Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration, 2025
When Moses encountered God upon Mt. Sinai, his face radiated the glory of God to the Hebrews so that they could not look upon him. This glory wasn’t inherent to Moses, but was a result of his closeness to the God of All Creation. Christ is that God, and He was revealed to be such upon the Mount of Transfiguration. Since we now have access to Christ through His death and resurrection, will we make time and space to rest in His glory? Will we prioritize encountering Christ through studying the Bible? Or do we avoid Christ through unprofitable distractions? May the glory of God, the Glory radiating from Christ,…
Sermon, 8th Sunday After Trinity, The Rt. Rev. Walter Banek
Our professed faith in Jesus Christ must not be merely an intellectual assent to the precepts of the Gospel. True Faith is manifest in our lives through loving and Christ-like, words and deeds. Our actions must match our words, and in Christ, each one of us may live in such a coherent way. Propers Manuscript Sermon Archive https://www.centralcoastanglicans.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025_08_10_EpiscopalVisitBanek.mp3
2025 Episcopal Visit: August 9, 10
Join us for worship, fellowship, and celebration, when The Rt. Rev. Walter Banek, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Mid-America, visits us on August 9 and 10. On Saturday at 6pm we will enjoy Bar-B-Que brisket with all the fixins! (email Fr. Kent for directions). The next morning, we will gather at the church at 10:30 am for Holy Communion with confirmations followed by more food and an update of the happenings in the diocese from Bishop. The Rt. Rev. Walter R. Banek Suffragan Bishop, The Diocese of Mid-America
Sermon, 6th Sunday after Trinity, 2025
We continue this Sunday to preach through the first book of homilies. The sixth homily is entitled: A Sermon of Christian Love and Charity These sermons have been edited to shorten them and to update the language, with the intent of maintaining the content, or at least the core meaning. The original texts of the homilies can be found in the manuscripts after the edited text that were preached. For background on these homilies, see the links below. The 6th homily directs us to look to Jesus as the example of how we are to love. First, we are to love God above everything else, and this means that we…
Sermon, Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 2025
We continue this Sunday to preach through the first book of homilies. The fifth homily is entitled: A Sermon of Good Works Annexed Unto Faith These sermons have been edited to shorten them and to update the language, with the intent of maintaining the content, or at least the core meaning. The original texts of the homilies can be found in the manuscripts after the edited text that were preached. For background on these homilies, see the links below. The fifth homily begins by noting that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith in Christ is the cornerstone upon which a righteous life must be built. The second…
Sermon, First Sunday after Trinity, 2025
We begin this Sunday to preach through the first book of homilies. The first homily is entitled: A Fruitful Exhortation to the Reading and Knowledge of Holy Scripture These sermons have been edited to shorten them and to update the language, with the intent of maintaining the content, or at least the core meaning. The original texts of the homilies can be found in the manuscripts after the edited text that were preached. For background on these homilies, see the links below. Manuscript Sermon Archive Background and scans of the original homilies Article from North American Anglican on the homilies
Sermon, Trinity Sunday, 2025
This Sunday, we get a 2-for-1. The first part of this sermon discusses the importance of being precise in our language about God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This isn’t a reflection of how well we understand God, but is rather more about keeping us from simplifing God in heretical ways. The Creeds, and most particularly the Athanasian creed, were formulated over centuries to keep us from leaving the path of orthodoxy. The second part of the sermon looks at the Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 6 and the Epistle lesson from Revelation 4 (and 5) which both provide insights into heavenly worship. It is our desire that our worship…
Sermon, Pentecost, 2025
Pentecost is a pivotal point in human history. On that day, the Holy Spirit entered into the world to take up His abode with humanity. Satan no longer held unopposed sway over mankind for those who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ were became temples of God and members of the corporate body of Christ, the Church, and this is to what the apocalyptic language in the second chapter of Joel refers. Having been freed from Satan, let us now embrace life as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, and let us turn away from sin and serve the King! Propers Manuscript Sermon Archive
Sunday Morning Worship, Sunday after the Ascension, June 1, 2025
Holy Communion Service preceded by lessons and canticles from Morning Prayer Today’s homily begins with a review of where we are in the Church calendar (between the Ascension and Pentecost). One of the things that we may gloss over during this season is the transition of leadership that occurs from Jesus to the Apostles. During the 40 days after Easter and before He ascends, Christ teaches the disciples about Himself and, presumably, how to organize the fledgling church. He also gifts them with the Holy Spirit to lead the New Covenant people of God into holiness and mission. This is not the first time where a transition like this occurs…
Sermon, Ascension Day, 2025
The feast of the Ascension represents Christ’s enthronement as King of All. It may not seem like Christ is reigning to us or to our fellow believers, but the fact that Christ reigns is represented in the scriptures by his regal session, “sitting on the right hand of God”. He is not distraught by what we see as lack of kingdom growth. Rather His plan for bringing all things under subjection to Himself continues on. It will not be thwarted. The real question is, “Do we believe this?” If we do, then we should take up our role as kingdom ambassadors, bringing the truth of Christ to the world. So…