she would not remember what to do during the wedding. The celebrant told her that she only needed to remember 3 things. First the aisle, because that is what you'll be walking down. Secondly, the altar because ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

Denomination: Catholic

The Witness Of Poverty

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 30, 2019

In an era when the contrast between the rich and the poor is most pronounced–our own time–like Francis, we are all called to follow the example of Christ in simplicity and poverty.

Tuesday of the 4th Week in Lent 2019 San Francisco di Paola One of the dominant themes of both the OT and the NT stories is what we have to look forward to in the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom, when we are confirmed as its citizens after our life on this earth, is a reign of plenty, a restoration ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 47:1-12, John 5:1-16

Denomination: Catholic

Conversion And Transformation Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 5, 2025

The reading from John's Gospel will help us get insight into the awesome transformation of Saul into Paul on the Damascus road.

Friday of the Third Week in Easter 2025 Sometimes we can aid our personal understanding of the Scriptures by our imagination, and in the Gospel we just heard, our imagination should be running very, very fast. Jesus said, “This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-20, Psalm 117:1-2, John 6:52-59, Luke 22:42, 1 Samuel 13:14  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Catholic

Loving All The Way Until It Hurts Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 14, 2025

Remember that the letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus Himself was made perfect through suffering. If we, too, want to share in His glory, we must also be prepared to suffer, perhaps a lot. And loving can involve suffering too, can't it?

Fifth Sunday of Easter 2025 Pope St. John Paul II looked at Our Lord Jesus as the fulfillment of what we might call “human potential.” He was and is the man that Adam was created to become. Lamentably, Adam and Eve tried the Satanic shortcut, attempting to become divine by disobeying a direct ...read more

Scripture: Acts 14:21-27, Psalm 145:8-13, Revelation 21:1-5, John 13:31-33, John 13:34-35, Hebrews 2:10  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Catholic

Freedom To Be Like Christ

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 1, 2024

We are no longer, if we live as Christians, able to do wrong and hurt others and then plead “but I’m only human.”

Eighteenth Sunday in Course 2024 While looking over my old homilies in preparation for today, I noted that these same readings, as they will do, came up back in 2018. Keying on the lesson from Exodus about the Israelites constantly griping about the time since God, with a “mighty hand and ...read more

Scripture: John 6:24-35, Ephesians 4:17-24, Exodus 16:2-16

Denomination: Catholic

Prayer + Faith = Healing Series

Contributed by Michael Stark on Mar 23, 2009

When should we pray for health? When should we confess our sins? James compels his readers to think about their relationship to one another as a cause of their discomfort.

JAMES 5:13-16a PRAYER + FAITH = HEALING “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith ...read more

Scripture: James 5:13-16

Denomination: Baptist

the Covenant Signs And Seals: Covenant Baptism Series

Contributed by Gregg Strawbridge on Jul 8, 2002

Baptism is a sign of covenant inclusion for the visible people which seals our union with Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.

INTRODUCTION: A Reformation study of the sacraments is a sad study, filled with testimonies of bitter polemics, schism, division, and even execution. One may catch a glimpse of the pain, seeing Zwingli at Marburg, or a drowning protestor in Zurich, or a banished ¡°sacramentarian¡± in the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:38-39

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Communion: It's More Than A Meal

Contributed by Christopher Arch on May 16, 2020

This is a sermon on the meaning of communion for the believer.

Title: Communion: “There’s More to Prepare than a Meal” Script: I Cor. 11 (primary) Type: Expos. Where: GNBC 9-7-14/1-6-19 Intro: What happened to Time: When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept. When as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked. When I became a full grown man, time ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral In Theological Reflection

Contributed by Justin Steckbauer on Apr 26, 2021

What is theological reflection, as a modern concept? Theological reflection is the process by which we come to understand reality as it truly is. The goal ultimately is to see God, the universe, the inspired word, and ourselves, as God sees it.

Introduction What is theological reflection, as a modern concept? Theological reflection is the process by which we come to understand reality as it truly is. The goal ultimately is to see God, the universe, the inspired word, and ourselves, as God sees it. This will naturally entail a limited ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:16, Philippians 3:11, Hebrews 4:12-14, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Denomination: Salvation Army