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
Fr. Mike Schmitz’s homily, “The Moment of Victory” for the Solemnity of Christ the King, begins by asking when Jesus truly won, using the Old Testament story of Queen Esther as a framework. Esther, a Jewish woman who became Queen of Persia, was faced with a decree for the extermination of her people. Her uncle, Mordecai, urged her to intervene, reminding her that perhaps she was made queen “for such a time as this.” Risking death by approaching the king unsummoned, Esther resolved to go before him, saying, “I’ll go before the king and if I perish I perish.”
The homily then juxtaposes the expected image of Christ the King—an invulnerable, all-powerful, and eternal God—with the Gospel reading of Jesus being stripped and crucified between two thieves. This scene of humiliation and rejection presents Jesus in His most vulnerable state. Fr. Mike explains that in the mystery of the Incarnation, Jesus “emptied himself and took the form of a slave,” making Himself “woundable” (vulnable from the Latin vulnus). Referencing C.S. Lewis, he emphasizes that to love at all is to be vulnerable, and true vulnerability is relational—it is allowing your weakness to be seen.
The climax of the Esther story illustrates this key theological point: when Esther first entered the king’s presence, arrayed in her splendor and perfect beauty, the king looked up “in extreme anger.” Her strength did not save her. It was only when she “staggered, turned pale and fainted”—her moment of utter weakness and vulnerability—that “God changed the king’s anger to gentleness,” saving her life and her people. Fr. Mike draws the conclusion that we often seek strength and power to win, but the ultimate spiritual victory is found in our weakness: “The moment of victory was the moment of vulnerability.”
Finally, Fr. Mike applies this lesson by sharing the story of an accomplished man who led more people to Christ not through his previous strength and success, but through the vulnerability of sharing his struggle with alcoholism. Jesus, the King, came in his weakness to win our hearts, which would likely be hardened against a display of overwhelming power. He is the wounded King on the cross, placed between two criminals who represent us. The choice remains for each person: to mock the God who made himself mockable, or to love the God who made himself vulnerable. Though Christ is Lord of the universe, we must choose whether He is the Lord of our universe, and allow this moment of His vulnerability to win our hearts.
Listen to the full version here.
Buckhead Church
The sermon delivered by Joel Thomas and Matt at Buckhead Church is a celebration of “Baptism Sunday,” a significant event where 80 people across two services were baptized. The hosts emphasize that this day is not just for those being baptized but for the entire church community, serving as a powerful public declaration of faith. They define baptism, explaining that it is not a new concept, tracing its roots to ancient Hebrew ritual cleansings before John the Baptist introduced a new way, pointing to Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who’s come to take away the sin of the world.” This makes Christ the “last and final sacrifice,” eliminating the need for further ritual cleansing.
Joel Thomas explains the meaning of Christian baptism using the Apostle Paul’s teaching in Romans 6. He clarifies that baptism is a public illustration of Jesus’s death and resurrection. Going under the water symbolizes being buried with Christ and having sins “washed by the blood” of His once-for-all sacrifice, while rising out of the water signifies being “raised in the newness of life.” The hosts strongly encourage the congregation to celebrate with cheering and noise, highlighting that the service is structured around worship songs and the personal testimonies, with a visual display showing a person’s life “Before Jesus” and the transformation that happens “But now.”
A deeply personal story is shared about a father, Jared, and his son, Wesley, who were baptized together. Wesley, a young boy, came home from school inspired to be baptized after putting his faith in Jesus. This courageous step by the next generation inspired his father, Jared, to take his own step of faith. Jared had grown up in the church but had never openly proclaimed his commitment until a challenging season of life led him to realize Jesus’s unwavering love. The father and son’s joint baptism underscored the sermon’s point that God’s “goodness is running after us,” often using difficult times or even the faith of the young to lead people to repentance.
The gathering concludes with a clear Gospel invitation, emphasizing that the numerous testimonies heard throughout the day served as 40 different “sermons.” The hosts remind the audience that all people have sinned, which separates them from God, but Jesus, the Savior, died on the cross for those sins and rose from the grave so that all who place their faith in His finished work can be eternally saved and live a full life now. After inviting people to make this decision, the service closes in a final act of worship and celebration for those who were baptized and those who chose to begin a relationship with Jesus.
Listen to the full version here.
Cathedral of Christ The King
Fr. Frank McNamee’s homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King centers on the paradox of kingship revealed in the Gospel: the image of Jesus on the cross, surrounded by mockers and two condemned criminals. Fr. McNamee reminds the congregation that celebrating Christ the King means recognizing that our true citizenship is in heaven, and the feast calls us to reflect on the nature of God’s dominion as we prepare for Advent. The Gospel focuses on the contrasting reactions of the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus, who shared the same suffering yet responded to Christ in fundamentally different ways.
The homily clearly distinguishes between the two criminals. The unrepentant thief mocked Jesus, demanding a miraculous, power-driven rescue: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.” He sought a Messiah who would save him from his suffering, representing the heart that refuses to repent and demands salvation without personal conversion. In contrast, the penitent thief experienced a profound spiritual awakening. He publicly rebuked his companion, acknowledging three critical truths: the justice of their own condemnation, the innocence of Christ’s suffering, and his own deep guilt.
With a humble and profound faith, the penitent thief turned to Jesus, uttering what Fr. McNamee calls one of the most powerful prayers in scripture: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This act of repentance, made from the cross, is presented as the pattern for all true repentance—acknowledging sin, recognizing Christ’s innocence and divinity, and entrusting one’s future to Him personally. While the rulers and soldiers failed to see the King through the wounds and the crown of thorns, the dying criminal saw a King whose authority was not of this world, believing that the crucified one still possessed the power to reign.
Jesus responded with immediate, royal mercy, declaring, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”Fr. McNamee concludes that the most significant message is that no sin is too great for the King’s mercy; the biggest sin is to deny this mercy and deem oneself unworthy. The difference between the two thieves was not their crimes, but their response to grace: one mocked, the other trusted. As the liturgical year ends, the faithful are challenged to confess Christ as King by repenting of pride and allowing His mercy to transform them, trusting in the promise that salvation is not a distant hope but a present reality, with the Cross being the very act that opens the door to paradise.
Listen to the full version here.
Passion City Church
Louie Giglio’s sermon, “Behold The Lamb,” establishes the title “Lamb of God” as the core truth of Christianity, particularly appropriate for the season of Thanksgiving, which echoes the Jewish feast of Passover. He opens by asserting that the atonement—God’s sacrifice of Jesus for the world’s sin—is the centerpiece that separates Christianity from all other religions, directly answering the fundamental question: Why did Jesus die? While Jesus didn’t explicitly use the title Himself, the sermon demonstrates its absolute centrality, beginning with John the Baptist’s prophetic declaration, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” which would have immediately resonated with Jewish listeners.
The sermon delves into the historical context of the Passover Lamb from the Book of Exodus, emphasizing that a perfect, spotless lamb was sacrificed, and its blood was placed over the doorposts of Israelite homes. This act caused the Angel of Death, the destroyer, to “pass over” those homes, sparing the firstborn. Giglio uses this as a powerful metaphor for the Gospel: salvation is achieved not by a family’s goodness or performance, but exclusively by the blood on the door. He clarifies that sin makes people dead, not just bad, and Christ came to pay the penalty of death, needing to be a perfect, living sacrifice whose innocent blood could bridge the gap between God and humanity.
The sermon connects this Old Testament shadow to its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, the Passover Lamb (capital ‘L’). Jesus arrived in Jerusalem during the Passover festival and, at the Last Supper, transformed the traditional meal by instituting the New Covenant. He declared that His body would be broken and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins, signaling that this was the final Passover sacrifice. His final cry from the cross, “It is finished” (Tetelestai), was the declaration that the ultimate, acceptable sacrifice had been made, completing the work of atonement and making believers “at-one” with God. This justification is received solely by faith in His finished work, not by any attempt at human righteousness.
Finally, Giglio shifts the focus to the heavenly perspective revealed in the Book of Revelation, where the Lamb Who Was Slain is the eternal center of worship for an innumerable host of angels and all creation. The ultimate invitation is to the wedding supper of the Lamb, with names recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The sermon concludes by applying this truth personally: His blood is still speaking today, reaching and cleansing every believer. Just as the blood on the door caused the destroyer to pass over, those who place their faith in Jesus are secured from God’s wrath, justified, and made righteous, enjoying the promise of eternity with God, because they are under the perfection of the Lamb of God.
Listen to the full version here.
Trinity Anglican Church
The sermon by Kris McDaniel for Christ the King Sunday centers on the exaltation of Jesus through the cross as described in Luke 23:33-43, urging the congregation to see Christ’s enthronement in the moment of his crucifixion at Golgtha. McDaniel notes that to truly grasp the cross, one must view it not as a standalone heroic act, but in the context of the entire biblical narrative. Since Christ the King Sunday marks the end of the church year right before Advent, the message is that the King of Kings draws all people to Himself by being “lifted up” on the cross. This perspective allows believers to confront familiar scripture with a fresh lens, seeing both Jesus’s ultimate act and their own need for Him.
The speaker highlights two profound aspects of the crucifixion scene, beginning with Jesus’s prayer for his persecutors: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they were doing.” McDaniel contrasts this radical, non-vindictive act of forgiveness—canceling a debt no one could pay—with the human tendency to defend themselves for fear of being “bad.” He argues that many people are afraid to fully acknowledge their failures, fearing they would “collapse under the weight of it.” However, the sermon asserts that spiritual freedom and the capacity to be loved and seen for who they are only begin when individuals reach the point of acknowledging their brokenness and realizing they do not have what it takes to be who they want to be.
The sermon then focuses on the diverse reactions to the crucifixion, from the rulers and soldiers mocking Jesus’s inability to save himself, to the powerful and simple response of one of the criminals crucified alongside Him. This man, an insurrectionist who acknowledged his own just sentence, offers a four-word plea: “Jesus remember me.” McDaniel frames this simple request as one of the most courageous acts of faith, stressing that it is “not too late” for anyone, regardless of their past, to surrender and ask God to meet them in their brokenness. He notes that this act of surrender is not only a moment of initial conversion for non-Christians but also a recurring and necessary theme for those already in the faith.
Finally, McDaniel connects the cross to the primal story of human shame in Genesis. He explains that after the Fall, humans were ashamed and tried to cover themselves with “fig leaves” that inevitably failed. The cross is therefore presented as the ultimate solution and covering for this human dilemma, echoing the first killing in the Bible where God sacrificed an animal to provide a covering for shame. The sacrifice of Jesus is a “covering… that will not crack, will not wear out,” offering protection and connection. The sermon closes by inviting the congregation to hold the question of where they need God’s mercy and coverage, concluding that the realization of one’s own limitations simply affirms they are a “finite, limited, fragile creature” whom God is ready and willing to help.
Listen to the full version here.
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