What does Christmas mean once the carols fade and the candles burn low?
In this sermon on John 1:1-18, we turn to the opening of John’s Gospel, where Christmas is not told through shepherds and mangers, but through mystery and meaning. John pulls the curtain back to the very beginning and shows us who Jesus really is: the eternal Word, the Light that shines in the darkness, and God who has come near in flesh and grace.
This sermon explores what it means to live not just hearing the story of Christmas, but knowing it deeply. Knowing that God is not distant. Knowing that darkness does not win. Knowing that grace keeps coming, again and again.
As we move from Christmas Day into ordinary time, this message invites us to carry the truth of Christmas into everyday life, trusting that God is still with us, still shining light, and still offering grace upon grace.
On Christmas Eve, we asked a question: Do you hear what I hear? We listened for the sounds of good news, hope, and love. On Christmas Day, the question shifts: Do you see what I see?
In this sermon on John 1:1–14, we explore how the Word who spoke creation into being did not remain distant or abstract, but became flesh and moved into our neighborhood. Christmas is not only something we hear sung or proclaimed. It is something we are invited to behold.
This message reflects on how God’s glory is revealed not in power or spectacle, but in grace and truth. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not have the final word. For anyone who comes to Christmas weary, grieving, or unsure, this sermon proclaims the good news that God comes close, knowing the risk, and still choosing love.
Christmas Day is not about striving or having it all figured out. It is about receiving. Grace upon grace. God with us.
On Christmas Eve we hear the same story every year. The same Scripture from Luke 2. The same carols. The same familiar sounds. And yet, we never hear Christmas quite the same way twice.
In this sermon, Do You Hear What I Hear, we explore how Christmas speaks differently to us each year because we come carrying different joys, losses, hopes, and fears. Like bells that all ring but sound different because of what they are made of, the Christmas story rings into our lives in unique ways depending on what this season has been for us.
Luke tells the story of Jesus’ birth through sound. The noise of empire. The quiet vulnerability of a manger. The song of angels. The hurried footsteps of shepherds. The silent pondering of Mary. Everyone hears the same birth, yet each hears it differently.
The good news of Christmas is that Jesus still speaks today. He speaks in the language we most need. The language of hope, forgiveness, healing, belonging, or joy. We may not all hear the same thing, but we all hear it from the same source. The child born in Bethlehem for the love of the world.
Wherever this Christmas finds you, good or bad, happy or sad, easy or hard, God meets you there. The question Christmas Eve invites us to ask is simple and holy.
Do you hear what I hear?
A short children’s sermon from our 3pm Christmas Eve family service built around the theme “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Using the sound of bells, this message invites kids to discover that Jesus speaks to each of us in ways we can understand. Just as one bell can mean different things to different people, the good news of Jesus’ birth was heard differently by the shepherds, Mary, and Joseph. The sermon reminds children that Jesus still speaks today through music, stories, kindness, and moments of peace, and that when we slow down and listen, we can hear the same message of love meant just for us.
The Rev. Mark Odieny preaches on doubt, faith, and what it means to follow Jesus. The Gospel text for the Third Sunday of Advent is Matthew 11:2-11.
None of us are ever fully ready. Not for children, not for life, and not for following Jesus. In this Advent 2 sermon on Matthew 3:1-12, we explore what repentance truly means. It is not perfection or spiritual performance. It is a return to the God who comes close long before we have everything figured out.This message weaves together John the Baptist in the wilderness, the story of bringing a first child home from the hospital, and a recent encounter downtown with a man holding a sign that named our own tradition. Through it all, we discover the heart of Advent.God meets us where we are.God restores what is broken.God prepares the way even when we are not ready to hear it.Repentance is not readiness. Repentance is return.If this message encourages you, share it with someone who needs to hear that Jesus loves them too.
Deacon Ayo Ominiyi kicks off our Advent season, preaching about preparation is Matthew 24:36-44.
On this Thanksgiving Eve, Father Alan reflects on John 6:25-35 and the honest truth that none of us are ever fully satisfied.He begins with his recent HYROX race, where even after beating his goal he crossed the finish line wanting more. That feeling, he says, is something we all carry. We try to satisfy our restlessness with achievement, success, possessions, or praise, but the hunger always returns.Jesus meets a crowd in John 6 who feel that same hunger. They have just witnessed a miracle, yet they come searching for more. Instead of shaming their need, Jesus invites them to be honest about it. He reminds them of the manna in the wilderness, when God provided enough for one day at a time. Then he makes the central claim: “I am the bread of life.” Jesus does not offer something to fill us. He offers himself.Father Alan reminds us that Thanksgiving is not about pretending we are full. It is about naming our dependence on God, the one who meets us in our hunger with grace we cannot earn. Like the Eucharist, Thanksgiving begins when we bring our empty hands to the God whose property is always to have mercy.Jesus is the one who satisfies the hunger we cannot fill on our own. From that gift, real gratitude begins.
The Rev. Mark Odieny preaches on Luke 21:5-19, sharing about Jesus' love for those whom the world casts aside.
The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle preaches on Luke 20:27-38 during his visitation to St. Martin's.
The Rt. Rev. Francis Omondi, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Garissa, Kenya, preaches on the Feast of All Saints.
In this sermon, Fr. Alan Bentrup reflects on Paul’s final words to Timothy, a charge to keep preaching the Gospel in every season.
From an old Boston church that still proclaims the Gospel after centuries of change to Paul’s prison cell awaiting execution, this message reminds us that the world may change, but the Word still works.
We all crave words that make us feel strong or self-sufficient. But Paul warns against “itching ears” that chase comfort instead of truth.
The Gospel is not meant to tickle us. It is meant to heal us. It is the Good News that Jesus sees you, Jesus loves you, and Jesus is for you.
Most sermons on the healing of the ten lepers focus on the one who came back to say thank you. But what about the other nine
In this message, Fr. Alan Bentrup invites us to listen for the stories we don’t hear. The stories of grace that continue beyond the page. Ten people were healed. All ten received God’s mercy.
God’s grace is not earned or repaid. It is given freely, without condition or transaction.What if the nine went home and shared their healing in their own way: feeding neighbors, mentoring kids, paying off debt, making lunches for the hungry, or building a community where others could find life again?Gratitude is not just about returning to say thank you, but about living thankful lives.
Our stewardship, our service, and our giving are not transactions, but responses.
We live in a world built on transactions. Do your part, pay your share, and someone owes you something in return. But in Luke 17, Jesus turns that system upside down. He reminds us that God does not owe us anything, and that is exactly what makes grace so amazing.
In this sermon, Fr. Alan explores Jesus’ teaching about mustard seed faith, radical forgiveness, and humble service. The life of faith is not about earning God’s favor but about living in gratitude for a grace that cannot be bought or measured.
Scripture: Luke 17:1–10
Theme: God Owes Us Nothing, and yet in Christ God gives us everything
Preached at: St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church, Southlake TX
This week’s gospel reading tells the story of a rich man who feasted every day and a poor man named Lazarus who longed for crumbs at his gate (Luke 16:19–31). The rich man never saw Lazarus as a neighbor. Even in death he only saw him as a servant.But the good news of Jesus is not a morality tale about being nicer. It is the announcement that God sees us. Whether we feel like Lazarus, wounded and invisible, or like the rich man, keeping up appearances but wondering if anyone really knows us, the promise of the gospel is the same. Jesus sees you, and Jesus loves you.In this sermon Father Alan speaks directly to those who have been told that God hates them, and to those who have been told their job is to condemn those they think are sinners.Wherever you are and whatever you have been told, hear this:Jesus sees you. And Jesus loves you.
We’ve all been there. The moment you realize you messed up. You squandered the opportunity. You wasted the time. You failed the people who trusted you.In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of a steward who had blown it completely. And yet, instead of being discarded, he discovers something surprising: grace.In this sermon, Father Alan explores what it means to face our failures honestly, to trust that God does not throw us away, and to find hope that we are still entrusted with God’s work.📖 Scripture: Luke 16:1–13📍 Preached at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, Southlake, Texas—✝️ Learn more about our church: www.stmartininthefields.org🔔 Subscribe to hear more sermons and join us in discovering God’s love and grace for all people.
In this sermon, A Turning Point, Father Alan explores 1 Timothy 1:12–17 and Luke 15:1–10, where Paul calls himself the “foremost of sinners” and Jesus tells parables of the lost sheep and lost coin. Both passages point us to a God whose grace is greater than our sin, whose love is relentless, and whose joy erupts when the lost are found.From the humor of a runner dropping their keys into a portapotty, to the heavy grief and division following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, this message names the ways we feel lost and the ways our world writes people off.And yet, the gospel insists that no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy.The good news is simple and sure: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And that is a turning point for all of us.
Using Paul’s letter to Philemon, we explore what it means to be made in the image of God...even when we forget it.
Using the story of Onesimus, a runaway slave transformed by the gospel, we see how God never gives up on us, no matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done.
This is grace. This is the gospel. You are not forgotten. You are not lost. You are loved.
Come home.
The Rev. Ayo Ominiyi preaches on Luke 14:1, 7-14.
Jesus shocked His followers when He said His coming would bring division, even within families. What could that possibly mean? In this sermon we explore how the love of God sometimes disrupts before it heals.We turn to the prophet Micah, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and the witness of Jonathan Daniels who gave his life for justice in Selma. We also reflect on our church’s call to host the area’s first Pride festival — an act of radical welcome that feels like joy to some and disruption to others.This sermon reminds us that the gospel is always good news for the hurting, even if it unsettles those who prefer the status quo. Because sometimes love unites. Sometimes love divides. But always, love saves.