Saint Paul’s Sermons

The Gospel we read today from Luke relates the parable Jesus taught of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. As with the other parables Jesus taught, he makes stark points for our edification and admonition. There is life after death. Heaven and hell are real conditions into which we can fall for eternity. Our destination depends on our decisions during our life, on where our heart is, on where we...

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, when the church in worship, song, and scripture celebrates the mystery of the Trinity, the one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Father Dan Eddy gives an inspiring message about the truth of the Trinity and its importance as a doctrine of salvation.

Early in the Upper Room discourse recorded in John chapters 14-17, Jesus reassures his disciples that he is not abandoning them by returning to the Father. Rather, it is "better" for them because he and the Father will send another paraclete, the Holy Spirit!! The spirit of all truth, the comforter, the guide, the counselor, the teacher. The Holy Spirit is an active, personal spirit pres...

In the upper room the night before his passion, Jesus reassured his disciples (and through them, we also) that after his ascension and return to the Father we would not be alone. And as we anticipate the day of Pentecost, we can rest assured that Jesus has provided for us, that we have the Holy Spirit as comforter, advocate, counselor and guide in our lives.

Jesus said, "Peace be with you," God's peace. We need to take that to heart and really mean it.

The Gospel accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus contain varied observations and details, just as we might expect from different witnesses whose perceptions and memories would not be identical. In a sense, this is actually verification of their verisimilitude. Four identical accounts would look cooked up rather than genuine. The Resurrection of Jesus is one of the most thorughly atteseted events o...

Saint Peter told us to be prepared at all times to give an answer, a defense, for the faith and the hope that we have in Christ (1 Pet 3:15). We do this with confidence, yet not defensively or aggressively, but with gentleness and respect. Our confidence lies with the trustworthiness of scripture, which gives us factual accounts of real people, places, and events. Almost like journalism, as C. S....

Paul's sharp letter to the Galatian churches he planted, coming within a year or two of the first of his missionary journeys, was a pastoral rebuke for their drift away from the Gospel and back toward a system of religion aimed at obligating God rather than receiving the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. He used the analogy of the slave woman Hagar and her child, Ishmael, versus the free...

During Lent the Sunday collects provided by the church lead us through reflections on spiritual growth and our own spiritual condition preparing for Easter. Father Andrew lays out this rich history and insights from today's collect and the scriptures compiled for today's readings. God's will for us is our sanctification.

Matthew's account of the testing of Christ by Satan in the wilderness, just after the triumph of Jesus's baptism, gives a powerful message for us. Jesus turns to the word of God in scripture to rebuff and resist the temper.

Jesus of Nazareth was the greatest teacher the world has ever known. To solve the problem of passing on deep truths to people of all types, Jesus used a common teaching tool known as aparable. The goal of a parable is to compare one thing t o another—with one of the objects being an important spiritual lesson and the other being an event from everyday life. Parables have one point to make. Like Ae...

The prophet Malachi speaks to us of the day of the Lord and the coming of the Messiah

Though he was the greatest among the prophets of the Old Testament, even John the Baptist had doubts about Jesus the Messiah, and so sent his followers to ask if Jesus really was "the one who was to come." Jesus answered his imprisoned cousin with the scriptures and how Jesus was fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah to show he most definitely was the one who was to come, the Messiah.

Advent is a season of expectation and anticipation. Father Faust digs into the significance of that as we prepare for the birth of Christ.

What's the big deal? Only the most profound miracle by which God becomes man to dwell among us, to redeem us, and to teach us how to be right with God, through himself! In a mysterious and inscrutable way, "remaining what he was, he became what he was not." And this makes all the difference.

The story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 50:15-21 is a powerful lesson in forgiveness and the providence of God. If anyone had a right in human terms to be unforgiving, it was Joseph. And yet, under the shadow of God's providential plan and purpose, he forgives his brothers their treachery and betrayal.

From the very beginning, God communicated with his creatures through the medium of language, words. He spoke to Adam and Eve. They rebelled. He spoke to them again. He spoke to Moses, to Abraham, to the prophets, and faithful believers made a written record of God's words for us in the inspired scriptures. When over the ages our rebelliousness continued, God next sent us "The Word,"...

The parable of the wedding feast in Matthew chapter 22 tells us much about the love of God.

Wise words about reconciliation within the church.

Saint Paul's pastoral advice to the Ephesian churchgives us perfect guidance for how to love one another as Christians

Jesus identified as the great commandment our duty to love the lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

In Luke 7, we have the story of Jesus's dramatically intervening in the tragic grief of a widow whose only son has died. Paralleling in a way the healing of the widow of Zarephath's son by the prophet Elijah, this miracle of restoring the dead to life alleviates suffering and tragedy. The Gospels record another two such miracles by Jesus, raising Jairus's daughter and restoring Lazarus...

Fr. Francois contrasts the sorrowful funeral procession that wends its way out of Nain with the joyful procession of the Lord's followers on the way in. Jesus intervenes miraculously!

The Gospel of Luke records a healing miracle of Jesus when he was on his way to Jerusalem to die. As he passed through Samaria ten lepers called to him from a distance begging for healing mercy. Though Jesus did send them to the priests to demonstrate they had been healed, nine of the ten went their way and one only, a Samaritan to boot, returned to express his gratitude. We tend to be like that,...

Ten lepers living exiled from society cry out to Jesus for healing, their leprosy a metaphor for the need of spiritual healing.