Glimpses of Grace

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. As the United States marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this sermon reflects on the stories we tell and the truths we often forget. Through Rebekah’s courageous “yes” and Jesus’ invitation to rest, it explores a freedom rooted not in certainty but in God’s promise. It is an invitation to give thanks for our country while placing ou...

Rev. David B. Powell Throughout scripture, figures like Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and Isaiah answered God's call with three simple words: "Here I am." A consideration of possibilities for which we might be present before God and how Christ might become present in us. For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcas...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. Looking at Hagar’s exile in the wilderness and Jesus’ difficult words of division, this sermon explores how God’s deeper work of belonging often begins when familiar structures of identity fall apart. Rather than preserving our false unities, God invites us into the abundant communion of the Trinity—a life of relationship where no one is disposable and no one is bey...

Rev. Beau Farr Whether in the transition between Matthew 9 and 10, or on the road to Bucklebury Ferry without Gandalf, striking out without your mentor is transformational. We are forced to the center of the narrative and asked to assume responsibility for the mission. These moments teach us how to bring our foundation with us, and let it carry us through the unexpected journeys ahead. For episode...

Street Medicine with Nina Wright: Caring for Gainesville's Most Vulnerable Neighbors What does it look like when a community refuses to look away from its most vulnerable neighbors? In this episode, Bruce Leyton sits down with Nina Wright, registered nurse and clinical operations director at Good News Clinics, to explore the heart behind Gainesville's Unity Project Street Medicine clinic....

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. In this sermon, we explore how Jesus continually makes room for those others overlook, reject, or keep at a distance. From Matthew’s table to a grieving father and a suffering woman, Matthew’s Gospel reveals a Jesus who stops, notices, and restores people to community. As loneliness and division shape so much of modern life, we are invited to practice fellowship—a t...

Rev. Dr. Bill Harkins The Trinity defies description, but the Spirit surrounds us and shows itself to us when we are authentically present. Sometimes the best you can do is to offer a cold glass of water, and that's enough. For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Reading: Matthew 28:16-20

Rev. Beau Farr This week we draw on a story from the Talmud to bring together the Pentecost story in Acts with the "Feast of Weeks," the Jewish festival which celebrates God's gift of the Torah to Israel. For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gracechurchgainesville.org/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠ Reading Acts 2:1-21

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. Ascension is not a story of departure but of transformation—of Christ moving beyond limits into a deeper, more expansive presence. This sermon explores the paradox of a God who is both lifted beyond us and more fully presence within the fabric of our lives. In a weary world, Ascension becomes an invitation to live with open hearts, holding grief and hope together as...

Aidan Voyles This sermon considers the human inclination to gravitate towards a location of familiarity. In examining the Holy Spirit through the lens of Paul's teachings to the Athenians in Acts, it questions how our mental confinement of Biblical understanding affects the potential of our relationship with God For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. This sermon reflects on the quiet, disorienting moments when life feels unstable and what it means to trust in that uncertainty. Drawing from John 14, it reframes Jesus’ promise not as an explanation or map, but as the assurance of belonging—a place prepared in God, discovered in community. In conversation with Thomas and Stephen, it invites us to see faith as a way...

Welcome to the first episode of the Grace Episcopal Outreach Mission Spotlight , a new series on the Glimpses of Grace podcast highlighting community partners supported by the Grace Episcopal Outreach Ministry in Gainesville and Hall County, Georgia . Each episode features local organizations making a measurable impact through service, advocacy, and compassionate support. Featured Organization: Bl...

Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin We may feel we know the story of the shepherd, the sheep, and the gate very well, but in this Gospel reading, Jesus offers a powerful teaching that invites us to use our imagination in a new way. How can we use our spiritual muscles and explore the profound insights that rise within us as we examine our faith? We remember once more that, in the end, it is not we who...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. This sermon invites listeners into the Emmaus story not as observers, but as companions on the road. Inspired by the Ignatian Examen, it explores how Christ meets us not in certainty but in brokenness and quiet recognition. In the breaking of bread and turning back toward life, we discover that even in what we had hoped would be different, God is still drawing near....

Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin Christ has risen, Alleluia! Now comes the hard part. The disciples are left in confusion. When Jesus returns the disciples struggle to recognize him. Christ has been raised from the dead, but we do not receive a quick fix to our daily struggles. How do we take Christ's message and see the world through different eyes? How do we navigate life now? For episode tran...

Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin The resurrection of Christ marks a time of celebration and joy, a welcome rebirth, but overly relying on familiar customs lets us bypass the deep soul work that the resurrection of Christ calls for. How can we, as Fr. Brandon said during the Great Vigil, "set the world aglow?" When our life is our practice, how do we fan the flames and become the resurrecti...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. "Returning to the Fire" invites us into the mystery at the heart of the Easter Vigil, where light emerges not by avoiding darkness but by entering it. Tracing the journey through soil, water, and breath, this sermon centers on the fire that has always marked God’s presence—guiding, refining, and rekindling life where hope feels lost. In a world of uncertainty, it ca...

Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin So much in our modern world is obsessed with personal desires and power, and a spirit of greed and ambition saturates all aspects of our lives. Good Friday challenges us to become aware of the deep power of Jesus Christ: that in self-emptying and compassion, we are healed together and brought into wholeness. For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Chur...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. This sermon reflects on the disorienting tenderness of Jesus’ final night with his disciples, where love takes the unexpected shape of kneeling to wash feet. In a moment that confuses and unsettles, Jesus invites his followers—not to understand everything—but to trust and receive a love that feels both intimate and undeserved. “Love to the End” calls us to be transf...

Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin In John 12:20-36, Jesus says "unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains but a single grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit." We have learned to come to church and look to God for comfort, and to feel good. But God asks us to be transformed. What habits, ways of seeing and thinking and being have we been called to let die so that w...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. This Lent we’ve been on an exploration of elements: moving from soil and water to breath—the Spirit that animates all life. Through visions of dry bones in Ezekiel and the raising of Lazarus in John, we are invited to consider where life has gone still and how God’s breath restores what feels lost or beyond hope. As we approach Holy Week, this sermon calls us to bec...

Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin When Jesus gave sight to a man who was born blind, the community couldn’t accept it. It was inconceivable. It conflicted with their world view. Jesus shows us that we see the world not as it is , but as we are. What miracles and opportunities do our rigid world views and expectations blind us to? How can our vision break open so that we see through God's eyes? Fo...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. This sermon explores the deep human experience of thirst—both physical and spiritual—through the stories of Israel in the wilderness and Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Our lives are shaped by the sources from which we draw, and we’re invited to consider what our daily practices reveal about our trust, fear, and hope. God’s living water flows...

Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin We all build worldviews based on what we reckon as righteousness. We have collected ideas and views to build an understanding of the world that we are proud of. When Nicodemus was confronted with a new, divine truth that conflicted with his worldview, he realized he was blocked. "You must be born again" Jesus said. What dams have we built that keep God'...

Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker, Ed. D. On the First Sunday of Lent, we return to the garden in the Book of Genesis to reconsider the story not as a tale of blame, but as a story about boundaries, freedom, and what it means to be human. From dust to wilderness, we are invited to see that our lives are always practicing something—trust or grasping, surrender or control—and that our choices shape the spirit...