Sermon Brainwave from Working Preacher

What does it mean to be sent? In this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner dig into the lectionary texts for the Third Sunday after Pentecost: Matthew 9:35–10:8, Exodus 19:2–8a, Romans 5:1–8, and Psalm 100 (with the alternate first reading from Genesis 18:1–15 also in view).

The conversation moves from Jesus's missionary discourse in Matthew and what it means that the disciples are sent not to convert but to heal and restore, to the stunning proclamation of Exodus and what "good news" is actually contextualized to say. The hosts explore laughter and impossibility in Genesis 18, the multi-generational witness of Psalm 100, and the pastoral dangers of reading Romans 5 as a formula for self-improvement. Cody offers a grounded, communal take on hope as something that germinates in despair, not optimism.

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What does it mean to faith your way toward healing?

On this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Karoline Lewis, Cody Sanders, and Matt Skinner dig into the lectionary texts for the Second Sunday after Pentecost (June 7, 2026): Matthew 9:9–13, 18–26; Hosea 5:15–6:6; Genesis 12:1–9; Psalm 50:7–15; and Romans 4:13–25.

The conversation moves from the unlikely calling of Matthew the tax collector to the woman who reached for healing in secret, to Abram's costly and risky act of faithfulness. Along the way, the hosts explore what mercy looks like in practice, how "faith" functions more as a verb than a noun, and why a God who can be counted on matters deeply for preachers and congregations right now.

They also note that Romans begins a 15-week summer run through the lectionary, and offer a preview of rich Matthean material ahead through the fall.

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Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders dig into one of the most theologically demanding Sundays of the church year.

The lectionary texts span Genesis 1:1–2:4a, Psalm 8, 2 Corinthians 13:11–13, and Matthew 28:16–20. The hosts explore what it means to preach a doctrine that Scripture imprints rather than spells out, and why the Trinitarian formula in the Great Commission sends disciples not after their doubts are resolved, but right in the middle of them.

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The Day of Pentecost offers preachers more than one path in.

Matt, Karoline, and Cody explore all four lectionary texts for this week and find each one illuminating a different dimension of the Spirit's work.

John 20 gets special attention: instead of the dramatic rush of wind and fire in Acts, the risen Jesus enters a room of grieving, frightened disciples and breathes the Spirit into them at close range. The contrast is striking. Acts invites awe and wonder. John offers intimacy. Both are worth preaching.

The conversation ranges across all four texts, with discussion of the Spirit's creative power in Psalm 104, the radical inclusivity of Joel's prophecy poured out on all flesh, and Paul's vision in 1 Corinthians 12 of diverse gifts working together for the common good. Cody offers a "telescoping lens" framework for preachers who want to weave all four readings together.

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What does "eternal life" actually mean?

In this episode, Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders dig into the texts for the Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 17, 2026): Acts 1:6–14, Psalm 68:1–10, 32–35, 1 Peter 4:12–14 and 5:6–11, and John 17:1–11.

The conversation opens with a close look at the High Priestly Prayer in John 17 and a reframe of eternal life as a quality of relationship with God rather than a quantity of time. Cody's Working Preacher commentary on this passage shapes much of the discussion, including the insight that eternal life is a matter of identity, not duration.

The hosts also explore the Ascension text in Acts 1, where wonder becomes a spiritual posture and witness becomes a charge to the whole church. On Psalm 68, the group pushes back against triumphalism by centering the psalm's vision of God as protector of orphans, widows, and the desolate. And in 1 Peter, a sharp discussion of solidarity and suffering asks what it truly means to stand beside those whose backs are against the wall.

New episodes of Sermon Brainwave drop weekly. Subscribe and visit workingpreacher.org for commentaries, sermon resources, and more.

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What does it mean to abide in love when Jesus is leaving? On this Sixth Sunday of Easter, Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders explore the farewell discourse in John 14:15-21, where Jesus promises the Advocate — the Paraclete — and calls his disciples into an active, world-directed form of love. The hosts trace what "keeping the commandments" really means in John's Gospel, connect the Paraclete to Ascension and Pentecost, and consider how the Spirit keeps equipping the church to love.

They also dig into Paul's speech at the Areopagus in Acts 17, examining his surprising respect for his audience's spiritual curiosity and what that might mean for preachers today. Plus: the household codes in 1 Peter, a spacious-place connection between Psalm 66 and Psalm 23, and a mention of Mother's Day for preachers navigating that Sunday dynamic.

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What does Jesus actually mean when he says "I am the way, the truth, and the life"? And what about those troubling words: "no one comes to the Father except through me"?

In this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner explore the Fifth Sunday of Easter texts: John 14:1–14, Acts 7:55–60, Psalm 31, and 1 Peter 2:1–10. Together, they unpack the farewell discourse as a post-Easter text, the meaning of "dwelling places" and the Greek root meno (abide), the mysticism of John's Gospel, and what it means to hear Jesus' "I am" statements as a promise rather than an act of exclusion.

They also discuss Stephen's martyrdom in Acts 7, its striking parallels to the death of Jesus in Luke's Gospel, and how Psalm 31 bridges the two texts. They close with 1 Peter 2 and how a letter written to exiles can speak to communities facing questions of identity, belonging, and solidarity, without tipping into Christian exceptionalism or nationalism.

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The Fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday, but in Year A, the primary image isn't the shepherd. It's the door.

In John 10:1–10, Jesus describes himself as the gate that protects the vulnerable and invites the imperiled into safety. Hosts Karoline Lewis, Cody Sanders, and Matt Skinner explore what that image means for preaching today: Who are the thieves and bandits? What does it look like to imitate Jesus' open-door posture in our communities right now?

The conversation moves through all four lectionary texts for the day. Psalm 23 gets a fresh look, not as a sentimental comfort, but as a bold, radical claim of faith in the darkest valleys. The hosts examine the complex preaching challenges of 1 Peter 2:19–25, including how to handle a text that has historically been used to keep people in abusive situations, and how reading it as crisis survival literature changes everything. Acts 2:42–47 rounds out the discussion with a vision of the early church as a counter-community of mutual aid, awe, and wonder, and what that means for congregations engaged in healing ministries today.

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What does it mean to recognize the risen Christ? And why is resurrection faith never automatic?

In this episode of the Sermon Brainwave podcast, Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders dig into the Third Sunday of Easter texts: the Emmaus road story in Luke 24, Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2, Psalm 116, and 1 Peter 1.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus don't recognize Jesus, and the hosts explore why that matters for preaching today. Resurrection reveals itself slowly, through long walks, honest grief, and the intimacy of a shared meal. The table becomes the place of recognition, connecting Emmaus to the Feeding of the 5,000 and the Lord's Supper. The conversation also surfaces a provocative question from Margaret Ami's commentary: what does it mean that the risen Christ appears as a migrant or resident foreigner?

From Acts, the hosts ask what "repentance" really means in response to the resurrection, and how Peter's audience models the question preachers still face: What should we do? Psalm 116 and 1 Peter 1 deepen that question, pointing toward holy living, genuine mutual love, and a faith grounded in the living word of God.

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What does Thomas really want in John 20? It's not proof.

It's what every disciple already had: a direct encounter with the risen Christ. In this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner reframe Thomas as a figure of courage rather than doubt, explore the layered meaning of "Peace be with you," and trace the Spirit's arrival in John 20 all the way back through the farewell discourse.

The hosts also dig into Acts 2 and Peter's first resurrection sermon, including a striking reread of how God "breaks people out of prisons," and consider how 1 Peter's vision of "living hope" speaks to those still waiting, still longing, still not seeing it all tied up neatly. This is a rich episode for preachers navigating a congregation full of people at very different places in their Easter faith.

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