Sermons from St. Herman's

On the feast of Saints Peter and Paul , Fr. Matthew Howell extrapolates a few of the qualities from both Apostles that are worth imitating, including humility, repentance, and zeal for the Lord. Along the way, he makes up a new word. 2 Corinthians 11:21-33; 12:1-9 Brethren, whatever anyone dares to boast of -- I am speaking as a fool -- I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are...

On the third Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about anxiety and worrying. He offers five ways that he guarantees will decrease (but likely not completely eliminate) anxiety in one's life and open the door for Christ's peace to dwell within one's soul. Romans 5:1-10 Brethren, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through h...

On the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, a day on which the Orthodox Church commemorates the saints of a local church (in our case, the saints of North America ), Fr. Matthew Howell talks relates a story about a man who saw that he was a Christian based on his shirt and asked "Where have you been hiding?" Fr. Matthew then talks about Jesus calling His disciples to follow Him, the saints of Nor...

On the first Sunday after Pentecost on which the Church celebrates the synaxis of all saints, Fr. Matthew Howell discusses what attributes and actions make them "holy," that is, not of the earth. HEBREWS 11:33-40; 12:1-2 Brethren, all the saints through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of th...

On the feast of Pentecost , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about how  about how the Holy Spirit abides in a humble heart, and how through ascetic discipline, humility, righteousness, and obedience these practices lead to the fruit of the Spirit. He highlights prayers from the liturgy that ask the Holy Spirit to descend, and explains that we need to live a "pentecostal life" in communion wit...

On Pentecost Sunday, Fr. Matthew Howell gives a sermonette at the conclusion of the chrismation of Gene "Elijah" Martin, encouraging the newly-chrismated to have boldness for the Faith in the face of unrighteousness and humility before God, just like his patron saint.

On the Sunday after the Ascension of Christ and before Pentecost, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the importance of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council . He points out that they did not speculate but simply articulated their experiential understanding of the God which resulted from their deep liturgical and ascetical pursuit of God within the Church. Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18, 2...

On the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about how this feast clears all obstacles for us to be united with God the Father. Along the way, he points out a subtle liturgical reference to the Ascension that occurs in every Divine Liturgy .

On the sixth Sunday of Pascha, the  Sunday of the Blind Man , Fr. Matthew Howell uses a recent Spanish lesson to tie together the morning's matins gospel, liturgy gospel, epistle reading, and saint of the day ( St. Konstantine the Great ). He points out that the verb "to see" in Spanish is " Ver " which is also the root of the word "truth" -- " verdad ."...

On the  fifth Sunday of Pascha , Fr. Matthew Howell uses John 4:13 to talk about the Living Water that Jesus offers and the dangers of spiritual dehydration. Along the way he incorporates stories from his recent roof-building mission trip to Puerto Rico.   References from the Orthodox Study Bible used by Fr. Matthew in the homily: John 4:13: “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this...

On the  fourth Sunday of Pascha , while visiting  Misión Ortodoxa San Juan Clímaco in San Germán, Puerto Rico, Fr. Matthew Howell rehashes (to the best of his ability) what Fr. Sergius Bowyer taught during  session 1 of the St. Herman Parish retreat  the week before. He tries to explain how powerful the phrase "okay" or "it's okay" is in removing passion and reactivity from...

On the third Sunday of Pascha , Father Archimandrite Sergius Bowyer, the abbot of St. Tikhon Monastery , gives a homily about the myrrh bearing women while visiting St. Herman Church . He talks about how they showed love in the face of fear and how we need to choose to love God and our neighbor in the same way they did.  Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7 In those days, when the disciples were increasing...

Father Archimandrite Sergius Bowyer, the abbot of Saint Tikhon Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, leads a retreat for the parish of Saint Herman Church in Wasilla, Alaska using material from his book  Acquiring the Mind of Christ . The one-day retreat only has two sessions but is full of edifying wisdom for soul.

Father Archimandrite Sergius Bowyer, the abbot of Saint Tikhon Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, leads a retreat for the parish of Saint Herman Church in Wasilla, Alaska using material from his book  Acquiring the Mind of Christ . The one-day retreat only has two sessions but is full of edifying wisdom for soul.

At the end of an akathist prayed to Saints Joachim and Anna at St. Herman Church , Father Archimandrite Sergius Bowyer from St. Tikhon Monastery (the home of this icon) gives a brief talk and sermon about the miraculous icon of St. Anna and its importance in expressing the theology of the Incarnation of the Word of God.

On the feast of Saint George the Trophy-Bearer , Fr. Matthew Howell tells the legend of St. George and the Dragon and then tells the story of the martyrdom of St. George. He highlights the insanity of Diocletian the Emperor and ultimately talks about the importance of being a martyr (i.e. "witness") for Jesus Christ both in small ways of everyday life and potentially in the face of major...

During the crowning (wedding) service for a newly-converted couple, Fr. Matthew Howell encourages the couple to find God in the boring disciplines of life and love of God and each other. Ephesians 5:20-33 Brethren, give thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as t...

This homily was originally given by St. John Chrysostom who died in 407 AD. In the Orthodox Church, this homily is now read during the Pascha Vigil in every parish throughout the world. This reading of the homily was done by Fr. Matthew Howell on April 16, 2023 during the Pascha  service at Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church in Wasilla, Alaska. Acts of the Apostles 1:1-8 In the first book, O...

After baptizing and chrismating them earlier at the liturgy on Holy Saturday, Fr. Matthew Howell gives a short sermon at the crowning service for Zak and Melissa Little. He encourages them to manifest the glory of God in their lives and marriage.  Ephesians 5:20-33 Brethren, give thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to one another out of r...

After baptizing several catechumens during the Holy Saturday liturgy, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the harrowing of hades, the resurrection of Christ, and the mission of those who have been baptized in the Orthodox Church.  Romans 6:3-11 Brethren, all who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death. We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ...

On the evening of Palm Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week, following the Bridegroom Matins for Holy Monday , Fr. Matthew Howell gives a short reflection using as a basis a passage from The Eternal Today  by Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou of St. John the Baptist Monastery in Essex, England. He highlights the epistle from Philippians 4:4-9 that was read at the Palm Sunday liturgy as the key to m...

While recovering from laryngitis and with snow falling outside, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the feast of the Entrance of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Using Fr. Alexander Schmemann's text " A Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week " as a basis, he explains that Christ enters Jerusalem as a king but with a kingdom that has completely inverted the paradigm of what a kingdom...

On the day before Palm Sunday called Lazarus Saturday , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about one of the meanings of the miracle of Christ raising from the tomb. He explains how Lazarus represents each one of us, and how the stench of his body and its corruption are an image of each one of us rotting in our sins in the darkness. Fr. Matthew says that Christ stands outside the tomb of our sins and call...

On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent , Fr. Matthew Howell continues his years-long preaching series on the Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus. This year he preaches about "Step 6: On Remembrance of Death." He uses Tim McGraw's 2004 hit, " Live Like You Were Dying " to illustrate the point that remembrance of death can lead us to deeper love and stronger repentance....

On the feast of the Annunciation , Fr. Matthew Howell uses St. Philaret of Moscow's comparison of God creating the world with the phrase "Let there be..." to the Virgin Mary's acceptance of Gabriel's announcement about her conception of the Word of God, "Let it be according to thy word." Using the book The Feasts of the Mother of God by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlach...