Second on the Mount

"Sheep and Goats" – Matthew 25:31-45

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, November 26, 2023. "Over the centuries, this passage has been described as the 'Judgement of the Pagans' or the 'Last Judgement.' Jesus is seen separating sheep and goats, rewarding them or condemning them according to their actions, or lack thereof. . . . when we pay attention to what Matthew is saying, the question here is not, 'Am I going to heaven?' or 'Will I be saved?' or 'Am I a sheep or a goat?' If we were asking these questions, Matthew would say we have missed the point. I think that the question rightly asked here is not what happens at the end of things, but more like how are we supposed to be living right now? How does Jesus call us to live? What would our lives be like—how would our lives be different if we lived as though Christ were King?"

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/sheep-and-goats/ 

"Inside the Hard Crust" – Colossians 1:11-20

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, November 19, 2023. "But Paul has the vision to see the beauty past the crust, and it is that vision he shares in the passage I read. . . . For if Paul is right, God in Christ will make every life—no matter how short, tragic, hard, or regret-filled—every life reach its completion through the healing of reconciliation."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/inside-the-hard-crust/ 

"No One Has Ever Seen God" – I John 4:7-12

Sermon by Peter Enns (Ph.D.), Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, author, and our guest speaker for the 2023 Edmunds Lecture Series, from Sunday, November 12, 2023. 

"Take It In" – 1 Thessalonians 2:5-13

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from All Saints' Sunday, November 5, 2023. "Paul praises the Thessalonian church for receiving the gospel they proclaimed. Not only did they take it to then share it with others, but they took it in, they took it into themselves. It became part of their being. And they took it in, not as a human word, but as what it really is, God’s word, God’s living and actionable word, which is also at work in and through you.

"I wonder if there is anything that holds us back from fully sharing our souls with our siblings in our family of faith. And I wonder what it means for us today, to receive the gospel of God and take it in, take into ourselves, making it a part of who we are, to then live a life worthy of God..."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/take-it-in/ 

"Love" – Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, October 29, 2023. "Love God; love neighbor. It’s every bit as simple, and every bit as hard as it sounds. We live in a culture that throws the word love around all the time. . . . We associate it with the feelings that arise out of our own enjoyment of things. We don’t think of it as a discipline, as a practice, as exercise, as something that requires effort. . . . But this is not how Jesus describes love. Jesus doesn’t say, 'I hope love happens to you.' He says, 'Love is the greatest and first commandment.' It’s not a matter of luck or accident. It’s not something that always comes easy. It’s something you do. It’s something you choose. It’s a matter of obedience, Jesus says, to the one we call Lord. So, if this is the great commandment—to love—we ought to ask ourselves, are we living this way? Are we living as though love were the greatest commandment of all? What would it cost us to take Jesus’s version of love seriously?"

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/love/ 

"Gift and Burden" – Romans 5:1-11

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Preschool Sunday, October 22, 2023. "Even when we are at our worst, when we are the broken lamp, shredded curtain or muddy rug, instead of discarding us as ruined and no longer of use, God takes on the sacrifice of our restoring. Even when we are weak, Paul says—which is a way of saying that even when we are such burdens that God must do for us what we cannot do for ourselves—God won’t quit us. Even when we are enemies, Paul says—even when we are actively trying to oppose what God stands for in the world—God won’t quit us. 

"This is the suffering of God’s love. And that is why Paul can say, 'I give thanks for my suffering for the sake of others,' because that is a love that comes from God. It is a love shared with God. Thus, it is a love that brings one closer to God."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/gift-and-burden/ 

"Between the Gasp and Grasp" – John 2:1-11 

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, October 15, 2023. "The mother of Jesus sees her son as someone who could—and should—meet need. And the question of theodicy stands beside her in this moment. Why is [the wine running out at the Wedding at Cana] not a concern for Jesus? . . . We see a world in desperate need and we, too, turn to Jesus, as someone who could—and should—meet need. And the question of theodicy stands beside us today, as well."

Sermon title comes from the poem “The Wedding” by Terry Chapman, Presbyterian CREDO Spiritual Faculty. 

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/between-the-gasp-and-grasp/ 

"Second Alive: A Fundamental Reason" – Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, October 8, 2023. "So much healing of community wounds would not be happening without Second Presbyterian and other communities that refuse to remain isolated from problems but engage them. . . . Grounded in God’s love, we gain strength that we can be more the healers than the harmed, more the gracious than the mean, more the reconcilers than the dividers when we engage in other relationships where love sometimes has too many strings and demands taking a side. We hear these truths, we pray about them, and we discover that the reconciling work we can do in the world is possible because of the reconciling work God does within our own hearts and lives."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/second-alive-a-fundamental-reason/ 

"Children of God" – I John 3:1-3, I Corinthians 11:23-26, 33

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, October 1, 2023. "Nearly 2,000 years ago, when Jesus sat around that Passover table with his friends, he was sharing a family meal. He took food that was familiar to them—each item on their plates told a story. And then after dinner, with his words and his actions, he gave the most basic and simplest of foods—bread and wine—new meaning. Years later, his disciples would remember that night, and they would strive to recreate it. . . . That special meal was the church’s family meal. And at that table, all were welcome, regardless of gender, race, age, ability, or ethnicity. All were called beloved children of God. But as we know, children don’t always get along."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/children-of-god/ 

"The Only Healing Left" – Luke 5:17-26

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, September 24, 2023. "Jesus speaks with the voice of God in telling you that even now, 'Your sins are forgiven. Now go and live your life. Live out an identity not defined by the accumulation of success and failure, but as a child loved by God. For that is who you are.'"

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/the-only-healing-left/