Notoriously Episcopalian

A sermon offered on the 5th Sunday of Easter, May 2, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, AL.

"We need to prune some things. But we also need to let some things run wild in the Holy Spirit. We can trust that the true vine that is Jesus Christ is strong enough and flexible enough that we can stretch and grow in new places. It is in moments of wildness of the Holy Spirit that we are best able to overcome differences. It is in moments of wildness that we preach Christ crucified. It is in moments of wildness, when the world says 'here is water, so why not baptize me,' we can jump in feet first."

Principal texts: Acts 8:26-40 * John 15:1-8

A sermon offered on the 5th Sunday of Easter, May 2, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, AL.

"We need to prune some things. But we also need to let some things run wild in the Holy Spirit. We can trust that the true vine that is Jesus Christ is strong enough and flexible enough that we can stretch and grow in new places. It is in moments of wildness of the Holy Spirit that we are best able to overcome differences. It is in moments of wildness that we preach Christ crucified. It is in moments of wildness, when the world says 'here is water, so why not baptize me,' we can jump in feet first."

Principal texts: Acts 8:26-40 * John 15:1-8

A sermon offered on the 4th Sunday of Easter, April 25, 2021, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama.

“‘I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.’ To be a flock means that we are in relationship to other sheep, and we don’t get to pick those sheep. There is not a sheep membership committee. There is not a sheep examine. Jesus tells us clearly you are my flock, but there are other sheep that belong to me that aren’t in the fold yet. Those sheep will listen to my voice. It is that response to the call of Christ that determines if you are in the flock. The role of the flock is to scoot over and make some room for the new sheep, not to close the gate and say you can’t come in we know better than the shepherd.”

Principal text: John 10:11-18

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A sermon offered on the 4th Sunday of Easter, April 25, 2021, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama.

“‘I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.’ To be a flock means that we are in relationship to other sheep, and we don’t get to pick those sheep. There is not a sheep membership committee. There is not a sheep examine. Jesus tells us clearly you are my flock, but there are other sheep that belong to me that aren’t in the fold yet. Those sheep will listen to my voice. It is that response to the call of Christ that determines if you are in the flock. The role of the flock is to scoot over and make some room for the new sheep, not to close the gate and say you can’t come in we know better than the shepherd.”

Principal text: John 10:11-18

A sermon offered on the 2nd Sunday of Easter, April 11, 2021, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama.

“The church gets caught up in the HOW and the WHAT. How do we worship? How do we sing? How is the church organized? How do we get members? What counts as disciples? What sins can be forgiven? We have regular conversations about declining attendance numbers, and how to attract younger members. We get so caught up in the HOW and the WHAT, we lose sight of our WHY?

Our WHY is Christ crucified and risen. Christ’s resurrection is what drives the how and the what of the Christian community.”

Principal texts: Acts 4:32-35 * John 20:19-31

A sermon offered on the 2nd Sunday of Easter, April 11, 2021, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama.

“The church gets caught up in the HOW and the WHAT. How do we worship? How do we sing? How is the church organized? How do we get members? What counts as disciples? What sins can be forgiven? We have regular conversations about declining attendance numbers, and how to attract younger members. We get so caught up in the HOW and the WHAT, we lose sight of our WHY?

Our WHY is Christ crucified and risen. Christ’s resurrection is what drives the how and the what of the Christian community.”

Principal texts: Acts 4:32-35 * John 20:19-31

A sermon offered on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Alabama.

“Mary, Peter, and the disciples were forever changed by their time with Jesus. And their experience of the risen Lord transformed their hearts to see the world through resurrection. The grave was no longer the final destination. Sin and death no longer spoke the last word. When they looked at their siblings in God, they no longer saw difference and division.”

Principal texts: Acts 10:34-43 * John 20:1-18

A sermon offered on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Alabama.

“Mary, Peter, and the disciples were forever changed by their time with Jesus. And their experience of the risen Lord transformed their hearts to see the world through resurrection. The grave was no longer the final destination. Sin and death no longer spoke the last word. When they looked at their siblings in God, they no longer saw difference and division.”

Principal texts: Acts 10:34-43 * John 20:1-18

This is a sermon offered on Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2021, at Christ Episcopal Church in Fairfield, AL.

“In the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus invites us to remember the way God does. To remember the past—the Exodus from Egypt, the Last Supper with the Disciples—to remember the present moment of us gathered here in Fairfield—and to remember the future feast in the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Our shared memory in the Eucharist bends time and space. And it is in that powerful moment that we are re-membered again as the body of Christ, knit together by the waters of baptism, made siblings in Christ.”

Principal texts: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 * 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

This is a sermon offered on Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2021, at Christ Episcopal Church in Fairfield, AL.

“In the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus invites us to remember the way God does. To remember the past—the Exodus from Egypt, the Last Supper with the Disciples—to remember the present moment of us gathered here in Fairfield—and to remember the future feast in the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Our shared memory in the Eucharist bends time and space. And it is in that powerful moment that we are re-membered again as the body of Christ, knit together by the waters of baptism, made siblings in Christ.”

Principal texts: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 * 1 Corinthians 11:23-26