For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources 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.
Lectionary Calendar
Find this Sunday’s readings and more observances of the church year.
Sermons
We offer a large archive of sermons, as well as a new sermon every week.
Bible Studies
Our weekly Bible studies are produced by our very own Episcopalian seminarians.
Bulletin Inserts
Weekly inserts teach about the theology, history, and people of The Episcopal Church.
Upcoming Sermons
What’s in a Name?, Pentecost 2 (C) – June 19, 2022
[RCL] 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a; Psalm 42 and 43; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39 In the 1590s, William Shakespeare penned the line, “What’s in a name?” as part of a longer soliloquy that Juliet speaks to herself. She discovers Romeo’s family name and is dismayed – the Montagues and the Capulets have been feuding for…
You Are Three, We Are Three, Trinity Sunday (C) – June 12, 2022
[RCL] Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8 or Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2); Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 In 1804, Thomas Jefferson had already drafted the Declaration of Independence, built Monticello, and was nearly halfway through his presidency, but in that year, he decided to take on his most ambitious project of all: President Thomas Jefferson decided…
It’s 9:00 Somewhere, Day of Pentecost (C) – June 5, 2022
[RCL] Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21; John 14:8-17, (25-27) Words fail. No matter how eloquent the person writing or speaking, words fail to convey human experience. From the emotions of a mother’s first sight of a newborn healthy child to the feeling of being in a small…
Divine Unity, Easter 7 (C) – May 29, 2022
[RCL] Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26 Today’s gospel reading contains the climax and culmination of what is known as the “Farewell Discourse” or “High Priestly Prayer”. In this scene, John has Jesus and the disciples (minus Judas Iscariot) in the room after the washing of the feet and the last…
Love Ascending, Ascension Day (C) – May 26, 2022
[RCL] Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 or Psalm 93; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53 When the God of heaven chose also to dwell on earth, the Word became flesh. From there the Word went around preaching and teaching. It was baptized, crucified, and buried. It rose again, walked to Emmaus, appeared to the disciples, and even ate…
What Do I Want This Very Minute?, Easter 6 (C) – May 22, 2022
[RCL] Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5; John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9 We begin with a garden. It’s no small matter that the committee who culled, edited, and arranged our anthology of sacred texts started the pages with the story of creation, of growth, of dreams. And in the final pages of our anthology,…
Upcoming Bible Studies
Bible Study: Pentecost 2 (C) – June 19, 2022
[RCL] 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a; Psalm 42 and 43; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39 1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7) 8-15a Elijah has been very busy doing the work of a prophet, but it seems like his fortunes have changed. He is exhausted and one can imagine that he feels alone, isolated, and no longer favored by…
Bible Study: Trinity Sunday (C) – June 12, 2022
[RCL] Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8 or Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2); Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 The book of Proverbs is a collection of traditional cultural lessons—propositional statements, observational sayings, analogies, and ethics—structured as the teachings of a father to a son. This kind of “instructional literature” is one of the ways…
Bible Study: Day of Pentecost (C) – June 5, 2022
RCL: Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; Romans 8:14-17; John 14:8-17 (25-27) Acts 2:1-21 Pentecost has finally come. Personally, I consider this the birthday of the church. And why not? Upon each disciple, a tongue of fire, like the tongue of fire upon each birthday candle. But no one is here to blow the flame out…
Bible Study: Easter 7 (C) – May 29, 2022
RCL: Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21; John 17:20-26 Acts 16:16–34 It is only after the apostles are thrown in jail that God rescues them with a dramatic earthquake. Why does God wait to free them until after they are beaten and persecuted? Why not save them before the trouble? Sometimes God doesn’t intervene on…
Bible Study: Easter 6 (C) – May 22, 2022
RCL: Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5; John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9 Acts 16:9-15 Throughout the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and his crew are directed where to go in many different ways. Just before this passage, the apostles are “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” and “the Spirit…
Bible Study: Easter 5 (C) – May 15, 2022
RCL: Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 148; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35 Acts 11:1-18 The Acts of the Apostles depicts Jesus’ early followers as observant Jews and the beginnings of the church as rooted within Judaism, yet is concerned with the expansion of the church from those origins to a movement spread throughout the Roman Empire. In the…
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