Whether you call them homilies, sermons, or talks, there’s a lot you can learn from the spiritual leaders in our community. While in a perfect world, you’d have time to listen to everyone, that simply isn’t possible for most with limited time to spare. To help, we’ve surfaced and summarized the teachings from the audio sermons of some of the most influential priests and pastors from around town and in the Christian sphere.
You can skip to a specific section by clicking the links below.
Jump to:
- Fr. Mike Schmitz
- Buckhead Church
- Cathedral of Christ the King
- Passion City Church
- Trinity Anglican Church
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Fr. Mike Schmitz
This homily by Fr. Mike Schmitz, “Waiting Well: Praise While We Wait,” addresses the common struggle during the Advent season: the feeling of hurry and being rushed (the “hustle and bustle”). He observes that being in a hurry is a physical manifestation of saying, “I’m not where I’m supposed to be right now” or “I don’t like where I am.” Our typical solution is simply to “go faster,” which often doesn’t save significant time and increases emotional and physical risk. Fr. Mike contrasts this with God’s approach, which is not an external solution (getting what we want now) but an internal transformation: becoming the person we need to be through the cultivation of virtue.
The virtue God calls us to develop is patience, as commanded by St. James: “Be patient.” Fr. Mike explains that patience is the capacity to “endure longsuffering.” St. James tells us to “see how the farmer waits,” who is not worried or discouraged because he acknowledges that there are seasons for planting, growth, and harvest. Fr. Mike illustrates this with the example of Asian bamboo, which spends 3 to 5 years growing an unseen, massive network of underground roots before finally shooting up 90 feet in a few weeks. The lesson is to trust God’s timing and goodness, even when we are in a season where our work seems to be having no visible effect.
In addition to patience, St. James provides a powerful negative command: “Do not complain.” Fr. Mike proposes that the way to wait well is to choose the opposite of complaint, which is praise. This is the means by which we “strengthen our hearts.” He clarifies that praise is not a denial of pain or suffering; rather, it is “the decision to trust God in the midst of that pain.” Rushing steals joy, and complaint crushes it, but praise is a declaration of trust: “God, I have what I need, and I am where you want me to be.”
Fr. Mike highlights historical examples to demonstrate the power of praise in the waiting period. He recounts the story of Paul and Silas singing hymns and praising God while shackled in prison at midnight, which strengthened the hearts of the prisoners around them. He then shares the example of St. Maximilian Kolbe at Auschwitz. While starving to death in a dark, agonizing starvation bunker, Kolbe led the other condemned men in fervent prayers and hymns to the Holy Virgin Mary. This act of praise transformed a place of cursing and screaming into one of prayer, making Kolbe’s heart, and the hearts of those around him, firm even until his death. In conclusion, Fr. Mike states that Christian joy, hope, and praise are relational, rooted in the truth that Jesus Christ has come, allowing us to give Him praise and have joy “right now in the in-between” of our lives.
Listen to the full version here.
Buckhead Church
Andy Stanley begins his message by setting the scene for Christmas, noting that unlike today’s anticipation, the first Christmas was completely unexpected. In ancient times, the trend was for humans to try and ascend to become gods; no one was expecting a god to come down to humanity. Furthermore, if a god were to appear, Judea—considered the “armpit of the Roman Empire”—would have been the last place chosen. The narrative of God appearing as a baby born to a peasant girl and a day laborer was so unbelievable that no one would have invented it, which, paradoxically, lends it credibility. The Judeans of the time were already convinced that God dwelled in their Jerusalem temple, even after the Roman general Pompey violated the Holy of Holies without repercussion, making the idea of God “showing up” even more surprising.
Stanley focuses on the Gospel of John’s unique “Christmas story,” which skips the familiar birth narrative to unpack its implications. John introduces Jesus as the “Logos,” which he says was “with God” and “was God.” Stanley explains that Greek philosophers centuries earlier had identified the Logos—an impersonal, undeniable reality that informed humanity, standing behind their pantheon of flawed gods—as the source of virtues like wisdom and justice. John’s staggering declaration, made as an old man who had spent three and a half years with Jesus, was that the Logos was not an ‘it’ but was God, and this Logos “became flesh” in Jesus of Nazareth.
John asserts that he and the other disciples witnessed the Logos, or Jesus, making His dwelling among them—He didn’t just appear and disappear. John’s purpose in writing was to make clear that “No one has or had ever seen God, but the one and only Son… He has made him known,” using the Greek verb exogeo, meaning to explain, describe, and illustrate God. Stanley shares an analogy about being the son of a famous pastor to illustrate that Jesus is as close as any mere mortal will ever get to knowing what God is truly like. Jesus Himself told His troubled disciples that to know Him was to know the Father, and when Philip asked to be shown the Father, Jesus responded, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
Stanley challenges the audience with a diagnostic question: when you think of God, does Jesus come to mind? If someone likes Jesus but not God—perhaps due to a negative past experience or misrepresentation—their Christmas preparation is incomplete, as Jesus came to clarify what God is like. The entire purpose of John’s gospel was for the readers to be convinced, as he was, that Jesus is God’s final King and that “like Father, like Son.” Stanley concludes by citing John’s later letter, where he made the profound observation, born from his personal experience with Jesus: “God is love,” noting that this was not a theological statement but a verifiable observation of love personified in Christ.
Listen to the full version here.
Cathedral of Christ The King
This homily, delivered by Fr. Gerardo Ceballos-González on the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), opens by clarifying that the joy central to the day is not a superficial or sentimental happiness. He explains that Gaudete—rejoice—is a determination to assume our identity as human beings called to eternity with God, rooted in the certainty that God’s Word made flesh is coming. Fr. Ceballos-González stresses a crucial point: Advent is primarily about preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in glory, either at the end of the world or at the moment of our personal death, rather than a mere reflection on His birth 2,000 years ago. This ultimate reality is the true motivation for Christian rejoicing.
The priest contrasts this spiritual focus with the pressures of the secular world, noting that Christians are in this world but do not belong to it, and should not act as though they do. He summarizes the entire Advent message as: “Enjoy the things of earth, but may they not distract you of the things of heaven.” He advises against falling into the commercial distractions of the season, warning that financial and material possessions can ground people more deeply in this passing reality than the eternal one. He cautions that while enjoying material goods is acceptable, one must not get attached to them, as they are absolutely unnecessary for salvation.
Reflecting on the Gospel of Matthew, where John the Baptist sends his disciples to question Jesus, Fr. Ceballos-González asserts that John did not doubt, but wanted his disciples to know Jesus through His actions and works, not just John’s words. Jesus’s response—that the blind see, the lame walk, and the poor receive the good news—is central. The homily interprets the “poor” as those who are spiritually poor because they are unaware of their true, eternal reality. Fr. Ceballos-González warns against the superficiality of modern language and culture, where people mistakenly believe purchasing goods will supply for their spiritual needs, concluding that people are tired of mere speeches and should witness their faith through action.
In his concluding remarks, the priest addresses a modern misconception of prosperity, citing that the world often leads people to believe that every blessing must be financial, causing them to undervalue the gifts of life, family, health, faith, and peace of mind. He affirms that these five non-financial realities—life, family, health, faith, and peace—are the true, ultimate blessings for which humanity was called since the beginning of existence. He brings the homily full circle by redirecting the listener’s focus away from temporary, earthly attachments and toward the spiritual preparation for the Lord’s coming.
Listen to the full version here.
Passion City Church
Brad Jones’s sermon, “From Confused to Convinced,” centers on Jesus’s exclusive and bold claim in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jones establishes that Jesus spoke these words with absolute conviction, contrasting His clarity with the confusion that often plagues His followers. He sets the scene within the turmoil of the Last Supper, where Jesus was giving final, difficult instructions amidst moments of service, prophecy of betrayal, and the announcement of His imminent departure to the cross. This intense and chaotic context is essential for understanding the weight of Jesus’s subsequent declaration.
The homily emphasizes the disciples’ confusion, particularly that of Peter and Thomas, who repeatedly questioned Jesus’s destination and how they could possibly know the way. Jones encourages the congregation to follow their example by not being afraid to ask questions or investigate their doubts, asserting that God welcomes such wrestling. Jesus’s comforting reply in John 14:1 (“Don’t let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me”) is presented as the antidote to anxiety and self-reliance. Furthermore, Jones explains that the “many rooms” in the Father’s house are not about the size of one’s eternal dwelling, but about the security of having a prepared place, made possible only by Jesus’s work on the cross, which was required before they could follow Him.
Jones then meticulously deconstructs the statement “The Way, The Truth, and The Life.” Jesus is The Way—the single, person-centered route to God, not one option among many. He is The Truth, meaning anything that contradicts Him is a lie, aligning with the devil’s attempt to obscure truth, and compelling believers to look to Jesus to truly know God. Finally, Jesus is The Life, possessing eternal life in and of Himself, which He freely gives to those who trust in Him. This gift of life is described as a powerful, present-tense crossing over from death to life, accessible solely through faith in Him, not through self-effort or the acquisition of material things.
The sermon concludes by challenging listeners to offer a decisive, convinced response to Jesus’s claims by living a life that is both worshipful and missional. To be worshipful means bringing one’s entire life as an offering of gratitude for the access to God that Jesus provided. To be missional means sharing this message of the only way, truth, and life with the world. Jones ties this call to the Great Commission and to Peter’s bold preaching in Acts 4:12, where Peter—once confused—became convinced, declaring that salvation is found in no one else, thereby commissioning the Church to move forward with a single, clear message of Christ.
Listen to the full version here.
Trinity Anglican Church
This sermon by Kris McDaniel focuses on the theme of hope and assurance in the midst of difficulty, drawing primarily from Isaiah 35 during the third Sunday of Advent. The message begins by addressing the natural tendency to lose clarity and certainty when facing trials, referencing the doubt experienced by John the Baptist while he was imprisoned, which illustrates that even the clearest believers can waver when discouraged. McDaniel stresses that the role of the prophet, and the purpose of this Advent message, is to remind people “how it’s all going to be” by painting a picture of the future God is preparing, thereby providing a needed counter-narrative to present circumstances.
The prophet Isaiah points to a vibrant, verdant future, stating that the “desert and the parched land will be glad” and blossom like the crocus. McDaniel uses the striking image of the Atacama Desert, the driest on earth, exploding into bloom after a rare rain to illustrate that even the most desolate, God-forsaken places in one’s life have a promise of life waiting to burst forth. These “crocus blooms” are described as surprising glimpses of the future that God drops into ordinary, even dry, routines to speak of what is ultimately in store for His people, encouraging them to remain open and aware of these moments.
In light of this bright future, the sermon’s second major invitation is to “strengthen the feeble hands” and “steady the knees that give way,” urging the congregation to tend to their fearful and weak parts. This human response to God’s promise is connected to the assurance of healing and restoration described in Isaiah 35, where the blind receive sight, the lame leap, and the mute shout for joy. McDaniel interprets this as God getting people unstuck—not just physically, but also in the sidelined, distracted, or trapped parts of their lives—with movement being a key sign of His nearness and work.
Finally, McDaniel highlights the profound shift in Isaiah from the momentary “crocus bloom” to the promise of sustained abundance. The prophecy speaks of water gushing forth, with grass, reeds, and papyrus growing in the desert, signifying that what begins as a glimpse of life will become permanent, like a river. This future is further solidified by the imagery of the “highway of holiness,” a safe way forward that ultimately leads home to Zion. The sermon concludes with the powerful assurance that while anxiety may feel like it’s overtaking them now, the final, permanent reality for the redeemed is that “gladness and joy will overtake them.”
Listen to the full version here.
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