St. John's Episcopal Church Dallas

July 24, 2022. Luke 11:1-13. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he didn't tell them to pray better. Rather, he suggested they needed a better vision of the goodness of God. Listen to the sermon.  

July 17, 2022. Luke 10:38-42. When Jesus comes to town, Martha busies herself with being a good host while Mary sits at Jesus's feet. Fr. Butler looks at why we all choose to be like Martha at times, missing out on the life available to us through Christ. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Sebastian […]

July 3, 2022. Luke 10:1-1,16-20. Jesus sends out the 72 to announce the Kingdom and sits back and watches the devil fall like lightning. Listen to the sermon.   Photo by Max LaRochelle on Unsplash

June 19, 2022. Luke 8:26-39. Jesus delivers a man of his demons and makes everybody uncomfortable. Why are they, or we, so afraid? Listen to the sermon.   Photo by Kenneth Schipper Vera on Unsplash.

Trinity Sunday: June 12, 2022. Romans 5:1-5. The Trinity is hard to understand, no doubt, but our Triune God can be accessed through Jesus Christ in the most unlikely places. Listen to the sermon.    

Pentecost: June 5, 2022. Acts 2:1-21. The real miracle of Pentecost is that God now resides in his people, meeting men and women where the are with Good News. Listen to the sermon.  

May 22, 2022. Matthew 5:13-16. Fr. Houk preaches to church and school communities about being salt and light in the world. Listen to the sermon.  

May 15, 2022. John 13:31-35. Christians are known for many things. Some are more positive than others. What is St. John's known for? Listen to the sermon.   Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Easter 4: May 8, 2022. Psalm 23. We celebrate “Maternal Caregivers Day” with Laura Warner Gilmer in the pulpit, pointing to the Lord Jesus as the model for care, nurture, protection, and comfort. Listen to the sermon.

Easter 3. May 1.  John 21:1-19. Jesus appears on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and teaches Peter what it means to love and be loved. Listen to the sermon.

Easter. April 17.  Luke 24:1-12. Luke’s Gospel continues the theme of God’s heart for the poor, weak, unpopular, and outcast, all the way through the story of the resurrection. Listen to the sermon.   Art by William Bouruereau, La saintes femmes au tombeau, 1890.

Palm Sunday. April 10. Luke 22:39-23:56. Even on his way to death, good things happen wherever Jesus goes. Listen to the sermon.   Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash

Lent 5: April 3, 2022. Philippians 3:4b-14. Paul uses a pretty strong word to describe his futile religiosity. Maybe we could use that word, too, to describe the self-righteousness that has kept us from the love of Christ. Listen to the sermon.

Lent 4: March 27, 2022. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. Jesus’s parable of the prodigal is really about two lost sons. And his message is good news for rule keepers and rule breakers. Listen to the sermon.   Photo by DICSON on Unsplash

Lent 4: March 20, 2022. Luke 13:1-9. Jesus tells a parable about fig tree, an image for how we are to grow and bear fruit. Laura Warner Gilmer suggests that it takes the whole Body of Christ to spur growth in one another. Listen to the sermon.   Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash

Christmas Eve, 2021. Luke 2:1-20. The world may be a dark place but the light of Christ shines still. You just need to look for it, receive it, and be willing to shine as well. Listen to the sermon.

Advent 4: December 19, 2021. Luke 1:39-56. Mary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist believe in big love, big grace, and a big God. Listen to the sermon. Photo by David Houk: The Carmelite Monastery on Mt. Carmel

Advent 3: December 12, 2021. Philippians 4:4-9. St. Paul’s calls the church in Philippi to rejoice and Fr. Butler differentiates joy from happiness. Listen to the sermon.

Advent 2: December 5, 2021. Luke 3:1-6. John is baptizing and calling people to repentance at the lowest place on earth. It seems that that is where God is doing his thing. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Amit Lahav on Unsplash.

November 28, 2021. Mark 13:14-23. Jesus' words about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD offers a warning for God's people whenever they are tempted to trust in political messiahs. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Ben White on Unsplash.

November 7, 2021. Guest preacher Fr. Michael Mills hits the topic of generosity from three different angles. If you’re inspired, you can pledge online at www.stjohnsepiscopal.org/pledge. Listen to the sermon.  

October 1, 2021. Matthew 23:23-26 Fr. Houk talks about his imperfection and why the ideal of tithing is important to him. Listen to the sermon. Photo by SwapnIl Dwivedi on Unsplash.

October 24, 2021. Genesis 28:10-22. The patriarch Jacob has a mystic, spiritual vision that results in a material commitment, “Of all you give to me, I will give the tenth to you.” Listen to the sermon. Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash

October 17, 2021. Mark 12:41-44. Fr. Butler tells of an experience in which he was blessed in his giving, encouraging us all to have a conversation with God beginning with the question, “What proportion of my income are you calling me to give?” Listen to the sermon. Photo by Matthew Hamilton on Unsplash

October 10, 2021. Mark 10:17-31. What kind of throne does God sit on? Fr. Oliver explores the concepts of law and grace in the Gospel of Mark, and how Jesus surprises everyone over and over with the love and grace of God. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.

October 3, 2021. 1 Kings 8:22-30. St. John’s celebrates its 75th birthday with Bishop James Stanton as our guest preacher. He reminds the parish that we need to live out the church’s mission. Listen to the sermon.

September 19, 2021. James 3:16-4:6. James’s epistle is about faith in action. In today’s passage, he diagnosis the problem: the reason our lives are not full of peace, gentleness, and mercy is because of our “passions.” Fr. Houk expounds on this in terms of our inordinate, neurotic desire for power/control, affection/esteem, and safety/security. Listen to […]

September 12, 2021. James 2:1-5,8-10,14-18. James challenges us to check our preconceived preferences and use God's corrective lenses as we look around our world. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash.

September 5, 2021. James 1:17-27. What does the Christian life look like? What should it look like from a distance to onlookers? Fr. Butler looks at the first chapter of the book of James and reflects on the correlation between our faith and our actions as a response to the invitation Jesus gives us to […]

August 29, 2021. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Jesus takes on the Pharisees, Scribes, and tradition of the elders about what makes a person clean and unclean. It seems that God is interested in something else. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Thula Na on Unsplash.

August 15, 2021. John 6:53-59 Most of us are out of touch with our deepest longings and desires. But Jesus invites us to tap into our deepest thirst, with the promise that his blood is real drink. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Arnie Watkins from Pexels.

August 8, 2021. John 6:37-51. Jesus doesn’t want us to “bonk” as we run the race of life, so he invites us to fill ourselves with his body. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Jeremy Lapak on Unsplash.

June 20, 2021. Job 38:1-11, 16-18; Mark 4:35-41;5:1-20. God’s sovereignty is unfathomable; nevertheless we can always trust in his Fatherly care. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash.

June 13, 2021. Ezekiel 31:1-6,10-14. St. Mark 4:26-34. Jesus uses two parables to teach his disciples that life is meant to be lived in the present, with an acknowledgement of our smallness. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Varun Gaba on Unsplash.

Corpus Christi: June 6, 2021. St. John 6:47‑58. As young Christians receive Holy Communion for the first time this Sunday, Fr. Houk reminds us that we receive the Body of Christ to be the Body of Christ in the world. Listen to the sermon. Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash

Trinity Sunday. St. John 3:1-17. The love of the Father, the active love of the Son, and the Holy Spirit who holds it all together: this is the love that will never abandon us. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash.

Easter 7: May 16, 2021. Exodus 28; St. John 17:11‑19. Priests are called to bear the heaviness of human life and carry the lightness of being loved by God in their hearts. Listen to the sermon.

Easter 5: May 2, 2021. St. John 14:15‑21. Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Fr. Houk suggests that the Church is an integral part of the way we put this into practice. Listen to the sermon. Photo by John Arano on Unsplash.

Easter 4: April 25, 2021. St. John 10:11-16. Despite the sermon’s title, the sermon, like today’s Gospel, is more about the Good Shepherd than the sheep. Listen to the sermon.

Easter: April 4, 2021. St. Mark 16:1-8. Mark’s Gospel leaves us hanging with bewildered witnesses of the empty tomb. It’s almost like God is happy to work with imperfect and unpredictable people. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash.

Good Friday: April 2, 2021. St. John’s Passion. We watch in shock and disbelief as Jesus is crucified. The imagery is hard, but if we look closer it’s the ultimate image of love that bears our burdens. Listen to the sermon.  

Maundy Thursday: April 1, 2021.  St. John 13:1-15. Fr. Houk wrestles with foot-washing and challenges all believers to take it beyond the liturgy. (Note: pardon the weird echo in the first minute of the sermon.) Listen to the sermon. Photo by Matthew McCarthy on Unsplash.

Palm Sunday: March 28, 2021. St. Mark’s Passion. Fr. Butler looks at how we welcome the Messiah on Palm Sunday, only to call for his crucifixion days later on Good Friday. As Holy Week begins, we can choose to be present as the climax of the Christian story unfolds. We are invited to take up […]

Lent 5: March 21, 2021. Jeremiah 31:31-34; St. John 12:20-33. Jeremiah promises a new covenant when God will write the Law on the human heart. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Péter Török on Unsplash.

Lent 3: March 7, 2021. St. John 2:13-22. Jesus gets angry at the Jerusalem temple. Like, really angry. Fr. Houk offers some ideas about dealing with anger in a Christ-centered way. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash.

Lent 2: February 28, 2021. Genesis 22:1-14; St. Mark 8:31-38. How we think about God will fundamental influence we hear Jesus’ words to take up our cross and follow him. Listen to the sermon. hoto by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash.

Lent 1: February 21, 2021. St. Mark 1:9-13. God never promised us a rose garden; but he gave us an eternal sign of His covenant love for us. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Yulia Gadalina on Unsplash.

Last Epiphany: February 14, 2021. St. Mark 9:2-9. On the last Sunday after the Epiphany we hear about Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, burning brightly in the knowledge of God’s love. We all need an epiphany to get us through dark days. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Júnior Ferreira on Unsplash.

Epiphany 5: February 7, 2021. St. Mark 1:29-39. In 2021 it is easy to get a lot done all at once, even easier to take on too much, which means life’s busyness is sometimes unavoidable. Fr. Butler looks at Jesus’ life and ministry–a very busy and demanding time–explores Jesus’ response to it as one we […]

Epiphany 4: January 31, 2021. 1 Corinthians 8:1b–13. Knowledge can go to our heads. But Christianity is concerned with transformation, not information. Listen to the sermon.

Epiphany 3: January 24, 2021. St. Mark 1:14-20. Mark’s Gospel immediately begins with Jesus’ preaching of the Kingdom of God. Fr. Herb describes the three-fold meaning that the Kingdom is at hand. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Arturo Rey on Unsplash.