2 Corinthians 13:1-11 & Matthew 28:16-20

Sunday, May 31, 2026

Beverly Dempsey preaching.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

The Church in Exile (Part 4)

Jonah 3:1 - 4:1 & 1 Peter 4:1-11

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Exile can be a necessary reminder to the church that God’s love and work are not limited to us and ours; they are extended to the whole world. Our job as exiles is not to withhold God's goodness from others, but to be good stewards of the love and grace of God—to bear witness by bearing fruit.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Current Series: The Church in Exile

In so many ways it feels today that the American church is not what it used to be: in terms of its visibility and influence, commitment and participation, attendance and activity. Many will experience this as a significant loss and describe it as "decline." But perhaps a better metaphor for the experience of the church today is exile. And there are rich biblical resources for understanding the experience of God's people in exile. If we see this moment through the lens of decline, we can easily become disheartened; but if we understand ourselves as living through a kind of exile, then perhaps we can see this as an opportunity for meaningful growth and renewal.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

The Church in Exile (Part 3)

Daniel 1:3-5, 8-17 & 1 Peter 2:11-17

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Daniel succeeds in exile not because he tries to succeed, but because he tries to be faithful. In the same way, the church doesn't become faithful by making a difference in the world; the church makes a difference in the world by being faithful.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Current Series: The Church in Exile

In so many ways it feels today that the American church is not what it used to be: in terms of its visibility and influence, commitment and participation, attendance and activity. Many will experience this as a significant loss and describe it as "decline." But perhaps a better metaphor for the experience of the church today is exile. And there are rich biblical resources for understanding the experience of God's people in exile. If we see this moment through the lens of decline, we can easily become disheartened; but if we understand ourselves as living through a kind of exile, then perhaps we can see this as an opportunity for meaningful growth and renewal.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

The Church in Exile (Part 1)

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 & 1 Peter 2:2-10

Sunday, May 3, 2026

So much of our sense of who we are is linked to place—where we live, where we're from, where we feel we belong. To live in exile is to be placeless, which can be more than disorienting; it can undermine our very identity. If the church is living in a modern exile, how can we root ourselves so that we don't forget who we are, and so that we continue to cultivate our identity as the body of Christ in and for the world?

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Current Series: The Church in Exile

In so many ways it feels today that the American church is not what it used to be: in terms of its visibility and influence, commitment and participation, attendance and activity. Many will experience this as a significant loss and describe it as "decline." But perhaps a better metaphor for the experience of the church today is exile. And there are rich biblical resources for understanding the experience of God's people in exile. If we see this moment through the lens of decline, we can easily become disheartened; but if we understand ourselves as living through a kind of exile, then perhaps we can see this as an opportunity for meaningful growth and renewal.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Psalm 137:1-4 & 1 Peter 1:1-2, 13-23

After the people of God suffer dislocation and exile at the hands of Babylon in the 6th century BC, exile becomes a key metaphor for how they understand their collective life in a challenging world, even long after they return to their homeland. For the Christian church today, exile remains a useful lens through which to view the challenges of faithful witness in a fast-changing world.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Referenced in this sermon:

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (1937)
• Søren Kierkegaard, "Judge for Yourself! For Self-Examination" (1876)

Current Series: The Church in Exile

In so many ways it feels today that the American church is not what it used to be: in terms of its visibility and influence, commitment and participation, attendance and activity. Many will experience this as a significant loss and describe it as "decline." But perhaps a better metaphor for the experience of the church today is exile. And there are rich biblical resources for understanding the experience of God's people in exile. If we see this moment through the lens of decline, we can easily become disheartened; but if we understand ourselves as living through a kind of exile, then perhaps we can see this as an opportunity for meaningful growth and renewal.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Acts 2:14, 36-41

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Beverly Dempsey preaching.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

1 Peter 5:1-5

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Bill Wildey preaching.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Get Ready (Part 7)

Matthew 28:1-10

Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026

Life and death are both transformed on Easter: death is revealed to be much less potent than we thought, and life is revealed to be more enduring, more far-reaching, more eternal than we have fully reckoned with. Jesus leads the way into this new and strange life that is free of death's iron grip, but are we ready to live?

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Current Series: Get Ready

Lent is a forty-day period of preparation which precedes the celebration of Christianity's holiest season, Easter. Throughout the church's history, faithful Christians have adopted a range of practices during this time of anticipation, ranging from rote dietary restrictions all the way to full exclusion from the communion and sacraments of the church. These practices—and everything in between—are all intended in their own way to make us ready: ready for Easter, ready to welcome God's salvation, ready to find life in the crucified and risen one. This series explores the many ways we still need to be made ready for what God is doing in our lives and in the world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Get Ready (Part 6)

Matthew 21:1-11

Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026

Jesus rides into Jerusalem—his so-called "triumphal entry"—on a donkey. This little bit of performance art is not only an intentional embodiment of a well-known prophecy (Zech. 9:9); it is also clear demonstration that he has not come to conquer or rule like a human king. It seems that people get the first part (prophetic fulfillment) but fail to grasp the second (a different kind of kingdom). The problem for them—and for us—lies in our willingness (not our ability) to see Jesus for who he is, and then to follow him.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Current Series: Get Ready

Lent is a forty-day period of preparation which precedes the celebration of Christianity's holiest season, Easter. Throughout the church's history, faithful Christians have adopted a range of practices during this time of anticipation, ranging from rote dietary restrictions all the way to full exclusion from the communion and sacraments of the church. These practices—and everything in between—are all intended in their own way to make us ready: ready for Easter, ready to welcome God's salvation, ready to find life in the crucified and risen one. This series explores the many ways we still need to be made ready for what God is doing in our lives and in the world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Get Ready (Part 5)

Matthew 16:21-26

Sunday, March 22, 2026

One of the more difficult realities of Jesus's ministry is that he, in no uncertain terms, invites those who would follow him to accept suffering willingly: to take up their own cross, just as he will take up his. What sort of suffering is it that we are called to undergo, and to what end?

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Referenced in this sermon:

• Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563)
• DC Talk, Jesus Freaks (1999)

Current Series: Get Ready

Lent is a forty-day period of preparation which precedes the celebration of Christianity's holiest season, Easter. Throughout the church's history, faithful Christians have adopted a range of practices during this time of anticipation, ranging from rote dietary restrictions all the way to full exclusion from the communion and sacraments of the church. These practices—and everything in between—are all intended in their own way to make us ready: ready for Easter, ready to welcome God's salvation, ready to find life in the crucified and risen one. This series explores the many ways we still need to be made ready for what God is doing in our lives and in the world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.