St. John's Episcopal Church Dallas: Recent Episodes
St. John's Episcopal Church Dallas | STJD.org
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.
The Heart of the Christian Year Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, as Jesus enters Jerusalem and is welcomed as king. Soon, his confrontation with the religious elite will bring about his betrayal and arrest on Thursday evening, his trial and crucifixion on Friday, and his conquering of death on Easter Sunday. The heart of […]
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
This is second in a series of St. John’s ministry articles that answers the question “What is the purpose of the organizations we pray for every Sunday and give donations to and what do they actually do?” The Austin Street Center, one of the largest shelters in Dallas, has served the homeless since 1983. […]
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
Someone asked “What is the purpose of the organizations we pray for every Sunday and give donations to? What do we actually do?” Outreach co-chair Charity Cornelius and I are planning on a series of articles to answer that. In this article (and possibly further articles) we discuss current and planned initiatives of White Rock […]
March 13, 2022. Luke 13:31-35. Jesus likens himself to a mother hen who only wants to hold her babies close. Fr. Houk reflects on how Jerusalemites, past and present, are resistant to his offer of love. Listen to the sermon.
Lent 1: March 6, 2022. Luke 4:1-13. Fr. Melton reflects on Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness with practical advice as we begin the journey of Lent. Listen to the sermon. Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash.
Ash Wednesday: March 2, 2022. Joel 2 and Matthew 6. Fr. Houk gives the short answer and the longer answer on a day that calls us to face up to our own shortcomings. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash.
A forty day journey Lent is a season of the Church Year that calls Christians to focus on repentance and personal devotion in light of the coming celebration of Easter. The forty-day period of Lent connects with many Scriptural events important in the history of salvation: the forty days of the flood, the forty years […]
Lent 1: March 6, 2022. Luke 13:18-21. It’s Episcopal School Sunday and Middle School Chaplain opens up Jesus’s words about seeds about the need for patience in our spiritual lives. Listen to the sermon.
February 20, 2022. Luke 6:27-38 Fr. Houk gives two handles for us to hold on to as a way of putting into practice Jesus’ high ideals about loving people whom we may not like. Listen to the sermon.
Epiphany 6: February 13, 2021. Philippians 4:4-9. 1 Cor. 15:12-20, Luke 6:17-26. Fr. Butler talks about reality in a virtual world, and how the real Jesus is good news for real people. Listen to the sermon. Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash
February 6, 2022. Isaiah 6:1-8 and Luke 5:1-11. Beginning with the scriptural accounts of the calling of Isaiah and Simon Peter, Fr. Houk points our how we all have a story to tell about God’s grace working through imperfect people. Listen to the sermon.
Epiphany 4: January 30, 2022. Luke 4:21-30. Instead of giving the home crowd what they want, Jesus challenges the synagogue in Nazareth in a way that incites their anger. What is our response when God doesn’t deliver for us on cue? Listen to the sermon.
Epiphany 3: January 23, 2022. Luke 4:14-21. As unlikely as the Parish Administrator offering the morning homily, Jesus wows the worshipers at the Nazareth Synagogue. And he continues to do so today. Listen to the sermon.
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN CUB SCOUTS! The parish is sponsoring a new scout pack with the church and school communities in mind. If you are interested, please email the parish office and we will put you in touch with the pack leader. Download the flyer for the January 22 informational meeting.
Epiphany 1: January 9, 2022. Luke 3:15-17;21-22. John the Baptist says that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Fr. Houk reflects on three fiery things Jesus wants to give us. Listen to the sermon.
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.