SERMONS

"Gratitude That Makes Us Whole" Sermon by The Rev. Ed Bacon October 12, 2025 Luke tells of ten persons with leprosy who cried out, “Master, have mercy on us.” As they went to show themselves to the priests, they were cleansed, but one—a Samaritan, a foreigner—returned with glory and gratitude, falling at Jesus’ feet to give thanks. Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” Gratitude, he explained, transforms the brain, brings peace, reduces anxiety, and creates joy. Jeremiah urged the people to make their city better, and so gratitude not only heals us but helps those around us. Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, it will be enough.” Gratitude changes consciousness, giving life a new wholeness and peace.

"Mustard Seeds and Miracles" Sermon by The Rev. Kelley Hudlow October 5, 2025 The apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, but Jesus reminds them that even faith as small as a mustard seed can do impossible things. True faith, he says, isn’t about quantity but quality—trusting God and hoping for what we can’t yet see. Like Saint Francis, who saw peace amid war and beauty in all creation, we’re called to live with that same hopeful faith. Stewardship, too, grows from this trust—giving our first fruits not out of fear or leftovers, but as an act of faith and hope that God can transform even our smallest offerings into something great.

"Investing In Hope" Sermon by The Rev. Ed Bacon September 28, 2025 Every year I look at my revenue and pledge 10% to the church, and I ask you to decide what percentage you will give to hope in this place. Hope and neighborliness run through scripture, showing that everyone is your neighbor, not separate, like the quaking aspen—one root, one organism, all one. Jeremiah buying land in prison was an act of investing in hope, trusting God’s promises. Neighborliness means loving your neighbor because they are yourself, and hope means believing God is making all things new. In our world, our nation, and our faith, the call is to reject the myth of the separate self and invest in hope—through giving, through community, and through re-visioning a healthy Christianity.

"The World Doesn't Need a Polite Church" Sermon by The Rev. Kelley Hudlow September 21, 2025 My grandmother told me never to talk about religion, politics, or money, but Jesus of Nazareth did not grow up in Mobile, Alabama. The gospels don’t give us a polite Jesus, and today’s parable talks about all three at once. In the story of the shrewd manager, Jesus makes us wrestle with money, power, and allegiance—whether to God or to the world. This parable leaves no place to hide, because all of us know what it is to have resources, debt, fear, dishonesty, or reputation to protect. The dishonest manager used resources to create community built on forgiveness and care; how much more can we, followers of Jesus, do if we do it on purpose? The world doesn’t need a polite church—it needs a bold church, shrewd in choosing God, sharing resources, forgiving, and building the kingdom of God.

"God’s Grace for All" Sermon by The Rev. Ranie Neislar September 14, 2025 We heard good news in the gospel, and sometimes good news is unsettling, like abundant grace for all that feels frustrating. In today’s parable we learn God’s people are infinitely precious, that we can be the 99 or the one, and yet no one is beyond God’s irrational, even wasteful-seeming grace. God’s dream is a reconciled, diverse community, but wounds of polarization threaten us, and we are reminded that we are made to receive and extend grace—to those near, those wandering, and even those we think don’t deserve it.

"Reworked Into a New Vessel" Sermon by The Rev. Ed Bacon September 7, 2025 I knew that my true identity was a universalist, that God is inside me and me inside God, and life can be about duty or love, and the energy of love is a million times stronger than the energy of duty. Let go of everything that’s not beloved, consent to the reworking of the clay of your life on the potter’s field, and All Saints, Homewood Birmingham is known as the place where I know God is inside me and I’m inside God.

"Hospitality That Remembers" Sermon by The Rev. Kelley Hudlow August 31, 2025 This morning’s gospel reminded me of Downton Abbey, where seating at the table showed power and honor, much like the Pharisees’ dinner Jesus attended. He taught not to seek the best seat, but to humble ourselves, and he told the host to invite the poor and powerless who cannot repay. These parables are about more than dinner parties—they point to the Lord’s Table, where all come humbly, receiving grace we cannot earn or repay. Hebrews calls us to remember those who suffer, as though we were with them, and to act with love and hospitality as God remembers us. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, calling us outside our comfort to share what we have and bear with those the world forgets.

"Rest as Restoration" Sermon by The Rev. Cameron Nations August 24, 2025 Our culture offers rest as “brain rot” or “optimization,” but neither brings restoration. God’s vision for rest is richer—restoration, liberation, and resilience, drawing us closer to God and one another. In Scripture, Sabbath rest is not absence but presence—God’s life-giving spirit that restores and sustains us. If you are weary, bent down, or burdened, hear Jesus’ words: Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.

"Unstoppable Transformation" Sermon by The Rev.Ranie Neislar August 17, 2025 I am from Georgia, but I am putting roots down here in Birmingham, naming this city as our home. Birmingham was built on raw materials—iron, coal, limestone—that combined to make steel, earning it the name Magic City. Transformation and creativity are trademarks of God’s power and of this city. Like Sloss Furnace, once abandoned but reborn as a place for community, we too are called to be transformed. Fire can destroy, but it can also refine and strengthen like steel. All Saints has literally risen from the ashes, a prophetic community embodying God’s lasting word. We are like those rocks broken into smaller stones, renewed for new work. At heart, All Saints is a place of unstoppable transformation—a Magic City Church—where God’s power makes us stronger so we can go out and do God’s work. And so, if you had to make a statement about what God is saying to you here, how would you finish this sentence: And God said…