Weekly Sermons
Questions for God: A Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Easter
Preached by the Rev. David Henson on Sunday, May 17, 2026 If you had the chance to ask God a question, what would it be? I think most of us here today have something we’d like to ask. It’s the kind of burning question that we might keep asking God over and over...
Yes, This Really is a Sermon About Obedience: A Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
My first car was a hand-me-down from my older brother: a faded red 1986 Dodge Ram 50, a half-size, stick shift pick-up truck whose speakers had long since fallen out of the doors, whose windows leaked every time it rained, and whose battery cables had a tendency to...
Room for More Room: A Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Like a Child at Home: A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
Preached by the Rev. Gaelyn Evangreene at St. James Episcopal Church on the Fourth Sunday of Easter
We Had Hoped: A Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter
Preached by the Rev. David Henson on April 18, 2026 “We had hoped he would be the one who would redeem us.” We had hoped. Every time I read this story, those three words stop me in my tracks. Because it’s past tense. Had hoped. In other words, these two disciples,...
Finding Peace Amid Fear: A Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter
Preached by the Rev. Dn. Tim Jones on April 12, 2026 I want to tell you about an absolutely fascinating place in Jerusalem's Old City. It’s called St. Mark’s Syriac Orthodox Monastery. The small Christian community there still holds a regular liturgy in Aramaic, the...
When God Easters: A Homily for the Feast of the Resurrection
Preached by the Rev. David Henson, April 5, 2026 Easter basket. Easter bunny. Easter candy. Easter eggs. Easter hat, Easter dress, Easter suit, Easter vest. Easter brunch. Easter lunch. Easter ham. Easter lamb. Easter lily. Easter flowers. Easter brass. Easter sermon....
Hounds of Heaven: A Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Lent
Preached by the Rev. David Henson at St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville When she went to answer the unexpected knock at her front door, the last person Cancilde ever expected to see standing on her stoop was the man who had murdered her husband and five...
The Beatitudes for When Things Aren’t Okay: A Homily by the Rev. Dn. Tim Jones
Homily by the Rev. Dn. Tim Jones + In the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I wonder how many of us have a habit that annoys our friends, maybe even embarrasses those who are close to us? Maybe ones that we do without even realizing we’re doing them? One of...
The Innkeeper*: Making Room on Christmas When There Isn’t Any
It’s a Wonderful Life. Miracle on 34th Street. Home Alone. Polar Express. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and depending on who you ask, Die Hard. Pretty much everyone has at least one favorite holiday film. This time of year, perhaps more than any other, we...
Hope for Monsters and Villains: A Homily for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost
Preached by the Rev. David Henson, Sunday, Oct. 26 at St. James When you think of the great villains of history, what fictional characters come to mind as the most iconic and most terrifying? Darth Vader? Lex Luthor? Dracula? All those folks are justifiably scary,...
The Trouble with Resumés: A Homily for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost
Preached by the Rev. David Henson Sept. 7, 2025 at St. James Hendersonville By now, most of you have probably seen the announcement that our interim associate Kellie has accepted a call to be the rector of a church in Texas, and that we’ve already conducted a...
A Late Supper in Bethany: A Homily For the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Preached by the Rev. David Henson In St. James Episcopal Church, Hendersonville Sunday, July 20, 2025 I’ve always wondered what happened to Martha after Jesus tells her, essentially, she’d chosen the lesser part. It’s maybe the last thing Jesus says to her, and it...
Seeing Ourselves in the Other: A Homily for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Preached by the Rev. Deacon Tim Jones July 13, 2026 at St. James, Hendersonville When I was on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, our group visited one of Christianity’s oldest churches: the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. And it was there that I encountered a...
The Myth of Naaman the Kingslayer: A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Pentecost
Once upon a time, there was a great war hero, but not just any war hero. He was the kind of war hero that inspired a generation of people, because he was one of them, having risen through the ranks from a mere foot soldier on the frontlines to the highest ranking,...
A Litany for Peace in the Holy Land & Middle East by The Rev. David Henson
On Sunday, June 22 at 5 p.m., St. James held a profoundly meaningful Holy Eucharist for Peace in the Holy Land and Middle East. The Rev. David Henson's litany, among other prayers were said: In peace and for your peace, we pray to you: You know what it is to be...
God’s Holy Gift of Human Difference: A Homily for Pentecost by the Rev. David Henson
In the 1989 film, Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella goes on a crosscountry quest from Iowa to Boston and winds up kidnapping a famous and reclusive author named Terrence Mann, played by James Earl Jones. They wind up attending a baseball game...
God’s Cup of Tea: A Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Easter by the Rev. Dn. Tim Jones
We had just driven away from the small village when I saw a car speeding up behind us, flashing its headlights. This was a couple of months ago when I first went on sabbatical to England. When that car pulled up beside us, I realized it was someone we had just met in...
Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter from the Rev. Kellie Wilson
Revisit the sermon from the Rev. Kellie Wilson.
Who Gets to Belong?: A Homily about Ordination, a Haircut, and a Centurion
A number of you asked for a transcript for Fr. David's sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter. While there is no text to publish, as the sermon was extemporaneous, here is an edited version of the livestream, trimmed down to just the sermon if you'd like to revisit it....
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