John 20:19-23, Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41, Genesis 11:1-9, John 14:5-14, Romans 8:1-17
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 2:1-21 On Pentecost the Disciples receive the Holy Spirit and Peter explains the happening. Luke gives an account of the Spirit's coming upon the gathered Disciples in Jerusalem on Pentecost accompanied by a mighty wind and tongues of fire. Then the reaction of the crowd is given the Disciples are accused of being drunk. Peter responds by explaining the experience as fulfillment of Joel's prophecy that at the end of the era the Spirit would come to all. The overall purpose of the ...
THEOLOGICAL CLUE The birth story, with the visit of the magi, and the baptism of our Lord, at the beginning of the season, and the Transfiguration story, at the conclusion of Epiphany in many lectionaries, combine to enclose the other Sundays of Epiphany in a period of time when the manifestation/ministry of Jesus are celebrated in worship and preaching. Each Sunday, some aspect of Jesus' Epiphany in his teaching and/or his miraculous works/signs is put before the people of God to confirm the faith of ...
COMMENTARY Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 Though Israel is guilty of social injustices, Yahweh will be gracious to her if she seeks the Lord and loves good. Amos urges Israel to seek life by seeking the Lord, hating evil, loving good, and establishing justice. Because of their sins, they will experience the fire of judgment. Their sins are of a social nature: the wealthy oppress the poor, afflict the righteous, and accept bribes. Amos calls upon the nation to repent by turning from evil and turning to Yahweh. Then it ...
One of the more obscene things that I have seen in my lifetime was the wall that separated East and West Germany. I am not talking just about the wall in Berlin, but the border swath cut clear across Germany. Over hills, through forests, and beautiful farmland was this street-wide, cleared strip of land, sprinkled with formidable watch-towers, barbed wire and the frightening, oppressive border sign: HALT! HIER GRENZE! Stop, here is the border, the barrier, the frontier. Even on the freedom side of that ...
Exodus 20:1-21, Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Matthew 21:33-46
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John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 The Ten Commandments. While assembled at Mount Sinai, the Israelites are given the Decalogue by Yahweh through Moses. These ten absolutes are not independent. They are related to the Mosaic covenant. First came grace in terms of God's deliverance from Egypt and by his promise to take them to a Promised Land. The laws are given for the people's part or response to the covenant. Old Testament: Isaiah 5:1-7 God's judgment upon his people for their failure to ...
The Lenten season may not be the longest season in the church year, but it is one of the most important seasons, if not the most important season. It is a time for spiritual preparation through repentance and growth in faith for Easter. It is the time of the church year when the passion and death of the Savior come into focus. It begins with a special day of repentance, Ash Wednesday, and ends in the depth of sorrow and tragedy on Good Friday. The name of the season, Lent, does not reflect the mood or ...
Luke 17:1-10, Lamentations 1:1-22, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13
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John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Lamentations 1:1-6 Lament for Jerusalem that lies in ruins. The series of seven lections is interrupted by a passage from Lamentations. In 586 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered and burned to the ground. The people were carried away to Babylon. Jerusalem now lies in ruins and is deserted. Along with the city, the holy temple is now a heap of ashes. The book of Lamentations is a collection of five poems moaning Jerusalem's end. It is appropriate that Lamentations is in this series from ...
The story is told of a mother who called up the stairs to her son: “Get up! It is time to go to church.” The son said, “Aw, Mom, I don’t want to go to church. The people there all make fun of me. They don’t really like me. Nobody there ever listens to what I say. I’d rather stay home in bed.” The mother said, “But son, you’ve got to go.” The son said, “Give me two good reasons.” The mother replied, “Well for one thing, you are forty-two years old; and, for another, you’re the minister!” I’ve always had ...
Once upon a time, before television, there was radio. You know what radio is—television without pictures. Well, before television, one of the most popular daytime radio programs was called “Queen for a Day.” If I remember it correct-ly (and it was a long time ago!), each day four or five women from the studio audience would tell the host what they would like to have and do if they could be “Queen for a Day.” And then, on the basis of applause, one woman was chosen, and insofar as they were able, the ...
Deuteronomy 34:1-12, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 22:41-46, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
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John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (C) The Lord buried Moses. At age 120 Moses' life comes to an end. For forty years he led God's people from Egypt to the Promised Land which he was permitted to see but not enter. In all of history he probably was the only human buried by the Lord. His greatest accomplishment was his face-to-face experience with God. Lesson 1: Exodus 33:20-26 (RC); Exodus 22:21-27 (E) The first and great commandment. Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 (C, E) In spite of opposition, ...
Exodus 20:1-21, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, John 2:12-25
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John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-21 The 10 commandments are unconditional demands of God. They are absolute laws that express the will of God for his people. Israel is his people, for a covenant was established at Mount Sinai. The commandments follow the covenant relationship as the people's response to God's grace in making the covenant. They are not conditions to be met before God is their God, but rather because he is their God. They will live as his children according to these absolute laws. The ...
For everybody who assumed that everybody in the Bible is nice, the message this morning is that everybody in the Bible is real, and God loved them anyway! Our subject this morning is Gomer. Not Gomer, Ohio, but the not-so-nice wife of the Prophet Hosea. I have never preached about Gomer before. And, quite honestly, I probably would not be preaching about her now, except that I have to. The CSS Publishing Company, here in Lima, has asked me to publish a book of sermons next spring on the Old Testament ...
Seven of the Lectionary B pericopes from Mark's Gospel come from the first chapter of Mark! Several of these pericopes overlap each other. Where there is overlapping you may wish to consult other sections of this work for additional comments. For the Baptism of our Lord Sunday, for example, the appointed text is Mark 1:4-11, which overlaps with the final four verses of the pericope for the Second Sunday in Advent. The title or heading of Mark's Gospel is stated simply: "The beginning of the good news of ...
God simply does not seem to do the sort of things we would expect our God to do. He does not always give us what we want. Most of us do not have everything we had hoped and dreamed for in life. He does not always answer our prayers. After all, we have all lost loved ones. Sometimes God seems so far away. We pray to him, and nothing is there (or so it seems). We look to God to intervene in our world. Yet the hungry, the poor and the oppressed are still with us. Where is God? Why does he seem so powerless? ...
There is an old "preacher story" about the traveling evangelist who had a flair for the dramatic. His sermons were flamboyant and intensely theatrical. His ability to turn a phrase and masterfully create "word pictures" captivated his listeners almost to the point of hypnosis. He was a strong portion. After accepting an invitation to preach in a little country church, he went out early one afternoon to familiarize himself with the church and its appointments. Among other things, he observed that the ...
Johnny Carson has a side-kick who opens the evening television talk show with a phrase that never varies. Big Ed McMahon bursts forth with the introduction, "Here’s Johnny!" Then the talk man comes forth from the wings to entertain his audience and television viewers. As the herald of the show, Ed McMahon plays an important role in getting the show off the ground with gusto. Jesus was coming to stage the greatest drama the world would ever witness. It would unfold the mighty act of redemption. While he was ...
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was moving toward a fevered climax. NBC had shown marching bands and recording artists who casually paused in the middle of Fifth Avenue to "lip-synch" their latest recording! Massive balloons of "Bullwinkle" and "Underdog" and the excitement in the announcer's voice made it obvious that Santa and his Reindeer were just around the corner. It was then that a small float came wheeling down the street with the wise men, shepherds, Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. The NBC ...
Two Sundays ago, we began our series of sermons on The Christian Walk. We closed that first sermon with the story of three-year-old Ryan. He and his five-year-old sister, Lisa, were playing on the floor following a family dinner while the adults tried to have a conversation. Lisa opened her new toy nurse's kit and convinced Ryan to be her patient. She took the little stethoscope and placed it on her brother's heart, listened intently -- as good nurses do. Suddenly she announced, "I hear somebody walking ...
Some years ago, I had the marvelous opportunity of visiting Philippi. I was troubled by the fact that not much was left of that once flourishing Roman colony. But out by the river, where Lydia was converted, and perhaps baptized, I gained a helpful perspective. The most winsome church of the apostolic age probably never had a building of her own. It was the church in Lydia’s house, or in the house of some other. If there was a particular building for the church at any time during her history, not one stone ...
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13
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John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Joshua leads the people to renew the covenant. When Joshua took over the leadership, he called the people together before crossing the Jordan. At the end of his term, he again calls them together and calls upon them to get rid of pagan gods and serve Yahweh. The people swear they will serve only the Lord. Thereupon, the Mosaic covenant was renewed. Old Testament: Amos 5:18-24 Prepare for the day of the Lord by exceeding justice. Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4:13- ...
[Alternative personalized opening: Mountain culture used to refer to heaven as “the sweet by and by.” Anybody remember that phrase? Or the old gospel song “In The Sweet By and By . . ?“ It was made a signature song by three of the greatest country and western singers of all time --- Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and Dolly Parton. Here are the lyrics: [You may have the congregation sing the song as the beginning to your sermon, or have someone sing it for your people.] There's a land that is fairer than day, ...
Architecture and power are Siamese twins joined at the hip. Rulers have always wanted to translate their power into brick and mortar -- from the tower of Babel and Egypt's pharaohs to Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. I. M. Pei, in his contract given by FranÁois Mitterand to renovate the Louvre, was commissioned to re-establish the glory of France. Serious resources have been committed by rulers to display their strength and grandeur with architecture. David had finally consolidated his ...
Some of you experienced the victory of World War II. Others of us have at least seen on television old newsreel footage of the celebration of victory in Europe. Then came victory over Japan and other victory parades. There were no such celebrations after the wars in Korea and Vietnam. But after the Allied victory in the Persian Gulf we attempted to make up for all of that with tremendous celebrations and victory parades. The attention of the entire nation was fixed on General Norman Schwarzkopf, who was ...
Simon was in control of the boat. He was the oldest, and besides it was his boat. He had sailed the waters so often, and usually at night because that is when most of the fishing took place. The disciples pushed away from the shore, a shore still crowded with the village people. The sun had set but still cast a warm, red glow over the hillside, over the men, women and children who had come to hear Jesus and to be healed. The sun's glow worked out upon the gently moving sea. It may have been John, the ...
And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water, and we’ve had it with this stupid manna."1 And the Lord sent deadly serpents among the people, and they began biting the people, and many of the sons of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said to him, "We have sinned because we spoke against the Lord and against you. So now, pray to the Lord that ...