During the wilderness wanderings, the Israelites found that they were tested – and it was all about trusting in God. Today we hear people easily quip, “Just trust God,” or “God will never let you down,” but life does not always seem that simple… In today’s sermon, Father John looks at the experience of Israel in the wilderness as an example of the kind of trust that God is looking for in us – a gritty faith that does not ...
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We all come to difficult spaces in life, sometimes wondering if we are alone in the world. Jacob experienced exile from his family after years of duplicitous living, but even then God had not abandoned him. In this sermon, Father John examines the dream given to Jacob by God – an important reminder to him and to us that God is with us even in the most difficult times of life.
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What does it meant that God is our beginning and our end? In this final installment of his sermon series on the names of God, Father John explores the concept of God as “Alpha and Omega” – the first and the last, the beginning and the end. There are practical and meaningful ways of understanding God as foundation of all new beginnings, as well as understanding God as the “end” to which all things point.
In this installment on his sermon series on the names of God, Father John examines the early Christian use of the word “kurios” – a Koine Greek word meaning “Lord,” but having important connotations for the identity of Jesus. Listen to discover how the early Christians viewed the person of Jesus, and what this can mean for us today!
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What happens when we exclusively focus on the mystery and otherness of God? People tended to do this during the inter-testamental period, to the point that even saying or writing the name of God was forbidden. Then along comes Jesus, who invites his followers to address God as “ABBA” – dear Father. What a shock that must have been to those who heard this at the time. In this next sermon on the names of God, Father John moves into ...
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How good must a person be to inherit eternal life? The Rich Young Ruler came to Jesus with this questions, and many people today still wrestle with wondering if they are “good enough.” In this fourth sermon in his series on the names of God, Father John examines a prophecy from Jeremiah, where God promises to send a leader that will become the righteousness of God’s people. But what does that mean? Listen as Father John explores what it means ...
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This week’s sermon delves into one of the most ancient and mysterious names of God in the Hebrew Scripture: El Shaddai. Father John explores two related etymologies for this name, uncovering insights about God as our all-sufficient provider who loves us fiercely. Listen, and be encouraged in your faith!
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In this second installment of our summer sermon series on the names of God found in Scripture, Father John offers a somewhat “unorthodox” take on the Binding of Isaac story found in Genesis 22. In this story, Abraham leads his only son to Mount Moriah, where God provides an alternate sacrifice at the last moment. This sermon explores how we may sometimes misunderstand what God is calling us to do. Also, what do we do when at times it feels ...
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Father John begins a new summer sermon series exploring some of the names of God found in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. To begin this series, this sermon examines the tetragrammaton, YHWH, translated, “I am who I am.” What does this name mean in the context of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush? What should our understanding of God be today based on this foundational name for the God of Israel? A God beyond our imagining and ...
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Where is God leading us as The Episcopal Church and as Saint Andrew’s? Father John examines where God has led us in the past generation, where we are at in the present, an some ideas about what the future might look like in this sermon for Pentecost.
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