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Hope Springs Eternal

Hope Springs Eternal

By Hope Springs Eternal

Sermons from the Rev. Alan D. Bentrup, rector of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Keller, Texas.
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Minted in Christ (A Sermon for Proper 24A)

Hope Springs EternalOct 22, 2017

00:00
14:32
The Snake and the Cross

The Snake and the Cross

Alan Bentrup preaches about snakes, crosses, and idolatry.

Mar 12, 202414:60
Remember the Covenant

Remember the Covenant

The 10 commandments, Jesus cleansing the temple, and how we hold up our end of the bargain.

Mar 04, 202415:56
What Do Christians Think About Lent?

What Do Christians Think About Lent?

Alan and Gavin tackle the sermon together, looking at Lent, covenant, and what we're doing when we're baptized.

Feb 19, 202411:14
Jesus Loves Y'all

Jesus Loves Y'all

Evil tries to claim it all. And what does Jesus have to say about that?

Jan 29, 202413:57
Now For the Hard Part

Now For the Hard Part

Baptism is easy. The Christian life is the hard part.

Jan 08, 202413:17
The Light of Christmas

The Light of Christmas

The Light shines in unexpected places

Dec 25, 202313:07
Hold the Light

Hold the Light

Alan preaches on November 12, 2023.

Nov 13, 202316:18
What Does Love Look Like?

What Does Love Look Like?

What does it mean to love our neighbor?

Oct 31, 202319:05
Growing in Love, Part Two

Growing in Love, Part Two

Father Alan preaches on Sunday, September 10, 2023.

Sep 12, 202313:24
Rooted in Faith, Growing in Love

Rooted in Faith, Growing in Love

Father Alan preaches on Sunday, September 3, 2023.

Sep 05, 202310:53
Be Loved

Be Loved

When we focus on God's love, we can do anything.

Aug 14, 202312:30
Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven

We have to mean it.

Aug 01, 202321:02
Simple Signs

Simple Signs

What would your billboard say?

Jul 02, 202313:07
You Rock

You Rock

A sermon for VBS Sunday

Jun 18, 202317:05
Looking to Heaven

Looking to Heaven

When we feel alone or scared or like we’re standing at the edge of a gap, God is trusting that we will learn that God is always with us.
May 21, 202307:49
A Bigger Table

A Bigger Table

God’s table is big enough for diΛerent people.

God’s table is big enough for disagreement.

God’s table is even big enough for me, and for you.
May 14, 202310:46
Love Has the Final Word

Love Has the Final Word

Each one of us is called to go out into the world bearing witness to the Good News that Jesus Christ is raised from the dead, and that grace and mercy and forgiveness and life and love always have the final word.
May 10, 202311:45
Love Has the Final Word

Love Has the Final Word

Each one of us is called to go out into the world bearing witness to the Good News that Jesus Christ is raised from the dead, and that grace and mercy and forgiveness and life and love always have the final word.

May 09, 202311:50
Act Two

Act Two

Everything changed. So what are we going to do about it?

Apr 17, 202312:06
It's True (a Sermon for Easter Sunday)

It's True (a Sermon for Easter Sunday)

Every cross flowers with new life.

Every tomb holds the hope of new birth.

Every darkness is overcome by light.

It’s true. It is absolutely true.

Alleluia! Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Apr 10, 202304:51
You Matter, You are Not Alone, You are Loved

You Matter, You are Not Alone, You are Loved

A funeral preached at the burial eucharist of Jordan DeClerk.

Apr 08, 202307:44
Death is Hell

Death is Hell

That’s the truth of this story.

That’s the Good News of this day.

Death is hell, but Jesus Christ meets us here.

Apr 08, 202307:35
Intimacy, Vulnerability, Silence, Waiting (a sermon for Maundy Thursday, 2023)

Intimacy, Vulnerability, Silence, Waiting (a sermon for Maundy Thursday, 2023)

Jesus Christ calls us to wait with him.

In the intimacy, the vulnerability, and the silence. In the fear and the grief and the despair.

We’re called to wait.
Apr 07, 202309:13
Parched

Parched

What are the stories we don't want to tell?

Mar 14, 202310:21
Kindred

Kindred

God loves everyone you hate.

Mar 06, 202309:54
Fully Exposed

Fully Exposed

Who told you that you were the worst thing you had ever done?

Mar 01, 202312:55
Changes and Chances (A sermon for Last Epiphany A 2023)

Changes and Chances (A sermon for Last Epiphany A 2023)

We’re going to let God speak to us in the midst of the changes of this life.

I don’t know what changes you are dealing with.

Maybe it's a change in your health or well-being.

Maybe it’s a change in your family.

Maybe it’s a change in your work.

Maybe it’s a dream that didn’t work out, or even a dream that is working out better than you imagined.

In the midst of all of these changes, we’re going to listen for God’s voice.
Feb 19, 202313:56
Salt & Light (a sermon for Epiphany 5A, 2023)

Salt & Light (a sermon for Epiphany 5A, 2023)

There are profound implications to being named salt and light. Salt and light transform things.

Salt and light reveal things.

And we are called to transform human activity in such a way that it reveals God in this world.
Feb 05, 202309:51
The Road Ahead (A Sermon for Epiphany 4A, 2023)

The Road Ahead (A Sermon for Epiphany 4A, 2023)

Jesus' strategy for facing the road ahead can be found right here in today’s Gospel, in the beatitudes:

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

Blessed are those who mourn.

Blessed are the meek.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are the merciful.

Blessed are the pure in heart.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

sake.

This is how we face the challenges, the uncertainties, and the opportunities of life.

This is how we face the road ahead.
Jan 29, 202316:54
Turning Points (A Sermon for Epiphany 3A)

Turning Points (A Sermon for Epiphany 3A)

He only really says two things today: “Repent,” and “Follow me.” At some level they are two sides of the same coin.

Repentance is more than just a moral change.

It is a life change, a turning point.

We look in a diΛerent direction.

We travel a new road.
Jan 25, 202312:11
A Firsthand Faith (A Sermon for Epiphany 2A 2023)

A Firsthand Faith (A Sermon for Epiphany 2A 2023)

Jesus oΛers more than his address. He oΛers an invitation. “Come and see,” he says.
Jan 17, 202310:05
The Poetry of Christmas (A Sermon for Christmas 1, 2022)

The Poetry of Christmas (A Sermon for Christmas 1, 2022)

Luke tells us what happened, John tells us it means.

Luke tells the Christmas story with facts, John tells it with poetry.
Dec 25, 202205:01
Tell Me the Story (A Sermon for Christmas Eve, 2022)

Tell Me the Story (A Sermon for Christmas Eve, 2022)

Regardless of who we are, regardless of what we’ve done, and regardless of what we’ve been through or going through, God is with us.

The Good News of the Incarnation, the great joy of Christmas, is that God is with us
Dec 24, 202205:02
God Knows the Way Out

God Knows the Way Out

A sermon for our Blue Christmas service
Dec 19, 202209:24
Viriditas (A Sermon for Advent 3A, 2022)

Viriditas (A Sermon for Advent 3A, 2022)

No wasteland is too far gone for God to restore it.

No person or situation is so dead that God cannot find life in it. That’s what we’re preparing for this Advent season… for the hope, the joy, and the love of God that is coming to transform this desert world.
Dec 11, 202211:01
Give Thanks (a Sermon for the Eve of Thanksgiving, 2022)

Give Thanks (a Sermon for the Eve of Thanksgiving, 2022)

Thank you for believing in the mission of this church, for being companions together in faith, and for being a reminder of the love of God to all you encounter in the world each day.

I am grateful for you, for this place, and for the ways God’s dreams are continuing to be revealed in the midst of us.
Nov 24, 202207:08
We Belong (A Sermon for the Feast of All Saints’, 2022)

We Belong (A Sermon for the Feast of All Saints’, 2022)

And that’s why we renew our baptismal vows on this day.

To remind ourselves that we are loved and chosen and part of God’s kingdom.

To remind ourselves that we take our place in the communion of the saints.

To remind ourselves that we belong.
Nov 06, 202213:10
Feeling Small

Feeling Small

Whatever is going on in your life, whether death or divorce or pain or fear or shame…that’s the place where Jesus stops, looks up with love and acceptance, and calls you back down into a new life.

Oct 31, 202211:60
Enduring Faith

Enduring Faith

The life of faith is not a race that can be won. It can only be run. It can only be endured.
Oct 24, 202213:03
Enduring Word (a Sermon for Proper 23C, 2022)

Enduring Word (a Sermon for Proper 23C, 2022)

We can argue over values, or debate worldviews, and even disagree on whether some ancient words on pottery should be read left to right or right to left. But if we focus too much on that, it only leads to division and hatred and ruin.

What we are oΛered, and what we are called to oΛer the world, is Jesus Christ.

That’s the Gospel.

And that’s the Word that endures.
Oct 09, 202217:35
An Enduring Legacy (a Sermon for Proper 22C, 2022)

An Enduring Legacy (a Sermon for Proper 22C, 2022)

We don’t always get a chance to thank the people who have impacted our lives.

And we don’t always know the lives we’ll impact.

Who is part of your legacy?

Who are the people that shared and showed the love of God to

you?

Who are the people that made you feel welcome, that made you feel important, and made you feel loved?

Who are your Eunice and Lois and Lacy?
Oct 02, 202202:01:19
Endure: Letters to Timothy (a Sermon for Proper 21C, 2022)

Endure: Letters to Timothy (a Sermon for Proper 21C, 2022)

These words rang true for Timothy.

These words rang true for the Queen.

And I pray these words ring true for you and for me…

“But as for you, children of God, shun all worldly things…

Shun power and riches and fame and control and division and hatred and ego…

And pursue good things…

pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, gentleness, endurance…. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called…” (6.11-12)
Sep 25, 202215:56
Seeking the Lost (A Sermon for Proper 19C 2022)

Seeking the Lost (A Sermon for Proper 19C 2022)

I say that every week. Everyone is welcome at God’s table. Everyone.

Even me, and even you.

Because Jesus found us all.

Therefore let us keep the feast.
Sep 11, 202212:55
Historical Markers: All In (A Sermon for Proper 18C 2022)

Historical Markers: All In (A Sermon for Proper 18C 2022)

Jesus calls us to get rid of anything and everything that comes between us and God and each other.

That is why the picture Jesus draws in today’s Gospel is so vivid.

Following Jesus is hard.

Following Jesus is costly.

Because Jesus calls us to be all in…

Are you ready to cross that line?
Sep 04, 202221:12
Historical Markers: Eyes of Humility (a Sermon for Proper 17C)

Historical Markers: Eyes of Humility (a Sermon for Proper 17C)

We can no longer just see the people who can do something for us, and instead look for the people the world overlooks.

And we need to see that we all are in equal need of grace and mercy in the eyes of God.

And we’re all equally loved in the eyes of God.

And if we are in equal need of grace, and we’re all equally loved, we can no longer participate in a system that places more value on some people and less value on others?

As we accept Christ’s invitation to join him at Table in the Kingdom of God we must admit that we are only there because of God’s grace and mercy and love.
Aug 28, 202219:51
Historical Markers: Reckless Love (a Sermon for Proper 16C, 2022)

Historical Markers: Reckless Love (a Sermon for Proper 16C, 2022)

In a world full of too many rules, too much fear, and too much sadness that tries to convince us otherwise, we are set free from all sorts of bondage.

Like the woman in today’s Gospel, we are set free to live in the miracle of new life and second chances and amazing grace and reckless love, every day, in Jesus’ name.
Aug 21, 202217:47
Historical Markers: Expectant Hope (a Sermon for the Feast of St. Mary, 2022)

Historical Markers: Expectant Hope (a Sermon for the Feast of St. Mary, 2022)

Like Mary singing about what she knows God will do, we carry that same expectant hope of what God in Christ is doing in and through and around us.

A hope that sees hate and meets it with love.

A hope that sees failure and meets it with opportunity.

A hope that sees brokenness and meets it with wholeness.

A hope that sees fear and meets it with faith.

A hope that sees death and meets it with life.

If that isn’t hope, I don’t know what is. And that’s a hope that our schools…our churches…our world is longing for.
Aug 14, 202214:16
Historical Markers: Fearless Faith (a Sermon for Proper 14C, 2022)

Historical Markers: Fearless Faith (a Sermon for Proper 14C, 2022)

Fearless faith isn’t a straight line where we decide to follow God and never doubt or question or fail or want to turn back.

Fearless faith doesn’t mean we never struggle with our faith. Fearless faith doesn’t mean we never deconstruct our faith. Fearless faith is taking the next step, knowing God is there. Fearless faith means trusting that God is here, with us, even when we don’t feel it.

Fearless faith is believing that God continues to be present, even when we lack the certainty of a vision, or the certainty of direction, or the certainty of anything.
Aug 07, 202211:42
Historical Markers: Bold Prayer

Historical Markers: Bold Prayer

Our historical marker this week is BOLD PRAYER.

Followers of Jesus are marked by bold prayer.

Despite our enslavement to sin and brokenness and pride and shame, we pray boldly.

Our circumstances don’t always change when we pray.

But we change.

Our hearts and our minds change, as we boldly proclaim that God has been, is, and always will be working in and through us.
Jul 24, 202216:04
Historical Markers: Radical Welcome

Historical Markers: Radical Welcome

We practice the radical welcome of Jesus who turns the world upside down.

Everyone is welcome in God’s kingdom.

And everyone is welcome at St. Martin’s.

As Jesus continues on his journey to Jerusalem, he leaves behind him individuals, households, villages, and a whole world that will never be the same. Because they have glimpsed a new vision of God’s radical welcome.
Jul 17, 202216:04