Second on the Mount

"Stretch the Truth" – John 18:33-38

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, November 24, 2024. "Beloved, the truth is both a gift and a calling. It is a gift in that Christ himself is the truth, a truth that stretches from eternity to eternity. It is also a calling in that we are invited to pause and listen to and follow the voice of truth.

"As we find ourselves in the liminal moments of life, I wonder what truth God is calling you to live into and where you might pray, 'Lord, stretch me'?”

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/stretch-the-truth/ 

"Illusions and Dreams" – Isaiah 43:19-21

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, November 17, 2024. "... we should always be asking these questions of ourselves:

"And ask the same kinds of questions of our relationships and communities: 

"These questions are good guides for prayer that could be summed up to be this: 'Help me, Lord, surrender my illusions and dream what can be knowing that whatever the future holds, you are in it.'"

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/illusions-and-dreams/ 

"Christ Alone" – Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, November 10, 2024. "There will be those who will speak of Jesus as if he is a chaplain of their certainty—the chaplain of whatever social or political agenda they are pushing.

"So, what are we to do but—again—be reminded. Go to the Jesus of the Gospels. Pay attention to what Jesus does and who he is with. Remember how he attends to the needs of the masses when they are hungry, and how he ignores the masses when one hurting and ignored woman grabs the hem of his garment. Remember how he heals the sick without judgement of their need, and how he argues with the self-righteous without rejecting them. Remember how he honors the Law of the Jews, and how he praises the theological insights of the Samaritan woman. 

"Watch him. Watch him and listen to him."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/christ-alone/ 

"Jesus Wept" – John 11 (selected verses)

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from All Saints' Sunday, November 3, 2024. "The good news of the Gospel is that the God who weeps for us and with us is also the God who resurrects. God is not finished yet. May we be instruments of God’s resurrection power and life here and now."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/jesus-wept/ 

"Chaos, Passion, and Pause" – Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, October 27, 2024. "God responds [to Job] out of the calm center of a chaotic whirlwind. In the middle of the storm of chaos, in the stillness of its eye, there is a pause. 

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/chaos-passion-and-pause/ 

"What Story Are You Telling" – Job 38:1-7, 34-41

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, October 20, 2024. "So, what story are you telling? To your children? To yourself? 

"Beloved, may the story you tell be one of God’s vast and mysterious love, a love that has been with you and has held you since the beginning of time! And may you believe the story of God’s love to be true for you, as well."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/what-story-are-you-telling/ 

"The Witness of Hope" – Romans 8:24-25, Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Commitment Sunday, October 13, 2024. "Wheat among weeds is what Jesus wants Second Presbyterian Church to be. . . . Our calling is to bear witness to the hope that God’s grace is real and shows itself when we resist what is unjust, work to mend what is broken, and heal what is hurt... when we show evidence that lives can be lived with purpose, meaning and joy."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/invest-in-hope-the-witness-of-hope/ 

"Hope for the World" – Matthew 5:38-48

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from World Communion Sunday, October 6, 2024. "Violence persists in this world, and so what are we, the Body of Christ, to do?

"In our passage, Jesus is trying to tell his disciples—Jesus is trying to tell us what to do. We get this piece of wisdom in Matthew 5 about loving our enemies because Jesus cares deeply how we, disciples then and now, practice this thing he calls the 'kingdom of heaven.' This sermon of his is about bending, bending, bending that arc towards justice, all while pointing to a new heaven and a new earth made possible through the hope of Jesus Christ. "

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/invest-in-hope-hope-for-the-world/ 

"Hope in Action" – Matthew 5:14

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, September 29, 2024.

"we can’t think that what we do doesn’t matter because we failed to be God and save the world.  

"No. We are not saviors, we’re servants. What we do matters because we are expressing our faith, we are showing our love, we are witnessing to the grace of God. God is using us to witness to hope… ultimately the hope of the resurrection."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/invest-in-hope-hope-in-action/ 

"Lived Hope" – Acts 1:1-11

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, September 22, 2024. "Actively wait. Invest yourself in a community of those who will wait with you. Be open. Listen. Try things. And since I’m talking about the church, I’ll add worship, learn, pray, be there for others, and meet needs when you can. You see, so often the direction one is looking for is not found in isolation. It is found in being a part of a community of people seeking direction together while waiting for the Holy Spirit to provide it. It is so often in relationship with others, and with God, that life finds its purpose and hope. "

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/invest-in-hope-lived-hope/