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.
Click here to read about changes we undertook to Sermons That Work in Advent 2025.
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Sermons
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Lesson Plans
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Upcoming Sermons
When the Crowd Yells Something Awful, Good Friday – April 3, 2026
[RCL] Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 or 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42 The passion narratives in the gospels contain many voices. In today’s gospel, we primarily hear the voices of Jesus, Peter, and Pilate. Since the gospel references passages of scripture written earlier, we also hear the voice of the prophet Zechariah, who wrote, “when…
Back Against the Wall, Maundy Thursday – April 2, 2026
[RCL] Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1, 10-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Take a moment to picture the context in which Jesus lived. Howard Thurman reminds us, in Jesus and the Disinherited, that Jesus’s social location matters. We lose an understanding of Jesus—the implications and application of his teachings—when we fail to understand the thickness of…
The Cross Defeats Shame, Wednesday in Holy Week – April 1, 2026
[RCL] Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32 As we continue our journey through Holy Week, we attempt to be faithful to Jesus in his hour of need. We show up. We listen. We pray. And we ask ourselves some hard questions: What prevents us from following him? What drives us away from his…
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…
Upcoming Bible Studies
Bible Study: Easter 4 (A) – April 26, 2026
RCL: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 Opening Prayer | O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and…
Bible Study: Easter 3 (A) – April 19, 2026
RCL: Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-3,10-17; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35 Opening Prayer | Ever living God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and…
Bible Study: Easter 2 (A) – April 12, 2026
RCL: Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31 Opening Prayer | God of Life and the source of all creation, from the words of faithful women, we live in the grace of your resurrection. Help us to walk in the steps of their faithfulness and love to you, and in your time…
Bible Study: Easter Sunday (A) – April 5, 2026
RCL: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2,14-24; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10 Opening Prayer | Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate ofeverlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord,…
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…
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