Field Notes: Stories from St. Martin's

On Christmas Eve, we asked a question: Do you hear what I hear? We listened for the sounds of good news, hope, and love. On Christmas Day, the question shifts: Do you see what I see? In this sermon on John 1:1–14, we explore how the Word who spoke creation into being did not remain distant or abstract, but became flesh and moved into our neighborhood. Christmas is not only something we hear sung o...

On Christmas Eve we hear the same story every year. The same Scripture from Luke 2. The same carols. The same familiar sounds. And yet, we never hear Christmas quite the same way twice. In this sermon, Do You Hear What I Hear , we explore how Christmas speaks differently to us each year because we come carrying different joys, losses, hopes, and fears. Like bells that all ring but sound different...

A short children’s sermon from our 3pm Christmas Eve family service built around the theme “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Using the sound of bells, this message invites kids to discover that Jesus speaks to each of us in ways we can understand. Just as one bell can mean different things to different people, the good news of Jesus’ birth was heard differently by the shepherds, Mary, and Joseph. The ser...

The Rev. Mark Odieny preaches on doubt, faith, and what it means to follow Jesus. The Gospel text for the Third Sunday of Advent is Matthew 11:2-11.

None of us are ever fully ready. Not for children, not for life, and not for following Jesus. In this Advent 2 sermon on Matthew 3:1-12, we explore what repentance truly means. It is not perfection or spiritual performance. It is a return to the God who comes close long before we have everything figured out. This message weaves together John the Baptist in the wilderness, the story of bringing a f...

Deacon Ayo Ominiyi kicks off our Advent season, preaching about preparation is Matthew 24:36-44.

On this Thanksgiving Eve, Father Alan reflects on John 6:25-35 and the honest truth that none of us are ever fully satisfied. He begins with his recent HYROX race, where even after beating his goal he crossed the finish line wanting more. That feeling, he says, is something we all carry. We try to satisfy our restlessness with achievement, success, possessions, or praise, but the hunger always ret...

The Rev. Mark Odieny preaches on Luke 21:5-19, sharing about Jesus' love for those whom the world casts aside.

The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle preaches on Luke 20:27-38 during his visitation to St. Martin's.

The Rt. Rev. Francis Omondi, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Garissa, Kenya, preaches on the Feast of All Saints.

In this sermon, Fr. Alan Bentrup reflects on Paul’s final words to Timothy, a charge to keep preaching the Gospel in every season. From an old Boston church that still proclaims the Gospel after centuries of change to Paul’s prison cell awaiting execution, this message reminds us that the world may change, but the Word still works. We all crave words that make us feel strong or self-sufficient. Bu...

Most sermons on the healing of the ten lepers focus on the one who came back to say thank you. But what about the other nine In this message, Fr. Alan Bentrup invites us to listen for the stories we don’t hear. The stories of grace that continue beyond the page. Ten people were healed. All ten received God’s mercy. God’s grace is not earned or repaid. It is given freely, without condition or trans...

We live in a world built on transactions. Do your part, pay your share, and someone owes you something in return. But in Luke 17, Jesus turns that system upside down. He reminds us that God does not owe us anything, and that is exactly what makes grace so amazing. In this sermon, Fr. Alan explores Jesus’ teaching about mustard seed faith, radical forgiveness, and humble service. The life of faith...

This week’s gospel reading tells the story of a rich man who feasted every day and a poor man named Lazarus who longed for crumbs at his gate (Luke 16:19–31). The rich man never saw Lazarus as a neighbor. Even in death he only saw him as a servant. But the good news of Jesus is not a morality tale about being nicer. It is the announcement that God sees us. Whether we feel like Lazarus, wounded and...

We’ve all been there. The moment you realize you messed up. You squandered the opportunity. You wasted the time. You failed the people who trusted you. In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of a steward who had blown it completely. And yet, instead of being discarded, he discovers something surprising: grace. In this sermon, Father Alan explores what it means to face our failures honestly, to trust th...

In this sermon, A Turning Point, Father Alan explores 1 Timothy 1:12–17 and Luke 15:1–10, where Paul calls himself the “foremost of sinners” and Jesus tells parables of the lost sheep and lost coin. Both passages point us to a God whose grace is greater than our sin, whose love is relentless, and whose joy erupts when the lost are found. From the humor of a runner dropping their keys into a portap...

Using Paul’s letter to Philemon, we explore what it means to be made in the image of God...even when we forget it. Using the story of Onesimus, a runaway slave transformed by the gospel, we see how God never gives up on us, no matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done.  This is grace. This is the gospel. You are not forgotten. You are not lost. You are loved. Come home.

The Rev. Ayo Ominiyi preaches on Luke 14:1, 7-14.

Jesus shocked His followers when He said His coming would bring division, even within families. What could that possibly mean? In this sermon we explore how the love of God sometimes disrupts before it heals. We turn to the prophet Micah, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and the witness of Jonathan Daniels who gave his life for justice in Selma. We also reflect on our church’s call to host the are...

We all carry backpacks — not just to school, but in life: 💼 pressure to prove yourself 🏋️ performance and appearance expectations 🧳 the weight of possessions and “more, more, more” These “backpacks” are heavy when our worth depends on what’s inside them. But Jesus says: ✨ “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” ❤️ You are already enough. 💡 You are already chosen. 🙏 You ar...

The Rev. Ron Pogue preaches on Luke 12:13-21.

What does it really mean to pray? In this week’s sermon, “How to Pray,” we explore Jesus’ simple, powerful teaching on prayer from Luke 11. When the disciples ask him how to pray, Jesus doesn’t give them rules or rituals—he gives them words of grace. This sermon reflects on the Lord’s Prayer as a gift for broken, everyday people—and connects it with the public art at Lake Como Park that simply say...

The Rev. Laura Warner Gilmer preaches on Luke 10:38-42.

The Rev. Ron Pogue preaches on the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.

This sermon, titled “Dependence Day,” was preached on July 6, 2025, during Independence Day weekend. While our nation celebrates freedom and self-reliance, this message from Luke 10:1–11, 16–20 calls us to something deeper: a life of dependence...on God and on each other. In the wake of tragic flooding in Kerrville, where lives were lost and communities shaken, we’re reminded that we were never me...