Cleopas and his companion walk away from Jerusalem discouraged, despite hearing reports of the resurrection. As the sermon notes, “we heard there’s this thing called the resurrection… but we didn’t believe him” . Jesus meets them in their confusion, walks with them, listens to their disappointments, and then opens the Scriptures—showing that all of Scripture points to Him. This becomes the “reality of revelation,” where God discloses Himself and opens their eyes. Revelation is not merely intellectual but experiential: “a…
Jesus meets Thomas and the other disciples in their fear and disbelief to reveal himself as the risen Lord, restoring a sense of wonder that the world’s thrills can’t supply. By showing his wounds, Jesus moves Thomas from disbelief to faith, offering a deeply personal encounter where Christ’s scars speak to our own pain. He then gives a durable, resurrection-shaped joy that persists even amid fear, suffering, and death. Finally, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into his followers, transforming them…
This Easter sermon centers on the resurrection story in John’s Gospel, especially the moment when the risen Jesus speaks Mary’s name—one word that changes everything. Just as we recognize a loved one by their voice, Mary recognizes Jesus, and her world is transformed. The sermon unfolds around three movements that flow from that single word: The sermon concludes by connecting resurrection hope with the Eucharist: where death once entered through “take and eat,” new life is offered through Christ’s self‑giving…
This sermon explores how Jesus meets people in their grief through tears, truth, and grace, drawing from the story of Lazarus in John 11. It highlights how Jesus responds differently to Mary and Martha—offering compassionate presence to one and grounding truth to the other—showing his intimate understanding of human sorrow. Jesus points to the hope of resurrection, reminding listeners that he enters death itself so that everything sad might one day come untrue. Sermon preached by Peter Tepper at St…
