Sermons on Times Of Hardship:

Thirty-First Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A- Hypocrites

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Oct 8, 2023

We ask for the daily grace to walk the talk.

Have you heard the one about the priest, the minister, and the rabbi?” A rabbi and a priest were talking about the perks of each job. The priest mentioned that he gets a rectory to live in that comes with a housekeeper and a cook, all paid for by the church. The rabbi responded by asking if ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12

Denomination: Catholic

Seventeenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B--Spiritual Multiplication

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jun 24, 2024

“Gift” is only gift if we give all the pieces.

Percent means “parts per hundred,” from the Latin, per centum. Edward Denison, in 1060, thought of a neat phrase, “Three percent is greater than two percent by fifty percent. I have math anxiety but there are listed several ways to prove this, including that the reason that 3 is 50% bigger than 2 ...read more

Scripture: John 6:1-15

Denomination: Catholic

Nineteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B: Food For The Journey

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jul 5, 2024

[Bless those] who…know the depths of [the] sacrament.

Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He was the last remaining Prophet of the true religion left. He had just stood his ground against four-hundred pagan prophets of the fertility god Baal. Today’s pagan fertility god is In-Vitro ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:4-8, John 6:41-51

Denomination: Catholic

Twentieth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B: Eucharistic Fix

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jul 14, 2024

Transformation by an alternative Eucharistic consciousness in Jesus Christ.

We just heard John 6:52, “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" That reminds of me two men who lived in a small town who got into a terrible dispute that they could not resolve. So, they decided to talk to the wisest man in town. The ...read more

Scripture: John 6:51-58

Denomination: Catholic

Tenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B: Combat Boots

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 4, 2024

“feet shod with the kind of shoe created for the Gospel of peace.”

General Douglas MacArthur wrote that there are 4 things necessary to win any battle. One is strength-- We hear Mark 3:27 in our Gospel, “no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder the house.” Jesus explains that ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:27, Genesis 3:15, Ephesians 6:15, Ephesians 4:27

Denomination: Catholic

Eleventh Sunday In Ordinary Time And Father's Day

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 14, 2024

But when the father is a regular church-goer, but the mother is not, there is still a very good chance their children will continue in the faith.

A man was out on the golf course. He spotted another man who seemingly had four caddies. “Why so many caddies?” the first man asked the second. The second golfer replied, “It’s my wife’s idea. She thinks I should spend more time with the kids.” I suspect he’s the same Dad who was asked by his ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:26-34

Denomination: Catholic

It’s Party Time - Mark 2:18-22 Series

Contributed by Darrell Ferguson on Jul 29, 2023

Jesus is asked why his disciples don’t engage in the expected fasting like John’s and the Pharisees. Answer: his presence is the arrival of God as bridegroom bringing salvation to Israel, so fasting would be inappropriate.

Mark 2:18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” 19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:18-22

David Spares Saul's Life A Second Time Series

Contributed by Justin Steckbauer on Mar 27, 2023

David has already spared Saul’s life once, in a situation where he is running. Now there is a new situation, but the same life is in his hands, what will he do?

Do you ever feel in your life like you’ve been tested in this area already? I know I’ve felt that way. Lord I went through this test already. I’ve given you my problems. I’ve given you my sins. But God says, I will test you again, and your faith will be proven. David went from being a shepherd ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 26:1-25

Denomination: Salvation Army

Eleventh Sunday In Ordinary Time- B Mustard Seed Cooperation

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jun 13, 2021

The Atlantic began to come in; its mighty shoulders underneath the boats lifted—lifted until the derelict had to come. The youth had harnessed infinite energy to his task.

Working in harmony with the processes of life in co-operation with God is how the Kingdom of God works, Jesus says. Its methods may be illustrated by the case of an old derelict ship that was to be lifted-up from the bottom of the sea. In one of the tidal rivers near New York, the building of a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:26-34, Ezekiel 17:22-24

Denomination: Catholic

Thirteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time B--- Bleeding For 12 Years

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jun 24, 2021

As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could...

[Jail Ministry homily 13th Sunday B] Under Mosaic law, that woman was unclean all those years. Twelve years of medical treatments with no cure corroborates her once-significant financial status. Alcoholics Anonymous refers to, “the insanity of our disease.” i.e. an impaired ability to stop or ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43

Denomination: Catholic

Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Cycle B-- New Manna

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jul 31, 2021

Complaining became the rubric under which the journey was interpreted.

In our First Reading we heard Exodus 16:2, “The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” It reminds me of the story of a lady who was a veritable fount of complaints. Her pastor came by to see her one day and she began to enumerate some of her complaints: “The neighbor’s ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 16:2-15, John 6:24-35

Denomination: Catholic

Noah: God's Preacher In The Midst Of Perverse Times

Contributed by Donald Whitchard on Jul 2, 2023

Noah and the ark (Genesis 6-8) like everything else in Genesis, is authentic history with an authentic warning to get right with God before it is too late. It is a call from God for us to repent and be saved from the wrath to come.

When we read about the events of Genesis, Chapters 6-8, we forget that this is not a children's story, but an actual historical event recorded by Moses dealing with the effects of sin upon the world and the fact of God's certain judgment. Noah's task was to not only build the ark ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:4-6, Mark 10:45, Hebrews 7:25, Acts 16:31, Romans 6:23  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Thirty-Second Sunday In Ordinary Time, C--The Sadducees

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Oct 12, 2022

I believe the question I would have asked the Sadducees would be, “Was this woman taking out life insurance policies on all these husbands?”

One of my seminary professors said that it’s easy to remember who the Sadducees were because since they denied that there is a resurrection, they were “so sad you see.” The Sadducees were the ancient version of modern liberal theologians. They were anti-supernaturalistic. They only accepted the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 20:27-38

Denomination: Catholic

Third Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A- Fishers Of Men

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Dec 16, 2022

The goal is to lead a person to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Later will come baptism and R.C.I.A.

Off the coast of Maine lies an island so small that the surrounding ocean can be seen from any point on the island. A visitor to the Sunday school class asked the children, "How many of you," he asked, "have ever seen the Atlantic Ocean?" To his surprise, not a single hand went ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Matthew 4:12-23

Denomination: Catholic

Fourth Sunday In Ordinary Time, B-- My Inner Demons

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Dec 26, 2023

The demon uses the object pronoun “us,” which is non-binary.

I saw a sweatshirt that said, “I Stopped Fighting My Inner Demons because I realized we’re On the Same Side.” Although most deviant behavior may be explained by natural causes, psychotics, for example, suffer from a loss of object reality while demons are separate spiritual beings. Psychology can ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:21-28

Denomination: Catholic