St. Paul's Lockport Sermons

Sermon for Bonnie Fox's memorial service on Pentecost Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

Sermon for Pentecost Maybe you know Pentecost comes from “fifty” means fifty days after easter. Originally, it was a feast fifty days after Passover, the feast of first fruits. Traditionally it was thought to be the day Moses gave the law to the children of Israel on Mt Sinai. We can even connect the physical first-fruits in the OT Pentecost with the spiritual first-fruits the beginning of the chu...

Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension. Guest preacher Rev. Richard Bellas

Sermon for the Ascension of Our Lord Guest preacher Rev. Richard Bellas

Sermon for Rogate This means that Jesus here has laid out what is necessary for true prayer in the time of His resurrection and ascension – that is, our time now. You may have heard of many things that people have said are needed for a good prayer, or maybe just assumed some, and we will get to some wrong assumptions. But there are five things Jesus lays out here as necessary for true prayer. The...

Sermon for Cantate on the baptism of Mila Marie Lo Dolce.

Sermon for Jubilate, the fourth Sunday of Easter As you may know, I have had close personal experience recently with the example from the gospel lesson today - A woman, when she in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come, but as soon as she gives birth to the child she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

Guest sermon by Rev. Richard Bellas on Misericordias Domini, the Third Sunday of Easter

Sermon for the Annunciation of Our Lord We celebrate this because at this point God has become man, one of us, and will always be man. He is man then, today, and will be man forever. Our brother goes before us into eternal union with God.  What does the Son of God do when he takes on human flesh? He releases us from our bondage to the Law.

Sermon for Good Friday Tenebrae Vespers by Rev. Rich Bellas.

Sermon for Good Friday Chief Divine Service Jesus Christ is the King of Truth, who has freed us from fear of the kings of the world, and brought us into his kingdom by His blood, so that like Him we may fear, love, and trust God above all things. 

Without the Lord’s Supper, even though we still have preaching but the commemoration of Christ’s death can become nothing more than a mental exercise, or a physical exercise of coming to church and thinking, speaking, or praising. These are all good things, but come up short of the fullness of what Christ wants to give us through His Passion.

Sermon for Passion Sunday Yes the Jews, the Romans, and even we killed Jesus by our sin and rejection of Him. But in that Our Father made the way of our Salvation by having his son taking our sin on the cross and completing our redemption.

Sermon for Wednesday of Judica We can hear the comforting promises, we who suffer for righteousness sake, but it seems like God is acting slowly. This is why James advises patience.

Sermon for Judica, the fifth Sunday in Lent God’s goal has always been to dwell with us, to have heaven and earth come together. In the beginning, they were both good, but separate, and moving toward coming together. Since the fall into sin, there is a separation where the earth is corrupted and no longer a good image of heaven. We get glimpses of this throughout the Bible. Heaven has a glassy, ca...

Sermon for Wednesday of Laetare on James 4. Guest preacher Rev. Richard Bellas.

Sermon for Laetare, the fourth Sunday in Lent Moses provides just enough, even the manna everyone gets what they just need for the day, there are no leftovers. Jesus gives in the wilderness even more and in abundance.

Sermon for Wednesday of Oculi All beasts can be tamed, the cobra with his snake charmer is safer than the tongue in our mouth, which is apt to break through all training, all bonds and rules and spit out its poison on one occasion or another, unless we keep the utmost care. We have to watch it like a poisonous snake or rabid dog.

Sermon for Oculi, the third Sunday in Lent. We fight against the devil, renounce him and all his works and ways, in the power of Jesus Christ. We are the soldiers, and he is our king and General, the Lord of Sabaoth. 

Guest Sermon by Rev. Richard Bellas

Sermon for Reminiscere, the second Sunday in Lent To struggle with God is to see all the circumstances be horrible like God won’t keep his promises. Feel like God won’t hear, doesn’t care, have absolutely nothing good for us that we can tell, and yet still hold on to Him in faith.

First Lent Midweek service on the epistle of St. James Doers do not have to lie to themselves or anyone else. We have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus and only do because we have heard and believed. We live in freedom.

Sermon for Invocavit, the first Sunday in Lent The devil attacks Christ for 40 days in the wilderness, yet Christ resists by the Word of God. Why does he allow himself to be led into the wilderness to be subjected to this? He obeys the will of his father so He may defend us from all the attacks of the devil.   We often do not think of how the devil wishes to attack and harass us, just thinking of...

Sermon for Ash Wednesday Everyone comes to the same end, no matter what your lot in life was – rich or poor, slave or free, man or woman, we all return to dust.

Sermon for Quinquagesima Jesus reveals clearly what he has to do to enter his kingdom, but the disciples do not understand. Christ’s purpose in Jerusalem is hidden from the twelve, they are blind to it. The disciples have the idea that Jesus is a victorious king, they don’t want Him to go to become king by suffering, but this is the more excellent way. This is the way that comes to us, that truly...