For more than 25 years, Sermons That Work, a joint offering of Forward Movement and The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free resources like sermons, Bible studies, and lesson plans that speak to congregations across the church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.
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Upcoming Sermons
Children of Light, Tuesday in Holy Week – March 31, 2026
[RCL] Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12:20-36 Today, we speed forward in the story of Jesus’s life, and toward his death. On this Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus offers the crowds in Jerusalem his final public words before his arrest. He will have more words for his disciples when they gather afterward…
The Way of the Cross, Monday in Holy Week – March 30, 2026
[RCL] Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11 Today’s Collect may have sounded familiar to you: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find…
Lost in Translation, Palm Sunday (A) – March 29, 2026
RCL: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 27: 11-54 In the 1540s the great Finnish scholar Mikael Agricola began the project of his life: translating the New Testament into Finnish for the first time in history. It was a project of massive importance to the Finnish church, but Agricola faced a huge problem: How…
When Jesus Shows Up, Lent 5 (A) – March 22, 2026
[RCL] Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45 Jesus has a lot of nerve showing up to town in this morning’s Gospel reading. The story begins days earlier, when Lazarus becomes seriously ill. His sisters, Martha and Mary, send word to Jesus, trusting that he will come. The Gospel of John makes it clear…
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”, Lent 4 (A) – March 15, 2026
RCL: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-4, Psalm 23 Today’s gospel text is a lot: a lot of words and a lot of concepts. Within John’s narrative, today’s gospel comes from what scholars call “the Book of Signs,” John 1-12. In this section of the gospel, Jesus—God’s word made flesh, the light which the…
Our Common Humanity, Lent 3 (A) – March 8, 2026
RCL: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42 A social activist by the name of Jo Cox was a member of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the early 2000s. According to her sister, she was a devoted sibling, mother, wife, and friend. By many accounts, Jo Cox…
Upcoming Bible Studies
Bible Study: Palm Sunday (A) – March 29, 2026
RCL: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 27: 11-54 Collect | Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that…
Bible Study: Lent 5 (A) – March 22, 2026
RCL: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45 Opening Prayer | Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be…
Bible Study: Lent 4 (A) – March 15, 2026
RCL: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-4, Psalm 23 Opening Prayer | Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and…
Bible Study: Lent 3 (A) – March 8, 2026
RCL: Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42 Opening Prayer | Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil…
Bible Study: Lent 2 (A) – March 1, 2026
RCL: Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17 Opening Prayer | O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ…
Bible Study: Lent 1 (A) – February 22, 2026
[RCL]: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 Opening Prayer | Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and…
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