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Dennis Koch

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Prayer

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The birth of the Messiah -- Luke 1:26-38 -- Dennis Koch -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: Our theme focuses on Mary's immediate, positive response to
The triumphant tragedy of the cross -- John 18:1Ä19:42 -- Dennis Koch -- Good Friday - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: More than the Synoptic accounts, John consistently views the
Fumbling in the face of the fantastic -- Mark 9:2-9 -- Dennis Koch -- Transfiguration Sunday - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: Mark's description of the transfiguration of Jesus, though
The blessing of the ascension -- Mark 16:15-20 -- Dennis Koch -- Ascension of the Lord - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: This passage overlaps the selection for the Third Sunday of
Desert and devils, diversions and dangers in the Christian calling -- Mark 1:9-15 -- Dennis Koch -- First Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: Of particular interest in Mark's very succinct version of
The existential, practical Trinity -- John 3:1-17 -- Dennis Koch -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: The story of Nicodemus brings together the basic elements of
Right rituals for the wrong reasons -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Dennis Koch -- Ash Wednesday - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: In these sayings Jesus uses three common rituals -- almsgiving,
A discipleship of crosses, not of conquests -- Mark 8:31-38 -- Dennis Koch -- Second Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: In this account of Jesus' response to Peter's confession of
Old Temple, New Body -- John 2:13-22 -- Dennis Koch -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: John's version of the cleansing of the temple is distinctive
Delayed hopes Ä devoutly trusted, divinely fulfilled -- Luke 2:22-40 -- Dennis Koch -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: The elderly Simeon and Anna, both models of patient faith in
The subjectivity and secrecy of the first epiphany -- Mark 1:4-11 -- Dennis Koch -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: Unlike the description of Jesus' baptism delivered by Matthew
Lovers of darkness, lovers of light -- John 3:14-21 -- Dennis Koch -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: The challenge here is to set a most familiar and beloved New
Self-serving versus self-giving -- Mark 12:38-44 -- Dennis Koch -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: Mark's juxtaposing of what were, no doubt, two independent
A different kind of King -- John 18:33-37 -- Dennis Koch -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: The conversation about kingship between Pilate and Jesus
The fruit of life from the seed of death -- John 12:20-33 -- Dennis Koch -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: This passage, in which John signals the "beginning of the end"
A different sort of greatness -- Mark 9:30-37 -- Dennis Koch -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - B -- 1993
Gospel Note:
Reasonable doubt, irrefutable evidence -- John 20:19-31 -- Dennis Koch -- Second Sunday of Easter - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: In a narrative that intentionally describes appearances of the
A New Covenant -- John 13:1-15 -- Dennis Koch -- Maundy Thursday - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: The disciples meet with Jesus in the Upper Room. There he
Jesus is the incarnate Word -- John 1:1-18 -- Dennis Koch -- Second Sunday after Christmas - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: The Word is God in his pre-Jesus existence and his coming
Reading the scriptures with open minds -- Luke 24:36b-48 -- Dennis Koch -- Third Sunday of Easter - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: Luke uses here a post-resurrection appearance story that, in
The thrill of victory in the agony of defeat -- Mark 14:1Ä15:47 -- Dennis Koch -- Passion Sunday - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: Mark's version of the Passion contained here (15:20-39),
God's Word in fullness and flesh -- John 1:1-14 -- Dennis Koch -- The Nativity of our Lord - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: John's reworking of this pre-Christmas hymn implies an irony:
The self-sacrifice of the Good Shepherd -- John 10:11-18 -- Dennis Koch -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: The focus of this passage is not the image of "sheep," which
The promise of the Son, the pedagogy of the Spirit -- John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 -- Dennis Koch -- Day of Pentecost - B -- 1993
Gospel Note: This portion of Jesus' "paraclete sayings" in John's Gospel
News too good to keep -- Luke 2:1-20 -- Dennis Koch -- 1993
Gospel Note: The shepherds, having heard the angelic message, go to

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New & Featured This Week

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
In the sometimes-tiresome debate over science and scripture with respect to creation, it’s easy to become distracted. While the argument typically requires a focus on the how, we may lose sight of the what. And so, for just a moment, let me invite us to think for a moment about what God created.
Mark Ellingsen
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
Acts 8:26-40
As a local church pastor, I was often asked if I would baptize a child whose family were not members of the church. Some churches rebelled against this, but I remember this scripture — the hunger for understanding and inclusion of the Eunuch and Philp’s response — to teach and share and baptize in the name of our God. How could we turn anyone away from the rite of baptism?

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
“Dad, I think you worked a miracle.” Rolf slowly walked around the tree. “After that windstorm, I assumed this tree was as good as gone.”

“We just needed to give the branches time to heal and come back,” Michael replied.

 “I know, but so many of them were battered and broken I figured that it couldn’t recover. Now though it looks just like it did before the storm.” Rolf paused. “Do you think it will bear any fruit this summer?”

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A live plant that produces fruit, and a broken branch from that plant. I used a tomato plant from a local greenhouse. Ideally, find a plant with blossoms or small fruit already growing. If you use a different kind of fruit-producing plant, just change the script to fit.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Elena Delhagen
Dean Feldmeyer
Quantisha Mason-Doll
For April 28, 2024:
  • On The Way To Gaza by Chris Keating based on Acts 8:26-40. On the way to Gaza, Philip discovers the startling ways the Spirit of God moves across borders, boundaries, customs, and traditions.
  • Second Thoughts: Abiding by Katy Stenta based on John 15:1-8.
  • Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Tom Willadsen, Elena Delhagen, Dean Feldmeyer.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. In our service today, let us absorb from the vine all the nourishment we need.

Invitation to Confession:

Jesus, sometimes our branches become cut off from the vine.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes our branches are withered.
Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we fail to produce good fruit.
Lord, have mercy.

SermonStudio

Stan Purdum
We will meet Psalm 22 in its entirety on Good Friday, but here the lectionary designates just verses 23-31. The lectionary psalms generally illuminate the week's First Lesson, which in this case is about the covenant initiated by God with Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17. The nine verses from this psalm, while not inappropriate, nonetheless leave us looking for an obvious connection with the First Lesson.

John S. Smylie
I think some people are natural-born gardeners. Our Lord grew up in a society that was familiar with agriculture. The images that he used to explain the ways of his Father in heaven are familiar to his audience. Growing up, my closest experience to agriculture was living in, "the Garden State." Most people, when they pass through New Jersey, are surprised to see that expression on the license plates of vehicles registered in New Jersey. Most folks traveling through New Jersey experience the megalopolis, the corridor between New York City and Washington DC.
Ron Lavin
A pastor in Indiana went to visit an 87-year-old man named Ermil, who was a hospital patient. A member of his church told the pastor about this old man who was an acquaintance. "He's not a believer, but he is really in need," the church member said. "I met him at the county home for the elderly. He's a lonely old man with no family and no money."

Paul E. Robinson
"Love is a many splendored thing...." Or so we heard Don Cornwall and the Four Aces sing time and again. Of course you or I might have other words to describe love, depending on our situation.

Love. "I love you." "I love to play golf." "I just love pistachio lush!" "It's tough to love some people." "Jesus loves me, this I know."

Love.

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