the Rev. Michael Lemaire Rather than defending Jesus’ harsh treatment of the Canaanite woman, the sermon asks whether the encounter actually changed Jesus. The woman crosses cultural, religious, and gender boundaries to seek healing for her daughter. Jesus initially rejects her, describing his mission as limited to Israel and comparing outsiders to dogs who should not receive the children’s food. But the woman brilliantly turns Jesus’ image around: even dogs receive crumbs from the master's table. Her persistence and love expose the abundance of the grace Jesus carries and challenge the limits he has placed around his mission. Jesus listens, changes his response, and heals her daughter. The sermon suggests that this may reveal something profound about divine love: genuine love means being open enough to be moved and changed by others. Perhaps encounters like this helped Jesus understand that his mission extended beyond Israel to all people. Even more provocatively, this mother’s willingness to risk humiliation and rejection for someone she loved may have offered Jesus an example of the self-giving love he would ultimately embody on the cross.

the Rev. Phil Brochard Following the execution of John the Baptizer, Jesus seeks solitude to grieve and pray while his disciples cross the Sea of Galilee. During the night, they become trapped in a storm. In the exhausting “fourth watch,” Jesus comes toward them across the water and says, “Take heart. I am. Do not be afraid.” The sermon emphasizes that “I am” echoes the biblical language of God’s divine presence. Peter steps out of the boat toward Jesus but becomes frightened by the storm and begins to sink. When he cries, “Lord, save me,” Jesus immediately reaches for him. The preacher hears Jesus’ question—“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”—not as condemnation but compassion: I am here, and I will hold on to you. Faith, the sermon argues, is not intellectual certainty, optimism, or a guarantee that life will be easy. Faith is trust—where we place our hearts. Sometimes we choose to step into storms; sometimes storms find us. Faith does not promise that we will never be frightened or overwhelmed. It promises that we will not be abandoned.

the Rev. Phil Brochard The sermon presents Matthew 14 as the story of two contrasting feasts. Herod's banquet ends with the execution of John the Baptist, revealing a kingdom built on fear, political power, and violence. Jesus, grieving John's death and perhaps fearing for his own life, withdraws briefly before responding to the crowds with compassion instead of despair. When the hungry multitude gathers, the disciples assume people must depend on ordinary political and economic systems for food. The preacher contrasts this with Roman coins proclaiming the emperor as the source of sustenance. Jesus instead blesses, breaks, and shares five loaves and two fish until everyone is fed with abundance. The feeding miracle proclaims that God's kingdom—not earthly rulers—is the true source of life. The sermon concludes by connecting this story to the Eucharist. Christians gather each week around Christ's table because it reminds them where true nourishment is found and, ultimately, which feast they belong to.

the Rev. Phil Brochard The sermon explores why Jesus taught in parables, arguing that their purpose was not to obscure truth but to awaken people whose hearts had become accustomed to injustice and complacency. Rather than offering simple moral lessons, Jesus used surprising, subversive stories that slowly transformed how people perceived God's "empire of the heavens." Through the parables of the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, and the pearl of great price, the preacher shows that God's kingdom grows quietly, unexpectedly, and often disruptively. It invades ordinary life, transforms people from within, and calls them to joyful surrender rather than comfortable religion. The kingdom cannot be controlled or neatly organized—it is already near, waiting to be perceived by hearts willing to see.

The Rev. Dr. Paula Nesbitt Using the surprising story of flowers blooming a year after they were planted, the sermon explores Jesus' Parable of the Sower and the mystery of spiritual growth. Good soil consists of truth, hope, meaningful relationships, and openness to God's work, but growth often happens slowly and unexpectedly. Drawing on experiences at the Anglican Consultative Council in Belfast, the preacher describes how delegates from across the world chose unity over division despite deep disagreements about gender, sexuality, and church governance. Rather than allowing political conflict to break apart the Anglican family, they committed themselves to mutual respect, continued dialogue, and remaining together. The sermon concludes that the Church's calling is not to seek perfect conditions but to cultivate patient, loving relationships where faith can grow. Even rocky, thorn-filled soil should never be abandoned because God's grace often produces unexpected fruit where least expected.

The Rev. Phil Brochard The sermon explores Jesus' invitation, "Come to me, all you who are weary," by placing it in the context of John the Baptizer's question from prison: "Are you the one who is to come?" John's uncertainty reflects the surprising nature of Jesus' ministry, which transforms the world not through political power or revolution, but through countless acts of mercy, healing, and compassion. Using the image of the yoke, the preacher explains how Jesus transforms a symbol of oppression into one of liberation. Rather than blind obedience, the yoke represents deep listening—to God and to one another. Celebrating the wedding of Lani and Tyree, the sermon presents marriage as a joyful example of this liberating yoke: a covenant in which two people freely bind themselves together so they can bear life's burdens together. Ultimately, Jesus' yoke is one of gentleness, humility, mercy, and shared love that sets people free by teaching them to carry one another's burdens.

The Rev. Emily Boring This sermon reflects on Jesus' teaching that discipleship requires not only serving others but also accepting our own vulnerability and dependence. Drawing on Matthew's Gospel, the preacher explains that Jesus intentionally sent his disciples out with no provisions so they would have to depend on the hospitality of strangers. This dependence is not incidental but essential to following Christ. Human beings are created for interdependence, continually giving and receiving throughout life. Welcoming others—and allowing ourselves to be welcomed—is itself God's reward, forming relationships that reflect the love and generosity at the heart of the Gospel.

The Rev. Phil Brochard Using stories of political disagreements with his father and his mother's earlier conflicts with her own father, the preacher reflects on how family tensions often arise when visions of justice challenge accepted social norms. He connects these experiences to a Juneteenth sermon about living between the "almost" of promised freedom and the "not yet" of fully realized justice. Turning to Jesus' difficult teaching about family division, the preacher argues that Christ is not promoting conflict for its own sake. Rather, Jesus recognizes that faithful discipleship often creates tension when people challenge systems, narratives, and comforts that sustain injustice. The Gospel's call to justice inevitably creates friction between the world as it is and the world as God intends it to be. The sermon concludes that freedom and justice require confronting the gap between promise and reality. The question is not whether conflict will arise, but whether those conflicts will produce light, growth, and transformation rather than merely generating heat and division.

The Rev. Erika Jackson Using the framework of living between "almost and not yet," this Juneteenth sermon explores the gap between freedom promised and freedom realized. Juneteenth itself exists because enslaved people in Texas remained in bondage more than two years after emancipation had been declared, revealing that legal freedom and lived freedom are not always the same. The preacher connects this reality to Scripture. The Israelites waited for liberation after God promised deliverance. Paul envisioned a community without hierarchy in Christ. Jesus proclaimed freedom for the oppressed while ministering in a world still marked by injustice. In every case, God's people lived between promise and fulfillment. The sermon challenges Christians to recognize who still lives in that gap today and to resist the temptation to settle for "almost." True Christian hope does not deny unfinished work; it trusts that Christ remains present within it. Until freedom is experienced by all, the work of liberation continues.

The Rev. Dr. Bill McNabb Preaching during Pride Month, the preacher celebrates God's inclusive love and focuses on what he calls "the greatest verse in the Bible": Romans 5:1, which declares that believers are justified by faith and have peace with God through Jesus Christ. He argues that after describing humanity's brokenness, Paul delivers the astonishing good news that God has reconciled humanity to himself. Using the humorous story of Chippy the Parakeet, the sermon explores how suffering can suddenly disrupt life. Paul does not teach that suffering is enjoyable, but that God uses it to produce endurance, character, and hope. The Greek word hypomonē—the ability to "hang in there"—becomes a central theme. The sermon concludes by affirming that God's love remains present even in hardship, summarized in Karl Barth's famous answer: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."