St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach, FL

When Jesus meets with Thomas and the rest of his disciples after the resurrection he wants to breath joy into their dismay, belief into their disbelief, and power into their inability. Text: John 20:19-31 Sermon preached on 7 April 2024 by Peter Tepper at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach.

Jesus gave not to make bad people good, but dead people alive. This is what it means to be dead to sin and alive in Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon preached the 10 March 2024 on the 4th Sunday of Lent at St Peter the Fisherman.

God invites us into a relationship that is familial and not transactional. He invites us to draw near because he has already drawn near. God is all about turning the tables and changing our paradigms of thinking about ourselves, others and more importantly himself. He wants to cleanse our lives of anything that gets in the way of his Love.

Text: John 2:13-22

Sermon preached on by Peter Tepper on 3 March 2024 at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

God freely gives us salvation all he bids from us is to say, "Yes." Today we explore what this "Yes!" looks like. Mark 8:34

Covenant is one of the underlying themes of the Bible. Unless we understand this word, it makes it really difficult to understand how God relates to us.

God relates to us in a loyal and unconditional covenant love.

Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 18FEB2024 on the first Sunday of Lent at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

It is very possible to know about the love of God and a whole other matter to experience this love and share it. In the Transfiguraion we discover that God wants to give us a glimpse into the very Love that shaped the universe. It is the Love that came down to rescue us.

Sermon preached on 11 Feb 2024 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB 2024.

Text: Mark 9:2-8

Paul's conversion is a story of learning a new way to see ourselves, a new way to see others, and most importantly a new way to see Jesus. Sermon preached on 28 JAN 2024 by Peter Tepper.

We are built upon the Jesus, the rock and cornerstone of our faith, we are grounded in the Father's love and we go in the power of the Spirit to reveal this beautiful truth.

Sermon preached on 21 January 2024 by Peter Tepper at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB, Florida.

God encounters us in everyday life. Sometimes He speaks in very supernatural ways. Sometimes He speaks in very natural ways. He is always speaking. The real question is are we listening. 1 Sam 3:1-10. Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 14 Jan 2024 at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach.

The Wise Men left the home they came from to find the home they had always longed for. Jesus left the home he came from to bring us to the home we always dreamed of. Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 7 January 2024 at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

A common phrase you hear over this period is "What did you get for Christmas?" John 1:1-18 unpacks four things that we get in the incredible gift of God himself coming to us. It is an incredible conjunction of nature and supernature. Listen and watch to find out more.

Sermon preached on New Year's Eve 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach by Peter Tepper.

There is a story in the beginning of the Gospel of Luke called the Annunciation. It is where Gabriel Announces that Mary will give birth the the Messiah. She discovers that God is greater than we could think ask or image. She discovers that we humans are smaller, frailer, and more broken than we acknowledge. This great discrepancy is what reminds us we are more loved than we could imagine. God will move heaven and earth to rescue us.

Sermon preached at 1030am, 24 DEC 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.

Psalm 70 reminds us, as we are so prone to forget, that we are desperately in need of rescue. There is an urgency to our cry. It also reminds us of the personal nature of rescue.

Sermon preached on Remembrance Sunday, 12 November 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman by Peter Tepper.

Psalm 43 speaks of our desire and longing for home. All Saints is a day in which we reflect on the Church. The church is the people of God in all times and All Places. We are the church and get to visit church on a regular basis.

When experts of the law tried to ask Jesus a trick question about the greatest commandment. Jesus brought them back to Mount Sinai to look at loving God. He brought them to look forward to Mount Calvary and he gives us the power to love God and love our neighbor. Sermon preached by Peter Tepper at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB on 29 OCT 2023.

Ever been asked a tough question? Ever been asked a "gotcha" question?

Jesus is always more interested in winning your heart than winning a premise. He wants to get your heart. Matthew 22:15-22 Sermon preached 22OCT2023 by Peter Tepper at St Peter the Fisherman Church, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

Anxiety is debilitating worry. Paul gives us the antidote to anxiety, it is the peace that passes understanding. It is the knowledge of the love of Christ.

Sermon preached on 15 OCT2023 at St Peter the Fisherman.

Text Phil 4:1-9

"Have the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus, though being in the very nature of God did not consider equality with God something to be exploited, but humbled himself."

Paul talks to us about the liberating power of humility. Humility is a by product of something even greater: love.

Sermon preached 1OCT2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB by Peter Tepper.

Jesus' parable of the overly generous employer challenges us to live lives of extravagant generosity. God never gives us less than we deserve, far often we receive more than we deserve. Matthew 20:1-15 Sermon preached 24 September 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.

Paul tells us to never be lacking in zeal. He exhorts us to be ablaze with the Spirit and serve God. Romans 12:9-21

We can simply vent our tears. We can suppress or stuff our tears. Or we can do something completely different. God calls us to invest our tears. He calls us to not waste our tears.

"Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them." Psalm 126:6 (NIV)

Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 30AUG2023 as Hurricane Idalia was passing over Florida.

Paul tells us that that calling and gifts of God are irrevocable. You can trust God to keep his promise with you, because he keeps his promise with His people. Romans 11 Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 20 Aug 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman.

Jesus told us "Blessed are the peacemakers." Paul tells us, "As far as it depends on you, live at peace with one another." Jesus lays out some helpful guidelines for how to do conflict resolution in Matthew 18. Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 16 Aug 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman.

Christianity is more than thinking, but not less. Christianity is more than feeling, but not less. Christianity is more than doing, but not less. It is about being. If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation. "... for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." Text: Romans 10:5-15 Sermon preached 13AUG2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB by Peter Tepper.

Have you ever tried staring directly at the Sun? It is not possible without hurting your eyes. Similarly, the disciples had this experience at the Transfiguration. The veil of the natural was peeled back and we saw Jesus. Kind, glorious, divine Jesus shining with the brilliance of a thousand suns.

Text: Luke 9:28-36

Sermon preached at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB on 6 AUG 2023 by Peter Tepper.

Adoption is at the heart of the Christian message. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes so that we can experience the Fatherhood of God.

In Paul’s world, adoption was ordinarily of young adult males of good character to become heirs and maintain the family name of the childless rich. Paul, however, proclaims God’s gracious adoption of persons of bad character to become “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17).

Sermon preached by Peter Tepper 23 July, 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach, FL.

Everyone is looking for a verdict. We all want someone to pronounce a judgement of worth, of value, of approval. In Christ we now have no condemnation. We are blameless. When the Holy Spirit indwells us he empowers us to live a life without blemish, "we live according to the Spirit." Sermon preached on 16 July at St Peter the Fisherman by Peter Tepper.

In the Old Testament the people of God gave presents to God, also known as sacrifices. Paul reminds us that God offered himself to us. He provided the sacrifice. We in response offer or present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice.

Romans 6:12-23

Sermon preached by Jonnette DeMarsico on 2 July 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman.

Paul reminds us of our previous condition of living in the slavery and tyranny of Sin. He then reminds us that in baptism we have been united to Christ is death, burial and resurrection. Remember who you are. Christ claims you as his own.

Romans 6:1-11

Sermon preached by Michelle Tepper, 25 June 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.

You cannot be a Christian without the Holy Spirit, but you can be a Christian without having the love of God shed abroad in your heart. When the Father's love is poured into our hearts this action has not changed our status as sons and daughters, but oh the difference in the enjoyment of the status!

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon preached on 18 June 2023 by Peter Tepper at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach, FL.

If someone were to ask you to fill in the blank, "God is my _____" what would your first thought drift to? God is my Lord? God is my Strength? God is my Creator? Would your first inclination be say God is my Lover? The Bible is one large, overarching story speaking of nothing more than God's love for us.

The Book of Hosea speaks of God as a 1. Strong Lover 2. Wounded Lover 3. Healing Lover.

Text Hosea 5:15-6:6

Sermon preached on 11 JUN 2023 by Peter Tepper.

God has revealed himself as Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is something we cannot understand, we can only confess that this is the God who has saved us, the Father has willed our salvation, the Son accomplished it, and the Spirit indwells us, regenerating and mortifying to make hearts that love and worship the triune God.

Matthew 28:18-20

Sermon preached by the Reverend Jared Jones on 4JUN2023.

The day of Pentecost is a day in which we celebrate that the Holy Spirit gives power, amazement and a message of grace and challenge for all.

Text; Acts 2:1-21

Message preached by Peter Tepper on Pentecost 28 May 2023.

There is a piece of humanity that is in heaven at the right hand of God. The Ascension invites us to look out and investigate Jesus' convincing proofs of the resurrection (Acts 1:13). We are invited to look up and see God's perspective (Acts 1:9). He has ascended and is reigning for his glory and our good. He is praying for you. Jesus invites us to look in and discover that he is Immanuel, God with us, present by the power of his Father's promise, the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-8, 9-11). Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on the Sunday after Ascension, 21 May, 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.

When Jesus encounter his 11 friends in the upper room. They do not believe they are qualified to go about the task of the great commission. When Jesus gives them, and us, his Holy Spirit he takes us from disbelief to belief, from dismay to joy, and from utter inability to empowerment. Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 16 April 2023. Text: John 20:19-31

What would make you turn your world upside down? What would change your way you view yourself, others and your community? The Resurrection does precisely this. The Jesus' resurrection is grounded in truth, grace, and love.

Jesus' triumphal entry challenges us to receive him as King. Sin is nothing more than the servant substituting themselves for the King. Salvation is nothing more than the King substituting himself the servant. Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on Palm Sunday 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB, FL.

Over these past few weeks we have looked at the mission of Jesus and his road to the cross. Jesus goes into our grief armed with tears of truth and brings his fierce love confronting Death head on, offering hope and Resurrection.

Sermon preached at St Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna Beach, FL by Peter Tepper on 26 March 2023.

During this season of Lent we are looking at the mission of Jesus. Do you know who you are? We may have a variety of answers to that question, but at the root of it all is this, we are God's passion. He is deeply in love with us. Why did Jesus go to the cross? Jesus endured the Passion of the Cross because we are his Passion.

Sermon preached by Deacon Jonnette DeMarsico on the 19th of March 2023.

Text: John 9:1-41

What does it mean when Jesus invites us to drink of living water? He invites us to discover the spiritual thirst and hunger for wholeness that every human being has. He asks us to analyze what it is that we are turning to slake this thirst. Does the object of our desire actually satisfy our deepest longings and desires? He bids us to come to the waters of his grace and drink deeply.

Sermon preached by Peter Tepper at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB 12 MAR 2023.

Abraham trusted God and went into the unknown. The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus knowing that his time had come he loved his disciples to the end. It is because of God's love that we know that we can rely and trust the call of God in our lives to respond even when we do not have all the answers.

Join us this Lent as we look at the Mission of Jesus.

Sermon preached by Peter Tepper on 5MAR2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.

The word wilderness often evokes images of the wild, untamed forest. This is not the wilderness into which Jesus went. During these next few weeks we are exploring the mission of Jesus. Jesus life and death rescues us from the power of death and sin. He bring us life and life to the full. His life renews us internally, spiritually, socially, vocationally and physically. The effects of sin lead to a deadening in our lives. Jesus by the power of his resurrection enlivens us.

Sermon preached by Peter Tepper 26 FEB 2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.

On the Mount of the Transfiguration, God Spoke by his Spirit. His Spirit makes gives light and life to the people of God and makes Jesus known in the world. He interrupts and disrupts our life to make friendship with God possible.

Sermon preached at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB on 19FEB2023.

God speaks to us in a variety of ways. This week we look at how God speaks to us through the commandments, or his moral law. The commandments show us who we are, who we are meant to be and how to get there.

This talk was given on 12FEB2023 by Peter Tepper at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.

"The Bible speaks of nothing but God's love for us," St Augustine is reported to have said. The Bible speaks clearly to us, it challenges us, but most of all it renews us. 

Sermon preached on 5FEB2023 by Peter Tepper.

As Jesus taught in his hometown of Nazareth, his wisdom leads to our wonder and worship.

Sermon preached on 1FEB2023 at St Peter the Fisherman, NSB.