Sermons on Tisha B Av:

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

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

Twenty-Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B: No One Is Good But God Alone

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Sep 18, 2024

The principle of “No one is good but God alone

Jesus knew He was God and said so: He was accused of being God at his trial. Jesus revealed his divinity by miracles, and by His Resurrection, but he never says to the crowds, “Hey, everyone, I’m God.” In today’s Gospel, he goes undercover. To illustrate: In the TV show, Undercover Boss, a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-30

Denomination: Catholic

Twenty-Ninth Sunday In Ordinary Time, B- Servant Leadership. Blah-Blah-Blah

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Sep 29, 2024

Once you accept the cup. Then your path to glory is by your service.

Servant leadership. Blah-blah-blah. and so on; and so forth. Ever since Robert Greenleaf coined the term, there has been so much information out there on servant leadership that is too academic, or filed with unpractical generalizations like servant leadership is not command and control, nor ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45, Mark 10:45

Denomination: Catholic

The Dangers Of Forgetting That You Have Been Cleansed - 2 Peter 1:9b Series

Contributed by Darrell Ferguson on Jul 22, 2025

When you have struggled with a problem for years and it seems like nothing you’ve tried has worked, it may be that what will work is a truth that’s already in your head, but you haven’t fully digested it.

2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, having made every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:9

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

A Sabbath For The Hungry, Healing For The Withered

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Feb 8, 2015

Is it lawful to good on the sabbath days?

A SABBATH FOR THE HUNGRY, HEALING FOR THE WITHERED. Mark 2:23-3:6. Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6). The hunger and thirst which He spoke of in that Beatitude is evidently spiritual, but it is amply illustrated in ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:23-28, Mark 3:1-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Bow In The Sky: Starting Over

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Feb 14, 2015

The LORD God hangs His bow in the sky, like a warrior setting aside His weapons of destruction. It bodes well for us, even when we have been under His fatherly chastisement.

A BOW IN THE SKY: STARTING OVER. Genesis 9:8-17. 1. The Rainbow. In the great Age of Exploration, travellers and missionaries were often amazed to find that differing cultures and civilisations - separated from one another since the scattering of mankind after the fall of the Tower of Babel ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 9:8-17

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Vision Of Salvation

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Nov 7, 2013

Mercy and truth meet together, & righteousness and peace embrace - in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

A VISION OF SALVATION. Psalm 85. First, the Psalmist remembers the favour and forgiveness of the LORD (Psalm 85:1-3). This is a good place to begin in our petitions to God, rather than diving into our shopping list of requests. We base our belief that God will give us a favourable answer in His ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 85:1-13

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Little Apocalypse

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Dec 10, 2013

We do not know the day and the hour when Jesus will return, so we also need to keep awake and be watchful. This message is not just for the early disciples, but for us all.

THE LITTLE APOCALYPSE. Mark 13:1-37. I. Mark 13, and its equivalents in Matthew 24 and Luke 21:5-36, is sometimes entitled “the little apocalypse.” This passage is poised between Jesus’ teaching in the Temple (Mark 12), and the account of the Passion (Mark 14-15). The main thrust of the chapter ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:1-37

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Unfinished Benediction

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Apr 1, 2018

From Easter to the ends of the earth, via the Ascension of Jesus.

THE UNFINISHED BENEDICTION. Luke 24:44-53. Easter had been a hectic, confusing day: but, in our text, Jesus pointed the disciples first to His own words, and then to the Old Testament Scriptures in order that they might put some meaning on all that had happened (Luke 24:44-45). This is where we ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:44-53

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Passing The Light

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Apr 7, 2018

Finding grace in adverse circumstances to pass the torch of the gospel on to others.

PASSING THE LIGHT. 2 Corinthians 4:5-12. Paul had been concerned by some self-made ‘ministers’ who were nothing better than peddlers ‘making gain by corrupting the word of God’ (2 Corinthians 2:17). Paul and his fellow-ministers, by contrast, were neither dishonest nor manipulative. They ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Let Us Go To The House Of The Lord

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Nov 24, 2013

The peace of Jerusalem is tied up with the house of the Lord.

LET US GO TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. Psalm 122:1-9. The “house of the LORD” encompasses this Psalm (Psalm 122:1; Psalm 122:9). Jerusalem, in turn, encompassed the house of the LORD (Psalm 122:2; Psalm 122:3; Psalm 122:7). Jerusalem thus became the place of pilgrimage and thanksgiving (Psalm ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 122:1-9

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Shepherd Psalm (Complete)

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Sep 11, 2017

Following the leading of the ever-present LORD God.

THE SHEPHERD PSALM. Psalm 23:1-6. I. The LORD is my Shepherd. Psalm 23:1-3. When King David was a boy, he used to look after his father’s sheep - so he knew what he was talking about when he spoke of the LORD as his shepherd. As we all know, a “shepherd” looks after sheep. David led the sheep, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational