Sermons by The Rev. Linzi Stahlecker

Proper 15 – 8/16/26 – Identity Must be Born of LOVE

Matthew 15: 10-28 Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are…

Proper 14 – 8/9/26 – Faith, Like Strength, Needs Building

Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.…

Proper 10 – 7/12/26 – The ‘Language’ of Church

Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not…

Proper 9 – 7/5/26 – Step Away from the Fight

Romans 7:15-25a I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I…

Proper 8 – 6/28/26 – Discernment

Genesis 22:1-14 God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood…

Proper 7 – 6/21/26 – Getting Free from Fear

Matthew 10:24-39 Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not…

Proper 5 – 6/7/26 – The Life-giving Disruption of Call

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard…

5/24/26 – A Sermon for Pentecost!

For a lot of folks in the church — at least in the Episcopal Church — I’d wager Pentecost sits pretty low on the league table of personally impactful feast days. People might make a special effort to come to church on Christmas or Easter, but the same can’t really be said in the Episcopal Church for Pentecost. And I’ve always been curious about that. The church year seems to reach its climax at Easter and then, weeks later, Pentecost…

Easter 7 – 5/17/26 – Ending the Tyranny of Death

John 17:1-11 Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.…