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

In this homily for Corpus Christi Sunday, Fr. Mike Schmitz addresses a heavy concern regarding the deep divisions within modern Christianity, using a historical lesson from the Roman Empire to illustrate his point. He introduces Emperor Julian “the Apostate,” who attempted to eradicate Christianity not by force, but by establishing a rival pagan system that closely mimicked the virtuous lifestyles, charitable works, and structured hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Fr. Mike explains that Julian’s efforts ultimately failed because he tried to build a “Christ-looking church without Christ.” This serves as a warning that it is entirely possible to accidentally replicate the superficial structures, philosophies, and rituals of faith while completely missing its essential, personal core.

Turning to the feast of Corpus Christi, Fr. Mike highlights the profound reality of the Eucharist as the true, substantial presence of Jesus Christ’s body, blood, soul, and divinity. He shares how discovering this reality deeply transforms hearts, leading Catholics to fall back in love with Jesus and drawing non-Catholic Christians to the Church. However, he expresses profound grief over a recent trend where some popular Protestant pastors recognize that Jesus was not speaking symbolically in John 6, yet mistakenly tell their congregations that this same real presence is happening during their own communion services. Fr. Mike emphasizes that this is simply not true, not out of arrogance, but because they lack the necessary context of Christ’s sacramental commands.

To contextualize this theological issue, Fr. Mike draws a parallel to the Old Testament history of the divided kingdom of Israel. After the kingdom split, King Jeroboam of the north feared his people would return to the southern kingdom of Judah to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. To prevent this reunion, Jeroboam ingeniously created alternative high places for worship, instituted a new calendar of feasts, and established an unauthorized priesthood outside the line of Levi, falsely telling the people it was the worship God required. Fr. Mike compares this ancient division to modern Christianity, explaining that while our Protestant brothers and sisters are not acting maliciously like Julian the Apostate, they are mistaken because they do not realize Jesus established a specific, unbroken New Testament priesthood rooted in apostolic succession.

Ultimately, Fr. Mike reminds his listeners that the ongoing division among Christians deeply breaks the heart of Christ, who explicitly prayed to the Father that his followers “may be one.” While many modern Christians view denominational variety as a positive aspect of life, Jesus begged for complete visual and spiritual unity. Fr. Mike challenges the congregation to stop being indifferent to this division and to actively share in Christ’s desire for reconciliation. He concludes with a hopeful call to prayer, asserting that while true Christian unity will require a divine miracle, it is entirely possible for God to overcome centuries of separation and bring all believers back to a single altar, a single sacrifice, and a single Eucharist in our generation.

Listen to the full version here.

Buckhead Church

The sermon introduces a multi-part series centered on the biblical narrative of Noah, using the famous account to illustrate how people react to life’s inevitable crises. Thomas highlights that the people who ultimately survive and thrive through chaotic seasons are those who proactively prepare while their metaphorical skies are still clear and the waters are calm. He emphasizes that building a foundation for your faith, relationships, and personal character cannot wait until the storm hits; the groundwork must be laid during ordinary, peaceful times.

A central theme of the message is that personal devastation and chaos rarely arrive all at once. Instead, life-altering disruptions typically begin with small, ordinary choices that seem perfectly reasonable in the moment, until the compounded consequences finally surface later on. By shifting the perspective away from the dramatic arrival of the floodwaters, Thomas encourages the audience to examine the subtle, daily decisions that secretly set the trajectory toward either stability or ruin.

Thomas challenges listeners to look beyond immediate gratification and realize that operating outside of God’s guidance is essentially “sinning against future you.” He explains that following partial information, cultural trends, or advice from people who do not have your ultimate best interest at heart will naturally invite avoidable hardships. In an ancient Hebrew context, ignoring divine direction isn’t just about breaking abstract rules; it is a practical failure of wisdom that leaves an individual completely unprotected when a crisis inevitably arrives.

Ultimately, the sermon emphasizes that while life’s outcomes belong to God, obedience belongs to the individual. Thomas notes that the saving, rescuing, and preserving of Noah’s family did not depend on Noah’s own ingenuity, but on his strict adherence to the highly specific plans God provided. God acts as the giver of the blueprint, and human responsibility is simply to execute those instructions faithfully under a clear blue sky, trusting that God will manage the storm when it comes.

Listen to the full version here.

Cathedral of Christ The King

In this homily delivered on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Monsignor Frank McNamee invites the congregation to reflect deeply on their personal relationship with the Eucharist. He begins with a lighthearted joke about a man confusing a novena with a building project, seamlessly transitioning to a poignant reflection on the significance of one’s first Holy Communion. He encourages listeners to remember that momentous milestone, contemplate their eventual last communion, and more importantly, examine the profound meaning behind every single communion received in between.

Monsignor McNamee explains that the mystery of Corpus Christi centers on a God who is so entirely enamored with humanity that He allows Himself to become vulnerable, transforming into food and drink to intertwine with our very bodies. He acknowledges that this intimacy challenges our belief on two distinct levels. The first is intellectual: it can be incredibly difficult to rationalize how the infinite King of the universe can fit into a tiny, physical host. He reminds the faithful that God frequently chooses small, seemingly insignificant paths—such as taking human flesh, dying on a cross, and trusting His message to 12 simple fishermen—and that believers must ultimately be comfortable resting in divine mystery when sight fails.

The second level of challenge lies in the demand this intimacy makes on our daily lives, calling for active participation rather than mindless routine. Monsignor McNamee warns against the human tendency to slip into a passive “rut” where attending Sunday Mass becomes merely a checklist item or a social expectation done out of convenience. He strongly addresses the disheartening sight of parishioners immediately ducking out the church doors right after receiving Communion, noting that such an early departure speaks loudly about one’s true lack of belief. He emphasizes that if the faithful genuinely understand that they are receiving Love Incarnate, their reverence, gratitude, and willingness to pause for thanksgiving would be unmistakable to the world around them.

Concluding his message, Monsignor McNamee underlines that receiving Holy Communion is a radical commission to absorb the unchanging body of Catholic teachings and to live counterculturally. To consume the Eucharist is to accept the responsibility to speak as Christ spoke, act as He acted, and stand firm in objective, unmovable truths in an age where fleeting societal trends tolerate everything except absolute truth. He notes that Corpus Christi serves as a vital spiritual corrective for both the laity and priests alike, stripping away routine to pull everyone back to the core of the faith. He challenges the parish family to let their lives be permanently intertwined with heavenly love so that their daily thoughts, speech, and actions truly testify that the Eucharist is not a mere symbol, but Christ Himself.

Listen to the full version here.

Passion City Church

Pastor Louie Giglio opens by anchoring Passion City Church’s foundation in three theological pillars: the glory of God, radical grace, and extravagant worship. He emphasizes that the altar is not merely a place of emotional commitment, but a place of sacrifice. While Jesus provided the ultimate, one-time final sacrifice for sin on the cross, Giglio explains that the believer’s response to this radical grace is a living sacrifice of their entire existence, turning life into a continuous rhythm of worship rather than a Sunday routine.

Using the Old Testament narrative from 1 Samuel, Giglio details the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines to illustrate the danger of treating God as a “trinket” or a lucky charm. After the high priest Eli’s corrupt sons treat the Ark like a tool for victory, Israel suffers a devastating defeat, leading to the declaration that God’s glory has departed. When the Philistines place the Ark in the temple of their idol, Dagon, the heavy stone idol repeatedly falls face down and breaks, leading Giglio to declare that if you constantly have to prop up your god—whether it is a person, an addiction, or an idol—you need a better God.

Giglio tracks the 20-year period where life just goes on for Israel while the Ark is kept at a distance in Abinadab’s house, warning that it is dangerously easy to “stay with the program” and go through the motions of faith without God’s presence. When King David finally attempts to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, he copies the Philistines’ method by putting it on a cart rather than having the Levites carry it with gold-covered poles on their shoulders as prescribed by God. This tragic mistake leads to the death of Uzzah when he touches the Ark to steady it, reminding the church that God’s things must never be done man’s way.

Concluding with David’s successful second attempt to move the Ark, Giglio highlights that after taking just six steps without anyone dying, David immediately stops the procession to build an altar and sacrifice a bull and a fattened calf. Giglio uses this “six-steps life” concept to challenge believers to realize that radical grace should never let them go far without stopping to give God praise. He emphasizes that true worship requires giving God all of oneself—in the laughing and the weeping, the good times and the hard—which serves as the inspiration behind the name of their movement’s record label, Six Steps Records.

Listen to the full version here.

Trinity Anglican Church

This sermon, delivered by Lead Pastor Kris McDaniel of Trinity Anglican Church in Atlanta, focuses on the deep-seated human tendency to rely on outward image and self-sufficiency, which ultimately distracts and diminishes who people truly are. Drawing from a New Testament text, McDaniel challenges the congregation to examine the exhausting efforts they spend projecting curated, ideal versions of themselves to the outside world. He notes that trying to maintain a flawless facade is not only unsustainable but also directly prevents people from facing the realities, frustrations, and struggles present within their families, jobs, and personal health.

A major emphasis of the message is the vital spiritual necessity of the Sabbath and intentional deceleration. McDaniel argues that true internal recreation cannot occur when life is lived at a relentless, frantic pace driven by societal expectations. He calls on the church to reject the constant cultural pressure to accumulate and achieve, urging listeners instead to ask God what it means to introduce radical aspects of simplicity into their daily routines. Learning to “travel light,” he explains, is the only way believers can successfully go further and deeper in their walking relationship with God.

To help the congregation apply this practically, McDaniel introduces a framing question centered on legacy and vocation, explicitly distinguishing vocation from a mere corporate job. He invites everyone to reflect deeply on what they hope will be true of them—and what they want said about their character—at their own funeral. By shifting the perspective toward this end-of-life reality, he asserts that God can effectively liberate individuals from the immediate trap of impression management, allowing them to make choices today that align with who they authentically want to become.

Concluding the message, McDaniel links this call to vulnerability and simplicity directly to the Eucharist, framing the communion table as the ultimate space where pretense is stripped away. He notes that true insight into our relationships with God, others, and our daily callings cannot be achieved through intellectual striving alone, but through quiet, surrendered reflection. As the service transitions to communion, the congregation is invited to rest in stillness, lay down their heavy baggage of self-reliance, and approach the table ready to be nourished and reformed by Christ’s grace.

Listen to the full version here.

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