About Sermons That Work

Welcome to Sermons That Work!

The Episcopal Church welcomes many different points of view, and sermons offered during an Episcopal service may vary greatly from congregation to congregation. Although there is no “typical” or one-size-fits-all sermon for Episcopal congregations, the sermons in this series are selected for their universal qualities so that they may be useful to a wide variety of congregations, especially those without full-time priests on staff, where lay leaders often shoulder the responsibility of delivering the sermons on Sunday.

To assist and inspire these and all our congregations, the Office of Communication of the Episcopal Church offers Sermons That Work, new sermons, Bible studies, and bulletin inserts each week for Sundays and major feast days throughout the liturgical year.

The idea of supplying congregations with sermons or homilies dates back to the Articles of Religion, which were established during the English Reformation in the sixteenth century. Article 35, Of the Homilies, lists 21 homilies that were considered “godly and wholesome” for congregational use (Book of Common Prayer, pp. 874-875).

Carrying on that tradition, the Episcopal Church has been offering Sermons That Work online since 1995. Browse our archive of hundreds of sermons, grouped by lectionary years.

Sermons That Work is edited by Christopher Sikkema, Manager for Special Projects.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Sermons That Work podcast to hear this sermon and more on your favorite podcasting app! Recordings are released the Thursday before each liturgical date.

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