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Wayne Brouwer

Wayne Brouwer is a pastor of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and is an Associate Professor of Religion at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, as well as a member of the faculty of Western Theological Seminary. Brouwer has been the lead pastor in three different congregations. He is a graduate of Dordt College and holds degrees from Calvin Theological Seminary and McMaster University. Over 700 of his articles have been published as well as over a dozen books. Previous CSS Publishing titles by Pastor Bouwer include Political Christianity and Humming Till the Music Returns. He has been a consistent contributor to Emphasis: A Preaching Journal since 2004 and is one of several authors featured in Navigating the Sermon. Pastor Brouwer resides in Holland, Michigan, with his wife Brenda and they are the parents of three daughters.
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Commentary

Emphasis Preaching Journal

At the gate of the year -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, Revelation 21:1-6a, Matthew 25:31-46 -- Wayne Brouwer -- New Year's Day - A, New Year's Day - B, New Year's Day - C -- 2014
Time is the news of the day. Yesterday was yesteryear.
Living as if faith matters -- Exodus 14:19-31, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A -- 2014
When Eric Lomax was posted to Singapore in 1941 he knew nothing of the horror that lay ahead of him.
The calm at the center -- Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28, Romans 10:5-15, Matthew 14:22-33 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - A -- 2014
One Chinese word-symbol for "doubt" is a caricature of a person with each foot in a different canoe.
Tough beginnings -- Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11 -- Wayne Brouwer -- First Sunday in Lent - A -- 2014
Ancient Israel's calendar of daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly markers was not so much a schedule o
A world turned upside down -- Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17, 31b-35 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Maundy Thursday - A -- 2014
In 17th-century England, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell and his righteous Puritanism, Parli
Easter living -- Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - A -- 2014
"A grave is a sobering thing," said Wordsworth.
Harvest time -- Acts 2:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13, John 20:19-23 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Day of Pentecost - A -- 2014
An ancient Jewish legend declares, "Pentecost is the day on which Torah was given." One wonders whet
Choices -- Genesis 25:19-34, Romans 8:1-11, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 - A -- 2014
As parents, we want to influence our children.
The music of grace -- Exodus 32:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - A -- 2014
His shrunken frame and age-diminished voice were almost lost at the front of our large church audito
Live like you were dying -- Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2014
A well-rounded biblical moral lifestyle is established on four primary foundational principles:
Anticipation -- Isaiah 64:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37 -- Wayne Brouwer -- First Sunday of Advent - B -- 2014
A well-rounded biblical "Screw your courage to the sticking-place," says Lady Macbeth to her doomed
Shine, Jesus, shine! -- Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2013
In their book Resident Aliens, Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon tell the story of a Unit
Do the right thing -- Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2013
There is a series of television advertisements about a financial company that puts forward the thesi
Witnesses -- Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4b-8, John 20:19-31, Revelation 1:4-8 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Second Sunday of Easter - C -- 2013
There is a marvelous little story tucked away in the pages of Edward Gibbon's seven-volume work T
Home -- Acts 16:9-15, Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5, John 14:23-29 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2013
Last year Phil Phillips won the American Idol competition based in part on his powerful rendi
Great expectations -- Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - C -- 2013
It was Charles Dickens who prodded us to think about hope in his wonderful novel Great Expectatio
Miracles -- 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24), Galatians 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-17 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - C -- 2013
Charles Darwin grew up in a Christian home, yet later in life he rejected Christianity's hold on him
Commitment -- 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14, Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13 - C -- 2013
When Louis Pasteur was researching the deadly anthrax virus, he found that once a cow that had the d
Defining our destinies -- Amos 8:1-12, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 - C -- 2013
During World War II the English government knew that Hitler was planning to invade the British Isles
Trust -- Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Luke 12:32-40 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - C -- 2013
Some years ago, when Dick Shepard was the vicar of an Anglican parish in London, England, he had a d
Remembering who we are -- Jeremiah 2:4-13, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, Luke 14:1, 7-14 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - C -- 2013
When Mahatma Gandhi traveled from his India homeland as a young man and studied for a time in Englan
Intercession -- Jeremiah 8:18--9:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, Luke 16:1-13 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2013
When our oldest daughter began driver's training she needed to spend fifty hours behind the wheel of
Exiles, outcasts, and home -- Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - C -- 2013
When he summarized the formation of Latino identity, Gregory Rodriguez titled his social history
Under pressure -- Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12, Luke 19:1-10 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - C -- 2013
One of the British band Queen's greatest hits is a testimony of modern life.
Party time! -- Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Philippians 4:4-9, John 6:25-35 -- Wayne Brouwer -- Thanksgiving Day - C -- 2013
During the Middle Ages, parts of Europe had a wonderfully unusual annual celebration called the Feas

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Sermon

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UPCOMING WEEKS
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Easter 4
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160+ – Illustrations / Stories
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23 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
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33 – Sermons
140+ – Illustrations / Stories
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30 – Worship Resources
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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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