Epiphany Year B

Psalm 29:2 summons us to “worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” How do we do this? What does this...

Meditations on Mark 1:1-8

Blog

by Ed Cyzewski Mark introduces John the Baptist through a quotation from Isaiah about preparing the way for the Lord. John was literally paving the way for the Lord’s return, something that his...

Epiphany II Year BView All >

The Calling of Samuel (1 Samuel 1-3)

From the closing words of the book of Judges and the opening chapters of 1 Samuel we know that the Israelites are...

Where Shall I Go? Psalm 139 and Luke 15 Sermon Notes

Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven...

Search Me, O God

Psalm 139 begins with David’s acknowledgement that God has “examined” his heart.

I Have Called You Friends (John 1:35-51, John 15:15)

We will return to the conventional term “disciples” momentarily, but the term “friends” captures the essence of John’s depiction of the disciples...

Come and See: John 1 Sermon Notes

John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found...

Epiphany III Year BView All >

Jonah god Ys blessing for all nations jonah 1 16 3 1 4 2

God’s Blessing for All Nations (Jonah 1:16, 3:1-4:2)

Jonah disobeys God’s call because he objects to God’s intent to bless Israel’s adversaries, the nation of Assyria and its capital city...

Anxiety When Unscrupulous People Succeed (Psalms 49, 50, 52, 62)

Sometimes the godly have a skewed perspective on how God governs, and this causes them needless anxiety. They think that the righteous...

Best of Daily Reflections: Praying When Words Fail

What is prayer? The most basic answer says that prayer is talking to God. Sometimes we talk to God through singing. Sometimes...

Maintain the Proper Perspective (1 Corinthians 7:29–31)

Paul addresses the question of whether the promised return of the Lord implies that Christians should abandon ordinary daily life, including work...

Epiphany IV Year BView All >

Best of Daily Reflections: Why Is It Good to Fear God?

If you don’t have fear, you can’t have wisdom. It is that simple.

Epiphany V Year BView All >

Servant at Work (Isaiah 40ff.)

Isaiah paints a picture of the values that must characterize the people of God.

Endless Strength

When I was in my early 20s, I jogged for exercise on a fairly regular basis. One day I thought I’d try to run a marathon. There wasn’t an official race. I just...

Psalm 147

God gathers the outcasts (Ps. 147:2), as do Sisters of Charity, teachers in prisons, and community organizers. He heals the brokenhearted (Ps. 147:3), as do grief counselors, matchmakers, humorists, and blues singers. He...

Epiphany VI Year BView All >

Elisha’s Restoration of a Military Commander’s Health (2 Kings 5:1-14)

When Elisha cures the leprosy of Naaman, a commander in the army of Israel’s enemy, Syria, it has important effects in the...

Best of Daily Reflections: Avoiding the Trap of Self-Reliance

When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain...

Best of Daily Reflections: The Inclusive Healing of Jesus

“Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth...

Epiphany VII Year BView All >

Servant at Work (Isaiah 40ff.)

Isaiah paints a picture of the values that must characterize the people of God.

Obsessing, Digressing, Progressing: The Importance of Digressing - Isaiah, Exodus, Luke Sermon Notes

Text Suggestions Isaiah 55:6-9 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my...

Best of Daily Reflections: God’s Presence in Hard Times

The prophecies of Isaiah testify to the “deep waters” and “fires” of Israel’s experience. Because of her persistent rejection of the Lord...

Transparency (2 Corinthians 1:12–23)

As Paul moves into the body of his second letter to the Corinthians, he addresses the complaint that he had not been...

Best of Daily Reflections: Paying Back Your Enemies

Have you ever wanted to get even with those who have wronged you?

The Paralytic Man (Mark 2:1-12)

Work as Prayerful Relationships: Mark 5 (Click Here to Read) This sermon from The High Calling discusses another healing miracle of Jesus in Mark (5:1-20) where Jesus brings healing to both a wayward...

Best of Daily Reflections: Being Mat Carriers

Mark 2:1-12 paints a powerful picture of how you and I can care for the people in our lives who are suffering...

Epiphany VIII Year BView All >

Best of Daily Reflections: The Lord Remembers We Are Only Dust

The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak...

A Genuine Reputation (2 Corinthians 3)

Paul begins this section of 2 Corinthians with two rhetorical questions, both of which expect a negative answer.[1] “Are we beginning to...

The Calling of Levi (Mark 2:13-17)

The calling of Levi is another incident that occurs as Jesus is moving (Mark 2:13-14). The passage stresses the public nature of...

Epiphany IX Year BView All >

“Observe the Sabbath Day and Keep It Holy” (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12)

The issue of the Sabbath is complex, not only in the books of Deuteronomy and Exodus and...

The Fifth Commandment: Honor Your Parents

Many cultures throughout the world train people to honor people of older generations, including parents, grandparents, and so on.

The Economic Consequences of National Wrongdoings (Psalm 81, 85)

Despite the attention to personal judgment we have seen in Psalm 73, in most of Book 3, it is the nation of...

Honey from the Rock

In Psalm 81, the Lord invites Israel to receive the very best of his blessings. “Open your mouth wide,” he says, “and I will fill it with good things” (81:10). In order to...

Leading and Serving (2 Corinthians 4)

Second Corinthians 4 brings together themes that are closely related in Paul’s work—transparency, humility, weakness, leadership, and service. Because we are seeing...

The Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-3:6)

The Sabbath principle allows us time to focus on God in a different way than the working week allows.

Baptism of the Lord Year BView All >

God Works to Create the World (Genesis 1:1-25)

Worship the Lord in the Splendor of His Holiness

Psalm 29:2 summons us to “worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” How do we do this? What does this...

Meditations on Mark 1:1-8

Blog

by Ed Cyzewski Mark introduces John the Baptist through a quotation from Isaiah about preparing the way for the Lord. John was literally paving the way for the Lord’s return, something that his...

Epiphany II Year BView All >

The Calling of Samuel (1 Samuel 1-3)

From the closing words of the book of Judges and the opening chapters of 1 Samuel we know that the Israelites are...

Where Shall I Go? Psalm 139 and Luke 15 Sermon Notes

Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven...

Search Me, O God

Psalm 139 begins with David’s acknowledgement that God has “examined” his heart.

I Have Called You Friends (John 1:35-51, John 15:15)

We will return to the conventional term “disciples” momentarily, but the term “friends” captures the essence of John’s depiction of the disciples...

Come and See: John 1 Sermon Notes

John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found...

Epiphany III Year BView All >

God’s Blessing for All Nations (Jonah 1:16, 3:1-4:2)

Jonah disobeys God’s call because he objects to God’s intent to bless Israel’s adversaries, the nation of Assyria and its capital city...

Anxiety When Unscrupulous People Succeed (Psalms 49, 50, 52, 62)

Sometimes the godly have a skewed perspective on how God governs, and this causes them needless anxiety. They think that the righteous...

Best of Daily Reflections: Praying When Words Fail

What is prayer? The most basic answer says that prayer is talking to God. Sometimes we talk to God through singing. Sometimes...

Maintain the Proper Perspective (1 Corinthians 7:29–31)

Paul addresses the question of whether the promised return of the Lord implies that Christians should abandon ordinary daily life, including work...

Epiphany IV Year BView All >

Best of Daily Reflections: Why Is It Good to Fear God?

If you don’t have fear, you can’t have wisdom. It is that simple.

Epiphany V Year BView All >

Servant at Work (Isaiah 40ff.)

Isaiah paints a picture of the values that must characterize the people of God.

Endless Strength

When I was in my early 20s, I jogged for exercise on a fairly regular basis. One day I thought I’d try to run a marathon. There wasn’t an official race. I just...

Psalm 147

God gathers the outcasts (Ps. 147:2), as do Sisters of Charity, teachers in prisons, and community organizers. He heals the brokenhearted (Ps. 147:3), as do grief counselors, matchmakers, humorists, and blues singers. He...

Epiphany VI Year BView All >

Elisha’s Restoration of a Military Commander’s Health (2 Kings 5:1-14)

When Elisha cures the leprosy of Naaman, a commander in the army of Israel’s enemy, Syria, it has important effects in the...

Best of Daily Reflections: Avoiding the Trap of Self-Reliance

When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain...

Best of Daily Reflections: The Inclusive Healing of Jesus

“Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth...

Epiphany VII Year BView All >

Servant at Work (Isaiah 40ff.)

Isaiah paints a picture of the values that must characterize the people of God.

Obsessing, Digressing, Progressing: The Importance of Digressing - Isaiah, Exodus, Luke Sermon Notes

Text Suggestions Isaiah 55:6-9 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my...

Best of Daily Reflections: God’s Presence in Hard Times

The prophecies of Isaiah testify to the “deep waters” and “fires” of Israel’s experience. Because of her persistent rejection of the Lord...

Transparency (2 Corinthians 1:12–23)

As Paul moves into the body of his second letter to the Corinthians, he addresses the complaint that he had not been...

Best of Daily Reflections: Paying Back Your Enemies

Have you ever wanted to get even with those who have wronged you?

The Paralytic Man (Mark 2:1-12)

Work as Prayerful Relationships: Mark 5 (Click Here to Read) This sermon from The High Calling discusses another healing miracle of Jesus in Mark (5:1-20) where Jesus brings healing to both a wayward...

Best of Daily Reflections: Being Mat Carriers

Mark 2:1-12 paints a powerful picture of how you and I can care for the people in our lives who are suffering...

Epiphany VIII Year BView All >

Best of Daily Reflections: The Lord Remembers We Are Only Dust

The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak...

A Genuine Reputation (2 Corinthians 3)

Paul begins this section of 2 Corinthians with two rhetorical questions, both of which expect a negative answer.[1] “Are we beginning to...

The Calling of Levi (Mark 2:13-17)

The calling of Levi is another incident that occurs as Jesus is moving (Mark 2:13-14). The passage stresses the public nature of...

Epiphany IX Year BView All >

“Observe the Sabbath Day and Keep It Holy” (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12)

The issue of the Sabbath is complex, not only in the books of Deuteronomy and Exodus and...

The Fifth Commandment: Honor Your Parents

Many cultures throughout the world train people to honor people of older generations, including parents, grandparents, and so on.

The Economic Consequences of National Wrongdoings (Psalm 81, 85)

Despite the attention to personal judgment we have seen in Psalm 73, in most of Book 3, it is the nation of...

Honey from the Rock

In Psalm 81, the Lord invites Israel to receive the very best of his blessings. “Open your mouth wide,” he says, “and I will fill it with good things” (81:10). In order to...

Leading and Serving (2 Corinthians 4)

Second Corinthians 4 brings together themes that are closely related in Paul’s work—transparency, humility, weakness, leadership, and service. Because we are seeing...

The Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-3:6)