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 his homily, Fr. Mike Schmitz begins by recounting a personal miracle: as a teenager on a beach in Mexico, he desperately prayed to St. Anthony to find a lost car key and immediately found it between his feet in the sand. This event, however, introduces the core problem: the cycle of faith. He explains that we often find ourselves in a desperate need, cry out to God, receive His answer, and are incredibly grateful, but then we quickly forget the miracle and return to life as if nothing happened. This “leaky” tendency means we become numb to the astounding, treating divine intervention as just a “cool thing that once happened to me.”
Fr. Mike highlights a figure from the First Reading who broke this cycle: Naaman the Syrian general. After being miraculously cured of leprosy by following the prophet Elisha’s instruction to wash in the Jordan River, Naaman, in his gratitude, asked for two mule loads of earth from Israel to take back to Syria. Naaman did this so that, when he stood on that soil at home, he would be standing on the “land of the God who saved his life.” This act was a conscious choice to build his life on what God had done for him, ensuring he would never forget the encounter and the transformative nature of his healing.
Connecting this action to the Gospel of the 10 lepers, where only one returned to give thanks, Fr. Mike suggests that even the thankful leper is at risk of falling back into the cycle unless he, too, finds his “two mule loads of earth.” He emphasizes that being a Christian is not merely the result of an ethical choice or a lofty ideal, but an “encounter with a person” (Jesus Christ) that gives one’s life a new horizon and a decisive direction (as per Pope Benedict XVI). The “retreat high” or the initial grace fades away if we do not choose to build our ordinary lives on the reality of that encounter.
To live out this relationship and avoid having the encounter fade, Fr. Mike proposes three practical ways to establish our own “two mule loads of earth.” First, we must use reminders (like a crucifix or a special ring) that focus our attention on what Jesus is doing for us today. Second, we need a sacred place and, critically, a sacred time for daily prayer, because regular scheduling is essential to praying always. Finally, we must say it: by making thanks a regular part of prayer (noticing the good, tracking the source to God, and saying thank you) and, most importantly, by telling people the story of what Jesus has done in our lives. This deliberate action of building our lives on Christ transforms a cool story into a sustained, life-altering reality.
Listen to the full version here.
Buckhead Church
The sermon, titled “The Response of a Lifetime,” begins by inviting the audience to view their life story through the lens of their responses rather than merely the events, such as family, career, or geography. Pastor Stanley asserts that our ability to choose a response—termed our “respondability”—is our greatest superpower. Unlike external circumstances, our response is the one thing we can truly control, and it not only connects the dots of past events but actively influences what future opportunities will appear. Stanley argues that a life of following Jesus is fundamentally about leveraging this superpower to choose a way forward, regardless of what life has brought or continues to bring.
The key distinction is drawn between a reaction and a measured response. Reacting is the default, intuitive action that causes us to reflect the very people or circumstances we dislike, effectively relinquishing control of our lives. A measured response, conversely, is the catalytic action that ensures we do not become prisoners of our pain; it can redeem suffering, turn bad things into good things, and break toxic generational cycles. Stanley notes that the most powerful, course-reversing responses are often not natural or intuitive, pointing to Jesus’s most difficult commands—like loving your enemies, praying for those who mistreat you, and forgiving regardless—as examples of this intentional, non-intuitive, measured response.
To illustrate this principle, the sermon introduces the Old Testament story of Joseph Jacobson, whose life was marked by extreme injustice, starting with being sold into slavery by his own brothers. The text states that “The Lord was with Joseph,” which Stanley clarifies does not mean his circumstances were easy or that he was immediately prosperous, but that Joseph chose to respond as if God was with him despite having no evidence to anchor his hope. Despite being a slave and facing humiliation, Joseph’s measured response led him to be put in charge of Potiphar’s entire household, demonstrating that his consistency and commitment, fueled by his confidence in God, preserved his character and directed the course of his life.
The sermon concludes with a powerful challenge for every follower of Jesus: “How would someone in your circumstances respond if they were confident God was with them?” Stanley notes that the intuitive whisper of our circumstances will always be to react, but the invitation of Jesus is to reject that dictated response. By choosing to leverage our “respondability” and act with confidence in God—even when our circumstances are terrible—we step into a life pattern that changes things, impacts history, and ultimately amazes those who are watching, just as Joseph’s response led to an extraordinary life trajectory.
Listen to the full version here.
Cathedral of Christ The King
The homily, delivered by Fr. Juan Carlos, focuses on the Gospel account of Jesus healing ten lepers as he traveled between Samaria and Galilee. Fr. Juan Carlos emphasizes the deeply isolating nature of leprosy, which cut people off physically, socially, and spiritually. All ten men cried out to Jesus for pity and were healed, yet only one returned to offer thanks. The central surprise of the story is that the grateful man was a Samaritan, a foreigner and an outsider considered by many Jews to be outside of God’s favor. This unexpected act of gratitude serves as the initial powerful reminder that God’s grace often works through the most unlikely individuals.
The returned Samaritan becomes the model of true faith, demonstrating that a grateful heart is more significant than one’s origin, possessions, or social standing. Fr. Juan Carlos reminds the faithful that we often imagine God’s action as predictable, occurring only in holy places or through holy people. However, the Bible repeatedly subverts this expectation, showing that God chooses the younger brother, the outsider, the sinner, and the stranger, surprising us through people and moments that seem ordinary or inconvenient. The Samaritan’s example underscores the profound truth that no one is beyond God’s reach, and no moment is too small for grace to break into.
The true difference between the one who returned and the nine who did not lies in the outcome of their healing. While all ten received physical cleansing, only the Samaritan received something greater: salvation, as Jesus told him, “Your faith has saved you.” Gratitude was the key that unlocked a deeper, lasting relationship with God. Fr. Juan Carlos cautions that a life filled with earthly blessings can still be spiritually empty if the vital act of giving thanks is neglected. Gratitude humbles the heart and creates the necessary openness for God’s grace to take root and transform one’s life.
To cultivate this transformative gratitude, Fr. Juan Carlos offered two concrete challenges for the week. First, he urged the congregation to “take five” minutes of quiet time each day to simply thank God, not for what they had achieved, but for what they had been given, emphasizing that this humility opens the door for grace. Second, he challenged them to find a way to serve someone who cannot repay them—whether by visiting, giving, or listening—doing so not for recognition, but purely out of love. By acting from a place of selfless faith, the faithful can become instruments of the mercy they have received, mirroring the selfless response of the thankful Samaritan.
Listen to the full version here.
Passion City Church
The sermon, titled “Always Pray and Never Give Up,” begins by defining spiritual desperation as losing all earthly hope and crying out to the God of all hope. Grant Partrick immediately turns to the first of two parables in Luke 18, the Persistent Widow, which Jesus tells for the explicit purpose of showing His followers that they should “always pray and not give up.” The widow is presented as a powerless, alone, and downtrodden figure whose only weapon against an unjust, cold-hearted judge is her relentless persistence. By continually pleading for justice against her adversary, she forces the judge to act, not out of compassion, but simply to keep her from bothering him further. This sheer act of showing up again and again is the foundation of true desperate faith.
The parable is interpreted using an argument from the lesser to the greater: if an unjust judge will eventually grant justice out of annoyance, then how much more will a perfectly righteous, loving, and merciful Heavenly Father answer the cries of His children? The comparison is that believers are like the persistent widow, helpless against their ultimate adversary, Satan. The final promise of the parable, however, must be viewed through the lens of Jesus’s second coming, meaning that God will ultimately bring about complete justice and healing—whether the answer is found on this side of heaven or in eternity. The call is for all those who are weary, sick, or praying for loved ones to reject despair and choose to believe and plead with God again, trusting in His ultimate, sovereign timing.
The second parable, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, is introduced to highlight the second crucial component of desperate faith: humility. The Pharisee, standing in the temple, is not truly praying but boasting, thanking God that he is not a sinner like the Tax Collector and touting his religious resume. This self-exaltation leads to a lack of genuine prayer, illustrating the principle that pridefulness always leads to prayerlessness. By contrast, the Tax Collector, aware of his own sinfulness, stands at a distance, beats his breast, and cries, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus declares that the humble Tax Collector, rather than the boastful Pharisee, was the one who went home justified.
Grant Partrick concludes by synthesizing the two required marks of desperate faith: the faithful must be both persistent(always showing up) and humble (always aware of their need for mercy). Believers are invited to approach the throne of grace with confidence, but that confidence must rest entirely in God’s mercy and grace, not in their own good works or merit. The sermon closes by echoing Jesus’s powerful final question: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” The challenge for the church is to be a people whose desperation drives them not toward quitting, but toward continuous, humble prayer, demonstrating the confident faith Jesus is looking for upon His return.
Listen to the full version here.
Trinity Anglican Church
The sermon by Kris McDaniel, based on the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19, begins by examining Jesus’s commitment to maintaining margin in his life despite being “on his way to Jerusalem.” McDaniel argues that Jesus’s ability to see and be present to opportunities, even when inconvenienced by the lepers, offers a vital lesson for followers today. He identifies being “busy and overpacked” as “the greatest thieves” of our ability to respond to God’s nudges, comparing an overscheduled life with “no margin for error” to the chaotic sequence of events that led to the Chernobyl disaster. The challenge is to reject this chaotic living by intentionally creating small buffers of space and time.
The second core movement focuses on the lepers’ powerful display of humility, who, as isolated outcasts, did two essential things: they submitted by calling Jesus “Master” and then boldly named their neediness by crying out for “pity” or mercy. The pastor explains that while many feel compelled to hide their needs for fear of being exploited or appearing weak, Christian spirituality non-negotiably requires naming our lack. McDaniel encourages the congregation to seek out safe, mature people who will “hold us in our need,” sharing a personal story of testing vulnerability with friends to find Jesus’s presence in the space of shared struggle.
The third main point addresses Jesus’s often “annoying pattern” of demanding obedience in the absence of answers. When Jesus tells the still-ailing lepers to “Go show yourselves to the priests,” he is asking them to take a step of faith while they are “still hurting, isolated, and confused.” Referencing the feeding of the 5,000, where the disciples had to turn toward the need holding “not enough,” McDaniel challenges the congregation to reject the feeling of powerlessness that accompanies wounding and scarcity. To illustrate this choice, he quotes Holocaust survivor and psychologist Viktor Frankl: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing… to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”
Finally, the sermon emphasizes the essential spiritual discipline modeled by the one Samaritan leper who returned to give thanks. This outsider performed three actions—praising, falling down (submission), and thanking Jesus—highlighting that thanksgiving and gratitude must be consciously chosen and practiced. McDaniel concludes that practicing thanks “opens us up to see more of God’s work” in and around us, much like a person’s awareness of a specific model of truck increases once they decide they want to buy one. He then invites the congregation into a moment of silence and prayer, urging them to find specific things for which they can be thankful as they approach the communion table.
Listen to the full version here.
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