Luke 14:25-30. Fr. Houk continues the Stewardship 101 series, addressing questions about pledging and finances at St. John’s.

Luke 18:1-8. Life, God, prayer. These are not simple subjects. Jesus gives us a complicated parable so that we might have a more complex view of what prayer is about.

In the propers this week, Father Harris reflects on what it really means to be well, not merely healed. Drawing from Luke’s Gospel, he explores why Jesus’ title as “Master” matters, how the story of the ten lepers reveals the difference between physical healing and true wholeness, and why only one returned in gratitude. Along the way, he connects this ancient story to our modern obsessions with health, comfort, and control, reminding us that wellness is not found in self-mastery but in recognizing God’s generosity. Father Harris invites us to rediscover stewardship as gratitude, a turning back, like the healed Samaritan, to praise the Master who makes us truly well.

1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31 Fr. Houk defines the meaning of "steward" and preaches on St. Paul's words to Timothy in 1 Tim 6:6-19. 

From the propers this week, Father Harris takes us into Jesus’ stark reminder: “You cannot serve God and wealth.” Behind that simple phrase lies a deep battle between two cosmic realities: the God who gives life, and Mammon, the whispering force that breeds fear, control, and endless craving. The parable of the shrewd manager, a bewildering story shrouded in confusion, reveals the unsettling weight of wealth, and Christ’s call to seek the true riches of friendship and hospitality.

Philippians 2:5-11; John 12:31-36a. The cross tells us everything we need to know about who God is and what our lives are about.

Jeremiah 1:4-10. Every Christian is called to be part of Jesus’s ministering community.

From the propers this week, Father Harris offers a meditation on the nature of our Christian vocation - what exactly does God want us to do? The images from the Gospel of Luke seem daunting: fire, division, hypocrisy. Yet, taken as a whole, the meaning of that fire, of that division, may be surprising.

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20. The prophet Isaiah forces us with a serious question: How is your worship working out in your life?

Luke 12:13-21. Jesus’s parable of the rich fool challenges us to reflect on what life is supposed to be about.

Luke 11:1-13. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he didn’t tell them to pray better. Rather, he challenged them to think better of God.

Isaiah 40:1–5, Acts 13:14b–26, John 1:19–28. On St. John’s 79th birthday as a parish, Fr. Houk preaches on why it is great to be a church named after John the Baptist.

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a. The most important part of the story of Elijah at Mt. Horeb seems to be a secret.

Acts 2:1-21. On Pentecost, the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. But what that means is the opposite of what many think of when they think of “speaking in tongues.”

From the propers this week, Fr. Harris reflects on the way our culture prizes the grand and dramatic, while the Gospel calls us to attend to the small, the quiet, and the steady. In Acts, Saint Paul receives not a vision of angels but a dream of an ordinary man. The New Life is not lived in fireworks, but in attentiveness and imitation. Bread and wine, prayer, and fellowship are the essential dimensions of Christian life. God is not absent from the big moments, but He is most often found in the plain details of daily life.

John 13:31-35. At the last supper, Jesus gives his disciples his one commandment.

From the propers this week, Fr. Harris reflects on how Easter’s quieting invites us to examine our ideals. We live in a culture that glorifies achievement, efficiency, and productivity. These are not the virtues the Gospel celebrates. Instead, Scripture honors humility, charity, and beauty. In Acts, a simple woman named Dorcas is raised from the dead because her acts of kindness bore witness to God. We are called not to chase greatness, but to create beauty and offer love, wherever we are. In the small and faithful, God's glory is revealed. The resurrection transforms not only death, but also what it means to live well.

John 21:1-19. Faith requires an outlook that God is good, Christ is alive, and that his risen presence is active in your life.

From the propers this week, Fr. Harris observes how we repeatedly forget and rediscover truths, especially Easter's radical message. Though we confess Christ's resurrection, we often live as if nothing changed. Yet this event transforms reality: the crucified Jesus rose with His wounds, revealing God's plan to redeem all suffering. Easter means death becomes birth, brokenness becomes glory. Our pain, both inflicted and endured, will be made whole. The Apostles didn't preach superiority but forgiveness, inviting all into this hope. We bring our wounds to the Altar, trusting God to make all things new. The Resurrection isn't just history. It is God's promise to heal creation.

Luke 24:1-12. With the resurrection of Christ, God’s future restoration of the world has begun.