Claim OwnershipSermons from St. Stephen's Boise
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St. Stephen's in Boise, Idaho, is an Episcopal church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. We are a welcoming, inclusive, sacramental, and liturgical tradition, and our weekly sermons engage the scriptures of the day and the events of our lives.Learn more about St. Stephen's at www.ststephensboise.org.
45 Episodes
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As Jesus and the Woman at the Well meet in John 4, they press through their differences to find common ground in the identity of the Messiah. Can we also look for commonality in the midst of our differences?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
After a quiet retreat day at St. Stephen's, we consider the stories of Abram, Paul, and Nicodemus and ask "what will we allow for God to show us" in the midst of silence and contemplation?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness in Matthew 4. Before Jesus asks others to hunger after righteousness, he experiences his own hunger. What else does Jesus learn in the wilderness, and can we follow his example and put ourselves in uncomfortable places this Lent to learn as he did?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
As we prepare for Lent with the story of the Transfiguration, how can we hear Peter's experience and the words of his second letter to see the world through the light of Christ?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
Carol McCoy, our seminarian, offers her sermon on the importance of justice -- justice as known in the prophets, the life of Jesus, and the lives of Christian people.
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
"As a society, it feels more and more that everyday we are teetering on the knife's edge. Many of us are feeling that the Gospel might compel us to the responsibility of choosing the 'right' side. I believe the Gospel also gives us another option: to take a step back from all of it and to do everything that we can to remove that knife altogether. Blessed are the peacemakers, indeed."
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
St. Paul asks the Church in Corinth to be of the same mind and purpose. What would he ask the people and Church in America today?
Why we can't agree on what is true?
Why we put our trust in force?
Why violence is so often celebrated?
When will we repent for the killing of innocents in our streets?
"The world is too dangerous for anything but truth, and too small for anything but love."
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
On Baptism as a commitment to nonviolence and belonging to one another:
"To separate each other, as we have in our hearts, minds, and rhetoric, is a first and easy step to no longer belonging to each other. It has taken over as an instinct in our lives, and I'm here to tell to you resist it. Forsake that instinct! Do not find a home in your heart for the ways of violence or revenge or separation from your neighbor. It will only grow. It will only become more normal. Instead, may we remember that in the waters of baptism, we put our entire trust in the hands of others and in the death of our Lord -- both of whom are beloved by God."
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
"If a leader is fearful, the people will be ruled with fear. It will become their way."
The Magi are a people on the way looking for the one who will be known later as "the way." In turning away from Herod, they are some of the first who will show us that Jesus' way is different -- and is the way of life.
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
In this reflective sermon, we explore how faith calls us to discern and claim what is real and true—both seen and unseen. Drawing from John’s Gospel, we recognize truth that is not abstract but embodied: love in the flesh, grace in community, and forgiveness offered face-to-face. Today's sermon contrasts authentic, tangible expressions of faith—real bread, real people, real presence—with the temptation of virtual or artificial substitutes. Listeners are invited to embrace the incarnation not only as a theological truth but as a daily practice: to spend time in real places, with real people, doing true things. As we face an era of digital illusion and doubt, this week's sermon gently insists that God’s reality still abides among us, urging us to live truthfully, locally, and lovingly.
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
In this deeply personal and powerful reflection, we are invited to consider the ways God offers signs—not through thunder or spectacle, but in the quiet, often-overlooked presence of the vulnerable and the weak. On a day of confirmations, receptions, and reaffirmations, Bishop Jos shares his own journey of discerning God's call, from his youth in India to his ministry in Idaho. He reminds us that Christ is made known not just in dreams or visions, but in the faces of the helpless around us. Drawing from scripture, personal experience, and the wisdom of St. Teresa of Avila, we are challenged to be the hands and eyes of Christ in the world. If you’ve ever asked God for a sign and struggled to recognize it, this message offers encouragement, clarity, and a call to compassion. God is here—wherever love, weakness, and care are present.
In this Advent reflection, we explore how the joy and mystery of Christmas can shape our waiting in this sacred season. Centering on the beloved hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” we’re reminded that the hopes and fears of all the years find their answer not in certainty, but in presence—the presence of Christ who comes into our world. We also reflect on John the Baptist’s moment of doubt and Jesus’ powerful response: not a simple yes, but signs that echo Isaiah’s promises—the blind see, the deaf hear, the poor receive good news. This is the God who shows up, even in our fear and longing. This sermon invites us to trust that Jesus does arrive, and his coming brings everlasting joy, even in uncertainty. Come and see how Christmas can rekindle our Advent hope and draw us deeper into the mystery of Emmanuel, God with us.
Advent is a time of resistance and repentance, for the kingdom of heaven draws near! John the Baptist leads the movement from the wilderness, and he urges anyone who will listen to be ready for the coming of Jesus. But the Enemy is ready, too: "The powers of Sin and Death are awaiting this Jesus to come. They are ready, and they will tempt him in the exact same place the resistance now lives -- in the wilderness."
John urges repentance, he delights in forgiveness, and demands that those who hear him bear fruit -- will we join him?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
Advent begins not with fanfare, but with gentle symbols—small lights, a splash of water, quiet hope. In this sermon, we’re invited into the sacred rhythm of waiting, watching, and preparing for the coming of Christ. Drawing from St. Paul’s words in Romans, we are reminded that salvation is nearer now than ever before. But what does it mean to wait well? Through the humble beginnings of baptism and candlelight, we learn that God meets us not in our strength, but in our need. Advent is not about doing more—it’s about receiving, trusting, and remembering that Jesus comes quietly, humbly, and always in love. Join us as we begin our watch once more, putting on the armor of light and preparing our hearts for the arrival of our humble Lord. The night is far gone. The day is near. Let us begin again.
As the church year draws to a close with Christ the King Sunday, we reflect on the unique royal vision offered by St. Luke’s Gospel. Unlike the celestial grandeur of John or the urgency of Mark, Luke presents Jesus as a monarch who reigns through humility, mercy, and vulnerability. From the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary to the crucified Christ speaking grace from the cross, Luke offers a radically different image of kingship. In a culture that often resists authority, how do we respond to a king who rules not by force, but by love? This sermon invites us to rediscover our devotion and consider Christ not only as teacher and friend, but also as our merciful king. In Luke’s royal story, we find a kingdom without end, and a love that meets us where we are. Come and see the king who comes in peace, and reigns in mercy.
"What we can promise you, and what we can tell you about what happens next, is however this path of ours unfolds it is the stories of scripture, the images of the tradition, the lives of the saints, and the spirit of Jesus that will always light your path."
On a day in which we celebrate Holy Baptism, we are met with competing visions for the future in the scriptures. We're always wondering about what happens next; Baptism shows us a faithful first step that we confirm again and again that will take us into God's call and future.
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
"Hope is the fuel of the saints!"
On a glorious All Saints' Day, we hear of the inheritance of the saints: hope, power, and eternal life. And while these holy things may point us toward heaven, they also call us to our life and work on earth. How can we understand eternal life as part of the day to day living of the saints of God?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
"Would it be possible for you to be one percent more curious about the lives of other people? Could you listen five percent more to someone's story?" In hearing the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, how might the story be different if there was more curiosity instead of assumption? What do we learn about others when we are honest in our prayers and try to see others the way we hope God sees us?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
"Where do our prayers take us, and what kind of people do we want to be?"
Reflecting on the perplexing parable of the unjust judge, we hear Jesus call us to a life of prayer -- a life that will be imperfect but faithful.
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
How does having faith in everyday moments of our lives affect our faithfulness in God? And how might that faith make us well?
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We're a church on a mission to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. Visit St. Stephen's online:
www.ststephensboise.org
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