Sermons from St. John the Divine

When Joseph faces an impossible choice, God meets him not with easy answers but with awe. This sermon explores Joseph as a quiet model of justice, compassion, and courage—someone who learns to see the divine at work in ordinary, vulnerable circumstances. As we reflect on angels, dreams, and the people who help us carry Christ’s light, we are invited to ask where we need support and where we are be...

As the final sermon in our Singing While We Wait series, this message turns to Psalm 80 and the practice of singing songs of love when life feels unlovable. Drawing on the language of lament, we are invited into honest prayer marked by vulnerability, trust, and bold petitions before God. Even in seasons of sorrow and silence, this sermon reminds us that deeper transparency leads to deeper revelati...

What does true greatness look like in the Kingdom of Heaven? Jesus’ answer may surprise us. In this sermon, we encounter John the Baptist at his lowest moment and hear Jesus call him the greatest who has ever lived. From prison cells to ordinary lives that seem to be going just fine, Jesus radically redefines greatness as something that transcends circumstances and upends the values of the world....

What happens when the path you thought you were following leads you into a dark wood instead? Drawing on Dante, John the Baptist’s doubt in prison, and Mary’s quiet faith, this sermon explores spiritual discouragement, waiting, and the surprising places where God meets us. If you’ve ever asked, “Are you really the one?” this Advent message offers hope, honesty, and an invitation to trust that Chri...

On the Second Sunday of Advent, we meet John the Baptist, the wild, unsettling prophet who refuses to let us sleepwalk toward Christmas. His message is not cozy or sentimental, but urgent and clarifying: God is coming, and everything hinges on whether we are awake and ready. This sermon explores why John the Baptist stands at the threshold of Advent as the essential bridge between promise and fulf...

In Week 2 of our Advent series "Singing While We Wait," we turn to Isaiah 11 to hear a song of peace. This sermon explores how God meets us in the messes we’ve made, not with abandonment or punishment, but with presence. Even when peace feels lost and circumstances feel broken, God promises Emmanuel, God with us. As we wait, we are invited to sing a song that celebrates Christ’s presence in the mi...

This Advent, we begin the Christian year not with shepherds or angels, but with Jesus’ own urgent call: Be ready.  With wisdom, humor, and pastoral directness, Bishop Josiah urges us toward the heart of Advent: Semper Paratus, always be prepared. Not for fear, but for faith. Not for speculation, but for trust. Not for passivity, but for the mission Jesus gave us: go into all the world and proclaim...

In this first week of our Advent series “Singing While We Wait,” we explore one of the most universal human experiences: waiting. Waiting can be mundane, exciting, painful, or full of longing. The Bible is filled with people who waited—Noah in the ark, Abraham and Sarah for a child, Israel for deliverance. And just like them, we often find ourselves waiting for God to move, heal, answer, or renew....

Many young people today are not just asking whether God is real. They are asking whether God is good. On Christ the King Sunday, this sermon turns to the cross to answer that question with clarity and hope. Jesus reveals a kingdom unlike any earthly power. He does not rule through force or domination. He takes on the weight of sin, suffering, and death itself to bring healing and new life to the w...

On the 100th anniversary of Christ the King Sunday, Reagan explores what it really means for Jesus to reign. Not through power or domination, but through the cross, self-giving love, and a kingdom shaped by sacrifice. The question for us: Is Jesus truly first in our lives?

In this sermon on Luke 21, Leigh reflects on a missed moment in a New York taxi and how Jesus prepares His followers for times of pressure. The temple’s purpose is fulfilled in Christ, and every believer, from the early martyrs to ordinary Christians today, is called to pay attention to the moments when the Holy Spirit prompts us to speak. These “micro-amphitheaters” show up in everyday life: a co...

Reagan reflects on a recent trip through Asia where he witnessed a growing hunger for prayer and a longing for a God who truly knows His people. He reflects on global hunger for prayer, the witness of persecuted Christians, and Paul’s charge to Timothy, he invites us to rediscover Scripture as the place where we hear God’s voice, receive His unconditional love, and learn to love others in the same...

This sermon wrestles with a tender question from Luke 20: will we still be with our spouses in heaven? Jesus’ answer points beyond marriage to something even greater. Marriage is a good gift for this age, given for mutual joy and comfort in a world of sorrow. In the age to come, every need that marriage meets is fulfilled perfectly in the risen Jesus. We are first and foremost children of the resu...

When Jesus is confronted by the Sadducees about the resurrection, His answer is more than a clever response. It is a revelation of who God is. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. His covenant promises do not end at death. They are fulfilled and deepened through the resurrection. In this sermon, The Rev. Trent Pettit explores what it means that God draws life from death and that His...

On All Saints Sunday, Bishop Jeff W. Fisher reminds us of a simple but life-changing truth: God doesn’t discriminate between sinners and saints. Through the waters of baptism, we are marked as Christ’s own forever, forgiven, loved, and called to new life in Him. Drawing from his own story at St. John the Divine, Bishop Fisher reflects on the gift of grace, the power of community, and the love that...

On All Saints Sunday, we remember the great heroes of the faith who continue to inspire us to believe and live for Christ. But this day also calls us to reflect on our own faith. What would it take for our lives to inspire others in the same way? In this message, we are invited to live an “All Saints” kind of faith: to know Jesus deeply, to love Him fully, and to follow Him faithfully, not as the...

In this sermon, The Rev. Trent Pettit reflects on Psalm 65 and the deeper meaning of gratitude. Thanksgiving is more than good manners; it is how we recognize that everything we have and everything we are comes from God. Our gifts, our worship, and even our very lives are acts of praise and offerings that join us to God’s own self-giving in Christ. Through this lens, the tithe becomes not a transa...

In the final message of our Letters to a Young Christian series, The Rev. Dr. R. Leigh Spruill reflects on Paul’s final words to Timothy and the calling to carry the faith forward. Like runners in a relay, we are entrusted with the gospel not to hold it, but to pass it on. Drawing from 2 Timothy 4, this sermon challenges us to live with purpose, to love deeply, and to invest the grace we’ve receiv...

When Jesus tells the story of the persistent widow and the unjust judge, he’s not comparing God to a bad judge. He’s showing us how much greater God’s love and faithfulness are. In this sermon, we’re reminded that prayer isn’t about wearing God down but about being drawn close to the One who never gives up on us.

What is truth? In a world of noise, distraction, and deception, God calls us to discern what’s real through His Word. In this message from Letters to a Young Christian, we look at Paul’s teaching to Timothy about recognizing lies, guarding our hearts, and anchoring ourselves in Scripture, the only foundation that will never fail. Part 5 of our series, “Letters to a Young Christian.”

Memory is one of God’s greatest gifts. In this week’s message, we look at Paul’s words to Timothy and the power of remembering. We remember God’s faithfulness, the people who shaped our faith, and the truth that even when life feels confining, the Word of God is never bound. No matter what we face, God’s presence and promise of freedom remain unshaken.

What if the people the world overlooks are the very ones God sees most clearly? In this sermon, we dive into Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man and discover a God who knows every name, welcomes every person, and calls us to do the same. When we open our hearts, share what we have, and look beyond our own gates, we get a glimpse of God’s kingdom, a place where everyone belongs and no one is f...

We’re constantly surrounded by messages about what the “good life” should look like — more money, more success, more stuff. But in 1 Timothy 6:6–19, Paul offers a radically different vision. In this week’s sermon, we explore how the good life isn’t about wealth or perfection — it’s about godliness, contentment, generosity, and hope in Christ.

What does Jesus’ strange story of the dishonest manager mean for us today? Dr. Michael Lloyd unpacks this challenging parable, showing how God’s mercy invites us to lighten burdens, widen the net of welcome, and become a community shaped by grace.