Watch, listen to, or read sermons from the North Region of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and get a glimpse into how we engage with the Bible, the people in our congregations, and the world we live in. Subscribe to our podcast and listen to or download audio on the go.
Sermons offer a chance for the preacher to comment on what the congregation has just heard from the Bible. Sometimes, the sermon will relate the different readings to each other; sometimes it will relate one or more of the readings to what may be going on in the lives of people in a particular congregation, and also to what’s going on in the wider world.
Set our sights on Jesus
This is the sermon the Rev. Karen Calafat preached at the diocesan worship service for the Third Sunday in Lent, March 7, 2021. ———— Lent 3B March 7, 2021 The Rev. Karen A. Calafat John 2:13-22 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of…
“Joy anyway”
This is the sermon Bishop Scott Mayer preached at the diocesan worship service for the Second Sunday of Lent, February 28, 2021. Watch it below or on YouTube. The text is below the video. ——– Lent 2 B Mark By now you know that we lost. In the course of a long interview this week, I told a news reporter that I grieve with you, and I hurt for you, but that I’m not worried about you. He was taken…
An ark of love and mercy
This is the sermon the Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles preached at the diocesan worship service for the First Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2021. ——- The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles Lent 1B 2021 Genesis 9:8-17 The story of Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood is one of the most well-known stories of the Old Testament. It’s featured heavily in every children’s bible we own and was a fan favorite of my childhood Sunday School teachers. Two parishes I previously served…
Every riven thing
This is the meditation the Rev. Kevin Johnson, St. Alban’s, Theatre. Arlington, gave at the diocesan worship service for Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021. ——– I have mixed feelings about Ash Wednesday. I both profoundly appreciate the reality of acknowledging that I am an imperfect human being. And something about the language and actions of Ash Wednesday seems to clash with the truth I know, which is that every child of God is created in the perfect image of God…
“This is my Son, the Beloved; Listen to him!”
This is the sermon the Rev. Karen Calafat, St. Luke’s in the Meadow, Fort Worth, preached at the diocesan worship service for the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, February 14, 2021. ——- The Feast of the Transfiguration February 14, 2021 The Rev. Karen A. Calafat Good Morning! I am so glad you are here to worship on this very important day. Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration where Jesus became dazzling bright on top of a mountain in order…
Moving forward into God’s new creation
This is the sermon the Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles preached at the diocesan worship service for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, February 7, 2021. ——– The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles February 7, 2021 EDFW Epiphany 5B Isaiah 40:21-31 The 40th chapter of the book of Isaiah is one of my most cherished chapters in the entire Bible. It begins with the well-known words, “Comfort, O comfort my people, says the Lord.” We know these words not only…
God is present
This is the sermon the Rev. Karen Calafat preached at the diocesan worship service for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, January 31, 2021. ——— The Rev. Karen A. Calafat Mark My favorite teacher in high school was Diane Hudson. She was the Honors English teacher and Theatre Arts Director. I loved her. She was kind of quirky and a little rough around the edges. She was about 5’6” tall and quite thin. She had disheveled, dark brown hair, clipped…
Come and follow me
This is the sermon the Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles preached at the Third Sunday after Epiphany worship service, January 24, 2021. ——– Epiphany 3B Mark 1.14-20 “Now after John was arrested…” We’re still in chapter one of Mark’s gospel – in fact, we’re haven’t even reached the halfway point of chapter one. Already John the Baptizer has appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance. Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to be baptized by John, followed by the…
What you focus on will grow
This is the sermon the Rev. Karen Calafat preached at the diocesan worship service on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 17, 2021. —– Epiphany 2B.2021 John Lewis, civil rights icon, a contemporary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s and longtime U.S. Congressman, said, “Through nonviolence, courage displaces fear, love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice, hope ends despair. Peace dominates war, faith reconciles doubt. Mutual regard cancels enmity. Justice for all overthrows injustice. The redemptive community supersedes systems of gross…
God still transforms, still calls us
This is the sermon the Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles preached at the First Sunday after the Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, January 10, 2021. ——- January 10, 2020 Diocese of FW Baptism of our Lord, Mark 1:4-11 This week we observed the last few days of Christmas, then welcomed in the season after the Epiphany. Epiphany is the day we remember the coming of Magi following the star to visit the Christ child. The word Epiphany means to manifest…
Follow the star
This is the sermon the Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles preached at the diocesan worship service for the Feast of Epiphany, January 3, 2021. ————– The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles Feast of the Epiphany 2021 Matthew 2: 1-12 The season of Epiphany begins Wednesday, January 6. “Epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning appearance, revelation or manifestation. Like the appearance of a divine being or the revelation of some essential truth. We use the word “epiphany” when something is suddenly made…
The ageless truth of God’s love
This is the sermon the Rev. Canon Linda Taylor preached at the diocesan worship service for the First Sunday after Christmas, December 27, 2020. ————— Christmas 1 – December 27, 2020 Isaiah 61.10-62.3; Psalm 147; Galatians 3.23-25; 4.4-7; John 1.1-18 Homily preached by the Rev. Canon Linda S. Taylor In past years, most of us began our celebration of Christmas on Christmas Eve—frequently beginning with an afternoon children’s pageant. We would have heard a version of the story of Mary…
God is in the manger
This is the sermon Bishop Scott Mayer preached at the diocesan worship service on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2020. ——————— Christmas Eve 2020 I remember a brief, but for me unforgettable, conversation several years ago on Christmas Eve at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in Abilene (where I served). Right before the procession into the nave, the choir was lined up, the acolytes with crosses and torches and banners were taking their places in the procession, our organist was…
In the midst of the mess
This is the sermon the Rev. Karen Calafat preached at the online worship service for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2020. ———— Advent 4B December 20, 2020 A dad sat down with his 4-year-old, hoping to teach the true meaning of Christmas. They began the project of assembling a cardboard cutout nativity scene: stable, manger, baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, sheep, and shepherds. “Fold on the dotted line,” the directions said, “Place tab A in slot B,” and…
“Service to God with a will to work for men”
This is the sermon the Rev. Ted H. Clarkson, rector, St. Andrew’s/St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Churches, Darien, GA, gave at the ordination of his son, Ted Clarkson, to the diaconate, December 18, 2020. ————– I am always amazed at the aspect of the human condition that allows us to make the same potentially foolish choices over and over again. Ted is a bright young man: well educated (at Allison and my expense) at Southern Methodist University, yet he made the foolish…
The needs of our hearts
This is the meditation given by the Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles at the diocesan Blue Christmas service at 7 pm on December 17, 2020. ————— Each of us has come here tonight bearing our own hurts or carrying the pain of others. We may be immersed in suffering; we may be devastated by the cruelty of this year. We may feel that we are all alone, isolated from friends, forgotten by families. We may even feel that we are beyond…