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?

June 15, 2008 (St. Matthew 9:35-10:15). Call, prepare, send. Beginning with the Twelve disciples, the Church has been participating in God's plan of salvation revealed in his Son, Jesus, by following this three step process. St. John's actively looking to grow in each of these areas, looking to harvest people who will in turn harvest other people.

June 8, 2008 (Hosea5:15-6:6; St. Matthew 9:9-13). The prophetic life of Hosea and the ministry of Jesus demonstrate God's heart for men and women: "I desire steadfast love, not sacrifice," says the Lord. The outward forms of our liturgy are intended to order our inner life, as we "lift up our hearts" at the Eucharist.

June 1, 2008 (St. Matthew 7:21-27). At a service of Holy Confirmation, Bishop Stanton delivers a message about how both law and grace are knit together in the identity of a person who takes Jesus as Lord.

May 25, 2008 (St. Matthew 6:24-34). Jesus' famous words about seeking first the kingdom of God are the subject of today's Gospel. Fr. Houk breaks these words down into three "bite-sized pieces" about allegiance to Jesus, serving Others, and prioritizing Yourself. And for the seeker of the kingdom, this spells JOY.

May 4, 2008, the Seventh Sunday of Easter (St. John 17:1-11). In John 17, the Son of God prays to the Father on behalf of himself and his disciples. And what we see is that, in Jesus Christ, god has not offered the world a new 'religion', but a new kind of life to be lived in relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

April 27, 2008, The Sixth Sunday of Easter (St. John 15:1-8). In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples that he is the vine, they are the branches, and that the Father is the Vinedresser who prunes those who are fruitful. With that in mind, we can trust that anything God sends or allows into our lives, however painful, is for our ultimate good.

April 20, 2008, The Fifth Sunday of Easter (St. John 14:1-14). An uplifting account of a young woman's journey in Christ.

April 13, 2008, The Fourth Sunday of Easter (St. John 10:1-10). Maybe we human beings can't choose whether or not we act like sheep, but at least we can choose our shepherd.

April 6, 2008, The Third Sunday of Easter (St. Luke 24:13-35). As the disciples walked with the risen Lord, he opened the scriptures to them and renewed their faith. Every time the Church assembles in a local congregation for Holy Eucharist, we have our own Emmaus experience, walking with the risen Lord through the Scriptures and seeing him in the breaking of the bread.

March 30, 2008, The Second Sunday of Easter (St. John 20:19-31). All the Apostles doubted the resurrection when they were told about it, especially "Doubting Thomas." The truth of the resurrection triumphs over their doubt--and ours--just as it does over death.