Sermons on Seventy Years:

Thirty-Third Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B: The End Of The World And Tender Branches

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Nov 1, 2024

The date of the end of the world cannot be known based on prophecy.

We are nearing the end of Ordinary Time as Advent draws near and so the theme this time of year is on the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world. People are telling end of the world jokes like there is no tomorrow! E.g., A comedian spoke of a Pentecostal preacher who had predicted the end ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:24-32

Denomination: Catholic

Fourth Sunday Of Easter, Year B- We Are All Sheep And Some Of Us Are Shepherds

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Mar 22, 2024

There are problems with sheep too

Problems and challenges for shepherds and sheep-- Timothy Laniak in 2007 tells the story of a Bedouin Arab and an American scholar sitting under a tent discussing what it takes to be a true shepherd. The Jordanian shepherd insisted that the heart is the most important thing. He lamented, “My ...read more

Scripture: John 10:11-18

Denomination: Catholic

Fifth Sunday Of Easter, Year B-- Vine And Branches-- See You Later, Suckers!

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Mar 27, 2024

“We’re dying on the vine here!”

Today, we hear about pruning and abiding to bear fruit. Regarding pruning, “There’s a sucker born every minute,” is an expression used in the hope of making money selling something worthless to a gullible customer. Similarly, in gardening, sucker shoots are false branches or stems that suck the ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Denomination: Catholic

Praise God And Give Him Thanks! (New Year's Eve Of 2024)

Contributed by Benjamin Utomo on Dec 29, 2023

I don’t know what you experienced this year and how you view 2023. But as we leave this year, I encourage you to do what David did: praise God and give Him thanks!

In less than two days, we will leave 2023 and enter 2024. Like any other year, 2023 is going to be one to remember! Here are some highlights of what happened in 2023. For the last century, if not longer, China has had the world’s largest population. That ended in 2023. India now does. Its ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Twenty-Second Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B - Dirty Hands And Dirty Thoughts

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jul 29, 2024

“Nothing ever happens in the world that does not first happen inside a mind...”

An illustration for those who deny the reality of concupiscence: A visitor was once being shown around an art gallery. The gallery contained some beautiful paintings which were universally acknowledged to be masterpieces. At the end of the tour the visitor said, "I don't think much of ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8-9, Mark 7:1-23

Denomination: Catholic

Twenty-Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B: "When In Doubt, Cut It Out.”

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Aug 15, 2024

It is not hyperbole to say that it is better to enter heaven maimed [one-armed, one-footed, and one-eyed] than to enter hell whole. That is literally true.

“When Jesus exaggerated” is a book title, and there are countless articles on how Jesus uses exaggeration and hyperbole for effect, like we hear this Sunday; to literally cut off your hand or foot or gouge-out your eyes because then you won’t sin with them.1 However, “it is not hyperbole to say ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:38-48

Denomination: Catholic

Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year C: The Good Samaritan On "Uh-Oh” Street

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jul 8, 2025

The word I’ll use is faith, faith over fear

Dan Dailey, writing in the New York Daily News, tells about overhearing a woman in New York discussing her neighborhood. New Yorkers often divide Manhattan based on the location of Houston Street. If you live south of Houston Street, you live in SoHo; if you live north of Houston Street, you ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Denomination: Catholic

Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year C: Dishonest Steward Or Shrewd Manager

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Sep 18, 2025

Baptized believers should use the worldly resources they possess to serve God's eternal kingdom by being generous and helping the poor, and do it in a way that involves street smarts, enterprise, and proactive initiative.

There’s an old story about Moishe, a medieval Jewish astrologer who prophesied that the king’s favorite horse would die soon. Sure enough, the horse died a short time later. The king got angry at Moishe, certain that his prophecy had brought about the horse’s death. He summoned Moishe and commanded ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-13

Denomination: Catholic

What Is Truth On The Last Sunday Of The Church's Year The Feast Of Christ The King

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Nov 23, 2024

As we come to the end of the Church's year, we are left to consider Who is Jesus Not just who was Jesus but who is Jesus Is the Resurrection real and if so how does it affect the way we live

What is Truth - Jn 18:33-38 Christ the King is the last Sunday of the season of pre-Advent and of the end of the church’s year. The Church’s year begins next week with the preparation for the birth of Jesus in Advent. And so the Feast of Christ the King - is the last Festival in the Church’s ...read more

Scripture: John 18:33-38

Denomination: Anglican

Refocusing Our Priorities Series

Contributed by Timothy Peck on Mar 11, 2002

The diagnosis, consequence and solution to misplaced priorities coinciding with an all church focus of stewardship.

In the Jules Verne novel The Mysterious Island, the author tells the story about five men who escape from a prison by hijacking a hot air balloon (www.PreachingToday.com). As the balloon rises into the air, the wind blows it toward the ocean. As the hours pass, the surface of the ocean draws closer ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 1:1-15

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Our Past, Our Present And Our Future!

Contributed by Lonnie Erwin on Sep 27, 2007

God’s forgiveness for past, present and future

Movie Titled “Karla Faye Tucker” Plot Outline: On February 3, 1998, Karla Faye Tucker was put to death by the state of Texas, the first woman to be executed in America in 15 years. She was a confessed pick-axe murderer. But in prison, her life dramatically changed through a religious conversion ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 40:4-5

Denomination: Baptist

Josiah

Contributed by Robert Cox on Nov 11, 2008

We must stand in the gap...now more than ever!

Ezekiel 22:23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 22:23-31

Denomination: Pentecostal

Childhood Responsibilities

Contributed by Martin Wiles on Sep 2, 2010

The Christian life is more than a list of do's and don't's; it is a relationship wherein we have responsibilities.

CHILDHOOD RESPONSIBILITIES GALATIANS 4:1-11 INTRODUCTION John Newton, author of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace, was an only child who lost his mother when he was seven. At the age of eleven, he went to sea as a sailor and became involved in the inhuman African slave trade. He was soon hardened by ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 4:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Take Your Burden To The Lord: A Lesson In Prayer

Contributed by Donald Whitchard on Mar 6, 2021

The Old Testament stateman Nehemiah heard of the difficulties that his fellow Jews were having in rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple after the time of exile in Babylon. His plans and burdens were brought before the LORD and were answered. So, what's our excuse?

The Old Testament story of Nehemiah presents his account of life and service in the royal court of the Persian Emperor Artaxerxes around 445-444 B.C., and how, upon hearing of the plight of his fellow Jews as they were in the process of rebuilding Jerusalem along with a new Temple for the ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1-11, Isaiah 6:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Hope For The Future

Contributed by David Parks on Jan 17, 2022

Have you ever noticed that man and women who do not know and trust God have an innate fear of the future?

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE Introduction: 1. Have you ever noticed that man and women who do not know and trust God have an innate fear of the future? 2. Do you doubt me? 3. WHERE WERE YOU AT 11:58 P.M. on December 31, 1999? What was going through your mind? Was your heart beating just a little fast? Were ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 46:9-10, John 14:26, Romans 8:18

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ