Understanding the Jesus of the Gospels
Sermons from the Gospels
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Tag: bible
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Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA prepared for the Mine Hill Presbyterian Church, February 22, 2026 OK. Jesus fasted. That is where we are in the lectionary in the Gospel of Matthew. And that fits since this is the first Sunday in our Lenten season. But before we get into Jesus fasting and what the purpose…
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Offered to the United Presbyterian Church of Alpha NJ on February 8, 20236 Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder, PCISA Salt & Light [Matthew 5:13-16] These words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel today are not the most famous, most recognizable words that Jesus had spoken during his ministry; but these in Matthew’s Gospel today are perhaps the…
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Prepared for the Rockport Presbyterian Church / January 25, 2026 Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder, PCUSA Before we get into this story in Matthew’s Gospel, I want to first just get a picture of what Jesus was doing. The first thing that Matthew tells us is that John the Baptizer was arrested and put into prison…
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This is a two-part sermon series offered to the Wharton Hungarian Church of Wharton, NJ in June of 2022 Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA Part 1: Finding the Lost The Bible is referred to as the greatest story ever told. These three parables of Luke 15 can be called the greatest story within the greatest…
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John 16: 12-15 Offered to the congregation at The Presbyterian Churches of Long Hill, NJ Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA So, today is Trinity Sunday. Usually, a Pastor will tackle the complexities of the Trinity in their message for their congregation on this Sunday. It is a difficult and complex subject that requires a rather…
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Based upon Luke 6: 27-38 Offered to the congregation of the Community Church of Chester, NJ on February 20, 2022 Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA This morning, the lectionary takes us to one of the most notable of Jesus’ teachings. We have here what is referred to as the “Golden Rule”. It may be the…
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Matthew 14: 1-14 Mel Prestamo, Elder PCUSA There is a technique some people use in studying Bible text. They will look at a story repeated times. They will read it to hear if a specific verse or line might jump out at them. Then they will think upon it to allow God’s word to reveal…
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Luke 15 / offered to the First Presbyterian Church of Succasunna, NJ Mel Prestamo, Elder, PCUSA Recently, I have been reading a book by Thomas Cahill [I apologize at this posting, I have lost the title of the book – but the credit for the thought belongs to Cahill]. In it he makes a comment…
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Matthew 22: 1-14 Offered to the First Presbyterian Church of Succasunna, NJ, 2012 Mel Prestamo, Elder, PCUSA “The kingdom of God is like this..” This is the second time I have gotten an opportunity to speak about this passage from Matthew. The first time must have been four years ago, the last time that it…
