The Preaching Moment
The Preaching Moment Podcast shares the weekly sermons of The Rev. Suzanne Weidner-Smith, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Alvin, Texas—a church where faith is lived out in real, tangible ways.
At Grace, worship doesn’t end at the church doors. Each week, hundreds of families are served through a drive-through food distribution; homebound seniors receive not just groceries but also companionship; and neighbors experiencing homelessness are welcomed with hot meals, clean clothes, and dignity. What began as meeting physical hunger has grown into something deeper: a ministry of presence, relationship, and hope.
Mother Suzanne’s preaching is shaped by this reality. Drawing from scripture, story, and her years as a hospice chaplain, she speaks to a faith that meets people where they are—in uncertainty, in struggle, and in everyday life. Her sermons are grounded, compassionate, and rooted in the belief that the Gospel is not just something we hear, but something we live.
These are sermons from a community becoming a sanctuary—where compassion is practiced, stories are honored, and the good news of Jesus is made real, week after week.
The Preaching Moment
The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost - August 25, 2024
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THE GOSPEL John 6:56-69
Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
Artwork: The Last Supper, by Joos Van Cleve (1485-1540)