Sermons from Saint Christopher's By-the-Sea, Portland Texas

The Messiah who is coming will bring justice, peace, and restore this world.

This is the sermon for Advent Sunday, 2022.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. It is also a Feast Day in the Episcopal Church. We come to firstly render our thanksgiving, praises and prayers to God.

What does the kingship of Christ mean for us as Christians?

Jesus discuss the Resurrection of the Dead with the Sadducees.

May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest In Peace.

Today is the Feast of All Saints, when the Church remembers our forebears in Faith. Father Blackburn preaches the sermon this evening.

Today’s Gospel Lesson is the story of Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree to see Jesus through a crowd of people. But, the story hinges on not the tree climbing, but the transformation of Zacchaeus by the presence of Jesus. Father Blackburn retells this story, which is found in Luke 19.

Fr. Blackburn preaches a sermon on the parable of the unrighteous man’s prayer. You can find the scripture referenced in Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:1-8

The Exile from Jerusalem was a pivotal moment in time in the lives of the Jewish people; yet God continued to display his faithfulness to them. Father Blackburn explores the implications of lost and hurt, showing that these do not signal the end. Our scripture comes from Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7.

This is a re-recording of the sermon from our annual Blessing of the Animals Liturgy, which was held on October 1st.

One of the primary ways we follow Jesus is by being a servant for him. In todays sermon, from Luke 17:5-10, Jesus gives us a description of what that looks like. Father Blackburn is the preacher.

Today, Father Blackburn preaches a sermon based on the 32nd chapter of Jeremiah.

In his First Letter to Saint Timothy, Saint Paul describes a few prayers that we should be saying every day.  In today's Sermon, Father Blackburn explores these prayers and calls us to become living prayers.

What does it mean to be lost?  It might mean that you are lost in a forest, that you are lost in your daily life, or even lost to the Church.  Jesus comes to find us, because he is a shepherd who knows how to find lost sheep and people

Jesus calls us to "carry our cross" in Luke 14:25-33.  Father Blackburn explains what that means in our modern world, in our lives, and in our discipleship as Christians.

Today's Sermon is based on Jeremiah 2:4-13.  Father Blackburn is the preacher.

Jesus heals a woman on the sabbath day.

One of the most celebrated Chapters of the New Testament is found in the Letter to the Hebrews.  Chapter 11 and the beginning of 12 is a litany of faith, culminating in the climatic "Therefore!"  In this sermon, Father Blackburn discusses the roles of saints in our lives and how they point us to Jesus, not for their glory, but for his.

We all have stuff...and maybe admittedly too much stuff.  Jesus warns us about the dangerous of having too much stuff and what the remedy is for it.  The Passage for today is from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12, beginning in verse 32.

In his letter to the Colossians, Saint Paul implores us to "set our minds on things that are above".  But the second portion of the lesson tells us to be dead to sin.  In this sermon, Father Blackburn gives us the reasons why we must put sin to death in our lives, and a few basic tools to use to examine our living.

July 25th (in some places it is July 24th) is the Feast Day of our Patron Saint, Saint Christopher.  But what is a patron Saint, and why are they important.  Father John explains and explores these questions, and tells part of Saint Christopher's legend of carrying the Christ Child across a river.

Jesus gives us the Lord's Prayer as a model for all of our other prayers.  But, do we really think about what we are say?  In this Sermon, Father Blackburn gives rather slowly through each line of the Lord's Prayer and helps us think about what we are saying to God.

Our lesson for today comes from the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter 10, beginning in verse 38.  Jesus, Martha and Mary.