Sundays at St. James

“Struggle” Main point :  INTRODUCTION In our second reading from the Epistle of Romans, Paul, the writer says some very personal things about his struggle to do good. He says, “the good thing I want to do, I don't do, and the evil thing that I don't want to I end up doing, even though I don't want to do it!” Have you ever felt that way yourself? I know I have. And I'm coming off of...

“In the Name Of” Main point : We bring good news in the name of the Apostles. INTRODUCTION Today is the third in our three-week set of reading together the “Sending Discourse” between Jesus and the 12 disciples here in Matthew, Chapter 10. The shortness and simplicity of today’s text come as a relief compared to the longer, more complex texts of the last two weeks.

“Good News for Family Systems” Main point : Our family systems can train us to oppose the good news. Awareness and grace lead us to salvation.

“Share the Good News” Main point : The kingdom of heaven has come near. Share the good news. INTRODUCTION Is there anything better and receiving good news? There seems to be so much struggle, and hardship, and pain, and violence, and anger in the world that I sometimes wonder where the good news is hiding. John Krasinski ( Jack Ryan and The Office ) with S ome G ood N ews (SGN) during the pandemic...

“Those who are well” Main point : Those who are well do not need a physician - only those who are sick are in need.

"Tri-unity as pattern for living” Main point : The Trinity is the foundation of reality. INTRODUCTION May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (And also with you.) I bet some of you didn’t know that our greeting is take...

“The Spirit Brings Life” Main point : The Holy Spirit brings the life of God to the world in various ways.

INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Seventh Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus which leads to resurrection life for all those who follow him. Today we encounter the gift of the Spirit of Truth who leads us into that resurrection life.

Main point : We can trust that God will lead us into all truth by his Spirit. INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Sixth Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus which leads to resurrection life for all those who follow him. Today we encounter the gift of the Spirit of Truth who leads us into that resu...

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Main point : Participation in truth and life is participation in Jesus. That goes for everyone. INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Fifth Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus which leads to resurrection life for all those who follow him. This is the day whe...

Main point : Jesus is the protector of the sheep and giver of abundant life. INTRODUCTION P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the Fourth Sunday of Eastertide and we continue our season of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, but in a little bit of a different way. This is the day when we reflect on Jesus being the Good Shepherd.  As we begin, notice verse 6 of ou...

“Were not our hearts burning within us” Main point : We encounter the risen Christ where he said he would be -in the breaking of bread. INTRODUCTION Today we encounter the risen Christ. I wonder if we might begin where we left off last week - in various degrees of belief and understanding of this marvelous miracle of life over death and light over darkness. We closed the sermon last week with a ge...

“Sinners and skeptics wanted!” Main point : God engages with us in our struggle and in our questions. On this Second Sunday in Easter, I invite you to say our Easter Acclamation again… let me hear you… P: Christ is risen! C: Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Easter Sunday Messgae 2026

“Behold your King Comes to You” Main point : God comes to us in low places - in humility - and if we look low we may find him.

“Identify with Christ” Main point : We identify with Christ in his suffering and his resurrection. Introduction Today, we meet three characters who live in a village called Bethany: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Lazarus is sick and it doesn't look good. Finally, Lazarus comes to the point of death…Mary and Martha send for Jesus. The story tells us that Jesus is only a couple of miles away. He hea...

“Seeing with the Eyes of our Understanding” Main point : Jesus grants spiritual sight to those who enter in through humility and faith. Introduction We all understand the powerful role stories play in our lives. Who doesn’t love a good book or a good movie? Who doesn’t appreciate the specialness of reading stories to kids - as their eyes light up and they get carried along by  Dr. Richard Latham L...

“St. Photini and Springs of Living Water” Main point: Hope springs eternal from the living water gushing up to eternal life. Introduction History tells us the woman we meet in our gospel today is St. Photini - the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. You might not know she has a name, but she does. She is an example to us of an apostle who carries the good news of Jesus to others. Her Feast day on Feb...

“Conversion of the Heart” Main point: Jesus comes from heaven to show us the way to God and for us to understand him and what he's doing, we need a change in the way we think about everything. Introduction Today we encounter Nicodemous - a religious leader -  a Pharisee - and one of the 70 most esteemed elders of the Jewish people in Jesus’ day. He could tell something was unique about Jesus....

“Three Temptations in the Wilderness” Main point: Jesus shows us victory over three temptations. Introduction As we begin our season of preparation leading up to Easter marked by prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, we look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness by the Devil.  I’d like to begin here: We - you and I, with our modern sensibilities - probably have a general idea that we should abst...

“God’s Life in You” Main point: Through ongoing awareness of our dependence on God,  God’s life comes alive in us. Introduction On this Ash Wednesday we look straight in the face of our own mortality.  We taste the fragility of life.  We are reminded that we were formed from dust and to dust we will return.  And the time between those two bookends is little more than a drop in the bucket.  Vaper i...

“From Glory to Glory” Main point: The transfiguration inspires us and shows us a vision of where we’re headed. Introduction This is the Feast of the Transfiguration. You might be wondering - what on earth is the transfiguration? What on earth is going on in this scene we just read from Matthew’s gospel?  This was a sneak peak through the thin veil between the world as we see it and the world as it...

Guest speaker Jason Forari preached the Gospel! St. Matthew 5:13-20 [Jesus said:] 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.   14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel baske...

“The Heart of Jesus” Main point: Jesus shows us the culture of the kingdom of God. Introduction This teaching from Jesus is recognized the world over by Christians and non-Christians alike for their positive spiritual potency.  Last week we listened to the first public message of Jesus. He said, “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven has come near.” And to those who would listen to his message, I imag...

“The Invitation” Main point: The invitation from Jesus is to follow him. Introduction Our gospel begins with a geographical marker which is the setting of the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. To our modern ears the places we hear about in the New Testament might all run together to make it sound like the entire story happened in one place with all Jewish people. But that wasn’t the case. The...