Sermon Brainwave from Working Preacher

Preaching Matthew 23:1-12 this Sunday? Karoline Lewis, Cody Sanders, and Matt Skinner dig into one of the hardest chapters in the New Testament. They show how to handle Jesus’ sharp words about the scribes and Pharisees with care. They also name the self-aggrandizing religiosity that still shows up in our own churches. Cody imagines a community where the greatest among you will be your servant. Th...

Preaching Matthew 5:1-12 on All Saints Sunday? Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders explore the Beatitudes as apocalyptic promises, not a checklist for Christian living. They unpack the great reversal at the heart of Jesus’ blessings. They also dig into Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 34, and 1 John 3:1-3 for November 1, 2026. Discover why the Lamb still stands as if slain. Learn how rememberin...

Love your neighbor as yourself sits at the heart of Jesus’ answer about the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:34-46. Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner help preachers get ready for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost. They ask why the struggle lives between knowing and doing. They show how Leviticus 19 roots neighbor love in God’s own holiness. The hosts reflect on Moses’ intimate friends...

What did Jesus really mean by "render unto Caesar"? Matt Skinner and Cody Sanders dig into Matthew 22:15-22 for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, October 18, 2026. They unpack the trap, the coin, and what Jesus means by giving back to God. Jesus refuses a false choice and asks whose image is on the coin. The hosts explore the coinage of God's kingdom: mercy, justice, and righteousness. They also tu...

The parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1-14 is one of the toughest texts preachers face. Karoline Lewis, Matt Skinner, and Cody Sanders explore it for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, October 11, 2026. They examine Jesus' anger at religious leaders and the wide-open invitation to both good and bad. They also explain why preachers don't need to tie a parable up neatly. Next, they explore...

Karoline Lewis, Matt Skinner, and Cody Sanders dig into the texts for October 4, 2026, the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. The hosts weigh new titles for the parable of the wicked tenants and warn against anti-Jewish readings. They explore Isaiah's vineyard song and Psalm 80, a rare lament in the lectionary. They also hear the Ten Commandments as a gift of freedom, not a list of rules. Paul's call to...

Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders unpack Matthew 21:23-32, where Jesus confronts the chief priests and elders in Jerusalem. They explore what Jesus's "non-answer" about his own authority reveals about power, hypocrisy, and who really enters the kingdom. The team also digs into Ezekiel 18 as trauma literature, Exodus 17's cry for water in the wilderness, and the radical humility of Phi...

The parable of the workers in the vineyard raises an uncomfortable question: what if God's grace isn't fair? On this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Karoline Lewis, Cody Sanders, and Matt Skinner dig into Matthew 20:1-16 and explore why this story about a generous landowner makes us so angry. They unpack fairness, retributive justice, and what it means to see as God sees. The conversation also covers...

Peter asks Jesus a simple question: how many times should I forgive? Jesus answers with the parable of the unforgiving servant, and the answer gets uncomfortable fast. In this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner dig into Matthew 18:21-35 for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. They explore why forgiveness is never a one-time decision and why the parable's finan...

Church conflict is inevitable, but how should Christians actually handle it? In this episode, hosts Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner dive into Matthew 18 explained through the lens of accountability, reconciliation, and protecting the vulnerable. They unpack why Jesus pairs this teaching with the parable of the lost sheep and what that reveals about who the text is really trying to p...

What happens when preachers get their first-ever shot at Feast of Creation texts? Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders dig into Season of Creation preaching for this brand-new addition to the lectionary. They explore John 1's cosmic logos, wrestle with chaos and order in Genesis 1, and unpack Genesis 2's dust-formed humanity. The team connects Psalm 148's cosmic praise to Paul's Areopagu...

What does it really mean to take up your cross and follow me? On this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Karoline Lewis, Cody Sanders, and Matt Skinner dig into Matthew 16:21-28 for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost. They unpack Peter's stinging rebuke, get behind me Satan, and wrestle with how self-denial can be twisted into self-obliteration when it's ripped from Christian community. The hosts also expl...

Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders unpack Peter's confession and explore what testimony means for the pulpit. The hosts debate the ambiguous "rock" in Jesus's response and connect it to public confession. They turn to Exodus 1 and celebrate the disobedient women who save Moses' life. Shiphrah and Puah's story sparks a conversation about how theologians across history have judged their...

Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner dig into Jesus and the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28. They explore her bold persistence and how she challenges Jesus to expand his mission. The hosts unpack what her story teaches about faith, humility, and changing your mind. They also cover Isaiah 56's promise of salvation for all nations, Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers in Genesis 4...

Matt Skinner, Cody Sanders, and Karoline Lewis dig into the texts for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (August 9, 2026). The team explores Peter's attempt to walk on water in Matthew 14:22-33 and discusses Jesus's compassionate rebuke, "you of little faith." They turn to Elijah's encounter with God in the sound of sheer silence in 1 Kings 19:9-18, and consider Genesis 37's story of Joseph's orn...

Jesus feeds a massive crowd in Matthew 14, and the hosts show how this act challenges imperial power. They unpack splagchnizomai, the Greek word for gut-level compassion. They trace Isaiah 55's invitation to abundant life and link it to food insecurity today. Jacob wrestles God at the Jabbok in Genesis 32 and walks away blessed and limping. Romans 9 launches a three-week reckoning with Paul's angu...

Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders tackle Matthew's parable of the wheat and the weeds and its unsettling questions about judgment and impostors in the community of faith. They turn to Isaiah 44's witness against idols, Jacob's dream at Bethel and God's promise to migrants, Psalm 86's memorable use of the word "ruffians," and Paul's rare focus on creation's groaning for redemption in R...

Cody Sanders, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner unpack the lectionary texts for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. They dig into the parables of the mustard seed, the yeast, the hidden treasure, the pearl, and the dragnet from Matthew 13. The hosts explore why Jesus chose strange, subversive images to describe the kingdom of heaven. They discuss the woman who hides yeast in an enormous amount of flo...

Titles matter. So does the soil. On this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Matt Skinner, Caroline Lewis, and Cody Sanders dig into the texts for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (July 12, 2026). The team wrestles with Matthew's Parable of the Sower and asks what it really means to "bear fruit." Is it congregational growth? Spiritual maturity? Something else entirely? Cody points out the parable's str...

What does it mean to come to Jesus weary and burdened? In this episode of the Sermon Brainwave podcast, Karoline Lewis, Cody Sanders, and Matt Skinner dig into a rich set of texts for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A. The conversation centers on Matthew 11:28–30 and the promise of rest — but not the kind that soothes middle-class stress. These are beatitude people, crushed under systemic w...

What does it mean to take up the cross in a world that rewards safety and silence? Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders dig into the lectionary texts for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (June 22, 2026), exploring the missionary discourse in Matthew 10, the prophet Jeremiah's anguished vocation, the casting out of Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 21, Psalm 69's theology of complaint, and th...

What does it mean to truly welcome someone? In this episode of Sermon Brainwave, Matt Skinner, Karoline Lewis, and Cody Sanders dig into a compact but dense set of texts for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (June 28). The gospel reading — just three verses from Matthew 10 — uses the word "welcome" six times and raises big questions about hospitality, belonging, and who the "little ones" really are...

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...

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...

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...