Commentary posted on November 30, 2020

Advent 2B Sermon Commentary

The Advent 2B Sermon Starters include commentary and illustration ideas for Mark 1:1-8 from the Lectionary Gospel; Isaiah 40:1-11 from the Old Testament Lectionary; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 from the Lectionary Psalms; and 2 Peter 3:8-15a from the Lectionary Epistle.

Related Reformed confession: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 12 (Lord’s Day 5)

 

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Mark 1:1-8 Sermon Commentary

Advent 2B

Imagine yourself a Kindergarten teacher who gathers a group of wide-eyed five-and six-year-olds onto the square of carpeting in the classroom that is reserved for “Story Time.”  You smile into their innocent faces and begin your story. “Once upon a time a little girl named Goldilocks was fast asleep in a lovely little bed—a bed…

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Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 Sermon Commentary

Advent 2B

Maybe the Consultation on Common Texts that puts together the Revised Common Lectionary thinks that Advent is no time to think about God’s anger over sin.  Because by carving verses 3-7 out of this lection from Psalm 85, we once again edit the Almighty.  It’s OK to start with the first 2 verses and lyric…

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2 Peter 3:8-15a Sermon Commentary

Advent 2B

We usually think of a “last will and testament” as a dry legal document by which a now-dead person divvies up his or her possessions. Yet we periodically see or hear about a last will and testament that’s really a kind of testament that communicates the deceased person’s final thoughts. Sometimes its words scold family…

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Isaiah 40:1-11 Sermon Commentary

Advent 2B

Advent began last week with a lament filled with longing for the coming of God (Isaiah 64).  On this Second Sunday of Advent, the mood changes dramatically with the Good News that God is coming soon. That shift of mood parallels the radical shift between Isaiah 39 and Isaiah 40.  Even the most casual reader…

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