Father John begins a new sermon series this morning: “Let’s Get Real” – where we will explore several questions leading us to consider what a deeper, more authentic spirituality might look like in our lives. We begin this morning by looking at one of the fundamental teachings of Jesus from Luke 14: Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. This sermon encourages a new attitude towards life — one where we primarily seek to bless, rather than to be blessed, to give rather than to get. In doing so, we move out […]

It is Easter morning at Saint Andrew’s, and today we conclude our sermon series on “What got Jesus killed?” by looking at the way Jesus confronts his own death. In this sermon, Father John explores the meaning of the resurrection for our lives today – that the crescendo of the resurrection event continues to have impact in powerful ways throughout history. Easter is not only about remembering what happened in a tomb 2000 years ago. Easter is about living in the presence of Christ in a way that his ministry continues through us in our situations and world today. Listen […]

Jesus’ teaching and ministry had provided many provocations for the religious and political powers that be during his day, but none so flagrant as his visit to the Temple during the last week of his life. Seeing the racket set up by the priests to provide sacrificial animals and to exchange money, Jesus overturns their tables and scatters the animals, stating, “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of robbers!” In this sermon, Father John explores the story found in Mark 11 of the incident that most New Testament scholars believed […]

As we continue our sermon series through Lent asking the question, “Why was Jesus killed?” – we see Jesus confronting those who considered themselves righteous, and looked down on others. The parable he tells of the Pharisee and the tax collector points to the age old temptation of viewing God’s favor as based on merit rather than grace. But the spiritual revolution Jesus came to initiate requires and understanding of grace and righteousness completely different than the old merit-based system. Are you relying on God’s grace in your life? When we do, things really begin to change…

Today, Martha Rainbolt shares a homily examining the concept of being “chosen by God” – and how it can get in the way of reaching out to others when we feel “safe” as one of God’s elect. How are we “working out” our salvation rather than siting safely in it? And what does this mean regarding how we view other people who might be different than us? This sermon challenges the listeners to reflect on the nature of God’s grace, and the implications for our place in the world as God’s people.

We continue our exploration during Lent of the question, “Why was Jesus killed?” In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ disciples are husking grain while walking through a wheat field on the Sabbath. This invokes the anger of the Pharisees, who confront Jesus about this violation of the Sabbath rule. Jesus goes on to heal a man with a withered hand in the synagogue – again, on the Sabbath. In his response to the Pharisees, Jesus makes a profound statement about our relationship to religious rules: “The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath.” Immediately the Pharisees conspired to […]

Throughout Lent we are asking: Why did Jesus get killed? What was so provocative about his message and ministry that some wanted to put him to death? In today’s sermon, we explore a strange story about Jesus visiting his hometown of Nazareth immediately after the start of his public ministry. Things go great … until Jesus reads a text from Isaiah and is then asked to do a miracle. Rebuffing the people of Nazareth for their lack of faith and self-centeredness, they try to throw Jesus off a nearby cliff. What do we learn from this encounter about how Jesus […]

Leading up to Holy Week and Easter, Father John begins a sermon series exploring what caused Jesus to ultimately be killed by those in power in his day. We begin by looking at the ways in which Jesus overturned social norms, specifically the place of the poor in society. Jesus expressly identified the poor as the recipients of his Kingdom, and as persons who had a place of blessing and honor within it. How does that strike you? What do you feel about the poor who are your neighbors, and how does Jesus prioritizing of them affect your view of […]

This week we look at the prophet Hosea, and his message to Israel at a time of great political upheaval. Israel had developed a pattern of making decisions without consulting God, and this led to everything falling apart. This raises the important spiritual question: How do we invite God into the decision-making processes of our lives? In this sermon, Father John offers three suggestions for seeking God’s leadership in our lives when it comes to the important decisions we face – things all of us can do to avoid living with regret in our lives, and to live more faithfully […]

Today’s sermon is brief because of our Annual Meeting, but in it Father John continues exploring texts from the Hebrew Prophets that speak to us today. This morning’s Scripture is taken from Ezekiel 2, following a vision that the prophet had that caused him to fall to the ground, powerless to stand up. Then, a “spirit from God” entered him and he was able to stand. This sermon explores the idea that when God calls us to mission that we have a power available to us that will help us “stand” for what is right, to accomplish God’s purposes in […]