Matthew 3:1-12, Isaiah 11:1-16, Romans 14:1--15:13
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10
This text is related to Isaiah 9:1-6. "The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:3a). In their original context, both passages are believed to be coronation Psalms for God's Anointed One, the king. It is possible that Isaiah composed today's lesson for the coronation of King Hezekiah. Though a king was held to be a direct li...
Theme For The Day: A call to spiritual renewal and cleansing. Since God has come to us as holy redeeming love, our response is to be cleansed of our sins and live holy lives. The Ten Commandments (First Lesson) are guidelines for such lives. Jesus' cleansing of the temple (Gospel) constitutes a call to moral and spiritual renewal, beginning with God's house and God's people.
COMMENTARY
Old Testame...
Theme: We are saved by grace through faith. God provided the bronze serpent for the Israelites bitten by the fiery serpents (Numbers 21), that those who gazed on it might live. So too, the Father lifted up Jesus on the cross, that all who look to Him in faith might have eternal life.
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Numbers 21:4-9
The Israelites grow impatient as they wander in the wilderness surroundi...
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16
Deuteronomy came to light in the seventh century, during the reign of King Josiah, who instituted a religious revival. It comes in the form of discourses from the mouth of Moses, which bring to mind the goodness of the Lord in leading them through the wilderness and into the promised land. The people are called to respond to God's goodness by rat...
John 12:20-36, Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Hebrews 4:14-5:10
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: The heart of Jesus was broken in death so that he might create within us a new heart. In the First Lesson the new heart is promised. In the Second Lesson, Jesus poured out his heart of suffering to the Father. In the Gospel Jesus promises that he will unite our hearts through the cross (draw all people to himself (v. 32).
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Written after the destr...
John 13:1-17, Exodus 12:1-30, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, John 13:31-38
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: The institution of the covenant meal for both Jews and Christians.
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14a
This contains the priestly tradition concerning the institution of the Passover, the covenant feast of the Hebrew people. The Passover took over a more ancient springtime agricultural festival, infusing it with fresh content. The month of Nisan (March-April) in which the feast took...
John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, Acts 7:54--8:1a, Acts 17:1-9, 1 Peter 2:4-12
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme For The Day: Come into me. In the Lutheran/Episcopal First Lesson, Paul has been secreted out of a couple of Greek towns. He leaves word that Paul and Silas are to come to him as soon as possible, so he can continue the work of building up the Body Of Christ. In the Second Lesson, Peter urges his readers to "Come to Him (Christ), a living stone ..." and become living building blocks in the c...
THIS WEEK'S TEXT
Revised Common: Acts 1:6-14 · 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 · John 17:1-11
Roman Catholic: Acts 1:12-14 · 1 Peter 4:13-16 · John 17:1-11
Episcopal: Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14 or 1 Peter 4:12-19 or John 17:1-11 · Ezekiel 39:21-29 · Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14
Lutheran: Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14 · 1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11 · John 17:1-11
Theme For The Day: Prayer is the golden thread that ties together the three le...
The Development Of The Season
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, of course, the focal point of the Christian faith. In the primitive church there was no special day singled out to celebrate the Lord's resurrection. Every Sunday was a mini-celebration of the Lord's victory. Since the resurrection occurred around the same time as the Jewish Passover, early Christians referred to the church's chie...
THIS WEEK'S TEXT
Revised Common: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 · 1 Pet 1:3-9 · Jn 20:19-31
Roman Catholic: Acts 2:42-47 · 1 Pet 1:3-9 · Jn 20:19-31
Episcopal: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 or 1 Pet 1:3-9 or Jn 20:19-31 · Gen 8:6-16; 9:8-16 · Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Lutheran: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 · 1 Pet 1:3-9 · Jn 20:19-31
Theme For The Day: The theme of faith and doubt runs through the lessons for today. In the First Lesson, P...
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Isaiah 9:1-4
This passage is a portion of the First Lesson for Christmas Day. On that occasion it was employed as a fulfillment of the expectation of the birth of the Messiah. In the context of Epiphany it is used as a fulfillment of the promise that the Messiah would be a light for all the nations. This passage was written during a time of great darkness and gloom. The ...
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-4a (C, RC); Genesis 12:1-8 (E, L)
God appears to a man by the name of Abram in what today would be Iraq, about 1800 B.C., and orders him to leave his homeland and travel to a land that God would show him. God promises to bless Abram and make of him a great nation. In fact, God's promises make Abraham a means of blessing or curse for others. The amazing aspec...
John 4:1-26, Exodus 17:1-7, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42, Isaiah 42:18-25
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Exodus 17:1-7 (C, E); Exodus 17:3-7 (RC)
The people of Israel cry out against Moses and God for bringing them out into the wilderness, where there is no water. Moses, fearing for his life, takes the problem to the Lord. God commands Moses to take the staff with which he struck the Nile, when the sea parted before them, and strike a rock. Water would flow forth. This plac...
John 11:1-16, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 8:1-17, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Ezekiel 37:12-14
God instructs Ezekiel to preach to the dry bones scattered over the valley floor and as he preaches to them they come together, as flesh and sinew cover them. The dry bones represent the people of Israel, who have been taken captive and live hopeless lives in a strange land. The message is that God will carry his people home and fill their lifeless carca...
John 18:1-11, Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Genesis 22:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Hebrews 10:1-18, Hebrews 4:14-5:10, John 19:17-27
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme For Lenten Series: Christ Confronts Death.
Theme: The passion and death of our Lord.
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13--53:12
This sublime poem of the Suffering Servant lifts up an idea that is featured prominently in Christian theology: suffering, pain and sorrow can be redemptive. Biblical interpreters have traditionally identified the servant in this poem with the nation of Israel....
Genesis 6:1-8:22, Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Matthew 7:21-29, Romans 1:1-17, Romans 3:21-31
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: A contrast between the righteousness of obedience and the righteousness of faith. The First Lesson from Deuteronomy presents Moses' instruction to obey God's laws by making them an integral part of their daily lives. The First Lesson, from Genesis, shows how Noah obeyed God by building the Ark. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches that everyone who hears his words and does them is like the person w...
Genesis 12:1-8, Hosea 5:1-15, Hosea 6:1-6, Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:18-26, Romans 4:1-25
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: The call. The book of Hosea is one long plea for the people to turn their hearts to God. The Genesis 12 text and the Second Lesson present the call of Abraham. The Gospel lifts up the call of Matthew, a tax collector regarded as a notorious sinner. When criticized for dining with sinners, Jesus responds: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
COMMENTARY
Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1-9 ...
Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42, Genesis 18:1-15, Exodus 19:1-25, Romans 5:1-11
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: God's people are commissioned for mission. God told Moses, as recorded in Exodus 19, that the Jews were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In the Gospel, the Lord empowers the apostles to go out and proclaim the gospel and minister in his name. That is our calling too.
COMMENTARY
Lesson 1: Genesis 18:1-15 (C)
Three men appear to Abraham as he sits by the entrance of his tent in...
Mt 13:31-33, 44-52 · Rom 8:26-39 · 1 Ki 3:5-12 · Ps 105
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Genesis 29:15-28
Jacob the trickster gets tricked. He is smitten with Rachel and agrees with her father, Laban, to work seven years to obtain her hand in marriage. On the wedding night, he gets an unexpected wedding present, Rachel's sister, Leah. Jacob agrees to work another seven years for Rachel because she is the true treasure of his heart.
Old Testament: 1 Kings 3:...
Theme: How to overcome a contrary wind. The disciples faced a fiercely opposing wind on the Sea of Galilee. So too did Elijah, after his victory on Mount Carmel. Queen Jezebel was after his life. In both instances, they felt overwhelmed. Then, God came to still the storm.
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Joseph, who was given a long robe with sleeves as a sign of his father's favo...
Theme: Deliverance from bondage. The Old Testament readings, with the exception of the Roman Catholic, focus on God's great acts of deliverance. God sends prophets to announce their approaching freedom. We see the completion of God's intent in the gospel, where he gives to the church the power to deliver people from the bondage of sin.
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Exodus 1:8 2:10
Generations after ...
Exodus 3:1-22, Jeremiah 15:15-21; 20:7-18, Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:1-8
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: Suffering for righteousness' sake. Both Jeremiah and Peter rebelled against the idea of suffering for the sake of the kingdom of God; both of them had to be reprimanded by God and brought back into a state of obedience.
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Exodus 3:1-15
Moses observes the mysterious burning bush on Mount Horeb and draws closer for an examination. An angelic presence is seen in the f...
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Exodus 14:19-31
The presence of the Lord in the pillar of fire, that normally went ahead of the people to lead them, moved to the rear of the community as an obscuring cloud, a kind of buffer between them and the army of the Pharaoh. The Lord caused a strong wind to dry up a pathway through the sea so that the Hebrews passed to the other side. The pursuing Egyptians beca...
Matthew 20:20-28, Matthew 20:17-19, John 9:35-41, John 9:13-34, Romans 8:1-17, Ephesians 4:17--5:21, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, John 9:1-12
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
Theme: Christ confronts a blind man and heals him. By so doing Christ also confronts the skepticism of the Jewish authorities and each person is confronted with the question: Who is this Jesus?
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 (RC)
This text presents us with an interesting theological concept that challenges our notions of God's unchangeableness. Here God changes his mind abou...
COMMENTARY
Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14
The passover marked the beginning of a new era for the Israelites. "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (v. 2). The people are ordered to set aside a flawless lamb to be slaughtered, roasted and eaten on the 14th day of the month. Everyone was to be part of the feast. The meal was to be eaten in haste because God was on the move. The peopl...