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Mark Ellingsen

Mark Ellingsen, a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), has been a professor of Church History at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1993. He graduated magna cum laude from Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania) and Yale University, from which he received three master's degrees in divinity, arts, and philosophy, as well as his Ph.D. He has authored 26 books including his latest, Wired for Racism? How Evolution and Faith Move Us to Challenge Racial Idolatry, published by New City Press and Reality and Waves: A Quantum Physics Cosmology, Philosophy of Religion, and Ethic (Lexington Books). He and his wife have three grown children. When he is not writing or teaching, Ellingsen enjoys discussing politics, sports, and playing guitar.
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Commentary

Illustration

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Paul says that... -- Romans 5:1-11 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Third Sunday in Lent - A -- 2014
Paul says that even while enemies of God we were reconciled to him through Christ (v. 10).
Sermons Illustrations for Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 (2014) -- Exodus 17:1-17, Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:28-32 -- Bob Ove, Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love, Derl G. Keefer -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - A -- 2014
Exodus 17:1-7
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 (2014) -- Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13 -- Bob Ove, Derl G. Keefer, Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2014
Joshua 24:1-3a
Saint Augustine claims... -- Matthew 14:22-33 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - A -- 2014
Saint Augustine claims that this text is a lesson in humility.
John the Baptist... -- Matthew 3:1-12 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Second Sunday of Advent - A -- 2013
John the Baptist called his followers, calls us, to repentance!
We don't need any more... -- Luke 16:19-31 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2013
We don't need any more miracles today; we already have all the ones we will ever need.
NULL -- John 16:12-15 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - C -- 2013
All that the Father has is Christ's, and the Spirit will take what is Christ's and declare it (v.
Paul claims that all are part of the Body... -- 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a -- Mark Ellingsen -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2013
Paul claims that all are part of the Body, all our jobs are equally esteemed and indispensable.
We are still... -- Isaiah 9:1-4 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - A -- 2013
We are still a nation plagued by slavery.
Sermon Illustrations for Advent 3 (2013) -- Isaiah 35:1-10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11 -- Derl G. Keefer, Mark Ellingsen, Bob Ove, Ron Love -- Third Sunday of Advent - A -- 2013
Isaiah 35:1-10
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 22 | OT 27 (2013) -- Lamentations 1:1-6, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10 -- Mark J. Molldrem, Bob Ove, Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love, Scott A. Bryte -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2013
Lamentations 1:1-6
Sermon illustrations for Easter 4 (2013) -- Acts 9:36-43, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30 -- Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love, Bob Ove, Mark J. Molldrem -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2013
Acts 9:36-43
The Human Genome Project... -- Colossians 1:1-14 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - C -- 2013
The Human Genome Project, which mapped all the various combinations of human genes, teaches us that
The 17th-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal powerfully describes... -- Jeremiah 1:4-10 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 2013
The 17th-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal powerfully describes our miserable condition on t
Many Americans think... -- Matthew 4:12-23 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - A -- 2013
Many Americans think that responding to the call of God is what makes the Christian a Christian, tha
We have all... -- James 5:7-10 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Third Sunday of Advent - A -- 2013
We have all heard that patience is a virtue.
Twenty-first-century American... -- 2 Timothy 1:1-14 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2013
Twenty-first-century American life is chaotic, comprised of meaningless meanderings.
Times are tough for the Holy Spirit among mainline Protestants... -- Romans 8:14-17 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Day of Pentecost - C -- 2013
Times are tough for the Holy Spirit among mainline Protestants.
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 11 | OT 16 (2013) -- Amos 8:1-12, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42 -- Scott A. Bryte, Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love, Bob Ove, Mark J. Molldrem -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - C -- 2013
Amos 8:1-12
Jesus identifies the focus of his ministry... -- Luke 4:21-30 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 2013
How interesting that while apparently being rejected in his hometown, Jesus identifies the focus of
Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 5 (2014) -- Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12), 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16), Matthew 5:13-20 -- Ron Love, Derl G. Keefer, Mark Ellingsen, Bob Ove -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - A -- 2013
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
Sermon Illustrations for Advent 4 (2013) -- Isaiah 7:10-16, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25 -- Ron Love, Mark Ellingsen, Derl G. Keefer, Bob Ove -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - A -- 2013
Isaiah 7:10-16
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 23 | OT 28 (2013) -- Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19 -- Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love, Mark J. Molldrem, Bob Ove -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - C -- 2013
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
NULL -- Acts 9:36-43 -- Mark Ellingsen -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2013
The miracle of the resurrection of Dorcas came as quite a surprise for the faithful, who it is repor

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Sermon Illustrations for Christ The King (Proper 29) (2014) -- Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46 -- Derl G. Keefer, Bob Ove, Mark Ellingsen, Ron Love -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - A -- 2014
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

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Mark Ellingsen
These lessons all testify to Jesus is our all-in-all. The Good Shepherd theme could also be stressed.  

Acts 4:5-12
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Acts 4:5-12
The hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation” was written by Samuel J. Stone around 1866. It was part of a collection of twelve hymns that emphasized a part of the Apostles’ Creed. “The Church’s One Foundation” speaks specifically to article nine of the Apostles’ Creed, and it emphasizes that Jesus is the one upon whom the church is built. According to C. Michael Hawn, the song became known as the “battle song of the church.”

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John E. Sumwalt
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me. (v. 4)

Are there angels among us who save people in danger?

One of the stories I tell in response to this question, was sent to me by Robyn Bradley of Oxford, Wisconsin. She’s a therapist and licensed clinical social worker who is the Director of Psychological Health for the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

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Object: A hearing aid.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s go!

The Village Shepherd

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There was a farmer living in a remote part of the Norfolk countryside who had been burgled a number of times. On the last occasion he was disturbed in middle of the night, he went downstairs with his gun and when a torch was shone into his face, he pulled the trigger several times.

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(See Lent 4, Cycle A, and Easter 4, Cycle C, for alternative approaches.)

If asked how many images of God this most familiar of all psalms includes, most people would probably say one, that of shepherd. (And, while saying it, there's a good chance they'd actually be picturing Jesus with a lamb in his arms, thanks to the famous painting of that scene hanging in Sunday school rooms all over America.) But, in fact, there are two images of God in this psalm -- the shepherd (vv. 1-4) and the host at a banquet in the temple (vv. 5-6).

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... the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...

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__________

I have spent nine years here at the hospital. In the course of those nine years I've witnessed and experienced many strange things. I've watched events occur that made me stop and think and wonder. I've found myself doing something or I've found others doing something that made me scratch my head. I've come across many coincidences that made me wonder if indeed they were coincidences.
David H. Webb
It is hard to find a more bold expression of the Easter faith than what we hear from Peter today in our first lesson.

Peter and John had just healed a lame beggar at the gate of the temple. Without hesitation Peter proclaimed to the astonished crowd that the healing was the work of God who had raised Jesus from the dead. Almost immediately, the Sanhedrin arrests Peter and John and puts them on trial. They ask. "By what power or by what name did you do this?" (v. 7).

Mark J. Molldrem
Easter is in springtime for a reason. Springtime is that time of year when new life emerges from the old. Easter is that time of history when New Life emerged from the old.

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