Login / Signup

The Immediate Word

TIW Contributors

George Reed
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Chris Keating
Ron Love
Tom Willadsen
Bethany Peerbolte
Transfiguration Sunday - A
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Ron Love
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed

For February 23, 2020:

  • Mountains, Top and Bottom by Mary Austin — Presidential candidates go home changed, even if the Presidency eludes them. We can imagine that the same is true for James, John and Peter.
  • Second Thoughts: Crossing Thresholds by Chris Keating — Before ascending the mountain of God, Moses tells the elders to remain and wait — placing them in a season of transition and change.
  • Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer and Ron Love.
  • Worship resources by George Reed that focus on waiting for God’s vision; leaving the mountaintop to be in mission and ministry.
  • Children’s sermon: The Breath of the Holy Spirit by Tom Willadsen — People need to recognize that we depend on God for the energy and direction we need to be part of the Body of Christ, to be the church of Jesus Christ.

What is The Immediate Word?

The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture for your sermon, children’s sermon, and worship service. The Immediate Word gives a theological perspective on today's headlines and popular culture.

Cutting Edge: THE IMMEDIATE WORD gives you the tools to be cutting edge ... to put you in touch with today's most critical issues and to aid you in crafting messages and presentations that will truly help your congregants understand the Gospel in the context of what is current and most important to them.

Collaborative: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is a unique collaboration of some of the sharpest, most contemporary clergy of our day in an Internet-based service that gives you weekly information, inspiration, and presentation materials for your sermon, children’s sermon, and worship service.

Enabling: THE IMMEDIATE WORD will enable you to create high-impact sermons, children’s sermons, sermon outlines, worship services and compose pastoral prayers that help people pray with you, write compelling pastoral columns for your newsletter, arm your Sunday school teachers with meaningful, up-to-the-minute discussion sermon material, speak more constructively during the "Concerns of the Church" portion of your sermon, children's sermon and worship service about matters that worry your parishioners, advertise timely discussion topics to draw people into your church, and more.

Interactive: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is a dynamic, interactive process. First, among the team of clergy that creates it every week. Secondly, with you: you can personally participate in the creation process by providing your input and reactions to the input of others on new sermons, children’s sermons, sermon outlines and worship resources.

Timely: THE IMMEDIATE WORD sends participants the topic of the week on Friday and the final product on Tuesday afternoon, giving you time to digest the sermon and worship service materials and then incorporate them into your preparations for the coming Sunday service to deliver high-impact sermons and worship services.

Satisfaction Guaranteed: THE IMMEDIATE WORD is not only guaranteed to satisfy you, we believe it will actually energize your ministry. We are so confident that you will find THE IMMEDIATE WORD to be such a great value that if you are not completely satisfied with the service we will refund the balance of your subscription payment, no questions asked.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)
Transfiguration
28 – Sermons
100+ – Illustrations / Stories
26 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
24 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Ash Wednesday
43 – Sermons
110+ – Illustrations / Stories
28 – Children's Sermons / Resources
21 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Lent 1
27 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
31 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
26 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Lent 2
30 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
35 – Children's Sermons / Resources
23 – Worship Resources
27 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Lent 3
29 – Sermons
120+ – Illustrations / Stories
37 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
23 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)

Recent TIW Installments

Transfiguration Sunday - A
Mountains, Top and Bottom
Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - A
Everything Grows From Common Ground
Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - A
Phoning In Our Faith?
Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - A
What Did He Say?
Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - A
The United Methodist Church And Paul’s Case For Bipartisan Baptism

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Transfiguration Sunday - A
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Ron Love
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
For February 23, 2020:
  • Mountains, Top and Bottom by Mary Austin — Presidential candidates go home changed, even if the Presidency eludes them. We can imagine that the same is true for James, John and Peter.
  • Second Thoughts: Crossing Thresholds by Chris Keating — Before ascending the mountain of God, Moses tells the elders to remain and wait — placing them in a season of transition and change.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Transfiguration Sunday - A
Bonnie Bates
Mark Ellingsen
Ron Love
Frank Ramirez
Bill Thomas
Exodus 24:12-18
Transfiguration Sunday - A
Frank Ramirez
Mark Twain once said that his pious, sainted mother never missed a Sunday’s service her whole life long, but that she never once heard a sermon against slavery. The Civil War took place not only on bloody battlefields but also from behind dueling pulpits where, with greater degrees of bravery and cowardice, God and the Bible were quoted for and against human bondage.

CSSPlus

Transfiguration Sunday - A
Bethany Peerbolte
The disciples see Jesus transfigured with Moses and Elijah, and then Jesus tells them to tell no one. I don’t think I would have been up for the task of keeping that secret. I know this because the first time I played The Green Wall a friend told me the secret and I had the hardest time not telling everyone else the answer.

StoryShare

Transfiguration Sunday - A
Frank Ramirez
Contents
"Transfigured by Figures" by Frank Ramirez

Transfigured by Figures
by Frank Ramirez
Exodus 24:12-18

Katherine Johnson’s autobiography Reaching for the Moon was published in 2019, when she was one hundred years old. It is written, according to the information on the book jacket, for readers aged 10 and up, and up is the key word. Adults will also enjoy this book that is about going up and up and up, not only into the realms of higher numbers, but also through the atmosphere into space.

The Village Shepherd

Transfiguration Sunday - A
Janice B. Scott
For many people, testimonies in which someone relates the story of how they came to Christianity, still seem to be one of the most powerful means of hearing the Christian message. There's something about the sincerity of the person who stands to speak, which usually shines through their words. And to hear the words of someone who has had a profound religious experience can be very moving.

SermonStudio

Transfiguration Sunday - A
Linda Schiphorst Mccoy
Mike, a member of our Good Earth Band at THE GARDEN, and a Ph.D. chemist at Eli Lilly Company, filled in for me when I was away. He decided to use some of his chemical know-how to make the point he wanted to make. Mike had three styrofoam cups and a pitcher of water. He poured water into one of the cups, and did the moving-the-cups-around-routine, asking those who were watching to keep their eye on the cup with the water in it. After he had completed his "hocus-pocus," he asked them to tell him which cup had the water.

Special Occasion