This sermon was delivered at the funeral of the Rev. Protodeacon Alexis Washington on Friday, October 7, 2016. Memory eternal. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” – John 5:24 […]
Redemption and Salvation in the Book of Tobit
A Sermon by Fr. John A. Peck The Book of Tobit is an astonishing book. It is a part of the Septuagint Old Testament, and therefore only in Orthodox and Roman Catholic Bibles. Until 1929, it was included in Protestant Bibles (in the section called “apocrypha” or “hidden things.” I don’t know why they thought […]
The Sacred Cow
by Fr. John A. Peck A Sermon on Cows. Yes, cows. One of my favorite Far Side cartoons shows a herd of cattle standing at a fence, facing a leader. In the background is a large urban city in flames. In the caption, the leader cow is saying, “Evidently, Agent (some number) has accomplished her […]
A Letter From One Of ‘The Folks’
I have learned over the years that the best feedback about preaching comes from ‘the folks’ – the ones who actually listen (not just hear). If you are not used to getting feedback from laypeople, other than an occasional ‘attaboy’ on Sundays, I strongly recommend it. Their insights cut right to the bone of what […]
Some Profound Heresies On Atonement
by Fr. John A. Peck A sermon I gave some time ago on Publican and Pharisee Sunday. It can also be read here. Today, I’m going to teach you some profound heresies. In today’s Gospel, we have two men. This is a short, but important parable. First, the Pharisee. The Pharisee begins his prayer “O […]
Sermons and Snickers Bars
by Fr. John A. Peck This little article recounts an important object lesson, given at a St. Herman Seminary homiletics class in 1996. I attended St. Herman Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska. At that distant outpost of theological instruction, we took homiletics very seriously, as we knew that on any given day or week, we might […]
The Preaching Pyramid
By Fr. John A. Peck We all know sermon preparation is important, but this article answers the specific questions: “What kind?” “How much?” This article was originally published by Preachers Institute in June of 2009, but remains a regular favorite, according to the traffic we get. We are reprinting it here, to be followed by […]
Fear and Loathing in Preaching
The following has been excerpted from an article by Fr. Aris Metrakos, entitled, On The Priesthood, and published in 2002 by Orthodoxytoday.org. The more we pray, the better we preach. Why? Because it frees the Holy Spirit to guide the thoughts and words of the homilist. At the same time, preparing and delivering sermons is […]