Amy Richter
The Rev. Dr. Amy Richter is an Episcopal priest, currently living in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. She is the author and editor of several books, including Common Prayer: Reflections on Episcopal Worship and Saving Words: 20 Redemptive Words Worth Rescuing, published by Cascade.
Sermons and Bible Studies
The Truth Will Make Us Odd, Pentecost 14 (B) – August 25, 2024
[RCL] Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69 Note: During the 2024 Season after Pentecost, Sermons That Work will use Track 2 readings for sermons and Bible studies. Please consult our archives for many additional Track 1 resources from prior years. The writer Flannery O’Conner reportedly once said, “You shall know the truth […]
Strength in Weakness, Pentecost 7 (B) – July 7, 2024
[RCL] Ezekiel 2:1-5; Psalm 123; 2 Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13 Note: During the 2024 Season after Pentecost, Sermons That Work will use Track 2 readings for sermons and Bible studies. Please consult our archives for many additional Track 1 resources from prior years. Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made […]
The Hero Revealed, Tuesday in Holy Week – March 26, 2024
[RCL] Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12:20-36 Sometimes our eyes deceive us. We think we know what we’re looking at, but it turns out that reality is different than we thought, like our perceptions or expectations were off, there is more here than meets the eye. Sometimes, of course, we can’t see […]
The Archangels, Christmas Day (I) – December 25, 2023
This sermon is also available as part of a compilation of all the sermons for Advent and Christmas this year. Within that document, which you can find at sermonsthatwork.org, you’ll find some study questions that you can use by yourself, with your small group, or with your congregation. [RCL] Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke […]
Be Prepared to Wait, Proper 27 (A) – 2023
[RCL] Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm 78:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13 At first listen, this parable sounds like something any Scout or guide could have told us: Always be prepared. Plan ahead. Bring enough oil. Keep extra batteries on hand. Know where the candles and matches are before the power goes out. Be prepared. As […]
A Different Ending, Proper 22 (A) – 2023
[RCL] Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Psalm 19; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46 A form of wordplay people think is either great or terrible, depending on whether or not they’re fans, is the pun. You know, jokes that play on words with different meanings or words that sound alike. Silly things like, Why do cows have bells? […]
Family Ties, Proper 18 (C) – 2022
[RCL] Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 What does it mean to be family? What do we mean when we say we are part of a church family or God’s family? What about when the interests of our family conflict with other things that pull on us, demand our time and energy […]
Obituary for a Fool, Proper 13 (C) – 2022
[RCL] Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21 Obituaries are about the life, not the death. The death is the occasion, but it’s usually reported in just one sentence, maybe with a detail—a disease, a condition, a struggle, an accident – and an age. We appraise: so young; a long life; so sudden; […]
Hoping Skills, Proper 28 (B) – 2021
[RCL] 1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25; Mark 13:1-8 If ever there were a Sunday for today’s opening collect, this is it. What a gospel lesson. Hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this gospel? It’s full of troubling images, images that cut too close to home, that sound too much […]
How It Works, Epiphany 3 (B) – 2021
[RCL] Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:6-14; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20 “Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” That’s all we get in today’s Gospel lesson to describe how Jesus called his first disciples and how they responded. That’s […]
Unquenchable Love, Proper 17 (A) – 2020
[RCL]: Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20 Moses’ first response to the burning bush was curiosity: “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” By the end of his life, though, did Moses instead wonder at how appropriate this manifestation of God […]
Rock Solid When Everything Feels Up in the Air, Easter 5 (A) – May 10, 2020
[RCL]: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 It all feels so up in the air. When have so many people, everywhere, felt so uncertain, had so many unanswered and unanswerable questions all at the same time? When have so many plans been upended, suspended? When have so many guidelines been provisional, […]
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