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Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Sermon Commentary
Proper 11B
“Be specific! Show, Don’t Tell!” Those are fairly common pieces of advice from me when I grade student sermons. Generalities, undefined words like “this” or “that,” brief lists that quickly conclude with “and so on” or “et cetera” just don’t cut it. The concrete and the specific always trump the vague and the general. I…
Psalm 89:20-37 Sermon Commentary
Proper 11B
Before I dive into this difficult Psalm, I must get two preliminary comments out of the way, the first merely personal, the second deeply textual. On a personal level, I must point you to a previous Sermon Commentary on this very text written just 7 months ago (see the Archive on this Center for Excellence…
Ephesians 2:11-22 Sermon Commentary
Proper 11B
When a text begins with a “Therefore” or a phrase like “After these things . . .”, you as a reader know you have to back up and read what came just before. Sometimes we don’t do that, of course. We have come to view the Bible as so many chopped-up chapters and verses—with convenient…
2 Samuel 7:1-14a Sermon Commentary
Proper 11B
Some of the people to whom we proclaim 2 Samuel 7 feel a little like David. After all, Israel’s king has been very busy battling both Israel’s internal and external enemies. He has also just finished fighting a domestic “battle” with his wife, Michal. Some people will come to our churches from “battling” neighbors, co-workers…
Commentary posted on July 16, 2018
Proper 11B Sermon Commentary
The Proper 11B Sermon Starters include commentary and illustration ideas for Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 from the Lectionary Gospel; 2 Samuel 7:1-14a from the Old Testament Lectionary; Psalm 89:20-37 from the Lectionary Psalms; and Ephesians 2:11-22 from the Lectionary Epistle.
Related Reformed confession: OT Lectionary: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 15 (Lord’s Day 5)