December 21, 2008 (2 Samuel 7:4,8-16; St. Luke 1:26-38). God makes many promises through the words of his Prophets, Jesus, and the Apostles. How can we know they are true? By seeing how Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies concerning the Messiah, we can know that God is trustworthy to fulfill all that he has promised.

December 14, 2008 (St. John 1:6-8, 19-28). "Who are you? What do you say about yourself?" These are the questions put to John the Baptist in today's Gospel. And for him, understanding who he was--as well as who he was not--related to Christ, the coming Messiah.

December 7, 2008 (St. Mark 1:1-8). John the Baptist's cry on the Second Sunday of Advent is nothing more and nothing less than a call to humble ourselves in light of Christ's coming. Fr. Houk offers a practical idea about how to do that.

November 30, 2008 (St. Mark 13:24-37). In an apocalyptic passage in St. Mark's gospel, Jesus is foreshadowing the end of the ages when he will come in glory and spendor to gather his elect. The day and hour of this event has been kept secret for our benefit, to encourage all to live a total life of faith, not to just be on "good behavior" when the time is close.

November 23, 2008 (Ezekiel 34:11-17; St. Matthew 25:31-46). The bottom line of the Church Year is that Jesus Christ is King. Our challenge is to "crown him Lord of all" and make his kingship first in our lives.

November 16, 2008 (Zephaniah 1:7,12-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10; St. Matthew 25:14-15,19-29). The God of the Bible loves the world enough to rid it of evil and cure its ills. The good news is that if we shed out complacency, and decide to care about what he cares about, he will cure us as well.

November 9, 2008 (Amos 5:18-24; St. Matthew 25:1-13). Being prepared to meet God face to face means shifting our focus from "What’s wrong with the world?" to "What’s wrong with me?"

November 2, 2008 (Ecclesiasticus 44:1-10, 13-14; St. Matthew 5:1-12). The quest for immortality has a long tradition, involving such household names as Ponce de Leon and Ted Williams. Currently scientists continue this quest form of cryonics and biomedical gerontology. Immortality is more than a legend or possibility, it is a reality for those who find life in Christ Jesus.

October 26, 2008 (St. Matthew 6:19-24). In his sermon on the mount, Jesus implored his disciples to lay up for themselves real treasure that will not be consumed by moth or rust. We are also called, as followers of Christ, to invest our energy in doing godly works, which build up for us treasure in heaven.

October 19, 2008 (1 Chronicles 29:10-16; St. Matthew 14:13-21). Fr. David gets at the big picture of stewardship in his application of King David's famous words: "All things come from thee and of thy own have we given thee."

October 12, 2008 (Chronicles 29:10-16). Today is Episcopal School Sunday, when we honor the great gift we have in the school. A reading about King David reminds us that the school, and all good gifts, come from God.

October 5, 2008 (Genesis 39:1-6, St. Matthew 21:33-43). Stewardship is more than a financial decision. The concept of stewardship grows out of the Bible and is patterned after examples like Joseph and the teachings of Jesus. In the end, the way we spend our time, talents, and treasure speaks volumes of what we truly value and believe.

September 28, 2008 (Philippians 2:1-15). In Philippians 2, St. Paul shows us that greatness in the kingdom is upside-down. Defined by the Incarnation and death of Christ, greatness is understood over and against the world’s values of prestige, position, and power. Greatness in the kingdom is about small things, service, and downward mobility.

September 7, 2008 (St. Matthew 18:15-20). It’s Parish Life Sunday, the day on which we begin a new year of education and ministry at St. John’s. It’s a great day to remind ourselves why we are a church in the first place. We are here to bring one another along from the ugliness of our sins to the beauty of God’s glory in our lives.

August 31, 2008 (St. Matthew 16:21-27). Like St. Peter, we need to lay down our plans and perspectives, our very lives, and take up our cross. And it is there, in following Jesus sacrificially, that we can come to know true love and true life through him who laid down his life for us.

August 24, 2008 (St. Matthew 16:13-20). Caesarea Philippi is a strange place for the Jewish Messiah to take his disciples. But Christ is intent on taking us all on that journey, where our small minds can be opened for the big question: "Who do you say that I am?"

August 17, 2008 (St. Matthew 15:21-28). As Jesus was ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven through the people of Israel, the amazing faith of a Canaanite woman causes her to receive a foretaste of the Kingdom before it is opened to the Gentiles. Through great displays of faith like hers, God is able to do great and unexpected things.

July 20, 2008 (St. Matthew 14:22-33). Jesus was not the only man to walk on water. St. Peter was also able to do this impossible feat, while he was focused on Jesus. By focusing on Jesus, we too are able to do the unimaginable, playing out the part God has given us to do in His plan for the salvation of the world.

August 3, 2008 (St. Matthew 14:13-21). Jesus' feeding of the 5,000 points us to our weekly meal with Christ. the miracle of the miracles is that as we receive the Body and Blood of the Lord, we are united with him in such a way that we, like him, are taken, blessed, broken, and given, for our own joy and for the life of the world.

July 27, 2008 (Romans 8:26-34). Even when we don't know how to pray or what to pray for, our persistence in prayer evidences the work of the Holy Spirit, who is doing for us greater things than we can ask or imagine.

July 20, 2008 (St. Matthew 13:24-30,36-43). In the parable of the weeds and fields, Jesus reveals that evil and good are allowed to grow alongside one another because of God's mercy. As Christians, we are called to witness to Jesus with love and patience, knowing that perfect justice is coming at the end of the age.

July 13, 2008 (St. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). In the parable of the sower, Jesus illuminates the disciples about how people receive the Word of God's Kingdom. As we hear God's word spoken in the Scriptures this morning, how is it being received?

July 6, 2008 (St. Matthew 11:25-30). Jesus offers the greatest invitation of all in today's Gospel: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Why not take him up on the offer?

June 29, 2008 (St. Matthew 10:34-42). What's love got to do with it? Everything, so long as our Love List is right, which means giving priority and allegiance to the love we know if the person of Jesus Christ.

June 22, 2008 (St. John 1:29-34). John the Baptist, our patron Saint, was the first to recognize Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." What do his words mean for the mission and ministry of this parish, St. John's, named after the great Forerunner of our Lord?