Resolved to Ministry
“Ministry is not something that happens when we feel good. It's not something that happens when we all have our act together. It's something that happens through the tragedy. It's something that happens through the mourning. It's something that happens alongside all of it.”
A Blessedness That Lasts
“Furthermore, [the Beatitudes] provide ultimate hope that even the deplorable in society are no further away from the Kingdom of God than the supposed righteous, because they single out God’s children, proving that His blessing is truly available in circumstances that are beyond all human hope.”
It’s Not About You
As each of us participate in these prophetic and beautiful earthly realities, they all find their end, their telos, in the Church’s marriage to her Lord. It is not all about you!
Don’t Let Go
“With all the burdens that all of you are carrying, raising families, struggling with health, struggling with finances, trying to push back bad decisions from years ago that haunt you. Put all that aside and just trust Him, and bother Him, pray to Him, talk to Him…”
Living the Celibate Life
Just because you are single does not mean you are alone. In Christ, you are complete! In Christ, you are in the kingdom. In Christ, you prophetically point to our eternal union with God. This, too, is very good!
The Blessing of Children
Children are not a by-product of love, they are the product of love!
The Meaning of Marriage
“Our sexual activity expresses something about God, whether we believe in Him or not, whether we agree with Him or not. God designed us for intimacy with Himself. Marriage is an analogy for this intimacy, and we are right to uphold it, but sexual intimacy, even within marriage, is not the highest good.”
The Goodness of Gender
If woman is the glory of man, she can only reflect what glory [men] receive from God and if we obscure the glory [we] receive from God by our selfishness and sinfulness, there is nothing left to reflect but our own ugliness and sin.
God Doesn’t Create Junk
The deepest longings of your heart, however mingled with sin and selfishness they may be, have their origins in God’s grand design, His intentions, His purposes. We don’t have to invent our own meaning. We don’t have to craft our own identities based on what we want, because what we want most is given to us as a gift.
A Mouthful of Bees
God loves us, as we are, who we are. That doesn’t mean He wants us to be the way we are all the time. He wants us to be transformed into the image of His Son.
The Narrow Door
“An overwhelming majority of us know who Jesus is. We know what He did; we can quote His words. We may even show up for the banquet of Holy Communion. But the question is, does He know us?”
The Great Divide
This is the reality we all live in today. Jesus’ baptism––His passion and crucifixion––have kindled a fire throughout the earth. The question before us is not whether we will avoid the fire (that isn’t an option, we all will be kindled). The question is whether we will be the gold or the dross.
Downsizing Your Life
Today is the day that we ask if we are dressed for action? Are our lamps burning? Or are we still nursing our bitterness and unforgiveness? Are we still clinging to the comforts and pleasures of this life more than we are preparing for the next life?
Rich Toward God
Rather than desiring what is not ours, we must steward our possessions to provide what others lack. Augustine said it like this: “The bellies of the poor are safer storehouses than our barns.” There are eternal consequences for how we steward our possessions.
The Better Portion
Has the work that we have been called to do…become an idol in our life? Whenever you let work become an idol in your life, you’re not only endangering your own self…but you also risk those around you.
How You Read It
“The point of ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ is to focus on becoming a person who treats everyone you encounter with love and compassion.” ––Fr. Wes Gristy
Peace Like a River
The river of peace, that attendeth our way, even when sorrow, like sea billows, roll over us, that peace, the source of that is the source of Jesus Christ. And if we're not spending that time in the presence of Jesus Christ, we'll never make it, we're just going to live out of anxiety.
Through the Dark Forest
What does it mean to follow Jesus? We often get discouraged when we fail in our discipleship or undergo trials and temptations. It can be tempting to resort to easy answers and solutions when Christ is calling us to the cross. He often leads us where we do not want to go. This Sunday is the Feast of Peter and Paul. Join Fr. Ben Williams as we look at the resurrected Jesus’ call to St. Peter and what it meant for him to follow Him.
The Most Important Question
What is the most important question in life? Jesus once asked his disciples who the crowds said he was. Next, he asked them who they said he was. This week, Mr. Matt Wright asks this question to each of us. How we answer will determine whether we will pick up our own crosses and follow him.
It’s Personal
What is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and why is it important to Christians? Trinitarian theology is often pushed aside because it is either too hard to think about or seemingly irrelevant. This Sunday is known as Trinity Sunday and it marks the first Sunday of Ordinary Time within the church calendar. In this sermon, Fr. Ben Williams focuses on the necessity of this doctrine for our salvation.