Login / Signup

Fourth Sunday in Lent - C

Hold down Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) for multiple selections (scroll list to see all options)

Children's Activity

Commentary

Children's bulletin

Children's Liturgy and Story

Children's sermon

Children's Story

Devotional

Drama

Illustration

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Many scientific attempts have been... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Many scientific attempts have been made to explain the manna that fed the children of Israel
I think I was closest... -- Isaiah 12:1-6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
I think I was closest to my father on the day he was angriest with me.
The Foreign Service Institute is... -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States government's primary training institution for pre
Do you know someone who... -- Isaiah 12:1-6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Do you know someone who has studied the Christian faith, knows all the proper answers to the ways of
As we progress into the... -- Isaiah 12:1-6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
As we progress into the Lenten season, we are confronted with the type of behavior which makes God a
When Tim Lefens, an artist... -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
When Tim Lefens, an artist whose paintings had been shown in several New York galleries, learned tha
The normally calm blue sky... -- Isaiah 12:1-6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
The normally calm blue sky can, at times, become angrily dark and boom with peals of thunder and cra
The church organist and minister... -- Isaiah 12:1-6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
The church organist and minister were having a cup of coffee in the church staff lounge.
I feel like a new... -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
"I feel like a new man!" "I feel like a new woman." The television ads bombard us with promises that
This story involves two main... -- Isaiah 12:1-6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
This story involves two main characters: a mockingbird and a stray cat.
In the early 1980s a... -- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
In the early 1980s a certain U.S.
Darla was a typical teenage... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Darla was a typical teenage girl until she met Luke.
Nothing brings praise to our... -- Isaiah 12:1-6 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Nothing brings praise to our lips like a crisis that has been resolved!
In the movie, Hoosiers... -- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
In the movie, Hoosiers, the main character, a head basketball coach, attempts to give a man a
Oliver Wendell Holmes once said... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Oliver Wendell Holmes once said that trouble makes us one with every human being in the world.
The Gospel of reconciling and... -- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
The Gospel of reconciling and forgiving love cannot be kept locked up in the church building with al
How did James Herriot ever... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
How did James Herriot ever get the idea to write his books about serving as a veterinarian in rural
Unable to take his Spanish... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Unable to take his Spanish royalties out of the country, the English writer, Somerset Maugham, decid
God was in Christ reconciling... -- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
"God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." A friend confided to me that while growing up
5:9-12The only thing worse then... -- Joshua -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
5:9-12The only thing worse then not getting what you want is getting it.
When Douglas Corrigan climbed into... -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
When Douglas Corrigan climbed into his airplane cockpit, he had no idea his name would become a hous
In his theological mystery novel... -- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
In his theological mystery novel,* Thomas Trueblood tells about a brilliant college student who succ
The only thing worse then... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
The only thing worse then not getting what you want is getting it.
If a dead man is... -- Joshua 5:9-12 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
"If a dead man is raised to life, all men spring up in astonishment.
Paul's assertion that in Christ... -- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Paul's assertion that in Christ we are "new creatures" is one of the most startling claims in the Ne

Intercession

Prayer

Preaching

Sermon

Stories

Worship

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)
Easter 4
28 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 5
33 – Sermons
140+ – Illustrations / Stories
34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
30 – Worship Resources
35 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 6
30 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
5 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)

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.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL